Do you still deadlift?

[Josefein421]

I'm 41 and competed in powerlifting for years. It took its toll and just stopped being enjoyable with the aches and pains. I've transitioned to bodybuilding training and while I still enjoy training heavy it is relative in the 8-20 range.

I've long followed guys like Dante and JP and that style of training. Thus even though I no longer enjoy it I still feel like I "have to" deadlift, stiff leg, etc.

I've built decent thickness all through my back from the years of heavy pulling (or at least I think so?). I doubt I'll ever compete so I guess I should just do what I enjoy. But I'm curious... do you still deadlift as a part of your regular back training??

 

[Siggy]

46 years old. Stopped deadlifting 4 years ago after herniating a lumbar disc. Will try it again some day, but I wont be going over 300lbs ever again (if that). Not worth it for an avg gym bro.

I think this is one lift where the question is when you will get injured, not if.

Have been doing limited range rack pulls for a few years and it works good enough.

 

[luki7788]

Yes still do it but there is a big difference between what I do now and what I used to do. In the past each of my deadlift sessions was damn hard 300-340 kg for 10-4 reps but these were typical rude powerlifting lifts - "just pick up the weight" . Now I still do RDL or stiff leg but 140-180kg very slowly and in a controlled manner focusing on the hamstring and not on simply lifting the weight.

Besides, I think that you can completely give up deadlifts, but some heavy rows without back support must be included in the training plan otherwise you will lose the thickness of your erectors.

 

[TomJ]

Similar story here, started out powerlifting, then transitioned into bodybuilding.
I have an emotional attachment with deadlifting and its difficult for me to go without them, but standard conventional deadlifting has played an increasingly minor role in my training over the last few years.

I am a classic physique competitor, who wasnt blessed with a 28" waist, so regular deadlifting has been placed to the sidelines in an attempt to keep my waist 'small'.
SLDL variants are still in on leg days on occasion, but unfortunately i have almost entirely eliminated deadlifting otherwise from my training.
For my goals and purposes, they simply arent the best tool or the best option given the fatigue they cause.

 

[Lift2staysane]

If you can do them, keep doing them. I think it's the most rewarding movement.

I'm 41 as well, currently pull 309 with no weight belt. Goal is 400 and I'll be happy and have a very strong lower back. You likely lift much heavier. I'd try to get used to lifting less and increase the reps or just get used to using less weight. They are very beneficial overall imo.

 

[gauge22-v2]

I no longer do trad DLs, but I do SLDL/RDL.

I also love to do them with a trap bar, just feels really good.

 

[danieltx]

Haven't done a floor deadlift in years, just Smith rack deadlifts. They're one of the best things I've done for back thickness.

 

[bbxtreme]

No longer do deadlifts, but as @luki7788 said it’s only because I do a lot of heavy rowing. I personally miss deadlifts, but with my goal being to keep a tight waist and stay injury free I avoid them now.

For younger guys I would absolutely keep them as a staple, but do them extremely controlled.

 

[3BILLS]

Deadlifts are probably my second favorite exercise next to bench press

Just love the raw power feeling when doing them

I pull conventional around once every 8 days

I will also do stiff bb or db. Higher reps and constant tension.

Lately I've also been incorporating single stiff db deadlifts.

When it comes to Deadlifts I would not do them if I didn't enjoy them

 

[d4ve]

I’ve stopped doing them for now. It was my best lift as a powerlifter, and variations (SLDL, RDL, sometimes conventional) were my pet lifts earlier on as a bodybuilder. But I finally accepted that further effort on them was just building my already huge glutes and incurring a massive recovery cost that prevented me from fully developing my lats and traps.

My back has improved tremendously since taking them out.

For context, I’ve stiff-legged 6 plates with a super controlled eccentric, as the 3rd or 4th movement in a session, for sets of 8-10. Same with 7 plates on conventional. Didn’t do shit for my back other than erectors.

So like @luki7788 i make sure to keep in unsupported rows to keep my erector thickness.

 

[lifter]

Deadlifts are probably my second favorite exercise next to bench press

Just love the raw power feeling when doing them

I pull conventional around once every 8 days

I will also do stiff bb or db. Higher reps and constant tension.

Lately I've also been incorporating single stiff db deadlifts.

When it comes to Deadlifts I would not do them if I didn't enjoy them

Hell yeah bro. Nice vid.

 

[Dutch1909]

I wish I could still do them. I have a genetic disease which affects my nervous system in my lower body, especially lower legs, and since last year I can’t deadlift anymore cause of that. I can’t contract me hamstrings/glutes for the full 100%. Since 4 weeks I’m doing rackpulls instead, slowly building that up and hopefully slowly transition into a proper deadlift again.

 

[ELIMINATOR]

42 and still do them, but only since I compete in powerlifting. When I'm done with powerlifting, I won't do them. Probably will still do RDLs or ssb goodmornings though.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

Same story as lots of guys here. Spent my 20s PLing rather than BBing.
It was my best lift. But i think most can agree here that in terms of tissue building, there are better options. MOST guys keep DL in because they are emotionally tied to it lol it FEELS powerful, strong. Its why guys still barbell bench. We were TAUGHT to weight lift like this.

I havent deadlifted in years. And, after years of heavy deads, rack deads, and stiff legged stuff in my 20s, i eventually herniated a couple discs. When i do aggravate it, it pinches a nerve down my R hamstring and basically ruins me for weeks. Not even worth it. There are other ways to train my erectors safely.

 

[Josefein421]

I didnt expect my emotional attachment to the lift or situation to be so common.

I think I will focus on the stiff leg version which I seem to enjoy more as of late. For whatever reason I just dread conventional pulls. Perhaps I was doing them too frequently though also. I will scale back to stiff leg every other session and see if that helps. I just didn't want to use age/aches/recovery as an excuse to be a pussy and skip the hard stuff. I also don't want to lose what I worked to build though as Luki mentioned.

 

[TrippplePPP]

I'm early 40s and have cut them ever since a lower back injury. Too much of an axial load will create sciatic symptoms for me so I avoid them. No exercise replaces another but I continue to train with different exercises to try and stimulate the same areas. Also working with spine patients for many years and having issues myself I recommend not doing dead lifts as they compress the spine and if you could avoid this your spine is better off.

Again, nothing replaces them and they are efficient yet I would only recommend them for young athletes with good form. I used to do them at the end of a back workouts with bodybuilding purposes but now look at that as exhausting your protective spinal muscles with the back workout and then hammering a large force on your spine axially.

 

[R3aper7]

I used to conventional deadlift I think the most I pulled was 440 for 2 at 178 lbs. I wasn’t terribly strong but in hindsight, I didn’t understand what true failure was so who knows what my max was. Now I stick to RDL and SLDL, (barbell, dumbbell and smith) slow and controlled.

 

[w8tlifterty]

Was in the mid-upper 600’s at 198/220lbs but it got the best of me. Multiple herniated disc no longer allow it

My favorite lift…. Can still squat fairly heavy but the time is coming for that too as my hips are all out of alignment and seems to be getting worse. Getting old in this endeavor is far more mentally challenging than any competition ever was.

 

[Siggy]

Was in the mid-upper 600’s at 198/220lbs but it got the best of me. Multiple herniated disc no longer allow it

My favorite lift…. Can still squat fairly heavy but the time is coming for that too as my hips are all out of alignment and seems to be getting worse. Getting old in this endeavor is far more mentally challenging than any competition ever was.

About 8 months after herniating my disc doing deads, I was doing some light squats with 225lbs ,herniated the same disc again. It was bad both times. Right leg shrunk down and foot got totally numb.

 

[Mufasa123]

I still deadlift (or some OL variant where I pull from the floor). I view squatting and pulling as essential full body movements for function and best bang for (my) buck exercises I can do. If I'm not squatting or pulling it's like a day off for me. This applies to my goals and what I enjoy not necessarily yours.

If you really don't want to do them at all (or even part of the year - they really are a great stimulative full body movement that gives you uniform strength/development up/down the chain and balances weak links) I'd put in barbell rows and RDLs. Might be other ways.