Is deadlift necessary for developing physique?

[tmuscle]

Is the deadlift important for developing overall musculature?

Can a great bodybuilder physique be built without deadlifting?

 

[slacker86]

Yes, and so are squats.

 

[goonstopher]

What if someones back is SHOT and they cant dl or squat?

 

[tmuscle]

I have seen men who do not have impressive physiques and overall musculature pull a lot of weight, which is my reason for asking.

 

[KTT]

Also the best bench pressers and squatters don’t necessarily have the best chest or legs.

 

[Tom]

you don't have to deadlift or squat to develop an outstanding physique. not everybody is structurally suited to handle squats or deadlifts. you can build an extremely impressive upper body by doing dips and chins with added weight hanging from you. some guys do leg presses and hacks and build fantastic legs without squats.

 

[tenny]

yes.....you can have a great physique WITHOUT deadlifts

i know alot of guys who dont, and have very powerful physiques

could they be better if they did???.....maybe

 

[strako44]

It's one of the main staples of Bodybuilding in my opinion, but as it has been said you don't have to and many do get away without them.

 

[Pheedno]

no

 

[jay_dub]

I by no means have a great bodybuilder physique but I've had a ton of growth from rows and rack pulls.

Back problems run high in my family and I've tweaked my back enough times to give them up. Being tall sucks.

 

[juicin]

I used to deadlift every week, without fail about two years ago. Since then i can count the number of times ive done deads on one hand. My physique has still progressed undeniably. So no, IMO they are absolutely not necessary.

My waist has shrunk a bit since i stopped deadlifting as well

 

[Benjifornothing]

you don't have to deadlift or squat to develop an outstanding physique. not everybody is structurally suited to handle squats or deadlifts. you can build an extremely impressive upper body by doing dips and chins with added weight hanging from you. some guys do leg presses and hacks and build fantastic legs without squats.

^^^this! even dorian openely stated that after many attempts at back squatting and getting injured from it he realized his frame wasnt made for it so he moved to smith machine squats and leg presses for overall lower body developement. phil heath has even said he's built his leg from leg presses not squats. look at guys like fouad abiad who have barnyard backs. he did deads for many many years and never got the developement he "was supposed to" from it. its a personal structure thing. but its not an excuse to not attempt to learn the proper form and really give both a good run. i know alot of guys that complain about this or that being the reason they dont squat or DL. thats just their way of saying "im a lazy pussy"

 

[Big Danny]

Dead lift is a great back overall exercise but not only. It helped me big time developing strenght and size on my forearms too

 

[Mega Squat]

I use to deadlift REALLY heavy(600x10), now I switched to primarily straight legged deadlifts with lighter weight and noticed a benefit for the better.

I took my hips out of it and used a lot more hamstring and back to lift the weight. Obviously, lighter weight though.

 

[tkav1980]

This is really going to depend on your structure. what if you work the hell out of deadlifts, and it stays one of your weaker exercises. Not for lack of effort but lets say your body structure just doesnt work well with them. then lets say you do a bent over BB row, and that goes from 135 x 10 to 405 x 10. id bet those BB rows gave you one big ass back. point being IMO its the ability to progress in weight on a lift that counts, not the lift itself. Well to a certain degree anyway. and no im not talking about 1RM here im talking about moving an assload of weight for a lot of reps. like dante said turn yourself into a human forklift.

 

[juicin]

I use to deadlift REALLY heavy(600x10), now I switched to primarily straight legged deadlifts with lighter weight and noticed a benefit for the better.

I took my hips out of it and used a lot more hamstring and back to lift the weight. Obviously, lighter weight though.

600x10

 

[Mega Squat]

600x10

Well, to be fair.. these football players at my college gym were talking shit(in good fun, but still) so I got really pissed did it and that was my best lift.. but I always did 585-600 for 6 or more last offseason

 

[btech]

This is really going to depend on your structure. what if you work the hell out of deadlifts, and it stays one of your weaker exercises. Not for lack of effort but lets say your body structure just doesnt work well with them. then lets say you do a bent over BB row, and that goes from 135 x 10 to 405 x 10. id bet those BB rows gave you one big ass back. point being IMO its the ability to progress in weight on a lift that counts, not the lift itself. Well to a certain degree anyway. and no im not talking about 1RM here im talking about moving an assload of weight for a lot of reps. like dante said turn yourself into a human forklift.

What he said.

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Well

If you are natural then you need deadlifts and squats for the systemic effect from the hormonal response..............if you are on AAS then no, you can leg press, leg ext........etc.........

 

[kscowboy]

Not trying to hijack this thread but i have a question for you about deadlifting Phil-Do you think rack deads or deads to the knee cap level is as effective as full deads? I just watched a video of Dorian talking to Kai and he said to only drop the bar to knee cap level because everything below the knee is legs and when you get above the knee is when it hits the back/traps. Your thoughts Phil????/