Is deadlift necessary for developing physique?

[TheOx]

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????/

Very Good question kscowboy I've been wondering about this too.

 

[driven]

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.........

I absolutely agree with this! Off-cycle, I deadlift and squat as often as my body can recover and safely handle. I have had tremendous success with maintaining strength, size and weight using this strategy.

After my last cycle, 1 and 1/2 months after PCT, I regained much of my strength, that I averaged only an 8% loss from my end of cycle lifts.

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Yes

Very Good question kscowboy I've been wondering about this too.

Dorian is the man..........he is correct.............good point

 

[saps]

The longer you're in the game the more you learn whats good and not so good for your body. After decades squatting and DL'ing I rarely do either these days. You gotta listen to your body and not aggravate chronically recurring injuries.

 

[tuffguy]

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.........

Could you go into a little more depth about this please?

 

[robot]

Is it possible?... maybe. Should you is the better question?

Avoiding lifting heavy weights and hoping to build muscle through other magic means is a bit wierd.

Deadlifts and Squats generally work extremely well and they're not terribly complicated. If you can't do them then trying to find alternatives can be tough. If you can't put heavy weight on your back or pick heavy shit off the ground you are kind of limited in what you can do.

Chins and Rows aren't going to get at the back in the same way picking something heavy off the ground will. If you don't squat then you need to pick up a whole set of exercises to try to make up for it.

I have a tough time imagining not building a physique with the squat and deadlift. Refining and perfecting it once you are a heavy/shw is an entirely different ball of wax that I don't understand at all.

Mostly I think your physique is going to look the way your genetics decide once it is fully matured but it seems like there's a little wiggle room for polishing body parts.

 

[muscle_n_blood]

I love deads, and I know that my back is thicker in general when I do them. Also, When I can do reps in the 495 to 545 range, my other lifts just seem lighter. If I go from a set of 495 deads to rows, 315 feels pretty light... much lightr than if I did rows first. On the other hand, lots of heavy deads tend to thicken my waist, so I've always had to drop them a good ways out from a show to keep from looking blocky, so I may have lost some of the extra size I gained from them. I'll still recommend them to anyone healthy who dreams of being really strong.

 

[royal]

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.........

I will always squat.Deadlifts & bent overs stagered.I would think being on AAS would multiplie the affect.Big compound movements gotta love them.
No disrespect Phil

 

[PHIL HERNON]

Oh man

I will always squat.Deadlifts & bent overs stagered.I would think being on AAS would multiplie the affect.Big compound movements gotta love them.
No disrespect Phil

none taken!

 

[marshallmadman]

It really depends on what your physique goals are. I doubt that Frank Zane really worked super hard on the deadlift, but still built a really good physique. Deadlifts are a real "mass monster" type of exercise that has regained popularity in recent years. Most likely, the return of the deadlift is due to the current "size for the sake of size" trend in bodybuilding. Back in the old days, the deadlift was considered predominantly a powerlifting movement. Squats, however, have always been king, and will continue to be so.

If you can't squat or deadlift, you won't be a pro bodybuilder. But hey, there's always barber college.

 

[btech]

I doubt that Frank Zane really worked super hard on the deadlift

Not sure about his whole entire life of lifting (regarding full deads), but Frank Zane did partial deadlifts as a pro.

 

[Golgo13]

I am not sure about it being critical for the "look" of the physique, but from a health and well being stantpoint look at it this way:

You are going to be picking up heavier and heavier weights in all of your lifts as you progress in all exercises. Therefore the foundation of your body (core, spinal erectors...) needs to be stable to avoid injury.

I see guys all the time hurt their back just trying to rack some dumbbells they were pressing.

 

[ZILLAMAN]

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.

agree

 

[tjs114]

Deadlifts and squats make me so much stronger on every other "bodybuilding" exercise. I don't know if they are needed for a bodybuilder physique but I have to believe that being able to row 405 for reps will build a lot more back than rowing 315.

 

[triathloncoach]

My limited observations

no

I see photos of guys squatting massive weight 700-900 and their quads don't look in proportion to their strength. Same with dead lift power lifters. They are infinitely stronger than they look. With that said all I do is squats and stiff legs for my legs. (and run and bike) I go to the floor and do partials. My quads look OK. But my but gets huge.

 

[gettnlarge01]

it helped me alot in my younger days[like Phil said natural],I kept doing them until a few years ago and it helped to thicken my body, waist included..lol

 

[ChuckSm00th]

Check out David Henry. He states in one of his videos he doesnt really ever do them and hes a monster, matter of fact prob one of the best backs and he doesnt really do them.

 

[btech]

Check out David Henry. He states in one of his videos he doesnt really ever do them and hes a monster, matter of fact prob one of the best backs and he doesnt really do them.

Did his statement include rack deads? Dante has posted that DH has done rack deads, and at a pretty high height relative to him.

 

[BostonFan]

I'm tall so full deads use too much legs for me to get a good back workout only. They feel great for an overall body workout though.

Did 3/4 deads today for the first time just down to my knee to use all back and no legs since we don't have a power rack at my gym and they felt AWESOME. I'd love to have a rack tho and do rack pulls. 3/4 deads are about as close as I'm going to get to them

 

[killbill]

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.

Nice job bro and very logical. Listen to and pay attention to your body. If 1 particular lift isn't going up and all others are then you are either doing them wrong or that is just not genetically a strong area. My bench weight sucks balls and always has, but my shoulders, legs, arms and back progressively grow which tells me first off it's not diet. My chest is competition size and cut just can't throw around big weight.