deadlifts?

[blue888]

ok i am trying to put on mass and do not have a squat rack so i have been doing deadlifts instead of squats. but when i do them it feels like the only muscles that it is working is my lower back. am i doing them wrong or is that what i should feel. thanks in advance.

[insomniac]

It depends on how you're doing your deadlift. When I do mine I feel it mainly in my hamstrings and butt. It sounds like you might be doing stiff leg deadlifts. Check out the two videos below.

- Deadlift (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/deadlifts.html)
- Stiff Leg Deadlift (http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/stiff-leg-deadlift-aka-romanian-deadlift.html)

As far as squats go, I'm kind of in the same situation as you. I've got dumbbells because I've got no room for anything else. I do squats, but it gets unwieldy at higher weights. I can't wait to one day get a house with enough room somewhere to set up a power cage.

[djblank87]

Do you have a counter top somewhere in your residence? I live in an apartment and use my 12" narrow counter top that is about 4' high and I squat off of that.

Granted it's not perfect but it gets the job done. The glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps are the direct muscle groups that are being used when doing deadlifts.

The back/lower back is worked during the exercise but it should not be the primary muscle being worked.

JSD, Will and ateamer have more experience than I do with the lifts in general, I do them as a secondary exercise not primary. They will be able to give you better direction or advice.

[kmagnuss]

I've been lifting off and on for about 16 years now (mostly off) and I just recently started doing deadlifts and squats. I know...I know. Anyway... when I first started with deads, I could feel it in my back a lot. Now (3 months later) I feel it pretty much everywhere else. It is by far, no doubt, my favorite excercise now. I love it. And I REALLY love that I'm still getting weekly gains on it.

-Mag

[JSD73]

IMO, partial deads will pack on back mass, especially traps, faster than full regular deads. Plus, the amount of weight you can move is a bonus.

[The Pike]

Deads are mainly a lower back excercise, but they work just about every muscle group. Your whole body should be tired after a few heavy sets. Just make sure you are using good form...if you don't know what good form is, ask someone who does. I'm still dealing with lower back problems from my powerlifting days, and they are 10 years behind me. Deads are one of those lifts where you can get carried away, especially in competition.
The best advice I ever got for deads is: Don't try to lift the weight off the ground, try to push your feet through the floor.

[FmrHammerMonkey]

Deads are mainly a lower back excercise, but they work just about every muscle group. Your whole body should be tired after a few heavy sets. Just make sure you are using good form...if you don't know what good form is, ask someone who does. I'm still dealing with lower back problems from my powerlifting days, and they are 10 years behind me. Deads are one of those lifts where you can get carried away, especially in competition.
The best advice I ever got for deads is: Don't try to lift the weight off the ground, try to push your feet through the floor.

Bingo!

I am not the almighty expert, but TP here speaks from experience and mimicks what I would tell you. I compete in PL and pull over 600lb's after much trial and error. You need to tell us what type of lifting stance your using also. Are you doing Sumo with hands inside the knees and legs spread wide, or conventional with legs close together and outside the knees.

Deadlifts can be the best friend of lifter of one very dangerous movement to undertake if you do them wrong. Luckily, most people fail immediately if they cannot do the weight, since there is no negative to them should you not be able to lift it in the first place. Very simply....

1) Equal spacing with hands, squeeze bar tightly, and tighten abs!

2) Bring shins close to bar and sink into a crouch position. Lower butt, get rounded back straight and mentally not allow for it to be your first movement, or you can be seriously hurt.

3) Push thru the floor with explosion driving legs upward, keeping your head either forward, or what works for me...eyes upward and head back. PULL WITH ALL YOU GOT!

Some tips for countering the mid thigh stall are to thrust your hips forward as the weight breaks past your knees, this will thrust your shoulders back and help lock out the weight and prevent the back from rounding and you getting that "deadlift dance." That is where the legs shake crazy and you end up hitching the weight up your thigh to try and lock it out.