Deadlifting

[Mayne]

KK on that picture (from youtube) looks great, he has an overall great build. Look at his biceps... how many curl bros is it gonna take to dl his PR... People have taken bodybuilding to an extreme low, look at both greatest old and new age Olympias, Arnold and Ronnie, both were powerlifters and now look at Phil Heath and Kai Greene being all good marketing boy promoting low weight because he is not a weightlifter... now lil Joe will go curl 20 mins non-stop and wonder why he is not growing and buy all MHP products he can find because he hit a plateau... What happened with good old "wow, he is as broad as a van!" and how did all turn into 6pack worship... Fuck general criteria.

 

[Docd187123]

For anyone that does rack pulls regularly, do you feel they are much easier on the nervous system to recover from than deads? I only do deads once a week cause of how much harder they are to recover from than other lifts, but i'd like to add in rack pulls instead of doing more deads if they're easier on the cns.

Edit: i'm asking bc i want to help improve my deadlift as best I can without throwing in so much more weekly deadlift volume, due to potential recovery issues.

They are a bit easier on the CNS than full ROM deadlifts but you also tend to overload rack pulls by loading more than you could pull off the floor which takes away from the ease on the CNS.

A few options for you since I'm somewhat familiar with your training and log:

1) do speed pulls one day and max effort it intensity day deadlifts the other day.

2) substitute a deadlift or pull variant for a second pulling day such as snatch grip deads, good mornings, deficit deads, RDLs, SLDLs, etc.

 

[ruckin]

They are a bit easier on the CNS than full ROM deadlifts but you also tend to overload rack pulls by loading more than you could pull off the floor which takes away from the ease on the CNS.

A few options for you since I'm somewhat familiar with your training and log:

1) do speed pulls one day and max effort it intensity day deadlifts the other day.

2) substitute a deadlift or pull variant for a second pulling day such as snatch grip deads, good mornings, deficit deads, RDLs, SLDLs, etc.

Good point. I just want to pick the best movement I can to build overall back thickness, and that has a high carry-over effect to the deadlift. I had been considering some type of row.

 

[powerlifter89]

If trying to improve your dead I wouldn't bother with rack pulls, the position your in the rack to start is usually different than the position your in at the same height while doing a normal deadlift which leads to the carryover not being optimal. Band deadlifts would be a better option to train the lock out imo. For just building up the upper back and traps though they're a good exercise.

 

[Whoremoans]

IMO bench, deadlift, squat, and OHP should be incorporated in every routine as long as you are capable of doing the exercise. They're like the foundation of a training regimen. Just my humble opinion of course.

 

[rigs03]

as far as an aesthetic/bodybuilding standpoint, I'm not very confined that deads are crucial, more so rows and weighted pull ups. But let's face it deadlifts are fucking fun, I love doing them and always will.

and it's always great to see people's reaction when you're casually pulling 4 plates in the corner shaking the entire gym lol. Hell most people are blown away by just 2 it seems!

 

[devildog93]

There is a case against them for aesthetic purposes for sure. I'm probably not alone in having developed a deadlift torso from years of doing it. A couple of things probably contribute to that though including diet and genetics. I do not doubt the exercise itself contributes to it somewhat. It doesn't bug me in the least, but i do realize my physique has changed a little from a wrestler/boxer to a bit more of a tank.

Zadrunas Zavickas i am not quit yet, but even looking at him i would point to a lot of the power core work as a big part of his physique. Whether or not you like it from a bodybuilding point of view is up to the individual i suppose, but you cannot doubt the effectiveness of his training for putting power in action. The man is a machine and i sure wouldn't want to be on his bad side and stuck in grappling range with him. Of course he is an example of deadlifting taken to the extreme. Most of us will never have to worry about getting close to his physique. Worrying about getting a deadlift gut like Zyvickas is like people not working out because they don't want to get too big. It probably isn't going to be a big concern.

 

[Mayne]

Big Z is actually on the fat side of the spectrum. I am not sure I buy in the "deadlift gut", most big deadlifters are rather fat but the motion itself is not enough to build your abs so thick not even gonna consider bulking up your obliques to a lvl where you would lose proportion. Erector Spinae, sure, but it only makes your back look bigger and more complete. Easiest of ways to spot a non-dler for me is to notice the gap between back and ass, no form of lift can build your lower back as good period. Arnold and Ronnie for example both came from powerlifting.