PSA: do deadlifts!

[purbeast0]

while i know this is lifting 101, i just want to give a little story of mine.

back in 2004, when i was much smaller (165lbs or so) i was deadlifting like a mad man. i started with 185 and was doing the 5x5 routine. i added 10lbs every week and got all the way up to 465. later that day, while playing basketball, i broke my left ankle and sprained my right ankle at the same time. looking back, i think my ankles were weak from deadlifting heavy weight which might have contributed to it.

about a year later i jacked up my back squatting totally wrong. i have 2 or 3 partially bulging discs in my lower lumbar.

over the next 4 or so years, i had pretty major back issues. i would be very careful what i did with my back, but if i tweaked it wrong, it would hurt for weeks. i steered clear of squats and deadlifts because of my back issues.

then i decided to try an inversion table, and to sum it up, it was life changing and completely made my back feel better. since then i've been doing squats, but i still feared deadlifts.

over the past 1/2 year or so i've given them a try again. i started out with 185 then 225. since then i've slowly been working my way up, and took a couple weeks off around thanksgiving because of the holidays and i got sick.

but this past week i did my heaviest in a long time, repping out 405x6. it felt great, and my back feels great.

now here is the thing - i have noticed TREMENDOUSLY how much it has made my whole core stronger, and is making other excercises a lot easier and more comfortable. my squats now feel a lot more balanced, and when i do crunches with no backing (like on an exercise ball), my lower back used to get sore before my abs did, just because it was weak. now my lower back doesn't get sore at all, and my squats feel great as well. i've also shrugging the most i've ever shrugged since i started doing this as my traps are stronger as well.

so while i know it's pretty basic that deadlifts are good for you, i just wanted to share my recent experiences with them after a backstory of how i wasn't doing them forever due to some issues. so i strongly encourage everyone to do deadlifts, they truly make everything else in your body feel stronger

 

[z1ggy]

+1

 

[blackdogdeek]

+1 for deadlifts

i broke my left ankle and sprained my right ankle at the same time.

I cringed right here.

 

[schmuckley]

Deadlifts are good.

 

[purbeast0]

+1 for deadlifts



I cringed right here.

not fun at all i tell you. went up for a rebound, came down on 2 different people's shoes and rolled both of my ankles at the same time. i knew the one was broken too. i couldnt even use crutches for like 3 weeks because of my sprained ankle. i was literally dragging myself around.

 

[blackdogdeek]

not fun at all i tell you. went up for a rebound, came down on 2 different people's shoes and rolled both of my ankles at the same time. i knew the one was broken too. i couldnt even use crutches for like 3 weeks because of my sprained ankle. i was literally dragging myself around.

Did they give you a wheelchair or something to use? How did you get around?

 

[purbeast0]

Did they give you a wheelchair or something to use? How did you get around?

dragged myself around on my ass, literally. worked from home for a little bit. i couldn't drive either because my right ankle was sprained. luckily i didn't have a manual car back then, i woulda been screwed for a while. i was living with my gf at the time so she could help with things.

 

[blackdogdeek]

dragged myself around on my ass, literally. worked from home for a little bit. i couldn't drive either because my right ankle was sprained. luckily i didn't have a manual car back then, i woulda been screwed for a while. i was living with my gf at the time so she could help with things.

Holy crap. I should remember not to take the little things for granted like the ability to walk.

 

[z1ggy]

dragged myself around on my ass, literally. worked from home for a little bit. i couldn't drive either because my right ankle was sprained. luckily i didn't have a manual car back then, i woulda been screwed for a while. i was living with my gf at the time so she could help with things.

Did g/f turn into wife orrrrrrrrrr?

Also: obligatory ATOT 'pics or shens' call out.

 

[purbeast0]

Did g/f turn into wife orrrrrrrrrr?

Also: obligatory ATOT 'pics or shens' call out.

lol yes she is wife now.

and pics of what? broken ankle?

 

[z1ggy]

lol yes she is wife now.

and pics of what? broken ankle?

Good good

Idk, haha, anything or everything. I was being sarcastic/teasing you. It was meant for the wife, because all the self hating basement dwellers of ATOT don't think some of us are capable of obtaining women...So they ask for "pics" as proof, like this isn't the internet and you could go grab any random pic.

 

[smackababy]

IIRC, purbeast has posted pics of him and an attractive women I assume is his sister, because internet.

 

[purbeast0]

IIRC, purbeast has posted pics of him and an attractive women I assume is his sister, because internet.

not my sister.

it was the pretend girlfriend.

 

[smackababy]

not my sister.

it was the pretend girlfriend.

I knew it had to be either sister or someone paid to be in the picture, because obviously, internet.

 

[CPA]

Deadlifts used be the contributing factor to my back issues. In fact, it was only about a year and a half ago that I threw my back out at 185. Then I read Starting Strength and watched a ton of videos to relearn the deadlift. Slowly, but surely, I'm at 255 x 5 with no back issues. And like you, I feel stronger in the core.

Still have neck issues but that's a different story

 

[Riparian]

I've been thinking about purchasing an inversion table too as I believe I caused some of my discs to bulge from a rounded back while squatting in the past. Was it truly that helpful for back pain relief? Do you continuously use it?

 

[Blackjack200]

Nice, I posted a video here of me doing 405x5 a while back, trying to get back to that... and beyond.

In fact, that's where I'm going now.

 

[purbeast0]

I've been thinking about purchasing an inversion table too as I believe I caused some of my discs to bulge from a rounded back while squatting in the past. Was it truly that helpful for back pain relief? Do you continuously use it?

after using it like 2-3 times a day for 3-5 minutes at a time, my back felt better after that week than it had in years. i can't stress how much it helped my back issues and the relief it brings you.

i don't use it regularly at all. but if i tweak it and have that "disc" pain, then i'll use it again. like when i helped my brother move in december we lifted a bunch of heavy shit ourselves, and that night, i was having the normal disc pains. it was irritating me all week so i used it 2x a day for 3-5 minutes at a time. that weekend it was fine again.

 

[Phanuel]

Clearly time for me to try an inversion table as well.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Clearly time for me to try an inversion table as well.

Srsly they're totally tits.

 

[Riparian]

after using it like 2-3 times a day for 3-5 minutes at a time, my back felt better after that week than it had in years. i can't stress how much it helped my back issues and the relief it brings you.

i don't use it regularly at all. but if i tweak it and have that "disc" pain, then i'll use it again. like when i helped my brother move in december we lifted a bunch of heavy shit ourselves, and that night, i was having the normal disc pains. it was irritating me all week so i used it 2x a day for 3-5 minutes at a time. that weekend it was fine again.

And now I am officially sold. I was pretty on the fence about it since I couldn't find any scientific claims as to its success as a treatment, yet people's personal reviews always seemed pretty positive. Thanks for the response.

 

[SP33Demon]

Interesting story for you regarding deads.

I usually go Sumo for deadlifting b/c of back issues, and was encouraged to recently try conventional because you can get bigger lifts for powerlifting - this is due to the bar spending less time in the acceleration phase vs sumo. On the day of the lift, my lower back was weak from extensions and I wasn't at full strength. I was trying to work up to a max and ended up pulling my lower back on a measly 315. My form was perfect according to my coach, just a freak accident. The bottom line is that if you're going to switch styles, be very careful because your body isn't going to be used to it. For example, sumo hits more of the vastus lateralis/medialis vs hammies for conventional. Also, conventional deadlifts will put 8% more shearing force on your L4/L5 (Cholecki et al, 1991) vs sumo so if you have a history of lower back problems, then it may not be worth the risk unless you're intent on competing. I'm going to stick with sumo because my strength is bench press, not legs, but I can hold my own in squats/deads at a meet. Oh, and I use an inversion table about 3X a week as well to get that CSF flowing and decompress those discs.

 

[classy]

I am legit 550+ dead lifter and in over 25 years in truth it has not made one drop of difference in my core strength at all. I think in the last 10 years a lot of people have picked up a lot lingo, weight lifting bs I call it. I have made this statement here before, a person does not need to dead lift at all to have a strong core. You need to bench and squat, but dead lifting I don't think is necessary. And I know I know all the talk and most of those people couldn't dead lift 500 if their life depended on it. I still enjoy dead lifting to by the way.

And truth be told one the best core exercises most dudes don't do anymore are weighted dips. Truly lost exercise most people very rarely do.

 

[purbeast0]

I am legit 550+ dead lifter and in over 25 years in truth it has not made one drop of difference in my core strength at all. I think in the last 10 years a lot of people have picked up a lot lingo, weight lifting bs I call it. I have made this statement here before, a person does not need to dead lift at all to have a strong core. You need to bench and squat, but dead lifting I don't think is necessary. And I know I know all the talk and most of those people couldn't dead lift 500 if their life depended on it. I still enjoy dead lifting to by the way.

And truth be told one the best core exercises most dudes don't do anymore are weighted dips. Truly lost exercise most people very rarely do.

no one said you HAVE to do deadlifts to have a strong core. and you ever think that the fact you could deadlift 550+ already meant you had a strong core by that point?

 

[classy]

no one said you HAVE to do deadlifts to have a strong core. and you ever think that the fact you could deadlift 550+ already meant you had a strong core by that point?

My point is that you can develop a strong back without deadlifts. I deadlift maybe once every 4-6 weeks. I do several sets at lower weight of 275 or less for reps, then one rep 315, 365, 405, 465, then 500 even. My lower back can't take the pounding from going heavy with both squats and deads and squatting is just a better overall power movement. So I squat regualrly. Lower back soreness is not an indication per say of a weak back, because if that was the truth, my lower back should never hurt, but it does.