I've been doing a lot of deadlifts over these last three or four months....perhaps too many. I'm concerned that after a session of heavy deadlifts (I don't do them for high reps) I don't feel any real fatigue/soreness in the hamstrings and glutes. It makes me wonder about how I'm doing them.
Now, I'm a novice. But, I've had two knowledgable people check my form and they both agreed that I'm doing them correctly. One person was a very experienced professional trainer. The other was my sister-in-law who graduated a few years ago with a degree in kinesiology and now works in the field. So, it would seem that I'm doing them correctly.
Additionally, I've been doing activation exercise to get the hams and glutes firing. I warm up with light weights and I'm sure to get that squeeze in the glutes.
I also have to say, that in general I don't feel that muscle fatigue the following day like a I used to with any exercise. I might feel a bit week, but not sore. For instance, today I did maximal upperbody lifts; bench (machine), and pull ups, and higher reps for inverted rows, and face pulls. I did 6 sets on the heavy stuff, and 5 on the rows, three on the face pulls. I don't feel fatigued. And tommorrow I probably won't be sore.
Should I be concerned? My deadlift numbers have went up tremendously during this period of time (not hard to do when you're a newbie).
Are you doing conventional deadlifts with a barbell & plates?
I thought I read in another thread that you were using some low pulley arrangement to simulate the deadlift motion. And I think you also mentioned somewhere else that you were having some low-back pain when doing the deadlifts.
It might be helpful to know exactly what movement you are doing.
I don't have access to a barbell and plates. I'm using a low pulley weight system. I vary the depth, grip, stance, etc. I perform them in the same fashion as a stiff legged barbell deadlift. Obviously, they aren't exactly the same. But, I'm able to get directly over the pulley, so it isn't as though I'm pulling it up at an angle.
I did feel a little bit of pain (maybe discomfort is a better word) in my back this Monday. That was the first time that I'd ever noticed that. So, I'm taking it easy this week on that particular exercise. But, I have to say that I've felt completely fine since then. I don't feel any discomfort at all. I honestly think that that had more to do with something from work that day. I spent a good bit of time assembling something that had me spending lots of time crouched over in a low squat position, or on hands and knees leaning over. Since, I've felt nothing sense then I think this was the culprit.
I'm thinkin' that if you say "deadlift" - people picture a conventional deadlift not a stiff-legged deadlift.
So if you are really doing a SLDL using a pulley not a bar - that information might get you better feedback.
I'm assuming your pulley arrangement has a terminal pulley that allows you to lift essentially vertically? (ignore the dots)
.....................|
.....................|
_____________O
rather than a low-row cable pulley that just runs horizontally and you'd be pulling on an angle.
I'm assuming your pulley arrangement has a terminal pulley that allows you to lift essentially vertically? (ignore the dots)
.....................|
.....................|
_____________O
rather than a low-row cable pulley that just runs horizontally and you'd be pulling on an angle.
Thats correct. I'm able to get well overtop of the pulley and pull it up vertically. Now, I know its not perfect. Up at the top when locking out the natural motion introduces some degree of angle to the cable. That can't be avoided. So, at the top of the exercise the weight is pulling down and slightly forward where a true deadlift wouldn't pull forward. It's minor, but its there.
I had to really think about what you said about SLDL v.s. conventional. After thinking about it I'm not 100% sure what form I'm using. But it seems closer to a SLDL than anything else.
When I grab the bar I get down low with my knees bent but not nearly as bent as in a squat. I raise my hips and straighten my legs prior to lifting....but there is still significant bend at the knee, maybe 20 degrees? When lifting the motion comes first from the hips and then the knees straighten out at the top. Shoulders back, straight spine, internal pressure from breathing are all there too. Does this help?
While I'm doing the exercise I feel like I'm exerting everything; my hands, feet, and my entire legs from my hams/glutes, and quads, upper shoulders, etc. But, most of the time I feel like I'm just barely holding on with my hands, and using my core to maintain the form.
It's afterwards that I don't feel anything in my glutes and hams. I feel it during the exercise, just not afterwards. Instead I feel kind of an all over fatigue, but not a particular muscle fatigue. Does that matter? This may just be that my body is getting used to this and I'm not getting sore like I used to.
For Instance, I don't feel sore at all today in my upper body despite doing a bunch of max effort upper body yesterday. So, the more that I think about it this may have nothing to do with deadlifts and everything to do with my body recovering well.
I'll still feel sore the next day if I do high rep exercises, but I never do deads for high reps, so perhaps that is part of why I wondered about this.
You've all been very polite to answer my questions.
While I'm doing the exercise I feel like I'm exerting everything; my hands, feet, and my entire legs from my hams/glutes, and quads, upper shoulders, etc. But, most of the time I feel like I'm just barely holding on with my hands, and using my core to maintain the form.
It's afterwards that I don't feel anything in my glutes and hams. I feel it during the exercise, just not afterwards. Instead I feel kind of an all over fatigue, but not a particular muscle fatigue. Does that matter? This may just be that my body is getting used to this and I'm not getting sore like I used to.
For Instance, I don't feel sore at all today in my upper body despite doing a bunch of max effort upper body yesterday. So, the more that I think about it this may have nothing to do with deadlifts and everything to do with my body recovering well.
I'll still feel sore the next day if I do high rep exercises, but I never do deads for high reps, so perhaps that is part of why I wondered about this.
You've all been very polite to answer my questions.
Gotcha. The high vs low rep this is probably the reason for no soreness. Soreness is not really an indicator that you're hitting the muscle properly, so you could be doing all right.
Are you driving with the glutes or are you "squatting the weight up"? If you can't get the butt back (hip extension), then you are bending at the knees too much and squatting it up. Can you post a video?
I understand what you mean. I don't think that's it. I'm definitely not squatting it. It's far more hip dominant. The knees aren't moving much at all other than to lock it out. I try to make the glutes the primary driver on every rep.
Gotcha. The high vs low rep this is probably the reason for no soreness. Soreness is not really an indicator that you're hitting the muscle properly, so you could be doing all right.
Exactly. Low volume training with near-maximal weights tends to produce central nervous system (CNS) fatigue (and subsequent adaptation -- hence the big strength gains), but doesn't lead to muscle soreness the way medium-to-high-volume training with moderate weights does. That is why you feel kind of weak and gassed after heavy deadlifts, without experiencing the same soreness that you would after a higher-rep workout.
i would stop doing them until you have access to a barbell.
start doing things like pullthroughs with the pulley instead.
I'm actually going to give them a rest for a while and concentrate more on pull throughs and spend some more time doing activation work. But, it may be quite a while until I can afford to buy a barbell set. I have a new baby that will be born in two months and we just bought a new car so that we can fit all the kids in one vehicle. Money, is too tight right now to spend it on anything that isn't a necessity.
Do you really think that a pulley pull (do you like that?) is dangerous? Why? Is it the range of motion? What about people who do other types of pulling, like car lifts, and other hinged objects?
So, in the meantime, until I get the $ together you think I should stop altogether?
Do you really think that a pulley pull (do you like that?) is dangerous? Why? Is it the range of motion? What about people who do other types of pulling, like car lifts, and other hinged objects?
So, in the meantime, until I get the $ together you think I should stop altogether?
i don't know if it's dangerous, but i wouldn't do it b/c i have never heard of anyone doing it, so i wouldn't want to risk it.
Plus, if you're not feeling it in the hamstrings or glutes, either your form is jacked, or the exercise is not serving the same purpose of a deadlift. So, you shouldn't compare apples and oranges.
I'm just saying you can get more bang for your buck by doing exercises that work, or improve the deadlift. When you can scrape enough money to buy a set, you'll be able to progress quickly.
You shouldn't stop working out. But you should do things that are safe, with the equipment you have.
__________________ True Protein 5% off discount code: ZHS099 www.trueprotein.com
I've done cable deadlifts, but mainly for mobility and with fairly light weight (about 80-110 pounds). So I wouldn't say they're dangerous, but they don't engage the entire body the way a true deadlift does.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
Instead I feel kind of an all over fatigue, but not a particular muscle fatigue. Does that matter? This may just be that my body is getting used to this and I'm not getting sore like I used to.
For Instance, I don't feel sore at all today in my upper body despite doing a bunch of max effort upper body yesterday. So, the more that I think about it this may have nothing to do with deadlifts and everything to do with my body recovering well.
I'll still feel sore the next day if I do high rep exercises, but I never do deads for high reps, so perhaps that is part of why I wondered about this.
How long have you been doing the low rep routine? I'm always sore when I start lifting in a 'new' rep range. And I'll continue to get sore for a little while. After a few weeks though, it starts to go away. I still make gains on the lift, so I know I'm progressing, but I don't notice the soreness as much. If you're really looking for that feeling, perhaps you should switch rep ranges for a while. Though, it might not help with strength gains.
The overall fatigue sounds exactly like what should be happening after a max set of deadlifts. Just about everything in your body is working in unison to complete the lift. It's going to tire you out.
I've been doing low reps for deadlifts for 4 or 5 months. My periodization has mostly been upping the weight. I honestly don't recall if I was sore at the beginning. I started out with such a light weight to simply be sure that I was getting the movement that I really wasn't putting too much strain on the body. I slowly increased the weights to where I am now. I can only lift 230lbs...because thats where I run out of weight.
This is a week for me to skip deads. I'll include them back in next week. But, I'll only be doing them once per week. I'm doing more pull throughs now. My weight on those has gone up significantly.
I do now worry that I don't have the flexibility in the hips that I thought I did. I'm really going to focus on hip mobility in the coming weeks. Any pointers would be appreciated! I'm not quite sure what to do to improve this.
Deadlifts...not feeling it in my hams and glutes!
Linear Mode
