Deadlifts..For Back? Or for Legs?

[Roger]

i do SLDL with a kinda wide stance for hamstrings

[1quick1]

Originally Posted by Malley

I used to dead on back day all the time, but by the time my leg day came around I realized my lower back along with my hammies were much to tired to squat. So on leg day they went.

Oh good post P.

Same thing here.

[strawser9]

don't forget about traps, lats, rhomboids...etc...

it isn't just the erector spinae, its the entire back! the heavier you get, the harder they all get hit.

yes, your quads and hams get hit hard---but, thats why I do teh deads on wednesday(every other) and back squats on saturday(the weeks I don't do deads................speaking about when I'm healthy that is...)

[1quick1]

Definitely leg day.

[EricT]

Good post. Really something that needs to be repeated over and over. Also, it may lead people to think about what kind of support work helps the most with lower back. If you think about isometric contractions then that should lead you to strength endurance. Basically you are talking stability.

I don't agree with all this talk about one row being superior or some rows being bad. That sounds like dogma. while I do agree that the "iso-lateral-doohickemeter-row-machine should be used only to lay your towel on, the basic row technique is really the same for all rows. And a pulley cable is not really anything like the "machines" that most people use. It is not forcing you into a very fixed plane of motion and it allows you to work on row technique without the encumberance of lower back fatigue, etc. No offense, but sometimes there is an overreaction to things to where even the potentially useful things get painted as bad.

It's kind of like a stabilty ball. Competely overhyped and over-marketed in the fitness injury. But they are not "useless". That's just a backlash from the over-reaction.

It you perform it correctly then any row can be very useful. Just because lots of people perform an exercise incorrectly doesn't make it stupid. Cables can allow you to row at different angles and planes. And they allow you to target and concentrate on the upper back which is what rows are for. And more variety can mean continued progression rather than continually struggling, though whatever means, with just a couple variations via free weights.

I use:

Barbell rows (both from the floor and not from the floor)
Dumbell rows
DB rows from bench (supported rows)
Low pulley cable rows
Hi/Low pulley cable rows
Low/Hi pulley cable rows
Face Pulls (I consider these a sort of row variation)
One arm pulley rows

Admittedly I do a lot of volume for back because that works better for me. And I usually have a "heavy" and a "light" row but it all depends.

Also, the right pulley machine will allow you to do standing rows which can be used to train core (counter rotation).

And for my part, MOST don't know how to row properly, let alone deadlift. It's no suprise to me about the deadlifting but all the funny little row variations are just crazy.

[_Wolf_]

nice post, E

[strawser9]

btw...If any of you have ever done REAL hack squats, the two lifts (deadlifts and hack squats) are almost identical.

the difference? the load is dominant lower back/hamstrings for deadlifts, and quads/traps/hammys for hacks (don't believe me about the traps? go do them and you'll see lol)