Maximizing Deadlift Strength

So my training is on and off and at times it does get boring. Now don't get me wrong, but I love to train! What warm blooded American doesn't? Don't answer that, but yes it does get boring at times. Which is why they say variety is the spice of life. So what better way to take advantage then to add some unique lifts that I rarely see! They may not be totally unique, but I can guarantee you, nobody else really does them. 

So I included a couple of exercises which I have seen on the net or on various articles. I must say, I love them! They give a whole new fresh spin to the workouts since incorporating them. I am a big believer in building a strong lower body since most of the gym people you see have giant upper bodies and small legs. When I mean small, I mean my forearms are bigger then their legs with no doubt at all. These exercises focus primarily on lower body along with a couple of upper body.

First exercise I like to do in my leg routine is front squats. You do see many performing back squats, but many shun front squats due to the stability requirements. What I like about them is that they force your torso to remain upright rather than a curvature that you get on back squats. If performing without a belt, your core will definitely feel a burn. If your core is weak, you will have a hard time maintain stability as you descend in the squat. Which is another great exercise for core work. Killing two birds with one stone! So for me, that is a bonus since I hate ab exercises.

My next exercise that I almost do every leg day is side leg press or side hack squats. Odd? Yes! But they do work! The movement involves turning to your side when at a leg press or hack squat machine. I prefer hack squat machine as I get more stability out of the movement with the two pads that go over your shoulder. You start by laying on your side on a hack squat machine and keep one leg on the platform while you put your leg closes to the pad out behind you. Much like performing a lunge, you descend down onto one leg while your other leg remains behind you. The exercise will force each limb to work harder as it will not have the support of your other leg. This is good for bringing up lagging sides if you have any. This is what they call unilateral training which is another excellent tool I will be discussing later on.

Last go to exercise is reverse shoulder press on the machines. I like this one because I tend to have dominant front shoulders and lagging rear delts. So in this movement, I can recruit them to a certain extent rather then have my front delts take the whole load. This can also be done using a barbell, but I feel safer using a machine. If you have weak rear delts or have trouble bringing the barbell behind your neck, I highly suggest using a machine for safety. These are not totally unique like I mentioned, but one rarely comes across a person who performs these.

I don't always train hard, but when I do, it is to failure!

When Should I Do Deadlifts? Back Or Leg Day?

To be honest, it can vary on what your training goals are. Deadlifts has so many uses and so much variety can be introduce with the exercise. Many people ask whether to do them on back or leg day. Can you do them on both days? This depends largely on your training level and your ability to recuperate. Beginners will suffice from doing deadlifts one time a week as it will suck a lot out of you and will require the beginning trainer more rest then the advanced.

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More advanced trainers can benefit from deadlifting on both days as they have conditioned their body more efficiently from years of training with weights compared to the beginner. Now comes the question, what is best muscle group to use them with? Both are good, but I have found using deadlifts on only either back day or leg day and alternating each week. So if you perform deadlifts on back day, then next training session when you do legs, you include them. At least a 1 week in between should be good.

Since deadlifts do target the whole area of the body, you can specifically target the upper back portion by using rack deadlifts. Essentially you are taking the legs out of the movement and focusing more on pulling with your upper back. In this exercise you can add more weight than normal as you are starting from the middle portion of the exercise where you would be strongest compared to pulling off the floor. This is good to help build up your strength in this part of the movement when you perform it from the floor. Are they a true substitute for regular deads? No, but they can be supplemental to them.

As mentioned above, you use rack deadlifts on back day and use regular deadlifts from the floor on leg day if you prefer to do them twice a week or prefer to alternate them. As before, it depends on your training level.