Barbell Do deadlifts have to be heavy to be effective?

[Opiaswing]

So I can roughly pull 185kg / 400lb on the regular for a single, getting 420lb with straps. I have been doing some heavy low rep deadlifts but have found my hips become tight and I overall don't feel as good, limber, etc as when I deadlift light for higher reps, i.e. 240-280lb for higher rep sets. These higher rep sets get my heart, lungs and everything else working hard.

My question is, aside from the obvious max strength benefits and assuming form remains tight throughout (if I can't, I'll stop) are lighter higher rep deadlifts still effective?

In terms of effectiveness, this is for someone very much mostly interested in gaining overall strength, fitness and athleticism - longevity in a nutshell. I want to feel good and perform well.

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

If you're looking at building max strength, then your deadlifts need to be heavy some of the time. If you're lifting heavy all the time, you're going to burn out and struggle to recover between sessions. If you never lift heavy, you'll never get stronger. It's a question of balance.

Both the Daily Dose Deadlift plan and 'Vodka and Pickles' plan can give you an idea of how frequently you might want to go 'heavy'.

If you're after the cardiovascular benefits of high reps, I'd say swing a kettlebell instead. The balanced, longevity-oriented approach would appear to be swing kettlebells frequently and deadlift on occasion.

 

[Tony Gracia]

Based on your numbers 315lbs would be a solid weight to use for a high portion of your training (it is ~78% of your non-strapped max). I would say a range of weights from 275 lbs (just under 70% of your max) up to 335 lbs (about 84% of your max) would be where the bulk of your training should be.

Efforts over 90% (in your case ~365 lbs) are often helpful to sprinkle in, and at the same time rarely should they comprise more than 5-10% of your overall number of lifts during a given period / cycle of training.

Ditto to the post above about swings being a preferable choice to get all the "what the heck" benefits you are looking for.

 

[North Coast Miller]

Deadlift with barbell is made for heavy loads. You can use lighter weight with band assist to keep the bar under control, but is better to use other hinge movements that are a better fit for lighter load/higher rep volume.

Sandbag loaded Good Mornings have become my favorite for this.

 

[Steve W.]

Based on your numbers 315lbs would be a solid weight to use for a high portion of your training (it is ~78% of your non-strapped max). I would say a range of weights from 275 lbs (just under 70% of your max) up to 335 lbs (about 84% of your max) would be where the bulk of your training should be.

Efforts over 90% (in your case ~365 lbs) are often helpful to sprinkle in, and at the same time rarely should they comprise more than 5-10% of your overall number of lifts during a given period / cycle of training.

Ditto to the post above about swings being a preferable choice to get all the "what the heck" benefits you are looking for.

+1 to working within this range, give or take a little depending on frequency and volume.

One additional data point, that might or might not be relevant to your goals:
I went through a pretty extended period where I did no heavy DLs at all. However, I did a lot of one-arm suitcase style DL, and lots of KB swings and snatches.

My personal best sumo DL was 425lbs, and trap bar DL was 465lbs. My suitcase DLs were never heavier than 220lbs.

One day, I decided to test out my trap bar DL to see where it stood. I ramped up to a comfortably challenging 445lbs, so I had maintained my DL very well without any heavy DLs.

For a lighter DL variation, I like the suitcase DL because it forces you to get really tight since you are loading one side heavily, and therefore it has a lot of carryover to heavier bilateral DLs. In a way, it's not a lighter DL as much as half of a heavy DL, if that makes any sense. Overall, I definitely felt less beat up than I did when when I was pushing hard on heavy sumo or trap bar DLs (which may have been more a reflection of my programming that the drills themselves).

My set up was to either use a regular bar with straps, or a cambered bar and stand on a stack of 2'x2' squares of plywood to maintain a standard DL range of motion. The cambered bar is more stable and less of a grip challenge since the weight hangs below the gripping area (similar to a farmer's walk bar), but more awkward to set up with an equivalent range of motion to a regular DL.

 

[Anna C]

Based on your numbers 315lbs would be a solid weight to use for a high portion of your training (it is ~78% of your non-strapped max). I would say a range of weights from 275 lbs (just under 70% of your max) up to 335 lbs (about 84% of your max) would be where the bulk of your training should be.

Efforts over 90% (in your case ~365 lbs) are often helpful to sprinkle in, and at the same time rarely should they comprise more than 5-10% of your overall number of lifts during a given period / cycle of training.

Ditto to the post above about swings being a preferable choice to get all the "what the heck" benefits you are looking for.

+1 to all of this.... Except that I would tend to do the calculations based on 420 lb, not 400. Because it's about the deadlift, not the grip. Unless I'm missing something... ?

 

[Steve Freides]

@Opiaswing, I think your opinion of your own lifting program is solid. The only advice I'd add is to go heavier once in a while, e.g., consider 80-85% (320-340) once in a while, maybe once every week or two followed by a day off or easy. Consider, since you like lifting light, going 5% lighter on everything in the Daily Dose Deadlift program, so 70% most days and up to 87% once every 6 weeks.

The word "effective" is loaded - if doing what you've been doing is getting you the "effect" you want, I don't see a reason to change. It won't get you the biggest 1RM, for sure, and the other thing you'll have to watch out for is getting stale, hence the recommendation to go heavier some of the time.

JMO, YMMV.

-S-

 

[Pantrolyx]

The distinction between "heavy" and "too heavy" may be small, but decisive. If your are training according to Pavel's paradigm, you should always feel energetic after two sets of reasonably heavy deadlifting. As long as you are lifting with good form, and not pushing failure on your sets, then I don't think you are sacrificing the longevity.

Are you doing any mobility or flexibility work for your hips etc?

 

[Kozushi]

In terms of effectiveness, this is for someone very much mostly interested in gaining overall strength, fitness and athleticism - longevity in a nutshell. I want to feel good and perform well.

Overall athleticism? I think we're talking more about kettlebell swings here, no? Get your heartrate up too!