are deadlifts and squats important

[justaguyinadaze]

should i add them to my workout as upto now i havent?

[MuscleScience]

only if you want to get big and strong, if you want to look like and A&F model then just do situps and arm curls.

[Ark22]

Its crucial to do deadlift's and squats being a bodybuilder. You dont want to look awkward having a big upper frame and then you have chicken legs. Also you need to look at other members work out routines...

[KZRSOIZE]

Some pros say they have never deadlifted, due to some saying it makes your waist larger, but squats are a must....sorry....i know they are the 2 most feared exercises by most novice but they are neccessary...

[number twelve]

yes do them

[High-roller]

If I am right Squat work your stomach also? And dead-lift I love.

Also Try Clean Press it's a good over all body workout.

[damiongage]

squats, deads, and bench.....most important exercises. Everything else is optional.

[barondumonde]

squats, deads, and bench.....most important exercises. Everything else is optional.

I'd add in something to directly work out the boy's lats (Pullups), but damiongage is right that you may not even need that since you get something of a lat workout when you do deadlifts.

Yes: SQUATS ARE KING, and the BENCH PRESS and DEADLIFTS are the queens of bodybuilding.

[damiongage]

I'd add in something to directly work out the boy's lats (Pullups), but damiongage is right that you may not even need that since you get something of a lat workout when you do deadlifts.

Yes: SQUATS ARE KING, and the BENCH PRESS and DEADLIFTS are the queens of bodybuilding.

I agree....optimally you need to add a few supporting exercises...also throu***ng in some shoulder work is good as well....when I set up a lifting program for someone....I start with the main three and the go from there....without them....there is no routine.

[Beefkake31]

Yes they are crucial as people have pointed out, these 5 are a must in my opinion .....

SQUATS, DEADLIFTS, BENCH PRESS, ROWS, AND MILITARY PRESS

[RJstrong]

As a powerlifter my opinion is probably biased and I understand that. However, IMO it comes down to work out efficiency. I mean you can toy around with various machines and show some progress... but, if you want the most bang for your buck you really should incorporate squats and deadlifts. When you squat and pull you use so many different stabilizing muscles that ultimately will improve the entire look of your physique. It really is a summation of force, the tapping into the entire body, that makes squats and deadlifts such an important part of overall training. I feel strongly that you will reach your goals much faster by using these two basic compound movements.

[Braveheart04]

I also agree with the above, however, I find myself doing more stiff-leg dead-lifts than the traditional dead-lift. I really like the overall movement of the stiff-leg and I feel that its very concentrated on the hams, lower-back, lats, traps, and belly.

[Burden]

Yes they are crucial as people have pointed out, these 5 are a must in my opinion .....

SQUATS, DEADLIFTS, BENCH PRESS, ROWS, AND MILITARY PRESS

Military press mainly works shoulders right? i haven't done them yet but i want to incorporate them in my workouts, best to do them sitting or standing?

[sliceNdice]

Military press mainly works shoulders right? i haven't done them yet but i want to incorporate them in my workouts, best to do them sitting or standing?

Yes they target the shoulders. If you really want to concentrate on your shoulders without using your body english to help you move the weight do them sitting. Also, make sure your hands are a little more than shoulder width because as you go narrower it starts to switch to much of the focus to your triceps.

[chitownhoker]

from what i have heard, dead lifts are a must for a wide back

[ultra40]

Deadlifts are a MUST for a strong core. Same as squats. And a strong core is the building block for an overall massive build.

[LawMan018]

Since I have a bum right knee I've been going all out on Leg Press as of late and in about a month I've been able to add 3 45's to each side and a 25 for reps (making it a total of 7 45's on each side and 1 25). Along with Lunges, Leg Extensions, and Hamstring Curls my upper leg mass has shot up big time. So you really do not need to do Squats and Deadlifts to have big legs, but if you have healthy knees you might as well because those exercises will get you bigger legs twice as fast. And back to Leg Presses which I think are underrated... I see people adding weight after weight until the whole thing is full, however they go down like 4 inches then back up again. What has worked best for me is touching my knees to my chest every rep for a full extension.

[ultra40]

Great advice lawman, But you have to be careful with leg presses. Ask any Chiropractor and they will tell you that the most workout related injuries come from lower back pain due to the leg press. The weight put loads of pressure of the lower spine and can really F@ck you up if your not careful.

[abbot138]

Yeah me chiro friend just told me the same thing. I told him to fvck off. lol!

[Narkissos]

I don't think deadlifts are essential.

Squats; rows; chins; dips... Yes.

Deadlifts.. no.

I make no apologies either.

Rows trounce deadlifts for back width.

If i had to do just one exercise for back.. It would be the standard bent-over barbell row.

In fact.. I have gone through a training cycle using only rows.

Minimal pulldowns or the use of chins.

And my back got both thicker and wider.

Dead-lifts are a great lift... but I do not believe they're essential.

-CNS

[CanthookitLs6]

Here is a good article

HOW TO SQUAT FOR HUGE ARMS

By Stuart McRobert

To build muscle mass, you must increase strength. It?s that simple. You will never get huge arms, a monstrous back, a thick chest, or massive legs without lifting heavy weights. I know that probably doesn?t come as a revelation to anyone. But despite how obvious it seems, far too many people (and not just beginners) neglect power training and rarely make increasing the weights lifted in each successive workout a priority. You must get strong in the basic mass building exercises to bring about a significant increase in muscle size. One of the biggest mistakes typical bodybuilders make is when they implement specialization routines before they have the right to use them.

It constantly amazes me just how many neophytes (beginners), near neophytes, and other insufficiently developed bodybuilders plunge into single-body part specialization programs in the desperate attempt to build big arms. I don?t fault them for wanting big arms, but their approach to getting them is flawed. For the typical bodybuilder who is miles away from squatting 1 ? times their bodyweight for 20 reps (if you weigh 180 lbs., that means 20 reps with 270 lbs.), an arm specialization program is utterly inappropriate and useless.

The strength and development needed to squat well over 1 ? times bodyweight for 20 reps will build bigger arms faster then focusing on biceps and triceps training with isolation exercises. Even though squats are primarily a leg exercise, they stress and stimulate the entire body. But more importantly, if you are able to handle heavy weights in the squat, it logically follows that the rest of your body will undoubtedly be proportionally developed. It?s a rare case that you would be able to squat 1 ? times your bodyweight and not have a substantial amount of upper body muscle mass.

This is not to say that you don?t need to train arms, and squats alone will cause massive upper body growth. You will still work every body part, but you must focus on squats, deadlifts, and rows?the exercises that develop the legs, hips, and back. Once you master the power movements and are able to handle impressive poundages on those lifts, the strength and muscle you gain will translate into greater weights used in arm, shoulder and chest exercises.

In every gym I?ve ever visited or trained in, there were countless teenage boys blasting away on routines, dominated by arm exercises, in the attempt to build arms like their idols. In the ?70s, they wanted arms like Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the ?80s Robby Robinson was a favorite and currently Mr. Olympia, Ronnie Coleman, has set the standard everyone wants to achieve. Unfortunately the 3 aforementioned men as well as most other top bodybuilders have arm development far beyond the reach of the average (or even above average) weight trainer. But arm size can be increased. However, not in the way young trainers, with physiques that don?t even have the faintest resemblance to those of bodybuilders are attempting to make progress. Thin arms, connected to narrow shoulders, fixed to shallow chest, joined to frail backs and skinny legs, don?t need body part specialization programs. Let?s not have skewed priorities. Let?s not try to put icing on the cake before the cake has been baked.


Priorities
Trying to stimulate a substantial increase in size in a single body part, without first having the main structures of the body in pretty impressive condition, is to have turned bodybuilding upside-down, inside-out and back to front.

The typical bodybuilder simply isn?t going to get much meat on his arms, calves, shoulders, pectorals and neck unless he first builds a considerable amount of muscle around the thighs, hips and back. It simply isn?t possible?for the typical drug-free bodybuilder, that is?to add much if any size to the small areas unless the big areas are already becoming substantial.
There?s a knock-on (additive) effect from the efforts to add substantial size to the thigh, hip and back structure (closely followed by upper body pushing structure-pecs and delts). The smaller muscle groups, like the biceps, and triceps will progress in size (so long as you don?t totally neglect them) pretty much in proportion to the increase in size of the big areas. It?s not a case of getting big and strong thighs, hips, back and upper-body pushing structure with everything else staying put. Far from it. As the thigh, hip, back and upper-body pushing structure grows, so does everything else. Work hard on squats and deadlifts, in addition to bench presses, overhead presses and some type of row or pulldown. Then you can add a little isolation work?curls, calf raises and neck work (but not all of this at every workout).


The ?Driver?
The key point is that the ?engine? that drives the gains in the small areas is the progress being made in the big areas. If you take it easy on the thigh and back you will, generally speaking, have trouble making gains in the other exercises, no matter how hard you work the latter.

All this isn?t to say just do squats, deadlifts and upper back work, quite closely followed by some upper-body pressing work. While such a limited program will deliver good gains on these few exercises, with some knock-on effect throughout the body, it?s not a year after year program. Very abbreviated routines are great for getting gains moving, and for building a foundation for moderately expanded routines. They are fine to keep returning to on a regular basis. The other training isn?t necessary all in the same workout but spread over the week. This will maintain balance throughout the body and capitalize upon the progress made in the thigh, hip and back structure.

Just remember that the thigh, hip and back structure comes first and is the ?driver? (closely followed by the upper-body pushing structure) for the other exercises. These other exercises, though important in their own right, are passengers relative to the driving team.


Big Arms
To get big arms, get yourself on a basic program that focuses on the leg, hip and back structure without neglecting the arms themselves. As you improve your squatting ability, for reps and by say 100 pounds, your curling poundage should readily come up by 30 pounds or so if you work hard enough on your curls. This will add size to your biceps. While adding 100 pounds to your squat, you should be able to add 50-70 pounds to your bench press, for reps. This assumes you?ve put together a sound program and have worked hard on the bench. That will add size to your triceps.

If you?re desperate to add a couple of inches to your upper arms you?ll need to add 30 pounds or more over your body, unless your arms are way behind the rest of you. Don?t start thinking about 17? arms, or even 16? arms so long as your bodyweight is 130, 140, 150, 160, or even 170 pounds. Few people can get big arms without having a big body. You?re unlikely to be one of the exceptions.

15 sets of arm flexor exercises, and 15 sets of isolation tricep exercises?with a few squats, deadlifts and bench presses thrown in as an afterthought?will give you a great pump and attack the arms from ?all angles?. However, it won?t make your arms grow much, if at all, unless you?re already squatting and benching big poundages, or are drug-assisted or genetically gifted.

As your main structures come along in size and strength (thigh, hip and back structure, and the pressing structure), the directly involved smaller body parts are brought along in size too. How can you bench press or dip impressive poundages without adding a lot of size to your triceps? How can you deadlift the house and row big weights without having the arm flexors?not to mention the shoulders and upper back?to go with those lifts? How can you squat close to 2 times bodyweight, for plenty of reps, without having a lot of muscle all over your body?

The greater the development and strength of the main muscular structures of the body, the greater the size and strength potential of the small areas of the body. Think it through. Suppose you can only squat and deadlift with 200 pounds, and your arms measure about 13?. You?re unlikely to add any more than half an inch or so on them, no matter how much arm specialization you put in.

However, put some real effort into the squat and deadlift, together with the bench press and a few other major basic movements. Build up the poundages by 50% or more, to the point where you can squat 300 pounds for over 10 reps, and pack on 30 pounds of muscle. Then, unless you have an unusual arm structure, you should be able to get your arms to around 16?. If you want 17? arms, plan on having to squat more than a few reps with around 2 times bodyweight, and on adding many more pounds of muscle throughout your body (unless you have a better-than-average growth potential in your upper arms).

All of this arm development would have been achieved without a single concentration curl, without a single pushdown and without a single preacher curl. This lesson in priorities proves that the shortest distance between you and big arms is not a straight line to a curl bar."

[Amorphic]

I don't think deadlifts are essential.

Squats; rows; chins; dips... Yes.

Deadlifts.. no.

I make no apologies either.

Rows trounce deadlifts for back width.

If i had to do just one exercise for back.. It would be the standard bent-over barbell row.

In fact.. I have gone through a training cycle using only rows.

Minimal pulldowns or the use of chins.

And my back got both thicker and wider.

Dead-lifts are a great lift... but I do not believe they're essential.

-CNS

looks like im going to start ramping up my bent over rows. thanks nark.

[Johnny_Rotten]

I Do both rows & deadlifts. To be honest i love the feeling when i do deads. Also get the best pumps from it all over, i feel like my forearms are going to burst haha.

[Burden]

haha yeah johnny i can bearly turn my wrists after a few sets of deadlifting, my forearms just go crazy.

[CSAR]

Squats are not only crucial for lower body and core development, but also for the entire body. Personally, I agree with Nark regarding deadlifts. I sometimes use a modified deadlift/row motion using dumbells, but that's about it. Deadlifts do look pretty cool though, especially when Johnnie Jackson does them.

[wanabeMASSIVE!]

I heard it realeses more testosterone if you squat! So do em!

[xlxBigSexyxlx]

Bench Press
Squat
Deadlift
Hang Clean & Press
Military Press
Arnold Press
Rows
Pullups
Chinups
Dips
Lunges

[im here to learn]

unfortunately ive only recently started deadlifts, having made excuses for 4 years. four sessions in and the weight has shot up, however should i still be feeling core pain after each session.............

[abbot138]

I dont know about pain. Your lower back is definately highly involved in deadlifts so you should feel sore, but not painful. Make sure your form is good and you aren't rounding your lower back while you preform the lift.

[BgMc31]

Since I have a bum right knee I've been going all out on Leg Press as of late and in about a month I've been able to add 3 45's to each side and a 25 for reps (making it a total of 7 45's on each side and 1 25). Along with Lunges, Leg Extensions, and Hamstring Curls my upper leg mass has shot up big time. So you really do not need to do Squats and Deadlifts to have big legs, but if you have healthy knees you might as well because those exercises will get you bigger legs twice as fast. And back to Leg Presses which I think are underrated... I see people adding weight after weight until the whole thing is full, however they go down like 4 inches then back up again. What has worked best for me is touching my knees to my chest every rep for a full extension.

Wrong on the squats vs. leg presses lawman! I've had 13 knee surgeries and the man who performed my last 5 procedures (very famous ortho surgeon who does most surgeries for NFL players), said that leg presses are more detrimental than squats if the squats are done properly.

By the way, I'm not a bodybuilder, I'm a powerlifter/strongman and I've squatted close to 800 with after the surgeries. I don't do lunges either because they also put more shearing forces on the knee than squats.

[im here to learn]

thanks abbott, i have been very conscience of my form, is there such a thing as thinking bout it too much

it does feel like muscular pain as opposed to bad form, could i be pushing too much weight too soon, should i do more core work

[ralf_snake]

Remember kids, dead and squats improves natural test production.

[jbm]

Love squats and deadlifts!
Makes me feel strong!

[jimmyinkedup]

^^^ and im sure the guy who started this thread a year ago is following it with baited breath...

[Spyder360]

^^ thats funny stuff

[Nooomoto]

Ronnie deadlifts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvuCkPIqQQM

Yeeaahhh bbaabbbaayyyy LIGHT WEIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Narkissos]

There sure is a lot of "I heard' on this thread.

Doesn't anyone try things for themselves?

[Deltasaurus]

I dont deadlift and i dont really squat either i like other exercises to work thoes muscles

[Spyder360]

I personally can't squat squat - like 220lbs? pushing it? I got bad knees

I do love bent over rows with a barbell like Nark said. Just try to pinch a tennis ball with your shoulder blades and its money.
Some gyms have that machine - I can't name, that you do bent over rows, while you lay on it with your chest on the pad, but I find a barbell bent over row gives you more gain b/c you need to balance yourself.

Deads are fine but I do mine grecko style with a wide grip b/c I'm 6'4" and my bad knees.

[hankdiesel]

My physique was built on these two exercises. Also, bent over rows, presses, and dips. Build your foundation four a couple years with these exercises. Stay away from cables and all the cute stuff for a while.