High rep Deadlift sets

[RenegadeRows]

Good for overall hypertrophy?

I know deads are usually looked at as being a power exercise.

How would they fare in hypertrophy?

The 10-12 rep sets I've been doing lately have my traps and ass burning the next day. lol

They are also a killer edurance/cardiovascular exercise.

[MoTiV]

Never tried over 6-8 anymore and the backpumps are too much for me and interfere with my other exercises and workouts even while supplementing with taurine.

I have seen others in my gym do more reps though so I'm sure its good for something.

[nemo]

I like to do 12-20 reps, gh boost is awesome, and yes it's like a cardio workout!!

[Manimalia]

As of late, I do mine in a 4x12,10,8,6 rep scheme. I look at it as being more powerful than say, a 4x4 routine. Because I am moving MORE weight in the same time, which is more work, which is more power. Do it the way you want. Just be sure you're adding weight, and that you strain on the last set, and you can't go wrong.

[futurepilot]

The 10-12 rep sets I've been doing lately have my traps and ass burning the next day. lol

I wouldnt really call that high reps, to me thats more the upper end of normal. 15-30+ reps would be more my definition of high.

I usually do my first couple sets of deads to 10-12. I like it that way. Im not a competitive powerlifter, so anything less than 5-6 in deads is just asking for injury, in my opinion.

[Joshua86]

Deadlifts are like Squats in that as long as you're giving a lot of effort, with good form, you almost can't go wrong (my opinion). Going heavy for fewer reps, or lighter for more reps, you're sure to see results. Now if you're wanting specific results, such as maximum power for instance, you'll obviously want to work with heavier weights. I think you need to find what works best for you. For instance, I usually don't like doing more than 12 reps for any set of deadlifts. So If I'm doing three sets, I might do 12, 10, 8, or even 10, 8, 6, or if I'm going for maximum power, I'll load on the weight and do even less reps. And if I'm doing more sets, I adjust the reps accordingly, but like I said, I don't like to go over 12 reps on my working sets.

As of right now I'm doing deadlifts at the end of my back routine (I've done deadlifts at the beginning before, just to let you know), doing three sets of 10, 8, 6. I'm more interested in asthetics rather than pure strength, but deadlifts are just so damned good to not have them in your routine somewhere. They do wonders for my squats, and overall strength for that matter.

Always concentrate on good form and give it all you've got!

[Resolve]

Deads are great for hypertrophy. Back, traps, shoulders, forearms, hammies, quads - they work it all.

3 or 4 sets of 15-20 is a beautiful thing

[orx]

i agree

[orx]

Hang from a bar to decompress spine

[armygrunt82]

Progressive overload is considered the most important principle behind hypertrophy, so increasing the weight, reps, and sets will all have a positive impact on growth. It is generally believed that with more than 15 repetitions per set, the weight will be too light to stimulate growth. I am on a hypertrophy program myself right now with deadlift shrugs included in my "B" workout.
There is 3 different set/rep ranges that this workout uses 5x5, 4x10, and 3x15. If you are able to pick up the book "The new rules of lifting" by Lou Schuler it is a very informative, yet simple approach to lifting. He focuses on functional lifts, not aesthetic lifts, no biceps curls or four different exercises to work your delts. Take everything you read in here with a grain of salt, and educate yourself.

[Resolve]

Weight isn't necessarily too light with more than 15 reps - squats for 20, deads for 20, leg press for 20, there are plenty of movements where 15+ can be beneficial.

However, I do agree with the ideas that you're putting forward - changing up your set/rep scheme every workout (i.e. a technique called undulating periodization) is very effective and I use it. Try adding in an 10x3 (that's right, tens sets of 3 reps) day to your lifting sometime, it's great stuff.

Renegade doesn't need to be told that functional, compound movements trumps isolation for total hypertrophy, though. If you read his threads on bulking, he's got some great info in there.

[armygrunt82]

Roger, just putting in my 2 cents. I know renegade has probably forgotten more about lifting then I can ever hope to learn, think of my post as more of a PSA.

[Aggravated]

I would say sets of 20, not 10-12. This is a good idea though. Maybe it should be done at the end of the workout though as this would be sure to cause some fatigue. I like to go heavy every back day and I couldn't see this anywhere in my routine except for the final few sets.

[RenegadeRows]

Progressive overload is considered the most important principle behind hypertrophy, so increasing the weight, reps, and sets will all have a positive impact on growth. It is generally believed that with more than 15 repetitions per set, the weight will be too light to stimulate growth. I am on a hypertrophy program myself right now with deadlift shrugs included in my "B" workout.
There is 3 different set/rep ranges that this workout uses 5x5, 4x10, and 3x15. If you are able to pick up the book "The new rules of lifting" by Lou Schuler it is a very informative, yet simple approach to lifting. He focuses on functional lifts, not aesthetic lifts, no biceps curls or four different exercises to work your delts. Take everything you read in here with a grain of salt, and educate yourself.

good info! ill have to check out that book

[diezel]

One thing you might run into with high rep deads is your cardiovascular system might tire out before the actual muscles that you're using will.

[surive123]

damn, 10-12. that is a lot

and 20 reps with deads??

I may give that a try

[armygrunt82]

What I have noticed in myself and people I have trained with in the past with high-rep anything is that form usually pays a high price. IMO if you are not using proper form then you shouldn't be lifting that amount of weight. Improper form is especially pronounced in lifts like squats, and deads where it requires a good deal of coordination to properly execute the lift. I would suggest of you are going to do high-rep deads to video tape yourself from the side and watch your form to see how much it suffers. Some fitness professionals don't even like to use the words "rep" and "deadlift" in the same sentence because they say each rep is actually and individual lift since you should properly reset yourself after every "rep"

Just my $.02

[msucurt]

Ive never gone over 6 reps. I load the dead bar up and heavy as possible....to the point of supposed to get 4 reps, but i always manage with great form to bang out 6 reps. Im talking 100% TOTAL EFFORT to the point of panting and nearly blacking out when done with your set. Its the only way IMO, and my back has sprouted like a weed the last 4 or so months.

I think anything from 6-10 reps will produce hypertrophy. Hell, as long as your moving heavy weight. I remember one time i was doing deads and someone was standing behind me just watching and when i got through with my set, they said this

"geez, you should have seen the veins coming out of your calves when you were doing that"...

so, yes, deads are a great overall exercise

[fightbackhxc]

high reps are good in deads. i would not do them often tho, maybe as a shock lift?

[drmbowen]

I recommend some light cardio and free form warm up, followed by a warm of set of 8-10 reps with about 1/4 of working set weight, and then one working super-set of 20-25 reps. Several sets of high (15-20) reps is too much and also form will break down. And, if you're using the same weight for all sets, then you're skimping on tonnage and and this is more argument for one heavy set. Same principle as one super set of 20-25 for squats.