Tip: The Deadlift Isn't Enough Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip The Deadlift Isn t Enough Yes the deadlift is awesome but it' s not so great for hypertrophy Here' s why plus a better option for size gains by Paul Carter August 16, 2016October 22, 2021 Tags Deadlift, Tips, Training The Deadlift Not Great For Building Mass Sure, it's obviously a great movement to build and demonstrate overall strength. And before you get "triggered" and start throwing a hissy fit, I didn't say you can't build mass with the deadlift. Clearly you can. But the deadlift alone isn't a great mass-building movement. The deadlift, performed correctly, starts with a push off the floor by the legs and is followed by the "pull" portion once the bar gets above the knee. You aren't really pulling the weight off the floor unless you're doing a stiff-legged deadlift, or unless you're deadlifting improperly. Most of the musculature doing the work in the deadlift is in an isometric/static position. But the movements that offer loading with a significant deal of stretch in the eccentric portion offer a greater potential for growth. Think incline dumbbell curls, pullovers, sissy squats, deficit stiff-legged deadlifts, chins, dips, etc. The deadlift starts from the floor so there's no eccentric (negative) when done in competition style. No eccentric component, little growth. Here's what eccentric specialist Jonathan Mike, PhD, said about eccentric loading and the deadlift: "There's very little eccentric loading and activity, and very little TUT (time under tension) especially if you count the time the muscles are actually producing a lot of force, not the time that the lift lasts." Make note of his comment regarding TUT because it's important. Even if you perform a deadlift where it takes 5 seconds to complete the concentric or lifting portion, there are so many muscles involved that the TUT is dispersed very broadly, so much so that none of them get a ton of direct stimulation. Add in the fact that the only significant joint movement comes from a slight amount of hip extension (and even less knee extension, proportionally speaking) and it amounts to several drawbacks that don't put it on par with other big movements from a mass building perspective. Lastly, the deadlift seems to take more than it gives back. Heavy deadlifts have a penchant for wrecking systemic recovery while not adding a whole lot in terms of muscle building. Does this mean you should exclude the deadlift from your mass-building arsenal? Not at all. In fact, I usually include deadlifting as a part of mass building programs because it's a tremendous tool for building overall strength. A Better Option for Size If you want a deadlift variation that offers more bang for its buck in terms of building pure posterior chain mass, this is a superior option: Stiff-Legged Deficit Deadlift You can place a big emphasis on both the stretch portion and eccentric portion of the movement, and that means big-time posterior chain growth. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip Build Overhead Power With This Exercise This movement teaches your body to turn on all available motor units and much more. Check it out. Tips, Training Joel Seedman, PhD August 10 Training Pump Down the Volume Do less to build more muscle? The pros and cons of low volume training. Bodybuilding, Training Christian Thibaudeau January 1 Training Tip The New Ab Shredder Workout This has been a favorite of figure competitors for years now. Here's a couple new ways to do it. Abs, Fat Loss Training, Tips, Training Christian Thibaudeau January 1 Training Heal that Hunchback Many lifters develop a head-forward, kyphotic posture. Add in computers and gaming and this can lead to trouble. Here’s how to fix it. Bodybuilding, Mobility, Training Mike Robertson December 5