As with any weightlifting routine, form and technique are critical to getting the most out of your workout. However, when you are in the gym, it is easy to become lost in the moment and forget about proper form. This is especially true when doing squats and deadlifts on the same day.
It can be tempting to do these two exercises back-to-back, but it is important to remember what you are doing and how you can make sure that your form improves with each rep.
According to fitness experts, squats and deadlifts should be part of your workouts regardless of your training goal. Besides building slabs of muscle, these compound exercises can develop a person’s incredible strength.
Upon considering these workouts, another significant benefit you will encounter is burning fat and improving fitness. If you are an athlete or a sports person, you can consider squats and deadlifts to improve your athleticism and sports performance, respectively.
However, many people ask: is it suitable and possible to do squats and deadlifts on the same day? The answer is a bit complicated, but here is a more in-depth look at whether you should do squats and deadlifts on the same day.
What Is a Deadlift?
In the past, people defined a deadlift as an effective strength exercise for building muscles. Nevertheless, according to fitness professional Kristina Jennings, a deadlift is a lower-body strength exercise that involves picking up weight off the ground and moving in a standing position before lowering the weight down while keeping a neutral spine.
What Are Squats?
Squats are one of the most effective exercises for developing athletic leg strength. For people who are looking to improve their ability to jump higher or run faster, squats are a vital component. If you’re new to the world of weight training, you might be surprised to learn that most gym-based classes do not include any squatting exercises.
To perform a squat, you stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointed out about 45 degrees. With your hands on your hips, you lower your body by bending your knees until your thighs are almost parallel to the ground. Pause briefly at the bottom, then use your hips to return to the starting position.
If you are squatting the right way, your hip and knee joints flex; conversely, the knee and hip joints extend, and the ankle joint plantar flexes while standing up.
Can You Do Squats and Deadlifts on the Same Day?
You can do squats and deadlifts on the same day. Nevertheless, it is not right to do these exercises both on the same day.
Fitness lovers suggest doing it only if you probably want to use an intra-workout supplement that provides the fuel, calories, or energy you require to push through a demanding exercise. However, this all depends on the following:
Your Training Goals
Typically, aspiring and competitive powerlifters can simultaneously gain from doing the two workouts. If you choose to do squats and deadlifts on the same day for muscle growth, athleticism, or to get general strength, several arguments are made as to why you should not squat and deadlift on the same day.
For muscles to grow, they are dependent on the quality worth that is intense and large enough. Thus, if you do squats or deadlifts as a second exercise, you minimize the ability of your body to stimulate muscles again. This is the same argument for a person whose goal for training is to gain general strength.
Note that strength usually depends on quality repetitions in the heavy two to the six-repetition range. These exercises ensure it is done in a fresh and recovered state. This way, it is possible to do enough heavy sets with an adequate weekly frequency.
If you realize you are doing one of the two workouts in a fatigued state, chances are high you will not do heavy or many sets. In this case, you need to be slowing down to gain a bit of strength.
Also, if you are an average trainee looking forward to getting bigger and stronger muscles, consider doing squats and deadlifts on separate days with the Fusion Motion Portable Gym.
Your Schedule
If you are on a tight program, it might be tough to do squats and deadlifts on the same day. However, you can do them separately. The same is applicable if doing the exercise on the same day has no harm.
How to Squat Correctly
Squatting is an important part of any fitness routine, especially for those who want to build strong and sculpted thighs. While there’s no right or wrong way to squat, there are a few things that can help you get started:
There are three main areas to focus on when squatting:
- Hips. Your hips have a large impact on your overall squat depth and should be the center of your focus during each rep. Squeeze your glutes and engage your core as you descend into the bottom position.
- Feet. When you’re in the bottom position of a squat, your feet should come up toward your heart, not out in front of you. Keeping your feet behind you will make it easier to maintain proper alignment throughout the entire movement.
- Lower back. Keep your back neutral throughout the entire movement by keeping it flat and slightly arched. If you round your spine while descending into the bottom position, you may end up with sore back muscles as well as poor form when you’re trying to come back up into a standing position.
Steps:
- Stand straight with feet hip-width apart.
- Tighten your stomach muscles.
- Lower down as if sitting in an invisible chair.
- Straighten your legs to lift back up.
- Repeat the movement.
How to Deadlift Correctly
While there are many different ways to perform a proper deadlift, these tips should get you started on the right path.
One of the most important things to remember when deadlifting is that it should always be done from a tall stance. This is because, by raising your hips and knees above your feet, you will be able to use more of your lower body muscles and lift more weight.
A great way to keep your back straight throughout the entire lift is by keeping your chest up and shoulders back. Avoid arching your lower back and rounding your upper back at all costs. Instead, keep yourself as upright as possible while maintaining good posture.
Make sure that you’re lifting the barbell as close to your body as possible with both hands, then keeping it there throughout the entire lift. This keeps tension on your spinal erectors and prevents injury. Keep one hand on the barbell at all times during the lift so that you can control it properly. This will also prevent you from dropping the barbell if it starts to slip out of position.
Steps:
- Lift a barbell until your shins are just an inch away.
- Lean over with stiff legs and take a grip that places your elbows just outside your knees.
- Bring your shins forward to touch the barbell.
- Squeeze your chest up to tighten all muscles of your back.
- Drag your barbell up to your legs while maintaining lumbar extension.
5 Benefits of Doing Squats and Deadlifts on the Same Day
Many lifters do squats and deadlifts on separate days. You do not have to follow the same if your fitness goal is different. Squatting and deadlifting on the same day can help you achieve your goals.
However, it would be best to begin with squatting followed by deadlifting and not vice versa. Here are some of the benefits you can enjoy upon squatting and deadlifting on the same day.
Less Warm-Up Needed
In general, squats and deadlifts use the same muscles and movements. Therefore, if you have considered doing them on the same day, you do not have to spend too much time doing long warm-ups, which is quite tiresome and time-consuming. Doing both exercises in the same session saves time.
Powerlifting-Specific
Powerlifters consider doing squat, bench press, and deadlift on the same day. This means they get three attempts at every lift, which replicates the lifting strength. In addition, due to the demands of competitive strength training, this is the most sports-specific way a powerlifter can do training.
More Recovery Time
When doing squats and deadlifts on the same day, you will have an entire week to rest and grow muscles. However, if you do squats on a particular day and deadlift two to three days later, you will have less time to recover. This is likely to affect your progress.
Resting two to three days is considered enough. Nonetheless, this is only applicable if you lift moderate weights between workouts. It takes time to recover for a person who lifts hard and heavy weights, and thus, recovery time is recommended.
Reciprocal Benefits
Even though squats and deadlifts are standalone exercises, someone might argue that one is an accessory exercise for the other. For example, strength is not a factor when doing a basic squat. However, during deadlifts, performance is important.
There is not much difference between doing these two workouts and the main lift followed by an accessory movement. From the training approach, squatting and deadlifting on the same day are common. They both are a matter of having enough strength.
Increased Muscle Potentiation and Activation
When doing heavy squats, your nervous system is fired up. This is likely to improve the performance of deadlifting. On the other hand, deadlifts might feel slightly easier since they use a shorter range of motion than squats.
7 Benefits of Doing Squats and Deadlifts on Different Days
Most lifters consider squatting one day and deadlifting a few days later. This, too, makes sense for different reasons. A number of the benefits are:
Ability to Lift More Weight
Whether you deadlift or squat first, the fact is that the fatigue of one workout will affect the other. This is mainly an issue for a person whose goal is to maximize their strength. However, this is a non-issue for bodybuilding people.
More Training Volume
When doing squat and deadlift on the same day, there are higher chances you will not do many sets of both exercises, and this is because time and energy start to run out soon. Training these big lifts separately is advantageous as they help you do more sets of each. Furthermore, if you want to build strength and muscle size, volume is an important aspect you must consider in your training.
More Variations (Compound Workouts)
Suppose you only consider deadlifts or squats as your workouts. In that case, you have ample time necessary for some exciting variations, just like the original versions of every lift.
For instance, if it is your day to do squats, you can do banded squats, box squats, and pauses squats if necessary. Nevertheless, if you choose to do deadlifts and squats on the same day, you will lack the energy and time to do other compound workouts
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Less Fatigue
Deadlifting and squatting involve many similar muscles. Therefore, once done on the same day, they can cause exhaustion in the end. It is necessary to have them done on different days to avoid fatigue, muscle cramps, and severe back pain.
Better Leg Days
Typically, squats are exercises meant for the lower body. However, it is hard to categorize deadlifts. Even though deadlifts involve legs, many lifters view them as back exercises. If you do squats on one day and deadlifts on another day, this will literally mean you can treat deadlifts as a back builder instead of a leg exercise.
Give Your Lower Back a Break
Deadlifts and squats involve a lot of lower back activation. Hence, if done on the same day will be increasing your risk of lowering back pain and minor injuries. In addition, doing deadlifts and squats with a tired back might affect your technique and hurt the spine.
More Time Per Lift
Doing deadlifts and squats simultaneously minimizes your time for every movement. Therefore, doing them separately is an added benefit.
When doing these workouts separately, make sure that you add weights or at least increase the number of sets you do for each exercise; consider doing them in different sessions.
This will add endurance and performance to your workout. Also, more time per lift makes you focus your energy on one exercise/workout, which guarantees you faster progress.
Why You Should Limit the Frequency of These Exercises
Squats and deadlifts have long been considered two of the best exercises for building strong lower-body strength. However, the frequency at which you perform these exercises is where the limit lies. Studies have shown that performing both deadlifts and squats on the same day puts a strain on your lower back.
Deadlifts, especially those that are done with poor form, are dangerous to your spine and may cause back injuries. The muscles that you use in these exercises are the same muscles that you use in everyday tasks, like bending down to pick something up off the ground, getting out of bed without pain, and performing everyday movements like taking out the trash and cleaning your house.
When you do them on a regular basis, they get fatigued, which can lead to injury. You should only perform each of these exercises once per week at most if you choose to combine them. If you’re serious about lifting weights and improving your strength, it’s important to limit the frequency of when you perform these exercises.
Which Exercise Should You Do First: Deadlift or Squat?
One of the most common questions that people have about deadlifts and squats is which one comes first. The answer depends on your goals and what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re looking to build strength, then you should do deadlifts before squats. If you’re looking to build endurance, then you should do squats before deadlifts.
For beginners, it’s best to start with squats first and then move on to deadlifts after a few weeks or months of training. This is because squats are easier to perform when compared to deadlifts, so they help beginners develop strength more quickly than if they started out with deadlifts first.
Is It Bad to Deadlift Before Squatting?
Deadlifting before squatting is a controversial topic. In some circles, it’s a verboten exercise because it puts your lower back at risk of strain. However, most lifters in the know believe that deadlifting can be beneficial for both your squat and overall training.
The main argument against deadlifting before squatting is the fear of injury. Many lifters are prone to putting too much strain on their lower back when they perform heavy deadlifts, but it’s important to understand that this isn’t inevitable. A good warm-up and proper technique will minimize the risk of injury while deadlifting.
Another argument against deadlifting before squatting is that it makes your legs too weak and unready for heavy squats. Although this might be true for some people, in most cases it’s not a problem. The truth is you can still squat with a weak leg by using a lighter weight and keeping your form correct.
Can You Deadlift Directly After Squatting?
While it’s true that you can deadlift directly after squatting, this is not always the best idea. The main reason why you want to wait between squats and deadlifting is that it allows your muscles to recover.
If you do deadlift right after squatting, then you could end up losing some of your lower-body strength and muscle tone. As a result, your overall performance will be adversely affected.
To prevent this from happening, it’s best to rest at least 48 hours between squats and deadlifting. All in all, though, it’s completely fine if you’re deadlifting directly after squatting as long as you’re taking care of yourself – especially during training!
Working Sets If You Do Deadlifts and Squats on the Same Day
There’s no hard and fast rule for how many working sets of squats and deadlifts you should do if you do them on the same day. It depends on several factors, including your current training level and whether or not you’ve had a rest day.
If you’re new to lifting weights, it’s probably a good idea to do one set of each exercise in a workout, even if you’re only doing a few reps or with light weights. You can always add more sets as you become more experienced.
If you’ve been lifting weights for a while, it’s probably best to go with three working sets per exercise: 1 set of each exercise at the beginning of your workout, 1 set after your warm-up, and then another set right before your main compound exercises like squats, presses, rows, and pullups.
Working sets are the best way to ensure that you get the most out of your training sessions, and for that reason, it’s important to do them if you’re doing heavy squats or deadlifts. But there are a few things that you should keep in mind if you want to make sure that this process goes as smoothly as possible:
One: You should never train with weights that are too heavy for you. On top of putting yourself at risk of injury, this could also lead to overtraining and burnout.
Two: You shouldn’t train your body more than once every 48 hours. In this case, working sets shouldn’t exceed two per session, and they should be spaced evenly throughout the week.
Three: You should rest at least 48 hours between working sets. This is especially important if you’re doing a lot of squats and deadlifts in a single session, as this may lead to overtraining.
Other Considerations for Deadlift and Squat Combinations
The amount of weight you use when doing these exercises is also important to consider. For example, you may be able to use very high weights in squats as long as you’re doing them correctly.
However, for deadlifts and other back exercises, it’s better to start off with a lighter weight and gradually increase it over time with the goal of lifting it close to your maximum deadlift weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should you do squats and deadlifts on the same day?
The benefits of doing squats and deadlifts on the same day include improved muscle development, increased athletic performance, and increased range of motion. However, their risks include injury or strain from too much weight or improper form. To decide whether or not you want to try this workout routine, think about your goals for fitness and your training history.
How long should you wait to deadlift after squatting?
If you are recovering from a squat session, you cannot do deadlifting optimally. Failure to recover can put you at risk for a hamstring injury and lower back. When training squats and deadlifts separately, it is advisable to allow at least 72 hours between them.
Do deadlifts build legs?
Squats and deadlifts are effective exercises that help you gain lower body strength. They both strengthen legs and glutes muscles.
Are squats harder than deadlifts?
When squatting, maximum knee and hip flexion are involved. Also, you have to move the bar farther, making squats harder than the deadlifts.
Can deadlift reduce belly fat?
You cannot lose belly fat by deadlifting alone. Nevertheless, it can highly help if you involve it with other workouts. If you want to lose your belly, the primary strategy you can consider is getting your body in a caloric deficit.
What happens when you do squats every day?
Doing squats daily makes you a whole lot stronger and less prone to injury. Additionally, it strengthens your core and improves body posture. When you do squats every day, your body will respond by increasing the number of muscle fibers in the gluteus and quadriceps muscles.
Final Thoughts
You can consider different ways to help you achieve your workout goals. However, you should be aware that what works for you might not work for another person. Therefore, it is upon you to experiment and pick between deadlifts or squats.
Luckily, squatting and deadlifting on the same day or separately are also dependent on your training goals and your schedule. However, from this article, we can confidently suggest that you consider doing both workouts only if you have a tight schedule.
Again, you can do these compound workouts together when doing pre-warming sessions that take a lot of time. Research shows that you should only perform each of these exercises once per week if they’re to be performed together at all. If you’re serious about lifting weights and improving your strength, it’s important to limit the frequency of when you perform these exercises.
Note that there are still disadvantages to doing squats and deadlifts on the same day. For instance, if your main goal is to increase the entire core muscle strength, improve performance, tone muscles, or boost strength, you have to rest for several days to help your muscles recover.
This means, before making up your mind, try both of these strategies. After all, you can select one that produces the best outcomes.
