The Back Squat vs. Deadlift: Which Exercise Is Best? | Men’s Health Muscle - video Dailymotion

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Is the Squat or Deadlift Superior? | Men’s Health Muscle

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00:00 What is the king of all monster lifts? The squat or the deadlift?

00:03 Welcome to the gym equivalent of Godzilla vs. King Kong.

00:06 Reality is both these movements sit atop the workout food chain as moves that challenge

00:12 multiple large lower body muscle groups and let us move major weight. For most lifters,

00:16 either the deadlift or the squat is gonna wind up being your strongest lift period and that means these are

00:22 critical lifts for packing on muscle and strength.

00:24 But which one of them is really the king?

00:28 Depending on your goals and body type, you may eventually find yourself favoring one lift over the other.

00:33 Let's dive in deeper to understand how both lifts will fit into your routine and

00:37 when you will want to make one of these lifts more dominant in your training. First,

00:41 let's take a minute to understand the similarities and differences between these lifts.

00:45 And the biggest similarity is that both of these lifts are gonna make you crazy strong.

00:50 Whether you're squatting or deadlifting, as long as you're pushing yourself,

00:54 you're activating nearly every single muscle group in your body and you're getting to challenge many of those muscles with a ton of load.

01:01 Both lifts also axially load your spine, which can help develop and maintain bone density,

01:08 although there is a downside. These moves will really fatigue your entire nervous system.

01:12 Where these two exercises differ is in the prime moves, the muscles that really drive each rep. For the sake of this discussion,

01:19 we'll focus on the classic barbell versions of each move, the conventional deadlift, and the barbell squat.

01:24 Although much of this breakdown applies to other versions of each exercise, too.

01:29 During the classic barbell deadlift, your glutes and hamstrings are the prime movers, driving you into hip extension at the top of each rep.

01:37 In addition to that, your largest back muscles, your lats, your rhomboids, and your traps

01:42 play a key role helping you lift the weight and your forearms see plenty of work because they have to actively grip the bar.

01:49 Your lower back extensors also play a key role in the deadlift,

01:52 actively shortening as you stand with the weight. The entire motion is driven by your hips though,

01:58 which is why the deadlift is known as a hip dominant movement.

02:01 The back squat is known as a knee dominant movement, although depending on your body type,

02:07 it may still require you to hinge at the hips. As you lift the weight upwards on each rep,

02:12 you'll heavily recruit your quads, hip adductors, and glutes.

02:16 Once again, your lower back extensors will shorten as you stand, too.

02:20 Contrary to popular belief, your hamstrings don't get that much work during the squat, acting more like stabilizers.

02:26 Your lats and mid-back muscles also work with your abs to stabilize the load and they get a workout,

02:32 but they are not prime movers in the squat.

02:34 So which lifts should you focus on? In the long term, for strength and physique balance,

02:40 you'll want to master and dominate both of these moves.

02:43 But how you prioritize them in your program will change based on your goals and other factors.

02:48 There are three main groups of people who should focus on the deadlift.

02:52 The most obvious group of people who should focus on the deadlift are those who want glute and back gains most from their training.

02:58 If you're trying to build your posterior chain, the deadlift is more directly subjecting those muscles to load.

03:04 Squats can help with back and glute gains, sure,

03:07 but it's the deadlift that really prioritizes back and glute muscle. If you're chasing

03:12 athleticism too, then veer towards the deadlift.

03:14 We're more actively training the hip extension mechanic that drives all our athletic movements, like running and jumping.

03:20 The third group of people who should focus on the deadlift are those aiming for daily real-life carryover.

03:26 Especially if you spend your days, say, lifting boxes, you'll find more carryover in the deadlift than the squat.

03:33 For some goals though, the squat will be the better lift.

03:36 If you're ultra tight on time and you can't train both lifts,

03:40 but you really want to get better at both the squat and deadlift, think about doing the squat.

03:44 The squat will deliver better strength carryover to the deadlift for one simple reason.

03:49 When done properly, the squat trains the muscles that you use in the deadlift through a greater range of motion.

03:55 Your glutes will get a major stretch at the bottom of each rep, which will at least ready your body a bit to deadlift heavy.

04:02 The deadlift can help your squat, but it won't do so to the same extent.

04:07 If you're chasing quad development above all, you'll also want to squat.

04:11 The squat takes your legs through knee flexion and extension in much greater range than the deadlift,

04:17 which means you'll get a major pump from properly done squats.

04:20 The last situation in which you'll want to squat is if you're prepping for Olympic lifts like the power clean and the snatch.

04:26 You'll need both squat and deadlift strength to excel at these moves,

04:30 but understanding and controlling your body in deep knee flexion will be a major key to saving your heaviest Olympic lifts.

04:37 Once again, though, you really, really, really need to master both of these lifts over time.

04:42 We've told you how to prioritize one lift over the other, but keep both these lifts in your training rotation.

04:48 They are two training beasts that you absolutely can't ignore.

04:51 [Music]

The Back Squat vs. Deadlift: Which Exercise Is Best? | Men’s Health Muscle

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