Squats + deadlifts in one workout = mass and strength

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2016-12-07

Most trainers and athletes believe that doing squats and deadlifts on the same day is:

– incorrect. Here are their arguments:

1. These are two heavy exercises, and doing them in one workout is too much load.

2. If you go all out during squats, you won't be able to deadlift. And vice versa.

This seems logical. I admit, I used to think the same way. But after several years of training in weightlifting, I noticed that weightlifters quite often perform squats and deadlifts in one day. They manage to lift a lot and consistently progress in mass and strength. Of course, one could attribute it all to steroids, but I suspected it wasn't just that.

I reasoned like this: squats and deadlifts are, for the most part, similar exercises. They target the same muscle groups and joints. After all, when we train our lats or triceps, we often do 2-3 similar exercises for the same muscle group. So why can't we do 2 similar exercises for the legs, glutes, and back?

Methodology of Squat + Deadlift Scheme

I tested this scheme on several of my trainees (including myself) for about 2 months:

1. Once a week, we performed barbell squats. Immediately after, we did deadlifts.

2. I experimented with three types of deadlifts:

If the athlete needed to focus on their legs, we would choose either the conventional deadlift or the deficit deadlift. If the focus was on the back, then we did Romanian deadlifts.

3. Following that, we included another exercise for the legs and back. For example, lunges and/or hyperextensions.

4. This session constituted the complete workload for the legs, glutes, and lower back until the next week. In other words, such exercises were done once a week.

Both squats and deadlifts were performed with heavy weights for 3-6 repetitions in 3-4 working sets. Since deadlifts were done immediately after squats, warming up for deadlifts wasn’t required at all, or just a single warm-up set was sufficient.

I placed the deadlift after the squat, rather than the other way around, because practice showed that it’s easier to perform deadlifts after squats than squats after deadlifts. However, if a volume session was planned for the deadlift, it was placed first.

Results

Initially, the athletes found it quite challenging to adapt to such a heavy workload, but after about a month, strength began to increase in both exercises. Approximately two months later, the average increase in results for both deadlifts and squats was 10% - 15%. That’s quite a lot for such a short period.

By the way, for the same individual, even if one type of deadlift (classic, straight-legged, or deficit) was prioritized, the other two types were still occasionally included for variety 1-2 times during the two months.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, in both of these exercises, the same muscle groups work:

• The glutes are worked similarly.
• The lower back (erector spinae) receives about 40% of the load during squats, while during deadlifts (conventional) it receives 60%.
• The front of the thighs receives 60% of the load in squats. In deadlifts (conventional), it receives 40%.

This means that squats load the legs more, while deadlifts target the back. In the end, all the main muscle groups receive significant loading. And this strategy worked.

Conclusions

1. There is nothing wrong with doing squats and deadlifts on the same day.

2. However, since this method is quite demanding, I recommend using it occasionally rather than year-round.

3. If you are male, I do not advise using high repetitions in this method. The number of repetitions in working sets should not exceed 8. For women, a lower number of repetitions might be uncomfortable. They can handle a much higher number of repetitions.

4. All the load on the legs, glutes, and lower back, when using this method, should be concentrated in one workout and performed no more than once a week.

5. This method excellently builds mass and strength. However, it is better not to use it for beginners.

6. Which of the three deadlifts to include is up to you. If your legs lag, include conventional deadlifts or deficit deadlifts as they load the legs more heavily. If you want to put more emphasis on the back, then the Romanian deadlift is preferable. Good luck!