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> * I personally, like the author of this post, don't do deadlifts and rarely do kettlebell swings. I am not a professional athlete or trainer, but I really pr

> * I personally, like the author of this post, don't do deadlifts and rarely do kettlebell swings. I am not a professional athlete or trainer, but I really primarily only heard of people getting hurt with these workouts, so I chose to avoid them. Sounds like this was a good decision. There are substitute workouts for each. I absolutely would not do deadlifts within the context of Crossfit. It's an exercise best suited for very low reps at high weights, and proper form cannot be ignored. Sane novice programs will often only hit deadlifts once a week for a single set of five. Either way, it has to be approached systematically and intentionally trained - it's not well suited to being randomly thrown into a workout, especially if it's done under time pressure or at high reps. That said, done properly and with proper attention given to form, it's not only a completely safe exercise, it's also one of the single most effective exercises out there. It engages a huge range of muscle groups and is very easy to increase load over time. While form is critical, it's also one of the easier compound lifts to do correctly. I'm not trying to say that everyone absolutely must to do deadlifts or anything. I'm just saying there's no reason to be afraid of them. It's a great exercise, and I'm saying that as somebody that found deadlifts to be the single most effective exercise when recovering from a lower back injury, which is the part that seems to scare most people.

vinceguidry 12y ago
I injured myself doing deadlifts. I was following Starting Strength with a trainer that went through Rippletoe's program. I was at 315 when I pulled a hamstring. It wasn't the first time I'd done 315, but that time was when I got injured. Form was perfect, everything was right. When you're lifting heavy, not even good form will keep you from getting injured. It's a fact of life.
- commandar 12y ago
  People complaining that deadlifts are dangerous generlaly think it's going to irreversibly destroy your back, not result in a pulled muscle that will heal in a week or two. That's what I was addressing.
  - goldenkey 12y ago
    Herniated discs can result from muscle damage. The only thing holding the spine in proper place is proper back muscle health. I should mention that I have 3 herniated discs from Seated Dumbell Presses. I used to do 6 reps of 90lbs in each hand, 1.4x my body weight. Weight is so overrated. Lowering the weight and really doing a wide range of movement will save you a life of pain and setbacks. I can do barely 35lbs now..wasn't worth it.
    - vinceguidry 12y ago
      Well, to be fair, dumbbell training is a lot more dangerous at heavy weights than barbell training is because with barbells, there's a lot that equipment like a power rack can do for you. It's probably not the presses messed you up, it's getting the dumbbells into position, getting them off and back onto the rack, that sort of thing. You can't just lower them onto pegs after your set is over.
      - goldenkey 12y ago
        Possibly. I had pretty good form with the whole off-the-knee kick-off to shoulder position. The muscle damage could have happened at any place throughout the movement. The massive weight and lack of range of motion definitely caused it. In any case, large amounts of weight, and the tiniest deviation from form, lift-off, etc, will cause such hardship later in life that with some exercises, it's just not worth it to do small rep sets with heavy weight. The gains don't equate to the risk.

vinceguidry 12y ago

I injured myself doing deadlifts. I was following Starting Strength with a trainer that went through Rippletoe's program. I was at 315 when I pulled a hamstring. It wasn't the first time I'd done 315, but that time was when I got injured. Form was perfect, everything was right. When you're lifting heavy, not even good form will keep you from getting injured. It's a fact of life.

commandar 12y ago
People complaining that deadlifts are dangerous generlaly think it's going to irreversibly destroy your back, not result in a pulled muscle that will heal in a week or two. That's what I was addressing.
- goldenkey 12y ago
  Herniated discs can result from muscle damage. The only thing holding the spine in proper place is proper back muscle health. I should mention that I have 3 herniated discs from Seated Dumbell Presses. I used to do 6 reps of 90lbs in each hand, 1.4x my body weight. Weight is so overrated. Lowering the weight and really doing a wide range of movement will save you a life of pain and setbacks. I can do barely 35lbs now..wasn't worth it.
  - vinceguidry 12y ago
    Well, to be fair, dumbbell training is a lot more dangerous at heavy weights than barbell training is because with barbells, there's a lot that equipment like a power rack can do for you. It's probably not the presses messed you up, it's getting the dumbbells into position, getting them off and back onto the rack, that sort of thing. You can't just lower them onto pegs after your set is over.
    - goldenkey 12y ago
      Possibly. I had pretty good form with the whole off-the-knee kick-off to shoulder position. The muscle damage could have happened at any place throughout the movement. The massive weight and lack of range of motion definitely caused it. In any case, large amounts of weight, and the tiniest deviation from form, lift-off, etc, will cause such hardship later in life that with some exercises, it's just not worth it to do small rep sets with heavy weight. The gains don't equate to the risk.