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LAVERA STEWART
Editor-in-Chief of the Gym ExpertIf you are someone who is on the road to increase strength, then you have probably heard about squats and deadlifts! Both of these exercises require a lot of force and movement, target every part of the body. That is why a lot of people are looking to squat and deadlift on the same day.
Can you do squats and deadlifts on the same day? In general, yes you can do both lifts on the same day if that is what you want. It is necessary to know that you want to be doing them at maximum strength, and many things will depend on your overall form, goals, program, etc. If you opt to do them this way, make sure that you planned your workout regimen well.
When you’re looking for an answer on should you squat and deadlift on the same day, it is essential to know the pros and cons. The first and maybe the most obvious benefit is that if you do them on the same day, then you have an entire week to recover. Besides, you can observe how you do the lifts when your muscles are fatigued and so on. On the other hand, if you have some previous injuries, it is better to avoid doing squats and deadlifts the same workout. If you decide to do these lifts in the same workout, keep in mind that you should squat first and do deadlifts after. Many people think it is not vital, but we believe that neuromuscular fatigue is bigger when you do the opposite.
Contents
Benefits of Squatting And Deadlifting Together
Observing Deadlift Performance After Squat Fatigue
Okay, for example, if you do these lifts separately, you have a lot of chances to see how you’re doing deadlifts after your muscles have recovered from previous squat training. It can allow you to think about what you can do to improve your performance in a competition because you are doing deadlifts after squats and benches.
When preparing for a competition or in between them, you might want to see what happens with deadlift performance just after you have done squats, without recovery time. This way, you can see whether it will be more challenging doing deadlifts because of neuromuscular fatigue from squats.
Separating Muscle Groups for Hypertrophy
If you’re training to increase the size of your muscles, then doing deadlifts and squats on the same day is a good option. When your goal is hypertrophy, you should focus on working on the same muscle groups.
Since these two lifts work nearly the same muscles, it’s advisable to do them on the same day. Of course, you will get the results regardless of how you do them, but the effects might kick in faster if you work these lifts together.
Negative Sides
Limited Strength Gain
When people choose to squat and deadlift the same day, they do it often because they want to increase the size of their muscles and become stronger faster. The funny thing is that doing these lifts on the same day or even for a few days in the week can lead to opposite results. You might be over-trained, which will lead to increased neuromuscular fatigue, and thus you won’t develop strength as quickly as you would like.
Increasing Training Experience
If you’re serious about powerlifting, you’ll need to increase the training volume over time. It means that you won’t be able to do both lifts on the same day. The thing is: if you’re going to increase intensity or volume, your muscles will be exhausted, and you won’t have the capacity to do more lifts. So in this case, it is much more effective to do them on separate days.
Squat and Deadlift Same Day: The Process
Should I Squat or Deadlift First?
We’ve already talked about whether you should squat or deadlift first, and now we are going to elaborate. Generally, there is no hard and fast rule. Many experts say that you should do what works best for you. However, we believe that it is better to squat first and deadlift after. The reason is that your muscles will become more tired when you start with deadlifts, and thus the performance of the squats will be quite low.
How to Make Most Gains From Squatting and Deadlifting the Same Day?
Volume and Intensity
If you want to do both of these lifts on the same day, you need to decrease the volume. We recommend that you reduce the volume to 60 – 75% of what you used to lift and slowly go up until you reach 100% for both lifts. As far as intensity goes, you can keep the same level.
Intermediary Exercises
Doing intermediary exercises is an excellent idea to allow your body to recover after deadlifts and squats. For example, you can do some strength training for the upper body, such as bench press. Besides, you can add some exercises that can prepare you for deadlifts. Choosing to have a recovery period is super important in terms of your overall success.
Alternate Focus Add Some Variety
If you decide to do both lifts on the same day, you should know that you don’t have to lift maximum weight each time you’re doing them. Follow how you feel and act accordingly. For example, on some days, you can lift light weights when squatting and increase the load for deadlifts and then change next time.
Overall Recommendations
- Decrease squat volume (25%) and deadlift intensity (15%)
- Change the focus
- Do squats first
- Include upper body exercises in between
Final Advice
One thing that you need to remember is that although you can squat and deadlift the same day, you shouldn’t expect that you will see the results overnight. For the best effect of every exercise, you need to be smart and not overwork yourself. Also, remember that you have to be comfortable when you are doing these lifts so, you need shoes for squats and deadlifts and shorts for squats to feel relaxed.
