Why are deadlifts so exhausting, but not squats?

[David55]

Many people deadlift less weight than they squat.

And the squat works more muscles than the deadlift.

So why can people squat three times a week, and do three sets of five with no problem, but deadlifting can only be done for one set, and less frequently?

What is it about the deadlift that makes it so hard to recover from, more so than the squat?

[Mark Rippetoe]

MOST people deadlift more weight than they squat. The effects of deadlifts and squats are discussed in the books.

[Meshuggah]

Many people deadlift less weight than they squat.

And the squat works more muscles than the deadlift.

So why can people squat three times a week, and do three sets of five with no problem, but deadlifting can only be done for one set, and less frequently?



What is it about the deadlift that makes it so hard to recover from, more so than the squat?

I disagree... The Deadlift works more muscles than the Squat by far, that's why it's harder to recover from.

[Mark Rippetoe]

By far?? Explain.

[Brian Harlin]

I disagree... The Deadlift works more muscles than the Squat by far, that's why it's harder to recover from.

I think it's more likely that it's because you've already squatted and done other lifts before you deadlift. I'm pretty sure that if you started with deadlifts and finished with squats your experience would be different.

And this is talked about on the book, I believe.

[Miro]

Many people deadlift less weight than they squat.

And the squat works more muscles than the deadlift.

So why can people squat three times a week, and do three sets of five with no problem, but deadlifting can only be done for one set, and less frequently?

What is it about the deadlift that makes it so hard to recover from, more so than the squat?

It's explained in the book, on page 100, first paragraph.

Basically, the squat allows you to use the viscoelastic energy stored during the descent to provide the "fuel" needed to get right back up. We call it the "stretch reflex".

In the case of the deadlift, there's no mechanical energy to draw from. The energy to get up thus has to come from the LIFTER. If I were to guess, most if not all of the required energy has to be produced by firing a lot of motor units explosively and all at once to overcome the gravity pull of the weight.

In short: deadlifts create more stress on the nervous system than squats, which makes deadlifts harder to recover from than squats. With deadlifts we are quite literally capable of frying our nerves.

[StrongLiftMyBalls]

I assumed it was due to the heavier weights and the effect that has on all required muscles, the lack of stretch reflex ie having to break the bar every time.

[David55]

From what I've seen in SS 3rd edition, the squat works more of the body.

I don't remember seeing why deadlift is more exhausting, only that it is.

If anyone has a page reference, that would be very helpful.

[Meshuggah]

It seems obvious to me. The Deadlift works the same muscles as the Squat, plus everything from your fingers up through your upper back, Lats, and Traps ger worked harder. The ab muscles are also more heavily involved doing deadlifts.

But you already know all of this Rip.

[Kregna]

I know you didn't expand on your title in your post but to your title question (why are deadlifts more tiring than squats), I'd say squats tire me out more. I hate squat reps a fair bit more than deadlifts.

Maybe it's because you support the bar between reps, have a slower negative, or because there's more range of motion, IDK, but hard squats suck more than hard deadlifts to me