Are dead lifts and squats essential for a good balanced physique?

>>39954209
Yes

Not essential, but very helpful.
It should also be noted that variations are also helpful and acceptable.
For example, front squats or hack squats are also great. So are sumo deadlifts and stiff legged deadlifts and rack pulls.

>>39954209
Fuck kind of question is this? The three main exercises are squat, deadlifts, and bench press. But to answer your question, nah, all you need it abs and arms brah.

>>39954220
>>39954229
B-but I'm scared I'll fuck up back up. Being tall makes it hard to squat down to pick up the bar without bending my back slightly

>>39954268
You're a fucking idiot and leave my board

The Mountain, a professional strongman, is a whopping 6'9"

File: _main_abs_7.jpg (9KB, 385x256px) Image search: [Google]

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Ever seen those abs that just don't look quite right? Pic related.

Heavy lifts not only increase your test, they'll work ALL of your core and not just abs. Don't underestimate the aesthetic of obliques and especially serratus anterior.

>>39954268
I wonder how strongmen and powerlifters are 6' + and squat/deadlift heavier than you'll ever dream of yet never injure their backs....?

They don't do them wrong, that's how.

>>39954209
>Are dead lifts and squats essential for a good balanced physique?
if you're talking in terms of strength and athletic performance then it's hard/impossible to replace heavy squats and deadlifts. they work a huge number of muscle groups simultaneously, something which can't be replaced by isolation exercises. if your only goal is aesthetics then it's possible to isolate the large muscle groups and achieve a similar look

>>39954531

I've heard on here that deadlifts will lead to a 'blocky' core and take away from v-taper.

any grounds to that?

arms > abs = chest >>>>>>>> everything else

>>39954610
my take on that is that if you somehow manage to builds such a humongous core that the sheer size of your core muscles make it look stupid then I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to lose some muscle mass

No, but squats are more important than deadlifts.

>>39954531
i assume this has barely anything to do with your work outs, i have the same physique as you, the upper first 4 to 6 abs tend to fall ''inwards'' into your body. It's an odd thing but our genetics could have given us a worse outcome. it is what it is.

>>39954547
>I wonder how strongmen and powerlifters are 6' + and squat/deadlift heavier than you'll ever dream of yet never injure their backs....?
But they are

>>39954531
Deadlifts and squats don't hit your serratus anterior.

>>39954209
No. For strength training, they're among the best though.

>>39955243
The deadlift does. Though nowhere near how much The Press works the serratus

Squats yes

Deadlifts no

t. very intelligent person

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no

>>39955259
No, it doesn't. Your serratus is responsible, mainly, for abduction and upward rotation of your scapula. You don't do either of those things in a deadlift.

>>39954610
this is primarily determined by genetics
many strongmen add a bunch of assistance exercises for their cores though because they need to for both strength and injury prevention

>>39955309
You are wrong but you are right, SA is stabilizer on the Deadlift exactly for the reason you listed.

>>39955537
Not according to any deadlift overviews or analyses I can find.

>>39955655
I'm not saying deadlift is great for serratus, they just keep you away from open flight, by antagonizing the rhomboids.

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>>39954209
Which kind answer do you want to hear?

no, not at all

that being said not doing squats or deadlifts because you don't have the flexibility or whatever starting out is idiotic, develop the flexibility and do them

after a few years of lifting you will know what works/ does not work for you, and you can eliminate squat or deadlift if you don't feel it's helpful

but not, not a single lift is necessary, not even squat despite all the dogma around it these days

Essential is the keyword here
You could do leg press, weighted lunges and bent over rows. Important that you're doing barbell rows without any support (like seal or chest-supported) so that your lower back has to do some work. That's enough for the average non-compete.

>>39954209
>Are dead lifts and squats essential for a good balanced physique?
No. Not everyone can or should be doing these. There are alternatives. Just don't tell /fit/ you're using any of the alternatives, or you'll be scoffed at and ridiculed out of existence for it.

>>39954610
Its completely dependant on how strong you are.

Nobody with a sub 600lb pull is going to look 'blocky' because they deadlift/squat too heavy. And even when they do get too strong then using a belt slightly reduces the use of your core anyway so just do that. Its such a outlandish thing to be worried about. Like when women say they dont want to get muscley like arnold, its not going to fucking happen.

>>39954209
Deadlifts, yes.
Squats, no.


Deadlifts confers the same benefits as squat without as much quad focus (which is unnecessary if you do even a modicum of sprinting or jumping) and add the benefit of a locked out pull motion and grip training.

Do you guys think you could get away with power cleans as your only lower body work?

>>39956201
Yeah. Maybe.


Depends on your goals, but it could work.

Add in some sprinting and you'd be fine.

>>39954268
front squats homie

>>39954209
No but they are necessary for optimal rate of muscular hypertrophy.

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>>39954610
Think of what muscles are used when you perform a deadlift; primarily your spinal erectors (specifically the thoracic section), hamstrings, hip aductors and abductors, wherein you tense your core consisting of abs and oblique areas. The latter of those (the core) does not experience a progressive load increase as you increase weight, but remains static, albeit tensed. Since hypertrophy requires both an increase of load and time under tension, the core muscles will not grow at the same rate as the prior mentioned muscle groups.

In short, no. Physiological construction of your body does not allow for a blocky core through deadlifts, at least until you have attained an elite level at deadlifting.

If you really want to test this, do some deadlifts for sets of 20 at lower weight to tense all the muscles involved and feel your body where tension is still present; you'll find that nothing around your midsection is activated beyond your diaphragm.

>>39954224
>sumo
>acceptable deadlift variations
pick one and only one

>>39954610
deadlift won't do shit to core it's a stupid meme
that's like saying you get huge triceps benching
yeah core gets worked a bit for stabilization so if you never ever do anything other than squat and deadlift for core strength then sure it gets worked a tiny bit
do 10 crunches a week and you'll get more core activation than you'll ever get squatting and deadlifting