The most obvious benefit to
squatting and pulling in the same workout is that the lower back gets a full week to recover before it is taxed again. This is one of the reasons of finding oneself to come back to this split.
Squats serve as a great warm up to pulling and you can keep
deadlifting volume pretty low. So after your
squats you can just go to a medium heavy
warm up on deads for a set and then pull heavy. If you are a
competitive lifter this also will let you know what you are going to be pulling in a more fatigued state. So you should have a better idea of what you are going to be capable of in a meet.
You can certainly
squat and deadlift in the same workout safely, but there are some fine points you need to consider in order to avoid problems.
First, you should never
squat after you
deadlift.
The deadlift fatigues your whole back, and
form always suffers when you
squat with drained spinal erectors. If you choose to do so, your back will give up way before your legs have been impressed, which would take away from the primary reason people
squat – to develop a strong lower body.
On the other hand, deadlifting after
squats is way more forgiving, although you can still run into hip and back issues and expect to have a less than optimal
deadlift experience. However, you can still do very well and many people choose to
squat and deadlift on the same day to mimic the conditions at a powerlifting competition, where the deadlift is done last.
This is also one of the reasons
powerlifting purists tend to consider records set at one lift meets less impressive. There is a big difference between deadlifting at the end of a three lift meet and deadlifting first in a pull only competition.
If you are considering
squatting and deadlifting in the same workout, you have to do a pushing upper body exercise in between. Movements such as the
bench press, dips, push-ups, dumbbell press and the overhead press are all fine. What you should avoid are pulling and biceps exercises. Deadlifting with tired biceps and pulling musculature is no fun nor safe.
The main reason to put an upper body exercise between the
squat and the deadlift is to give your body (hips and back) and CNS time to recover for the caveman party that’s about to happen at the end of your workout.
What are the benefits of doing
squats and deadlifts in the same workout?
There are two main reasons to
squat and deadlift in the same workout – to
save time and to mimic a powerlifting meet.
If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot go to the gym multiple times a week, workout compression may be required, and this is one of the ways to do it. At the same time, if you are a powerlifter, replicating the meet conditions will prepare you better for contests. A popular powerlifter under the name of
Dave Jacoby used to train the same way (all lifts in one day) because he worked as a truck driver while competing.
What are the benefits of splitting
squats and deadlifts into different workouts?
The main benefit is that you can do the exercises when you are fresh and have greater focus. When you know that heavy deadlifting is waiting for you at the end of your workout, the whole training sessions becomes way more stressful. Many people who have reached more advanced numbers find splitting the two lifts into separate dedicated workouts much more forgiving.
Another benefit is that you can accumulate more deadlifting volume. When you are deadlifting and squatting in the same workout, the deadlift is done for just one set. If you do the lift separately, you can add a little more volume.
In brief
If you are going to squat and deadlift in the same workout, don’t neglect the following: