squats and deadlifts , how much ?

[abett07]

both the deadlift and squat work the lower back hard so what would be the limit on how often most people could perform these 2 esercises ?

[Aurik]

Abett,

"That depends." It depends on quite a few things. It depends on your training level, your training intensity, and what the rest of your workout looks like. A novice or beginning lifter can recover from a heavy (to them) squat session and be stronger before the next workout. As your experience level and strength levels increase, the amount of time you need to recover from a given workout increases. For example, elite level powerlifters rarely do heavy deadlifts more than once every two weeks.

The real answer to your question is: Find a workout program that matches your goals and run it. There are some fullbody routines that include squatting (at less than full intensity/volume) every (workout) day. Other routines may restrict squatting to once a week or twice a week. It all depends on the intensity & volume of the workout and the ability of the lifter.

If you give us more information as to where you are in your journey and what your goals are, we can probably give you better information.

[abett07]

I have been training for 3 months , currently using starting strength .I will stick with starting strength for as long as I can

I guess my question was out of interest and looking ahead to my next workout were I want an A B full body with squats one day and deadlifts the next

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by abett07

both the deadlift and squat work the lower back hard so what would be the limit on how often most people could perform these 2 esercises ?

It depends on several factors.

--% of one rep max used.
--Overall workout structure.
--Training level.

In general, when the volume and intensity is reasonable, I recommend:

--Deadlifts - once a week.
--Squats 1-3 times per week.

A beginner will not pay the same CNS price that an experienced lifter will, so they can often deadlift more frequently.

[Aurik]

Originally Posted by abett07

I have been training for 3 months , currently using starting strength .I will stick with starting strength for as long as I can

I guess my question was out of interest and looking ahead to my next workout were I want an A B full body with squats one day and deadlifts the next

If you're already enjoying Rippetoe's Starting Strength workout, you may want to consider his Texas Method afte your stall out on Starting Strength. This is described in his book, "Practical Progression for Strength Training, 2nd Edition" (There is also a short writeup at The Texas Method - Starting Strength Wiki ), but the quick version is that it's a 3-day a week program, but instead of adding weight to the bar every session, you add weight to the bar every WEEK. The workout introduces the concept between a medium/light/heavy day, but follows a similar format to starting strength. Basically Monday is a high volume / medium intensity day, wednesday is a low volume / low intensity day (to help recover), and Friday is a low volume / high intensity day, where you try to improve on the 5RM you did the Friday before. Generally deadlifting is only done on Fridays, but squats (or in some cases front squats) are done every day of the week, but again at different intensities during the week.

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by abett07

I have been training for 3 months , currently using starting strength .I will stick with starting strength for as long as I can

I guess my question was out of interest and looking ahead to my next workout were I want an A B full body with squats one day and deadlifts the next

Once you have run Starting Strength for a while, I would recommend the following pattern for an A/B split that is used 3 times per week:

A- Squats
B - Deadlifts
A - Squats
B - Romanian Deadlifts

You could certainly try alternating between Squats and deads and dropping Romanian deadlifts, but you may need to alternate between heavy and moderate deadlift days.

Are your goals primarily muscle building, or both strength and muscle?

[BendtheBar]

As for the Texas Method, it can be found here on Muscle and Brawn:

The Texas Method

This is a solid choice too, depending on goals.

[abett07]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Once you have run Starting Strength for a while, I would recommend the following pattern for an A/B split that is used 3 times per week:

A- Squats
B - Deadlifts
A - Squats
B - Romanian Deadlifts

You could certainly try alternating between Squats and deads and dropping Romanian deadlifts, but you may need to alternate between heavy and moderate deadlift days.

Are your goals primarily muscle building, or both strength and muscle?

at the moment my number 1 goal is strength

[abett07]

so how would this go as a base for an A B split ?

A
squat 5x5
bench 5x5
rows 5x5

B
deadlift/romanian 5x5
overhead press 5x5

[BendtheBar]

Originally Posted by abett07

so how would this go as a base for an A B split ?

A
squat 5x5
bench 5x5
rows 5x5

B
deadlift/romanian 5x5
overhead press 5x5

I usually recommend a program like the above. It's fairly standard. On workout B day you could also add heavy abs.

From there, if you needed to add other work you could...pull ups, dips, calf raises, static barbell holds...etc.