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20 Apr 2011 19:46
By Eric Troy
One of the most common questions out there is what muscle group one should predominantly feel working during the deadlift. Also related to this is where one should expect to get DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) after they deadlift.
The question occurs because many trainees have been told, rightly, that the deadlift is not a "back exercise" but a hip dominant exercise that utilizes the entire posterior chain. So, when trainees feel that most of the work seems to be centered in the lower back they become concerned that they are not performing the lift correctly.
Of course, it may well be that they are not performing the deadlift correctly as at least 90% of those who use the deadlift do not deadlift correctly. Yes, that is an exact estimate based on statistical evidence…not. Let's just say that a lot of people don't know how to deadlift and deadlift instruction is among the worst instruction, in general, you'll come across. However, the muscle group that you feel working, where you get a pump (if any) and where DOMS occurs is not necessarily an indication of correct or incorrect form.
Beginners to the deadlift typically feel the work concentrated mostly in the lower back. After repeated exposure with reasonable progression the heavy DOMS in the back tends to go away unless you detrain the deadlift and then return to it or add a great amount of volume. Although the lumbar extensors are a very strong muscle group their role as stabilizers during the deadlift mean they are subject to great fatigue. Coupled with the tendency for most beginners to use fairly high volumes this means the back feels like it is doing more than its fair share of the work. What is happening, in reality, is that the back is being used in an unaccustomed way. To be fair, many of these trainees do feel soreness in the glutes and hamstrings. It is simply that the back seems to be attacked all out of proportion.
Another reason for this is the relative weakness of the core group as a whole and what we could simply call weak or unconditioned abdominal muscles. For the torso to be stabilized against the heavy barbell the abdominal muscles and the back muscles must co-contract.
Still another culprit, which is easily underestimated, is the manner in which the bar is returned to the floor. Although the trainee may perform the deadlift correctly he often fails to reverse the process when returning the bar. The back should perform much the same action in deloading the bar as when lifting it. This means that the hips will come back and the knees will bend until the body and the bar is returned to their starting positions…or at least as much as it is possible to do this under control. During this movement one should avoid flexing the lumbar as much as possible. When the bar is deloaded incorrectly and lumbar flexion is used instead of hip flexion to initiate the descent, the muscles are forced to into eccentric action against a very heavy load, resulting in all the symptoms we started with above, including marked soreness in the back. Back injury during the deadlift is very likely to occur during the bar's descent.
Provided that the bar is returned correctly and your progression is steady and sure you should feel that the work is spread out to the posterior chain but not really stronger in the back.
Many people who rely on the back as the prime mover in the deadlift (the back is primarily a stabilizer) always either feel that only the back is being "worked" or get a lot of soreness. This shouldn't be the case and if it persists then you are probably performing them wrong. Keep in mind that DOMS is self-limited and it doesn't tend to come back unless you introduce something novel like you drastically change volume, or start a new exercise, etc. If you always get sore after the deadlift even though you are progressing slowly and steadily without any drastic changes, this may be an indication of strain. Keep in mind that some mild soreness should be expected to be the norm when strength training.
Even if you are doing everything right, if your glutes are not up to the job the lower back will have to do more than it's share of the work. Gluteal activation and exercises to help differentiate (isolate) hip extension from lumbar extension may be needed. Cross-training for the hips may also help. Using exercises such as pull-throughs (hip pulls).
Irregular Training
An obvious reason that you keep getting soreness in your low back from deadlifting may be that you aren't deadlifting regularly. You can't expect to get "used to" something if you do it in a haphazard, unpredictable way. So, if the last time you deadlifted was two months ago and you want to know why you are "still" sore, well, you have your answer.
What Muscle Should be Sore After Deadlifts?
So, if it's not the lower back, per se, what muscle or muscle should feel sore after deadlifting? If you ask this question than you have verified that you are a bodybuilder and think that either you should always be sore after a workout or that being sore (i.e. developing DOMS) is an actual goal. So basically you are asking the wrong question.
Although at times you will be sore after deadlifts exactly what muscle is sore owes much to your training status and the stage you are at in learning and perfecting the deadlift. As stated beginners will tend to feel more sore in the lower back, even when performing the lift correctly. After the back is more conditioned it is always possible to feel some soreness in the area after a particularly high volume or demanding session. Say after performing cluster sets, for instance.
The glutes and hamstrings may experience soreness, of course, for the more accomplished lifter. But marked soreness from deadlifts like you'd expect from high volume biceps curls and the like should not be expected to be the norm. Remember, as I stated above, DOMS is the product of novel and non-habituated stimulus. So when you become sore it is usually because you have just upped the ante, so to speak.
How Sore is Too Sore After Deadlifts?
Remember that soreness or discomfort is a subjective experience. What is slight discomfort to some is unbearable agony to others (you know people like this!) Pain in your lower back after deadlifts, unlike general soreness, is always an indication that something is wrong. Whether from bad technique or over-aggressive loading or volume. Sometimes when a trainee experiences consistent lower back (or other) soreness after deadlifting they can have a hard time recognizing when appropriate soreness has crossed over into pain.
If you are having consistent discomfort from deadlifting but are unsure if it's inappropriate you may want to monitor it with a simple numbered pain scale. If the numbers are slowly going down then your soreness is following the pattern of DOMS. But this will only work if your training is progressed moderately, consistently, and regularly.
One key principle to keep in mind is, as stated above, that DOMS tends to be self-limiting. It should subside unless you make big changes, suddenly, in your training. Remember, when you first start doing deadlifts that is a big change! Consistent soreness is not a good environment in which to strength train and not just because of the inability to recover and train again in a timely and consistent manner. Consistent soreness can also mask real problems!
If you are experiencing a lot of lower back soreness from your deadlifts but you are uncertain whether it may be inappropriate or even "too sore", well, the very fact that you are worried is usually a signal to be careful. DOMS tends to come on heaviest on the third day after training, but may come as early as the next day. After this it subsides predictably. DOMS that gets better then gets worse, etc. and so on, is probably not DOMS.
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