Do the benefits of deadlifts and squats outweigh the risk of injury? | Peter Attia and Stuart McGill

In this clip, Peter and Stuart discuss:

- The importance of correct movement patterns
- Common injuries of people who deadlift
- The idea of sufficient fitness
- And more

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About:

The Peter Attia Drive is a deep-dive podcast focusing on maximizing longevity, and all that goes into that from physical to cognitive to emotional health. With over 70 million episodes downloaded, it features topics including exercise, nutritional biochemistry, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, mental health, and much more.

Peter Attia is the founder of Early Medical, a medical practice that applies the principles of Medicine 3.0 to patients with the goal of lengthening their lifespan and simultaneously improving their healthspan.

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[marvinprado]

He said, let’s ask ortho surgeons who they’re replacing knees and hips for, and as an orthopedic surgery PA I will tell you right now we are not replacing knees and hips of retired athletes. We are replacing the knees and hips of people who never worked out. We are replacing the knees and hips of people who have had a BMI >30 for decades. Deadlifting and squatting are basic human movements, but they are also skills. It’s a skill to lift heavy things off the ground. And if you don’t practice a skill, you won’t be good at it. If you’re not good at it, you get hurt. I hear the argument, which is that training to constantly hit a new PR will create extreme stress on the body, but there’s a big difference from training for longevity (which includes practicing squatting and deadlifting) vs pushing a PR constantly like a powerlifter. I’m sorry but I won’t tell someone not to practice a basic human movement. I’ll certainly explain to them how to do it responsibly, but eliminating it all together is not right

[admin]

I've worked out my entire life, there was a comment from a retired pro bodybuilder that has always stuck with me and he said he just didn't do heavy deadlifts ever because the risk of injury was too great on that particular heavy lift. It's an interesting comment that has stuck with me, especially as I age. I now do a lot more trap bar deadlifts and split squats than traditional DBs and back squats. I still do those lifts too, just not as heavy or as often. I do more isolated lifts with the cable machines as well. There are many good ways to build muscle safely.

[jep]

I was prescribed deadlifts when I visited a physio regarding back pain. They worked a treat!

Love deadlifts and squats now. I used to hate deadlifts for fear or hurting my lower back. I think as long as you use proper form they belong in your routine, even at higher weights.

Plenty of exercises become dangerous if performed with bad form.

[joe-zpge]

mcgill is the real genius of the you tube exercise gurus and know it all trainers...this guy brought my back to life!

[julianperry]

It sounds like he’s talking about a perfect scenario. Like when a General Practitioner tells you to take off from the gym for 6 weeks from a sprained ankle, and a sports med doctor would tell you to just take off 2 weeks and wrap it when you start training again.

[mkrj]

This whole deadlift or not thing has been one of my biggest debates for years, especially as I've grown a bit older. Been lifting since at least 12 and now I'm 53 and have been deadlifting most of those years. I've resigned to no longer doing "heavy deadlifts". Also, the trap bar deadlift has largely replaced both heavy deadlifts and heavy squats for me. Wish I would have gotten on those sooner. Deadlifts are useful however and I still do them in one form or another often. I still do a fair amount of other sport and days following heavy squats or even trap bar deadlifts my quads and legs in general are in no condition to perform well. But I can get away deadlifts and they save my quads for more fun activities. As much as I believe in lifting I don't find it much fun and its always only been a means to ends - gets me in shape for other sports. Thanks for the video.

[emilianradu]

as you get older it's not only muscle that goes away. it is also bone density. so lifting sufficiently heavy is essential !!

[JHPT-CPT]

I have back issues and my back only feels good and strong when I do deadlifts. I have tried reverse hypers etc but doing elevated deadlifts within a safe rep range has helped me manage my back.

[thatshim]

After a few months of doing deadlifts. I always seem to pull my back out of place. So now instead of using the barbell, I just use dumbbells.

[marks]

So I went to my Dr last week and I said, “Dr I’m 50 and I really enjoy rock climbing a few days a week at my local gym, but on some days my hands and wrists feel a bit more sore these last few years. I want to learn about risk to my joints as I get older.” My Dr explained that he had clients that liked to free solo in the alps with only a parachute to protect them in a fall and that sometimes it results in death and that rock climbing is in fact very risky.

[jcsk]

I was doing dead lifts and whenever I've entered some bigger loads one day I got a really painful back injury. I recovered but I only do they sometimes with much lower weights and proper form, after squating or other more safe exercises first. That scared me.

[TheChris]

I'm 53, and I no longer squat or deadlift. Could they be done safely? Sure. But if I hurt my knee or back lifting at age 53, I'd feel really dumb.

I still do goblet squats, hyperextensions, and step ups. Works the same muscles, with much lower risk of injury.

[rmartin]

Doug Brignole would have appreciated this conversation. Seems good research & rational thinking is catching up with gym culture. I love all the classic lifts, but performing them carefully & with longevity in mind is the way to go.

[jrkoosh]

As someone who has been pushing weights since the 80s, this makes sense. Squats and dreads totally wipe me out and make the sports I like to play in my 50s (hoops and pickleball ) hard as I pretty sore all the time

Any suggestions for programs to follow that will swap with safe stimuli?

[jimbo]

Aren’t deadlifts good for your grip strength? At 62, I do deadlifts, pull ups, and some kind of row on my pull day. I don’t care about PR’s at this point though.

[spencergsmith]

Everyone should be doing deadlifts and squats.

[Grendelbc]

Lads, I'm 65. I've been doing squats and deadlifts since I was 12 and I'll be doing them until I die. Newsflash: you're gonna get hurt once in awhile. It's usually that last, gut-busting rep or that brutal single that will do it. So, as you get older, you don't do that killer rep. I've been doing about 70% of my DLs with a trap bar for the last 15 years. I haven't had a single back injury during that time. Most of us are not professional power lifters on gear. We're not lifting 800lbs. I can still comfortably do 5 perfect singles with 515 on the straight bar. My best ever was 615 in my late 50s. That's not Ed Coan strength. No question becoming a superman takes a toll over the years. Most folks are not in that category.

[RagnarHoff]

It loosened up my hip flexors, groin and relief from the tendon and nerve pain you feel down your glutes. So i kept doing it as i felt better and better in my hip. However, it's a 50/50 for me as my hip and legs feels awesome and i wanna keep going, but my lower back is unpredictable and can blow out at any time and been happening anywhere from 4th session to the 10th session and it prevents me from moving normally for weeks. Not worth the risk anymore, but i miss the relief it gave my hip.

[nyhammer]

Do the deadlifts with trap bar and get much less risk of injuring your back.

[dondiesel]

I think it’s more important to coach ppl on how to deadlift properly and with programming then to avoid it completely. Lifting weights you can do with proper form and building it up slowly takes time and dedication. We hurt ourselves when we are unprepared and weak.