Deadlifting every day can boost strength, but isn’t recommended. 1 to 3 times a week is enough for significant results and recovery.
If you do daily deadlifts, you must closely monitor volume and follow a strict training protocol to avoid injury.
About five years ago, I aimed to increase my deadlift by 100 lbs. So, I decided to deadlift every day. However, the training, working, and balancing family time became too much. Therefore, adjusting the frequency helped me manage fatigue while making progress.
Deadlifting every day, though, can have some benefits when done right. Read on as I share how to do it safely.
Table of Contents
Drawbacks of Deadlifting Every Day
- Higher frequency = higher injury risk. Studies show athletes are at an increased risk of injury when training load and frequency increase. To avoid overtraining, a program with daily deadlifts must be programmed precisely and shouldn’t be attempted without experienced guidance.
- You might not have time. Even with proper programming and recovery, daily workouts are a massive time commitment. Time spent driving to the gym and planning around daily activities will impact your success.
- You can’t train other muscles as intensely. Your central nervous system (CNS) can only recover from so much. Since your back and lower body constantly recover from deadlifts, other muscles won’t feel as fresh. You’ll have to plan to take it easy in other aspects of your strength training routine.
To learn more about the muscles worked during deadlift, read the full post.
Benefits of Deadlifting Every Day
- It may improve deadlift form. Repetition is necessary for skill acquisition. For instance, lifters transitioning from conventional to sumo can benefit from light daily deadlifts to learn the new form. Plus, it can tighten weak points like starting posture and keeping a neutral spine.
- It could help you break plateaus. When progress stalls, you need to introduce something new. Shocking the muscles with a short period of daily deadlifts could do the trick.
- You might enjoy it. Ultimately, the right workout plan is the one that keeps you coming back to the gym. If the daily deadlift challenge motivates you, try it and see how your body responds.
Can you squat every day, too? Check out my full article.
How To Safely Deadlift Every Day
To safely deadlift every day and stimulate muscle growth, you must manage volume and intensity. You’ll want to have days where you go heavy (90% of 1RM) and lighter days (60% of 1RM). Leaving a few reps in the tank some days will help maintain proper form and manage soreness.
Be sure to check out our 1 Rep Max Calculator to get your intensities right.
Here’s an example program that mixes all those elements successfully:
Sample Daily Deadlift Program
- Monday – Heavy: Work up to 90% of 1RM and perform 5 singles
- Tuesday – Light: Work up to RPE 7 and perform 3 sets of 5 (leave at least 3-4 reps left in the tank at the end of the set)
- Wednesday – Accessory (Pause Deadlift): Work up to 75% of 1RM and perform 4 sets of triples
- Thursday – Heavy: Work up to 85% of 1RM and perform 3 sets of doubles
- Friday – Speed: Work up to 60% of 1RM and perform 5 sets of triples with a focus on speed
- Saturday – Light: Work up to RPE 7 and perform 3 sets of 5 (leave at least 3-4 reps left in the tank at the end of the set)
- Sunday – Accessory (Trap Bar): Work up to an RPE 8 and perform 3 sets of 5
Training at different percentages of your one rep max can make it challenging to assess progress. So, after 4-8 weeks of following this program, go for a PR to see how you’ve improved.
Interested in learning more about high-frequency powerlifting programming? Check out my article discussing the 6-Day Powerlifting Split.
How Much Do You Need To Deadlift To See Results?
Beginners should stick to once per week, while intermediate and advanced lifters can go up to 2 to 3 times per week.
When you train intensely, you create small microtears in your muscle fibers. Allowing those muscle fibers to repair is what creates muscle growth. During repair (rest), your muscles get bigger to handle more work without stress. That means recovery time between directly targeting a muscle group is essential.
Research shows that the maximum force muscles can produce is reduced 48 hours after intense training. You need at least 2 days between deadlift sessions for maximum performance.
I’ve gotten the best results doing strict conventional deadlifts once per week. I’ll also implement 1-2 deadlift variations in other training sessions that carry over. My favorite alternatives to add are Romanian deadlifts and deficit deadlifts.
Looking for other exercises to do on deadlift day? Read the full post.
Does it Matter Whether I Deadlift More Often?
Most studies show that the optimal training volume for muscle growth is 10 to 20 sets per week per muscle group. Therefore, you must reduce the volume per workout to deadlift more often.
For example, say you deadlift twice weekly and do five sets per session, which is 10 sets and optimal. However, if you deadlift 7 days a week and do 5 sets, you’d be doing 35 weekly sets and risking injury. That’ll produce more fatigue than actual muscle growth.
A better option would be to aim for an average of 2-3 sets per session if you deadlift daily.
The same is true with training intensity. If you’re used to going all out for every deadlift session, you’ll want to change that if you plan to do them daily. Your CNS typically takes 48-72 hours to recover after max effort strength training. Plus, it’ll likely take longer when you train every day.
Most people will want to aim for 1-2 high-effort training sessions per week on a daily deadlift program.
Want to improve your deadlift technique with other exercises? Read the full post.
Deadlift Variations That Can Help You Increase Frequency
Instead of doing conventional deadlifts, try similar exercises to add variation to your program. It’ll help you boost frequency without taxing the exact same muscles over and over. Many of these exercises will carry over to the conventional barbell deadlift.
- Romanian deadlift: This is one of my favorites for targeting the posterior chain. It focuses heavily on the hamstrings, which don’t get worked as much in a regular deadlift.
- Kettlebell deadlift: I’m a big fan of this one for active recovery days. Kettlebells don’t go as heavy so you won’t push yourself too much.
- Trap bar deadlift: With this exercise, you’ll have less range of motion, which is good for lower-intensity days. Plus, I like this one since I greatly feel it in my quadriceps.
- Stiff leg deadlifts: These are similar to the Romanian deadlifts, but they have a bigger range of motion. They’ll focus heavily on your hamstrings and glutes.
Can you bench press every day, too? Check out my article on Bench Press Every Day: Pros, Cons, & Should You Do It?
Quick Tips For Deadlifting Every Day
Here are some quick tips, especially if you choose to deadlift every day
- Warm-up properly. Start with a general warm-up, then warm up with the deadlift with light loads working up to your working set. Also, don’t be afraid to keep warming up in between sets if you feel the need to do so.
- Listen to your body – quality over quantity. Remember the program is a guideline and is subject to change depending on how you feel. Reduce the load if you feel the need to! Also, for the most part don’t lift to a point where your form breaks down, we want quality over quantity.
- Increase your frequency slowly. Don't automatically jump your frequency up from 1 time per week to 7 times per week. You'll want to get used to higher frequencies of training over a long period of time.
- Eat and sleep. Working out is just part of getting stronger, take care of yourself and ensure you have adequate nutrition and sleep to help fuel your body.
Do Powerlifters Train Every Day? Read the full post for beginners, intermediate, and advanced lifters.
References
- Jones CM, Griffiths PC, Mellalieu SD. Training Load and Fatigue Marker Associations with Injury and Illness: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies. Sports Medicine. 2016 Sep 28;47(5):943–74.
- Ahtiainen JP, Lehti M, Hulmi JJ, Kraemer WJ, Alen M, Nyman K, et al. Recovery after Heavy Resistance Exercise and Skeletal Muscle Androgen Receptor and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Isoform Expression in Strength Trained Men. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2011 Mar;25(3):767–77.
- Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of sports sciences [Internet]. 2017;35(11):1073–82. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27433992
- 1.K T, Cg B, J D, P P, S G, G H. Neuromuscular Fatigue and Recovery After Heavy Resistance, Jump, and Sprint Training [Internet]. Medicine and science in sports and exercise. 2018. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30067591/
What To Read Next:
- Is It Okay To Do Bicep Curls Every Day?
- Can You Overhead Press Every Day? (Pros and Cons)
- Can Forearms Be Trained Every Day (Yes, Here’s How)
- How Many Times Per Week Should You Deadlift?
- How Many Times Per Week Should You Bench Press?
- How Many Times Per Week Should You Squat?
About The Author
Clifton Pho's most notable achievement is winning the 2017 IPF Classic World Championships in the Junior 66kg class whilst setting an Open World Record Deadlift. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Chiropractic.
