Dramatic Deadlift Topic! 

I didn't hear a word he said, but DAMN, he's pretty.

"I talked to the person I believe to be the greatest Deadlifter of all time.... and the person who I believe to be the Strongest man ever" ok so he talked to Eddie, and Brian.

You,brian,eddie,and nick are the guys that got me hooked on getting off the couch and into the gym. Been only 6 months working on my strongman journey but you guys inspire me to keep pushing.

don't listen to this imposter. The real Robert would NEVER wear a shirt with sleeves. identity theft isn't a joke

"Some people say deadlifts are for leg day Some people say they're for back day I say they're for some other day" Dom mazzetti

He ran that sponsorship really good. A lot of RU-vidrs sound really corny or fake/scripted when doing sponsorships but Oby nailed it!

I got mad respect for you dude. You have something most people are lacking, class.

Listen closely kids, if you eat your cereal you'll grow to be a massive muscular and very very very handsome man; even you little Sussie.

Straight bar deadlift was by far my strongest and favorite lift when I was younger; but even after years of training (and focusing on form) I had to stop because it was giving me sciatica to the point where the left side of my lower body would tingle / go numb after a heavy deadlift day. That's not to say that I don't think the deadlift was beneficiary to me (as it increased my lowbar squat max among other things), but as Robert pointed out there does seem to be an increased risk of injury. Of course I'm sure this varies from person to person, but I find that the older I get, the more careful I have to be with my max lifts/certain exercises as my injuries take a lot longer to heal and seem to always have lingering pains.

Deadlift is my favorite lift. I look forward to deadlift every cycle. I have a day in my cycle dedicated to it. I recently pulled 475lbs, which I know lots of people would laugh at but for me it was a big lift that made me feel great. 500 is coming up maybe in a month or two and I'm excited. People need to get their heads out of their asses about your comments lol. It's a higher risk movement.

im curious on your thoughts of Shaw doing his own competition

This makes sense. Athletes don't need to get technical at a certain lift, they just need to do what works and trap bar deadlifts are just easier to work with

People should appreciate the honesty regarding dangers of lifts vs machismo

When I played football in high school (graduated in 2001) my coach didn't want us doing max deadlift in season at any time because of the fact that it was too much of a risk to blowing your back out, herniating a disc, tearing your meniscus or fracturing your patella, etc. Instead he wanted us to do yoke. He said that doing yoke would engage more of your fast twitch and stabilizer muscles, and distribute the weight over a greater area which would help to diminish the risk of injury. Some of the other coaches in our conference disagreed with his approach, until they started seeing more of their players getting injured, while players on our team were still able to compete season long with a lot less injuries due to weight/strength training. Glad to see coach was right haha.

Fuck you have to respect a guy who consistently reiterates the same thing. No backtracking, no changing the facts slightly. JUst consistent information. Good vid Obe!

Bro I watched that whole interview on a drive from New Jersey to Florida. Great interview btw. I hate how people bark at you on your own experiences in life.

The world needs more people like you man. Even though I am disabled now, you guys drive me to the gym and to crush my goals. I appreciate ya

I suffered a back injury a couple years ago at work followed by a kidney cancer diagnosis, currently on the path to recovery, now I'm intimidated by squats and deadlifts because I don't want to reinjure my back again so I've been exploring different options to strengthen my back and legs

Why is your shirt not cut, its weird, i don't like it.lol

Coming from someone who have injured himself a few times (nothing remotly serious), I agree that the deadlift is not suited for basketball players because the risk/reward. For powerlifters and strongman, sure, but for many other atletes there is a problem with doing heavy ones. Ive also switched over to hexbar, because of my akward angles.

after i got married and had my first kid i stoped lifting and worked my ass to suport my new family. 10 years ago i lost my hero when my dad died, then i found you and eddy and brian and you three became my new hero. I'll never be as big as i used to be im 6 foot and 360 and now with my kids are older im going back to the gym but i have to settle for planet fitness, been a month and i'm sore as fuck but i keep going and it thanks to you, eddy and brian. ps i rock the strong and pretty shirt and people love it.

LOLZ Obie is like he Uncle I never had, Brian is like the dad I never had and Eddie is like the brother I never had. KEEP THEM RU-vidZ content coming Obie!!!!

This also is not lost on anyone that has nagging problems due to injury, that was caused by numbers pride and improper technique!

As a HS football and basketball player, we never front bar deadlifted. We did have a hex or 'side bar' deadlift bar and worked it a decent amount. Even then we rarely went to max. It was normally 5 reps of a heavy, but comfortable weight.

As someone who is not super athletic and played football in high school I was one of the few guys who deadlifted weekly to build strength to compensate for lack of explosiveness. Helped me overpower guys while playing nose tackle.

I’m an oly lifting coach who has trained/competed under some high level coaches and even we never do powerlifting style DL for the same reason. We will do clean DL for volume a small amount of the time but that’s it. I can’t believe you got kick back from that statement. When I seen it on Joe Rogan I was like “THANK YOU!”.

As a 1-box a day Reese's Puffs Addict, I really need this healthier cereal.

The greatest deadlifter and strongest man you know? Just had a chat with Eddie and Brian then?

I think the biggest thing that got people fired up is probably what Joe Rogan titled the clip of you talking about the deadlift, I don’t remember exactly what it was but it was something like “Robert Oberst says you shouldn’t deadlift”, and most of the people bashing you for it probably just took that at face value and didn’t care about what you actually had to say about it.

Your positivity is just awesome and you do inspire, at least me as I can't speak for others, to get back into the gym (home gym in this case cuz of 2020). You are right about deadlifting, if it's not part of what you're aiming for/competition/etc. then there's no need to do it. There's no stopping you, but you gotta do it right so as not to get injured. I've seen people try and hurt their back since they don't know how to do it and wanted to show off. That "gym bro" attitude you reference, it's real and it can cause people to get hurt or push themselves way past their safe limit. I'm lucky that my family growing up was very active in the gym but extremely strict with form and proper build up of weight. To the point that if you couldn't properly squat (for instance) with a bar that has no weight then my mom would take that out of our routine until we could either do it or just used machines that worked the same muscles.

I agree...I like to powerlift but my son is a baseball player. So during our workouts, I have him do hexagon deadlifts while I do front bar. It has helped him be a better player. Especially as a catcher. Plus it feels good as a dad to know that he is safer.

As someone who is very pro dead-lift, i agree with you 100%. I only train it because i want to get better at it, but if it wasn't a goal for me i wouldn't train it. Its a love, hate relationship. I also have a short torso and long arms so its not challenging for me to get into the position.

Preach it Brother! You are absolutely 110% spot on, on the whole "deadlift argument"! "Do your sport, not deadlift in your sport!!" Some of the "biggest" people have the smallest brains!! You are 1 of the very few people in "the biz" who has an equally stronger, bigger cerebral "muscle" as the rest of your body. You are 1 of my favorite strength monsters!! I actually have a rare neurological disease that has "crippled" me but I'm trying to break free from that stigma and am on a road to a bigger better me, by weight/strength training, but due to my affliction I am limited to my output, which is kinda a given. With my affliction there is a short circuit between my pain receptors and my CNS(central nervous system) to the uneducated! Lol. So in general on the McGill Pain scale I am 24/7 at, around 6 to 9. In reference, at, around 7 is excruciating cancer pain, but that is only in waves, etc. With my condition I'm at, around 6 to 9 24/7, 30, 52, 365; no waves, no breaks, it's a constant excruciating, acute, consuming pain, but I have recently started on my way to strength/weight training and have been using the pain I know to muscle thru it and carry on. Only people who actually have the "disease"/affliction know that 24/7 pain and what "other" pain actually feels like and which pain is a bad sign and which is daily life pain due to the "disease"/affliction! I am also NOT getting into strength/weight training all willy nilly, I have a friend who is a personal trainer, well he is about 80% thru getting his personal trainer certification, who is guiding me, helping me thru my transformation, into a living breathing all consuming pain afflicted "Monster", who hopes to be a bigger, muscular, healthier, smarter version of that "crippled" guy! So I'll cut it there and spare the haters my life story, but I just want to finish by saying that you are a great, down to earth, smart Monster who I look up to and appreciate for the straight shooting on whatever is on your mind and hope that I can hopefully get to about ½ your size thru my journey. BTW. Right now I'm a 46yo, 6', 245lb lump of a guy who hopes, and will train to be a bigger, better, more, well defined guy at the end of my long road to at least have something to show for my body besides the pain that defines me and shackles me to it!! Keep up the positive talks!! ✌🤘

Yesterday I just did my max deadlift, and got 300 for the first time

I loved doing deadlifts in high school and college, but my back somehow got out of whack and it bothers my lower back now. I actually like doing side handle deadlift and I will do some rack pulls, but you can get a big strong back without doing them.

You just spoke the truth Robert. The deadlift offers very little gain in athletics with a lot of risk. Every deadlift forum has a string of people who got injured. Tom platz has cautioned on it too.

I was on a NCAA Tennis Team these past 2 yrs and our strength coach made us TRAP BAR deadlift in our off season. Not front bar

18:50 so Brian Shaw and Eddie Hall

dont wanna brag but i can deadlift an empty box

I agree with 95% of what you said. But I would say when it comes to football. Particularly the trenches the DL should be in a form of training. Not max numbers, not all the time. Good form, good reps, will be beneficial in the trenches.

Yeah I'm very tall and frontbar deadlifting required me to over years find an incredibly specific foot position and grip width to suit the mechanics of my long legs, and then one day I tried a slightly narrower stance and injured my lower back horribly to the point I couldn't sit up straight, stand, walk, or even lay in most positions or roll over in bed. I don't think deadlifts are inherently bad, but for me they don't feel like a good lift for ME if an inch change in the narrowness of my stance shifts the weight dramatically enough to my lower back that it gives me that serious an injury. So I'm just gonna do some sidehandle deadlifts because I'm not competing to deadlift the best.

Below the knee rack and block pulls are badass too.

Your info is very on point. A lot of your problems came from the video titles “Robert Oberst says you shouldn’t do deadlifts”. It left no context. Big love bro for standing behind what you say.

Thanks for talking about the deadlift. I have preexisting back injuries (two cracked vertebrae in my lumbar) but I still love to deadlift so I prefer a side handled variant. With that being said, I have a few buddies that will argue the point about which is "better" but I always fall back on, "It's better for *ME* ."

Definitely coached high school football, definitely had a gym bro mentality, kids DID get hurt. Not injured, nothing serious... but they were lifting too heavy without excellent technique, and I encouraged it. Later on, we asked a local B10 school's football strength staff, and they recommended lighter hinge and grounded lifts, with excellent technique and married with another similar movement, like a push/pull upper body philosophy. TL/DR - Obie is right.

For football our coach used to make us max out once a month on every lift during season and off-season, are used to see tons of guys mostly the younger guys who are inexperienced get hurt constantly or strain a muscle or be too sore to work out the next day from maxing out too hard. And for wrestling we hit the weight room in the off-season but the second preseason started we were out of the weight room doing just bodyweight exercises wrestling drills and flexibility drills and almost nobody was hurt during wrestling except for the occasional concussion LOL

But is that 110 calories a box, cause you know grown men don’t eat cereal in a tiny bowl?

I didn’t know you had a channel, I would have subscribed a long time ago. I had a non lifting related elbow injury about 10 years ago and can’t turn my hand much from neutral, so I do all neutral grip lifts, especially Trap Bar Deadlift. Deadlift has been my pet lift all my life, pulling 2 reps with 4 plates in high school and 639 in a meet as a lifetime natural, but I have to admit that the Trap Bar is superior to the straight bar if only for not tearing up your shins, but other known reasons mentioned in your video. Also, because the Trap Bar won’t roll out of your hands, grip even without straps isn’t a problem unless you have a weak grip.

My high school coach many years ago told us in weight class. The only people who should be dead lifting are those who dead lift, meaning if you have a need for it. Otherwise like you stated there are other exercises to work the same muscle groups with minimal risk of injury. It only takes one bad lift to fuck something up for life. I've never dead lifted, ever, never needed to. In my prime 225lbs, I could easily put out 100 situps, 100 pushups and run the 1.5 mile in 7 flat. Fyi, I was in the military twice, two branches of service. I agree with You 100%, don't do it, if you don't have a need for it.

I agree with you 100%. I mean, all other sports require explosiveness. Strongman and power lifting are more of a grind. Even Martins doesn’t touch deadlift very much. Only in competition prep, otherwise he utilized squats because it SO similar of a muscle load to the deadlift.

Not to start beef or anything, I do agree with you. It makes sense that the risk to reward ratio makes it a less appealing option of training to include. I will say that some MMA and Combat sport coaches will recommend Deadlifting as part of strength and conditioning as its one of the best weighted exercises for posture strength. But I imagine its less about the weight and more about using those muscles correctly like you said

This is the side of RU-vid fitness that should be highlighted. Deadlifting is very tricky i would like to see your own setup for it. I also believe that your fitness journey is just that your own. Education should be very welcome without confrontation. Also I saw someone with your shirt and super jealous. If I had the money I would definitely buy one of them. The more I watch your content the more I like it . Thank you

If you’re in professional sports and it’s NOT in competition, it’s NOT a record!

Cleans are the answer in my opinion. Dead lift is amazing but I believe for an athlete it is explosiveness though that makes the difference and cleans are absolutely amazing for explosiveness

Imo, from a former D1 lacrosse player, a properly performed and programmed (generally 5,3x5) deadlift is a key strength benchmark for explosive athletics. Why? A strong lower back tranfers power better than a weak one.

As a guy that regularly lifts and dose jujitsu my back was bad.. Since that podcast, I've completely changed the way i pulled. Replaced regular deadlift with rdls and other variations and it's helped alot. So thanks. Your right strengthening the posterior chain is critical but that doesn't mean you need to do deadlifts.

As his shirt days, Deadlifting is not a crime

100% correct, especially for athletes because you are training for speed not slow strength

I’m beyond happy as a new subscriber to your channel that this is one of the first videos I see. As an athlete, I’m glad you posted this video. I’m excited to set some side handle deadlift PRs!!

I believe Andy Levitre is the lineman he's talking about

Super appreciate your advice regarding athletics and lifting.

Solid story, Obie. Sorry to hear about the permanent lowerback damage. When are you hookin’ up with Brian, Eddie and Nick again? Liked the Strongest Man show you guys did on the History Channel a lot. And yes, the shirt is cool.

I completely understood what you were saying. Name one D1 or nfl team that deadlift in there training with the team.

Can you make a video on how to properly deadlift on both deadlifts that you talked about? I think that would be very helpful

Honestly in my opinion you're a real hero. I wish I had a cool head like you do when it comes to things. I'm working on it, and you're the reason why. Just wanted to mention that, and say thank you.

I'm not a native English speaker, but i like to deadlift. So if I understand to avoid injury it's better to do deadlift with like a trap bar so we get to grip it on the side ?

Deadlift risk is just ridiculous. I was doing 315 trying to work towards 405. Messed up on a set of 285 and boom, out of the gym for 4 months. Now imagine if I was an athlete. The amount you risk is not worth it at all. Robert is not only strong and pretty but he’s smart.

Good to hear someone who knows what they're talking about. Being SAFE is more important than being STRONG. I hurt my back squatting incorrectly when I was around 21. Im 28 now and im a diesel mechanic. My lower back has never been the same since. Im back in the gym but I do not deadlift and I don't squat either. I suffer daily from being young and stupid and pushing myself too far. Do not be like me.

I think some people do not realize the actual danger in deadlift, if you are not prepared or with people that are it can be very dangerous, serious injury is very possible,, and if you are a baller especially at NFL, MLB, NBA level it could be career ending or altering in a very negative way

It’s sad that in today’s day and age you can’t have your own opinion. Respect you for speaking your mind much love

I saw the clip and you honestly could not have been more clear about what you were saying and in how you ment it.

As a high school wrestler and football player and a youth coach for both we only deadlift heavy in off season but we also coached form. In season hell no we didn’t deadlift

i enjoy deadlifting but after listening to your video i definitely will add power cleans to my workout routine

But Cinnamon Toast Crunch........

Olympic lifts are the best anyway. Everyone knows it! Haha! My best clean and jerk was 385 and my snatch was 275. When I could hit those numbers my deadline was in the 625. I think sub maximal training is underrated.

Damn I just saw these videos and don't understand how they don't comprehend what you said it makes sense to me if you're getting paid to play ball lifting a secondary getting better at your sport is first. Cuz at the end of the day the boss man is paying you to win not deadlift.

I like squatting way more than deadlift. So much that I usually squat more weight, despite deadlift being easier to lift heavy. I just loove how exausted I feel after a heavy squat set.

Which side does the butter go on the toast

100% right that you dont need a deadlift for back strength. also 100% right on coaches pushing kids too hard. friend of mine had to have multiple surgeries after trying to reach a coaches expectations during his senior season. Lost his scholarships and everything

I wouldn't touch them. Deadlifting has given me compression of the spine and permanent Sciatica. Whenever I do something strenuous my thighs go numb. This was 20 years ago and I was only lifting light weights. My Physio told me that it will probably get worse with age.

I'd just like to thank you. I did not do deadlifts until your interview with rogan what I took from that interview was if you want to train deadlift train correctly and I have now its my favorite lift

I love to deadlift but I no longer try to be a max out savage with them im happy with the 70% max lol

Doing front bar Deadlifts above the knees would have great benefit and way less risk to athletes. Trap bar just doesnt hit the upper back and hamstrings like rack pulls do, although probably better for traps.

wise words man. I think im going to move towards the trap bar deadlift route. no sense in putting my back at risk time and time again doing front bars.

I deadlift because I love it... I managed to drop body weight to 190lbs from 265lbs, and went from lifting nothing to 500lbs in a year... I enjoy them 😊

In my opinion u dont got to train dl to get better at it . I do compound movements and still get stronger at dl. But when i got time to do dl my numbers still goes up

I agree totally Robert. Deadlift is a good compound exercise if used well and that's it. But it's somehow attained this mythical status and is abused by too many constantly maxing out on it. I actually call it the new bench press because it is the new ego lift. Frequently with horrible form. I've even seen fellow trainers maxing out with clients like middle age women.....WHY!! As you say, used inappropriately the risk to reward is ridiculously high and unless your a powerlifter/strongman ( even the great Ed Coan never maxed out in the gym) or need max deadlift ability for a reason, it really is best to use reasonable poundages and rep ranges. Lastly, power cleans make a lot more sense for athletic performance.

Hey fellow Texan!!! You Inspired me 2 be a power lifter!! THANKS!!!

I agree with you Robert, I hurt my back doing bar deadlifts! I damaged my back to the point it required surgery!

There have been several athletes that have torn biceps because of the deadlift. I beleieve larry wheels tore his the same way. Every thing you said i agree with. Deadlift isnt a bad movement necessarily but it can be destructive to an ego lifter. Living with the injuries i have now i wish i had some guidance on proper technique. Injuries sets you back. Its the worst thing you can do when trying to get stronger or faster especially for a professional athlete. Diet, sleep, training, all of these you if you mess up you can come back 100% from, but injuries never 100% recovery. I use it as a workout not a p.r. goal. Stay strong and stay pretty and keep being you brotha always enjoy your vids.

any type of movement that require triple extensions are the best for athletes. Barbell Deadlift is an accessory and great tool for strength athletes but the form and training protocol to involve it must be carefully considered.

Mate great advice, born from experience and science thanks for sharing

Bro I have been on 2 months of working out because of you and Shaw. I have dropped 26 lbs in like 40 days of lifting and I changed my diet about 15 days in.

these word are so wise and important all young people should listen to your words

Since my injury, I use dumbbells at my side for my deadlift.

I can squat my body weight comfortably for reps, My first session deadlifting 15kg and i have fucked my si joint for 4 months now. the exercise just isn't worth it, I have now bought a trap bar that's arriving tomorrow.

Good video bro, fan of your work. Forget drama and egos. Facts are facts, the goal is to enable people.

Weetabix is the ultra-elite cereal, with a spoon full of sugar if ya like. And it helps ya poop!

Keep being you Robert. Haters gonna hate brother. Don’t let them get your huge head down... 😂

I believe every tool has its place, but it’s all about how it’s being programmed and implemented. I do think the deadlift isn’t as effective as a clean or some over explosive movement per say when it pertains to the athletes and the demand of the sport