There is no problem with deadlifting two (or even more) days in a row, although this will largely depend on your training experience and powers of recovery. However, you should vary the intensity and stick to lower volumes of work. Plus, you can use alternative deadlift variations if you decide to perform the movement more than once a week.
Vary Your Deadlift Intensity
Personally, I see nothing wrong with deadlifting two days in a row.
In fact, at the time of writing, I am actually in the process of deadlifting 5 times a week for the foreseeable future.
I have previously performed squats every single day for a prolonged period and saw some amazing results.
However, due to a previous lower back injury I was somewhat wary about my squat experiment.
And I would’ve been the same with my deadlift experiment, if it wasn’t for my previous awesome results with the squat.
The idea to deadlift for 5 days in a row (as opposed to just two) came from reading a truly superb article by Dave Bonollo.
Dave actually carried out an experiment and performed deadlifts for 125 days in a row.
Now something that Dave learned along the way is that lifting with the same intensity all the time absolutely sucked.
Plus, this could be a precursor to injury.
My recommendation is that it isn’t bad to deadlift two days in a row if you vary your intensity.
So, day one may involve a 5×5 deadlift session at near maximum weight.
However, then you could drop back on day two and perhaps lift 3 sets of 5 reps with 70% of your one-rep max.
The point being is this isn’t about trying to pull as much weight as possible day-after-day.
You can still achieve amazing results by altering the amount of weight you choose to lift.
In fact, Dave Dellanave, considered by many as the “King of Deadlifts” talks about finding your 12-rep max or 20-rep max with the deadlift.
The idea, once again, is that you don’t have to strain every single muscle in the body by trying to hit your one-rep max 2 days in a row.
Use Multiple Deadlift Variations
When it comes down to whether or not deadlifting two days in a row is bad, intensity isn’t the only thing that matters.
There are literally a whole host of deadlift variations to choose from.
So, if you really want to deadlift two days in a row (or 5 days like me), then try to mix things up a little.
I think when most people ask about deadlifting for a couple of days straight, or more than once a week, they are solely focused on the same deadlift.
I would hazard a guess those asking want to do the conventional deadlift using the same amount of weight.
However, as I’ve mentioned above, you don’t need to lift with the same intensity day-after-day to produce some great results.
And you certainly don’t have to stick with the conventional deadlift either.
For my 5 day a week experiment, not only am I going to vary intensity, I’m also going pick-and-choose from 6 deadlift variations that I enjoy.
They are:
- Conventional Deadlift
- Romanian Deadlift
- Trap-Bar Deadlift
- Rack Pulls
- Sumo Deadlift
- Snatch-Grip Deadlift
This means that although I am hitting the legs and posterior chain pretty much every day, there is also a great deal of variety.
This will keep things fresh, plus it’s a great way to avoid potential repetitive and overuse injuries.
Reduce Your Workload on “Leg Day”
This is a tip I picked up from Dave Bonollo’s article I’ve mentioned above.
And, in truth, as weird as it sounds, from my experiment with squatting every day.
If you’re planning to deadlift two or more days in a row, then take it easy with the other leg exercises you perform during the week.
I know many of you may follow a “bro routine”, i.e. legs, chest, back, shoulders, arms.
However, when you’re hitting deadlifts more than once a week, especially at 3 times a week or more, your legs are going to get a pretty good going over.
Personally, I’m not one for following this type of routine, but I will definitely be reducing the amount of work I do on legs.
In fact, I can’t see myself maxing out on squats when I’m deadlift 5 times a week.
I will probably stick to 3-4 sets of moderate-weight barbell back squats at 8-12 reps.
Plus, I’ll add some Bulgarian split squats.
But, that’s it.
My deadlift experiment isn’t going to last forever, and it certainly won’t be anywhere near as long as Dave’s 125 days.
So, if you are looking to deadlift two days in a row, just ease off the leg work a bit.
Deadlifts will give the glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors plenty to do, so you really don’t want to overload the legs.
Keep On Top of Nutrition and Sleep
The main reason that many people view deadlifting more than once a week as a bad thing is because of potential “overtraining”.
Yes, deadlifts are extremely taxing on the central nervous system and the body in general.