Deadlifts and Squats Question

i’m a n00b to these. actually today was my first day trying them out. so heres, i’m sure, a stupid question. this is what i did for a w/o and i want to know if it sounds o.k.

warmed up with some heavybag work (boxing).
5x5 with some squats
1x5 and added 20lbs and 2x2 deadlifts.
core work weighted sit ups and russian twists
5x5 bulgarian splits
jogging on treadmill
calf raises
crunches

i know not many like the ab work, but it’s more for boxing than aestetics. my concern is the amount of squats and deads to be most optimal, if they’re worked out together and in succession with a lower body workout like such??? i appreciate the help and i’ve watched plenty of vids for form and am starting light to concentrate on form moreso than strength…

thanks.

Lots of people chose not to do deads and squats on the same day because they are both very taxing on the body and cns. If you can pair them together and perform both effectively, then I see no reason why not to do them together.

As for amount, I’d say 5x5 is a great base. I personally do four or five working sets for each for maybe 3-5 reps. I usually do about 3-4 warmup sets for each pyramiding the poundage, though.

thanks Rugby. i guess i’ll keep it together for now since i’m not over doing it, just trying to get the form down. appreciate it…

Rugby gave some sound advice.

Doing those exerciese will strengthen your legs, which is where a lot of punch power comes from. Good job.

If you want to do squats/deadlifts on the same day, I would make one a speed movement and one a max effort movement. I don’t recommend hitting them both hard on the same day because you won’t have the energy to push yourself as hard on the second exercise. If you do choose to make one a speed movement and one a max effort movement it would look somthing like this:
First time:
Speed squats
Max effort dead
Accessory exercises

Second time:
Speed deadlifts
Max effort squat
Accessory exercises

Speed can be very beneficial for you if you are trying to get stronger. By building your strength, in turn theoretically, body mass should follow (if your diet is in place). Always remember to hit your speed movements as the first exercise. Really focus on exploding as fast as possible . In addition, you should not need heavy weight on speed exercise. Say for instance, your max on squat is 400lbs. For speed you would use roughly 50-60% of your max. While this may seem light, you would exert 400lbs into the bar. Hence the explosion. Also, keep your reps fairly low when working on explosion.

Hope this helps

wow, thanks for the great advice folks. another question stemming from the answers. if i wanted to start using both movements for pure strength purposes in the future how could i go about breaking them up in the week. i’ve been doing a split w/o consisting something like this. the days aren’t ever really mon-thru-sun like this, but this his how i try to do it.
mon…upper body
tues…lower body
wed…day off light cardio
thurs…up hill sprints with bodyweight movements
fri…day off w/light cardio
sat…start over again

sometimes i workout twice for skill trainning (boxing).

Many would not recommend doing sprints and squats/deadlifts in the same week as it can be hard on your knees. If you have your diet in line, and you are doing light cardio (moderate walking on incline treadmill is usually best), you will not need to worry about fat gain.

As they say: pick a goal… either weight gain, or weight loss and stick to it. If you chase two goals at once, you’ll end up losing both of them. Since squats/deadlifts will give you the most gains out of any other exercises, i prefer to do these as often as possible. I have tried many many many weight training splits, and I always come back to this one. Try something like this.

Day 1:
Speed deads
Max effort squats
accessory exercises
Core work (abs, obliques)

Day 2:
Off/stretching

Day 3:
Upper body

Day 4:
Off/stretching (pullups/chinups, if you want)

Day 5:
Speed squats
Max effort dead
accessory exercises
Core work (abs, obliques)

Day 6:
Off/stretching

Day 7:
Upper body

Day 8:
Off/stretching (pullups/chinups, if you want)

Day 9:
Repeat day 1

To find out more about this type of planning, research westside training. Also, remember most people think if they are not graining muscle they are not hitting it hard enough in the gym. But, in reality, diet is 80% of the game. Only 20% comes from lifting.

What you were doing was a great starting point. Basic as basic can be, but it works like a charm. The volume on both lifts is also fine. I say keep doing exactly what you are doing.

Starting off light to work on technique is also an intelligent choice.

Good luck.

Pretty simple really…

If you want to do deads and squats to thier maximum effeciancy, DONT do them on the same day.

I’m rather surprised there are so many people advocating not doing squats and deadlifts on the same day…

I learned it that way from my powerlifting coach, and I’ve never changed it.

I think it’s the back that holds most people back from a great deadlift anyway.

Also, for you specific training purposes (boxing, fitness?) - I see no problems working them together.

I do squats and deadlifts every five or six days… But I alternate the focus every workout, for example:

workout 1:
squats - 5x5
deadlifts -4x8

workout 2:
squats -3x8
deadlifts - 5,5,3,3,1

sounds like these deads and squats are crazy taxing on the body. i’ll be able to schedule my week better with this info. i really appreciate it…thanks.