I tried to look up google but most answers are geared towards strength athletes and hypertrophy wanters.
As a cyclist, do I need deadlifts if I’m doing heavy dose of squats? It seems to me to be almost the same movement and muscles.
Deadlifts are more posterior chain biased and are a bit more ‘full body’ because you are holding the weight in your hands as opposed to it resting on your shoulders. I would include them as it will ‘balance out’ your front and back muscles but you could also probably get away with other movements like RDL’s, KB swings, etc if you’re deadlift-averse.
Many people will also program a trap bar deadlift. This tends to prevent lots of the injuries from deadlifting since the weight is no longer out in front of you. But it also makes the movement a bit closer to a squat in terms of muscle use. But it’s an option.
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As for full body, I’m already doing benching, arms, back rows, bridges, crab walks, planks, shoulder presses. I feel my body is getting the right stuff. The only part I’m not sure is if I’m getting anything from deadlifts that I’m not getting from squats. I like both workouts. Just not sure if I’m doing my body a favor or delaying recovery further.
Well, I think you know that’s a “it depends” answer coming.
I see them as part of the foundational movements, but you don’t need a lot if you’re squatting a lot. I’d be swapping out the other movements in your routine first.
Have you considering lifting lighter instead?
None of these work the hamstrings and squats don’t work them much either.
I think there’s a risk for imbalance in the muscles if you work only your quads and not hamstrings. I like romanian single leg deadlifts, they are less fatiguing than a traditional deadlift. Squat, hinge, push pull (vertical/horizontal).
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I started lifting as augmenting my tri.
Now I enjoy the lifting a lot. Right now I’m 2 hours into a lift session. Lol.
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It’s a bit addictive isn’t it? 
I’m trying again to bring it in again a little, but if I don’t lift heavy 3/wk it’s hard to stay consistent in my experience.
If you are doing trap bar deadlifts then I would say you are probably targeting many of the same muscles as the squat. Traditional deadlifts though position the bar slightly more forward than trap bar and therefore you get more posterior chain work.
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If done correctly, deadlifts are a hip hinge movement which is one of the basic human movement patterns and a fundamental part of many athletic as well as day to day activities. So, every human should be doing some type of hip hinge movement in training. Squats, while also a fundamental human movement, are not the same movement as a deadlift.
As to cycling, deadlifts (or other hinge movements such as kettlebell swings) strengthen your glutes, hamstrings and whole posterior chain. This helps with generating power on the bike, can help with positioning on the bike and also addresses some potential muscle imbalances which can lead to injury.
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Thx all. Just wanted to make sure.
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