You can certainly squat and deadlift in the same workout safely, but there are some fine points that you need to consider.

First, you should never squat after you deadlift. The deadlift fatigues your whole back, and form always suffers when you squat with drained spinal erectors. If you choose to do so, your back will give up way before your legs have been impressed. This would take away from the primary reason people squat – to develop a strong lower body.

Powerlifter Dave Jacoby {source: www.strengthtech.com;}

On the other hand, deadlifting after squats is way more forgiving, although you can still run into hip and back issues. However, many people choose to squat and deadlift on the same day to mimic the conditions at a powerlifting competition where the deadlift is done last.

This is also one of the reasons why powerlifting purists consider records set at one lift meets less impressive. There is a big difference between deadlifting at the end of a three lift meet and deadlifting first in a pull only competition.

If you are considering squatting and deadlifting in the same workout, you have to do a pushing upper body exercise in-between. Avoid back and biceps exercises. Deadlifting with a tired pulling musculature is neither fun nor safe.

The main reason to put an upper body exercise between the squat and the deadlift is to give your body and CNS time to recover for the caveman party that’s about to happen at the end of your workout.

What are the benefits of doing squats and deadlifts in the same workout?

There are two main reasons to squat and deadlift in the same workout – to save time and to mimic a powerlifting meet.

If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot go to the gym multiple times a week, workout compression may be required.

Furthermore, if you are a powerlifter, replicating the meet conditions will prepare you for contests. A popular powerlifter under the name of Dave Jacoby (image above) used to train the same way (all lifts in one day) because he worked as a truck driver while competing.

What are the benefits of splitting squats and deadlifts into different workouts?

The main benefit is that you are fresh for every movement. When you know that heavy deadlifting is waiting for you at the end of your workout, the whole training session becomes way more stressful.

Many people who have reached advanced numbers prefer to split the lifts.

Another benefit is that you can accumulate more deadlifting volume. When you are deadlifting and squatting in the same workout, the deadlift is done for just one set. If you do the lift separately, you can add a little more volume.

In brief

If you are going to squat and deadlift in the same workout, don’t neglect the following:

• never deadlift before squats

• do an upper body pushing exercise between the squat and the deadlift

• don’t deadlift for more than one work set

• don’t do pulling or biceps exercises before your deadlifts