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Guys I did deadlift only for a ~2 months and it works well BUT in my experience the DL is not enough to make biceps, triceps, front delts and (upper) chest grow. Both my curl and OHP didn′t improve I even lost strength. I think Dips or Bench or Overhead Press is needed (like Mike said). If you do a sumo deadlift like me there is probably no difference with a // squat. Chins might not be necessary because Deadlift hit the whole back (even lats) but an exercise for biceps is a necessity.

All in all I think it′s very difficult to have a more abbreviated routine than the consolidation routine of Mike : Squat, Deadlift, Chins, Dips.

If you want a more abbreviated routine I think you can go with :

Sumo Deadlift or Trap Bar Deadlift

Dips or Bench or Overhead Press (OHP has my preference)

Chins or Curl (curl is easier on CNS and has no overlap with DL but Chins might hit some muscles better than Deadlift…)

Eventualy Sumo Deadlift + Clean and Press (the clean hit relatively well the biceps but not like a curl).

Imo, I think a dl only routine is a terrible approach (from an appearance standpoint). If one is has reached the point of doing one set only, I think they′d be better suited to a one set rotation. I.e., workout 1: dl ; workout 2: dips; workout 3: squats; workout 4: pulldowns.

Ultimately, it′s up to each individual to determine what works best for them. Obviously, this can only be determined through trial and error.

Well im doing trap bar deadlifts once a wek, and my biceps and triceps have got bigger.not so sure about my chest, but will add dips if it starts to lag behind.

Howard did you test your strength on a curl or triceps extension ?

Back in the good old drug free days – prior to the 1950′s. Abbreviated routines were the norm.

Peary Rader from IronMan wrote about people only doing squats for extended periods of time and gaining mass all over. Paul Anderson did nothing but squats for the first two years of his training career.

Harold Arsonage often focused on one movement (deadlifts) and broke records…He did this while training once every 5 days.

Hise, Berry and a whole host of others, trained like this – it′s not new, it been done before and it has been proven to work – its stood the test of time.