Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below
napsgear
genezapharmateuticals
domestic-supply
puritysourcelabs
Research Chemical SciencesUGFREAKeudomestic
napsgeargenezapharmateuticals domestic-supplypuritysourcelabsResearch Chemical SciencesUGFREAKeudomestic

Deadlift Program Help

miked8c

New member
I am doing some I have never done before, createing a program devoted mainly to the deadlift. For this program I have two priorities:

First(most important)- 500 lbs. deadlift
As of right now, I can do 345x13. If I had to lowball myself I would say I can 1RM 445.

Second(afterthough)- Rep 315 on bench
I have a seperate program I will be following for my bench.


For my deadlift portion I this is a rough outline

- 2 days a week dedicated solely to deadlift progression exercises.
-9 week program
-Incorporating: Defecit Deadlifts, Rack Deadlifts, Front Squats, Romanians.
- Constraint: Don't want to exceed a BW of 210(195 right now)
- 1 compound DL Movement per week( I believe that like squats, deadlift can only be trained at full strength once a week, anymore, and performance will suffer, even if you are not sore.)

Rough Layout:

Week 1
Day 1
DL 5RM

Day 4
Front Squat 5RM

Week 2
Day 1
DL 3RM

Day 4
Front Squat 3RM

Week 3
Day 1
DL 1RM

Day 4
Front Squat 1RM

Week 4(Real program begins)
Day 1
Deficit DL 5RM

Day 4
Romanians(never done these before, what should my rep scheme be)

Week 5
Day1
Deficit DL 3RM

Day 4
Romanians(Input Appreciated)

Week 6
Day 1
Deficit DL 1RM

Day 4
Romanians(Input)

Week 7
Day 1
Rack Pulls 5RM

Day 4
Front Squats 3RM

Week 8
Day 1
Rack Pulls 3RM

Day 4
Front Squats 1RM

Week 9
Day 1
Rack Pulls 1RM

Day 4
Rest? 1RM next day 1?

1RM DL a Week after last day

I realize this program is a little basic, keep some things in mind:

- I only listed the first exercise for each day. My assistance will be a combination of chins, weighted chins, rowing movements and spinals decompressors, such as GHRs.
- The other two days of the week I will be doing benching and shoulders.
- I put rack pulls in the last three weeks so that I get maximal weight in my hands before I 1RM(ideally weight that is higher than 500 lbs.)

Ok guys, any and all input is greatly appreciated. I have never created a program that was mainly geared towards increasing my DL. I believe that this goal is definitely realistic, I have never done deficit DLs or rack pulls and am expecting serious newbie gains. Help me out guys, be critical. I especially need advice for romanians, should they be assistance instead?
 
Why not pull from the floor and use a peaking method while using rack pulls, squatting and/or Romanians as assistance?

If you want to do your program and you want to use Romanians as a max effort Exercise then I would work up to a 2-6RM.
 
Why not try Coan-Phillipi 10 week routine? Could use this for your deadlift day and then do normal 3/5/1 stuff on the other 2-3 days perhaps.

Based on a 445 lbs (202 kg) current max and a 500 lbs (227 kg) desired max we get the following cycle. Weights are rounded to the nearest 5 lbs. Notation: sets x reps @ weight.
NOTES: Percentages for the deadlifts are based on the desired max whereas percentages for the power shrugs are based on the current max. Rest 90-120 sec between sets of all assistance exercises.
Week 1

Deadlift (75%): 1x2 @ 375 lbs
Speed deadlift (60%): 8x3 @ 300 lbs (90 sec rest b/w sets)
3 circuits (rest 90sec between exercises, 2-3 minutes between circuits):
Stiff-leg deadlift: 8 reps
Bent over row: 8 reps
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 8 reps
Arched back good morning: 8 reps

Week 2

Deadlift (80%): 1x2 @ 400 lbs
Speed deadlift (65%): 8x3 @ 325 lbs (90 sec rest b/w sets)
3 circuits (rest 90sec between exercises, 2-3 minutes between circuits):
Stiff-leg deadlift: 8 reps
Bent over row: 8 reps
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 8 reps
Arched back good morning: 8 reps

Week 3

Deadlift (85%): 1x2 @ 425 lbs
Speed deadlift (70%): 6x3 @ 350 lbs (90-120 sec rest b/w sets)
3 circuits (rest 90sec between exercises, 2-3 minutes between circuits):
Stiff-leg deadlift: 8 reps
Bent over row: 8 reps
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 8 reps
Arched back good morning: 8 reps

Week 4

Deadlift (90%): 1x2 @ 450 lbs
Speed deadlift (75%): 5x3 @ 375 lbs (90-120 sec rest b/w sets)
3 circuits (rest 90sec between exercises, 2-3 minutes between circuits):
Stiff-leg deadlift: 8 reps
Bent over row: 8 reps
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 8 reps
Arched back good morning: 8 reps

Week 5

Deadlift (80%): 3x3 @ 400 lbs
Speed deadlift (65%): 3x3 @ 325 lbs (120 sec rest b/w sets)
Power shrugs (60% of current): 3x5 @ 265 lbs
Stiff-leg deadlift: 3x5
Bent over row: 3x5
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 3x5
Arched back good morning: 3x5

Week 6

Deadlift (85%): 1x2 @ 425 lbs
Speed deadlift (70%): 3x3 @ 350 lbs (120 sec rest b/w sets)
Power shrugs (65% of current): 3x5 @ 290 lbs
Stiff-leg deadlift: 3x5
Bent over row: 3x5
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 3x5
Arched back good morning: 3x5

Week 7

Deadlift (90%): 1x2 @ 450 lbs
Speed deadlift (75%): 3x3 @ 375 lbs (120 sec rest b/w sets)
Power shrugs (70% of current): 2x5 @ 310 lbs
Stiff-leg deadlift: 2x5
Bent over row: 2x5
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 2x5
Arched back good morning: 2x5

Week 8

Deadlift (95%): 1x2 @ 475 lbs
Speed deadlift (70%): 3x3 @ 350 lbs (120 sec rest b/w sets)
Power shrugs (75% of current): 2x5 @ 335 lbs
Stiff-leg deadlift: 2x5
Bent over row: 2x5
Underhand (reverse) grip lat pulldown: 2x5
Arched back good morning: 2x5

Week 9

Deadlift (97.5%): 1x1 @ 490 lbs
Speed deadlift (70%): 2x3 @ 350 lbs (rest as needed b/w sets)
Power shrugs (75% of current): 2x5 @ 335 lbs
Stiff-leg deadlift: 2x5

Week 10

Deadlift (100%): 1x1 @ 500 lbs
Speed deadlift (60%): 2x3 @ 300 lbs (rest as needed b/w sets)

Week 11: Meet day/max attempt


Source: Tsampa.org: Coan-Phillipi 10 Week Deadlift Routine
 
Or you could do something like the above on Day 2, and a 5x5 style workout on Day 1 and Day 3 (of a 3 day a week program).

Day 1: Squat 5x5, Bench 5x5, Press 1x5 + 1/2 assistance
Day 3: Squat 1x5, Bench(or incline) 1x5, Flat Dumbell Press 5x10 (or closegrip 3x5) + 1/2 assistance

Alternatively you could do speed work on Day 3 (for stuff other than pulling since you're doing a ton of pulling on Day 2).
 
Thanks Cato

However can I make gains if I just do a normal DL for 10 weeks, as I am not exactly untrained. Wouldn't I be better off mixing it up with different DL variations?
 
I think it depends. You said you think your current max is ~445. This means you should be able to hit around 385 for 5. It's possible that you could hit your goal just by increasing by 5 lbs a week and just doing normal deadlifts once a week for 1x5. Then in 9 weeks you'd have a 5rm of 430, equivalent to a 1rm of 502. Alternatively, you could do a peaking scheme like EM suggested. Maybe doing 3 weeks of 1x5, 3 weeks of 3x3, and 3 weeks of 5x1 singles. You may be able to hit your aim with any of these methods.

As far as doing different modified deadlifts and other assistance work, I think it depends on your weak points for your deadlift. Do you fail at heavier weight because you cant get it off the floor? Do you fail toward the top/lockout? Do you fail in the middle? Do you fail because your lower back isn't strong enough to hold you up while you're pulling it? How's your speed throughout the lift?

If you're strong off the floor, doing deficit deadlifts won't help much. If your weak spot is somewhere above the bottom, and your quad strength is solid, you might benefit a lot from doing rack pulls from just below the knee. Those particularly work the back without leg drive coming much into it, since you're skipping the bottom.

You could even try deadlifting twice a week on Monday and Friday, one day as a heavy day and the other as a speed day with 50-60%. Depends on how important hitting the 500 is to you. On the workout plan you posted above, were you planning on taking back squats out entirely?

Also, perhaps bblazer will chime in here.
 
The DL program that Cato posted is not a beginner routine. What makes you think you can't make progress from deadlifting?

You should also video your DL form, tweaking you form could put another 5-20lbs on your max...
 
I went in yesterday, originally going to pull 385x5. I pulled 405x5 with a lot left in the tank, like 3-4 more reps.

I think you guys are right, I have never done peaking methods with DLs. I have never even focused on DLs that much.

I think I can squeeze some serious gains without having to go to crazy with DL variations.

I think I'll scrap the deficit DLs, however I will keep the rack pulls because I know that I could definitely benefit from those. Should I follow the peaking method? Or do I need to go into as much detail as the 10 week routine?
 
Personally, I would keep it as simple as you can while still making good gains. If you can just deadlift once a week and keep adding 5 lbs why not continue? Try a top set of 5 or try a peaking scheme (like 1x5 for 3 weeks, 1x3 for 3 weeks, 3x1 for 3 weeks) , it doesn't really matter. Or if you're so inclined, try the phillipi-coan routine. Just do whatever your preference is and stick with it for the 9-10 weeks. You should be able to hit the 500 within that time frame. Already at 405x5 your projected max is ~475.

Using elaborate schemes only becomes important when you're at a point where you can't make weekly progress anymore, and strength increases are only made over the course of 2 or 4 weeks. If you find that you can't make weekly progress using one of the more simple methods, that's when you should seriously consider using a more complex periodized program.
 
When I mensioned a peaking method I didn't have in mind exactly what Cato described, although that may work too.

Honestly if you feel like you can still make (somewhat) linear progress with just once a week regular straight sets from the floor then go ahead. You can probably squat heavy and recover too if your just doing that.

Edit: just read the post above this and he pretty much hit the nail on the head
 
Top Bottom