Get a Stronger Deadlift

Over the last few years I’ve spent a ton of time writing programs for athletes who play various sports.

I’ve worked with high school and collegiate athletes, professional fighters and some incredibly strong people at my gym, Skill of Strength.

Twice a year we host an event called the tactical strength challenge or TSC. I love preparing my clients for this event because at every event we see hard work and preparation come to life through tons of PR’s, huge smiles and social support!

My favorite part of the Tactical Strength Challenge is always the deadlift.

Something magical happens when you see your client deadlift a weight they never thought possible.

These PR’s don’t happen by accident. Clients spend months practicing their technique, training hard, and being patient throughout the process.

It’s no surprise that the clients getting the best results are also the most consistent. We work closely with our clients to help them determine goals and then we provide a game plan to get them there!

There are several different options on how to program for each client, but there are some tried and true guidelines to follow. Most of our clients will start out dead lifting once a week. And advanced clients we may pull 2 to 3 times a week.

Once clients have a decent understanding of how to deadlift safely, we often set them up on a linear strength cycle.

Some basic guidelines we follow when designing a linear deadlift program training 1x per week.

1. Establish either a 1rm, 3rm or 5rm in the clients deadlift.

If you do not have a basic idea of what your client is able to lift safely, how can you design a quality program? If you have no idea on what your client is capable of, it’s time to start tracking and testing.

You do not need exact numbers, but you should have an idea of what they’re capable of pulling. If your client has a one rep max of 300lbs, you may make it a goal to pull 315lbs to 325lbs after 10-week linear cycle.

2. Determine how many weeks the linear cycle will be.

Most of the programs we design are 8 to 12 weeks. It really depends on the individual and what they’re capable of committing to on a weekly basis.

For events like the TSC, we usually start training about 10 to 12 weeks out.

3. Determine the volume (sets and reps).

Most of the time, we use a high to low set and rep scheme. In a 10-week program, the total reps per week might look like this:

Weeks 1-5
20-25 reps per session

Weeks 6-8
9-12 reps per session

Weeks 9-10
4-6 reps per session

Week 11
Test your 1RM

4. Determine weekly percentage increases.

Here’s why it’s so important to understand your 1, 3 and 5 rep max. When we know these numbers, it will guide us in creating the appropriate percentage of weight lifted for each session.

If you start too light, you may not make the progress you were hoping for because you didn’t provide enough stimulus for adaptation.

If you start too heavy, you may overload your nervous system and start missing lifts in a premature fashion.

Here is a quick and dirty example of numbers you may see:

• 1RM 300 which is 100%
• 3RM 280 which is 93%
• 5RM 260 which is 87%

When you design your next program, it would be great if the numbers look like this:

• 1RM 315
• 3RM 295
• 5RM 275

With this as a goal, you’re not only increasing the client’s one rep max, but also increasing his/her three and five rep max as well!

Based on how the client responds, this is good information to have because it will give you more insight on how to create programs for that same client down the road.

5. Build in de-loads if necessary.

Some coaches build a de-loading phase into their client’s programs and others don’t. If you are really lifting heavy, you should use some form of de-loading.

There are several other ways to program a de-loading phase. One of my favorite ways to program de-loading is simply by decreasing the set and reps schemes while the percentage increases in weight stay consistent weekly.

For example, when you decrease from 25 reps per week to 12 reps per week, but keep the load increase consistent, it is a built-in de-load in volume.

6. Add in assistance work if necessary.

Some of my favorite assistance exercises for the deadlifts are:

• Pause deadlifts
• Romanian deadlifts or RDL’s
• Heavy kettlebell swings

Each of these exercises can play a role in improving yours or your client’s deadlift, but it’s really up to the coach to decide which ones seem to work best for a given client.

 

Program design is an art and it takes years of practice. If you are looking to take your strength gains to the next level, let us know and we will help you get you there!

As always, train smart and train hard!