Friday, June 7, 2013

Can you Deadlift Heavy More Than Once a Week?

The answer is absolutely. I decided to give deadlifting 3x a week a month ago. What I found is that while I suffered in performance initially in what I could actually pull (there would be days were 405lbs for a single is all I could muster), I was eventually able to deadlift 545lbs to 565 for reps multiple times throughout the week. Without having the need to foam roll or do mobility work (I get all the mobility I needed from training daily), I feel amazing training heavy daily.


My best pull in the gym is 610. This was done at a bodyweight of 187lbs, wrist straps (due to hand pain suffered from improper grip training), and a belt:


I have pulled 600lbs at 181lbs BW in the USPA in the Junior Men's division and 595lbs at 181lbs BW in the USAPL in the open men's division. I am currently 24.


I am a drug free powerlifter and plan on pulling over 725lbs drug free.


What I discovered is that it is the greats such as Bob Peoples would routinely deadlift 4-5 times a week heavy. Here's an example of what Bob Peoples did everyday in preparation for a contest everyday:

Deadlift - 450x20, 500x15, 550x12, 600x10, 625x5, 650x2, 670-690x1.
Press - many sets of varying reps.Squat - 200x5, 250x5, 300x5, 325x5, 375x5, 400x5.


Intrigued, I decided to implement deadlifting 3x a week from my daily once a week deadlift routine. My recovery was enhanced, and I was able to deadlift 545 upwards to 565 for reps routinely every week with my performance continually improving. This in addition to squatting everyday, where I train to a daily max with the low bar squat, paused low bar squat, low pin squat, mid pin squat, and high pin squat.

I decided to experiment back to deadlifting heavy just once a week while adding accessory work with high reps (such as back extensions). I actually feel physically better deadlifting 3x a week versus once a week with a bunch of accessory work. I feel that in order to get good at a movement, one must be able to practice the movement as frequently as possible without getting hurt. Such principle is the SAID principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands). This is where the bench press has plagued me. Outside of bad leverages for the bench, I've suffered a shoulder injury that has left me unable to push the bench press as hard as my deadlift or squat. In the beginning of 2012, my bench press was at a meager 185lbs. I played with high frequency (benching 3x a week) and brought it up to 280lbs near the end of the year. At this stage of the game, I would rather not bother my shoulder and consistently improve slower over time on the bench press (benching 2x a week or less) while dedicating my efforts to become a deadlift specialist. I will eventually start deadlifting 5-6x a week when the time comes. I have a copy of the Supple Leopard that I plan on implementing into my routine to improve my shoulder.


My ultimate goal is to out pull Bob Peoples, who pulled 725lbs drug free at a bodyweight of 181lbs. He did it with a hook grip I believe and an incredibly rounded back to maximize his leverages. I have found that a rounded upper back is safe to perform so long as the lower back is braced hard.

This week I'm just getting back into training. The past month deadlifting 3x a week allowed me to get one of my best deadlift sessions ever which includes a 545x4 and 565x2 deadlift. Video is here:


This week's deadlift training highlights:
Monday:
Deadlifts (no straps)
495x5, 525x3, 545x2

Wed
Deadlifts (no straps)
495x5, 525x3, 545x2

Fri:
Deadlifts (straps on, adjusting to new gym bar)
435x5, 455x5, 485x3

Friday was rough. Thursday entailed working up to a 420 squat with 5 back off sets of 380 for triples and 5 back off sets of 380 for doubles for a total of 10 back off sets.

Next week I'll talk more about training frequency for the squat and how I like to train it to get stronger and to prevent boredom.