New Deadlift Cycle?

[davetooch]

Hello all,

Just posted in Andys programming thread, but welcoming all feedback.

M, 29yr, 230lbs

Tuesdays i squat heavy, most recent was 470x3 and then 405 5r x 3sets beltless. I used to powerclean after but form is off so im planning on switching to stiff leg dead lifts just unsure of the starting weight and rep x set scheme

Friday i squat 5r x 3sets @ 90% of tuesday and then deadlift. I hook everything and have never used straps yet. I ran 5's up to 470, 3's up to 500, and then singles up to 535 followed by backoff of 5 (505x1, 405x5). When i came up to 535 i failed it, took a week of and then got it. Week later i went to 540 and failed it. My close friend Agilic here on the board has proposed this cycle for me.

W1: 475X5, 435X5
W2: 505X3, 435X5
W3: 540X1, 435X5
W4: 480X5, 440X5
W5: 510X3, 440X5
W6: 545X1, 440X5 and so on...

just curious what may have worked for others in general. Thanks again.

[Chebass88]

I've consistently made my best deadlift gains when I do eight doubles / triples at 80% 1RM. Start at 8x2 & work towards 8x3 (16-24 reps), with no more than 3 minutes between sets. Done only once per week, and only squatting once per week also.

[davetooch]

I've consistently made my best deadlift gains when I do eight doubles / triples at 80% 1RM. Start at 8x2 & work towards 8x3 (16-24 reps), with no more than 3 minutes between sets. Done only once per week, and only squatting once per week also.

Thank you for this. I guess i should also ask at what point did you incorporate this?

I started SS in dec 15' with a 250ish deadlift. Did the +5lbs 3 days a week, 2 days a week, then the obvious 1 day a week. Up until 2 weeks ago i still have been adding 5lbs a week to my deadlift and stalled at 535.

Do you think the 5/3/1 plan i had presented may have been to aggressive? Obviously we cannot all speak for each other and i appreciate your input based on your experience. Knowledge gainz are still gainz indeed.

I really want to compete in the fall classic so i was hoping this 5/3/1 could get me up there and then cycle into a 8/5/2. I did also stumble across the article on rack pulls and halting deadlifts as well ...lots of options i suppose ill just have to see what works best

[Chebass88]

I took my deadlift from 515 to 565 over a year and a half (that included when little ones were born, so a lot of time was lost) using a rotating rep max (1RM, 3RM, 5RM) with higher volume backoff work. I took my deadlift from 565 to 635 using the program I described. I'm a little burned out on it right now, but I'll use it to get 700 as well.

The program you posted might work well. The best thing I can recommend is to try it. You may want to try a 10lb jump in each cycle, instead of the 5lb jump shown. From my experience, squats and deadlifts can progress at about 10lbs/month. Doing something like what you proposed would be good for a 6week experiment.

Find something that works for you. Even if you try something and it doesn't work as well as you might think - no problem. Learn from your results and improve during the next cycle.

[davetooch]

Thank you for your time for writing back, i appreciate it. On your 8 doubles/triples do you do any back off work? Im writing this down in my log for future reference. Also, noticed you said squatting once a week. Were you still able to make gains by doing so? I know squatting before deadlifts fatigue me a little, but i don't think thats the reason i failed 540.

Im going to try this 5,3,1 probably stick with +5 on my top sets but +10 on the back offs doesn't seem unreasonable.

[Christopher Anderson]

Also might want to consider doing Pendlay rows in place of cleans. I know MBasic has mentioned those in place of cleans before in other threads, and I agree with him as well.

[Meshuggah]

Also might want to consider doing Pendlay rows in place of cleans. I know MBasic has mentioned those in place of cleans before in other threads, and I agree with him as well.

I think cleans are useless for anyone that is focusing on Powerlifting.

[Christopher Anderson]

I think cleans are useless for anyone that is focusing on Powerlifting.

Oh dude I agree, I don't know any elite level powerlifter that does them.

[Meshuggah]

Oh dude I agree, I don't know any elite level powerlifter that does them.

I knew you did.

[hamburgerfan]

Based on normal expectations of performance at given percentages, it doesn't look like you added much strength by going from 470x5 to 535x1. For this reason, your 5/3/1 plan looks way too aggressive and I would be worried about burning out quickly.