Questions Regarding Female Lifters

[Bradley Gish]

Why are you having her do three sets of five on the deadlifts?

Well, according to PP3, apparently women typically can do sets across for deadlifts, due to neuromuscular reasons. So my plan was to initially start her out on sets of 5 across until she hit a plateau, then convert to triples across, as in the hypothetical example.

[Tom Campitelli]

Well, according to PP3, women can typically do sets across for deadlifts due to neuromuscular reasons. So my plan was to start her out on sets of 5 across, eventually converting to triples once she hit a plateau.

I disagree with that part in PP. Many women do just fine on a single set of five on the deads for a good long while. Some need more than that, but I don't recommend doing three sets of five for deads off the bat unless there is a special reason to do so. If someone can make progress on lower volume, then that should be exhausted before moving to higher volume work. I'd probably have her pull less and make smaller jumps. Is she doing power cleans?

[Bradley Gish]

Yea, she's performing PCs twice one week and DLs twice the next. Today's workout calls for her to PC 82 x 3 x 5.

[Tom Campitelli]

See if having her pull a little less gets things going again. Back off the weight to 175 and deadlift once a week for a set of five. Go up by 2.5 pounds at a time, if necessary. Let's see if a drop in tonnage helps.