Originally Posted by
J. Killmond
You might try one more programming adjustment before resetting the deadlift. I may not be understanding your workout correctly, but if you started your deadlift warmup with 225x5, that seems high. The deadlift example in the book for 315x5 starts at 135x5x2 (Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training (3d ed.), p. 299, Table 8-1).
For an older lifter, you could cut the warmups a little more. You could do a single set of 135x5, then 225x3, followed by singles at 275 and 315 (The Barbell Prescription: Strength Training for Life After 40, p. 176, steps 3-5). That would be four total reps at 225 and 275, instead of eight.
My position is that age gives me authorization to do even fewer warmups than that! I want to get to the work set with the most energy in reserve that I can. Looking at my training log for last year, I'm embarrassed to say that I failed on the last rep on my first attempt at that weight, doing 340x4 in the fall. However, I kept moving the weight up, since it was really just a rest and nutrition problem, and I set a few DL PRs before year-end (hopefully working my way back up now, but we'll see).
Here were my warmups for that 340x4 in the fall last year: 135x4, 190x1, 240x1, 290x1. Looking back, I'd probably do a double at 190 and add another single to make the jumps smaller (135x4, 190x2, 225x1, 275x1, 315x1). That would be the same nine total warmups you did before, but with a not-insignificant drop in total weight. Don't forget to rest before the work set!