In Season Programming the Squat and Deadlift

[dakotajones]

Hi Rip,

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't beleive this is covered thoroughly in PPST3. I play college football and I'm wondering how you recommend programming the lifts in season.

For upper body I've been doing 3x5 bench or press on monday and light 3x5 bench or press on wednesday to maintain strength. Thoughts?

But for lower body I've tried squatting and deadlift each week but it just doesn't work. So I'm thinking of either:

A. Squat 3x5 on monday and don't deadlift at all all season (since the deadlift doesn't regress as fast as the squat.)
or
B. Alternating squat and deadlift each week.

If you recommend B, should I deadlift 1x5 or do rack pulls/halting?

My numbers are:

~ 5' 11" 225lbs
545 Squat
585 Deadlift

[Mark Rippetoe]

It depends on your level of training advancement, which may or may not be indicated by your SQ/DL numbers. At 5'11" and 225, you are underweight for any field position except QB, and this may be affecting your ability to recover from squats and deadlifts. I kid your age should be able to play football and squat and pull (deadlift and power clean) twice a week, so these things both tell me you're not eating enough. This is definitely covered in PPST3.