Originally Posted by
Will Still
Hey Coach Santana,
Thank you for that insightful article. While I was reading it I felt as if you were speaking to me personally. I have struggled with an artificially weak deadlift, which has fallen behind my squat since my initial LP.
I am 50 years old, 180 lbs (up from 158) and 5'8". My pull has hovered in the high 200s/low 300s for months, using the hook grip and chalk. I considered switching to the alternate grip, but I am concerned about the shoulder asymmetry and the potential problems which can arise from it. I am going to give straps a try today.
I am on a 4 day heavy/light split currently:
M-heavy bench/light press
T-heavy squat/light pull
Th-heavy press/light bench
F-heavy pull/light squat
My pull suffers most noticeably on weeks that my squat goes up. Do you think a squat de-load is in order, until my pull gets consistently ahead of it, or should the use of deadlift alternatives like halting dls and rack pulls be incorporated, as I seem to be sensitive to too much deadlift volume (tried increasing volume previously with negative results)? Thank you for your time. Any insight you could provide would be appreciated.
Will