Deadlift programming for intermediate masters.

[Nockian]

Having pretty much got back to where I was before all the Covid nonsense and a bout of it, plus another medical condition, I’m slightly stuck on where to go with the DL. The other lifts are going nicely and I managed a PR on the bench. A fair bit still to go on the squat, but I have that in hand.

My best DL was 172.5Kg or 380lbs for a single back in early 2020. Last week I just missed 170Kg by a lockout having done a double 160Kg the previous week. I’m doing 3,2,1 with back offs as double or triples at 135/140Kg for sets of 3 or 4.

I feel I’m close to my physical limit at this point, probably another 10Kg in the bank to take me up to a 400lb PR but it’s really starting to pull the shit out of me and I’m only lifting once a week. I had a nagging mild injury a few weeks ago to my lower back and it settled, but came back after the 170Kg attempt.

Ive let my body weight increase and it is now 180lbs and I’m back on the BP tablets which are controlling it well, so as I’m on them already I’m thinking that a few extra pounds won’t be an issue.

I’ve looked through practical programming and the barbell prescription for clues but they both are limited in anything but general advice for someone who is pushing his limits and getting a few tweaks. Any advice would be a help.

5’8” 180lbs 61 years old - 200g protein and too many carbs. Sleeps pretty good. Rest between sets probably isn’t that important as it’s just back offs, but usually 8mins. I do both chins and pendlay rows alternating and train twice per week.

[Matt James]

Having pretty much got back to where I was before all the Covid nonsense and a bout of it, plus another medical condition, I’m slightly stuck on where to go with the DL. The other lifts are going nicely and I managed a PR on the bench. A fair bit still to go on the squat, but I have that in hand.

My best DL was 172.5Kg or 380lbs for a single back in early 2020. Last week I just missed 170Kg by a lockout having done a double 160Kg the previous week. I’m doing 3,2,1 with back offs as double or triples at 135/140Kg for sets of 3 or 4.

I feel I’m close to my physical limit at this point, probably another 10Kg in the bank to take me up to a 400lb PR but it’s really starting to pull the shit out of me and I’m only lifting once a week. I had a nagging mild injury a few weeks ago to my lower back and it settled, but came back after the 170Kg attempt.

Ive let my body weight increase and it is now 180lbs and I’m back on the BP tablets which are controlling it well, so as I’m on them already I’m thinking that a few extra pounds won’t be an issue.

I’ve looked through practical programming and the barbell prescription for clues but they both are limited in anything but general advice for someone who is pushing his limits and getting a few tweaks. Any advice would be a help.

5’8” 180lbs 61 years old - 200g protein and too many carbs. Sleeps pretty good. Rest between sets probably isn’t that important as it’s just back offs, but usually 8mins. I do both chins and pendlay rows alternating and train twice per week.

Something that worked for me over the last 6 months or so was to do a biweekly deadlift progression. So week 1 was 4 sets of 5 at 80% or a little less, and week 2 was a top triple followed by 2 backoff triples at 30lbs less, which was a little more than 90%.

That may be too much volume for you (it was almost too much for me at 44 y/o) so you could do 3 sets on week 1 and see how that works. I'd take maybe a 5% reset and work into it.

The other option that stands out to me is the classic: rack pulls and halting deadlifts on alternating weeks. It would be less stressful from a recovery standpoint and still have you handling heavy weights.

[Nockian]

Something that worked for me over the last 6 months or so was to do a biweekly deadlift progression. So week 1 was 4 sets of 5 at 80% or a little less, and week 2 was a top triple followed by 2 backoff triples at 30lbs less, which was a little more than 90%.

That may be too much volume for you (it was almost too much for me at 44 y/o) so you could do 3 sets on week 1 and see how that works. I'd take maybe a 5% reset and work into it.

The other option that stands out to me is the classic: rack pulls and halting deadlifts on alternating weeks. It would be less stressful from a recovery standpoint and still have you handling heavy weights.

I’ve wondered about the rack pulls and halting deadlifts but I don’t know how those are programmed for anyone other than an advanced lifter.

I was doing a 5x5 program over a 4 day split, but it left me pretty goosed, unrecovered and hurting-in the end I had to cut the volume back and my final pull was just the same at 170Kg, although I got a triple at 163Kg which was a sort of PR. All routes seem to lead back to around 170Kg being close to my limits. My sense is not to pull a lot of volume and perhaps not be so keen to push a heavy single ?

[Matt James]

Well, I haven't programmed haltings and rack pulls for myself because I don't really have an option for rack or block pulls currently at home.

You'll have to experiment a little to dial in the loading. Ballpark, based on your current numbers, might be 140kg for a set of 8 haltings and the following week do a set of 5 rack pulls at 155kg. Some people rotate in full ROM deadlifts every 3rd or 5th week.

Not everyone does haltings either. You can combine a lighter variation like SLDL or RDL with rack pulls. The point is to manage the stress.

[Nockian]

Well, I haven't programmed haltings and rack pulls for myself because I don't really have an option for rack or block pulls currently at home.

You'll have to experiment a little to dial in the loading. Ballpark, based on your current numbers, might be 140kg for a set of 8 haltings and the following week do a set of 5 rack pulls at 155kg. Some people rotate in full ROM deadlifts every 3rd or 5th week.

Not everyone does haltings either. You can combine a lighter variation like SLDL or RDL with rack pulls. The point is to manage the stress.

Thanks for that, gives me an idea of where to go.