Temporary power clean replacement on the Texas Method

[Hyperfluxe]

I'm currently in the process of learning how to power clean, and I only really have time to practice them on Fridays where it's suppose to be done (way too drained on Mondays, and feel like shit on Wednesdays because of Monday).

It has come to my attention that I don't have enough pulling volume to drive my deadlift up (it's starting to stall too), so what would be a temporary replacement until I can PC well? I obviously can't power snatch if I can't PC yet...I was thinking speed deadlifts. Maybe RDL's or SLDL would be better, I have no idea. Any input would be appreciated.
NOTE: it is still my utmost priority to learn the PC, but I need to keep my deadlift moving...I missed a rep on Monday @ 410 (4/5).

[Eric Larousse]

I havent done power cleans and my deadlift has shot up to 545 at one point by lifting 1 set of 5 every week and thats all the pulling volume i did other than chins. That said depending on your goals you should probably learn the power clean. I know im still going to try to learn it.

[Milo's Ghost]

You could do RDLs/SLDLs instead, but I agree with Eric. Deadlifting heavy once a week and driving up your squat is probably sufficient. But RDLs on Fridays may help, try for a few weeks and see.

[steven-miller]

It probably depends on why you missed that rep and where the miss occurred. RDLs and SLDLs are assistance exercises with pretty specific functions. Whether or not their inclusion would help or hinder your progress therefore really depends on your circumstances.
In general though, speed deadlifts would probably be the go-to variant as a temporary substitute for the pc. Compared to RDLs and SLDLs they also have the advantage of causing the 'least harm' (in terms of interfering with progress in other lifts) if the choice turns out to be suboptimal.

[Hyperfluxe]

If this changes anything I always fail near the lockout portion of the deadlift, breaking it off the floor has never been a problem for me.

[steven-miller]

Maybe someone with more experience than me can correct me but I would probably recommend a different assistance exercise then. The RDL could work fine, the SLDL however does not really lend itself to this problem. The rack pull on the other hand is probably the most specific exercise to that, but also the most demanding from a recovery standpoint due to the heavy weights that can be handled. So I would not necessarily use it in conjunction with deadlifts, at least on the TM.

If I were in your position I would do the following.

• add speed deadlifts on another day than your heavy deadlift work
• do 5 triples with them
• switch to powercleans ASAP

By the time your deadlift really stalls, and lets hope the additional pulling keeps you progressing for a bit longer, you will be in the demographic that can profit from Starr's method to work the deadlift:

• alternate rack pulls and halting deadlifts weekly on heavy days
• alternate barbell shruggs and powercleans weekly on another day
• don't deadlift except before a meet or to test if the method is successful

I would think that this method is perfect for a guy like you because you get to do powerful/heavy lock-outs 3 out of 4 training sessions and still work the "off the floor" part sufficiently. You also avoid to over train the pull in what is already a lot of work load on the TM.

Good luck!

[scwot]

If this changes anything I always fail near the lockout portion of the deadlift, breaking it off the floor has never been a problem for me.

If you can get it over your knees and it's just the last inch or 2 at lockout give kroc rows a go.