TM - low back training

[builtbyrowan]

Hi Rip,

I'm still working very hard with the Texas Method and hitting PR's weekly..ive probably taken max 10 days of rest since your seminar in December and still making great progress.

The only thing I don't like about the program is the halting deadlifts.. in fact, I hate doing them. I enjoy every other pulling variation and I love squatting but I just can't get motivated to do the halting deadlifts.. and since my biggest weakness in the deadlift is the lock out i've been neglecting them and have been just driving my rack pulls up weekly while building my cleans and shrugs on the intensity day. My questions are,

1. Would Good mornings be an appropriate substitute for the halting deadlift?
2. Have you had any success with working up to 1 x5 with a full deadlift once every 2-3 weeks?
3. I asked a while ago how to go about testing 1RM's with the deadlift and you responded that ironically that would interfere with the training of the deadlift..but I'm still wondering how you'd recommend peaking for a max effort attempt on all movements?

Thank you again for your programming and advice.

Rowan

[Mark Rippetoe]

1. No.
2. No. I have had success with haltings.
3. Your peak max efforts occur at the meet that you apparently will not enter.

[builtbyrowan]

Thank you for your response..The next meet I'm preparing for is in December.