TM DL Programming Question

[Brandin138]

Hey Andy, I'd appreciate if you could give me some pointers on programming my DL on Texas Method. Background - I'm 34, 6,2" with long legs, 233 lb, 2 year old & 4 month old daughters so I don't get much sleep/recovery, desk jockey.

Clip of today's DL - had grip issues for the first time in forever. As you can see my back is nearly horizontal @ start. I've experimented with my stance width, currently trying a wider stance but will probably return to a very narrow stance with toes pointed out. Deadlifts - 410x4

Current Program: 4 day TM split - alternating OHP and BP weekly, weights shown for this week.
Mon - Volume BP/OHP & assistance (dips, LTE, etc)
Tue - Vol Squats - 295lb 5x5, 3x8 RDL @ 225
Thur - Intensity BP/OHP, 3x8 OHP/BP
Fri - ID Squats - 355 1x5, ID DL - 410 1x4, light DL variation, usually snatch grip DL for 2x10 or defecit DL.

Coming back from a mountain bike crash so I deloaded on squats, I was at 335 for Vol & 390 5x1 for ID. I feel like I've been spinning my wheels on DL with sets of 5, there's not much left in the tank due to lack of sleep. Last year I pulled 475x2 after running Coan-Phillipe for DL.

Thoughts on adding more DL volume - any point in speed pulls after volume squats? I could add a dedicated DL day on Wed if needed. I toyed around with cleans & snatches before Vol SQ but they were affecting my squats. How about heavy singles or triples followed by speed pulls on ID? Cycle speed pulls & heavy pulls on ID?

Sorry for the long post, I wanted to provide as much relevant info as possible. Thanks in advance.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

The 225 RDLs probably aren't doing much for your 400+ Deadlift. You can probably drop those or increase the weight and start training them heavier/harder.

Sounds like the Squat Deload might have hurt your pulls a litle bit too. You are probably one of those guys whose DL follows their Squat.

I think on both Squats and Deads I would just start cycling your reps a little bit more. Stop trying to do a 5RM every ID. Rotate between 5RMs, 3RMs, and 1-2RMs. Starting training body to pull some heavier loads more consistently and your fives will start to get easier.

[Brandin138]

Thanks for the reply. I cycle my squat ID and just came back to 5's as part of my deload. The heavier singles/triples definitely helped and that rep scheme has done wonders for my bench. When I ran Coan-Phillipe and had a stronger DL my squat definitely improved.

Last followup question - As a DL assistance - do you like RDL for lower reps (5's, 3's?)? I was running 8's as a "light" assistance but maybe that's too light. Would something like deficit DL be better? I seem to be weakest below the knees, any pull I've failed has been in the first 6" or so. I experimented with halting DL's last year but didn't commit to programming them fully so I don't know how I respond to them.

I appreciate all the time you guys dedicate to answering our questions. This place is an excellent resource.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Do a set of Deficit Deads off a 3inch block for 1x5 as a back off set after regular deads. Do this for 8-12 weeks and see what happens.

[Brandin138]

WIll do, thanks.

[crookedfinger]

More chalk...

[jwagner]

Do a set of Deficit Deads off a 3inch block for 1x5 as a back off set after regular deads. Do this for 8-12 weeks and see what happens.

Not OP, but what would the expected offset be for this? I've been doing a back off at about -5% (with no deficit), but I could barely break it off the floor when I tried adding the deficit. Should the deficit set feel like a 5RM effort or a little lighter with one left in the tank.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Probably need about a 10% offset. But don't get too hung up on the percentage. Just find a weight that feels right for 5. For Deficit Deads, like any other lift, you will get the best result by training the lift as heavy as possible within the specified rep range. That being said, the reason we are doing deficits is to train the quads to be better at breaking the bar off the ground. If you arent doing the lift right, then you aren't getting the benefit. It's common to see heavy deficit deads turn into some kinda shitty stiff leg deadlift looking thing.

You have to be disciplined about sitting down into the lift and forcing yourself to break the bar off the ground with your quads.

[jwagner]

Thanks. That's pretty close to what I arrived at on my own. My DL workset was 405x5 and when the 385 DDL didn't move well (actually hips started rising much faster than the bar), I aborted the set and stripped the bar down to 315 and worked my way up to 345 (-15%). Still had one or two reps left in the tank, so 365 (-10%) probably would have been close to a 5rm.

[Andy Baker (KSC)]

Hips rising too fast is the most common mistake. Keep hips low and "quad the bar up."