Training at home for a bigger Press & bigger Deadlift!

[dlocas]

I have been training at home since January 2013. I will turn 48 in April 2020. All my equipment: barbells, dumbbell rods, plates & two wooden blocks & a pair of farmer's walk handles. That's it.

Thus far, my PR Deadlift max is 554 x 1 (December 2017) & my PR Deadlift for reps is 504 x 4 (May 2018). I have also done 455 x 10 during a strongman competition (August 2016). I am a conventional deadlifter.

My PR Clean & Press (strict) is 239 x 1 (December 2018) & my PR Press for reps is 219 x 2 (January 2019). I muscle clean all my presses. I do a fair amount of clean & snatch pulls in my training, as these exercises are very safe for someone who is training at home with iron plates (can't afford to drop them!). Safety first. Strength first too.

I take it from where I am right now in my journey. I have kept a paper log since October 2013. I have found some interesting patterns. Here is one, about my deadlift: in June 2015, when my PR Deadlift was 504 x 2 (grinding PR), I did stiff-leg deadlifts at 420 x 6 (grinding PR) and then, two weeks later, failed to deadlift 524 lb. In fall 2017, I spent two-three months deadlifting twice a week (sometimes only once) with training weights in the 350-400 range with the occasional triples at 430, and the heaviest stiff-leg DL set I did was 390 x 7. Lo and behold, on November 15 2017, I hit 484 x 5 and then got all fired up and started to pull twice a week, doing doubles at 440 or 450. Despite these excesses, I pulled 544 lb on November 29th and proceeded to deadlift 554 x 1 on Dec. 23rd. The 554 pull was noticeably harder than the 544 x 1, so I didn't gain an ounce of strength from November to December.

I did these PRs in spite of my overly enthusiastic pulling at 440-450 twice a week, which I did between Nov. 15th & Dec. 15th (I still had the sense to take a week off deadlifting before the Big Pull); none of this actually made me stronger. On the day I hit 484 x 5, I already had the strength to pull 554. That strength had accumulated during the previous months and came from volume in the 3-5 rep range with intensities hovering around 60-75%.

I had built a sound reserve strength and had enough of it for a bigger max pull.

During the next two years (as of now), I have been doing a lot of deadlifts at 75-85% and failed to add any max strength. Pulling multiple sets in the 410-450 range or higher doesn't allow me to build reserve strength, nor do heavy block pulls. Such sessions tire my lower back and force me to use the reserve strength I am trying to build; nothing's left for the Big Pull.

Learning from that, I will train lighter (60-75% most of the time) so I can start building reserve strength. In my case, training for a new Deadlift PR is all about building reserve strength for the Big Pull. So let's get on to it!

My Deadlift PR from 2017:
YouTube

My Press PR from 2018:

[dlocas]

Saturday December 28th

My usual training week is Saturday, Monday and Wednesday (sometimes I also lift on Sunday, but it's a shorter and lighter session)

Clean & Press (after some warming up with the empty bar)
85 lb x 5 x 2 sets
128 x 5 x 2 sets
148 x 5
168 x 3
178 x 3 x 10 sets (all sets at RPE 7-8) My press answers well to submaximal volume. Too much pressing at my limit makes my elbows achy and depletes my reserve strength. (This reserve strength may not be as important here as in deadlifting, but it does have its place in pressing). 178 is 74% intensity.

Muscle Clean
188 x 3, 205 x 3, 219 x 2 x 3 sets, 205 x 3 (very easy)

Snatch Pulls (work on technique and positioning)
200 x 3, 229 x 3, 259 x 3, 290 x 3 (PR), 259 x 3

Semi-sumo Deadlift
148 x 5, 200 x 3, 219 x 3, 239 x 3, 259 x 3, 269 x 5 -- This exercise is very new to me. After two years of frequent heavy conventional pulling, I think I am due for some load off my lower back, and the half-sumo will help with this, along with making me use some neglected muscles. Right now, I am training it light and frequent so I can get used to push the floor from that position. I will keep my conventional pulling in shape with some stiff-leg work in the 300-400 range (very few sets above 380).

[carson]

Welcome.

You are a strong young man. Have you tried not breathing while doing the deads?
What is a muscle clean? What is a "half-sumo"?

Keep up the good work.

[dlocas]

Welcome.

What is a muscle clean? What is a "half-sumo"?

Half-sumo = It's more frequently called semi sumo (my mistake). My legs are farther apart than in a conventional, but not so far than in a "true" sumo. Ed Coan has used this stance.

Muscle clean = A clean during which the bar doesn't make contact with the hips (or perhaps almost brushes). The narrower grip I use for pressing basically forces me to use this style of clean, which is usually done without knee re-bending, but not always. My press is not yet strong enough to need a high split clean the way John Davis did in Helsinki (he was pressing 100 lb more than his bodyweight):

[carson]

Do you do the bench press or the squat?

[dlocas]

I have started training at home without a bench or squat rack and at some point, I decided to keep it that way.

Sometimes I do floor presses from blocks; this means I start the presses from the bottom position. This helps with triceps strength, but my elbows become achy if I do too much volume with heavy loads. I usually do them with a shoulder-width grip (the same I use for overhead pressing) & my current best with this grip is 290. I have seen good gains by doing many sets of 5 at 200 or 220.

I have done Jefferson Squats, and may do them on occasion, but I keep them light. I have also tried Zercher Squats, which is a great quad strength builder, but there is the small risk I lose my balance and fall on my ass with 300+ in the crooks of my elbows (very unlikely, but if it does happen, that could be a devastating injury). Thus far, my best quad builder has been the snatch-grip deadlift, from the floor or from a riser; my best snatch-grip pull is 500 x 1. What's more, my snatch-grip strength is remarkably stable; I can come back to this lift and take it from where I left a couple of months prior.

[dlocas]

Had some issue finding a New Year's turkey, so I got back home later than usual and began training at 8:30 PM (instead of 7 or 7:30).

Clean & Press, 85 x 5 x 2 sets, 128 x 5, 148 x 5, 168 x 3 (felt a little heavier than usual -- this happens sometimes)
183 lb x 3 x 10 sets @ RPE 8 to 8 1/2... last two sets at RPE 9. The bar was still moving OK; not any grinding rep. The last sets forced me to concentrate to keep a solid technique, which is good training. (tonnage, counting lifts at 128 & up = 183 x 30... 5,490 lb + 504 + 1,380 = 7,374 lb over 43 presses; avg. intensity = 72%) I filmed set #6:


Clean High Pulls, 219 x 3 x 2 sets (high pecs), 249 x 3 (pecs), 279 x 3, 300 x 3 (PR -- bar to upper abs) Better positioning than before; my second pull begins from a stronger back angle (more upright) so the bar went higher and acceleration was easier to maintain on third rep. For the quick lifts, ramping up works much better than straight sets (which are too tiring); this session was less tiring than when I did 249 for 5 triples and I was exposed to a much higher tension (difference between 250 and 300 is night and day). I filmed the 300 x 3...


Semi sumo Deadlift, 300 x 1 x 10 singles -- Technique practice; the lift is brand new to me. Felt harder off the floor that a conventional deadlift; I was even wondering how on earth I had the strength to do high pulls with that same bar! The last few lifts felt easier than the first ones as I was finding my groove. The lifts were done with a double overhand grip without straps, in order to get some easy grip work in.

[dlocas]

Happy New Year everyone! Bonne et heureuse année tout le monde!

Clean & Press (light session)
85 lb x 5 x 2 sets
128 x 5 x 2 sets
148 x 3 x 2 sets
168 x 3 x 4 sets (this is my 70%)

Muscle Snatch (snatch all the way up with no knee re-bending -- a classic!)
128 x 3 x 2 sets
138 x 3
148 x 3
158 x 3

Snatch Pulls
200 x 3, 219 x 3, 239 x 3, 259 x 3 -- some work on my technique, over four sets with 20-lb increments

Deadlift, conventional -- started with volume at lighter weights & up to one heavy double at 87% of my current best.
280 x 5 x 2 sets (no straps so I can put in some grip work)
320 x 3 x 2 sets
390 x 3 (no belt up to this set)
440 x 3 @ RPE 7
480 x 2 @ RPE 8 (with a pause before the second rep)

My triple at 440 lb...


My double at 480...


I like to film and compare two sets with different weights, so I can see how my pulls behave under an increasing load. The focus was on starting strong off the floor. I could be more patient and confident off the floor. All in all, I am happy with this first session in 2020.

[dlocas]

Saturday January 4th

Afternoon session
Clean & Press -- went to a top single, then did volume work at 77%
85 lb x 5 x 2 sets
128 x 3 x 2 sets
148 x 3
178 x 1
200 x 1 (84%) RPE 7.5
219 x 1 (92%) RPE 8.5
229 x 1 (96%) RPE 10
183 x 3 x 8 sets (77%) RPE 8 -- In my own training, Prilepin's Table has worked just fine up to this day. Doing singles at 90%+ is so much less taxing on that lift than from deadlifting. The 8-10 triples around 75-80% used to be recommended by John Barrs, who was a British weightlifting coach throughout the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's (Dinosaur Training: An Old School Pressing Program!). I started doing this with 135 lb when my max press was stuck at 185; it worked… and it's worked for many, many lifters before.

My 229-lb Press...


Snatch High Pulls
210 x 3 x 2 sets
239 x 3
269 x 3
300 x 3 (PR)
269 x 3 -- total of 6 x 3 lifts, tonnage = 4,491 lb & avg. bar weight = 250 lb.

My Snatch Pull PR...



Evening session
Deadlift
138 x 5 x 2 sets
229 x 5
280 x 4 x 2 sets (shoulders in the "lat pocket" / lat pulling down to make torso "shorter" = lift felt shorter and easier)
320 x 4
350 x 4
390 x 1
440 x 1 (RPE 8) This week's goal is to accumulate 50 deadlifts at & above 50% of max, over three sessions. This session was 18 total lifts. My 50% = 280.

One-hand Pinch Lift
Pair of 25s "deep dish" x 6 (PR), & x 3 -- 9 total reps (each hand)



My total reps have gone from 7 to 9 over three pinch-lift sessions. I do this lift only once every 7-10 days because it's extremely intense work for all hand tissues, especially the thumb. Anything more frequent made me weaker instead of stronger; my right hand is still not back at full strength (I overworked it in summer & fall).

[carson]

I always marvel at people who can do the dynamic lifts. You do them well. When at started lifting for the first time at age 66 I found I could not really do them. I passed out trying. Many people, including myself, cannot really train alone. Do you have a chance to check your lifts from time to time with an SS coach. I know we don't have any in Quebec City but there is a former one in Toronto. That's not a hop skip and jump from Quebec but it might be worth the visit. The closest SS coach in the US to you is Coach Sullivan at Greysteel in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Do you ever check with him for a consultation?
For that matter can you get to a local gym to at least do some lifts on the rack from time to time.
Finally, My wife and I celebrated our our 49 the wedding anniversary in 2016 in Montreal and Quebec City You live in one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in North America. Envy is sin, but I'm very tempted to be envious. God willing we will get their again.