Not quite a ‘Newbie’ but this is my first post.
Firstly ‘X’ amount of Respect to all the Physical Education Gurus & Time Served Lifters, professional & recreational.
This Site is priceless on so may levels (but I reckon you already know that!)
(Enough B.S.)
My Question is how long do you take to do your ‘DeadLift’ Routine, & am i taking too long?
On Back Day: Warm Up 3x10 Cleans (just O.Bar)
Warm Up O.Bar 3x10
60KG (135lb ish) x10
60KG (135lb ish) x10
100KG (225lb ish) x10
120KG (264lb ish) x10
120-140KG (225-315lb ish) x6-12
Feel good & worked, sometimes feel I have another set in me (with rest). But I feel I have to do other things for back, look at my watch and 40 mins have gone (shock). i do not seem to be taking excessive rest (but i must be, between sets, I stretch, focus & try to pysche myself for the next set.
I train alone at a local gym but for my last set get a ‘spotter’ to count the reps & advise on form - seem to respond better this way.
Then i go onto D.B. Rows, Standing Low Row, Seated V-Bar Row, 3 exercises for Traps, B.Bell Row or T. Bar Row then finish with Lat Pull Downs (to the Rear).
Workout for about 90 mins.
Any thoughts?
(Sorry for the long Post)
You have to make those deadlifts harder. 50 reps is a lot, and you should be more tired afterwards then you’re describing.
You don’t need all those different movements for back either. Pick 1 or 2 at the most and do more sets. You can rotate them every couple of weeks in case you get bored.
Thanx Doug Adams for the Advice the set does feel pretty hard. I just dont feel properly set up if i dont do a plate for a couple of sets.
As for the other movements although i do agree if i dont i’m cheatin myself is i do not do other exercises. But i know i have to find a better structured training regime
You’re probably wasting a lot of time with the warmups. I take a lot of time with deadlifts too but 10 min warmup and 20 min for work sets is loads for any exercise.
Cleans are great but do your weight heavier and fewer reps.
Start your deadlift warmup above the weight of your last clean. Do way fewer reps as you progress through your warmup, maybe even down to singles. You are just trying to acclimatize your body to the weight at that point, not wear yourself out.
For example, what I would try:
1 x 10 o-bar clean
1 x 10 40 Kg clean
1 x 5 50 kg clean
1 x 5 60 Kg deadlift
1 x 3 100 kg deadlift
1 x 2 120 kg deadlift
works sets at 140 Kg
That’s 35 warmup reps vs 100 in your program and you can probably complete them all in 10 minutes. You may need more than that but I doubt it. Now with 4-5 min between work sets you can get in 5 sets in 20 minutes and then crawl to the next exercise.
Will try this approach Stuward - many thanx, it does make sense acclimatizing as opposed to fatigue which is what seems to be happening.
But whatever body part i train i always start with Cleans - O.Bar 3x10, just seems to warm me up & prep me for ‘Gym Work’. However what you suggest DOES sound logical, could carry it over on other days.
i guess it all depends what your goal is
if your powerlifting; then drop the reps, increase the weight and get a good rest inbetween
if your just deadin’ for keeping in shape, your good.
its all about volume. if you deadlift 225lbs 30 times; that’s 6750lbs, or if you wanted to go for weight…450lbs is just the same volume if you hit it 15 times.
yes, that’s super hard i’m sure…but its just an example.
good luck!
Hi chickenchaser, am a newbie here.
Do you lay the bar on the floor (i.e. at rest) after each deadlift rep? That’s what I’ve been doing so far. But I always time myself and I don’t allow much more than 2 minutes rest between the last few sets. With the earlier sets I take 1 min rest at most. All in, I usually take about 20 minutes to do warm up and working sets.
Then again you are doing heavier heights and higher volume than me. I haven’t done more than 275 lbs (@ BW of 130+ lbs) yet. Maybe once I get to the heavier stuff, I need more rest between sets. Out of interest, what body weight are you? I just want to gauge the volume I’m doing (or lack thereof!). Thanks!
Sorry for he long delay in repling (i have limited site access).
B.Rock, not doin Deads for Powerlifting, just to keep in shape although i may mix things up. Not really over excited about 1RM, like to see how heavy i can lift for reps (over time). Obviously an ongoing thing with progression. Thanx for the post.
bluegreyhound, I don’t rest the bar on the floor between rest, although after reading this site i DO believe it’s something i will try.
The only thing ‘near’ that i’ve done is, the ‘Grind’. On my heaviest set last 2 - 3 reps really give everything even though certain parts of you (mentally) are saying you’re done (even though it was a good set).
IMPORTANT - THIS IS NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF FORM OR RISKING INJURY.
After reading ‘Blood on the Barbell’ (do a search) i just started to ask myself where i could go & what does this mean to me. As stated in my first post, for the last set i get a ‘Spotter’ to count & advise, as you know when everything is firing & your in the ‘Zone’ things happen.
BTW i’m 36 yrs old, about 5’ 8" & approx 190lbs (have’nt weighed myself for a while).
You said you’d like to gauge yourself, i find the best way is to log your workouts, cause there it is undeniablly, recognise your weak points & work on them it will all come good with safety & consistency. And yeah, keep reading this site taking what you need & giving back your advice/experience.
C’ya.
don’t use more than 5-6 reps on the deadlift.
always rest the bar on the floor between the reps.
i think you can use a lot more than 140kg.
try to do some more sets but with buffer.
try something like 5x5@7RM, 2 min rest…
Thanks chickenchaser. I already do keep a log of what I do - habit really, I always keep a note of things at work and home. Issue is that the gym I go to is more of a lifestyle gym.
Most guys there are training biceps and chest; hardly anyone squats let alone deadlifts so I don’t have much to compare against. Back when I was in high school everyone who did track did squats and deadlifts to set routines - so you could see what might be achieved with time and hard work.
I may do the ‘grind’ method with moderate weights later on. Working on my weakness at the moment : in the deadlift it is at the very start - I have short arms and weak quads. Once the bar is up though, lockout is quick and easy for me.
Anyway, on your routine, have you thought going heavier, less reps and cutting the rest time? Sounds like you have mass already and it could just be getting your CNS to be efficient. For me, I need to work on both mass and CNS. Thanks for the advice BTW!
How many of those sets are work sets? IMHO, you should only do one work set per week, because deadlifts are so taxing on your CNS. I usually do something like
135x5
225x5
315x5
405x5,
and I increase each lift by 5-10 lbs every week. If you’re training for strength, take as long as you want between your last warm-up and your work set. My deadlift sets usually take about 15-20 min. I do the warm-ups as fast as I can load the bar, but I wait at least 5 minutes to do my work set.
To warm up, I do light GMs and squats before deadlifts.
i dont rest on the floor between reps, i just barely touch and go up again. if your gonna go heavier on your deads, i would warm up on another exercise first. i do low pulley rows and medium weight leg press. i have been off for about 6 months so this is my schedule to get me back to 585 1rm.
i usually go
225x12 for warm up
315x10
405x8
475 to failure.
I find laying the bar on the floor after every rep is extremely draining. Touch and go is much easier for me. Some of you guys are lifting heavy. I did a couple reps of 295 today; I can’t imagine getting much more than 400 without some significant increases in my body mass as well as improvements in my grip. Anyway, if I have understood correctly, it appears that people are advising on less volume and heavier weights??
[quote]bluegreyhound wrote:
I find laying the bar on the floor after every rep is extremely draining. Touch and go is much easier for me. Some of you guys are lifting heavy. I did a couple reps of 295 today; I can’t imagine getting much more than 400 without some significant increases in my body mass as well as improvements in my grip. Anyway, if I have understood correctly, it appears that people are advising on less volume and heavier weights??[/quote]
Touch and go is pretty much cheating. The main thing that makes the deadlift difficult is that you can’t use any kind of stretch reflex or momentum to get the bar off the floor. If you deadlift the right way, you’ll see big increases in your grip strength and body mass.
If you think you can do more than one work set per week of deadlifts without killing yourself, you’re probably not lifting enough weight on your work set.