Deadlift Variations

Bigger Stronger Leaner
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Hey guys I’ve been lurking here for a while and finally decided to make a account today to not only become more accountable of my goals and to get some advice an answers for some questions I cant find the answers of. Last spring I finally decided to lift routinely after having lost 40 pounds before that an then not getting the results I wanted from body weight training.

I have about 210 lbs of weights a barbell, a ez-curl bar and a bench that I managed to salvage from garage sales, thrift shops, and a family member. My question today is that although I love dead lifting and training my back in general, I have reached a point where I can do 20 reps with the max amount of weight I have (210 pounds). What can I do (variations,grips,grinding reps,pyramid sets, etc)to get the max “bang for my buck” out of this weight seeing as I cant afford any more weight at the moment.

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Add bands , they are cheap. Or chains if you can find some. Or start doing one arm lifts until you can add weight.
Superset with some pull ups. Just a few ideas…

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Break the wall dowwwwwwwwn! (sorry, couldn’t resist)

Congrats on the weight loss.

[quote]Walls of Jericho wrote:
My question today is that although I love dead lifting and training my back in general, I have reached a point where I can do 20 reps with the max amount of weight I have (210 pounds). What can I do (variations,grips,grinding reps,pyramid sets, etc)to get the max “bang for my buck” out of this weight seeing as I cant afford any more weight at the moment.[/quote]
If you’re knocking out 20 reps, it’s a ridiculously easy weight. Like, a warm-up weight. At that point, no real variations will be a decent substitute for increasing the load. Your finances are your business, but a pair of 45s should be 100 bucks or so. If you’re stuck lifting at home, the sooner you can pick those up, the better.

That said, there are some ways to increase the difficulty of a fixed load. The first thing would be to make sure you’re doing them double overhand without straps. That’s the number one indicator that you seriously own that weight.

I wouldn’t play around with slow negatives on the deadlift, but you could think about slowing down the pull, making sure every fraction of an inch is technically precise. The other obvious fix would be to do them last, after pre-exhausting the rest of your muscles. Dorian Yates, for one, usually did deads at the end of his back workout.

Also check this article for some basic exercise options:

Snatch-grip deads, deficit deads, and snatch-grip deads from a deficit will probably be my first choices to work on. You’re basically increasing the range of motion and slightly shifting the muscular emphasis.

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Might be able to find some cheap or even free on Craig’s list. Just a suggestion

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Also not a deadlift variation but you could start doing power cleans and focusing on those would prlly increase your deadlift.

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[quote]Grove wrote:
Add bands , they are cheap. Or chains if you can find some. Or start doing one arm lifts until you can add weight.
Superset with some pull ups. Just a few ideas…[/quote]
Thanks for the quick reply, ill see if I can find chains in our garage. What would you suggest as good one arm lift that would help with back development? Heres a idea for what I am already doing as this is what I did yesterday. (No warmups)

Deadlift: 210 lbs 1st set 7 reps 2nd set 8 reps 3rd set 2 reps (Tried to really grind it out did about 10 seconds up and down) 4th set 20 reps (My current personal record)
Pullups:(Did my first set in between 1st and 2nd set of deadlifts) 8 reps 2nd set 10 reps (Did after the 20 reps)
Barbell row: 145 lbs 1st set 10 reps 2nd set 7 reps. Dropped to 115lbs did 10 reps
Dorian yates row: 115 lbs 8 reps
Shrugs: 115 lbs 1st set 12 reps 2nd set 4 reps (Gassed out at this point)
Bicep curl with a barbell: (Not normal though, I cant remember the exact name of it, but basically you curl the barbell with it against your body through the range of motion, its supposed to stop cheating) 65 lbs 12 reps

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[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:
Break the wall dowwwwwwwwn! (sorry, couldn’t resist)

Congrats on the weight loss.

[quote]Walls of Jericho wrote:
My question today is that although I love dead lifting and training my back in general, I have reached a point where I can do 20 reps with the max amount of weight I have (210 pounds). What can I do (variations,grips,grinding reps,pyramid sets, etc)to get the max “bang for my buck” out of this weight seeing as I cant afford any more weight at the moment.[/quote]
If you’re knocking out 20 reps, it’s a ridiculously easy weight. Like, a warm-up weight. At that point, no real variations will be a decent substitute for increasing the load. Your finances are your business, but a pair of 45s should be 100 bucks or so. If you’re stuck lifting at home, the sooner you can pick those up, the better.

That said, there are some ways to increase the difficulty of a fixed load. The first thing would be to make sure you’re doing them double overhand without straps. That’s the number one indicator that you seriously own that weight.

I wouldn’t play around with slow negatives on the deadlift, but you could think about slowing down the pull, making sure every fraction of an inch is technically precise. The other obvious fix would be to do them last, after pre-exhausting the rest of your muscles. Dorian Yates, for one, usually did deads at the end of his back workout.

Also check this article for some basic exercise options:

Snatch-grip deads, deficit deads, and snatch-grip deads from a deficit will probably be my first choices to work on. You’re basically increasing the range of motion and slightly shifting the muscular emphasis.[/quote]
Thank you for the praise and the help, I cant believe how helpful and supportive this community seems to be so far. Ill make sure to read the article and thanks for the advice I do them double over hand and have no idea what straps are (lol). Ill try to do them at the end of the workout as you advised next time it sounds like a good idea.

As for finances, I am a highschool student at the moment (A junior/gr 11) I had a seasonal fulltime job in the summer where I worked at a harbour (that also was a huge help for me as it was pretty physically demanding)but have been jobless since, been trying to find a job since early October but nadda so far.

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[quote]Walls of Jericho wrote:
What would you suggest as good one arm lift that would help with back development?[/quote]
One-arm deadlifts (grabbing the bar in the center) are a legit exercise. A little easier if your bar has knurling (bumps) in the center, but certainly doable without it.

Meadows rows and one-arm barbell rows could also be options, as long as you can anchor one side of the bar down or wedge it securely into a corner.

Drag curl. Yep, good stuff.

Sounds like you’re doing alright, man. Keep it up. Any other questions, definitely ask away.

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[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]Walls of Jericho wrote:
What would you suggest as good one arm lift that would help with back development?[/quote]
One-arm deadlifts (grabbing the bar in the center) are a legit exercise. A little easier if your bar has knurling (bumps) in the center, but certainly doable without it.

Meadows rows and one-arm barbell rows could also be options, as long as you can anchor one side of the bar down or wedge it securely into a corner.

Drag curl. Yep, good stuff.

Sounds like you’re doing alright, man. Keep it up. Any other questions, definitely ask away.[/quote]
Thanks so much for everything, I am definitely going to try the one arm dead-lift. I have read a decent amount of your articles and articles here in general, keep doing what your doing it helps people,and not only physically I love the whole mentality of the site and what its trying to accomplish.
As for more questions I have one more
So about 3-4 years ago I had surgery for SCFE (Slipped capital femoral epiphysis)http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/orthopaedics/scfe.html on my right hip, and it is permanently externally rotated to about 45 degrees. Although I would say I relatively bounced back quickly, I was still off it for about a year (give or take a month). My legs are most definitely the weakest part of my body what would you recommend as a way to build strength in them. Currently about once a week for legs I do front squats, (I can do back squats but its awkward as I have to lift the barbell over my head) lunges with the weight placed the same as the front squat, and calf raises with the weight placed the same as the front squat, is there anything you would suggest changing?

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[quote]Walls of Jericho wrote:
So about 3-4 years ago I had surgery for SCFE (Slipped capital femoral epiphysis)http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/orthopaedics/scfe.html on my right hip, and it is permanently externally rotated to about 45 degrees. Although I would say I relatively bounced back quickly, I was still off it for about a year (give or take a month). My legs are most definitely the weakest part of my body what would you recommend as a way to build strength in them. Currently about once a week for legs I do front squats, (I can do back squats but its awkward as I have to lift the barbell over my head) lunges with the weight placed the same as the front squat, and calf raises with the weight placed the same as the front squat, is there anything you would suggest changing?[/quote]
Sounds like a rough situation. Best of luck with it. Training will be a little tricky since you’re not exactly “normal” and have a legit medical issue going on.

The basics of leg work will be pretty much the same (some kind of squat and/or leg press, something single leg, a deadlift variation and/or hamstring movement, and calf work), but you’re going to have to base each exercise’s range of motion according to what your “bad leg” can handle. You might feel better if you focus a little more on single-leg stuff. Lunges, step-ups, Bulgarian split squats, one-leg Romanian deads, etc. That way your hips won’t be locked into a possibly-unnatural (for you) position during the movements. Ben Bruno has written a thousand articles here on single leg training.

Also, don’t forget that structural issues that involve the hips can possibly cause problems further up the line (up the low back, to the mid/upper back and even the shoulders) simply because of the way things are connected in the body. So consider taking some proactive steps to maintain back, shoulder, hip, and hamstring health. A basic foam rolling routine would be a first step.