[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
One of the things that shocked me when I first starting reading the forum was the number of people claiming a 400 lb. deadlift. I’ve been to many gyms - hardcore and not - in many states and military bases. A 400 lb. deadlift isn’t something I’ve often seen. (If you’re lifting that much weight, you’re repping out with 3 wheels and change. Again, that’s pretty uncommon.)
In light of the fact that so many guys claiming these number weigh only 160 pounds, I found the claim more perplexing. Granted, there are many people who weigh little but who lift a lot - but they are generally elite lifters.
Anyhow, I’ve finally figured it out…
If you add 160 pounds to the weight on the bar (240) pounds, you get 400 pounds. The numbers now make more sense.
I wish someone had let me in on this secret earlier: it would have saved me much confusion.[/quote]
Keep in mind that people lie on the Internet…but you figured that out already.
Hells bells and cockleshells I agree with this post.
I was a clueless gym rat from about 1991 to 2004… in those years I really never saw too much heavy lifting going on in the gym (nor was I doing any myself; I thought 225 for BP was awesome). I remember a few times watching people put up 3 or 4 plates on bench, but I never saw anyone deadlift. The squatters, if any, were doing at most 135 but I did see an occasional 300-pound squatter.
Since early 2005, through the Westside program I’ve managed to get my bench up to about 290 and my deadlift up to about 375. I know it’s weak as hell in the big scheme of things, but I’m not one of those guys who pulls 400 in his first month and I’m proud of the progress I’ve made over the last few years. I was a scrawny dude for many, many years (6’1" 175 lbs), and just recently learned (at the age of 31) how to eat and lift heavy without hurting myself. Now I’m weighing in at 210 and it’s not fat, but I have some distance to go for neurological efficiency. I do think 400 pounds is a good range for any exercise. It’s far beyond the capabilities of 95% of the human population to move a barbell with that weight on it in any motion whatsoever.
It’s heavy weight. Yeah, I really doubt that the 160-pounders will be able to move it very well unless they’re very talented athletes. There is definitely a poundage e-boost phenomenon going on around here.
[quote]Petedacook wrote:
In my humble opinion deadlifting from the ground using 45 pound plates or larger diameter is a joke.
If you want to seriously deadlift 400 pounds, stand on a box or use smaller diameter weight so the bar starts at your feet, instead of at your knees. [/quote]
Ha! You call that lifting?
I put the weight in a hole, then I stand on a cement block just above the hole and with hands greased up (just to make it harder) I lift the weight.
I don’t know - I really don’t think it’s that hard. At the time, I was benching over 300, squatting about 345. Not going for any real records, just trying to stay in shape and have good “functional” strength. After having never deadlifted, I decided to try it. Went to 405 in just a few months. Granted, I was about 195 or so (5’9"), but I was also 40 yrs. old.
Specifically, you mention 165 lb’ers. My 17 hold high school junior son came home from school yesterday after getting 365. He’s 6’2" (mailman’s kid?), and 166 lbs., most he’s ever weighed. NOT the most deadlift-friendly body type. He started lifting seriously right after football season, after a couple of weeks off to “heal up”. So he has put 160 lbs on his max in a little over 3 months. I just don’t think it’s really that difficult if it’s something you want to accomplish.
[quote]Petedacook wrote:
In my humble opinion deadlifting from the ground using 45 pound plates or larger diameter is a joke.
If you want to seriously deadlift 400 pounds, stand on a box or use smaller diameter weight so the bar starts at your feet, instead of at your knees. [/quote]
It sure is easier. That is probably why my deadlifts are respectable and my back squats are not.
When I was younger I trained at alot of the commercial gyms. I didn’t see to many guys deadlifting. “they read Flex and Iron Man to much I guess.”
Over the last 8 years I’ve been training at hole in the wall gyms. Some of the best gyms ever. Most of these guys are pulling 405 and then some easy. I would like to think 405 is a respectable number to pull!
There is one kid at the gym who does 6 sets of 3 deadlifts with 390. (Not to bad right?) Anyway my point is there are alot of greay gyms with a great guys willing to teach the way. You just wont find them at a Golds or a Balleys or whatever.
I’m not sure what the point of this was. Did you expect people coming out of the woodworks saying they’ve been adding their bodyweight to their deadlift numbers?
I’ve trained in a few gyms and every one, with the exception of a few I visited once or twice, there has been someone that can pull more than I can.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
shlevon wrote:
A 400 lb deadlift really isn’t that high of a benchmark, imho. It’s a decent lift, but pulling it off at a buck 65 isn’t that difficult with some smart training. I’ve hit 455 @ 167 in the gym and 451.75 in competition at 176, and these aren’t exactly staggering lifts.
I never said 400 was great. I said that there seem to be an endless # of 160 lb. guys who claim a 400 lb. DL. What I want to know is: Where are these people?
If I had trained in the same gym in the same small town, I might have missed a few. But I have trained in numerous gyms across the country - including in major metropolitian areas.
You’d think I would have encountered more of these guys.[/quote]
I’ve trained in many gyms as well. And I barely see people deadlifting [and to a lesser degree squatting] at all. What’s your point? I have no doubt that some of these claims on here have been manufactured, but as someone said, T-Nation does not represent your average lifter.
[quote]wressler125 wrote:
I hate to break it to you dude, but 405 at 160lbs is NOT an elite lift. Not even close. [/quote]
According to the following Mens’s Standards chart, a 405lb deadlift is only considered “Good” for a high school senior athlete with a medium build… great is 455lbs, and all-american begins at 530lbs.
I agree, 405 deadlift isn’t spectacular to me. If I saw somebody pulling 405, I’d say, “not bad, that guy’s gonna be pretty strong if he keeps training.”
I usually consider 315 bench/ 405 squat / 495 dead as benchmarks for “a pretty strong dude.” Of course, that’s compared to the average guy as none of those lifts would be anything in a powerlifting competition.
I also mean 1RM’s for those. There tends to be a big drop-off in a lift like the deadlift, much more than the other big three. A 495 D/Ler probably could only do 405 for maybe 5 reps so. At least that’s how it is with me.
Man, you really are a dickwad. Do you like being a keyboard warrior/toughguy all the time. Serously, your not that big. Most normal men of your height (I think your profile used to say 6-6’2) are around 200 pounds. Get the sand out of your wideset vagina.
I somewhat agree with CalLaw - I’ve trained in a number of gyms and I rarely see anyone deadlifting, regardless of the weight used. However, with a bit of dedication, I don’t think it’s that difficult to pull 400+ pounds at a bodyweight of 160 pounds. I’m currently 168.5 pounds and pull 445 from the floor; I’ve only been training seriously for the last five months (took a year off to finish law school, pass the bar, etc.). I think most “commercial” gyms don’t appeal to guys like me, so, accordingly, you’ll rarely see us at a 24 Hour Fitness, L.A., etc.
[quote]Petedacook wrote:
In my humble opinion deadlifting from the ground using 45 pound plates or larger diameter is a joke.
If you want to seriously deadlift 400 pounds, stand on a box or use smaller diameter weight so the bar starts at your feet, instead of at your knees. [/quote]
Deadlifting 400 is a big feat if you’re around the 150 range, but nshoudn’t be for the heavier guys. I’m 205-210ish and would use it as a working set, but by far not a 1 reper.
[quote]HOV wrote:
I do think 400 pounds is a good range for any exercise. It’s far beyond the capabilities of 95% of the human population to move a barbell with that weight on it in any motion whatsoever.
[quote]
I truly beleive its the other way around, 95% of the population COULD deadlift 400 pounds with proper training. Your saying only 1 out of 20 men have the potential to work up to a 400+ pound deadlift in their life, hahaha. Please. 1 out of 20 men could probably deadlift 400+ in the first 5 or 6 workouts. Not including any kind of equipment, the deadlift is pretty much the strongest exercise the human body is at. It is fully able to deadlift 400 pounds.
I agree as well. 400 is not a big accomplishment. I am happy that I can deadlift 405, but when I look at the guys doing 800 or 1000 pounds, I realize its not that good. Anybody who dl’s heavy and works at it every week can get there faster than they think
I’m a 48 year old, 128-lb female. I started deadlifting in December, and I just got up to 130-lb stiff-legged deadlift, 5-reps. I hope to lift 200-lb by the end of summer.
I don’t consider myself astoundingly strong, but I am consistant about pushing myself at the gym.
That being said, I think that any fairly large guy should be able to deadlift 400-lbs IF he works at it consistantly.