[quote]Avominion wrote:
I’ve followed this post, and I’m in the same boat. I’m a newcomer to lifting and I’m trying to learn as I go. I have chalk that I use for DL’s and I’m currently at 340lbs. I’d love to increase that to get 410lbs. From what I can read, heavy lifting for both squats, Dl’s and my legs/back in general are the way to go. My question(s) is would switching to straps make a significant difference in the weight I can pull, and also are there any variations to the DL that would help along progression? [/quote]
Switching to straps will only help if your grip is your weakness, I’d stick with the chalk. As far as variations go, it depends on your weaknesses. You can try pulling sumo (you won’t get much carryover to your conventional dead, but you may pull more.) If your weak at the top do rack pulls. If your weak at the bottom do deficit pulls.
My weakness would be the top of my lift. I try to pull past my knees, push out my hips, and lock-out, but I have trouble doing this. Thanks for the advice, I’ll look up rack pulls and try giving them a go.
I’m starting a 531 cycle. my training days will look like this I Opted for training 3 days per week. I may end up changing that to 4 days per week after a couple of cycles. My question is with the assistance exercises.
How does my assistance work look?
Monday:
Military press 531
Pullups 50 reps
ab work
Wednesday:
Squat 531
Light front squats 3x20 rep sets
Calf raises 4x15
Friday:
Bench Press 531
Kroc Rows 3x20 or more reps
Weighted Dips 5 x 10
Monday:
Deadlift 531
Pullups 50 reps
Good mornings 4x10
Ab work.
i would lower the front squat reps, to maybe 4x10 for more strength/hypertrophy rather than endurance on shoulder days you might want a close grip bench variation
[quote]Brett295 wrote:
I’m starting a 531 cycle. my training days will look like this I Opted for training 3 days per week. I may end up changing that to 4 days per week after a couple of cycles. My question is with the assistance exercises.
How does my assistance work look?
Monday:
Military press 531
Pullups 50 reps
ab work
Wednesday:
Squat 531
Light front squats 3x20 rep sets
Calf raises 4x15
Friday:
Bench Press 531
Kroc Rows 3x20 or more reps
Weighted Dips 5 x 10
Monday:
Deadlift 531
Pullups 50 reps
Good mornings 4x10
Ab work.[/quote]
I like. Maybe just do 4x10 or 5x10 on the front squats, though. Maybe throw in some tricep work on your military press day. And curls somewhere.
[quote]Brett295 wrote:
Just a little update.
I got 354.
[/quote]
Nice job.
I’m in kinda the same boat. I just started deadlifting and my max is 335. I think the key to getting 405 is doing some more squatting too.
what shoot my DL trough the roof was 5/3/1, i tried to always hit a 5 rep max on each cycle. in 4 cycles my DL went from 374 to 414.
also did lots of good mornings and romaind dl’s on squat day.
Thanks for the suggestions. I was worried about the high rep front squats. I’ll up the weight a little and do 5x10. I also added some tricep press downs on my military press day.
by the way I realy like this training program. It’s way more focused than my previous program.
I’ve also stopped looking for the silver bullet that will get me to 405 quickly. Wendler has a much more realistic approach and that is to be constantly making progress, rather than make a whole lot of progress at once and then level off for a long time.
Thanks for all the help everyone.
Just throwing a suggestion in the hat because I’m a fan of unilateral work:
Try reverse lunges with a front squat bar position as an alternative to front squats. I had to start doing these because front squats bother my left knee. If you have a weak link on one side, they’ll definitely make it obvious.
Actually, not only will it become obvious, but it will be FORCED to work harder and get stronger. Otherwise, you’re going to fall on your ass.
[quote]shoobey wrote:
Not to hijack this thread, but I have a slippery grip issue with deadlifts. I usually fail well before I am actually done because my palms get too sweaty and I can no longer grip the bar. I don’t like using gloves or straps because I want the most out of the lift I can get, but it’s frustrating that I’m limited by how long I can hold the bar before my hand gets too sweaty rather than what I can phsyically lift.[/quote]
Get some chalk
I have the same issue, but it also had to do with the type of bar I was using, the one LA fitness I go to has brand new bars, which aren’t as worn in as the bars in the other LA I have been to.
I would say if you are going for a 1 RM on deads, keep your sets quick, and reps low. I just pulled 405 recently and my sets/reps looked like this: (No chalk or straps- 185 BW)
1 @ 135 x 10
1 @ 225 x 8
1 @ 315 x 3 ( Felt really easy, could have pulled 2 more at least)
1 @ 365 x 1
1 @ 405 x 1
Feels so good getting your first 405 man. Keep working at it. I found doing 4-6 sets with your working weight (In my case 315) gets your body and CNS primed for a 1 RM. THe biggest thing though is consistency, and your deload week, take advantage of the rest period, don’t deadlift, but do accessory work like people have been saying, grip work, rack lockouts etc.
I’ve got another update.
I’m setting PR’s all the time with 531. It’s a great program. I estimated my 1RM to be about 415. I used a 1 RM calculator. I got 295x12. 295x12x.0333=117.88+295=412.88.
Now for another question:
I’ve noticed a lot of powerlifters do squats followed by hamstring work and deadlifts followed by quad dominant exercises for assistance work. Is there a reason for that? I’ve been doing quad dominant exercises on squat day and hamstring low back dominant exercises on deadlift day.
[quote]Brett295 wrote:
I’ve got another update.
I’m setting PR’s all the time with 531. It’s a great program. I estimated my 1RM to be about 415. I used a 1 RM calculator. I got 295x12. 295x12x.0333=117.88+295=412.88.
Now for another question:
I’ve noticed a lot of powerlifters do squats followed by hamstring work and deadlifts followed by quad dominant exercises for assistance work. Is there a reason for that? I’ve been doing quad dominant exercises on squat day and hamstring low back dominant exercises on deadlift day. [/quote]
The same reason that its smarter to train biceps with chest and triceps with back.
Squatting hit the quads hard for many people. Doing even more quad work is redundant and usually unproductive because the amount of weight used isnt substantial becuase the quads are already fatigued.
This thread has been stagnant for a while but I finaly deadlifted 405 this weekend! I had more in me but I decided to just leave it at that.
I went from 355 in September or October to 405 lbs on saturday 4-24-10. I ended up starting 531 in October, which is what brought my strength up. I know 405 isn’t considered a big deadlift but it’s a milestone for me because it’s my first 4 plate lift.
My goal is 430 lbs on May 22nd at my first powerlifting meet. I think I could probably get that now but I’m sticking to my plan and it looks like I might blow right past my 430 Lbs goal at the meet.
For anyone that was following this thread 531 is the training program I used to achieve my goal. I know this is probably common knowledge on this forum but 531 works.
Congrats on the milestone, my friend! Glad you found something that works for you, and best of luck at the meet. Let us know how it goes.
[quote]Brett295 wrote:
This thread has been stagnant for a while but I finaly deadlifted 405 this weekend! I had more in me but I decided to just leave it at that.
I went from 355 in September or October to 405 lbs on saturday 4-24-10. I ended up starting 531 in October, which is what brought my strength up. I know 405 isn’t considered a big deadlift but it’s a milestone for me because it’s my first 4 plate lift.
My goal is 430 lbs on May 22nd at my first powerlifting meet. I think I could probably get that now but I’m sticking to my plan and it looks like I might blow right past my 430 Lbs goal at the meet.
For anyone that was following this thread 531 is the training program I used to achieve my goal. I know this is probably common knowledge on this forum but 531 works. [/quote]
Knew you could do it 
Nice work!
well done. i’ve been chasing 405 for some time now. got 385 pretty smoothly 2 weeks ago. i’m currently in a phase with low box squats, rack pulls and good mornings as some of the main lifts, as well as a lot more core work. i’m feeling pretty good about getting pretty soon after getting back at the deadlifts.