Looks great coming from a deficit. I would say stop the pumping on your first rep. Not a major deal but every rep after that you nailed without it. It’s kind of like excess movement, keep it simple etc.
As for DL programming SUPER SHORT ANSWER: 5-3-1
I love high rep work to build a DL. It worked really well for me going from 425 to low 500s.
I did a lot of single work but my best singles workouts came after a 8-12 rep AMRAP workout.
If I were to adjust anything I would probably drop most of the singles work for AMRAPs. 5-3-1 would be a good starting point.
Another simpler option is Max reps at X weight. If you get 8+ reps add weight. Right now you can probably get away with doing that twice a week, later when your AMRAPs are heavier your CNS will need more time.
If you go the 8+ route I would start at 275 and do this:
275-295-315-325-335-etc
This will give you a running start with a couple of easy 8s until you get into the heavier stuff.
Hey man thanks for the tag, happy to put in my 2 cents.
Form looks solid. Maybe (?) your hips reach the top a little earlier than they could but the lower starting position and lighter weight may cause this a bit as well. So if I had one comment on form I’d try to focus on the hip hinge to lift the weight instead of the leg press/back extension. But it’s not bad at all.
As for programming I’m also a big advocate of 5/3/1 and until this round of programming I had been avoiding high rep deadlifts because they were too draining. This cycle I’ve hit a few 9-10 rep sets and they’ve been feeling good. Some nice DOMS in all the right places without the CNS fatigue that I typically associate with high rep DL.
I would still be weary of doing too much too soon as deadlift volume and intensity can sneak up on you. But honestly, if you’re limited with time/equipment, doing anything will help keep that muscle memory until you can get back and pound it again.
Trying to read the tea-leaves from above, it sounds like you have 230 pounds of weight at home, and you’re trying to figure out whether high-rep deads are a good way to train for the time being?
If you can pull in the 400’s but only have 230 pounds available for work at home, I think some high(ish) rep deadlifts are a fine way to maintain what you’ve got until you can get some more plates. In general I’m a low-rep guy but that’s just a personal preference of mine. Another way to go for now would be the old standby of EMOM sets: you could do a set number of reps every minute on the minute (i.e. triples for 15 minutes), or if you really want a ball buster, you could do 1 rep the first minute, 2 the second minute, 3 the third minute, and so on (I did that with 315 at a time when my 1RM was mid-500’s, and the fatigue snuck up on me much faster than I expected - I ran out of gas around 8 or 9).
Something like that packs a lot of work in without 1 ridiculously long set. I wouldn’t really recommend sets of 20+ deadlifts, even with light weight, on a regular basis.
Thank You all for your opinions, I’m glad there is no major flaws. It’s the first time I’ve films a deadlift, I always feel like I’m rounding too much even at lower weights, even the set I filmed felt that way. Was happy to see it was not actually that rounded. I’ve also always felt my legs reached the top early so will work on that, get that hip hinge working better. I would say I was looking up too much also, is that not too much of an issue?
260lb is the max weight I can get on the bar, the plan is deadlift 2 times a week.
My goal is to maintain strength and build some mass in the lower back and traps. I’m hoping the higher volume will help with this. I’m doing lots of weighted carries at the minute also.
Thanks for your time, any advice is always greatly appreciated.
Hey man, take all this with a grain of salt as im a noob haha , but have you considered maybe suitcase deadlifts/one arm deadlifts. They could be a great option as you’re limited on plates .
Maybe you could have kept a slightly more neutral spine by not looking up as much, but I don’t think it was putting you in a dangerous position or anything. Sometimes if you’re worrying about back rounding looking up is the natural way to try and combat this. When I start getting fatigued on the front squat and my shoulders start drifting down due to upper back weakness I will look up as high as I can to try and help the elbows stay high.
Another couple ideas you could try are RDLs and/or Lilly Shrugs.
@duketheslaya thanks for the suggestion, I’ve never actually tried them before so will have a little play. I do single arm suitcase carries often and love the way they challenge the core.
@littlesleeper I’ve never been very flexible in the hips or hamstring area, I think this causes a pulling feeling mid spine which I’ve been mistaking for rounding. I’m interested to see what my 4 plates pull looks like on film, I bet I break down pretty bad!
Rdl is l great suggestion, I was doing them pretty regular before my training break as they featured in the routine I was running. Hope all is good with you.
3x20 press ups
3x8 Kneeling single hand landmine press 30kg
(Trying to keep tension on upper chest)
3x15 db flies 12kg
2x failure Close hand press ups
3x10 Ab wheel roll outs
2x planche lean planks
Then the absolute killer tonight was my water barrel pushes like a prowler. My plan was to do 10 lengths of the garden in the fastest time possible, the return leg being a slight uphill push. After 3 lengths it became clear that I would actually die before hitting 10 so timing it was pointless!
I reduced to 5 lengths and set a time of 2.55. My lungs and heart was going overtime but that was not the issue, my quads were on fire and massively cramped at the start of the 4th leg. Very tough but fun and it’s gave me a time to aim for, I will set a time for 10 lengths when my legs get used to it.
Got you. If limited weight is the answer, I’d probably look at barbell rows, cleans and front squats. RDLs are a good idea for. Effectively anything that trains the deadlifting muscles and uses a similar movement pattern.
Thanks for looking in. I’m doing okay actually, I think I reached a level of lean that was not easily maintained, so I’m obviously a little softer! Will fire some pics up when I get a chance.
4x5 deadlift 101kg +amrap 9reps
(feel I could have hit double this but grip gave out for some reason. Might strap for amrap sets)
3x12 side laterals 8kg
50 dips (15,15,10,10)
4 lengths of carry
My mate who is moving house txt me to see if I want my gym stuff back. Apparently I gave him some stuff about 12 years back!
So I have regained…
Ez bar, tricep bar, dumbbell bars and 30kg in 5s. Also a very flimsy bench, but it has squat stands and I’m sure I can weld it up and reinforce it to be more sturdy. Garden gym in coming along!
Dude, absolutely awesome! You’ve gotten a lot bigger this year, delts and chest are standouts, especially when compared to the first pics you posted on this log only 9 months ago. Solid growth everywhere, abs are looking more developed and thicker, biceps getting that 3D look, but again the chest and delts are damn impressive. Keep it up bro, you’re on the right path and have made great progress.
I think your right about chest and delts, I don’t think I’ve gained much muscle but the muscle I have gained has gone on the right places for visual impact. My chest and shoulder training has changed a lot this year, training more in the 12-15 rep range and trying to get a better feeling. Your log has helped me massively so thank you.
After the cut and the time off I think my body has reset and is ready grow. This past couple of months I think I regained any muscle I lost even though most weeks it’s only 2 weight sessions, it’s amazing how fast your body bounces back. I’m eating much less carbs than last year and diet is much better.
Paul Carter 500 rep shoulder workout. If you can really push through the pain barrier, which I’m sure you can then this is fantastic. Most people will look at it as too much in one workout, but it works that’s for sure. First few times it will kill you but after that your flying!
Thanks for the suggestion man. I’ll have to give that a go! I was also looking at the Indigo Programs the a few weeks ago and within the Hypertrophy program they provide a specific workout for shoulders. I have been thinking about adding that in for awhile.
