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UH oH, Basic favorite exercise Thread!?

I use straps after for anything over 400 lbs. This is because to pull 400+ I would need an alternate grip rather than double overhand and I don't want to do alternate grip - I don't like how it feels and involves opposing muscles on either side of your body through the lift.

Another thing that would help is chalk, which we can't have at our gym, or some narrower bars. The bars we have are too thick, not like the old school narrow ones, so getting a good grip on them is more difficult.
 
I wouldn't recommend narrower bars as they'll be hindering grip strength (I know it's not the chief benefit of dl's, but it's still good to have).

Chalk helps a ton, when I pull closer to/slightly over 400, I do alternate grip + chalk. In all honesty anything past 350 I like chalk on, once I get a lil past 350ish I go alternate grip. I'd go with straps, but I've just got one of those weird, unjustifiable dislikes for any 'equipment', stuff like straps/belts/gloves/wraps/etc (but then again, when I hit the bag I'm typically using only bandaids on my knuckles w/ a fabric wrap, if even that, so I'm a bit weird when it comes to that stuff lol).
 
haha I feel you. i don't ever use a belt but I have no problem with straps, knee wraps, and gloves. My grip strength is pretty good. I've pulled over 400 raw without any gear or chalk..
 
holy shit! For reps? My max, like my all time absolute 1 rep best, was a 405 sumo style. I did make that w/o straps, but had alternate grip and a shit-ton of chalk, and still could barely hold it. Even when I was working up to the 400 area, just pulling a single on ~350-ish and up is kind of a pain. Shit, even doing multiple reps of anything over 300 (with double overhand grip, not alternate) kills my wrists. It's weird because I know some people's mindset goes "I need straps, because I'll be able to lift more!", which is true, but I don't even look at it like that, I just instinctively realize my wrists are a weak point.
 
Holy shit!! That's a new max right? <can't remember your high #'s on your program>
 
I can rep 500 now no problem (probably 4-5 reps)

Yea 555 is a new max. It was incredibly difficult so it will probably be a month or 2 before I manage 565. I'm going to focus on more control during the negative and working at 500 for reps for 3-5 deadlift sessions before attempting 565.

If I hit 600 by the end of the year I'll be pretty happy. I started at 380 lbs max just 13 months ago.

Deadlifts are BLOWING up my back though.. seriously. My middle back is getting SO crazy big its absolutely absurd.

As an aside - I found today that by warming up with 2 sets of 30 lunges @ body weight my legs (hams/glutes especially) were VERY ready for the heavy lifting. Usually pulling at max my legs start to shake crazy style but this time it was up to near lockout nearly instantly (no struggle at all on the initial pull), it was just the lock out that was the fight of a lifetime (I would barely consider it a lockout to be honest but I was steadily pulling it for ATLEAST 20 seconds and was completely out of wind so whatever).
 
uhh, you need to crank that son!!! If you're repping up to 5 (!!) on 500, your max is quite past 555 dude!!!!

About your 'difficulty' with it, I'm gonna go on a limb and presume you're not getting proper leverage off the floor. If you don't mind could you pm me your setup again, or better yet, just tell me what kind of supplemental deadlift training you do? If you're repping 5 on 500, your max should be much higher than 555 I'd presume.
- do you do speed days?
- do you practice pulling off platforms?
- do you train singles frequently or just once in a great while?
With some changes in whatever it is you're doing, I'm sure you'll fucking nail the 600 in the next 11 months.

About the back, don't you love it :) ? Big ole christmas tree lol

RE:warmups - uhh, are you not building up properly to your lift? Sometimes people don't approach a max lift properly, if they wanna pull 550, their last rep in the set before the 550 is like 400 or 450, when it should be 510-525 at least. Could you post the exact buildup you did for your 555? I may be barking up the wrong tree, but based on that 5@500 comment, the 555pr just doesn't sound accurate, seems you should be killing 555. I'd like to see the answers to those earlier q's, and your specific buildup to the 555, cuz I think you've got some room to really boost that # up.

<<<btw if there's grammatical or syntax errors, I am drinking lol, so plz forgive :) >>>>
 
ah! Another question - what weights have you tried and missed? If you say 'none' then you need to start trying heavier :). If you have gone heavier and missed, where are you missing at? Like, if you truly couldn't do a 570, where are you failing? The floor? Lockout?
 
http://www.criticalbench.com/chart.htm

this chart has been dead accurate for me the entire time I've been lifting so 500x4 =555 roughly, so I think I'm right on track. =)

My warm up for Deadlift day (which is every other backday, so every 10 days) is to do 2 sets of lunges and 3-4 sets of ~10-14 pullups.

Generally I have 3 different deadlift days I will do:

1. Attempting a new max lift.
I will start with something low like 315 and do a few reps, increase to 405 and do 2 reps, then do 1 rep at 495. Then I will try the new max.

2. Singles of heavy.
I start with 315x8ish, move up to 405x4, 495 for a single, 515, 535, 555, then drop down to 495 for a few singles, then 405.

3. Reps (this is new, don't do reps often on deads).
315x12, 405x10, 495x4-5.


My failure depends on many factors. My current max is EXACTLY 555. I am very good at knowing my max. If I had attempted 556 today it would have been a failure.

Generally speaking if my absolute max is 555 that means I need to have had 2 days of good rest and no work outs the previous days, had 4-5,000 cals and plenty of sleep/water the previous day and have had a good solid pre work out meal 1 hour prior and 100mg of caffeine 30 minutes before starting to workout. This is for ABSOLUTE max. I will manage to pull it but it will be the struggle of my life. If I'm RIGHT at my max I will liftoff just fine but will have difficulty at the last 4-6 inches of the lift. I never hitch it but I will have VERY slow upward movement if I am very close to failure.

If I am ~5 lbs over my max I will fail at knee level or higher

If I am ~10 lbs over my max I will fail to initiate the lift (about 6 inches off the floor).

Overall my form, approach, initiation, psyching up, and everything is right on point. I am very good at knowing when I begin a dead session what my capacity is for that session and hitting it. If I DO fail its generally by a couple pounds. I hate having a serious failure where I was 10-20 lbs over my ability level. I don't like to try unreasonable shit, its dangerous.

The thing I am working on right now is firing every muscle simultaneously. Deadlifts are about initiating a LOT of motion with a LOT of power all in 1 moment to get maximum vertical momentum going. If you stall out and you are working within 3% of your max, you are going to fail the lift.


Anyway that's a ton of shit but I love deadlifting haha!
 
that chart's been accurate? wow not even close for me, but I train for heavier stuff so I guess that's expected (for instance, I look at a max weight and see what they say I could do 3 reps on and know there's no way in hell I could hit a triple at said weight).

Sounds like you know your max, but goddamn, I'm still surprised you can rep 5 on 500 and not nail, say 575.


Regarding your 3 approaches, it seems #2 is your heavy single approach - why are you even doing approach #1 at all? *That's* dangerous, taking 90lbs jumps in weight.. your approach in #2 is spot on tho. <<well, I'd change it a tiny bit, I'd say the weight jumps could be *slightly* higher, but not by a ton. Also I'd never start the session with that kinda weight, I'd always build up like:
135X10, 10
185X10
225X10
275X5
315X4
365X3
385X2
405X2
and then singles towards my max, maybe 20-30lbs jumps up to the max, aiming to put the smallest jump closer to the max (I wouldn't want to touch a 405 if my last set leading to it was, say, 365).
 
to be honest, anything 515 or lower is cake for me. I could do those with no warm up at all if I wanted.
 
no shit huh? Odd how people train so differently lol. That'd translate into ~375 for me at my best, no way I'd call that cake, doubt I could pull it that many times. (***actually, that chart you showed has me only being able to do 3 reps @ 375 if I max @405. For your max of 555, it says you could only pull 3 times, don't see that chart as too accurate. Or I'm mentally retarded and massacred based math.)
 
Nope. 315 is the least I'll do. Even that feels like a bit of a waste of time. I can crank out 12 or more with super slow positive/negative without any real effort.

315 stiff legged is pretty solid though. I like doing that.
 
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for the chart.. I'm kinda brain dead atm and can't figure out the system behind it.. but for some reason on bench, squat, and deadlift its been accurate for me.
 
aanallein said:
Nope. 315 is the least I'll do. Even that feels like a bit of a waste of time. I can crank out 12 or more with super slow positive/negative without any real effort.

315 stiff legged is pretty solid though. I like doing that.
Click to expand...
Again, just weird how different people train. 315 is like 229 for me <based on a 405pr>, and I would never ever start that low. I always start with 25's on for a bunch like 10-20, 135, 225, then start doing smaller jumps. I dunno, seems like it not only helps with going through the movement so you're nailing your form perfectly, but really warms you up to the motion in slight increments.. if I'm ever rushing and kinda have to forego all my lighter sets it *always* ends with a subpar session.
 
well I do the lunges/chins as a warm up so it gets me all ready for the heavy work.. so maybe that's where the difference is in our strategy
 
out of curiousity, why do you do things besides the deadlift to warm up for the deadlift? Just seems inefficient to me..
 
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