Click Here To Subscribe To Free Powerlifting Magazine

Deadlift Workout Routines

The deadlift is my favorite lift. There is now feeling in the world quite like locking out a heavy deadlift after a long hard pull. You know that you have accomplished something. I take great pride in my deadlift training.

Deadlift Workout 1

This deadlift workout revolves around doing 4 sets 5 in the deadlift. I use roughly 80% of my max. Then a power assistance move to work on a weaker area. Lastly I do an olympic lifting movement of some sort to get explosion and drive.

Here is a typical workout:

Sumo Deadlift--------2 to 3 warmups and then 4 sets of 5 reps
Stiff leg Deadlift---2 sets of 5 reps
Clean----------------1 set of 5
Clean & Jerk---------1 to 3 singles

I do sumo Dl sort of like Ed Coan does them. My feet are roughly about where the rings are located on the bar. I use an alternate grip with my hands just on the rough part of the bar. When you use an alternate grip, make sure your weak hand is the one facing out. This provides for a little stronger grip. Every little bit helps.

I do stiff leg deadlifts to strengthen the hamstrings and lower back. It provides much of the drive for the competition deadlift. I don't do them off a box or on top of a plate. I feel that the most important part of doing this exercise is to be smooth and controlled. The 2 sets of 5 is not a max effort. I pick a weight I could do maybe 8 reps with for one good set.

Cleans are done to get an explosive element into my lifts. I feel it adds alot to the efficiency of my deadlifts. You have to turn on a great number of muscle fibers quickly when you do these. That is exactly what you have to do to pull a max deadlift. I do these split style. I pull the bar up and drop under it by splitting one leg back with the other left to the front. This way is just more natural to me. I do these from the floor as I feel this provides the most direct effect to deadlifts.

Clean and jerk is just an extension of the above movement in a way. It involves an explosion of the upper body. Also stabilizing muscles are involved in a different direction than in the deadlift. I feel this is beneficial for the upper phase of the deadlift a little. Perhaps not in a direct manner. If you make the weaker links in a chain stonger through whatever method, the chain will be stronger. Holding the weight overhead is taxing to those muscle which stabilize the deadlift. These are not done as maximum effort single. Instead I just add a little weight to whatever I repped with in cleans. Say perhaps 10-20 pounds.

Deadlift Workout 2

This is my current deadlift routine.

Sumo Deadlift warmup then 5 sets of 2
Stiff leg DL 2 sets of 6 reps
Rack Pulls warmup then 3 singles

Sumo Deadlift

I develop a great deal of starting power and setup technique using this rep scheme. This helps with my weak area. As far as percents, I go from roughly 80% to 90%. I really like the challenge of this rep scheme. It is a great mental challenge. This routine helps to develop tenacity. This is real important for a maximal pull. Tenacity is more important than confidence at least in deadlift. Just never give up on the weight. I pulled a PR by ten pounds right after doing the 5 sets of 2. In the same workout!!!

Stiff leg DL

These are done with heels elevated. I use a bumper plate(at least when I first wrote this routine). You might use something with two 2"x4"s. I learned of doing stiff leg DL's this way from the strongest man of all time, Paul Anderson. It is in his book "Power by Paul." I highly recommend this book. I do 55 to 60 percent of my deadlift max in this exercise.

Rack Pulls

I place the bar in a power rack at about knee high. Maybe a little lower. I have to stand on steps or boxes to get the height right. Use as close to your normal deadlift form as possible. You want to perform the lift as if you had done the bottom part and are just merely at the middle of the lift. Doing the lift as close to your normal form will maximize the benefits of this exercise. Use the grip you use for your deadlifts. Do not use straps or hooks. One of the main benefits of this exercise is added grip strength. I add from 50 to 100 pounds over my max deadlift depending on where I am in my training cycle. The reason I do three singles is because that is what you do in a contest. This helps the body to be ready for the demands of a contest.

Hope you had a good workout I know I did.

Click Here To Subscribe To Free Powerlifting Magazine

Bodybuilding Powerlifting Weight Training