When I first did it, I was about 200lbs bodyweight. Maybe a little less. First time in a meet was as a 181er. I actually had to drop weight for it. At 217, I was too fat to get my feet close together for better leg drive, and topped out at 540.
How long have you been training seriously?
Improper mind game, disqualified.
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I lost weight. I was about 330 pounds at age 33, with no training background at all. I was about 300 when I first pulled 495 after about 3 months of barbell training in January 2014. I was about 290-295 when I pulled 585 in November of 2015. I was about 270 when I pulled 605 this year. Iāve put on a little weight over the holiday and Iām sitting around 275 right now, but I think Iām probably good for around a 635 pull, based on recent work sets.
Iāve never done this, but I believe that this is also well within the realm of possible feats for most natural male lifters. Iāve often wondered what I could have achieved if I had started lifting in my teens or early 20ās instead of just getting fat and eating all of the cheese. As it stands, Iāve hit a 600+ pound pull at around 2.3x BW as an old fatass who doesnāt come close to doing everything right.
Hereās some video of this natty fatty hoisting heavy.
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Iām someone who has worked out for pretty much all my life (Iām early 40ās). My goals are different than those on this thread, but Iām quite interested in the discussion. By that I mean Iāve never single-mindedly set out to progressively increase my big lifts for an extended period of time. I can pull 2.3X my bodyweight and bench press 1.75X my bodyweight, and Iām quite fine with those numbers. At this point Iām looking to maintain and not add body weight mass as I age.
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I have a 550 pound deadlift at 6ā4" and weigh between 235-240 with 4 years of barbell lifting experience. Typically deadlift once a week using the Advanced 531 Template. While I donāt have a 600 pound pull yet I believe Iām not far off hitting this accomplishment.
I think a 600# deadlift is possible for anyone if strength is their goal which is something most people arenāt after. I workout in a commercial gym and most people there just want a big chest and arms and still believe deadlifts are bad for the back and deep squats are bad for the knees. Like whatās been stated over and over in this thread, the average gym goer does not want to do what it takes to achieve this feat. What I think is a little sad is that my 550 pull was the talk of the gym for about a week. I am proud of my 550 deadlift but I also donāt think itās the greatest thing ever and I am pretty sure there is more poundage to come.
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Iām headed to the gym to max out on deads thanks to this thread. Been doing power cleans and RDLs exclusively for years and just started deadlifting 5 weeks ago.
No one has mentioned genetics! Limb & torso length play a role in every exercise, including deads.
Even with limited focus on deads in the past I think I might be able to hit 600 if I actually try. I think it has a lot to do with being 6ā5". For once my long levers seem to be beneficial in the weight room.
Iāll come back later and post my max. Iāve actually never maxed on deads with a barbell. Here goes nothingā¦
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Great discussion here so far folks!
Rip it man!
Iām not sure if EVERYONE could do this (poor leverages, other outlying conditions) but I feel like Iāll be hitting this before long with very little focus on deadlift. I DL once a week (typically running a 5/3/1 variation) and DL is what I would consider to be my weakest lift. Iām around 210lbs pulling 565lbs. With my upcoming cut I should be around the 190lb mark and plan on at the very least maintaining this 1RM. If I put a few months of focus into the DL I honestly believe I would break 600lbs. Also, lifetime natty here for what itās worth.
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To put things in (some) perspective here, from a CThib post in his forum:
"Well the fact is that we arenāt all suited to be strong everywhere equally. I trained an olympic lifter who had a 200kg jerk (440lbs) and push press 160kg (352lbs) but he couldnāt military press 185lbs and could only bench press 225lbs x 3 reps!!!
Personally even when I could olympic (high bar, upright torso) squat 600lbs (and 550lbs x 5) and front squat 485, I couldnāt deadlift 500lbs on every day I tried!!!
Attempting to fit a specific mold is bound to leave you unhappy and unmotivated."
I also wish a young, strong guy -CSulli- who used to post a lot, would see this and chime in; this young guy was big and strong and trained as hard as anyone. I followed his posts and I know he was trying to get a 600 lb deadlift before flipping his āace cardā, but the highest I recall him pulling in a posted video was 575? maybe? Then he posted a meet video where he pulled I think 675 and as he put it -ādbol worksā. Meanwhile, his training partner and friend pulled I think mid 600s while weighing less, soā¦
To be clear, this is all academic interest for me since Iām an old fart in his 50s whoās happy just to be one of the not so weak guys in his commercial gym LOLLLL.
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Just wanted to addā¦
Not to put words in CTās mouth, but Iām sure that when he deadlifts, he does it with the weightlifting style and not the powerlifting style (which results in more weight being lifted); kind of like high bar squat vs. low bar squat.
This thread reminds me of this for some reasonā¦
I was about 213 lbs, and was losing weight. Still am. Iāve never found DL to be particularly bodyweight reliant.
True ā¦Bodyweight has less to do with it. Now individual Body leverage that is the main key that some people tend to overlook.
Iāve humbly returned! I must confess, I did not pull 600. Or 500ā¦ I have mixed feelings from my first ever one rep max deadlift. I pulled 450 and it felt risky for back health. I probably couldāve added a bit more but itās not worth the risk for my purposes.
Today finished up my 6th week of actually doing deads. I feel like a beginner but Iāve been training for 14 years. Iāve focused on power cleans for the past year and hit a new PR of 315lbs earlier this year. Part of my training included clean pulls (no high pull, just jump & shrug). I worked up to doubles with 345lbs and could get my feet off the ground. I figured this was all good enough for my pulling work.
Iāve started 5/3/1 including deads. I set my TM at 355 and have been getting 8-12 reps on my final sets. Jim says to start too light so I succeeded there. Iāll be adjusting my TM and continuing the program. Maybe Iāll get lucky and progress like a newbie on deads but Iām not counting on it.
I need to add 150lbs so if I can add 15lbs a year Iāll hit 600 when Iām 42!
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I decided earlier this year (along with other things) that I wanted a state record deadlift. The one in Georgia is 700 at 200. So basically I decided Iām going to hit 725 at 200 at some point in my life at a meet. And if the record number goes up, so will mine. I honestly have zero time for a glass ceiling.
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I was looking up record lifts as a function of weight class. The least bodyweight dependent was the squat; the most the bench press. As you gain weight and have a larger girth, that would likely help more for the bench press than other lifts.
As you from the 181 lb class to the 242 lb class (I picked these to represent the typical range of weights you find in an average gym-going population), your bodyweight increased by 61 lbs, and:
DL increase across this range: 791 to 925 = 134 lb increase (17% increase)
BP increase across this range: 556 - 662 = 106 lb increase (19% increase)
Squat increase across this range: 749 to 828 = 79 lb increase (11% increase)
These are record numbers, mind you, and show that an increase in bodyweight leads to an increase in overall lifting capacity (obviously), but perhaps not as much as you would expect. This increase is probably amplified for elite lifters whose weight differences between weight classes is due to relatively more muscle than recreational lifters.
Iāve lived in CA most of my life but did spend much of my 30ās in the midwest. Anecdotally, Iāve noticed that in CA there is an emphasis on being leaner with feats such as muscle ups, weighted pull ups, and lifting compared to your bodyweight being what impresses people. Iād say out here, seeing a big, chunky dude move a lot of weight just isnāt impressive to most. In the midwest, dudes were heavier and rarely ripped, and spoke more of just the numbers you could lift without regard to bodyweight. I guess it makes sense, if you consider in CA beach aesthetics and year-round athletics were the norm.
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pulled from 545 to about 660 I only went up about 6lbs ish. Competed as a 181er. Moving to 198 now
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Less than 50% of males have the physical potential to DL 600 pounds at their physical peak. Physical peak ~ 22-32 years old. Or 3X body weight.
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Answer to OP is no! Many men wonāt even be able to bench 225 for a few reps.
Anyone look at average people outside of gyms, or even in gyms? Lol!
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