How to Get to a 405 Deadlift

[quote]Brett295 wrote:
Again thanks a lot for all the help. 405 is IMO the gateway to heavy lifting. I know I’ll get there eventualy but I would like to get there sooner rather than later. Obviously I know that it’s going to take some gym time but I want to use my time efficeintly.

O.K. Here is my training schedule for the next 4 weeks. I am doing a popular training program and It has worked well for me so far. I have gotten stronger on all of my lifts so I’m going to ride it out till the end of the strength phase and then probably dive into the 531 wendler program. On friday’s workout would it be beneficial to add a few sets of heavy deadlifts from the floor as well as some heavy Rack pulls? I was thinking maybe 10 total reps of each.

Monday
2-3 rep max 15 total reps
Overhead Squat
Weighted Dips
weighted neutral grip pullup
Dumbell Romanian Deadlift

Wednesday
4-6 rep max 15 total reps
single leg deadlift
Single arm incline dumbell Bench press
Single leg deadlift
Single arm cable row

Friday
4-6 rep max 15 total reps
high Pull
Standing Barbell Military Press
Squat[/quote]

that looks terrible. I would not do that. I would stick to either mine or avacodo’s methods. You will pull 405 MUCH FASTER that way. You are using heavy weights, without much rest, and doing a lot of similar stuff 3x a week, while totally neglecting some things.

Try this:

Monday:
Squat: try to keep the volume on this larger then on the deads
good mornings: 4x8 ramped
DB Lunges: use these in a manner that allows you to hit your quads, reps as desired
hanging leg raises: 4x15

Tuesday:
Bench press: work up to 2x5 with working weight
DB incline press: 3x12
lat pulldown/chinup/rack chin: pick your own, idk what works best for you hypertrophywise
seated DB power cleans: 2x15
tricep extention of some sort: pick your own rep range

Thursday:
Deadlift: 3x3
suitcase deads: 2x15
glute ham raises: these are gonna be tough, do as much as you can
standing cable abs: 4x15

Friday:
Flat or incline press: 2x15-20
DB overhead press: 3x10
Kroc, or machine rows: kroc-1xfail or machine-3x8-15
face pulls: 3x15
curls: your decision, idk what works best for you

I am 4574724545x certain this will let you gain faster then your program. Make sure you’re eating to grow.

Zep is one of the guys that helped me form my plan. I think avocado was, too, not sure. I’m trying to get 405 as well.

Today was DL Max day after 1 week of rest. Got 405 to my knees, then my back started to give, so I bailed. So damned close, its pissing me off.

Gotta agree with Zep on the programming as well. If you have been training for 2 years (as your profile says), then you are in the infancy of lifting experience. You are still at that stage where sticking to heavy basics and eating plenty can keep giving you gains.

And is there a reason why you have included so many unilateral movements in your training?

I’ve found that heavy deadlifting regularly helps my deadlift the most.

Helps my squat a lot too.

Try the Coan/Phillipi program. I went from ~440 to 500 with it the last time I ran it.

The deadlift works a ton of muscles, including the upper traps, spinal erectors, hamstrings, quads, glutes and the lower back, along with grip strength. If you want to get a big deadlift, work all of these muscles, obviously. As far as deadlifting goes, tons of people have said it here already and I’ll say it as well: go heavy. 5x5, 6x4 or even 8x1 is a great way to go. Try this: 5x5 for 6 weeks, then 6x4 for six weeks then 8x1 for six weeks and go light twice during each of those six weeks. But only deadlift once a week, preferably on a day different than the day you squat, like maybe deads on Mondays and squats on Thursdays. Mix in some accessroy work for both of these exercises on those two days. Something like this might suit you well:

Monday: deadlift 5x5
good mornings 5x15
romanian deadlifts 5x15

Thursday: squats or box squats 5x5
front squats 5x15
sumo deadlifts 5x15

warm up with a few sets before the deadlifts and squats and then go as heavy as possible on all five working sets. Do the accessory exercises with a challenging weight as well. You should be doing a higher percentage of your one-rep max each week on the last set of the 5x5. Start with 5x5 with the last couple sets at 60% of your 1rm, then increase the weight used on those last couple sets by 5% of your 1rm (60 then 65% then 70% and so on) until the six weeks are over. After six weeks, you’ll probably be pretty close to 400.

[quote]JayPierce wrote:
Zep is one of the guys that helped me form my plan. I think avocado was, too, not sure. I’m trying to get 405 as well.

Today was DL Max day after 1 week of rest. Got 405 to my knees, then my back started to give, so I bailed. So damned close, its pissing me off.[/quote]

If you got it to your knees then you’re real close. Actually, I think you’d probably get it next week if you try again. My first 405lbs was probably the slowest deadlift of my life, don’t be afraid to push it long and hard whilst ignoring the “put it down to be on the safe side” part of your brain.

[quote]JayPierce wrote:
Zep is one of the guys that helped me form my plan. I think avocado was, too, not sure. I’m trying to get 405 as well.

Today was DL Max day after 1 week of rest. Got 405 to my knees, then my back started to give, so I bailed. So damned close, its pissing me off.[/quote]

If you get it to your knees, try throwing your hips under the bar, it makes it easier to lock out

Snatch-grip deadlifts from a pedestal got my pull from 325 to 425 in about a month. Besides strengthening my legs, particularly my Vastus Medialis it taught me to keep my butt down and drive with my legs instead of using mostly my glutes and lower back, a mistake I see a lot of people making.

[quote]JayPierce wrote:
Zep is one of the guys that helped me form my plan. I think avocado was, too, not sure. I’m trying to get 405 as well.

Today was DL Max day after 1 week of rest. Got 405 to my knees, then my back started to give, so I bailed. So damned close, its pissing me off.[/quote]

What’s your plan look like now? If you’re already around 405, could be high time to try 5/3/1. You can pm me or talk to me in my log if you prefer.

[quote]earthshaker wrote:
Gotta agree with Zep on the programming as well. If you have been training for 2 years (as your profile says), then you are in the infancy of lifting experience. You are still at that stage where sticking to heavy basics and eating plenty can keep giving you gains.

And is there a reason why you have included so many unilateral movements in your training?[/quote]

The unilateral movements are a recurring theme in Huge In a Hurry. On Wednesdays I usualy do a bunch of unilateral movements. If anything I think it has helped a lot with my core strength. I’ve made progress following the routines in the book. I’ve gained an extra 15 lbs and My squat, deadlift, and bench have gone up. I’m getting close to the end of the book which is why I’m starting to look for somehting a little more targeted toward my ultimate goal which is to increase my weight on the big 3 lifts.

Currently I can: (no belt, straps, gear, etc…)
Squat 300
Deadlift 335
Bench 225

Goals are to:
Squat 405
Deadlift 405
Bench: 275

Eventualy I’d like those lifts to be unbelted no straps etc but if I need to put a belt on to get to those numbers I will.

[quote]Brett295 wrote:
earthshaker wrote:
Gotta agree with Zep on the programming as well. If you have been training for 2 years (as your profile says), then you are in the infancy of lifting experience. You are still at that stage where sticking to heavy basics and eating plenty can keep giving you gains.

And is there a reason why you have included so many unilateral movements in your training?

The unilateral movements are a recurring theme in Huge In a Hurry. On Wednesdays I usualy do a bunch of unilateral movements. If anything I think it has helped a lot with my core strength. I’ve made progress following the routines in the book. I’ve gained an extra 15 lbs and My squat, deadlift, and bench have gone up. I’m getting close to the end of the book which is why I’m starting to look for somehting a little more targeted toward my ultimate goal which is to increase my weight on the big 3 lifts.

Currently I can: (no belt, straps, gear, etc…)
Squat 300
Deadlift 335
Bench 225

Goals are to:
Squat 405
Deadlift 405
Bench: 275

Eventualy I’d like those lifts to be unbelted no straps etc but if I need to put a belt on to get to those numbers I will. [/quote]

Interesting. Didn’t realize HIH had so much unilateral work.

Keep up the heavy deads and good luck on your goals.

Bill Starrs 5x5 has gotten me up to a 405 pull. Squatting 3 times a week, deadlifting once. I pulled 405 for the first time and it took every ounce of my being a few weeks back. Now yesterday I did it again and it was much easier. During this time my squat for 5 reps has increased by about 30 lbs. So I agree that you should increase your squat to help your DL.

Mondy,

Did you get my reply? The message I sent did not show in my sent messages list.

Jeremy

Your goals now are very similar to mine last Aug. Could hit 255 bench, 225 deads and 185 squats at b/w of 176. Currently, 475 DL, 315 squat, and 295 bench @ b/w of 190. My biggest changes occured when I switched to splits versus full-body.

I have cycled this routine with good success. Mon-heavy chest, light shoulders, tri/ Tues.-Heavy deads(from floor, sumo stance), one leg dl and a unlateral leg movement, back, bis./ Thurs-Heavey shoulders, light chest, tris/ Fri-Narrow stance light deads, heavy BB SLDL, box squts, back, bis.

This program has really increased all my lifts and my body weight has gone up with minimal b/f gain. THis program has worked for at least 4 of my younger male clients, just my two cents, hope this helps

[quote]jeremyjjbrown wrote:
Mondy,

Did you get my reply? The message I sent did not show in my sent messages list.

Jeremy[/quote]

Nope, I did not get your reply. Odd.

This is more of a philosophical response than anything, but …

Your question should not be “How to get to 405?” - it should be “How do I continually add weight to my deadlift?” Then 365 will fall, 405 will fall, 410, 415, 450, 500 … and so on. To put it bluntly: If you have no plan to get to 340, how the fuck will you ever get 405? The answer is to simply follow a well designed program which includes not only sets/reps and exercises, but progression. And eat. :wink:

I’m not sure if any good programs were posted, but at your current strength level, madcow’s linear 5x5 (search the web for it) will I’m sure work wonders, especially if you eat appropriately & gain weight.

[quote]goochadamg wrote:
This is more of a philosophical response than anything, but …

Your question should not be “How to get to 405?” - it should be “How do I continually add weight to my deadlift?” Then 365 will fall, 405 will fall, 410, 415, 450, 500 … and so on. To put it bluntly: If you have no plan to get to 340, how the fuck will you ever get 405? The answer is to simply follow a well designed program which includes not only sets/reps and exercises, but progression. And eat. :wink:

I’m not sure if any good programs were posted, but at your current strength level, madcow’s linear 5x5 (search the web for it) will I’m sure work wonders, especially if you eat appropriately & gain weight.
[/quote]

I disagree. I never once made an intermediate goal to get to, say 350, on the way to my current goal (500). Every week I have the attitude of “today I’m going to hit 500, I can’t leave until I do”. Well, I still haven’t, but I just keep ramping up (at least beyond my current PR) until I can’t do a rep.

Then I get pissed off and try again, if I haven’t increased my PR by much at all, then I will get really pissed off and keep trying. Eventually I’ll stop to focus on the rest of my back workout to hopefully increase my deadlift that way in preperation for next week, and my attitude at that point is “I fucked up today, but next week I’m going to hit 500.”

Aiming way higher than is realistic to achieve forces you to work harder if you have the mindset of “failure is not an option”. There is no “well I did good enough”, or “I was almost there”.

I agree with what you said, the most important thing is progression, I just didn’t agree with the intermediate goals thing, as I feel it’s better to set goals that are unrealistically high.

[quote]w00tage wrote:
goochadamg wrote:
This is more of a philosophical response than anything, but …

Your question should not be “How to get to 405?” - it should be “How do I continually add weight to my deadlift?” Then 365 will fall, 405 will fall, 410, 415, 450, 500 … and so on. To put it bluntly: If you have no plan to get to 340, how the fuck will you ever get 405? The answer is to simply follow a well designed program which includes not only sets/reps and exercises, but progression. And eat. :wink:

I’m not sure if any good programs were posted, but at your current strength level, madcow’s linear 5x5 (search the web for it) will I’m sure work wonders, especially if you eat appropriately & gain weight.

I disagree. I never once made an intermediate goal to get to, say 350, on the way to my current goal (500). Every week I have the attitude of “today I’m going to hit 500, I can’t leave until I do”. Well, I still haven’t, but I just keep ramping up (at least beyond my current PR) until I can’t do a rep.

Then I get pissed off and try again, if I haven’t increased my PR by much at all, then I will get really pissed off and keep trying. Eventually I’ll stop to focus on the rest of my back workout to hopefully increase my deadlift that way in preperation for next week, and my attitude at that point is “I fucked up today, but next week I’m going to hit 500.”

Aiming way higher than is realistic to achieve forces you to work harder if you have the mindset of “failure is not an option”. There is no “well I did good enough”, or “I was almost there”.

I agree with what you said, the most important thing is progression, I just didn’t agree with the intermediate goals thing, as I feel it’s better to set goals that are unrealistically high.
[/quote]

So basically your plan is to max out on deadlift every week for a PR single to raise your deadlift by 150+ pounds. I don’t see how that could possibly not work.

To the OP, try madcow’s intermediate 5x5. It took my deadlift from 385x2 to 385x5.

[quote]brownab wrote:
w00tage wrote:
goochadamg wrote:
This is more of a philosophical response than anything, but …

Your question should not be “How to get to 405?” - it should be “How do I continually add weight to my deadlift?” Then 365 will fall, 405 will fall, 410, 415, 450, 500 … and so on. To put it bluntly: If you have no plan to get to 340, how the fuck will you ever get 405? The answer is to simply follow a well designed program which includes not only sets/reps and exercises, but progression. And eat. :wink:

I’m not sure if any good programs were posted, but at your current strength level, madcow’s linear 5x5 (search the web for it) will I’m sure work wonders, especially if you eat appropriately & gain weight.

I disagree. I never once made an intermediate goal to get to, say 350, on the way to my current goal (500). Every week I have the attitude of “today I’m going to hit 500, I can’t leave until I do”. Well, I still haven’t, but I just keep ramping up (at least beyond my current PR) until I can’t do a rep.

Then I get pissed off and try again, if I haven’t increased my PR by much at all, then I will get really pissed off and keep trying. Eventually I’ll stop to focus on the rest of my back workout to hopefully increase my deadlift that way in preperation for next week, and my attitude at that point is “I fucked up today, but next week I’m going to hit 500.”

Aiming way higher than is realistic to achieve forces you to work harder if you have the mindset of “failure is not an option”. There is no “well I did good enough”, or “I was almost there”.

I agree with what you said, the most important thing is progression, I just didn’t agree with the intermediate goals thing, as I feel it’s better to set goals that are unrealistically high.

So basically your plan is to max out on deadlift every week for a PR single to raise your deadlift by 150+ pounds. I don’t see how that could possibly not work.
[/quote]

No, but he could be attempting to increase the workload each session, by moving up in either weight or reps. Which would be a fucking brilliant idea…