I'm trying for a 500lb deadlift by the end of the year, I was discussing this with another arfcommer and he suggested I make a thread here to log my training and results as I go.

I'll also post a few videos, starting tomorrow with my first real week of training.

Right now I've never tried for a max deadlift, I did a crossfit WOD obout 6 weeks ago where I pulled 415 for a triple, then 315 30 times (broken up with a bunch of prancing around like Kansas City faggots they way crossfitters do), and I've pulled over 400 a few times since then for reps, but never tried to max out.  I estimate my max somewhere around 450 and it's mid-September, so I've only 3 1/2 months till I need to have added about 50lbs.  I've never focused on the deadlift, just do it once in a while to not get weak.

Normally I pull conventional but I met with a powerlifting coach last week that told me because of my ape-arms I should be pulling sumo.  He instructed me on the position and technique, then started me on the program I'll be following for the next few months.

Stage 1- 6 weeks puts me to the end of October.

Stage one has two workout days, accessories and lifts.

Accessories- I do these on Tuesday usually, then my lifts on Friday or Saturday.
Barbell rows
Farmers carries
Rowing/other cardio.

The biggest focus is to get some cardio and keep the hand strength improving.  I try to pick stuff that helps the hands and back.


Lift day-
Warm-up pulling sumo up to a max of 225lbs.  He wants this to be pretty light, just to teach the muscles how to pull sumo and get used to the position so that when we transition to that style I'll be prepared.

Lifts-
7" deficit straight leg.  This puts the bar right on the top of my feet, just touching the top.  I'm not very limber so this is also really helping me get good hamstring stretches.

10 @ 145
10 @ 160
10 @ 180
10 @ 180
10 @ 200

Each week this goes up 10lbs across the lifts so that at the end of the 6 weeks I'm pulling 10 @ 260.

Accessories on lift day-

After the deficit deads he's got me doing more accessories.  These are
Landmine rows- he prefers these over conventional barbell rows because of the increased length of travel you can get with them.
Lat pulls
Machine rows

He had me do each of these and corrected my form, focusing on drawing in the shoulders first without bending the arms and activating the lats.  I thought I was doing this but his instruction had me doing a much better job of it so I expect it will really start to help as I get those activated more.  Should help cleans and snatches too, whenever I get to do those again.

Stage 2 has me still doing deficit deads, but not straight legged.  The weights will take a significant jump as I use the legs to drive up, this stage will also take about 6 weeks putting me to mid-December.  Yikes, that's a bit close.  We might have to do 5-week stages.

Stage 3 has me pulling sumo from the floor and increasing weights quickly.

Good luck man.  I would like to get my pull up above 600 in the next 8 months or so.  If I can progress enough I may go to USS nationals in Detroit 2017.  There is an axle DL, but the weight hasn't been released.

A couple things I'm doing.

1.  Going back to straps.  It's just too much on my already smoked grip strength to pull heavy without straps.  And they're allowed in strongman.
2.  I'm going to start a linear progression at the suggest of my strongman coach, something like this:

week 1   5x5 at 85%
week 2   5x3 at 85% + 10#
week 3   5x2 at 85%  + 20#
week 4   deload

then start over, beginning week 1 10# heavier than the last week 1

"7" deficit straight leg. This puts the bar right on the top of my feet, just touching the top."

I would really like to see a video of this. I don't think I can grab the bar with a flat back and straight legs and keep it over the midline of my foot.

Yeah, grip is going to really limit me too.  That's the biggest reason for all the farmers carries and KB swings.  With this wrist hurting (doing much better now, can almost get into a front rack again) I've lost some strength so I'm in a hurry to build that back too.  I'm using straps on some of the rows otherwise my grip will limit how much progress I can make on my lats, which seems counter-productive.  I need to get both of them going.

Are you doing any specific accessories?  





I'll try to get a video.  It's pretty comical to see me try to reach my toes with a belt on, but I've been stretching a lot and I should be OK to reach it easier in a few days.  I had to start out by bending my knees to grip the bar, then straighten up.  After a few of those I was reaching a lot better.

He also said he's not concerned with touching the floor, but it has to be close.  I came down just to where I was about to touch my shoe laces and that seemed to put me less than an inch off the floor.

I'm doing banded GHRS on the GHD, basically hip extensions with a band around my neck and the bottom of the GHD.  Also dumbbell RDLs; banded good mornings; starting to do safety squat bar good mornings to a seated box; then some rack pulls and deficits mixed in.

ETA:  also a lot of DB rows, meadow rows, which I think is the same thing you called landmine rows and some bent over rows with a BB.

Id cut all that fancy stuff out and just pull. Pull 405 untill you can get it for 10, then 425 till you can get it for 10, then 445, then 455.

Once you can get 455x10 add  10lbs everyweek for the next month and just get what reps you can get.  You'll be reping 5 plates in no time.

Do pull ups and db rows after

My all time pr is 585 when I was 20 in oki but I think I was more proud of my 495x6, after a set of 5 this year.

Nice, this will be fun to watch.

Ah, the old 'strong like a bull and smart like a tractor' approach

I've got a real sticking point off the floor (yeah, everyone does, I know) and I've been getting a lot better about it since I have been doing snatch grip deadlifts.  I also have trouble keeping the lats tight and now that I'm doing the accessories better it should help a lot.  I think this program will really boost me on the lift.  I'm not trying to compete so it's not like I've lost anything but sweat and calluses.




Yeah, you had a good idea

Finished week 1 on my way to 600.

Hit 440 (80% of my projected max of 550) for 5x5.

That was a lot of volume.  My lower back is wrecked.  But it felt good, and I felt strong back on my dirty diet.

I seem to do a lot better at higher volume and lower weights than I do a peak weights.  For example I've done 5x5@365 (80% of my probable max), but actually pulling near my max is really iffy.  Some days it's ok, others I'm not even close.

Bro day for me, week 1 of the deadlifts is tomorrow.  I did some bench pressing, laying triceps and bro curls.  All really light and I have to be very close-grip on the bench or it hurts the wrist.  Did a bunch of stretching too, I've been stretching every day to help with the deficit deads.

This is a crap ton of volume.

My back is smoked this morning.

deads for me this morning too (and I'm also on the road back to 500)

195 x 5
240 x 5
290 x 3
310 x 5
360 x 5 - felt weird and heavier than it should be
410 x ...........................


1

Struggled to break it off the floor, and if it wasn't for the aspiring bikini model cheering for me I probably would have quit


sucks...last month I pulled 400 x 10 and 425 x 7

finished off with front squats

170 x 10
200 x 10
230 x 10

for those curious on the aspiring physique competitor...here she is in last years Strongman

vein in the neck

Bad ass.  I'm trying hard to get my wife to do a physique competition since she is so jacked and lean.  But she says she's too shy and is not confident enough.

I'd say the chances are pretty good that I look as sexy as she does when I'm deadlifting.


Didn't get to lift this morning, had some nerve trouble that wouldn't let me sleep, finally nodded off at 12:45 or so and the alarm at 4:45 just didn't get me excited to lift.  Maybe tomorrow, living on stimulants today.  This was supposed to be the first time ever that I was excited to deadlift.  Normally I just do them to help the other stuff.

Got my lifts in

10@135
10@165
10@185
10@185
10@205

That last set was tough, my low back was really worn out by then.  Still have to bend the knees to grip the bar then straighten them and put tension through the body, but I'm more mobile than last week so hopefully by the end of my stage 1 I'll have a lot more flexibility.

Accessories

3x8
Lat pulls 130 (lightened it up a lot to activate the late better)
Machine rows 120
Land mine rows 80lbs
Lat curls 130

Ended up being the best bicep and tricep workout I've had in a while.  Long while.

When your coach says you have ape arms, how long we talking? I've always been told I have long arms, but sumo just tears my hips up and can't pull for shit compared to conventional.

I'm 5'10" with a 6'2" wingspan.  I have to buy large tall shirts or the cuffs are all high above the wrists, but the shoulder area seems to fit ok.  There's probably a way to measure just the arm, but I don't know it.  From the armpit?  Maybe from the bone on the shoulder?  I just tried to measure my arm from fingertip to the bone on the shoulder and got 32", but doing it myself probably has a +/-12" error.

WHY U UP AT 2AM?

Those stiff legged deficit deads are pretty much a good morning, aren't they?  Still not a bad idea.  I have access to a GHD so I could easily work that in.

Wave!  You're about to fly over my house, I'm 100 miles south and you can see my county if you're sitting on the right side of the plane.

I may have to abandon the lat pulls, or at least the chin-up grip ones. wrecked my wrist.

Tagged for interest.

OP, I'm on the same quest...500#.  I pull conventional.  My best pull was 455# on Labor Day.  Not sure if I can reach 500# by end of year.

Why? Did you run out of beef or weights?

Do you have a training plan?  As Anvil alluded, it should include lots of food.

Feel free to post your training and results here, it will be good to have a few cyber-training partners.

Yes... at the core of my plan is 5/3/1, supplemented with double stimulation (Christian Thibaudeau) for the press and bench, and Bulgarian-ish for squat and DL.

I eat clean but I don't count calories.  Primarily, nutrition includes protein-pulsing, and eat a ton of steak, chicken, salmon, eggs and veggies.  

My near term goals are: Press 2+ plates, Bench 3+, Squat 4+, and DL 5+, all on the same day.  I've got all of them except the DL.  I also want to Dl 500# by 50 y/o, which gives me 1.5 years to go.

Today's 5+ DL session: I hit 350# for 15 reps, which is a 3 rep PR.

All of them but the deadlift that's awesome man.

Thanks.  Working hard on that last goal.

To Tennessee?  Where did you come from?  CA?  That's a hell of a long drive.

That is a long drive holy damn.  What for you going to Richmond?

Damn man.  I hope he at least fed you like a king on your trip.

Speaking of dogs, three F-18s buzzed my house last night and my german shepherd went apeshit.

Pretty sure I would have too.  I used to live at the south end of a restricted airspace for bombing strafing runs, I got buzzed by a B-2 once.  He was about 100' off the dirt, incredible.

First time touching a barbell in nearly two weeks today due to schedule and sickness.  

Made it through the deficit deads and most of the way through the rows, I'm going to be really, really sore tomorrow.

You're doing all that at 48? That's awesome

Thanks, man.  

Yeah, just want to be over 200/300/400/500 near-term.  If When I get that, my longer term semi-realistic goal would be 300/400/500/600 by the time I hit 60 y.o.  The press and bench would be the most achievable, since I'm at 235# and 350# now, respectively.  Not sure about the squat and DL.

I feel bad for their backs and legs

I've been on a decent DL roll lately:

5+ week: 350 x 15
3+ week: 370 x 13
Today on 5/3/1 week: 390 x 11

It would be excellent if 405 x 10 is in the cards soon.

Worked up to 215x20 today with the 7" deficit.  I just about blew chunks, that's a lot of work to keep tight like that.

I also did my sumo deadlifts up to 225, they really don't feel very good.  I'm dragging my hands up my legs which seem weird and weak.  It feels better towards the end but I still feel pretty weak doing sumo.

Also did a bunch of rows and lat pulls, lats are definitely doing better but I need to spend some time tuning up the grip strength.  Thinking about buying Fat Gripz, any experience with them?  I know KaiK had them at one time.

Deficit deads again-

10 @ 185
10 @ 205
20 @ 225
10 @ 245

those are a lot of work, but I've definitely gotten a lot stronger.  

followed by lat pulls, machine rows and landmine rows.  All of them are getting a lot stronger and I'm really developing the lats a lot better.  The assistance day with KB farmers carries and whatever other stuff I can get done are also going well, this week I went faster with 35lb kettlebells instead of slugging it out with the 55lb, turns out it still sucks just different.  I really need to develop more hand strength so I'll likely be going a little shorter with heavier weight for the next few weeks.

SCW do you have straps for deadlifting?

I just ordered some, should be at my house today.

Plan is of course to only use them on heavy sets where grip failure would mean missed reps.

Yes but I haven't been using them.  The weights I'm doing are pretty light for my hands, heavy for a deficit deadlift, but still easy to hold.  I've been doing the 55lb farmers carries to help my hands get stronger and it's really working.  I do three rounds of carries for 400yds, landmine rows and good mornings and/or lat pulls.

im not really a big guy at all.  halodrol is what helped me get to 500

Today should be the last of the straight-leg deficit deads he had me doing.  I went from a top rep weight of 185 to 245 (should have been 255 but reasons).  Next week I should be going a little heavier  with a conventional deadlift, although still with the 6" deficit.  For the last few weeks it will be all sumo and lifting much heavier.  Oddly enough my hands gave out on my today at 245, maybe they need more rest than I've been giving them, I'm trying to work on my grip a few times a week and today it just pooped out on my, so I'll take a few days off the hands and see what happens next week.

Right now the sumo still feels terrible.  I'm getting a lot more limber in the hips and groin and I can drop my hips down a lot better and use the legs to drive up.  I really hate the hands dragging across my legs at the top of the lift, but I guess that's just the way it's done.

All the lat pulls over the last 6 weeks have really helped too.  My back is a lot larger and stronger, my clothes fit a lot tighter and my wife says she sees a more pronounced "V" shape in my back.  I'll have to try some standard barbell rows to see how my strength has improved on them, but not today.

SCW, very interested in how your programming is going to turn out in December.

I'm getting anxious to see how it's going, I know I'm quite a bit stronger in the back, hams and even arms over the last 6 weeks.

Next week I'll start lifting heavier, especially in the sumo position.  I'll really be eating for it over the next couple of months too, I just hit a new high score on the scale (228) and even though I'm gaining weight I'm trying to minimize how much is fat.  After the first of the year I'll have to lose some weight, I really don't like being this big.

It was pretty cool to be able to carry two 55lb kettlebells for a mile though- no way I could have done that a few months ago.

I've been stuck at 485 forever. I'm wondering if it's a technique issue? You said something about tight lats, I'm not sure if I do that.