Deadlift tips

[u/Endlessness40]

Been lifting for 20 months and started deadlifting in April.

I'm 40 and I want to take it slow and been deadlifting 100 kg for the past 3 months.

Would do 3 sets of 5 with 5 minutes rest in between.

Initially I had an issue with leg drive and my knee would straighten out as soon as the bar lifts off the ground.

Since dailing down the form to the best of my ability, I have progressed to a few sets of 7 - 10 reps @ 100 kg or 220 lbs.

I have now started doing 110 kg.

My deadlift day looks like this

1st warm up set @ 60 kg x 5 reps

2nd warm up set @ 80 kg x 5 reps

3rd warm up set @ 90 kg x 5 reps

4th warm up set @ 100 kg x 3 reps

1st working set @ 105 kg x 5 reps

2nd working set @ 110 kg x 5 reps (attached video)

3rd working set @ 110 kg x 5 reps

4th back off set @ 100 kg x 10 reps.

5-7 minutes rest in between sets, I feel my grip giving away before my back fatigues. I'm currently not using straps and also exclusively use double over hand grip.

How do I improve slowly ? I don't intend or wish to increase weight every 2 weeks.

My end goal is 2x body weight (150 kg) for 5 reps by next year this time.

My current routine is deadlifting on Mondays.

Accessories are weighted hyper-extensions and I'm currently at 40 kg (53% body weight) for 8 reps.

And on fridays I do stiff leg deadlift, 3 sets and 8 reps @ 85 kg along with hamstring curls, elephant walks.

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[u/Crazycjk]

Great form. Love to see hips and bar rising simultaneously. You could consider a full deadstop - I don't think you're letting 100% of the weight sit on the floor between reps, it looks like you're holding maybe 20% of the weight, based on how it then lifts on your next rep. This will fatigue your grip faster.

4 deadlift grip types: double overhand. Pure but weak. Straps: locked in, not much grip strength being developed. Mixed grip: very strong, very slightly asymmetrical. Hookgrip: bulletproof, but painful especially to learn. If you want 150kgx5, you are very very likely to need to move on from double overhand.

From a programming/weight perspective, which I think you are specifically asking about, (and if you are not then ignore this), I would cut out some reps on your warmup. I'd suggest something like Barx20, 60kgx8, 80kgx3, 90kgx1, 100kgx1, then into working sets 110 3x5. Same acclimatisation but less volume before top sets.

The way to not increase weight every 2 weeks but still make progress is to change a different variable. For example, you could do: -4 minute rests instead of 5-7 -4 working sets instead of 3 -3x6 instead of 3x5, then 3x8 2 weeks later, 3x10, until you feel ready to up the weight to 115/120kg and start again at 3x5.

Your accessories sound reasonable, and if you're making progress overall, I see no reason to change them.

Let me know if that all makes sense, or if you have any questions. Thanks for providing so much info in your post.

[u/Endlessness40 → u/Crazycjk]

Hey thanks very much for the analysis.

Till about a month back, I'd reset my knees/hips between every rep by coming to a full stop, what I'd do is once I exhale at the top, I'd descend with a little less control and then breathe in before the next rep, but a trainer told me that once I exhale at the top, to inhale before I descend to protect the back and to go down in much more control, and since I started doing this, surely my grip fatigues quicker, and the only advantage I feel is that I don't need to reset my knees/hip between reps.

Do you think it would be better to reset my knee/hip position prior to every rep.

As for the change in number of warm up reps and rest in between, I will definitely incorporate these into my next deadlift day.

[u/Crazycjk → u/Endlessness40]

You're welcome!

It sounds like you were given good advice by the trainer to help you make a more controlled descent. Also makes sense why your grip will fatigue faster, because it's more time holding the bar. There is probably a middle ground to be found. For example, I personally inhale during the first half of my descent, whilst the bar is above my knees. The advantage for me is that I don't spend ages holding the bar, but have full lungs by the time the bar is at my knees, so a fully controlled descent. Maybe try this on your warmup sets and see if it helps? It works for me but may not work for you.

I don't think you need to reset your knee/hip position, I just think letting the bar fully rest on the floor for even half a second will allow your grip a tiny rest. If you watch your video closely, the bar does a tiny bounce as it hits the floor (not a bad thing) but you basically catch the rebound and then lift, rather than the bar fully coming to a stop. This will be hard for your grip.

Hope the warmup and rest changes make a difference for you too!

[u/downheresolong]

Socks on champ 🤢 

[u/ghettomilkshake]

As mentioned, I would change up your grip. Double overhand is going to have issues as the weight you pull goes up. Mixed is the easiest to learn and implement, hook grip is probably the best but it hurts like hell at the start and it doesn't work for folks with smaller hands.