Articles.elitefts.com-How I Added 100 Pounds to My Deadlift in 10 Months

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How I Added 100 Pounds to my Deadlift in 10 Months

A f ew notes about the f ollowing art icleI didnt write this to brag in any way. A 600- lb pull at 200

pounds doesnt impress me, so Im def initely not trying to impress you. I wrote this to show myourney and the map I used to add 100 pounds to my deadlift in ten months while also s taying at

the s ame body weight.

This isnt a training program though. I dont want anyone to go out and f ollow my program. That isnt the

idea. The point of this article is to show you how I evaluated my training and progress. Ill also detail what

changes I made and where and discuss how I didnt always f ollow the program exactly. I want you to pull out

bits and pieces o f information that maybe you can apply to your own training philoso phy to help you achiev

some PRs.

While youre reading this, I want you to remember thisDave Tate always says that st icking points are one

of three t hings: mental, physical, or technical. However, theyre only st icking points until you f ix them. Iencountered all three of these st icking points during my journey. I also spo tted them and made the

appropriate changes, put in t he work, gave it t ime, and made it happen. I want you to do the same.

Reno, Nevada; November 2010

Why wont t his car budge? Im pulling like hell. Is this damn thing bolted to the ground or something? Thes

thoughts raced through my head as I attempted the car deadlift event at the 2010 NAS Amateur Strongman

Nationals. Bef ore I knew it, 60 seconds were up and I had pulled a pathet ic zero reps. Pissed of f at myself

and disappointed in my performance, I to ld myself then and there that I would bring my deadlift up before t h

2011 NAS Amateur Strongman Nationals.

At the t ime, my max deadlif t was hanging o ut around 500 pounds. I actually had co nsidered it decent ly stron

up until this po int. I knew it wasnt anything special, but I thought I could hang at least in the middle of my

class with it and excel on my st ronger events. At this point though, I realized that to compete at this level, I

had to bring my deadlif t up a lot . Later t hat evening af ter the competition was over, I was having dinner with

my good f riend and f ellow Stro ngman competitor, Derek Sto ne. We were discussing our deadlif t numbers

and where they needed to be. That night I made a goal to reach 600 pounds as f ast as humanly poss ible.

Derek made a goal to reach 700 pounds . His current deadlif t was in the low 600s. We decided a litt le

competition would be a good thing f or both of us, so our deadlift race began that night.

Not to o much longer af ter Nat ionals was over, I decided to pull a training max to see where my deadlift

current ly was. I pulled 500 and then miss ed 510 a few minutes later. I sent the video to so me people whos

opinion and expertise I really valueClint Darden, Mike Robertson, and Jim Wendler. I wanted to get their

const ructive criticisms o n my weaknesses and any technique issues. They all gave me some great f eedbac

and suggestions that I implemented immediately.

At the t ime, my bigges t weakness was actually breaking the weight of f the f loor. My start ing strengt h wasn

there at all. I knew this was due to my hamstrings being as weak as a newborn baby. With this being the

biggest issue, I was determined to f ix it as s oon as possible. Not long aft er this realizat ion, I was training a

the EliteFTS compound with my f riends, Shawn Nevels and Sam Luker. We worked up to s ome heavy singles

on deadlif ts where I stopped at a s low, heavy 505. We followed these up with some glute ham raises, and t

my embarrassment, I could barely do one repetition correctly. I immediately ordered an EliteFTS glute ham

raise. In the meantime, I continued to hammer my hamst rings hard.
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I alternated weeks one and two f or a total of six weeks with a deload on the seventh week. My program f or

the lower body was as f ollows:

Week 1

Monday

Deadlift with elite fts short light bands, 3 X 3, 1, 1

Wednesday

Romanian deadlif t, worked up to a heavy set o f 5 reps

Dumbbell split squat, 2 X 810

Saturday

Strongman eventsReverse hyper, 2 X 20

Week 2

Monday

Box squat, worked up to 5RM

Sumo deadlift , worked up to 5RM

Wednesday
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Dimel deadlif t, 2 X 20

Saturday

Strongman events

Reverse hyper, 2 X 20

Week 3

Monday

Deadlift with elitef ts short light bands, 3 X 5

Wednesday



Saturday

Strongman events


Week 4

Monday



Wednesday


Saturday

Strongman events


Week 5

Monday

Deadlift with elitef ts short light bands, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1

Wednesday



Saturday

Strongman events


Week 6


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Monday

Box squat , worked up to 5RM


Wednesday


Saturday

Strongman events


Note: When working up to a 5RM, 3RM, etc., this isnt a true max. This is a max weight for that day. Although

on days when I was feeling really good, I pushed it hard and shot for PRs. On days when I wasnt feeling it, I

worked up to a weight that was heavy for the goal reps but with one or two reps in the tank.

Af ter this six-week t raining block (plus deload) was up, my glute ham raise had arrived, and I had picked my

next Strongman competit ion to co mpete in. Bringing my deadlif t up s till remained my main goal, but my eventraining was now kicked up a bit to prepare f or the specif ic events of the upcoming contest . Because I knew

completely sucked at glute ham raises , I had to f igure out a way to bring them up quickly. I remembered

reading something f rom Jason Ferruggia on how to increase these quickly but couldnt f ind it, so I contacte

Jason to ask what he recommended. He suggested doing two s ets of f ive reps every day until they started

becoming pretty easy. I implemented this idea but only did two sets of f ive reps f ive days a week. I started

out by placing a plyometric jump box in f ront to ass ist myself up with a small push when needed. Within two

weeks, I was killing two sets o f f ive reps without any box o r any problems. I then dropped the f requency an

increased my reps. By the end of the next s ix-week block, I was bust ing out sets of 15 reps without any

problem.
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My programming f or the next six weeks f or lower body is as f ollows. I to ok the seventh week of f completel

because it was the week prior to my competit ion.

Week 1

Monday

Glute ham raise, 2 X 5 (every day)

Wednesday

Deadlift , 3 X 3, 1, 1 (PR of 510 lbs)

Anderson f ront squat, worked up to 5RM

Good morning, 2 X 10

Saturday

Strongman events


Week 2

Monday


Wednesday

Box Squat, Worked up to 5RM

Good Morning, 2 X 10

Saturday

Strongman events


Week 3

Monday

Glute ham raise, 3 X 8

Wednesday

Deadlift , 3 X 5

Anderson f ront squat, worked up to a 3RM

Glute ham raise- 3 X 10

Saturday

Strongman events


Week 4
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Monday


Wednesday

Box squat, worked up to a 3RM


Saturday

Strongman events


Week 5

Monday


Wednesday

Deadlift , 3 X 3, 1, 1, 1 (PR of 515 lbs)

Anderson f ront squat, worked up to a 1RM


Saturday

Strongman events


Week 6

Monday


Wednesday



Saturday

Strongman events


Note: During that training block, I worked up to 510 on week one and 515 on week five, both of which were ne

PRs.When working up to a 5RM, 3RM, etc., this isnt a true max. This is a max weight for that day. Although o

days when I was feeling really good, I pushed it hard and shot for PRs. On days when I wasnt feeling it, I

worked up to a weight that was heavy for the goal reps but with one or two reps in the tank.

Af ter the seventh week deload week and the f ollowing Strongman competit ion, it was back to working o n m

deadlif t. My program was set up as f ollows. I was st ill rot ating weeks one and two. I had some busy

weekends during this training block, so Strongman event days o n Saturdays were out. My t raining split


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switched f rom Monday, Wednesday, Saturday to Monday, Tuesday and Thurs day. This training block only

lasted four weeks (f ift h week was a deload).

Week 1

Monday

Power clean, 3X 3

Def icit deadlif t, 10 X 2 at 70%

Glute ham raise (weight held behind head), 3 X 8

Thursday


Week 2

Monday

Axle clean, OMIT

Def icit deadlif t, PR of 535 lbs

Glute ham raise, OMIT

Thursday

Front squat, worked up to 5RM


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Week 3

Monday

Power clean, 3 X 3



Thursday


Week 4

Monday

Axle clean, 3 X 3



Thursday

Front squat, worked up to a 3RM

Week 5

Monday

Power clean, 3, 3, 1



Thursday


Week 6

Monday

Axle clean, 3, 3, 1

Def icit deadlif t, 85% X 2, 87% X 2, 2 X 2 at 90%


Thursday


Note: I determined my weight for my cleans based off Wendlers 5/3/1 program but changed the rep scheme

whats listed above.

Note on deficit deadlifts: During this phase on deadlifts, I was basing my percentages off my current 1RM

going into this phase515. In week two, I worked up to a PR of 535. Even with the new PR, I kept basing my

numbers off my previous PR of 515. For weeks one, three, and four, I pulled from a three-inch deficit, and in


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weeks five and six, I pulled from a one-inch deficit.

During the training block above, I visited EliteFTS f or the Learn to Train seminar. I had the o pportunity to be

coached on deadlif ts by Matt Kroczaleski. Up until this t ime, my best pull in the gym was 515. While listening

to Matt talk about f oo t pos itioning when set ting up on the bar, I decided I may have been sett ing up a little

to o clos e. I decided to move my f eet back about three-quarters of an inch when it was my time to pull.

Once my time came around, Matt to ld me to work up to the 90 percent range and hed check fo r weaknesse

and issues. Based of f of 515, 90 percent was 465. I loaded the bar up to 465 and pulled it with ease. Matt

said that wasnt 90 percent because it was to o easy. I then decided to jump to my previous PR515. Withthe atmosphere, I had no doubt that I could hit it again. I set up and pulled itagain with ease. Matt had me

throw some tens on it , so I did. I set up on t he bar, and to my surprise, I pulled 535 without a big struggle.

Matt pointed out t hat my pull was a litt le slow and that my lockout was lacking a bit. I was very pleased with

the results and decided it was t ime to go back to the drawing board.

At this point, I was t empted to experiment with some speed deadlif ts but opted to continue hit t ing power

cleans thinking this would help with my pulling speed just as much. I decided to really start hammering the

hamst rings with good mornings and Romanian deadlif ts to help strengthen my lockout .

My program f or t he next s ix weeks was as f ollows:

Week 1

Monday


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Power clean, 3 X 3

Deadlif t, 3 X 3, 1, 1


Wednesday



Saturday

Strongman events

Week 2

Monday

Axle clean, 3 X 3

Deadlift , 3 X 5


Wednesday


Romanian deadlif t, 3 X 810

Barbell lunge, 2 X 10

Saturday

Strongman events

Week 3

Monday

Power clean, 3 X 3

Deadlif t, 3 X 3, 1, 1, 1


Wednesday



Saturday

Strongman events

Week 4

Monday

Axle clean, 3 X 3


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Deadlif t, 3 X 3, 1, 1


Wednesday



Barbell lunge- 2 X 10

Saturday

Strongman events

Week 5

Monday


Deadlift , 3 X 5


Wednesday



Saturday

Strongman events

Week 6

Monday

Axle clean, 3, 3, 1

Deadlif t, 3 X 3, 1, 1, 1


Wednesday




Saturday

Strongman events

Af ter these s ix weeks, I to ok the seventh week o f f and mentally prepared f or a 550- lb deadlif t attempt o n

July 8, 2011. I had set this date and goal right af ter I had pulled 535.

July 8, 2011, came, and I warmed up and pulled 550 pret ty damn easy. I decided to jump 20 pounds and go f o

570. I pulled 570, and while my lockout f elt a litt le st ronger, my speed hadnt improved. I def initely needed to


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st art pulling f ast er. I also had another tr ick up my sleeve. A f ew mont hs back, I had purchased a Metal King

Pro Deadlif ter suit f rom Matt Goodwin at EliteFTS. I had to ld myself that I couldnt st art us ing it until I pulled

550. In my sport of Strongman, you can use a deadlif t s uit on any deadlif t event. I decided to work it into my

next t raining block. Af ter talking with f ellow s trength coach and f riend, Todd Bumgardner, I decided to give

speed deadlif ts a t ry. I had dabbled with them in the past but had never given them an honest try. Af ter

discussing them with Todd a litt le more in depth, I came up with a plan to implement t hem based o f f his

recommendations.

My next s ix-week training block (seventh week deload) loo ked like this:

Week 1

Monday

Power clean, 3 X 3

Deadlift , worked up to 585, missed 600

Glute ham raise (weight behind head), 3 X 58

Wednesday

Speed deadlif t, 6 X 1 at 45%

Front squat, 5/3/1

Single leg Romanian deadlif t, 2 X 10

Saturday

Strongman events

Week 2

Monday

Axle clean, 3 X 3

Deadlift , 3 X 5


Wednesday


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Saturday

Strongman events

Week 3

Monday

Power clean, 3 X 3

Deadlift , 3 x 3, 1, 1, 1 (final singles suited)


Wednesday


Front squat, 5/3/1


Saturday

Strongman events

Week 4

Monday

Axle clean, 3 X 3

Deadlift , 3 X 3, 1, 1 (f inal singles suited)


Wednesday

Speed deadlift , 6 X 1 at 45% f rom three- inch def icit



Saturday

Strongman events

Week 5

Monday


Deadlift , 3 X 5


Wednesday


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Front squat, 5/3/1


Saturday

Strongman events

Week 6

Monday

Axle clean, 3, 3, 1

Deadlift , 3 x 3, 1, 1 (f inal singles suited)


Wednesday


Barbell lung, 2 X 810

Good morning, 3 x 810

Saturday

Strongman events

Note on deadlifts: Singles were done in my deadlift suit and at 90 percent or better of my raw 1RM except fo

week one where I worked up to a new PR of a hard and fairly slow 585 suited. I then missed 600 below the

knees.

I to ok week seven completely of f to rest up for t he Stro ngman competition I had that upcoming weekend inSt. Louis. Af ter the competit ion, I took the f ollowing week of f up until Saturday when I trained events .

I went into the gym the following Monday f or my next training block to prepare fo r the 2011 NAS Stro ngman

Nationals. That training sess ion began with power cleans, working my way up to 225 for a triple. I was

planning f or three sets o f three on deadlif ts f ollowed up with some heavy suited singles, but so mething in

my head kept telling me to att empt 600 that day. It was a Monday af ternoon, I was training alone in the gym

and I def initely hadnt planned to go f or it. But I listened to my instinct and decided Id start working up with

heavy singles and if 495 felt good raw, Id suit up and go f or it .

My warm up was:

315 X 3

405 X 1

495 X 1

545 X 1, suited

600 X 1 suited (PR)

It literally felt as if it f lew up. I knew I had some more in the tank, so I went ahead and loaded 625 and decide

to give it a s hot . I broke it to knee level but couldnt budge it much fart her. I was def initely happy to f inally hi

600 and to have progress ed so much in the past year, but now I know my weakness o n 625, so it s back to


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the drawing board. The plan is 625, 650, 675, and 700. I dont know how long it will take, but Ill get there.

As f ar as nutrit ion goes, I f ollowed a blend o f The Modified Warrior Diet(Michael Keck), The Renegade Diet

(Jason Ferruggia) and Carb Backloading(Kiefer). These three plans have many similarities, and I essentially

too k what I liked from each and combined that with my lifest yle and schedule. I weighed roughly 200 pounds

through this whole process . The only supplements I used during this process were protein powder, creatine

ZMA, multi-vitamins, f ish o ils, and d-aspart ic acid. Recovery methods were f oam rolling, Epsom salt baths,

SMR (tennis ball, Theracane), and sleeping at least eight hours a night the majority of the t ime.

So thats ithow I added 100 pounds to my deadlif t in ten months while maintaining the same body weight.Let me know if you have any questions o r comments.

Articles.elitefts.com-How I Added 100 Pounds to My Deadlift in 10 Months

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