DEADLIFTS--Hows this routine?

is this enough activity for this execise or do i need to add more reps (by decreasing the weight) to benifit the most--when I,m finished with my last lift I am really spent;
1 set of 10 reps at 150 lbs (warmup)
2 sets of 7 to 8 reps at 300 lbs
--thats it--what do u think?

Maybe warm up a litle lighter and then do 3 sets for your lift

I like to warm up with 135 10 reps...
first set 225 10 reps
second set 315 for 8-10 reps
3rd set 405 for 6-10 reps
if I feel good and strong and it amazing how sleep and diet can make me feel week .. I will do a set of 495 for whatever I can get maybe once a month 3 or 4 reps max

Goldenear is the man to consult for deadlifting advice. He suggested to me that I aim for size and strength, which would dictate reps of 3-5. But like everything though, it would be a good idea to mix up the routine every so often. This is what I was doing a few weeks ago:

Warm-up: 135 x 10
Set 1: 225 x 8
Set 2: 315 x 6
Set 3: 365 x 3
Set 4: 405 x 1
Set 5: 415 x 1

I feel more of a workout though with this routine:

Warm-up: 135 x 10
Set 1: 225 x 10
Set 2: 375 x 5
Set 3: 375 x 5
Set 4: 375 x 5

I just started doing deads about 10 months ago but keeping the rep range between three and five seem to produce the best results for size and strength, at least for me.

Years ago I was told by an old time power lifter to never do more then 5 reps in a set of deadlifts...warm ups and all.
I seem to make pretty good gains doing it that way so I'll stick with it.

the best DL routine i use is the power progression.
warm up to first weight, then do 8,6,4,3,2,1,4 with specific weights correlated to your max. let me know your max and i will give you the numbers. your entire back and traps will be smoked using this routine. i will then do 50 chins with weight or heavy rows followed by heavy pullovers.

I'd say up the last set in weight if you're able.......and Goldenear does "full resets" from what I can tell on all of his sets - try that shit if you want to feel "spent"...lol

Basically, after each rep you relax your body and muscles entirely so that each repetition is just like you're starting a set.....it WILL kick your ass

bigshug said:

it WILL kick your ass

Click to expand...

ROFLOL!! Ain't it the truth, bro?

Tugs, I would modify your routine a bit, especially your warm-ups. I know for me, I certainly would not be warmed up after 1 set so perhaps this would work for you:

135 x 8
205 x 6
275 x 3
335 x 5 x 2-3 <---working sets

I also like to limit my working set reps to 5. Anything more than that and things can get sketchy pretty quickly, especially if you're working in the 80+% of 1RM, which is where you should be anyway.

Obviously, as your working set weight increases, you will need to add additional warm-ups to acclimate your body to the increased load. It's really a balancing act that you play with warm-ups. You want to make sure you're warmed up for safety's sake, but you don't want to overdo it and steal strength from your working sets because the warm ups really are useless with respect to size and strength gains. So listen to your body.

One thing to work on with your warm-ups is speed (aka power). Try to pull the weight with the same amount of force that you use on your working sets. This will teach your body to acclerate through the middle of the lift making it easier to lock out. Using chains and bands will work even better. Your goal should be to get the bar moving as fast as possible off the ground. You'll develop more power training this way. By using full reset reps, you'll develop more starting strength. You'll also protect your body by not letting the weight get ahead of your true capabilities (skeletal, muscular, connective tissue).

To give you an idea of what I mean with warm-ups, this is what I did on Saturday:

135 x 10
245 x 7
335 x 5
445 x 3
535 x 1
585 x 1
655 x 5 <---working set

You can tell when I used the 100 pounders, lol. All reps were full resets. If you need more of an explanation than what bigshug gave you, check out the deadlift thread a few pages back.

SNDMN, I would recommend that you modify your warm-ups a bit, too.

Warm-up: 135 x 10
Set 1: 225 x 10
Set 2: 375 x 5
Set 3: 375 x 5
Set 4: 375 x 5

Click to expand...

Taking a 150lb jump (which is 40% of your working set weight!!!) is definitely not something I would recommend to anyone. This would be much better:

135 x 10
205 x 7
275 x 5
325 x 3
375 x 5 x 3

If that feels like too much, then this may work better:

135 x 10
225 x 7
315 x 3
375 x 5 x 3

Thanks, Goldenear. Your advice always seems to help.

If you want to deadlift for fun and muscle building any of those routines are fine. If you want to build a monster deadlift then look into westside squat/deadlift training. I only do regular deadlifts once every 6 weeks or so but I to tons of box-squats, glute-ham raises, reverse hypers and exercises in general to hit the lower back and hams. The result for me has been a 725 deadlift after being stuck just under 600 for years (when I used to deadlift every week). Powerlifting competition is all I train for so you may not be interested in that type of training, but in my opionion, nothing can beat westside for building a monster deadlift and squat (doesn't work as well as metal militia for benching in my opionion).