DEADLIFT TRAINING

This Deadlift training workout will show you how to increase your Deadlift. Proper Deadlift form is explained, and a motivational workout laid out for you!

For several years now, I have conducted my Deadlift training with heavy weights for low reps.

As a matter of fact, most of my heavy sets are for single repetitions. That style was even further ingrained in me after I read an article in Powerlifting USA about Garry Frank which briefly discussed his workout. He also used multiple sets of one repetition.

PROPER DEADLIFT TECHNIQUE

Proper Deadlift technique is essential to pulling your maximum weight. Remember, Powerlifting is about leverage as well as strength. You will have to determine whether you are better suited for Sumo or Conventional in your deadlift training. Sumo is done with your feet out wider and your hands inside your thighs.

Typically, those with good flexibility and stronger legs do well with this style. Conventional deadlift training is done with your feet closer together and your hands on the outside of your thighs. Those lifters with stronger backs tend to favor this style.

The most important thing to remember about the starting position, regardless of style, is to have your lower legs in a position perpendicular to the floor, so that your knees are not out in front of the bar. The next thing is to take a good grip. Make sure it is really solid, because you can�t lift what you can�t hang onto. When you are squatting down with your lower legs in proper position, make sure that your back is arched, with your shoulders pulled back and your chest pushed out. Take a deep breath, and you are ready for lift off!

A Sumo Deadlift begins with the lifter pressing his or her legs into the floor while maintaining an upright posture. The start is the most difficult part of the lift for most Sumo lifters. A Conventional Deadlift begins with the lifter pressing their legs into the floor, while pulling their head and shoulders up and back at the same time. The start of the lift is usually the easiest part of the lift in the conventional style.

A Sumo Deadlifter will continue to squat with the weight while maintaining position until the bar clears the knees. As soon as it passes the knees, pull your head and shoulders back, while thrusting your hips forward until the bar is locked out in the finished position. The finished position is when a lifter is standing upright with the knees, waist and body completely straight, and the shoulders in line or thrust back.

A Conventional Deadlifter can either squat the weight until it passes the knees, like the Sumo Deadlifter, or pull back and up using mostly back strength until reaching the finished position. While some people are able to squat out of the bottom in their deadlift training, I have noticed that most pull hard with their backs and their knees lock out before the bar passes them in many cases. This goes even for World Record Holders!

There are many reasons that a person will do better with one style than another. These reasons include torso and limb length, bodyweight, strength, and flexibility. You will have to determine for yourself which one is better for you. The good news is that this Deadlift Training workout that I am giving you is good for either style. Now that you have proper deadlift form, let�s train!

DEADLIFT WORKOUT

Begin your deadlift training by loading a bar with about 25 percent of your 1 rep max or less. I start with either 135 or 225 pounds. Using the proper Deadlift form that I have explained to you, perform 10 repetitions to warm up your body. Stretch and rest for about 3 minutes, and load the bar to 50 percent of your max. Perform 3 repetitions with this weight. Stretch and rest for 3 more minutes.

Load the bar to about 85 percent of your max and perform 1 repetition in perfect form. Complete 6 sets of 1 repetitions with this weight, stretching as needed and resting for only minute between sets. This will be difficult, but if you do this in proper form, you will get stronger.

In early October 2005 I did a RAW powerlifting contest and posted a personal record of 690 pounds with only a belt in the deadlift. A new supplement called GAKIC came out and made some amazing claims about instant strength increase, so I decided to give it a try for two months until the next deadlift contest, and see how much I could improve with the help of GAKIC. You know, to see if it really lived up to those amazing claims. Well, on December 3, 2005 I showed up to the contest and pulled 725! That is a 35 pound improvement over my personal best deadlift in only 2 months. Bottom line- GAKIC helps build strength BIGTIME! I know I won't do my deadlift training without it.

Alright, back to the workout.

After the Deadlifts, perform some Barbell Shrugs for your traps. This will help with the lockout on your Deadlift. Do 4 sets of 10 reps with heavy weights.

Your final task is to work your abdominal muscles. I am not talking about making your abs pretty, I am talking about making them strong! This means Weighted Incline Sit-ups, Side Bends, Weighted Crunches, etc. Pick one or two exercises each workout and perform 4 sets of 10 to 25 repetitions each.

You may or may not be exhausted after this workout, but that doesn�t matter. If you are looking for a workout to tell stories about how hard it was to complete, or how sore it made you, your priorities are a little off. The only goal of this workout is to get stronger, and if you do it as I have outlined, you will. Now go drink a protein shake, take some creatine, and get some rest. As far as recovery goes, DO NOT underestimate the importance of powerful sleep in helping your muscles recover and getting the strength increases that you are looking for.

For more Deadlift training, click here.