Stop Banging The Floor
Stop Banging The Floor:
Most of my competitive career I bought into the notion that deadlifts needed to be performed every week, year in and year out. For years I never took time off from banging out rep after rep of deadlifts from the floor, out of the rack or off the block. Time caught up with me and since has given me sore arms, a sore back, overly-calloused hands and a lost desire to pull. I tore both hamstrings in 1997 and was able to deadlift off the floor easily with heavy weight but couldn't lock out even 135 pounds. I came to realize that the lockout in the deadlift is mostly hamstring, glute and lower back. That's understandable given the fact that those are the same muscles required to be a good deadlifter. So instead of doing deadlifts week in and week out, wouldn't it make sense to strengthen the muscles that are required to get a big pull, and occasionally do deadlifts to keep proper technique? Westside Barbell has advocated approximately 1 workout every 10 weeks be set forth for deadlifts. The rest of those nine weeks are planned for lower back, hamstring and glute work that is compromised of exercises such as reverse hypers, glute ham raises, pull throughs and a variety of other exercises. Every lifter will have different needs. Younger, less experienced lifters will need to spend more time deadlifting on a more consistent basis to help build basic muscle development and strength, but more importantly to learn the technical aspects of the lift. As the technique is learned, the emphasis should shift on strengthening the muscles required to pull. Experienced lifters will benefit from occasional deadlifting by getting more rest for their lower back between training sessions and resting the arms, upper back, glutes and hamstrings that are needed to improve your squat workouts. Since I tore my bicep in April of '2000 I have only done 1 full deadlift workout and have actually improved my strength by ignoring full deadlift workouts each week and concentrating on strengthening my glutes, lower back and hamstrings. The extra rest will also save your arms and shoulder joints. Most lifters that train the deadlift consistently with a reverse grip develop shoulder pain in the hand that's turned under. All of my shoulder problems diminished from training the deadlift less and training the specific muscle groups needed to pull more. This is a nice side-effect that will also help your bench press. Most lifters are under the impression that heavy deadlifts are needed to help lower back strength that is needed to stay upright in the squat. The reality is, all those heavy deadlifts consistently over time will hinder your lower back development if you are squatting heavy consistently during the week. Before I broke the world record squat, I deadlifted every week for one year straight. My best squat at the end of that time was 1003. I've since increased my poundages and training frequency with reverse hypers, good mornings and glute ham raises, neglecting deadlifts all-together and my squat jumped to 1041 and my deadlift only decreased 30 pounds. It should be noted that my deadlift was down only due to my bicep injury that was still not fully healed. Looking at my training poundages, my reverse hypers are approximately between 50-%60 of my contest max. I do glute ham raises with 50 pounds held under my chest for reps of 10-12. I have seen beginners not be able to do a single rep in the glute ham with just their bodyweight. This exercise alone, I believe, is the single most important exercise to your deadlift and your squat. Finally, good mornings that are done to almost parallel, I routinely train with over 500 pounds. Transfer strength into your contest max for your squat should be a weight that is approximately %45-%55 of your contest max. Beginning lifters may be lower at first, but should acquire these percentages fairly quickly. The key to keeping your deadlift up while deadlifting less is lower back work and hamstring work-LOTS OF IT!!! Don't forget to train your grip also. Less deadlifting means your grip won't be as strong unless you train your grip with crushers, heavy rows, wrist rolls, finger bridges and other supporting and crushing work. You may see a slight decrease in the size of your erectors from not deadlifting so often, but powerlifting isn't really about size is it? If you can get past the need for size, stick to the lower back and hamstring work that will pack the strength on that you need to be a better deadlifter and squatter. More often than not, a good squatter and deadlifter go hand in hand and will win more three lift contests than a big bencher will.
