Deadlift training represents strength in it’s purest form. Grab the weight and stand up with it. It seems so simple yet it causes much grief for many lifters with back injuries, plateaus and general frustration. There is no two ways about it if you want to be a good deadlifter you must work hard. You need to master the technical aspects of the lift and continue to push each and every session to build the strength required to handle heavy weights while managing fatigue.
Regardless of what competition is coming up or what your current training goals are some type of deadlift, or hinge movement should be a staple in any strongman training program. The variation you use is the only thing that should change based on any specific weaknesses in the movement you have or any physical limitations. As this comp is pulling a regular barbell off the floor we have used 2-3 variations for the length of the program.
The Deficit Deadlift
The deficit deadlift is as close as you will get to a magic bullet for the conventional deadlifter. It helps to improve speed of the floor, start position and lock out strength. Almost sounds too good to be true right. The deficit is not a cure all fix for a bad deadlift but when used appropriately will reap some major rewards for those with a lagging deadlift.
The Block Pull
For most of our lifters we use a 2 inch or 4 inch block set to raise the bar height. Block pulls can be effective it building strength in a weak part of the lift and also for exposing the lifter to heavier amounts of weight in the hands similar to a rack pull. We tend to opt for a block pull over a rack pull due to the differences in how the bar is loaded and the weight distribution more closely representing a regular deadlift whereas the rack pull does not.
Band/Chain Deadlifts
Using accommodating resistance on the deadlift can be a great plateau breaker for the struggling lifter. As the band stretches or chain lifts from the floor you must generate more force to complete the lift and a the most effective way to do this is to pull with more speed and force from the floor or sooner in the lift. This is not to be confused with “jerking” the bar or snapping it off the floor. You don’t need a huge amount of band or chain weight either, just enough to create the need to drive into the resistance harder.
Due to the event being a straightforward one no special practice has been put into place for this event. Following a peaking program for the deadlift is enough and making sure you have a big deadlift is going to give you the best chance of completing the event in the fastest time possible. The first 6 weeks were used to build deadlift conditioning using a nasty but surprisingly satisfying work/rest scheme I got from Chad Wesley Smith and ITS strength whereby week 1 you complete 15 x 1 with 10sec rest between reps, week 2 12 x 1 with 10 sec rest and week 3 9 x 1 reps with 10 sec rest between sets.
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Deadlift Training
Below is an example of week 7 of the program we used leading into the competition.
Week 1- Deadlift and Farmers Day
Deadlift: 4 x 6 at 75% max
Box Squats*: 3 x 6
Farmers Walk: 15m runs of <10sec increasing weight each set. Start at 60% max
Ab Wheel Roll outs: 3 x 10
*note the accessory deadlifts have been done after our main squats in this program allowing us to continue to train the squat and deadlift on the same day with the format of Main Squat>Accessory Deadlifts and vice versa.
For an in depth breakdown of how to do the strongman events you can look into one of our strongman coaching packages or the Strongman 101 Workshop that will be kicking off in early 2017. Drop me a line on the contact form below to find out more.
