The Intermediate Deadlift Cycle - by Mike Robertson

The Intermediate Deadlift Cycle

By Mike Robertson

For www.EliteFTS.com

The deadlift may be the purest test of strength in the iron game.
Heavy weight. On the floor. Must pick it up.

In the beginning, you can follow just about any routine and make
decent progress. Heavy sets of five have worked for more than a few
lifters. However, once you get to the elite level, you must carefully
plan your training cycle and figure out exactly which accessory lifts
help drive your deadlift up.

Intermediate lifters fall somewhere in the middle of the road.
They’ve generally used up their newbie gains so an unorganized or poorly
progressed program will have them spinning their wheels. On the other
hand, they’re not yet at an elite level so there’s no need to change max
effort exercises and/or work up to heavy maximal lifts on a weekly
basis.

Enter the intermediate deadlift cycle…

Implementing a modified max effort progression

I believe that if you want to pull heavy singles in a meet, you need
to pull heavy singles in training. The deadlift is different from the
squat. I know many high level squatters who have taken their squats to
freakish levels with programs based around heavy sets of five. Brad
Gillingham, Ed Coan, Kirk Karwoski, and Nick Tylutki are just a few that
I can think of off hand. In contrast, I can’t think of any lifters who
have taken their deadlift to an elite level using heavy sets of five.

The following routine gives you an idea of how to manipulate your
program to start incorporating max effort deadlift work. I’m definitely
not the first to write about max effort work, but I’ve used this program
with multiple lifters (myself included) and seen great progress with it.

First and foremost, you need to pick 3–4 deadlift variations that you
think will work for you. If you have no clue, you’re going to need to
experiment and go through some trial and error. It’s good for you. Once
you figure out what works, you’ll be better off moving forward.

Here are a few max effort variations that work well for the deadlift:

• Mini-band resisted deadlifts
• Deadlifts with
  bands
• Snatch grip deadlifts
• Sumo or conventional deadlifts (the opposite of what you would
  use in competition)
• Rack pulls
• Deadlifts standing on plates or boards

In the first week of your cycle, you’re “learning” the movement. I
would work up to 3–5 moderate singles without any supportive gear. The
goal here should be to have enough weight on the bar to feel the
movement but not enough weight to where you need to get jacked up to
lift it. Moderate is the key word here.

The second week is your true max effort day. You’ll use the same
movement from the previous week, but this time you will do one of two
things:

1. If you’re feeling good, belt up and go for a heavy single.
2. If you’re not feeling good, go ahead and belt up but work more
   in the 90–95% range. Two to three singles should be fine here.

In the third and fourth weeks, you’ll switch it up and use a
different movement. I generally cycle 3–4 different max effort movements
over the course of a training cycle. I then start over from the
beginning. The obvious goal here is to hit a new PR each time you go
back to a specific exercise.

A theoretical program

I know people will ask, “How do I integrate my squat and deadlift
training into a weekly plan?” It’s a great question so let’s examine how
I, personally, would set it up.

Remember, this is designed for an intermediate level lifter so if
you’re not in this group, you may have to modify the plan as necessary.
Elite level lifters in particular will always accumulate more training
stress from any given session so they probably won’t be able to get away
with this training program. This is why the elite often transition from
two heavy leg days to one max effort session and one dynamic effort
session.

I used this deadlift cycle in conjunction with my modified
5 X 5
squat cycle featured
previously on T-Nation.

A cycle may look like this:

Here’s a quick rundown of how I’ve manipulated stress and recovery
within this cycle. Week 1 is essentially a primer for week 2—getting the
groove and accumulating some stress.

Week 2 is a big jump because your squatting volume and intensity are
higher, and you’ll be working up to heavy singles on the deadlift. If
you’re pushing yourself, you will be fatigued at the end of this week.

Week 3 is an unload week. The squatting volume and intensity go way
down, and you’re getting prepped for a big week 4. I’ve always opted to
go lighter than usual on this week if need be. The goal isn’t to be
strong this week but the following week. Fatigue masks fitness. Remember
that!

Week 4 is balls out—heavy squats and deadlifts. Crank up the Slayer
and get diesel. Week 5 could be another unload or active recovery week
before starting the cycle over. Quite often, I’ll just come in and do
some speed or technique work on squats and pulls and call it a day. See
how you feel and go from there.

Miscellaneous notes for optimal performance

If your technique sucks, you’d better get it straight ASAP. Many
great articles discussing deadlift technique exist so read up and get it
sorted out first and foremost.

At the intermediate level, you should have a basic idea of what
supplemental exercises have a positive carryover to your deadlift. For
example, if my glute ham performance is going up, my deadlift should be
going up too. If you have no clue or need a refresher, check out my
article titled, “Understanding Supplemental Exercises: The Deadlift
featured previously on EliteFTS.com.

The deadlift may be the lift that takes the most swagger. I know I’ve
said this before, but it bears stating again. You need to have the right
attitude to deadlift heavy. I know many people who have deadlifted
ridiculous weights with shitty form simply because they got pissed off
and ripped the bar off the floor. I’m not saying technique isn’t
important, but good technique with some attitude gives you the potential
to deadlift freakish big weights.

If you’re an intermediate level lifter with no clue as to how to set
up a cycle, you could do much worse than the one I’ve outlined above.
Just remember that if you want to pull heavy singles on meet day, you
need to prepare for it by pulling heavy singles in training.

Best of luck with your training and get stronger!

Mike Robertson, MS, CSCS, USAW, is the president of Robertson
Training Systems and the director of Custom Athletics in Indianapolis,
Indiana. Mike received his master’s degree in sports biomechanics from
the Human Performance Lab at Ball State University. To learn more about
Mike, visit his website at

www.RobertsonTrainingSystems.com and be sure to check out his
products in the Elite store.

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