Hudson Power Team: Articles and Advice - The Old School Deadlift Program

The Old School Deadlift Program

by John H. Hudson

**New! Video of a deadlift workout here!**

Several people have asked me to post a deadlift program, so here it is. This is the program that I typically put newer lifters on and it has worked tremendously for most. Others, such as junior deadlift phenom Laramie McMasters, have gained well from it for one or two cycles, and then had to move on to a program better suited to their individual strengths, weaknesses, and training tolerances. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes. It's worked well for me over the years, and it is well-suited to my busy schedule and my greater need for recovery time. True Old School lifters out there might recognize the influence of Paul Anderson, Roger Estep, Ernie Frantz and Gus Rethwisch herein.

First Principles:

1. Train in the Suit - This is intended for the lifter using a modern, tight suit. In order to use such a suit effectively and efficiently, I really believe you need to train in it every week, particularly emphasizing setup. Without a good setup that gets you into the starting position you need with your hands set properly on the bar, you're doomed. In the old days, we put the suit on two or three weeks out from the meet; that's all we needed and quite honestly that's all the use those old suits could stand; the old materials could seldom stand up well to very much wear. We could also use essentially the same technique in the suit that we used for raw pulling. Those days are long past. Modern suits change everything about the setup and they even completely alter breathing. In a properly fitted suit, you should NOT be able to get a full breath of air unless you are standing erect. So, I wear the suit with straps down from the beginning of the workout, with straps up on at least one warmup set before hitting my target single for the day.

2. Singles are the Key - Each workout calls for a target single in the suit, straps up. We pull singles in a meet; I believe we need to pull singles in training, week after week. Why? I don't believe in a set of 5, 3, or 2 that we can ever execute any rep quite the same as how we will execute a single. In a meet, we need to uncork everything we've got and explode with all of our being into that one pull. To do that well, we should practice doing it in training week after week. Essentially, this is Central Nervous System (CNS) training. When doing sets of 5, 3, or 2, we're inevitably thinking ahead to the next rep, or to the end of the set. This effects our technique and might even cause us to conserve some energy instead of executing each rep at 110%. We might get through a set of 5, or 3, or 2 with sloppy technique, but we'll miss the PR pull on the platform without technical perfection. The purpose of singles in training, then, is to build speed, explosiveness, and flawless technique. My speed has improved a great deal in my years using this program, and I never do so-called speed pulls. Instead, every pull, whether a warm-up or target set, is executed with "contest" explosiveness. Up through week 7, if the target single is easy (and it should be) go for three singles, resting at least five minutes between pulls, striving for perfect technique and explosiveness on each single. After week 7, do only the target single.

3. Stiff-Legs are Essential - I've been doing stiff-legs since the beginning of my training back in 1985. At first, of course, I used light weight and high reps. I was always relatively strong in stiffs, though, so I was able to pile on the weight very quickly. Obviously, I built a good foundation of back strength along the way before jumping to heavy weights. As a lifter fatigues on heavy stiff-legs, the lockouts become slow and difficult. Those slow, hard lockouts with fairly serious weight are key to developing my lockout and my grip, as well as my ability to recover from a poorly executed standard deadlift . . . one in which my hips come up too fast, for example . . . and have a shot at locking out. They may also help to minimize the risk of injury in standard deadlifts, as well. You could get the same slow lockouts with higher reps and a much lighter weight, yes; but the carryover to a standard deadlift is much lower at those lighter weights. A tough lockout after 12 reps with 405 can't be the same as a tough lockout on the second rep with 600 or on the third with 575. Once a good foundation of erector and hamstring strength is build, a lifter should aim for a weight heavy enough to make the whole body struggle for control of the lift on the last reps. A twelfth rep with 405 would also be slow, but I don't believe it would put the same overwhelming strain of force on the whole body as 500+. As for grip, I basically have the bar down in my fingers on the second rep of a very heavy set, and it's tough to keep the fingers from opening. Hooking 405 in the fingers just isn't the same.

Another benefit of heavy stiff -egs is "toughness," or "mental toughness" if you want. I don't like doing them. In fact, I hate them. They are one of the most painful, most torturous lifts that can be done; they are agonizingly slow, drawing out the pain far longer than a standard deadlift. I believe they are the hardest of any heavy assistance lifts. It's a weekly ordeal to do them, but they really help, I believe, to make big standard pulls seem somewhat "easy" and even pleasant in comparison.

As my good friend and World Record bench presser Andrew Kim likes to point out, there are lots of weak erectors and hamstrings out there. In particular, there are alot of young guys who've spent too much time on the leg press and have an imbalance between quads and hams, which is a recipe for injury. Younger lifters aren't strong enough yet to pile on the weight for stiffs yet, but start where you can and do them faithfully. Don't compare your stiffs to mine; I've been working them for two decades. But start now and years from now you'll be glad you did. Do this two weeks on, one week off to avoid overtraining. If you feel anything strange or painful when doing them, stop immediately. Drop the bar if you have to. Listen to your body. If your back doesn't feel 100%, skip a week. Trust me: you'll gain from the rest. You won't get weaker in these by skipping a week. Remember that the erectors tend to require longer recovery time than other muscles of the body, anyway. Always err on the side of caution and you'll be pulling over 600 in stiff-legs when you're 40, too.

4. Rack Squats for Power Off the Floor - I don't know of any other exercise that builds more explosive power off the floor than rack squats. If you're not familiar with the rack squat, it's basically a partial squat performed in a power rack. After setting the bar on the pins and loading it, the lifter gets under the bar as if to squat and then simply stands erect with the bar. There are two aspects that are crucial: bar height and singles. For bar height, set the bar so that the angle of your knees when you are under the bar at the beginning of the lift approximates the angle of your knees as the bar leaves the floor in a conventional deadlift. For me, this means setting the bar even with the bottom of my sternum when standing with my chest against the bar. I know alot of guys experiment with different settings trying to build strength in different ranges, but if you're doing this for the deadlift, this is the only setting you need. Finally, do singles only. Those of you who are familiar with this exercise know that the first rep is typically the hardest as one must build up force under the bar to break inertia. The key is to keep piling on weight week after week. I don't believe reps at 405 will do nearly as much for you as a gut-busting single with 585; this is what will transfer to power off the floor in your deadlift. Rack squats are alternated every other week with rack lockouts so as to prevent burnout and overtraining.

5. Rack Lockouts to Finish Your Pull - The rack lockout is simply a partial deadlift performed off the pins in a power rack. Whereas the rack squats build power off the floor, rack lockouts build a powerful lockout. The key points here, as in rack squats, are bar height and singles. Set the bar where you experience the most significant loss of speed in a heavy pull. For me, I can yank almost anything to my knees, but then I slow down. So I set the pins so that the bar sits at the top of my kneecaps. Again, alot of guys experiment with bar height on these, which is fine; but your meat and potatoes for rack lockouts needs to be where you are weakest. Do singles so you can load the bar heavy. Done correctly and heavily enough, a single in rack lockouts should be tough and painful, a truly unpleasant experience that requires mental toughness, focus and sheer will to complete. Use straps if you have to, but go without them as much as possible to build grip strength and hand toughness (but keep those callouses from growing too large, otherwise they'll tear).

This is a 14 week program intended for someone with a 500 pull, aiming for a 540 at the end of the program. Remember that everyone is different and every program will inevitably need to be adjusted to suit the individual lifter. Be aware that extraneous factors such as illness, work, injury and the like may necessitate recalibrating the target weights or adjusting other aspects of your training. Also, be sure to include regular abdominal work in your program; a strong core is essential for a big deadlift.

Week 1
Deadlift Single: warmups, then target set with 385
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 2x5
Rack Squats: 5x1 (try to add weight with each set)
Shrugs: 2x25
assistance – mix up some favorites of your choice, but no more than three additional exercises; hit the middle and upper back HARD, but don’t be a bodybuilder. Use multi-joint exercises that allow you to use some weight. Do not, however, sacrifice good form for pounds. Leave that to the bicep monkeys with over-sized egos.

Week 2
Deadlift Single: 400
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 2x5
Rack Lockouts: 5x1 (try to add weight with each set)
Shrugs: 2x25
assistance

Week 3
Deadlift Single: 415
Rack Squats: 5x1
Shrugs: 2x25
assistance

Week 4
Deadlift Single: 430
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 1x3, 1x5 (the second set should be lighter in weight than the first)
Rack Lockouts: 5x1
Shrugs: 2x20
assistance

Week 5
Deadlift Single: 445
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 1x3, 1x5
Rack Squats: 4x1
Shrugs: 2x20
assistance

Week 6
Deadlift Single: 460
Rack Lockouts: 4x1
Shrugs: 2x20
assistance

Week 7
Deadlift Single: 475
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 2x3
Rack Squats: 4x1
Shrugs: 2x15
assistance

Week 8
Deadlift Single: 490
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 2x3
Rack Lockouts: 4x1
Shrugs: 2x15
assistance

Week 9
Deadlift Single: 505
Rack Squats: 3x1
Shrugs: 2x15
assistance

Week 10
Deadlift Single: 520
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 2x3
Rack Lockouts: 3x1
Shrugs: 2x10
assistance

Week 11
Deadlift Single: 535
Stiff-leg Deadlift: 2x3
Rack Squats: 3x1
Shrugs: 2x10
assistance

Week 12 (lighter on EVERYTHING this week . . . you are deloading)
Deadlift Single: 485
Rack Lockouts: 3x1
Shrugs: 2x10
assistance

Week 13
REST

Week 14 (meet or simulated meet)
1st: 485
2nd: 540
3rd: 545~560
4th (if possible): have fun