Deficit deadlifts

[mal1ce]

My weak point on the deadlift has been the initial movement off the floor. Once I got the weight moving I knew I was going to make the lift.
So I've been doing deficit deadlifts for the last 4~5 weeks to work on that initial movement off the ground. I have already noticed a big difference in my ability to get the weight moving off the floor. I have been using one of the step platforms that the aerobics classes use...guess its about 4" high.

Just thought I'd share since I know a few of us are training for competitions....

[pharmamarketer]

Do you use the same weight you would normally use? What does the set/ rep scheme look like?

[bustasinclair]

My weak point on the deadlift has been the initial movement off the floor. Once I got the weight moving I knew I was going to make the lift.
So I've been doing deficit deadlifts for the last 4~5 weeks to work on that initial movement off the ground. I have already noticed a big difference in my ability to get the weight moving off the floor. I have been using one of the step platforms that the aerobics classes use...guess its about 4" high.

Just thought I'd share since I know a few of us are training for competitions....

Good job with the improvements!

Personally, I have never had much luck with deficits or rack deads; the times when I have increased my deadlift max the most was doing actual deads. Maybe I'm doin' it wrong. JMO

[hardNheavy2011]

Good job with the improvements!

Personally, I have never had much luck with deficits or rack deads; the times when I have increased my deadlift max the most was doing actual deads. Maybe I'm doin' it wrong. JMO

I have found this to be true for me too. I've tried all combinations of bands, chains, deficits and rack pulls and the only thing that has really helped me is just deadlifting. LOL Also, pushing and pulling my sled have helped.

Although, in defense of deficits, I didn't really use them as much as I probably should have. I too have trouble off the floor on sumo and conventional. Maybe I should work them back in. LOL
In other words, I'm still as lost as ever on how to increase this damn lift.

[ilovethe80s]

I love deficit deads too, deficit deads for speed are probably the most important thing in my deadlift training. I actually only train on a deficit up to my meets, and when I finally face a normal loaded barbell it feels like cake and flies off the floor - I was always stuck on the floor before. It is so nice when something actually works so well and eliminates a problem. I put bands on too so that way it already sucks bad enough trying to pull from the deficit, then you sail through the mid portion of the lift and then once you think you are in the clear, another surge of resistance. I have not been stuck on the floor in ages since training this way, but I still always pull from deficits with the bands on top. Make it as hard as possible then be pleasantly surprised competition time

[hardNheavy2011]

I love deficit deads too, deficit deads for speed are probably the most important thing in my deadlift training. I actually only train on a deficit up to my meets, and when I finally face a normal loaded barbell it feels like cake and flies off the floor - I was always stuck on the floor before. It is so nice when something actually works so well and eliminates a problem. I put bands on too so that way it already sucks bad enough trying to pull from the deficit, then you sail through the mid portion of the lift and then once you think you are in the clear, another surge of resistance. I have not been stuck on the floor in ages since training this way, but I still always pull from deficits with the bands on top. Make it as hard as possible then be pleasantly surprised competition time

I can definitely see how doing deficits could be of benefit. Like I said, I don't think I gave them a good enough try the last time I had them in my program. They certainly are hard enough to do. So, do you ever do a normal deadlift, or do you save those for the comp? I can certainly see the mental aspect of doing deficits. If your deficit is enough, then yeah, it should make pulling a normal deadlift a piece of cake....as much as deadlifts could ever be seen as easy. haha

[mal1ce]

Do you use the same weight you would normally use? What does the set/ rep scheme look like?

Currently I hit legs twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Saturday is the heavy day. I'll do low rep (4 x 3-5 reps) squats with wraps and a belt, geared basically the way I would be in competition. Then I follow the squats with deads from the floor, again in the 4 x 3-5 rep range. After that it's rack pulls (from just above the knee) with greater than my 1rep max from the floor. With the rack pulls I'll generally only do 3 sets of doubles. My lockout has never been an issue so the point of the rack pull for me is really just to feel the weight and signal my CNS. I'll finish that workout with leg press (3 x 12-15 reps) and some sort of hamstring specific exercise like romanians or razor curls (3 x 12-15 reps)....because I can't do a proper GHR.

Wednesdays is "light day"...lol.
Start with squats again but this time belt only, no wraps and I do higher reps (3 x 10-12). This is followed by the deficit deads, again with a lighter weight and 3 x 8-10 reps. Then onto leg press (3 x 10-12), weighted step-up's (3 x 10-12), and finished with calves.

Heres what last Wednesday looked like for me:
Squat
135 x 10 wu, no belt
135 x 10 wu, no belt
185 x 10 wu, no belt
225 x 10 belt
225 x 10 belt
225 x 9 belt
225 x 10 belt

Deficit Deads
155 x 10 wu, no belt
285 x 7 belt (my current 1rm is 415, so this is about 68% of my 1rm)
285 x 8 belt
285 x 8 belt

Leg Press
450 x 12
450 x 12
450 x 12

Step-up's ( I do these facing "in" on the front squat machine, one leg at a time)
180 x 12
180 x 12
180 x 13

Calf Raise (in the same front squat machine facing "in")
270 x 15
270 x 15
270 x 15

It's not a ton of volume, but I'm usually crawling out of the gym at this point. I still have a long way to go.

[lunchbreak]

I used to have to do them, gym only had smaller diameter plates. Proper bar height is as low as I'm comfortable with when things get heavy. If I was shorter I probably wouldn't mind as much.

[ilovethe80s]

. So, do you ever do a normal deadlift, or do you save those for the comp? I can certainly see the mental aspect of doing deficits. If your deficit is enough, then yeah, it should make pulling a normal deadlift a piece of cake....as much as deadlifts could ever be seen as easy. haha

I personally don't pull at all really, I'll work up to my opener a month out from a meet (the only time I do a regular dead), and 6 weeks out from meets I just do dynamic speed pull cycles from the deficit. Nothing better than the confidence that comes from whipping it off the floor, the memories of that translate really well to the real deads (whereas a failed deadlift will sit with me for ages and I won't pull as confidently).

Even when you stand in front of the normal bar for the first time after all the deficits, you just look at the bar like 'that's it?' lol

[hardNheavy2011]

I personally don't pull at all really, I'll work up to my opener a month out from a meet (the only time I do a regular dead), and 6 weeks out from meets I just do dynamic speed pull cycles from the deficit. Nothing better than the confidence that comes from whipping it off the floor, the memories of that translate really well to the real deads (whereas a failed deadlift will sit with me for ages and I won't pull as confidently).

Even when you stand in front of the normal bar for the first time after all the deficits, you just look at the bar like 'that's it?' lol

I remember you talking about in another thread how you make sure you never fail with a weight. I totally agreed with you, but didn't heed your advice. I failed a lift in this weeks deadlift workout that I was going to open with on the 17th of this month. Now I have a complete mindphuck going on and how I'm going to fix it. LOL

Hmmmm, I'm beginning to wonder if I might need to do some more deficits and maybe stop pulling normal deads all together like you're doing. What percentage are you using for speed reps? I'm using between 75 and 80 percent.

[ilovethe80s]

I remember you talking about in another thread how you make sure you never fail with a weight. I totally agreed with you, but didn't heed your advice. I failed a lift in this weeks deadlift workout that I was going to open with on the 17th of this month. Now I have a complete mindphuck going on and how I'm going to fix it. LOL

Hmmmm, I'm beginning to wonder if I might need to do some more deficits and maybe stop pulling normal deads all together like you're doing. What percentage are you using for speed reps? I'm using between 75 and 80 percent.

if you failed your opener test, maybe you could just open a bit lower? You know the 'nobody remembers what you opened with' phrase

I've had luck doing this:

http://asp.elitefts.net/qa/default.a...=33896&tid=101

The very light weight spares a lot of energy to use elsewhere in training, but very effective and confidence boosting.

But have also done 6 week cycles that have you start around 55% of your max and work up to 80% the week before the meet. That one is rough toward the end IMO, esp. on the deficit. I did not look forward to those sessions, lol. I mean it feels good to pull up 80% close to the meet but for me personally, to do an entire cycle that heavy wouldn't fly for me, I just can't pull it up fast enough to do it often. I like to drill the bar flying up into memory. I don't like my speed work to be too 'hard', just as perfect as possible, fast and confident. Hope that helps!

sorry to hijack op! we love your deficits

[mal1ce]

sorry to hijack op! we love your deficits

No worries.
I'll also add that my deficits are at 60%~70% of my 1rm.
So hardNheavy2011, 75~80 might be a bit too much for deficits IMO.

[fittofattofit]

I've been the same with deads: having trouble with the lift from the floor. I've got a trainer who's got me doing deficit deads off 4" as well (standing on two thick oly plates). The alternate exercise that he's got me doing is the snatch grip deadlift --- going out wide with the grip has the same effect on the start position as standing on the plates

[hardNheavy2011]

if you failed your opener test, maybe you could just open a bit lower? You know the 'nobody remembers what you opened with' phrase

I've had luck doing this:

http://asp.elitefts.net/qa/default.a...=33896&tid=101

The very light weight spares a lot of energy to use elsewhere in training, but very effective and confidence boosting.

But have also done 6 week cycles that have you start around 55% of your max and work up to 80% the week before the meet. That one is rough toward the end IMO, esp. on the deficit. I did not look forward to those sessions, lol. I mean it feels good to pull up 80% close to the meet but for me personally, to do an entire cycle that heavy wouldn't fly for me, I just can't pull it up fast enough to do it often. I like to drill the bar flying up into memory. I don't like my speed work to be too 'hard', just as perfect as possible, fast and confident. Hope that helps!

sorry to hijack op! we love your deficits

You're right, I was thinking of lowering my opener while I was typing that post. haha! I could have just had a bad day when I missed that, but just to set my mind at ease, I'll open with something I know I can triple with right now. Great link too! I have a comp next weekend and then I will probably try something like that for my next cycle. I think I'm beginning to understand what you're saying though. I tried a new program for this comp and I might have set my 1RM a little high and the weights around week 8, where I missed, were getting too heavy. I'm probably going to take a little time off deadlifting after this comp since I've been doing them non-stop for a little over a year now without any break at all. haha I guess I never thought much about speed even though I've been doing some speed work from time to time. I guess I was just doing them, but not understanding why.

No worries.
I'll also add that my deficits are at 60%~70% of my 1rm.
So hardNheavy2011, 75~80 might be a bit too much for deficits IMO.

Okay, cool, when I start again after this comp, I'll set my deficits accordingly. Awesome thread by the way!

I've been the same with deads: having trouble with the lift from the floor. I've got a trainer who's got me doing deficit deads off 4" as well (standing on two thick oly plates). The alternate exercise that he's got me doing is the snatch grip deadlift --- going out wide with the grip has the same effect on the start position as standing on the plates

Hmmmm, interesting idea!! Does it make the bar harder to hold onto with your grip that wide? I mean, I'd give it a shot too if something good might come of it.