315 DL good or not?

[induced_drag]

It's not a lift you just walk up and go heavy on unless you've been working with it consistently for a while.

Sure they do . This thread prompted me to look back though my old workout logs. I was out of the gym for a decade and looked back to my first deadlift workout back. This was my first workout:

Deadlift
225x5
315x6
365x6
385x5
405x5

You can see I tested out the waters a little and it must have felt good so I kept going.

But, I have been around enough to see some guys who struggle with others warm up with. In that case 315 might be "heavy".

I personally dont consider it "heavy" at all though...and to me, seeing a guy deadlift 315 is about equivalent to seeing a guy bench 135. It is generally still "warmup" for most.

[Bando]

I personally dont consider it "heavy" at all though...and to me, seeing a guy deadlift 315 is about equivalent to seeing a guy bench 135. It is generally still "warmup" for most.

I think deads are the easiest to progress with. If you work at them and have any strength at all they'll go up in a hurry. IIRC it took me maybe 3 months to add 100lbs.



also, where did those 5 years go?

[trans4mation]

Sure they do .

I personally dont consider it "heavy" at all though...and to me, seeing a guy deadlift 315 is about equivalent to seeing a guy bench 135. It is generally still "warmup" for most.

135 is a bench warm-up = 315 lbs is a deadlift warm-up? Ok, using your math, that means a 4 plate bench presser should be deadlifting over 900 lbs. Nah don't see that happening, I think a 315 lb deadlift is a "tiny" bit more than a warm-up........

[induced_drag]

135 is a bench warm-up = 315 lbs is a deadlift warm-up? Ok, using your math, that means a 4 plate bench presser should be deadlifting over 900 lbs. Nah don't see that happening, I think a 315 lb deadlift is a "tiny" bit more than a warm-up........

I have no idea what math equation you are using for that...... But yea....not being "macho" for me 315 is warmup on deads. I will sometimes start at 225, but most of time I start with 315. If I were being honest, 225 is a warm-up on bench for me, but I did not want to come off like I was putting anyone down. I know for some, 225 is a lot of weight and did not want to come off like I was being elitist.

I actually consider 405 "warm-up" on deads as well (srs). It is not really part of any "working set" I would do on deads. Just being honest. (something I can do for over 20+ reps is generally not part of my routine.)

[FireKnight1]

I can understand your pain in having lost what you could once do. You didn't use it... now your paying the price as you've lost it. I noticed the same thing when my youngest son said he wanted to join the Marines. I decided to help him get into shape. I jumped up on the pull-up bar after not having done any exercise in 6 years. I tore an intercostal. Then I tried to run two miles in my usual 5-6 minute pace... that didn't happen either. Long story short... I decided to do something about it and get back into shape. Your not in competition with your younger self. Your in competition with where you are right now. Steady improvements and gains are the best you can aspire to. You can't compare yourself to what you once were or where you could have been if only this or that. Is it still disheartening... heck yeah. I for one never thought I'd see the day where a pull-up would be hard for me. I'm sure you felt the exact same way not being able to pull 500 lbs. Keep at it and keep your head up.

[induced_drag]

I can understand your pain in having lost what you could once do. You didn't use it... now your paying the price as you've lost it. I noticed the same thing when my youngest son said he wanted to join the Marines. I decided to help him get into shape. I jumped up on the pull-up bar after not having done any exercise in 6 years. I tore an intercostal. Then I tried to run two miles in my usual 5-6 minute pace... that didn't happen either. Long story short... I decided to do something about it and get back into shape. Your not in competition with your younger self. Your in competition with where you are right now. Steady improvements and gains are the best you can aspire to. You can't compare yourself to what you once were or where you could have been if only this or that. Is it still disheartening... heck yeah. I for one never thought I'd see the day where a pull-up would be hard for me. I'm sure you felt the exact same way not being able to pull 500 lbs. Keep at it and keep your head up.

Boy....you sound like age is whipping your a$$! You most certainly can meet or exceed your former bests as long as there are no particular injuries that prevent it. No reason a guy at 40 cant be every bit as good or BETTER than he was at 25. (strength and looks). Speed....well we do lose some. But many many lifters actually peak in their late 30's or early 40's

[trans4mation]

ID- I get what you're saying. For you, yes 315 may be a basic starting warm-up weight. For the largest percentage of over age 40 lifters(which the OP referenced) 315 is probably not a starting warm-up weight and is moderate to heavy. That was really the only thing I was pointing out.

Just like you stated above it's all relative and so no matter where you are in the pecking order of the lifting world, someone somewhere is warming up with your max.....you and I included. (Zydrunas Savickas)

[FireKnight1]

Boy....you sound like age is whipping your a$$! You most certainly can meet or exceed your former bests as long as there are no particular injuries that prevent it. No reason a guy at 40 cant be every bit as good or BETTER than he was at 25. (strength and looks). Speed....well we do lose some. But many many lifters actually peak in their late 30's or early 40's

Exactly, I let age whip my A$$. http://www.lonkilgore.com/freebies/d...unds_small.pdf

Adjusted for age chart above.

[ntrllftr]

Exactly, I let age whip my A$$. http://www.lonkilgore.com/freebies/d...unds_small.pdf

Adjusted for age chart above.

Yay!!! I'm ELITE!!!! Thanks's for posting the link... I was down on myself this morning.

[lschepis]

Boy....you sound like age is whipping your a$$! You most certainly can meet or exceed your former bests as long as there are no particular injuries that prevent it. No reason a guy at 40 cant be every bit as good or BETTER than he was at 25. (strength and looks). Speed....well we do lose some. But many many lifters actually peak in their late 30's or early 40's

I agree with ID here. Obviously he's pretty freaky strong but looking at his avi, he has maximized his body and that's a standard I wish most guys his age held themselves to. I've been lifting 40 years and while I had a few off years raising kids, I never quit. Steady progress is all u can ask of yourself; comparing yourself to others will defeat u. Age doesn't whip ur ass at all.

Oh lawd, I'm elite in DL but those grannies can't lift!

[Bando]

Yay!!! I'm ELITE!!!! Thanks's for posting the link... I was down on myself this morning.

TFW advanced

[Corbi]

YES! I am elite on DL's according to that chart, but then i'm in ID's camp and don't see #315 as being the least bit heavy for DL's.

[Jtbny]

YES! I am elite on DL's according to that chart, but then i'm in ID's camp and don't see #315 as being the least bit heavy for DL's.

Idk Somedays 3 plates feels like 5 to me

[Sader762]

I have no idea what math equation you are using for that...... But yea....not being "macho" for me 315 is warmup on deads. I will sometimes start at 225, but most of time I start with 315. If I were being honest, 225 is a warm-up on bench for me, but I did not want to come off like I was putting anyone down. I know for some, 225 is a lot of weight and did not want to come off like I was being elitist.

I actually consider 405 "warm-up" on deads as well (srs). It is not really part of any "working set" I would do on deads. Just being honest. (something I can do for over 20+ reps is generally not part of my routine.)

Let's be honest though. Anyone who is natural that has a 1500#+ total is an elite lifter and not something the average man can achieve. A 1500# total takes years and years of lifting along with good to great genetics.........doing it natural.

OP, it's a good lift, but in a year you'll be even better. Keep lifting.

I started a year and a half ago and my long term goals were 1/2/3/4 plates. I've achieved that on OHP and bench, almost there on squat, but deadlift is lagging at 335 or so. My upper body is moving along quicker then my lower body, don't know why but I'm still working at it.

[SteveWright1]

315lb is an awesome deadlift
congrats on achieving it and on achieving every increase you got between then and now and congrats for every increase you get from now and into the future

that age compensated lifting class document
If I could lose 5lb and maintain 315lb = I am elite with 315
If I could gain 10lb and increase my deadlift to 330 = I am elite
If I could age 9 years all of a sudden = I am elite with 315

so from that doc I realised I am 5lb too heavy or 10lb too light and 9 years younger than I need to be for Elite status today

I think I shall ignore it, and ignore what others are lifting and just go about my business of enjoying what I do and enjoy every new weight I achieve irrespective of where it puts me in terms of classification or in relation to what others of my age and or size can achieve

[induced_drag]

Let's be honest though. Anyone who is natural that has a 1500#+ total is an elite lifter and not something the average man can achieve. A 1500# total takes years and years of lifting along with good to great genetics.........doing it natural.

No one is talking about "elite" lifters or 1500 lb totals. The point of this thread was a 315lb deadlift. Considering a dead is usually the highest number in total, I would extrapolate out to

Deadlift 315
Squat 280
Bench 175

That would be sub 800lb total (just using aprox numbers for arguments sake). And no I would not consider that "good" for a man....unless there were some underlying conditions they were dealing with.

FWIW, I had a 1500lb+ total (at under 200lbs) when I was 100% natural. Not sure why you are so hung up on "natural". I know lots and lots guys who are NOT natural and dont total 1500. There are no magic pills man. Still takes dedication and hard work (or just really good genes or some combination of the two) to be strong.

Nature is a bell curve.... we are all different. But again.....I dont consider a 315lb dead "good" just as you would not think someones grade 2 standard deviations below (or an "F") are "good". It may be "good" for you.....just like parents that celebrate a "D" from their child who normally brings home "F"s. But no one is putting that kids name in the paper or giving him an achievement ribbon.

[DuracellBunny]

Let's be honest though. Anyone who is natural that has a 1500#+ total is an elite lifter and not something the average man can achieve. A 1500# total takes years and years of lifting along with good to great genetics.........doing it natural.

Nope. What 1500lbs nattie requires is to actually train for strength instead of training to look pretty or just going to the gym to "workout".

I total significantly north of 1500 after 2 strokes and 3 pacemakers. People vastly underestimate what can be done naturally and like to make excuses.

As an example: give me any average sized untrained adult male and 2 years and I will have them benching 3 plates. This stuff isn't rocket science, it's mainly about having the balls to do it.

[Sader762]

Induced_drag and Duracell Bunny, how long have you both been lifting?

[induced_drag]

Induced_drag and Duracell Bunny, how long have you both been lifting?

Been back about 5 years after a decade+ off. I lifted serious from 18-24. So all total....11-12 years total. Even after a decade off....my first bench session I benched 300lbs. My first time squatting, I put on 405...and it only took me about 11 workouts to hit 495 again on deads. (So yes, I have favorable genes and a good training response....not gloating, and am thankful for it...but you would have never believed it seeing me at 18 and 140lbs!)

That said...I reached 95% of my strength in the first 2 years back lifting. I have improved strength over the years, the gains are very small compared (5-10lbs a year at best) to when I was first in the gym.

From my experience, guys should get about 95% of their possible lean mass and strength in their first 3 years if they are doing it right. The first year alone the will see 80-85% of their possible lean mass increase.

Heck, in my first 3 years of lifting, I gained almost 50lbs LBM. (yes natural).

In my first year back to the gym (approaching 40) I gained about 25lbs LBM. (with low t...but I attribute a lot of that to muscle memory). I also dropped a ton of fat in the process while gaining back the muscle. That is all but impossible and muscle memory can really be the only explanation that makes sense.

[DuracellBunny]

Induced_drag and Duracell Bunny, how long have you both been lifting?

I started as a teen, competed in juniors and sub juniors, was on and off from 20-30 (health reasons. I lost 100lbs bw at one point) and have been consistent from 30-40 apart from a couple of months off here and there for surgery.

[melDorado]

Pulling 286 aged 42 female @152 just for comparison

[silverlightning]

there is no chart for age to DL strength ration. there is for body weight for DL strength ratio as far is PL is concerned in regards to weight classes. if 315 is getting you progress towards your goal, then yes. if you're goal isn't met yet, then keep going.

nobody has ever asked how much you DL. people only ask how much you bench. there is no difference in someone DL 300 vs. 500 lbs when it comes to health and aesthetics, and that is the bottom line.

making progress, staying healthy and being consistent are the keys.

[Sader762]

Been back about 5 years after a decade+ off. I lifted serious from 18-24. So all total....11-12 years total. Even after a decade off....my first bench session I benched 300lbs. My first time squatting, I put on 405...and it only took me about 11 workouts to hit 495 again on deads. (So yes, I have favorable genes and a good training response....not gloating, and am thankful for it...but you would have never believed it seeing me at 18 and 140lbs!)

That said...I reached 95% of my strength in the first 2 years back lifting. I have improved strength over the years, the gains are very small compared (5-10lbs a year at best) to when I was first in the gym.

From my experience, guys should get about 95% of their possible lean mass and strength in their first 3 years if they are doing it right. The first year alone the will see 80-85% of their possible lean mass .

Yes, that makes sense. Most guys can probably reach close to their potential in 3-5 years of seriously dedicated training. But that's if they do almost everything right and have that drive to push for those extra reps every workout that most people can't mentally do.

But, again I say for the average male over 40 out there, 315 is a good lift. Is it the end of the road, nowhere near it. As I told the OP it's good, and next year it will be better as long as he keeps working toward it.

I know you don't agree and that's ok, but you are at the very far end of elite status. What you've achieved will not happen for 99.9% of the population. That's mostly because of a lack of dedication and genetics for the average man. It takes years of hard work to get to a 1300# total for the average man (5'10"-180#). Most men aren't willing to work that hard.

I'm part of that over 40 crowd. I don't care about numbers. Well, not too much. Ok I do, but I won't admit it I keep active to have a better life and to hopefully not be a crippled up old man who can't even walk to the bathroom to take a crap when I'm 70.

[Jtbny]

Somewhat I've learned from this discussion:

I'm weak

The average male is 180lbs

There is no difference in aesthetics from those deadlifting 300 or 500

I'm doing this **** all the wrong way

[silverlightning]

Somewhat I've learned from this discussion:

I'm weak

The average male is 180lbs

There is no difference in aesthetics from those deadlifting 300 or 500

I'm doing this **** all the wrong way

you're doing it right for you. it's all about balance and that is subjective to each person what the balance should be. there's a new guy at the gym, probably older than me and he is squatting more than me currently, good depth, he even squatted on a bozu ball last with with 225, I chit you not lol. however, I'm more aesthetic than him. now, he's goals could be different than mine. he could want to be more aesthetic and I could want to get my squats back up to 315 and higher.

[Sader762]

Somewhat I've learned from this discussion:

I'm weak

The average male is 180lbs

There is no difference in aesthetics from those deadlifting 300 or 500

I'm doing this **** all the wrong way

Lol, no you seem to be doing a lot right. And I'd love to be 6'1"

I love your signature quote btw. It seems very applicable in this discussion

[alwayschestday]

I think 315's a good baseline pull for most. probably equivalent to the 225-250 benchmark. I dont see a ton of people doing three plus plate deads much anymore at the gym, so this doesnt include most of america which doesnt go to the gym. Which puts you ahead of allot of people. factor in your age and your on a great path.

[Tmax55]

It depends how big you are...if you weigh 150 a 315 DL is pretty decent...not great just decent.

I did DL's a total of about 10 times prior to 2014 and I am pulling 535x3 for my working sets now. I don't think that is particularly good...it is however, enough that I won't get laughed out of the gym unless I go to a hardcore PL gym.

I'm happy with the progress that I've made this year (I started the year pulling 500x1). My goal is to pull 600 or at the least pull a weight enough times in a rep calculator that it tells me I could pull 600 by the end of this year - and its still all in play. To me a 600 DL would be a good accomplishment and yes, I believe I can get to a 1500 total, natty. If ID, and Duracelbunny can do it, why not me? Won't be easy for me, but its not so far away as be impossible.

That's the key, setting a difficult goal, and working full out towards it. If you do that, you'll feel good about what you accomplish regardless of if you are pulling 250, 315, a truck like ID, or if you are somewhere in the middle like me.

Just get better at it and be happy doing it. I am.

[Corbi]

It depends how big you are...if you weigh 150 a 315 DL is pretty decent...not great just decent.

I did DL's a total of about 10 times prior to 2014 and I am pulling 535x3 for my working sets now. I don't think that is particularly good...it is however, enough that I won't get laughed out of the gym unless I go to a hardcore PL gym.

I'm happy with the progress that I've made this year (I started the year pulling 500x1). My goal is to pull 600 or at the least pull a weight enough times in a rep calculator that it tells me I could pull 600 by the end of this year - and its still all in play. To me a 600 DL would be a good accomplishment and yes, I believe I can get to a 1500 total, natty. If ID, and Duracelbunny can do it, why not me? Won't be easy for me, but its not so far away as be impossible.

That's the key, setting a difficult goal, and working full out towards it. If you do that, you'll feel good about what you accomplish regardless of if you are pulling 250, 315, a truck like ID, or if you are somewhere in the middle like me.

Just get better at it and be happy doing it. I am.

There isn't a gym in the world where anyone would laugh at a #500 dl.

[keyboardworkout]

Deadlift standards by gender, age and weight.

http://www.lonkilgore.com/freebies/d...unds_small.pdf