Replacing conventional deadlifts entirely with deficits?

[BrooklynBravest]

I'm on madcow 5x5 making steady gains for a couple months now. But in my lifting career I have always been plagued by horrific bar speed on my deadlifts.

Would it benefit me to entirely switch to deficits for a while?


Heres a set from a while ago. It was a 5rm PR at the time.

[Dawes]

You would probably benefit more from working on your technique.

None of those reps in that set looked the same, you were moving all over the place and not getting tight before each rep.

I wouldn't run madcow either as you only do one top set once a week. You would be better off doing multiple working sets. Maybe even deadlifting twice a week once heavy and once light to practice the movement as one set of 5 once a week wont do much for long.

But really your main issue is technique, deficits will just make it worse.

[scotpak1979]

I dont think ur technique is too bad and u have made a good effort in keeping your back flat esp with a fairly heavy weight.

I would say to just focus on speed and being explosive on your warm ups and work sets. You could also have a seperate speed day. Try that first before you do deficits.

[NorthStrong]

Doesn't look like a bar speed issue to me man.

[MyEgoProblem]

You can hear a 'click' as you pull, all the slack should have been pulled out already.

Sort the yanking out and imo, That will improve your perceived lack of speed (in assuming you mean from the floor)

[zGwild]

when you pull your hips rise slightly, when this happens you are leaning/getting pulled slightly forward like the weight is pulling you out of the position you want to to be in.
most likely a tightness issue. you may want to stop doing that drop before each rep and just set up get tight and pull
also looks like you could get some better leg drive out of it. kinda looks like you are favoring a more of a back pull at the bottom. maybe work on quad strength

speed looks good

TL;DR looks like you are letting the weight pull you out of position and then you are pulling the weight

[sooby]

IMO your problems are is that your hips are rising as you begin your deadlift try to remember that deadlift is a hip hinge movement as a cue. Your butt is moving all over the place imo. I also feel like your legs are almost at lock out just before mid lift so I think you may be bleeding some power there. Your shoulders seem to be too far in front IMO making your deadlift look like an SLDL midlift. Related to that I think because your shoulders are too far in front of the bar is that the bar itself I think is too far in front of you, it almost seems like you are leaning slightly forward to pick the weight up and somewhere between all of these it is causing you to lose tightness.

So basically your problems IMO:
- Hips Rising
- Shoulders too far in front
- Legs locking out before true lock out
- Excessive leaning to grab bar

I think you should bring the shoulders back a bit, position the bar at mid-foot, find a comfortable hip-position that doesn't cause them to shoot up. Also remember to keep your chest up. You should feel your hips and your lats tighten that's how you know usually that you are in a good position to deadlift. IMO switching to deficits before correcting your form is almost like a baby learning how to run before he walks.

[BombDonald]

Doesn't look like a bar speed issue to me man.

Agreed, considering it's a 5RM.

Try spending more time with lighter weights moving them faster and more consistently. Even something simple like 405 for 5 sets of 3 to start. It's awesome that you spent a good amount of time with a beginner program, but it may be time to move onto something a little more advanced . Building speed and consistency with moderately heavy weights will do you some good.

[BrooklynBravest]

Thanks for all the advice.

Idk why but I've always done deadlifts with a higher hip setup. Any attempts to do them lower even at lighter weight my body just doesn't like to cooperate.

I have been eliminating that reset movement as well, as stated I realize it makes the lift more of a jerking motion than a tight pull.

I think maybe il drop down to 315 and just work back up.

I was doing canditos 6 week before Madcow for probably 6 months and I just couldn't keep up with the brutality of the squats.

I have to climb sometimes 10 flights wearing 100lbs of gear at work and doing squats which insane volume at heavy weight makes my life miserable.

[10incher]

Your hamstrings are weak and that needs to be fixed.

[Yodums]

Your hamstrings are weak and that needs to be fixed.

What does this mean? How are you determining this? You've said it in another thread, and it wasn't applicable, at all.

[Rags85]

What does this mean? How are you determining this? You've said it in another thread, and it wasn't applicable, at all.

Guys trolling, just ignore him.

[10incher]

What does this mean? How are you determining this? You've said it in another thread, and it wasn't applicable, at all.

What it means is that it will weaken hes lifting capacity, its called posterior chain for a reason and a chain is only as strong as its weakest link which in this case is the hamstrings.

Hamstring has 4 heads, 3 of them can assist in hip extension aka the movement to lock out in deadlift and squats. All 4 heads can do knee flexion, if a person trains there hamstrings eventually they will become so strong so the head which can only do knee flexion can take care of knee flexion by itself and the 3 other hamstring heads can assist the glutes/ass in the hip extension.

Most people today have weak hamstring including me, but thats because most people think hamstrings get worked by all there other exercises so they avoid direct hamstring work.

For example there was a guy in the gym who sometimes ask me for help, one day he asked if he could skip squats and and just replace it with just leg extensions. I told him no rather do hamstring curls since your hamstrings are weak, he did not want to accept it so we went to the leg extension machine put on 100kgs/220lbs and he did 12 reps he could probaly do more but i stopped him.

Then we went to a seated hamstring curl machine which is plate loaded, we loaded on 80kgs/176lbs and he could do if i remeber correctly 3 reps and after that he got pain behind the knee on 1 of hes legs. So basicly even if the weight was 20kgs/45lbs lower he lost 9 reps in comparison and even got pain.

I'm determining it by several ways, 1 of them is the hamstring and calf ratio if you pause when he has locked out you will see its like a straight line from calves to the bottom of the butt which should not be if a person has good developed hamstrings.

[Medley44]

Guys trolling, just ignore him.

This, and it's getting old.

[BrooklynBravest]

How many high % of your max sets do you do on deadlift day?

I'm doing 5x5 as stated and honestly the 4 sets of deadlifts make the last set so difficult. By the time I am done my hamstrings are on fire.

I stopped resting between reps so aggressively and it feels better as well.

[10incher]

How many high % of your max sets do you do on deadlift day?

I'm doing 5x5 as stated and honestly the 4 sets of deadlifts make the last set so difficult. By the time I am done my hamstrings are on fire.

I stopped resting between reps so aggressively and it feels better as well.

I use same weight over all my sets and when i feel to increase it, i will increase all sets.

Not sure what my max is but you can check this thread -> http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...post1468332961

For more information and there is 2 videos me deadlifting there, 1 where i deadlift 180kgs/396lbs with perfect form and 1 where i lift up 190kgs/418lbs from the ground and drop it. Also here you can see the work i do on thursdays for my posterior chain and my barhold is not included there either.

So if we assume 190kgs/418lbs is my max and i work out on 130kgs/286lbs that should be 68%-69% of my 1 rm or what you guys call it i work on and do 36 reps.

I usually do sets of 3 reps so total 12 sets, but in journal i rather write x 12 cause writing every 3 rep set would make training day so long.

Also would have increased it already to 140kgs/308lbs in deadlift if it was not for me spraining my right ankle, but oh well i just got to have catch up.

And incase you don't check the other thread i do Hamstring curls + Squats before my deadlifts so my hamstrings are shaking when i do the deadlifts. So if your hamstrings are on fire by just doing deadlifts thats no good.

Most people today don't focus enough on there muscles, they just think oh well my deadlift or all the deadlift variations i do will take care of the hamstrings or oh well the squats and all the squat variations will take care of the hamstrings.

If this kind of logic would be applied to overhead pressing people would lose there minds, going oh well all my bench exercises trains my anterior deltoid/front shoulder and triceps so no need to do overhead pressing. And then eventually when they try to do overhead pressing they will suck at it.

And to answer your question yes you can switch out normal deadlifts for deficit deadlifts. Deficit deadlifts are the only variation on deadlifts i approve what i can remeber on top of my head.

I don't approve:

RDL
SLDL
Sumo Deadlifts