Heavy singles every week for Deadlifts?

[Mystic79]

I'm basically adding 5lbs every week to my final set of deadlifts, which is a single. Also I want to hit my old goal of 405lbs. Right now I do something like:

135lbs x 5
185lbs x 5
225lbs x 5
285lbs x 2
335lbs x 1
225lbs x 8 (standing on a 35lb plate for extra stretch)

I'm just adding 5lbs every week to most of the sets, but especially the final max. Should I just keep doing this until I reach my goal? I figure I won't go stale becaus I keep adding weight and it's just for 1 heavy set at the end.

[Tim Wescott]

Personally,if I were deadlifting from the floor heavy,I woud deadlift once every two weeks.........takes a long time to recover from heavy deads.

Just my opinion,but if you can do it,go for it Jay!

[Karrie]

admin said:

Personally,if I were deadlifting from the floor heavy,I woud deadlift once every two weeks.........takes a long time to recover from heavy deads.

Just my opinion,but if you can do it,go for it Jay!

I agree with Tim. I am into power lifting and I deadlift once every two weeks.

[youngblood]

Deadlifts every week? Sure. Singles, yes. But heavy singles every week, no.
Along the lines of Tim and Karrie, I would have to say that it's okay to do a normal routine of 4-6 reps every week, but once you start lifting below that, you really start taxing the body and especially the CNS.
So, if you are going to lift heavy singles, I would suggest you follow Tim and Karrie's advice.

[Grant]

For many years I rotated my reps every week on the deadllift from the floor. I would do 5's, 3's, 8's and singles.

I tried singles every week for a while but found they wore me out both physically and mentally.

You may wany to try doing timed singles. Do a percentage of your max, in the 65 to 80 percent I believe, and do 5-10 singles. Rest about 30-45 seconds between singles.

I think fomer powerlifting great Jim Cash use to use a similar method for a big deadlift.

[mrbeefy]

My wife~the POWERLIFTER.....

Does pretty much what Grant suggested...and it seems to be working for her.

Now she is just upping her percentages a bit to prep for her November Meet.

[RUBICON19]

I dont see a problem with it. When you get stuck just back peddle a little and then move on forward again. Your bod will tell you all you need to know

[Rich]

Having suffered from some bad back problems, I can tell you that even if it feels ok now, you should NOT deadlift every week. Especially not 1RM's. Deadlift every other week tops, and maybe go for 1RM's every 6 weeks or so. When you do want to try a 1RM, use a different rep progression that you have there, and different from the weeks where you are not doing that. I once read a great rep progression for 1RM's. I'll see if I can find it. It was form a former powerlifter who now bodybuilds.

[Grant]

You may or may not go stale. If you don't then that's great. But if you start going stale, or want to scale back a bit, going ever other week on deads would be good.

Doing various good mornings on the other weeks may be a good alternative.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll reach your goal soon enough!

[OptimumJoe]

I've done that, but won't do it again. The theory is sound, but it depends on your recovery levels. World Class powerlifters are like Pro Bodybuilders, they have great recovery abilities and exceptions to the rule.

It won't hurt to try and see if it works for you. Just be safe with your form. Don't let your form slip to get that "one more rep".

A way to tell if you are still improving is pay attention to your aggression levels when heading to the gym on deadlift day. If you have the urge to attack the bar every week...keep going. If after a couple weeks you are dragging in and almost dreading having to lift that "5 more pounds" you may need a couple weeks between deadlift sessions.

That's my $0.02

I know I dead lift every week in the 4-8 range and I love it and look forward to it weekly. I know I'm on the right path.

[RUBICON19]

I still dont see a problem with deadlifting every week. Never bothered me. Guess i am alone on this one. Its no different than squating once per week.

[Rich]

rubicon19 said:

I still dont see a problem with deadlifting every week. Never bothered me. Guess i am alone on this one. Its no different than squating once per week.

It never bothered me either, until the day it did.

I had been steadily improving in my deadlift. Like OJ says, I was looking forward to back day every week. Wanting to come in there and KILL it. I had 365 X 5 as my PB, and I was on my way to 405 X 4, which was my goal at the time. I didn't know if that day was going to be it, but I knew that I was going to kick some ass regardless.

I started with 185 X 12, then 185 X 10. No sweat. Literally.
Upped it to 225 X 6. Felt GREAT. This was going to be a good day.
275 X 3, then 315 X 1, and I was done my warm up and ready to PULL SOME WEIGHT!!!!!
I put 365 on, and my plan was to pull 6 and stop even if I had more. I wanted to get to 385.
365 ... pulled, one - down and up. GOOD. STRONG.
2 .... down and ...... WTF IS THAT PAIN!?!?! Dropped the bar to the floor, and fell down after it. Crawled (literally) to the change room, lay on a bench there for about 30 minutes then crawled to a phone to call in sick. Managed to drive myself home, crawl inside and lie down on the couch which is where my wife found me 6 hours later when she got home. She helped me up to the bedroom, where I stayed flat on my back for about 2 days.

It took about 6 months before my back felt well enough to deadlift again. I still love deadlifting, and I still will do it 2-3 workouts in a row, but not more than that.

[gti steve]

I don't see an issue of deadlifting every week. but maxing out week-in-week-out may give you some issues

[Grant]

rubicon19 said:

I still dont see a problem with deadlifting every week. Never bothered me. Guess i am alone on this one. Its no different than squating once per week.

I'm all for deadlifting every week. Just not doing max, or near max, singles all the time. Doing deads every week is not for everyone. More then one way to skin a cat.

There have been many programs on how to increase your deadlift without deadlifting, or, at least not doing them all the time.

Then there's the Finnish lifters from the 80's who use to do deads or a variation twice per week. Try that on for size!

[RUBICON19]

So should football players hold back on the field one week and go all out the next. I mean, what if they get hurt? I just dont see the prob with training ball's out everytime. Injuries happen. Whether you dead once per week or once per month..

[gti steve]

grant said:

Then there's the Finnish lifters from the 80's who use to do deads or a variation twice per week. Try that on for size!

its too big

[Rich]

rubicon19 said:

So should football players hold back on the field one week and go all out the next. I mean, what if they get hurt? I just dont see the prob with training ball's out everytime. Injuries happen. Whether you dead once per week or once per month..

Of course injuries happen. But that doesn't mean we should invite them. I'm not saying don't train balls-to-the-wall every time. I'd never say that. I think you should train like every set is the last.

I AM saying don't deadlift every week, because it's an exercise that requires more recuperation time than that. I used to not believe that, but then I got hurt, so I guess I am biased. I also used to believe that flat bench presses would never cause a problem for MY shoulders (even though much more experienced lifters told me they would). Then I hurt my shoulder. So again, I guess I'm biased.

Probably our difference in opinion comes from the fact that I am more susceptible to injury. Maybe it's my bone structure. Maybe it's just bad form? But either way I think the bottom line is that people should do what they think is right. What I think is right is, after all, only my opinion.

Besides, when a football player gets hurt and is out for 6 months, the team can still play. In the gym, I AM the team!

[mrky03]

To me its a matter of individual recovery needs. I do better deadlifting every other week. If I deadlift with maximum weights every week I will pay the price, usually with an injury. I believe its cumulative fatique over several weeks or months that cause me problems. That plus the lower back gets stressed a lot on other exercises like squats, bent over rows, stiff leg deads etc.
Also I can't see the point of doing anything below 4 reps for bodybuilding purposes. I haven't done a max single on anything in years.

I have been able to alternate rack deads with regular deads with good results lately.

[mrky03]

coldquads said:

rubicon19 said:

So should football players hold back on the field one week and go all out the next. I mean, what if they get hurt? I just dont see the prob with training ball's out everytime. Injuries happen. Whether you dead once per week or once per month..

Of course injuries happen. But that doesn't mean we should invite them. I'm not saying don't train balls-to-the-wall every time. I'd never say that. I think you should train like every set is the last.

I AM saying don't deadlift every week, because it's an exercise that requires more recuperation time than that. I used to not believe that, but then I got hurt, so I guess I am biased. I also used to believe that flat bench presses would never cause a problem for MY shoulders (even though much more experienced lifters told me they would). Then I hurt my shoulder. So again, I guess I'm biased.

Probably our difference in opinion comes from the fact that I am more susceptible to injury. Maybe it's my bone structure. Maybe it's just bad form? But either way I think the bottom line is that people should do what they think is right. What I think is right is, after all, only my opinion.

Besides, when a football player gets hurt and is out for 6 months, the team can still play. In the gym, I AM the team!

Agreed! Injury's will definitely make you reassess your training! I am hard headed when it comes to that and I've had to learn the hard way to work with my recovery ability not against it.

[RUBICON19]

Okay Rich and Joel. I see your points