It took me about 7 years to get to Deadlifting 495lb, and I
want to hash over what allowed me to pull that amount of weight. This is not a
story of steroids, or just an easy progression, which is why I think it could
be helpful for other people, and show them what is possible.
When I started Deadlifting, the heaviest I got to was 320lb,
and it was for 11 reps with wrist straps. I wasn’t Deadlifting from the ground
though so it was probably more of a Rack Lift. I believe I was using a bench
press bench. And I’m not quite sure why I decided to do that, but I think it
just seemed more approachable, and required less flexibility and mobility than
a Deadlift from the ground. I quickly thereafter switch to pulling from the ground.
And I tried very hard to maintain good form, and peaked at 245lb for 9 reps.
At this point I deloaded to keep technique sharp, and
decided to try and get more volume and linearly progress so I did 8 reps of
210lb and kept going up in weight by 5lb each session. About 6 months later I
was Deadlifting 385lb for 8 reps. And after that I deloaded again, and this
time did 2 sets of 8 starting with 200lb and made it to 375lb of 2 sets of 8. I
think sometimes you get tired of lifting what’s heavy for yourself contextually.
So I started doing lower weight again, but one day tried 405lb for a single and
was successful. I would mess around doing lighter weights for a few sessions,
and pull a 1 rep max until I got to 450lb through linear progress, and deloaded,
and ramped back up to 465lb. After that my next best feat was 5 reps of 405lb.
My deadlifting progress basically evaporated after that. I
went on to do 405lb for about 10 singles one day, and I think it killed me. I
also recall Deadlifting 420lb on two separate occasions and having back pain
afterwards. All of my deadlifts were done with wrist straps, and I think that
was a fundamental error. Another error was feeling so strong that I would jump
too much in progression. I attempted to pull 495lb two times prior to my
successful pull, and both of those times left me with lingering injuries that
kept me out of the weight room.
The last 495lb that was unsuccessful actually kept me injured
for 2 years. My body completely came out of shape. I don’t have any terms for
the injuries. But I had and still have 2 bad wrists, 2 bad elbows, 1 bad ankle,
and my knees usually hold up, but can be tender sometimes during deadlifts. I
also kept reinjuring rib muscles, usually in the back, and usually from squats.
I had to learn how to lift with these injuries, and how to
not get injured so frequently. From the weight lifting site Rogue, I bought
Voodoo Flossing bands that I’d wrap around my wrists. It worked OK, but
sometimes they’d come too loose during a lift, and it would flare up an injury
quick. I also couldn’t go to the gym 6 days a week any more. I could do a
workout, but my wrists and elbows would require days to recover. So I didn’t
have the choice of doing a body part split. It had to be everything I do in one
work-out for that week. I was doing 1 or 2 workouts a week because of this.
I switched to using tape on my wrists, and I found this to
work much better as it wouldn’t come as loose as the voodoo flossing (12ft rubber
bands). And I experimented with different types of tape, and realized there was
a huge difference in some tapes versus others as far as adhesion, structural
support, and how easy it comes off or not, and how much it’s affected by water
or sweat.
I settled on a tape I very much so liked, but after a few
orders of 30 rolls or so, they stopped selling them, and it really left me
lost. One of the most popular tapes and easiest to buy just wasn’t strong
enough. I continue to buy that type though because I found that I like to have
a strong tape that’s more expensive generally for the initial wrap of the
wrists and elbows, and then use the cheaper, less effective tape atop it, which
does add more support.
One of the deadlifting injuries with 495lb left my left
wrist pretty mangled. And I could no longer use wrist wraps because it caused
so much pain. That was the beginning of pulling with bare hands, and is something
I should have been doing long ago. I got into doing more deadlift variations to
keep my volume up, and made very steady slow progress. For a few years I ran
5/3/1 program, which is admittedly slow progress, and eventually I switched to
the GZCL method, which is a variation of 5/3/1. And did that a few years. More
recently though I abandoned all programs for Deadlifting, and just went back to
linear progress. This went on for maybe a
year. Each Deadlift workout, I did 32 reps with weights above 200lb. I found
when the weights got too heavy, it was becoming a chore, and I was closer to
injury, so I deloaded when it felt right.
It had been some time since I tried a one rep max, and this
time around decided to do two singles of my heaviest weight. I believe I
started this method because the squat racks were often taken, so I figured I’d
compensate by working up to two heavy singles. It may have started at around
420lb as the heavy weight, and I just went up 5lb about every 2 weeks. So that’s
about 30 weeks of getting to 495lb. I could tell the progression felt right,
and I was feeling strong. And only recently did I start wearing a weight
lifting belt as I did 5 years ago. I think I started wearing it with 470lb. I
did one rep traditional stance, and the other sumo stance.
And the was just not much of a struggle as it was in the past
those first two times I tried 495lb. I remember badly hitching the weight both
times. Whereas this time and for two singles, they were clean lifts, and It’s great
because my one rep max is obviously heavier. I remember some lifters saying
they don’t’ do one rep maxes, and that you can if you choose to, only do 8 rep
maxes, or 5 rep maxes with your heaviest weight, and never go heavier.
So looking back at my progress despite the injuries, I’d say
what allowed me to lift 495lb for two singles for the first time was
programming in volume (total amount of reps). I think I got to caught up in
programming with 5/3/1 and GZCL and forgot about the power of linear progression.
If you do advance in heavy weights too quickly, I’ve heard that your body doesn’t
adapt fast enough (tissue, tendons, bone, muscle, and fascia).
I don’t really know where I go from here since that was a
goal for 7 years. I know I can do 500lb for two singles, but I’m not sure how
high I want to keep going for right now. Having unsuccessful lifts can really deteriorate
motivation and confidence. According to exrx.net Deadlifting Standards for my
weight of about 200lb, the Elite status is 565lb, and that sounds like a far
away journey. I definitely don’t think it’s impossible.
