How To Deadlift 495lb - 5 Plates

This year I raised my Deadlift PR by 55lb, pulling 495lb yesterday morning. I posted earlier in the year about my Deadlift history. The middle of last year was my first time pulling 405lb. The year before that I was pulling 315lb (for 8 reps). To think I could be pulling 585lb at the end of next year sounds insane, but it's possible.

For at least the first half of the year, I was plateaued around 450-465, and my lift wasn't that clean looking, and my technique began to dissolve a bit. I solved the problem first switching to a mixed grip, which I find sets my back and locks it into place much more than double overhand with straps. I tried pulling with a mixed grip and straps, but it feels a little awkward, and makes the bar unnecessarily larger in circumference.

So after adapting a mixed grip, I found my hands were falling apart as they were destroyed after every lifting day, and was preventing progress. I didn't understand why my hands were getting so beat up as I had good hand care, but the answer was ultimately chalk. I do a lot of research, and it's easy to bypass little tips and heeded warnings. I assumed chalk would be too messy and would get me kicked immediately from my gym. But it turns out, it's pretty easy to not spill much chalk and benefit greatly.

Chalk is a drying agent. Our bodies are 50-65% water, and when your hands dry up, they become hard like armor, and prevent things from hurting you because you don't have soft fleshy bits exposed. The chalk also enhances your grip. You have so much friction from the chalk and the bar that nothing can budge your grip. It's truly a safety tool in the respect that you'll be less likely to drop the bar (in bench press for example). Pull-Ups require less effort as your grip is more cemented to the bar. Hanging straight leg raises are easier to perform. All lifts are enhanced including squats to prevent the bar from moving.

The inclusion of a belt is also an essential tool. The first time I pulled 420lb my spine was hurt in a minor fashion that affected me for a few months. I pulled 420lb for a dozen singles without using a belt, but since having the belt, I use it for practically every rep. It protects your spine and gives you the confidence to pull, knowing you'll be safe. You'll still need good technique, but there's less chance of injury. My other favorite aspect of wearing a belt is that your recovery time improves because the lower back doesn't get as taxed and thus doesn't need to recover as hard.

You might think that wearing a belt too often may not develop the lower back, but the muscle still gets worked - just in a shorter ROM (range of motion) because of the belt, and in a safer ROM.