Help, my DL is stuck ...

[DonQKong]

Guys and comrades,

I need some help here, my DL is stuck. For those of you following my ROAD TO 1150 , you know I'm in my last week of a 4 month cycle - test/tren/mast/tbol and that my lifts have increased 20-25% in spite of forcing weight down.

My deadlift though is stuck. It used to be my best lift. No matter what I did, it always went up, but its been sitting exactly where I started - at 180kg / 430 lbs and won't budge.

Overtraining can be a factor. I used to DL every day before Bulgarian style and had some crazy gains. Now I DL twice a week. It may be its too much seeing I pull much heavier now, but with 1.5g of juice every week accompanied by a good diet, I should be able to recover with two DL sessions a week....no? I train 7 days per week. 4 heavy. 3 light.

The other factor is that if I failed on DL before, I couldn't get it off the ground, so my pull off the ground with leg drive wasn't there. Now, though, I get the fucker 2-3 inches off the ground, and then it just halts and crashes.

I am an intermediate lifter with 20 years of going to the gym, 3 training focused and non-interrupted powerlifting. 190cm / 100 kg. 44 years old. Got injuries, yes, but shouldn't be a factor here. I got good form. I think I have good form. I use kneesleeves, a waist belt and lifting straps if that is of importance.

Any suggestions ?

Thanks team !

DQ

 

[ickyrica]

Heavy deads are most likely crushing your CNS and you need more recovery time. DL have a serious impact on the body for some people, myself included.

Try rack pulls, paused deads, band work, speed work etc. Mix up what you're doing for a bit.

 

[Gobuckeyes0122]

I find that I deadlift better when not doing anything heavy with my legs 2 days prior to deadlifting, or even hard cardio a day prior. I used to squat light on Wednesday and deadlift on Friday but I found I lift better on Friday if I just take Wednesday off. It was affecting my recovery, maybe take some days off. Just a thought.

 

[franchise24]

Are you doing variations of your competition pull?

 

[staynattybruh]

What do you do other than DL itself? What accesories? What programs have you tries? Are you eating enough?


Lots of questions need to be answered.

 

[Eman]

Deadlifting twice a week is too much, IMO.

For me, once a week is too much. Every other week with a variation/accessory in between is better. I typically do rack pulls one week and deadlifts the next. I squat twice a week which helps deadlift.

Deadlifting everyday would be horrible IMO, way too taxing on the cns.

 

[DonQKong]

Are you doing variations of your competition pull?

I was doing bar rows bent over, chin ups, But AS for DL, it's always the same. 5/3/1, then pyramid down and probably 40 reps or so all in

 

[DonQKong]

What do you do other than DL itself? What accesories? What programs have you tries? Are you eating enough?

.

I do the magic 3, and accessories to support the 3: core, dips, pull-ups. Lately I've added skullcrushers and sometimes army press/bent over rows

As for programs, I am very happy with Bulgarian. StrongLifts 5*5 kept
Me going late winter and I've done smolov for squats.

Eating enough...I've lost 20 pounds through eating healthy and doing DNP / Sibutramine runs, but my other lifts are increasing so I think I'm cool as for food.

 

[Xlgx]

Get back to basics
Wendlers 5/3/1

 

[Brandaddy]

Probably just burnt out. You really shouldn't need more than 5 days a week of lifting. If you're coming close to failure on any of your sets for big compound lifts and lifting 7 days a week, you're probably going to burn out fast.

 

[RodgerThat]

Probably just burnt out. You really shouldn't need more than 5 days a week of lifting. If you're coming close to failure on any of your sets for big compound lifts and lifting 7 days a week, you're probably going to burn out fast.

^that is it right there you're hindering yourself. All the strongest guys on this board train 4 days a week. Recovery is equal to the training it should be a priority for all serious athletes

 

[nickels]

Decrease deadlift frequency, sub with high-rep back extensions on the machine for about six weeks.

 

[nkosibaas]

Deadlifting is the best. Easily my favorite exercise. Like everyone else is saying here though - extremely taxing to the CNS. I do 1 or 2 sessions a week with some variation of a pull in them, but you have to be aware - if I go anywhere in the 95% range I need at least 14 days without pulling heavy to recover fully. Now in that time I still do variations but I'll be doing triples (at the heaviest) and focusing on bar speed and muscle cuing.

Squatting can (generally) be brought up by increasing frequency. Deadlift is all about form. Growing your bench is fucking random luck and magic coupled with all the steroids.

 

[DonQKong]

Allright, I am going to give it another go here. This is the plan (High Intensity Day 1, Low Intensity Day 3, Daily Max Day 5) :

Week 1: D1 - 5*5@90% of 5RM, D3 - 2*5@80% of 5RM, D5 - 5/3/1
Week 2: D1 - 5*5@90%+5kg of 5RM, D3 - 2*5@80%+5kg of 5RM, D5 - 5/3/1
Repeat until week 7, then do 5/3/1 for a week until it drops due to fatigue.
No accessory work, no juice.

I will also do Smolov JR for 4 weeks for bench (so when I start failing on DL, I'll stop benching intensively) Squats....keep 5/3/1 until week 9'ish when DL intensity goes down. Then Texas method for squat.

14 weeks all together.

What'cha think?

 

[JC456]

Not being harsh mate but planning to add 5kg each week for 2 months is not a plan. It's wishful thinking.

 

[DonQKong]

Not being harsh mate but planning to add 5kg each week for 2 months is not a plan. It's wishful thinking.

See that one mate lol. It's been stuck for half a year now, and I should have typed out better that I will add 5kgs every week until failure

 

[JC456]

See that one mate lol. It's been stuck for half a year now, and I should have typed out better that I will add 5kgs every week until failure

You were perfectly clear.

What will you do when you fail?

 

[JC456]

I've had a brief look through your log. In just 6 pages I've seen at least

• 3 changes to your stack
• Addition of DNP
• Multiple injuries and potential injuries in the future
• An unreasonably high level of hormones
• Multiple failed lifts at max weights seemingly every week

You need to dial everything back, and get on a sensible program. You're walking towards either serious health issues or further injuries.

Sorry if this comes across as harsh but you are all over the place, and this has to be said for your safety.

 

[DonQKong]

You were perfectly clear.

What will you do when you fail?

I think what I will do is repeat the previous week on the same weight and see if I get it nailed the upcoming week. If it happens early (week 4), I may reconsider and just go 5/3/1.

I've had a brief look through your log. In just 6 pages I've seen at least

• 3 changes to your stack
• Addition of DNP
• Multiple injuries and potential injuries in the future
• An unreasonably high level of hormones
• Multiple failed lifts at max weights seemingly every week

You need to dial everything back, and get on a sensible program. You're walking towards either serious health issues or further injuries.

Sorry if this comes across as harsh but you are all over the place, and this has to be said for your safety.

This fall I will be staying away from the juice. May add some low levels of test, but basically stay cruising until the spring.

DNP! Love it and hate it. Stick with sibutramine these days, less sides. Weight control is important to stay in -93 kg class.

The failed maxes were disappointing, which is why I am trying Texas and dialling back as opposed to a "Daily Max", which worked wonders a few years ago.

I don't know if the 170 kg is a genetical limit or age constrained, but I will keep on switching around until I find out how to get through the Plateau. Getting up to 170 kg was a breeze.

DQ

 

[franchise24]

I think what I will do is repeat the previous week on the same weight and see if I get it nailed the upcoming week. If it happens early (week 4), I may reconsider and just go 5/3/1.



This fall I will be staying away from the juice. May add some low levels of test, but basically stay cruising until the spring.

DNP! Love it and hate it. Stick with sibutramine these days, less sides. Weight control is important to stay in -93 kg class.

The failed maxes were disappointing, which is why I am trying Texas and dialling back as opposed to a "Daily Max", which worked wonders a few years ago.

I don't know if the 170 kg is a genetical limit or age constrained, but I will keep on switching around until I find out how to get through the Plateau. Getting up to 170 kg was a breeze.

DQ

I agree with @JC456 multiply failed attempts at or near max attempts isn't good.

Is there a part in deadlift that is weak?
Have you tried variations? I.e deficit pulls, SLD RDL
Maybe add in some Sumo pulls as a accessory.
Work on weaknesses. You're seasoned so I'm sure some of this rhetorical.

Recovery. Maybe not enough recovery time for you