Programming for the Deadlift

Brett Jones MRKC, CSCS

May 5, 2009 07:32 AM

One of the most frequent questions asked on training forums is how to structure a
routine. Sets, reps, volume and intensity form a daunting obstacle when your success is
on the line. In this article I will seek to provide you with several programming options for
the deadlift. These routines will be, in general, applicable to other lifts but volume
between upper and lower body routines will be different (and the subject of another
article).
Also note that this article assumes two things. #1 - Your movement ability is up to the
challenge of specializing on the deadlift and #2 - Your form is dialed in. (for help in both
of these areas you can use my DVD with Gray Cook - Secrets of Core Training - the
Backside which is dedicated to the deadlift)

Appreciate the Difference

Understand that training the deadlift will be different from your typical "cosmetic" routine.
Increasing your deadlift will benefit your physique, but this is a side benefit, not the main
goal. The main goal in training this movement is to increase maximum strength. Tudor
Bompa in his book Serious Strength Training refers to the maximum strength range of
training to be the 1-7 repetition ranges and is used for the purpose of increasing
strength and/or tone. Doesn't that sound like most clients' goals? Then why stick with
the typical four sets of twelve?

Fitness routines are dominated by a philosophy of confusion. Muscle confusion that is!
Constantly changing exercises in order to "shock" the body into changing. Well, if your
goal is to refine an efficient neurological pattern and increase your strength - plan on
using the same lift for quite some time. There are similar variations that will allow for a
continuation of the training effect, but switching from deadlifts to lying leg curls is not
one of them.
Continued practice of the same activity, when the variables are manipulated will result in
an incredibly accurate and powerful performance of the chosen skill. Well, strength is a
skill and should be trained as such.
Someone once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again but
expecting a different result each time. Sounds a bit like using the same set, rep and
weight scheme while rotating exercises in the hopes that it will work this time.
Therefore, the programming suggestions that will follow are meant to train for strength
and will provide routines based on manipulating certain variables within the routine.
Let's get to work.
Brutally Simple
Ocham's razor is a theory that states that all factors being equal, the simplest
explanation is the correct one. (I'll bet he was a strength athlete!). This is quickly
followed by the powerlifting saying of "he who lifts the most - lifts the most." The best
methods for increasing strength do not require a computer model and a year of
planning. Simply follow the basic guidelines for progressive resistance. Begin at a
relatively light resistance and slowly and progressively increase that resistance until you
come close to or reach a new peak for that lift. Steve Justa, in his book "Rock, Iron,
Steel- The Book of Strength and Pavel Tsatsouline in "Power to the People!", provide
excellent blueprints of brutally simple routines.
Steve Justa's strength training is based mainly on the application of singles (1
repetition) within the 70% of your 1 repetition max range. So if your best deadlift is 300,
you would begin with 210 as your working weight. In Rock, Iron, Steel - The Book of
Strength, Justa recommends daily lifting for grooving and improving one lift. No whining
about overtraining and rest days and what body parts are going to be overworked!!
When you follow an abbreviated program that does not go to failure, you are capable of
daily training. See Power to the People! for details. On Monday you would perform 3
singles, then add two singles each day until you are performing 15 singles on Sunday.
That next Monday, you would add 10-20 pounds and start again. At the end of four
weeks, you re-test your one repetition max (1rm) and recalculate your 70% working
weight and begin again.
Pavel Tsatsouline recommends a similar brand of strength training. Following the
principle that consistent practice is necessary to improve a skill, Pavel's basic program

will have you performing two sets of five repetitions. The starting weight would be
approximately 70-80% of your five-repetition maximum for the first set and a reduction
of 10% for the second set. The next day you would add five pounds to the first set and
re-calculate the second set. You continue in that manner (12-14 sessions) until you
reach a new five-repetition maximum. In Power to the People, the various forms of
cycling are discussed. Cycling involves simply rotating the intensity of your work on
different schedules. It is an excellent way to train.
There you have it. Simple, effective strength training that does not require a doctorate.
And, for those of you who do not go to the point of testing a one repetition maximum,
Tudor Bompa, in Serious Strength Training, provides a chart of calculated maximums
based different best repetitions at specific weights. With some practice and experience,
you will find your own ranges but this chart provides a starting point.
The Next Level
Simplified strength training will allow for an extended period of progress for most
trainees. However, an experienced lifter will need to "kick it up a notch!" The following
routines will require increased mental effort and will test your physical metal.
The famous Russian Squat Routine (RSR), if it is not famous to you - shame on you, is
a time-tested program for increasing either your deadlift or squat. There is an excellent
article outlining the RSR at the www.dragondoor.com site. I will provide two examples of
the routine. The first is a preparatory routine developed by Eddie Kowacz, a former
Marine, veteran of law enforcement and member of the World Martial Arts Hall of Fame.
The purpose of the pre-RSR routine is to allow the trainee an opportunity to adapt to the
volume and intensity of the full RSR.
What you will notice in the pre-RSR is a simple rotation of lower and higher intensities
and volumes on a three-day a week schedule. It works. One of the members of the
www.dragondoor.com forum added 30# to his deadlift by following the pre-RSR.
Pre- RSR
Week 1
5 sets of 3 @ 70%
5 sets of 5 @ 70%
5 sets of 3 @ 70%
Week 2
3 sets of 3 @ 75%
5 sets of 3 @ 70%
5 sets of 5 @ 70%
Week 3
5 sets of 3 @ 75%
3 sets of 3 @ 80%
5 sets of 5 @ 70%
Week 4
5 sets of 3 @ 85%
3 sets of 3 @ 80%
3 sets of 3 @ 90%

Week 5
Your choice @ 70%
Your choice @ 70%
Test for new 1 rm

The full RSR is a test of your resolve. The six week, three day a week, routine spends a
great deal of time in the 80% and above range. Treat this as a specialized routine where
you limit all other training. (You will be thankful you did.) It is a moderate volume routine
rotating 80% intensity days with both higher volume 80% sessions and eventually lower volume but increased intensity sessions. When you hit the six sets of six day (see
below), you may see dead relatives but it is only the third week of six. I personally have
seen fifty-pound increases in my deadlift during both of my RSR experiences.
The Russian Squat Routine
(Sets x Reps @ % of 1rm)
Week 1
6 x 2 @ 80%
6 x 3 @ 80%
6 x 2 @ 80%
Week 2
6 x 4 @ 80%
6 x 2 @ 80%
6 x 5 @ 80%
Week 3
6 x 2 @ 80%
6 x 6 @ 80%
6 x 2 @ 80%
Week 4
5 x 5 @ 85%
6 x 2 @ 80%
4 x 4 @ 90%
Week 5
6 x 2 @ 80%
3 x 3 @ 95%
6 x 2 @ 80%
Week 6
2 x 2 @ 100%
6 x 2 @ 80%
Test new 1rm (105%)

Another peaking plan suggested by Prof. Yuri Verkhoshansky in an interview with John
Abdo, The Verkhoshansky Seminars- Part 4 - "The Peaking Plan", is a blueprint for
effective peaking of one or multiple lifts. The six-week plan is a classic example of
"Pyramiding". In the words of the Professor -"100% cannot be trained consistently,
Strength needs a strong foundation. The stronger the foundation, the higher the peak."
Each workout will start with easy percentages and grow in intensity and then come back
down for enhanced speed and technique.
The Verkhoshansky Peaking Plan
Day 1

Day 2

Week 1
Set 1

45% X 8-10

45% X 8-10

Set 2

55% X 6-8

55% X 6-8

Set 3

65% X 6

65% X 5

Set 4

65-70% X 6

75% X 5

Set 5

65-70% X 6

80% x 5

Set 6

65-70% X 6

80% X 5

Set 7

80% X 5

Set 8

75% X 5

Set 9

65% X 6-8

Set 10

50-55% X 8-12
Week 2

Set 1

45% X 8-10

45% X 8-10

Set 2

55% X 6-8

55% X 6-8

Set 3

65% X 6

65% X 5

Set 4

70% X 5

75% X 4

Set 5

70-75% X 5

80% X 4

Set 6

70-75% X 5

85% X 4

Set 7

85% X 4

Set 8

85% X 4

Set 9

80% X 5

Set 10

70% X 6-8
Week 3

Set 1

45% X 8-10

45% X 8-10

Set 2

55% X 6-8

55% X 6-8

Set 3

65% X 5

65% X 5

Set 4

70% X 4

75% X 4

Set 5

75% X 3

85% X 3

Set 6

75-80% X 3

90% X 3

Set 7

75-85% X 3

90% X 3

Set 8

80% X 5

Set 9

55-60% X 6-10
Week 4

Set 1

45% X 8-10

45% X 8-10

Set 2

55% X 6-8

55% X 6-8

Set 3

65% X 5

65% X 5

Set 4

75% X 4

75% X 4

Set 5

80-85% X 3

85% X 2

Set 6

80-85% X 3

90% X 2

Set 7

95% X 2

Set 8

75% x 4-6
Week 5

Set 1

45% X 8-10

45% X 8-10

Set 2

55% X 6-8

55% X 6-8

Set 3

65% X 5

65% X 5

Set 4

75% X 5

75% X 3

Set 5

75% X 5

80% X 3

Set 6

85% X 2
Week 6

Set 1

45% X 8-10

45% X 8-10

Set 2

55% X 6-8

55% X 6-8

Set 3

65% X 5

65% X 5

Set 4

75% X 3

75% X 3

Set 5

80% X 2

85% X 2

Set 6

80% X 2

90% X 1

Set 7

95% X 1

Set 8

100% X 1

Set 9

102+% X 1

Set10

105++% X 1

There you have a peaking plan developed by one of the foremost experts in the field of
building strength. It provides a straightforward approach to reaching new levels of
performance in your chosen lifts.
It does not end there
There are other great routines out there. Routines by Sheyko, Smolov and others are
time tested in the iron pits of Eastern Europe and the power lifting pits of America.
Google is your friend.
Appreciate the Similarities

What you have hopefully noticed about these various routines, is that whether they are
brutally simple or taken from the next level, they all operate on the same premise. That
volume and intensity must be cycled through on a systematic basis in order to maximize
performance. While the above routines are being applied to the deadlift for the purposes
of this article, they are applicable to almost any lift, although you must reduce the
volume and intensity for upper body exercises.
Professor Verkhoshansky in his pyramid-based routines emphasizes building the base
of the pyramid because it is the foundation of strength building. Without it an athlete will
not reach their true peak. Pavel Tsatsouline suggests very simplified rotations of volume
and intensity that always return to a lower level in order to build that base. Steve Justa
spends a great deal of time building the base for strength with singles in the 70% range.
From that base all of these various routines build progressively to a peak over a period
of weeks.
On his website, Dave Draper cautions against rushing progress. This is the path to
injury and stagnation. You must be willing to put your time in - in order to reach your
potential. "Rome was not built in a day." And neither will your strength be built by
pushing too hard too soon!
For the beginning trainee, please pick one of the brutally simple routines and follow it for
the next few months. Then rotate to one of the other peaking routines. Spend your time
building your base.
For the experienced trainee, please pick one of the brutally simple routines and follow it
for a month or more. Then give the Pre-RSR routine a try. Following that you may pick
either the full RSR or the peaking plan of Prof. Verkhoshansky. Experiment and find
what works for you and your individual abilities.
In conclusion, the science of strength is based on some fairly simple premises and
(much to our benefit) is already well mapped out. Research various protocols and find
out as much as you can about building strength. So if your goals are increased tone and
strength. Do not use a cosmetically based bodybuilding routine to accomplish these
goals. Give the true strength building routines a try and watch your goals come to
fruition.

Brett Jones CSCS, MRKC, CK-FMS is a Pittsburgh based strength and conditioning
professional. He is the co-author of multiple fitness DVDs including the Secrets series
with Gray Cook (including Secrets of Core Training - The Backside - very helpful for the
DL), and Kettlebells from the Ground Up. You can contact him by email
- appliedstrength@gmail.com

DAILY DOSE DEADLIFT

PLAN
By Derek Miller
Posted on September 22, 2015. 70 Comments.

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If you know me well, you know that I LOVE strength training. If youve ever
even had dinner with me, you know I LOVE strength training. But I am not a
fan of inefficiency in training. I often scrutinize my training programs,
looking for fluff. And in so doing, I will question percentages, frequency, reps,
volume, progressions, recovery methods, and other important things (like the
phase of the moon).

Laur
a Chamorro deadlifting
If you have ever written a program for a large group of people, you realize that
the recovery methods and capabilities of separate individuals are, in fact, very
different. Everything from lifestyle to genetics to priorities and much
more have an effect on a persons recovery. So, you have a choice: write a
bajillion individual programs or write one program to rule them all (my
precious).
Now, lets pretend you have a student/client/athlete who needs to develop
multiple skills (both sport and lifting) at once. If you try to push multiple
physical attributes too hard at one time, injury or stagnation will almost
definitely occur. This article suggests a way to simplify one small facet of
training: the deadlift.

Why a Training Plateau Happens

When plateaus present themselves, in general, I suspect insufficient recovery
to be the culprit. Said another way: overtraining or training at too high of an
intensity often causes plateaus. My strategy for breaking through such a
plateau is:
1. Lower the intensity
2. Lower the volume
3. Increase the frequency
4. Eat more protein
Below is a deadlift program designed around this strategy. If your deadlift
MAX is between 1-2 times bodyweight, then this is a great program for you. If
you have a physical or tactical job or you are a fighter, this is a great program
for you. If you want to develop another skill or lift for while, this is a great
program for you.

The Logic Behind the Daily Dose Deadlift

Plan
The program is designed around 75% of your one rep max. Training at
this level feels easy. It should. Each workout will be 3-5 single reps (3 to 5 sets
of 1 rep). Training at such a low volume keeps you fresh for other activities,
such as firefighting, MMA, or any other sport fishing, in my case. The
program calls for five days a week of deadlifts.
Training this often does a lot of cool things to your nervous system. Enough
cool things that it could be a whole article and probably a book. Long story

short, this approach makes your CNS very efficient and adaptive. We
want that for strength training.

The

Daily Dose Deadlift Plan

As you can see, only six of your 45 sessions are above 75%. Thats only
~13% of the sessions. The good and the bad thing about high frequency
programs is that they reinforce your technique, good or bad. So, use
good technique. Some suggestions to aid you along the way are:
1. Pull explosively (doesnt mean sloppy)
2. Maintain your flexibility/mobility
3. Use some specific variety along the way
4. Keep your endurance work to a minimum
5. Eat enough to gain strength
Let me expand on points three and four:

Specific variety for your deadlift can be a different stance, grip, or

lifting from a deficit. Power to the People Professional by Pavel goes into
great detail about specialized variety.
When I say endurance work, it might be better to say overall
workload. If you are doing Viking Warrior Conditioning and training for
a marathon, Im very sorry. I think I got a little less strong just typing that.
Wheres my steak? At that point, you are probably already overtraining.

Im not trying to conflict with what I said earlier, but dont expect great
gains in strength, if you are carrying that kind of workload.

A few benefits to this type of programming:

1. Can have your deadlifts done in under fifteen minutes, easy
2. Increase your bodys preparedness
3. Increase your work capacity
4. Gain muscle if fed properly
5. Lose fat if fed properly
6. Build a stronger grip
7. Get to deadlift almost every day
8. WTH effect is amplified. Watch everything else become easier

How to Follow the Daily Dose Deadlift Plan

Follow the percentages and pull 3-5 single reps, five days a week. You
can lift any five days as long as they are within a seven-day week. Try for 5
singles, but if you arent feeling strong just do 3.
This program gives you the chance to learn about your bodys recovery
rhythm. You will notice some sessions will feel easy and others of the same
percentage not so easy. Even when everything else in your lifestyle is the
same, you will probably notice some slight variation in your perceived exertion
day to day. Learn from what your body tells you. You can use it in later
programs.

For warm-up reps, do as little as you feel comfortable with. Id suggest 2-4
single reps. I recommend resting 1-2 minutes between sets during your
working sets.
Key points:
1. Warm up 2-4 light singles
2. 3-5 singles (based on percentages on chart, rest 1-2 min between sets
3. Shoot for 5 training days out of 7
This plan is going to be easy and thats okay. More than likely, it will take a
couple weeks for your body to acclimate to deadlifting so often. Then, your
daily dose should somewhat normalize into a rhythm as I hinted at earlier.
Finally, lets say that you miss five days of deadlifts because you get bit by a
black mamba. Simply go back about five days from where you left off and start
from there. This is easy strength training at its purest. Perhaps,
even easier strength training but it works. Enjoy!

THE 5-WEEK TSC

DEADLIFT PLAN
By Pavel Tsatsouline
Founder and Chairman
Posted on September 1, 2014. 4 Comments.

Did where
you suddenly
not
it needsdecide
to be?to compete in the TSC and realize your deadlift is
All is not lost. If you have decent technique and you have been faithful about
building your base with sets of five, the following five-week plan will give
you more than a fighting chance of a PR.

The 5-Week TSC Deadlift Plan

The plan is built around heavy singles and this is why it is not for everyone.
Soviet experiments showed that intermediate lifters have the most to gain from
near-max lifts. Beginners tend to get hurt with such heavy weights and the
advanced burn out.
For the purposes of our plan, your max pull needs to be 1.25-1.75 times your
bodyweight if you are a lady and 2-2.5 times if you are a gent. If you are
weaker or stronger than these numbers, you need a different program.
The plan is built around a progressively heavier single each Saturdayfour
Saturdays before the TSC:
1. 85% 1RM
2. 88%

3. 91%
4. 94%
5. TSC: Max
Work up to the listed single using low reps and large weight jumps. For
example:
50% x 4
60% x 3
70% x 2
75% x 1 (optional)
80% x 1
85% x 1
91% x 1
After the heavy single rest for a few minutes, take 5% of your 1RM off the bar,
and do one hard back-off set. All the reps must be done from a dead stop.
Grindbut stop before your form gets compromised. Never let your lower
back go into flexion!

John Inzer, who

pulled a historic 780 at 165lbs of bodyweight, trained with heavy singles
followed by tough back-off sets.
StrongFirsts standard operating procedure of terminating a set as soon
as the reps start slowing down does not apply to this program. You must
grind these deads to prepare yourself to fight through the sticking point on the
TSC day. Not to be abused over a long term, this combination of a heavy
single and a hard back-off set of 6-10 reps is a very powerful short-term tactic.
There is no back-off set on week four, after the 94% single. With the back-off
sets your plan looks like this:
1. 85% x 1, 80% x RM
2. 88% x 1, 83% x RM
3. 91% x 1, 86% x RM
4. 94% x 1
5. TSC: Max
If you are an explosive puller, add a speed day on Tuesdays, e.g., 65% for 1015 singles. If you are a grinder, do no more pulls than listed.

Power to your pulls!

REGISTER FOR THE TACTICAL STRENGTH CHALLENGE
Pavel Tsatsouline

Pavel Tsatsouline is the Founder and Chairman of StrongFirst, Inc.

Power to the People programming summary

Tonight I read Power to the People and thought I'd make a summary. The salesmanship
does help sell the idea of the program but boiled down there isn't much "what do I actually
do?" information. Anything critical that I missed?
Power to the People Program (strength not size)
Workout five days per week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Every
workout is the same. Workouts take about 25 minutes.
A deadlift variant
today's work weight x 5 reps
90% of today's work weight x 5 reps
A press variant
today's work weight x 5 reps
90% of today's work weight x 5 reps

Do not attempt a rep if there is any chance you might fail!

Standard mixed grip deadlift (alternate grip each set) is suggested but other
variants are also mentioned and explained
Side press is suggested (which must mean doing it on both sides) but other
presses are also mentioned and explained
3-5 seconds up for deadlift and press
drop weight to floor for deadlift
3-5 seconds down for press
3-5 minutes rest between sets
You can swap the order and do the press before the deadlift if you want to.
Use chalk. No belt. No straps. No shoes (deadlift slippers ok if your gym
requires shoes)
No pre-workout stretching or warm-up sets. If you must then just do a couple
lighter sets with two or three reps just to get into the groove. I haven't read
the power stretching chapter thoroughly.

Cycling

Effective cycles are 8-16 workouts.

Deadlift and press cycles can be independent.
Start a cycle with 70-80% of your 5RM or a weight you can comfortably do 10
reps.
You can increase the weights in a linear, flexible wave, structured wave, or step
pattern during the cycle. Linear is +5 pounds per workout. Flexible wave is +5
pounds per workout and decrease weight when feeling tired and then work
upwards again. Structured wave is +5 pounds per workout for four workouts
and then -15 pounds and then work upwards again. Step pattern is +5 pounds
then same weight for a one or several more workouts followed by another
increase.

Russian Bear Program (strength and size)

Same as the Power to the People Program but with added back off sets for both the deadlift
and the press. Workouts take about 45 minutes. A back off set is
80% of today's work weight x 5 reps

Do as many back off sets as possible with good form (maybe 5-25 sets)
30-90 second rests between back off sets
Reduce workout frequency but not by much [perhaps 3 or 4 days per week?]
Eat a lot especially protein (e.g. meat, eggs, milk)
Rest a lot
Reduce stress in life

The 5x5x5 Mind Over Muscle Program

This program is not from Power to the People. I think it is interesting in relation to the
Power to the People program as it is similar but with more variety of exercises. It appeared
in an article Pavel wrote for Muscle Media magazine and the article is available on
Bodybuilding.com.

Select five basic exercises for your whole body. (For example you could use
squat, deadlift, press, bench press, pull-ups.)
Perform all of them five days a week, Monday through Friday.
Start every workout with two or three singles to gauge what the work set
weight should be.
Do only one work set of five per exercise, leaving a couple of reps in the bank.
Focus on staying tight, power breathing and the perfect groove.
After five weeks, test your maxes and switch to a different type of routine

"The usual 5x5x5 pattern is a very strong start on Monday, a PR on Tuesday, Wednesday
could go either way. Thursday and Friday are downhill as fatigue builds up. By Monday you
will be rested and ready to smash new records."
Logs

Campbell's Russian Bear report

NKT's Russian Bear log
MazdaMatt goes on the Russian Bear program
aron on the Russian Bear
newsole on the Russian Bear

Last edited by spiderman; 11-10-2011 at 11:21 PM. Reason: add a few details, log links, and Mind Over
Muscle summary

Deadlift Singles Success Story

David Whitley, SRKC, CK-FMS
January 25, 2010 03:47 PM

In early November 2009 I moved my Nashville Kettlebell Bootcamp classes indoors for
the winter, renting a back room at a local gym that looks a lot like the basement from
Fight Club. At least, if I could talk about fight club that's what I'd say.
The actual gym area is quite well equipped and on a whim I decided to do a few
deadlifts. I was just back from spending a few days in Oklahoma with the Redneck
Ninja, SRKC Jeff O'Connor and after spending the majority of the past year outdoors
flinging kettlebells around, deadlifting was a fun and exciting idea to me.
I hadn't pulled for some time, so spent most of November playing around with Power to
the People-style templates and working on the technique improvements Jeff had given
me. By the end of the month I pulled 500lbs again, bringing me within 15lbs of my best
ever.
The week of Thanksgiving I spoke with Pavel and he said " I have a routine that I think
will work well for you, I'll send it to you." The exact routine is listed below, pulled from
that e-mail.
The history of this program
Pavel assembled this odd WSB/PTP hybrid a few years ago and posted it on Dragon
Door. Recently the routine resurfaced with the post on our forum by former RKC Nick
Fraser:
"Been training with weights since about the age of 13 mainly to compliment martial arts
and Rugby. Over the years tried many modalities and systems, most to complicated for
their own good. My training started to evolve and my strength increase after reading an
article [by Pavel] entitled "Commando PT" on Charles Staley's old site. After a little
research I ordered PTP, the volume of training decreased and my strength increased
exponentially. Looking back through my old training logs, my first deadlifts were well
under 200lbs. Subsequent cycles took me to a 1RM of 450. Two weeks ago I pulled 540
@ 150 bodyweight at age 44 [using the plan laid out in this article]. I attended the Sept
2002 RKC cert and have since switched between KB and powerlifting cycles. I have at
times attempted to mix training styles but time in the trenches has taught me to
concentrate on 1 thing at a time."
On Nov. 30th I began in earnest with the following program, the primary goal being to
see how good I could get at deadlifting and to see how much weight I could pull off the
floor. My secondary goal was to up my double kettlebell press weight. Pavel's advice
was simply "Just push the volume". The details of the presses are a story for another

time.
I began with a 500lb 1 RM in shorts, without a belt, wearing Vibram 5 Fingers. On Jan
14th in the same shorts, same shoes and same lack of a belt, I tested my 1RM and
pulled 565lbs, a 65lb gain in 7 weeks and a full 50lbs above my all-time best ever.
Here is what I did, plug your own numbers into the formula. When in doubt, round up.
Lifts based on current 1RM, rest 30 - 45 secs between lifts
Week 1
Day 1 65% 15 Singles
Day 2 70% 12 Singles
Day 3 75% 10 Singles
Day 4 80% 8 Singles
Day 5 85% 6 Singles
Day 6 Off
Day 7 Off
Week 2
Add 10 lbs to each day's lift from Week 1
Week 3
Add 10lbs to each day's lift from Week 2
Week 4
Unload with Steve Wilson DL routine from original RKC book
2-3 sets DL 2-3 times/week @ 26-32% 1RM
OR
2-3 sets 20 kb snatches/swings 2-3 times per week.
(I did the Wilson routine twice and did a bunch of swings and snatches with a single
40kg kettlebell 2 other days that week)
Week 5
Add 5lbs to each day's lift from Week 3
Week 6
Add 5lbs to each day's lift from week 5
Week 7

Day 1 Off
Day 2 Off
Day 3 Off
Day 4 Off
Day 5 Off
Day 6 MAX Day (I actually did my MAX test on Thursday, I had a KB workshop to teach
on Saturday)
Day 7 Off
Week 8
Unload as Week 4
Other contributing factors

Pressing 5 days per week, 2 days relatively light weight with medium volume
30-40reps total), 2 days medium weight and high volume (50-80 total reps), 1
day heavy with moderate volume (20-30reps total).

Movement- I spent 10-20 minutes doing various CKFMS drills and Getups prior
to the heavy lifting.

Bending Steel- I find this is a great way to ignite my nervous system and
prepare for the tension to come. It's also an excellent gauge for recovery. If my
bending is strong, everything else is too. If my bending is down a little, I know I
need rest.

Eating everything with arms reach. I put on around 20lbs. The timing of the
cycle with the Christmas and New Year holidays was perfect. "C" is for Cookie,
that's good enough for me.

That's the story. I highly recommend this routine to anyone who wants to quickly to a
peak deadlift, perhaps even driving it into uncharted territory.

David Whitley, is a SRKC, CK-FMS and performing strongman based in Nashville TN.
Visit his site www.irontamer.com
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