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View Full Version : The Deathlift! An article by Marshall Johnson.



Freakshowelite
05-09-13, 1:27 pm
The DEATHLIFT! The one true test of strength. The one lift that is still relatively untouched by the advancements of powerlifting gear. People now a days can put a lot of time into mastering their supportive gear and get hundreds of pound of carry over. Especially in the squat and bench. But the deadlift stands alone as a lift that you either have or you don't. Only one man has pulled a 1,000lbs in a sanction meet, and thats Andy Bolton, doing it twice. Benedict Magnusson how ever has successfully pulled an amazing 1015lbs in a non sanction meet, and raw! Heading down the list of amazing deadlifters we find that only 13 men in history have ever pulled 900lbs or above. I wanted to know what makes an elite deadlifter, is it mental, physical, genetics, a solid training program, what? I had the great honor and privilege of taking some time to communicate with three of the best deadlifters of all time. You have the legend Ed Coan and Vince Urbank who have successfully pulled 900+ in a sanction meet. Also I got to speak with Elitefts's own Steve Goggins, who has pulled 900lbs hook grip in training. I wanted to know what was the difference between an 800lb deadlifter, and a 900lb deadlifter. I asked the three of them the same two questions. Below is an uncut response from each of them about the subject. Enjoy!

1. What are some misconceptions about building a huge deadlift(that you personally have found)
2.Can you tell us what has contributed the most to your amazing pull(physically, mentally, spiritually, training method)

Vince Urbank:
Some common misconceptions I have found are: Lifters assuming that their lifting should be tied to a particular frequency ie “I have to squat every week” or “I have to deadlift every week”, a lifters recovery depends on age, bodyweight, sex, lifting experience, current strength level, training style leading up to that point, etc. So if your recovery is constantly changing why would you always rest the same amount?
Beginner/weaker lifters need to train more often, experienced/very strong lifters need more rest. Be honest with yourself, if you have been powerlifting for 10 years and you deadlift 500 at 308, you aren’t an experienced lifter limited by your genetics, you don’t need more rest, you have not trained and recovered properly and now you are paying the price for your mistakes and you have essentially kept yourself at a beginner level despite training for a considerable time.
Assistance exercises; they can help, but there is no replacement for doing the movement competition style and training to become powerful through that exact range of motion and from that position. Don’t be lazy and say rack pulls are good enough because you are tired from squatting, or do band pulls and tell yourself that is as good or better than pulling weight from the floor powerlifting style.
Straps: They can be good to help keep the grip from becoming overtrained, but don’t rely on them and don’t max with them unless you are a strongman and your upcoming show allows it. Too many lifters build a huge deadlift while using straps as a crutch so heavily in training that their strapless max ends up being far below their max with straps.
Squat/Deadlift; both are heavy lower body exercises that tax the nervous system. Both involve the same muscle groups (although in differing proportions), so by increasing strength in the back, hamstrings, glutes, quads, and increasing nervous system efficiency and output..How could they not both increase at the same time? Or at least maintain one while increasing the other. Don’t blame lack of deadlift gains on your squat gains or vice versa, once again, be honest with yourself and reevaluate your training.
What I feel has contributed to my pull the most physically is both following a clean/whoe food diet and not eating any junk or processed food and doing a lot of manual labor and exercise from a very young age. Through my teenage years before I ever started lifting weights at 16-17 I had already been doing calisthenics/sprints/jumps for years. I feel that many years of exercise has helped my muscular development and helped me learn what food and training my body needs to reach my next goal. Mentally/spiritually I think the biggest factor to achieving big lifts is not believing that others are better than you, you have to truly believe that you can do anything that anyone else has ever done and more if you have a smart enough plan and are willing to do whatever it takes to reach that goal. I also believe it is very important to have a constant positive attitude about yourself and whatever your current situation is, don’t waste any time or energy responding to or engaging negative people. Surround yourself with positive people that respect you for having a huge goal and encourage you both for who you are and what you are determined to work towards.
Training method; Train heavy and basic, your heavy training on the primary movements should be primarily with the contest version of the movement, or sometimes a very close variation. Reps will obviously go down as the meet gets closer, but you shouldn’t go more than 5 reps on squat and 2-3 reps on deadlift per set and if you do try to keep it limited to one big set (especially in the 8-10 weeks pre-contest). If you get weaker from one session to the next, you are overtraining and need to rest more. Speed work is great for increasing power, but doing it on a constant scheduled basis (ie every week) is a waste of time and available recovery. You will not continually get faster indefinitely, at least not to any significant measurable degree. So save the speed work for when you need an extended break between heavy sessions and your lifts have been slowing down. You get substantial “speed” training on your heavy days if you are being as fast and explosive as possible on your warm-ups.
*Vince is proudly sponsored by Grecian Ideal Nutrition http://www.ginutrition.net/

Steve Goggins:
Most elite lifters say you shouldn't use straps when deadlifting. I find this to be untrue for myself. I was able to build a tremendous amount of strength in my back by using straps. You still have to work your deadlift without straps, as well. Another misconception is that you should stop in between each rep. It's okay to touch and go, as long as you don't bounce the weight off the floor. I also think a lot of people think that once you pull a deadlift, you have to let it down hard and fast. My experience in training, in between each rep I always let the bar down slow, in a negative type fashion. When you're deadlifting in a meet, it's okay to let the bar down fast, just as long as you're under control. Some people think you need to train your deadlift more than once a week. I, in my own experience, haven't found this to be of no benefit. Another misconception is that one should pull 90+% one week before a meet. You can, but your results won't be what you expect or what they should be. I would always stop 14 to 21 days out for my last heavy pull. Beginners think that when you start to pull heavy you should use more arms and upper body to pull the weight off the floor. Using your upper body does nothing more than cause you to lean way forward and use more lower back. Keep your arms as straight as possible and your shoulders relaxed as possible to get the best benefit(s).
I have to say what's contributed the most for me is that I stayed injury-free for almost all of my career with the exception of a few minor injuries. I for a fact know that heavy rack pulls throughout most of my career helped take my deadlift to another level. Consistency and hard work was a must, which resulted in a total commitment to the sport.

Ed Coan:
The deadlift is not a tricky lift. It's pretty easy. You bend over and pick up the weight. Now, how you get the most out of it can be tricky. I think the misconception with deadlifting is heavy heavy heavy way too much. You can also go way too light on Speed work. The weight has to be enough that there is a carryover. Too light and it won't work, too heavy and you overtrain.
I usually changed it up after a contest and did a variation of the deadlift for a whole cycle. I usually picked a deadlift variation that worked my weakest spot. For me, i liked to do a stifflegged deadlift cycle. It lasted 9 weeks while standing on a 3 inch block. 3 weeks of 8, 3 weeks of 6, 3 weeks of 4. I also paused them on the bottom.
#2 the mental approach is easy! If you set up a good program that is very "doable", your confidence builds during the whole cycle and by the end, your strong as shit mentally. People forget that it's a long process to be good at any lift. Your expectations have to be reasonable. Dont think you can go up 30~40 lbs every cycle. Take your time and you'll get there. I really did have great training partners along the way. They knew me and all my little hangups and let me be me. Take care, Eddy

tomysaw
05-09-13, 4:55 pm
Ed Coan is the most influential person to my powerlifting career. Great article.

Firefist
05-09-13, 8:59 pm
Thanks for takin the time to compile that marshall.

Kyle Lombardo
05-09-13, 9:19 pm
This is a great article and I really enjoyed reading it!! Def some of the best dead lifters of all time- GREAt!!

ACarter92
05-10-13, 9:46 am
Sick article, thanks for posting this!

Freakshowelite
05-10-13, 3:17 pm
Thanks everyone, it was so cool getting to speak with these three guys

APB
05-19-13, 2:20 pm
Great article, thanks for posting man

Ernie Lilliebridge Sr
05-31-13, 3:59 am
3 very different people! Heights, body weights , lifting styles , etc. Just goes to prove there is no best answer, or style or method. You must find what works for you! Great article Marshall!

Freakshowelite
05-31-13, 3:23 pm
3 very different people! Heights, body weights , lifting styles , etc. Just goes to prove there is no best answer, or style or method. You must find what works for you! Great article Marshall!

thanks ernie, we'll be seeing you soon!

Altered Beast
05-31-13, 4:08 pm
The Deadlift is both my favorite lift and my genetic strength due to my mechanics.

Thanks for posting this.

Freakshowelite
06-03-13, 2:31 pm
The Deadlift is both my favorite lift and my genetic strength due to my mechanics.

Thanks for posting this.

Absolutely your welcome AB

P Diesel
06-04-13, 11:28 am
Thanks Marshall. very enjoyable read brotha

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Freakshowelite
06-04-13, 1:06 pm
Thanks Marshall. very enjoyable read brotha

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absolutely your welcome