# Deadlifting for PR's



## Gadawg (Jan 6, 2019)

So, because of my early recovery I need to set and chase goals more than ever. I have a solid bench press already so i decided that a 600 lb deadlift was a respectable goal to go after. Today I maxed out so I would know where Im at. I topped out at 545 and was really happy with that. I thought that was pretty good for a guy who doesnt squat and trains entirely for hypertrophy.  But holy shit, I almost blacked out. I maintained good form but my vision started to close in and I saw stars for minutes after. 

Any tips for chasing a PR on deads?  Ps- I do conventional, double overhand.


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## PillarofBalance (Jan 6, 2019)

You almost fainted because you took air into the chest is all.

Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly button. Breathe in thru your nose slowly and fill your abdomen with air. The hand on your chest shouldn't move. The one on your stomach will rise. Breathe out thru the mouth.

Once you get that down, move to step two. Brace. With a belly full of air, hold your breath. Tuck your ribs down to your pelvis like you are about to get punched in the stomach. 

Now do it at the bar. You should be so tight that it's hard to get down to the bar with all that air. You might feel like your head is gonna explode but you get used to that.


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## Gadawg (Jan 6, 2019)

PillarofBalance said:


> You almost fainted because you took air into the chest is all.
> 
> Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly button. Breathe in thru your nose slowly and fill your abdomen with air. The hand on your chest shouldn't move. The one on your stomach will rise. Breathe out thru the mouth.
> 
> ...




Thanks as always man!  It was definitely not a fun feeling but picking up a lot of weight was pretty dick hardening. 

Im gonna get busy really making my shoulder mobility improve so I can start getting under a squat bar. Enough of this


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## ToolSteel (Jan 6, 2019)

PillarofBalance said:


> You almost fainted because you took air into the chest is all.
> 
> Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly button. Breathe in thru your nose slowly and fill your abdomen with air. The hand on your chest shouldn't move. The one on your stomach will rise. Breathe out thru the mouth.
> 
> ...


545 double overhand for a bber, I’m going to make an educated guess and say he’s probably using straps. Throws a wrench into the proper breathing thing. 

May I suggest hook grip?

:32 (10):


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## notsoswoleCPA (Jan 6, 2019)

We all make that mistake at least once.  It happened to me last year when I was trying fasted workouts in the early AM doing squats.  I only had 315 on the bar, but my body started to go totally limp on the third rep of my last set.  I was able to recover without dumping out, but it was a scary experience for a split second knowing that I wasn't in control of my lift.  In fact, it scared the ever living sh*t out of me.


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## DieYoungStrong (Jan 6, 2019)

You need to learn how to get your air and brace properly. Pillar has it explained. Chris Duffin has a pretty damn good YouTube vid on proper bracing. Need to get the air into your diaphragm and not your chest.


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## PillarofBalance (Jan 6, 2019)

ToolSteel said:


> 545 double overhand for a bber, I’m going to make an educated guess and say he’s probably using straps. Throws a wrench into the proper breathing thing.
> 
> May I suggest hook grip?
> 
> :32 (10):



Good find, I missed that. 

X2 on the hook grip

Muahahahahaha


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## DieYoungStrong (Jan 6, 2019)

Also when you feel like you are going down, take a knee right away. You don’t want to become a YouTube video if someone blacking out and dropping headfirst into a stack of plates. 

or be doing speed squats in my garage and crash through a wall like the kool-aid guy....


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## Gadawg (Jan 6, 2019)

I do use straps once I get above 365......


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## ToolSteel (Jan 6, 2019)

Pull hook if you have the balls for it. Over/under should be a last resort in my personal opinion. For a top level athlete it always ends one of two ways; large muscle imbalances or a torn bicep.


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## notsoswoleCPA (Jan 6, 2019)

Gadawg said:


> I do use straps once I get above 365......



Lucky you.  I have to use them past 315 due to my left wrist being mangled by an airbag in a car accident.  The moral of that story is when someone crosses the center line, do not blow your horn because they will still hit you and you don't want your wrist on that airbag when it deploys!


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## PillarofBalance (Jan 6, 2019)

DieYoungStrong said:


> Also when you feel like you are going down, take a knee right away. You don’t want to become a YouTube video if someone blacking out and dropping headfirst into a stack of plates.
> 
> or be doing speed squats in my garage and crash through a wall like the kool-aid guy....



Ooooh Yeeeaaahhh!!!!


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## Gadawg (Jan 6, 2019)

Thanks guys but fill me in on the advantage of hook gripping over straps.


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## notsoswoleCPA (Jan 6, 2019)

Gadawg said:


> Thanks guys but fill me in on the advantage of hook gripping over straps.



At first it will feel like you are going to pull your thumbs out of your sockets, but you can hold more weight with the hook grip than double overhand alone.  Well, after you get used to it, lol.

I spoke to my stepfather about this, and he used to be an amateur body builder back in the 80s competing on the local circuit.  He put it to me this way, he asked if I cared more about working out my back or my grip.  I told him I would rather develop my back due to the wrist injury injury, so he said use the straps since they help me lift more weight.


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## Gadawg (Jan 6, 2019)

Thats why I use straps but Im being told not to and wondering why.  Im not a powerlifter so happy to learn and experiment


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## Straight30weight (Jan 6, 2019)

That’s a great number dawg, not surprising since you’re obviously strong as shit anyway. 600 is probably pretty close for you.


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## ToolSteel (Jan 7, 2019)

Gadawg said:


> Thanks guys but fill me in on the advantage of hook gripping over straps.


Because it’s impossible for you to do all the breathing and bracing that pob mentioned, get down to the bar, wrap the straps, and pull before you black out. 
Hook grip takes just a split second longer than grabbing the bar normally.


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## Gadawg (Jan 7, 2019)

ToolSteel said:


> Because it’s impossible for you to do all the breathing and bracing that pob mentioned, get down to the bar, wrap the straps, and pull before you black out.
> Hook grip takes just a split second longer than grabbing the bar normally.





Gotcha. I always just figured deads and straps went like peanut butter and jelly.


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## Elivo (Jan 7, 2019)

I use them once i get up around 300 on deads.  Ive done the breathing POB mentioned but probably not properly and in the way he laid out to do it.

What are the odds of an injury to the thumb with a hook grip?  Ive never used one before but im all for whatever will aid in lifting heavier.


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## HollyWoodCole (Jan 7, 2019)

I have deadlifted a max of 505 without straps of any kind but my grip was on a razor's edge of failing.  Once I got to the top of the lift I didn't have a choice to let go or not, it was coming down lol

Snake's thread about the hooks has me curious and I'm sort of looking into them.


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## silvereyes87 (Jan 7, 2019)

My best deadlift ever was 567 last month, never used straps in my life. Just chalk and an overhand overhand pull.


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## MonkeyBusiness (Jan 8, 2019)

ToolSteel said:


> Pull hook if you have the balls for it. Over/under should be a last resort in my personal opinion. For a top level athlete it always ends one of two ways; large muscle imbalances or a torn bicep.



Interesting...everything I've ever read said over-under grip was THE way to do deadlifts...


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## Gadawg (Jan 8, 2019)

MonkeyBusiness said:


> Interesting...everything I've ever read said over-under grip was THE way to do deadlifts...



Pretty well all the best in the world do double overhand. I started double overhand just because Ive always trained for hypertrophy and over under seemed like it would cause imbalances


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## ToolSteel (Jan 8, 2019)

Elivo said:


> I use them once i get up around 300 on deads.  Ive done the breathing POB mentioned but probably not properly and in the way he laid out to do it.
> 
> What are the odds of an injury to the thumb with a hook grip?  Ive never used one before but im all for whatever will aid in lifting heavier.


pretty minimal risk. It hurts but you’ll adapt. You don’t feel the pain when you pull a PR. 



HollyWoodCole said:


> I have deadlifted a max of 505 without straps of any kind but my grip was on a razor's edge of failing.  Once I got to the top of the lift I didn't have a choice to let go or not, it was coming down lol
> 
> Snake's thread about the hooks has me curious and I'm sort of looking into them.


i would STRONGLY advise against hooks for dl. You need to be able to bail if necessary. 



MonkeyBusiness said:


> Interesting...everything I've ever read said over-under grip was THE way to do deadlifts...


Ppl be scared of a little pain


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## Jin (Jan 8, 2019)

silvereyes87 said:


> My best deadlift ever was 567 last month, never used straps in my life. Just chalk and an overhand overhand pull.



You can pull that double overhand? Wow.


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## ToolSteel (Jan 8, 2019)

I’ve pulled 585 double overhand sumo, but failed at conventional. The speed off the floor rips it out of my hands.


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## silvereyes87 (Jan 8, 2019)

Jin said:


> You can pull that double overhand? Wow.



It was supposed to say overhand underhand :32 (4):
You never miss a thing jin.


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## Jin (Jan 8, 2019)

ToolSteel said:


> I’ve pulled 585 double overhand sumo, but failed at conventional. The speed off the floor rips it out of my hands.


No one cares. 


silvereyes87 said:


> It was supposed to say overhand underhand :32 (4):
> You never miss a thing jin.


I would have been very proud of you.


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## Gadawg (Jan 9, 2019)

Jin said:


> No one cares.
> 
> I would have been very proud of you.



Over under is how my grandma used to deadlift


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## ToolSteel (Jan 9, 2019)

One easy change you can make is stop thinking of your sets as a group of reps. Think of it as successive singles. Your setup and bracing are very important for a max effort single. The more practice you can get the better.


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## DieYoungStrong (Jan 9, 2019)

ToolSteel said:


> One easy change you can make is stop thinking of your sets as a group of reps. Think of it as successive singles. Your setup and bracing are very important for a max effort single. The more practice you can get the better.



This is gold. it's how I learned to pull and how I taught my Danny Divito looking wife. If you're doing a set of 5, think of it as 5 quick singles. This will teach you to properly set up and brace for every rep.

Also - touch and go is out for your PL training. No bouncing plates off the ground. It's not an option anyways if you do what Tool and I are saying. But if you're going to keep doing sets, there is a slight pause on the floor. Touch and go has it's place, but not for you right now.


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