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Barbell Help Programming for a Deadlift/Bench Competition at 56 years old

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After some research, I landed on the following 6 week routine (I have a little more than 6 weeks until the meet) that was written in an article by Tim Henriques.

I have performed the first workout, and it felt pretty good. I have streamlined my warm-up sets. The volume of the program is much less than I have been doing in terms of overall reps.

The routine:

Week Work Set 1 Work Set 2 Work Set 3 Work Set 4
1 80% x 2 reps 86% x 2 reps 92.5% x 2 reps N/A
2 80% x 4 reps 87.5% x 3 reps 95% x 2 reps N/A
3 80% x 2 reps 86% x 2 reps 92% x 2 reps 97.5% x 2 reps
4 80% x 5 reps 87.5% x 4 reps 95% x 3 reps N/A
5 80% x 2 reps 86% x 2 reps 92.5% x 2 reps 100% x 2 reps
6 80% x 2 reps 86% x 1 rep 92.5% x 4 reps + N/A

Depending on how recovered I feel, I plan to do a lighter deadlift workout each week focusing on speed in the 60-75% range.

I am continuing to start each workout with chest supported machine rows to strengthen my upper back without stressing my low back before the deadlifts.

For my bench press, I am just trying to get in 3 or 4 training sessions per week. I have not focused much on my bench so I really just want to see what a few weeks of consistent training will give me in terms of a max lift.

I will continue to throw in sled pushes as I feel like it, but I will probably stop doing them after my deadlifts to allow better recovery.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

Dan Wolfe
 
Would be much too much work at a high percentage of 1RM for me. I do 90% and above perhaps once a month.

-S-
 
@Steve Freides But the volume is pretty low. The highest volume day comes in week 4 with only 12 total reps. Workouts are done once a week. For most lifts, I'd worry if this would be enough work, but for deadlift that would be about right.
 
@mike, in the midst of normal training, I struggle with 90% for 2 singles (and I did, just last week - the second single was rather a death march of a lift.) 80% is about it for me, whether I'm doing a lot of volume or a little - above that, it gets hard quickly. (But when I'm rested and tapered for a meet, I can and do pull heavier for a single.) Even if I was younger, I couldn't pull 92.5% every week.

-S-
 
The appropriate volume, frequency and intensity for the deadlift is a puzzle and something I am having to just experiment with.

What worked well in the beginning seems not to work now that I am stronger. It is a constant balancing act between getting enough volume and intensity to get a training effect without going overboard and setting myself behind. The reason for my original post was the feeling that I probably was erring toward too much volume. That steered me toward a lower volume higher intensity program.

That said, I am not sure how well I will hold up to repetitions above 90 of my 1RM. I had pretty good gains following Pavel's singles program. I wonder if doing an equivalent number of singles at the higher percentages would have the same or similar as fewer sets at the same weight for 2-3 reps.

I guess it is just that game of finding the balance point between too much and just enough training stimulus. The deadlift is a lot less forgiving of overextending that any other list I have done, but it also has more carry over to other lifts and bang for the buck than any other lift I have done.
 
The appropriate volume, frequency and intensity for the deadlift is a puzzle and something I am having to just experiment with.

"The General Adaptation Syndrome."

Put another way, "Everything works but nothing works forever".

The body eventually grows and adapts to any training program. When that occurs you needs to Change Something.

The question then becomes, "What need to be changed".

"Research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing.", Einstein

No matter how smart you are, it still comes down to an educated guess and then "Just experimenting", as you stated.

What worked well in the beginning seems not to work now that I am stronger. It is a constant balancing act between getting enough volume and intensity to get a training effect without going overboard and setting myself behind. The reason for my original post was the feeling that I probably was erring toward too much volume. That steered me toward a lower volume higher intensity program.

"The Poison Is In The Dose."

The objective of training parallels this medical advice. You need to "Ingest" the right amount of training volume to elicit the greatest training effect without "Overdosing".

Training volume is fundamental for increasing size and strength. However, the "Dosage" should be slightly increased. "Tonnage" is a fairly good method of measuring the increase in your "Dosage".

Another factor is that some individual respond to higher Volume while other respond better to lower volume.

1) The Volume (Dosage) that works for one may not work for someone else.

2) Once you adapt to a specific Volume (Dosage) of training, further progress usually involves the need to increase your "Dosage" Volume.

That said, I am not sure how well I will hold up to repetitions above 90 of my 1RM. I had pretty good gains following Pavel's singles program. I wonder if doing an equivalent number of singles at the higher percentages would have the same or similar as fewer sets at the same weight for 2-3 reps.

Periodization Training

A good training program needs to have a progressive overload plan; where you hit some personal training goal. Once that occurs, you need to dramatically drop the load 20-30% and start a new training cycle.

This falls into the category of...

Active Recovery

Active Recovery employs light loads that increase blood flow to the muscles, delivering nutrients and taking out the metabolic garbage, enhancing recovery.

You then progressively increase the load, increasing your personal repetition or weight in your lifts.

Training Age

How long you have been training (Training Age) is a determinate factor in the length of your training program.

Novice Lifter's program need to be changed about every 6 - 8 weeks.

Advance Lifer's program need to be changed about every 3 - 4 weeks.

Varying Exercises

Changing your exercise also will increase size and strength.

Simply going from a Wide Grip to Narrow Grip Bench Press makes it a different exercise.

I guess it is just that game of finding the balance point between too much and just enough training stimulus.

It Is A Game

Your body's homeostasis want to maintain you at a certain point,

You have to play games and trick it so that you can increase size and/or strength.

The deadlift is a lot less forgiving of overextending that any other list I have done, ...

The Deadlift

It takes more than it gives back. The main issue is that the lower back is quickly and easily overtrained.

Thus, less is usually more with the Deadift.

[/QUOTE]...but it also has more carry over to other lifts and bang for the buck than any other lift I have done.[/QUOTE]

More Carryover?

That is a stretch. The Deadlift doesn't give you more "Bang for the buck than any other lift."

As saying goes...

"You're only as stong as you weakest link."

The two method needed to overcome and minimize that are...

1) Strengthen your "Weak Link": That means if you have a weak back, perform exercises the increase your back strength.

2) Play to your Strengths: If your leg strength is greater than your back strength, your 1 Repetition Max will be greater with a Sumo rather than a Conventional Deadlift.

Kenny Croxdale

 
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