A recent thread on the feasibility of a 2x bodyweight deadlift for a man got me thinking about my path to that goal. I started writing a reply but it got unwieldy in lenth, so here it is:
FWIW, I think just about any guy can train to double bodyweight deadlift with simple programming. Ive never had a mental block towards that figure because I trust all those whove gone before and say its doable and not super strong or anything.
I never lifted in high school (maybe like 3 bench press sessions in a Weight training segment of PE). I got into kettlebells 3 years ago. Lots of swings. Rarely continuous progress due to nagging shoulder injuries, but definitely a lot of swings with S&S. Working weight was 44 pounds for one arm seings when I finally got a chance to give barbell a try at age 27 in the gym at the office building. First time touching a barbell I wanted to find a starting weight per the pttp instructions. 135x5, 155x5, 175x5. I could have got 3 to 5 more reps so I stopped there. I was 6 feet tall, 150 pounds. From consistency with hinge pattern in swing, I was walking in with 1.16 bw dl. I wasnt exactly muscular. Good movement and passable technique from Original Strength and Simple and Sinister. 105 pounds was my true grinding 1 rep max on bench press to give another indicator of my “strength” at the time. In less than a month, with 15 pttp sessions, I pulled 225 for a difficult but solid 5 (in my jeans, forgot my work clothes but didnt want to wait for that 4 plate milestone
). 1.5 bw for 5 reps after one month training. Very little muscle on my frame. I dont think this is “outstanding” or something to be bragged about, I think its a repeatable result of working a plan. 20 minutes a day in the gym, feeling refreshed after every session. Switched to sumo and cycled up to 215 in 13 more sessions. Cycled back up to 205 in concventional amd could barely hit 5 reps. Ok, 2.5 months in and I cant hit 1.5 for 5 anymore, and I started that cycle at 180.
Wanting a break from daily deadlifting and my apparent cns fatigue, I switched to Faleev 5x5, Pavels version. Started at 185 and increased by 10 pounds every session (once weekly) to hit 245 for 5x5 in week 9, ar this point weighing 160, so it seems I was still floating around 1.53x body weight for probably a 7 rep max. Hit 275 for a single at strongfirst barbell course with convenbtional. So worth the price! You will get stronger just going. So I knew I had 1.72x DL, half a year of training, very little muscle on my frame, but diligent technique. I imagine a dedicated person with more focus and a bit more muscle would make that progress much faster. Stopped barbell lifting for half a year. On week 10 of another Faleev 5x5, but I actually started with 5 sets of 8 like faleevs original beginner version. Increase by 10 pounds each week and naturally let the reps come down to 5 as you progress. Add more grassfed beef and 3 pints of pasture raised whole milk a week, and I went from bodyweight of 150 on January 1 this year to 165 9 weeks later, and 265 pound sumo DL for 8 reps (after 4 sets of 6). What the heck? Sumo was my weaker stance, and last time I deadlifted 6 months ago, my 1 rep max with my better stance was 275.
Am I there yet? No. I might be close though, well see as I peak this cycle. Did I carve out everything else in my life to chase that deadlift? Far from it. I just followed reliable programming for a few cycles on and off spread out over a little more than a year. The little extra muscle from this cycle has helped A LOT, so although Im scrawny which makes the goal weight lower, Ive found adding mass has gotten me closer faster even though the target weight it higher. Now to come from the other direction (bodyweight too high), I think neural style frequent training with the muscle one already has while cutting weight with diet and intelligent cardio (consitent aerobic work and a glycolytic dose or so per week if your body recovers enough) get under 18% bodyfat. Health, aesthetic, and strength goals all wrapped into one minimalistic program.
I still haven’t benched 135 pounds and I weigh 165, so I have no dillusions of being a genetic specimen of strength in my pursuit of 2xbw deadlift. Hitting my first 5x5 with plates tomorrow. Years of swings didnt facilitate bp like they did deadlift. Go figure