This is how you increase your deadlift
I get lots of questions about how to get stronger and improve with the deadlift.
For Pointman I generally don’t cover anything that requires a gym setup or going heavy. But this is very different.
Deadlifts are the king of exercises
You should be deadlifting. Here are the top reasons why deadlifts are super valuable.
They activate more muscles than pretty much any other exercise. There are some that activate more muscles in total, but they require significantly more skill to perform safely.
They carryover to real world applications. Get stronger at deadlifts and your jumping and running will improve, which is super important not just for body composition but also provides a better platform for mobility and health.
They can’t be over developed. Assuming proper training, better deadlift means a better life. Not true with other exercises like bench press, where basically all gym bros overdo it, and this leads to big posture and mobility issues.
They are balanced. Deadlifts engage your posterior chain perhaps better than any other movement, which is critical for posture and performance.
They are hella cool. Deadlifts are the original strength challenge, and they make you feel great.
This is how structure your deadlift workouts to create massive gains quickly. You do that with disco sets.
Disco Sets
Disco sets are my own innovation I started tinkering with more than a decade ago. I eventually discovered that more hardcore and less practical variations exist in the depths of the powerlifting world, which is good proof that it works. Disco sets give you the best of powerlifting science without all the complexity and downside. Using the system below I became an “elite” deadlifter, which means I could deadlift 3x my bodyweight.
You can check out the first time I ever posted about deadlifts and disco sets in Muscle Proof from 2014.
This is what you do on deadlift day, 1-2x per week.
Please note: this is not for beginners. No exercise is without risk, especially if you are going heavy. Get a trainer or learn on YouTube.
There are two components, strength and speed.
Strength:
2-4 sets of heavy deadlift
3-5 reps per set
Lift to failure
Speed:
2-4 sets of hinge movement after the heavy deadlifts
Choose between:
light deadlifts, 50-70% of the heavy load
dumbbell swings or dumbbell snatches
10+ reps per set
Lift quickly
That’s it. Beautifully simple and yet brutally effective. Get strong.
Bonus
Here is the greatest raw deadlift of all time by Benedikt Magnússon from 2011.
The sumo deadlift record was just broken last week by Danny Grigsby.
No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training… What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. – Socrates