My Quest for a 700lb Deadlift

Lance Mosley, RKC

November 15, 2006 06:42 PM

  
My name is Lance Mosley and in this article I will be discussing my training, exercises and various things I did, on my way to achieving a 700lb deadlift. I have been a personal trainer for over 10 years and I have my own training facility, located in Boca Raton, Florida. Earlier this year I got certified as a Sports and Conditioning Specialist, to pursue my dream of training athletes. I really enjoy training athletes because of their strong work ethic and discipline. I am also a RKC Instructor and will go into this more later.

I began training over 15 years ago; with my first DP for life weight set (you remember those gray plastic weights). My focus for many years was bodybuilding, after competing in a few shows; I realized that the politics and decisions that needed to be made in order for me to progress was not what I wanted. That's when a good friend got me into powerlifting. I saw this as a way to compete (because I am very competitive) and not be subjected to any politics. In powerlifting, either you lift the weight or you don't. I made my debut on the platform in 2001 and haven't looked back since. In my first meet I totaled 1537(560/405/575) and to date my bests are Squat 815; Bench 628; Deadlift 705 and total 2066. The following will outline my training and what it took to achieve a 705lb pull.

My basic training template is as follows:

Tuesday: Dynamic Bench
Thursday: Max Effort Squat/Deadlift
Saturday: Max Effort Bench
Sunday: Dynamic Squat/Deadlift

In the beginning, on max effort day we used to do a good morning, squat, good morning, deadlift wave, alternating every week. Even though the good mornings got my back stronger, I was not deadlifting enough and in order to pull big, you have to practice pulling big. Ever since I made this change, my deadlift started to go up. And now the new wave is deadlift, deadlift (sumo), squat and we use good mornings as a secondary exercise.

Deadlift Variations:	Reverse Band Pulls Pulls of a box (2, 3, 4 inch) Rack pulls Sumo pulls (regular and w/chains) Regular deadlifts
Squat Variations:	Front Squats Manta Ray squats Cambered Bar squats Buffalo Bar Squats Safety Squat Bar squats

All squats are done on a low box with a narrow stance. And yes doing various types of squats will increase your deadlift.

Here is a sample training day:

Warm up:	Dynamic stretching 5 minutes Glute/Hams 2x10 Lat Pulldowns 3-4x10
Max Effort:	Deadlift/Squat (work up to a max) Secondary exercise (OL Squats, Deadlift, High pulls) 3-4 sets Reverse Hypers/Glute Hams 3-4 sets KB Swings 3-4 sets Abs and grip work
Warm up:	Dynamic stretching 5 minutes Glute/Hams 2x10 Lat Pulldowns 3-4x10
Dynamic:	Box Squats (straight weight; bands; chains) Speed pulls (usually done with doubled mini bands) 6-8 sets x 1 rep Reverse Hypers/ Glute Hams 3-4 sets KB (swings, snatches, snatch/presses) Abs, grip and neck work Sled dragging (occasionally) Prowler (occasionally)

As you can see it is a fairly simple training program, you just have to put 110% in to get the most out of it. On the secondary exercises, if we pull for max effort, than obviously we will squat, good morning or high pull. And when we squat, we always do some sort of deadlift variation (RDL's, stiff-legged, ultra wide stance, snatch grip, etc.) Apart from the main exercise, the rep scheme will vary; some prefer low reps and others like working in the higher rep range. As far as abs training goes, it's usually done with straight legs and heavy weight (none of that aerobic, high rep to failure stuff!!). These only comprise the four main training sessions, but I will perform many other mini sessions throughout the week, to work on any weaknesses, and to improve my GPP.

About a year ago, I started incorporating kettlebells into my training. There are a number of exercises that I do, but I focused mainly on the swings, snatches and snatch presses. After attending the RKC, I will add in some get ups, clean/presses, windmills and arm bars, anything that will improve shoulder strength, flexibility, and stabilization. Kettlebells also have improve my grip, forearm strength and help me to really explode and pop with the hips.

The RKC was a life changing experience. It was better than any other workshop, seminar or certification that I have ever been to. Pavel and his Senior RKC's were very attentive and hands on. It's the little things that make the big difference, and I learned a lot of that during my brief visit with the "Party". I look forward to continuing with my training of the kettlebells to improve not only for powerlifting but also my conditioning.

My first attempt at 705 was in 2005; it came off of the ground really good and lost my grip about ?'s of the way up. I had gotten it before in the gym, but as the saying goes "It doesn't count, until it's done on the platform". I tried it again at a push and pull and in a full meet, to no avail both times. Then we put on a meet at my facility, and since it was in my house, I guess I used this to create this intensity within myself. Long story short I had a great bench day and finally got my first 705!!!!!. It felt great getting over that hump, now on to 750 and then someday, who knows, 800.

If you would like to contact me, please email me at eliti1779@bellsouth.net or on the Q&A at Elite Fitness Systems. Be Smart, but Go Heavy!

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