How I Went From a 700lb to an 800lb Deadlift
Everyone wants to know what program got me from a 700lb deadlift to an 800lb deadlift. It definitely wasn't one program, it was a collection of lessons that took years to learn.
My first 700 deadlift happened on October 7, 2013. Ironically, it wasn't at a powerlifting meet, it was for a Bodybuilding.com forum deadlift competition. I ended up winning a t shirt and a couple tubs of supplements, and at the time I thought I was on top of the world. The pull was ugly… It was badly ramped and would have gotten red lights in competition, but at the time I didn't care, I had finally hit 700 which no one in the area was doing at that time. Looking back now, that deadlift became one of the most important lifts of my powerlifting career, not because of the weight, but because of what it taught me.
After I posted the video online, people immediately pointed out that I was ramping the bar. At the time I thought they were just jelly haters, but after watching the video over and over, I knew they were right. That realization changed everything and instead of getting defensive, I decided to fix it.
Sometimes the fastest way to move forward is by taking one step backward first.
The Technique Change That Made the Biggest Difference
One cue completely changed my lockout. Instead of thinking "Drive the hips through." I started thinking, “Lock the knees." When lifters aggressively shove their hips forward, the knees often drift forward with them and that's what creates the classic ramped deadlift. By focusing on locking my knees first and then squeezing my glutes, my lockout became much cleaner and much stronger. Paused deadlifts also became a staple in my training to help reinforce that. They forced me to stay in position and produce force without relying on momentum. Those two changes alone completely cleaned up my pull.
Recovery Became More Important
Getting from 500 to 600 wasn't terrible. 600 to 700 was much harder. 700 to 800? That was an entirely different beast… For years I believed more deadlifting meant a bigger deadlift, and for years it worked but eventually I got strong enough that I simply couldn't recover from pulling heavy every week anymore.
The exact thing that built my deadlift was now holding it back. During the offseason I still had success running the Coan/Phillipi Deadlift Program which had a higher frequency with weekly deadlifts but intensity wasn’t insanely high. When it came time to peak, I actually needed to deadlift less.
The biggest breakthrough came from adopting the Lilliebridge Method…
Squat and deadlift on the same day once per week.
Week 1:
Speed Squat
Heavy Deadlift
Week 2:
Heavy Squat
Speed Deadlift
Then repeat. The caveat to that was that the heavy lift wasn't just "kind of heavy”… it was balls to the walls heavy. Week after week I was working around RPE 9-10 with almost everything being 85% or higher and they were AMRAPs. When you look at the month as a whole, I really only had two truly heavy working sessions for deadlifts, but at that intensity, it was enough. It allowed me to recover completely while still pushing incredibly high intensity when it mattered and for me, that was the perfect balance.
Strength Is Contagious
My first 800lb deadlift happened on February 14, 2017, at Hercules Gym in Syracuse. Nearly 4 years after my first 700lb deadlift. That room was stacked… there were some huge names in the powerlifting scene. Anthony Hobaica, Mike Lackey, Pete Knutsen, Marcus Morris, Mark Cheico, Jason Weaver, Rheta West just to name a few and plenty of other monsters getting ready for the XPC Finals at the Arnold.
I've always believed that your environment matters and that wasn't the only trip I made out there either. Throughout those years I intentionally trained with stronger lifters whenever I had the opportunity. I asked questions, listened, accepted criticism, and watched how they trained. I stole every good idea I could.
So yes, technically, I coached myself to an 800lb deadlift and a 2000lb total, but I certainly didn’t do it alone. I was constantly learning from people who were in the game longer than me and paved the way.
What Really Did It…
Going from 700 to 800 pounds wasn't about finding some magical accessory exercise.
It came down to four things…
• Fixing my technique instead of defending it.
• Recovering better by deadlifting less frequently.
• Continuing to refine my movement with exercises like paused deadlifts.
• Surrounding myself with stronger, more experienced lifters who challenged me and weren't afraid to tell me when I was wrong.
The biggest jumps in strength usually don't come from doing more. They come from doing the right things better. I was a student of the game, and to this day I still am. Now, I work not only for myself, but for the athletes I coach and the community I serve at Legends.
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