Deadlift like a beast

Deadlifting like a beast is all about speed and aggression in the lift. Take Pete Rubish as your inspiration. He deadlifts in a way that the barbell gets afraid of him. Here are some tips to get as primal as Rubish.

What is your goal

Why do you want to deadlift like a beast? Do you want to be the biggest, meanest lifter in your division? Is it about the Insta followers you can gain by being savage? Or you just like the adrenaline and aggression of lifting? Whatever brought you here it is important that you know why you are training. Clear goals get you clear results. Fussy goals get you fussy results. There is a great TED talk on the psychology of Why, how, what. I highly recommend you watch it. There are usually three main motivators this in fitness.

Looks
Performance
Health

If you are in the business of looks you are in for a hard time. The competition is hard and does this as a full-time job. If you want to be ripped without steroids and a crazy diet you will suffer. Be prepared to be hungry, tired and grumpy. Also, keep in mind that models and actors train for a specific event or even day. The condition they are in for the shoot is not maintainable all year around. The main driver of success for looks is diet. Your choices will not always be healthy or help sports performance. Who cares when you make millions for your blockbuster movies, right.

The second area is performance. If you belong to this camp you are all about the numbers. The exercises will be picked for maximum carryover to your sport. Intensity is your constant partner to achieve your goals. Diet will become the second fiddle to the work you put in. Your choices will not always be pretty or healthy. Once you reach the top that will be fine and you retire.

The last group is mainly interested in health. Here it is all about striking a balance. Extremes are avoided. This makes injury and burnouts unlikely to happen. You will be interested in different types of diets. Trying new things out just for the sake of them. You might never win a competition or make the front cover, but you also don’t really care.

As you are looking for deadlifting like a beat you are most likely pay of the performance brigade. Take the time to reflect on your underlying reasons for exercising and you will see better results.

Do speed deadlifts

To deadlift like a beast you need speed. Louie Simmons says there is no way to lift a heavy weight slow. As the deadlift is more of a grind you can work on your speed.

Pick about 60% to 70% of your one repetition maximum. Do about 4 to 6 sets by two repetitions depending on how good you feel on the day. Lift from a dead stop. No touch and go reps allowed.

Get into position the initiate the pull. Build the tension you need and avoid yanking the bar off the ground. Especially with speed work, it is tempting to just yank the weight off the floor. Imagine you are doing a one repetition maximum attempt.

Initiate the pull by pushing the legs into the ground. No holding back from there. You want to accelerate the bar up as fast as possible. Here should be no stop and the weight should feel like it is flying up. This is a great exercise for lifters who have problems with the lockout.

Do snatch grip deadlifts

Snatch grip deadlifts bring you in a slightly disadvantaged position to pull the maximum. This variation addresses weaknesses in grip strength and explosiveness.

Same as for speed deadlift load the bar with 60 - 70% of your one rep maximum. Grip the bar at the outer knurling. From there do everything as with a conventional or sumo deadlift. The weight will not move as fast as for speed deadlifts. That is ok you are focusing on grip and back strength here.

Use Iron Mind grippers

Depending on your bodyweight your grip can become the limiting factor of your deadlift once you pass the 300 - 400-pound mark.

To rectify this get a set of Ironmimd grippers to train your grip. This is a targeted approach which will help for your general strength gains and especially for deadlifts and rows.

I currently work on progressing to 2.5 captains of crush gripper. My routine is for each hand

2x10 with 0.5
1x8 with 1.0
1x6 with 1.5
1x4 with 2.0
2x Max with 2.5

A strong grip produces a strong deadlift. Work on your grip and see the numbers fly up.

Use bands and chains

Even though band and chains are more suited to ply lifting they are a good addition to your routine. Especially when you are weak at lockout and want to save energy chains and bands are useful.

Go with bands and chains once you have mastered the basics. These are advanced techniques you do not need to bother with in the first two to three years of your training.

Aim for 500 pounds for reps

All in all, try to a for a 500-pound deadlift. If you master this feat of strength most gym rats and coaches will give you a nod of respect. 400 pound are also a good goal and puts you at the top of most gyms. 500 pounds is the distinction between strong and best mode in most scenarios.