Deadlifts: How much...

Interested in any advice on # of reps...

There's really no golden rule, but I personally like to keep the rep range for Deadlifts (and all other Compound lifts for the matter) in the 5-8 rep range. Deadlifts I tend to do mostly 5 rep sets for a couple of reasons. First it's easier to maintain good form doing only 5 reps then 8 or 12, etc. Second, I lift heavy for strength gains so 5 reps or so is the logical number to work with, plus Deadlifting is a very taxing lift when done heavy. If I do a bunch of reps and sets for Deadlifts then all my other lifts in the workout that follow will suffer. And lastly, keeping a constant # of reps (in my case, 5) makes it easier for me to track my progress - if I can only get 4 reps I don't add weight next workout. If I get all 5 reps then I increase the weight next workout.

TY this is helpful. I think I have just been babying myself doing 65 x 12. I know I can lift heavier, just been timid to do so. I'm legit afraid I'm going to throw my back out lifting heavier weight.

It's all relative, but I've been lifting for a few months and I will attempt to deadlift 235lbs today. On Monday, I lifted 225 lbs for 5 reps, which is above my body weight (I weigh 200).

Depends on your goals.

Right now i am looking to lift more weight, less reps.
for me at 109 i deadlift close to 135lbs 5 reprs for 4-5 sets

When I aim to do a bit more of a cardio lift during my cutting season i drop to BW and do more reps

when i was a freshman in high school during football i could max rep about 500 lbs in the dead lift and i could parralel squat 375 but only bench like 150 haha can def tell i was a lineman

well it's a couple of things-
1.) you are still new- so form and weight will be an issue- don't rush it and don't feel bad.
2.) everyone is different so comparing numbers just isn't THAT helpful to be honest
3..) lifting heavy is a rep range- not a number.

so 12 reps you aren't talking about heavy and strength- you are pushing into muscle endurance.

1-5 pure strength
5-10 size and strength
10-15 muscle endurance

if you were to drop down to lower reps- you'd be able to lift more- but when you are first starting- going pure strength is usually not a good idea.

Stick with that 8-12 range- and as you build a base- you can play with working on more strength oriented lifting- in which case I would go to an actual program designated for strength gains- you could actually do that now- but it might be-hoove you to stick to a slightly lower weight and keep working form.

you're aren't wrong- just a different program.

Great advice/info, thank you!! Just started really weight training this week and get away from my girly dumbells! Love this thread. Thanks!

Just wanted to come back on here and post a little update:

I posted to this thread in March that my DL was stuck at 65 lbs.

This past Saturday I pulled 185 !

My lifting pal said to me, "the bar is not going to want to move, you realize that right?" And that really hit me. Lifting heavy is about getting way outside your comfort zone. It's not just going to come right up and be easy. 65 x 12 wasn't about being physically weak, it was about being mentally weak.

Wifey pulled 225 for a pr cold after not lifting for a year... But she has a freakishly strong deadlift.

I've been lifting for three months and I can deadlift 145 lbs, which is my bodyweight + 15 lbs. That's one set of 5 reps, by the way. My 1RM is estimated at 163 lbs.

I've only been lifting since March 2014, my body weight is 149, just hit 155 on my DL this past week. I'm making myself progress slowly on DL as I have some back issues that I'm afraid to aggravate. Doing 1 set, 5 reps.

Interesting.

You can't break down how advanced a lift is based off of bodyweight alone because the relationship between mass and strength is not linear. For example, a 100lb person could easily get to a 2x bodyweight deadlift whereas a 200lb lifter would have a much harder time getting there.

List of performance rankings based on gender/weight:

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/DeadliftStandards.html

Meh, according to this I'm an elite lifter on every lift (which I am not). Maybe look up some of the powerlifting fed rankings because these are really low. Anyone could reach the "elite" level listed which obviously means that they're not actually elite.

This statement is from the site, because I'm no expert.

"The performance standards are adult standards (>18 years old) for a single maximal repetition (1RM) based on competitive weightlifter and powerlifting classification systems in use from the 1950's to present."

I figured it would give folks a basic knowledge of where they fell in strength wise. ExRx has some great information and, though on the internet, I mostly trust them. And after looking at the American Records, I'd imagine these numbers would be the minimum weights considered for the lift.

Yea.... I don't think you understand. ANY PERSON could reach the ELITE classification on these charts within a few years if they trained appropriately. If any person can do it then it is, by definition, not an elite classification. Because of this, I know that the charts are extremely flawed; especially if they are basing this off of powerlifting and weight lifting competitions. If you go to any local meet you'll see people blow these numbers out of the water. If you go to any state level or national level meet you'll see these weights being lifted in the warm up room. The chart is invalid.

Edit: Here's the chart from the American Powerlifting Federation. The chart you posted earlier would have a 198lb lifter who totaled 1430 classified as elite whereas the APF classifications would require a total of 1780 for the same lifter to be classified as elite. That's a 350lb difference which is f***ing gigantic. http://www.worldpowerliftingcongress.com/Qualifying Rankings.htm

So then what would you call elite lifting? You stronger for your size. I am also decently strong for my size. the majority of the US population is people who do not exercise.