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Best Deadlift Programs for 2021

These powerlifting deadlift programs, many of which are designed for peaking, will help you achieve some new PRs on the king of the lifts! Enjoy these free spreadsheets.

Popular Deadlift Routines:

Many of the below routines are general "peaking programs" that can be applied to whichever lift(s) you wish to peak. Therefore they have been included in this deadlift program section.

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The latest deadlift programs are also available below.

10 Week Off Season Deadlift Program Spreadsheet

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This is a 10 week deadlift program designed for building up work capacity during the competitive off-season. It was shared by Alex Bromley (Empire Barbell) on his YouTube channel, where he shared his experience using this style of deadlift training to help prepare for a strongman competition.

[Read more…]

Ancient God 10 Week Deadlift Peaking Program Spreadsheet

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The Ancient God Deadlift Routine was developed with beginners and low intermediates in mind. It is low-medium in volume, which leaves plenty of recovery room for accessories.

The goal is to add kilos to your max deadlift while making you comfortable with working with weights closer to your max for doubles and triples, all without leaving you drained for the other sessions of the week. [Read more…]

Deep Water Program Spreadsheet (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced)

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Deep Water is a 4 day (or 5 day if you do the recommended active recovery) strength program designed by Jon Andersen. It runs for 6 weeks and is infamous for its “100 reps in as few sets as possible” workouts for squat, deadlift, and push press. For this reason I have included this program in the squat program and deadlift program collections as well.

You could run this only for the squat, deadlift, or overhead press, though that was not the original intent of the program. [Read more…]

9 Week Conjugate Powerlifting Program (Squat + Deadlift Only)

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This is a twice per week, 9 week conjugate strength program that only programs for the squat and deadlift. It was put out by Nick Spataro and you can see his video overview of the program below. [Read more…]

Vince Anello 14 Week Deadlift Program Spreadsheet

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Updates:

  • February 23, 2020 – Fixed mix up between pin squats and partial deadlifts. Thanks to a reader for pointing out the misinterpretation via the contact form.
  • July 29, 2019 – Fixed permissions for the spreadsheet. You should be able to make a copy of it now. Apologies for any inconvenience.

This is a spreadsheet for Vince Anello’s 14 week deadlift program. [Read more…]

8 Week Deadlift Program Spreadsheet – GC Performance Training

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An 8 week deadlift specialty program that utilizes high block pulls, low block pulls, and competition style deadlifts to help build maximal deadlift strength. [Read more…]

12 Week Strongman Deadlift Program Spreadsheet

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A 12 week deadlift program found on Strongman Ontario. Is it strictly a strongman program? Probably not – I’m sure it would benefit anyone looking for a ton of deadlift volume. [Read more…]

Candito 10 or 14 Week Advanced Deadlift Program Spreadsheet

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Released in February 2018, this deadlift specific program is the latest in a long line of excellent powerlifting programs from Jonnie Candito.

This is an advanced deadlift program and should not be used by novice lifters. For the novice and intermediate lifter, check out Candito’s 6 Week Program or Linear Strength Programs.

The advanced deadlift program is structured as follows: [Read more…]

Weightrainer Peaking Programs #1 and #2 Spreadsheets

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Weightrainer.net published these two peaking programs: one designed especially for the bench press (#1) and another program (#2) for squat, bench, or deadlift.

The two programs are pretty similar, but here are some key differences: [Read more…]

Dan Alexander 10 Week Powerlifting Peaking Program

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10/1/19 Edit: Fixed the rounding and added support for lbs and kgs! 🙂

Dan Alexander’s 10 week Powerlifting Peaking Program is designed to improve the 1RM of the squat, bench, and deadlift by 5%. Spread across the three lifts, this can result in a sizeable boost to a lifter’s total on the competition platform.

This program is a hybrid of Korte’s 3×3 program and Verhoshansky’s Soviet peaking routine. [Read more…]

How many times a week should I deadlift?

Many novice lifters can see good progress deadlifting just once per week. When progress deadlifting once a week becomes difficult, it can be helpful to add a second deadlift training session in the week that utilizes lighter weight. Using a deadlift variation on this second deadlift day, like defecit deadlifts or paused deadlifts, can help improve weak points in the movement.

Should I do sumo or conventional deadlift?

This depends on many factors, including the proportions of the lifter’s body (arm length, torso length, and leg length) as well as individual preference. BarBend has a pretty indepth article on this subject, as does Powerlifting Technique.

Tip: Try both and see which feels more comfortable for you. Conventional can be simpler to teach to a novice lifter, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s in their best interest to pull conventional forever.

What is a good beginner deadlift program?

Any good powerlifting or strength program will include deadlifts, so a “good beginner deadlift program” is essentially synonymous with a “good beginner powerlifting program.”

How do I increase my deadlift?

This depends on  many different factors that can’t be covered in full detail here. Two popular methods for increasing maximal deadlift strength is to increase training volume and to improve weak points in the lift. For building strength in the bottom of the lift, defecit deadlifts, paused deadlifts, and “1 and a half deadlifts” can be used. Lockout strength can be developed using heavy rack pulls and  banded deadlifts. For more tips, checkout Powerlifting Technique.