Ed Coan wrote this 10 week deadlift program for Mark Phillipi, who reported taking his deadlift from 505 lbs to 540 lbs on it. It runs on one deadlift session per week: a heavy top set, a block of speed triples at a much lighter weight, then power shrugs in the back half.
The whole thing is driven off a desired max rather than your current one. You set a goal above what you can pull today, and every weight in the program is calculated backward from that number. The spreadsheet’s worked example goes from a 410 lb current max to a 430 lb goal, so 20 lbs is the reference point to start from. Week 10 is the goal itself, taken as a single.
It cuts against the usual advice that the way to deadlift more is to deadlift less. If you like pulling often, are rebuilding after time off, or just want a change from programs that bury the deadlift behind squat variations, this is worth a look.
Table of Contents
Program Overview
- Length: 10 weeks
- Frequency: 1 deadlift session per week
- Session: Heavy top set, then speed triples, then power shrugs from week 5 on
- Inputs: Your current max, a desired max above it, and a rounding increment
- Structure: Weeks 1 to 4 build back conditioning with high volume and short rest; weeks 5 to 10 cut the volume and ramp the intensity
If it is your first time running it, stay close to that 20 lb example. Setting the target too high inflates every weight in the program, not just the last one.
Week by Week Breakdown
The weights below come from the spreadsheet’s own example: a 410 lb current max and a 430 lb desired max. Your numbers will scale, but the shape stays the same.
| Week | Top set | Speed work | Shrugs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 325 x 2 | 260, 8 sets of 3, 90 sec rest | None |
| 2 | 345 x 2 | 280, 8 sets of 3, 90 sec rest | None |
| 3 | 370 x 2 | 305, 6 sets of 3, 90-120 sec rest | None |
| 4 | 390 x 2 | 325, 5 sets of 3, 90-120 sec rest | None |
| 5 | 345, 3 sets of 3 | 280, 3 sets of 3, 120 sec rest | 250 |
| 6 | 370 x 2 | 305, 3 sets of 3, 120 sec rest | 270 |
| 7 | 390 x 2 | 325, 3 sets of 3, 120 sec rest | 290 |
| 8 | 410 x 2 | 305, 3 sets of 3, 120 sec rest | 310 |
| 9 | 420 x 1 | 305, 2 sets of 3, rest as needed | 310 |
| 10 | 430 x 1 | 260, 2 sets of 3, rest as needed | None |
Two things stand out. The speed work carries the volume early, at 24 reps a session in weeks 1 and 2 on 90 seconds of rest, and that is the part conditioning your back. It falls away to 18 reps in week 3, 15 in week 4 and 9 in week 5, then sits at 9 all the way through week 8 before dropping to 6 for the last two weeks. Week 5 is also the only week where the heavy work is three sets of three rather than a single double, and it drops the weight to do it, which functions as the program’s reset before the run to the max.
Power shrugs do not appear until week 5. They are there for the lockout, climbing from 250 to 310 across weeks 5 to 8, holding at 310 for week 9, then dropping out entirely in the final week.
Coan Phillipi Deadlift Program FAQs
What do I enter, my current max or my goal?
Both. The desired max drives the deadlift weights and the current max drives the shrugs, so the spreadsheet needs the two separately. This is the most common place people go wrong with this program.
Only one deadlift session a week. Is that enough?
It is one session, but week 1 has you pulling 26 reps in it. The frequency is low and the per-session volume is high, which is the opposite of how most modern programs distribute the same work. That is also why the early weeks feel harder than the percentages suggest.
What do I do for squats and bench?
The program only covers the deadlift, so you will need to add the rest yourself. Keep the squat work light enough that it does not eat into the pull, especially in weeks 1 to 4 when the back is already taking a beating.
What if I miss the week 10 single?
Set a more conservative desired max and run it again. Missing usually means the goal was too far above your current max rather than that the program failed, which is why 20 lbs is the safer starting point.
Ed Coan Phillipi Deadlift Routine Spreadsheet
Enter your current max, your desired max, and your rounding increment at the top, and every week fills in. Source.
Other Ed Coan Programs
- Ed Coan Peaking Program, available in 12 and 14 week versions
Updates
- Converted the post to the block editor and documented the actual week by week structure from the spreadsheet. Corrected three details that did not match it: the heavy set is a double rather than a triple, the high volume phase runs weeks 1 to 4 rather than 1 to 6, and shrugs do not begin until week 5. Replaced the deprecated spreadsheet embed with the standard preview embed and corrected the embed titles.
