The Problem
You’ve always wanted to deadlift, but it takes too much out of you. It just doesn’t seem to “play nice” with the rest of your training. Or maybe you want to hit a bigger deadlift number for your next Tactical Strength Challenge or powerlifting meet. Perhaps you’ve heard that “deadlifts take more than they give,” and that’s kept you away. Or you train your deadlift but avoid going heavy because you’re afraid of injuring your back.
The Solution
Take a cue from Pavel’s popular program, Kettlebell Simple & Sinister, and incorporate step cycling (more on that below). Take another cue from Pavel’s Power to the People program, which features deadlifting almost every day and from the article “Daily Dose Deadlift” by Derek Miller on the StrongFirst website. We’ll take a bit from each of these programs and give you a hybrid step cycle to make it even easier for you.
Say What? Step Cycle? Hybrid Step Cycle?
Yes, hybrid step cycle. The underlying principle of the step cycle couldn’t be simpler: do the same thing repeatedly until you get better at it, then make it more difficult and do it again, continuing the cycle as you improve, and so on.
You’ve done this in many areas of your life, likely without even realizing it. You were a child who learned to ride a bicycle—how? You tried until you got it, then you rode a little, then a little more, then further, and more often. The bike didn’t change, but you did—you got better. At some point, you got a bigger bicycle, which probably made you feel nervous the first time you tried it, but you stuck with it. You got used to your new bicycle, and soon, you could go further and faster than you ever could on your old bike.
Compare the bicycle story with weightlifting programs that feature a lot of math. You might need a calculator to determine the percentages of your 1RM (one repetition maximum) in these types of programs. Let’s not disrespect these programs—many are tried and true and have produced world champions. Nothing against them, but the step cycle is different.
The Prerequisite
There’s one prerequisite for this program: learn how to deadlift. If the lift is new to you, or if you’d just like to take a deeper dive into your deadlift technique, please choose one or more of the options below:
Unless you’re very unusual, someone showed you how to ride a bike and was there to help you the first few times. Learn to deadlift a barbell the same way—with help.
How heavy should you go when you start? You don’t. When you’re new to the movement, stop when it starts to feel heavy. Come back whenever you feel like trying again and see if you’re ready to push yourself a little. If you don’t feel like it, don’t push yourself. Period.
Okay, What’s the Program?
1. Find a starting weight. Put a weight on the bar that you’re confident you can lift more than a few times. Experiment, try it out, and once you’ve lifted the same weight between five and ten times without much rest or stopping between reps, you’re ready. If you’re an experienced lifter with a known, recent 1RM, start at 65-70% of your 1RM. Determine your starting weight by working backward from a small PR (personal record) at the end.
2. Start the program. Do 3 reps using your I’ve-done-5-to-10-reps-with-it weight or 65% 1RM.
- Day 1: 3 reps
- Day 2: 4 reps
- Day 3: 5 reps
- Day 4: 6 reps
- Day 5: 7 reps
That’s it? Yes, that’s it.
Do this Monday through Friday and take Saturday and Sunday off.
Or, spread these first five sessions out over up to ten days. Make sure you feel recovered. If you decide to lift every other day at first, you may find that by the next week, you’re lifting Monday and Tuesday, taking Wednesday off, then lifting Thursday and Friday, and so on. This will have you lifting two out of every three days. That’s cool.
Your first “steps” will be repeating what you’ve already done but with fewer rest days in between. We want you lifting several consecutive days before adding weight, so keep that in mind before stacking more plates on the bar.
3. Continue the program with the same weight. Since you’ve progressed from 3 to 7 reps, you’ll now start at 4 and end at 8 reps. You’ll hardly notice the change, but you’ll have added 20% to your weekly volume.
- Day 1: 4 reps
- Day 2: 5 reps
- Day 3: 6 reps
- Day 4: 7 reps
- Day 5: 8 reps
My recommendation is ten total sessions before increasing the weight. There is a saying in the strength training world, “Anything more than 5 reps is cardio.” Some people would say “3 reps” while others might say “8 reps” but that choice is up to you. If you’d like to complete fifteen total sessions, increase the rep count in a similar fashion to what’s shown above and make your third week go from 5 to 9 reps. You might even complete a fourth week where you go from 6 to 10 reps. I wouldn’t go past that, however, because anything over 10 reps is, well, certainly cardio.
Time for a Step-up in Weight
Start over but with a heavier weight. Guidelines on how to increase the weight are shown below:
- 100–200lb (~45-90kg) range: Add 10lb (5kg)
- 200–300lb (~90-136kg) range: Add 15lb (7kg)
- 300–400lb (~136-181kg) range: Add 20lb (10kg)
- 400–500lb (~181-227kg) range: Add 25lb (11.5kg)
These increases are approximately 6–12%. Whether you’re starting with 135lb or 185lb, you can still add 10lb. If you’re experienced and unsure which row of guidelines to follow because you’ll fall into both as the program progresses, use the bigger jumps rather than the smaller ones. For example, I usually start in the mid-200s and finish in the mid-300s, so I use 20lb (10kg) jumps. The advantage of bigger jumps is that you’ll need to start with a lighter weight to reach something reasonable by the end.
This is significant because starting with a lighter weight lowers the Average Relative Intensity (ARI) of the program. Want to learn more about how ARI matters in lifting programs? Consider attending Plan Strong™, or when you’re ready for a change in programming, order a Plan Strong™ Custom Designed Strength Plan from StrongFirst. On the other hand, if you’re a novice lifter and the smaller jumps feel better for you, by all means, use them.
I don’t calculate percentages, but if you keep adding the same amount of weight for each step, the percentage you’re adding actually gets smaller. That’s okay—it’s part of the plan.
You get the idea. The jump needs to be noticeable, just like when your bicycle wheels went from a diameter of 16 inches to 20 inches. Your first reaction might be, “Whoa, that’s definitely heavier.” That’s part of the plan, too.
Here are the other things you’ll need to know.
You Can’t Go on Like This Forever
Eventually, you’ll start nearing your limits, and then you’ll have to make some choices.
You can:
- Continue increasing the weights but take more days off between lifting sessions.
- Reduce the rep range of each “week”—instead of going from 3 to 7 reps, go from 3 to 5, and as things get heavier, maybe even from 2 to 4.
- Do both of the above.
Let’s understand what’s happening. You’re nearing the end of this cycle, and you have a few weeks to taper down the volume as the weight increases. Then, whether or not you test for a new max, you’ll start over with a slightly heavier weight than last time.
You may also switch to another deadlifting program or take an “off-season,” putting your deadlift away for a few months before coming back to this program again.
Personally, I’m a fan of thirteen weeks of getting better at the same thing as a general guideline. If you take two weeks with each weight, you’ll use six different weights over twelve weeks and end up 60–120lb heavier than when you started (or more if your deadlift is over 400lb).
How Should You Grip the Bar?
I recommend starting your program with a double overhand grip, sometimes called a clean grip after the Olympic barbell movement of the same name. For general health and fitness, I don’t recommend using the hook grip (look it up if needed), as one of the great benefits of the deadlift is improving your grip strength—but I leave that choice up to you.
When you can no longer hold onto the weights, switch to a mixed grip, with one hand over the bar and one hand under. Alternate which hand you use for the over-under grip but take note of which one feels stronger. You may also begin your session with 1 or 2 reps using a double overhand grip, then switch to a mixed grip to finish the day.
What About Warmups?
Warm up however you like. I recommend zero warmups and getting used to picking up whatever weight you’re working with. If you place your deadlifts after any upper body work—such as alternating days of get-ups and presses—use those other lifts as a warmup for deadlifts.
One Set or All Singles?
There are many ways to perform a set of deadlifts, each with its own benefits. For a deeper dive into the subject, check out “Deadlift: To Stop or Go” by StrongFirst Certified Master Instructor, Dr. Michael Hartle.
Personally, my favorite approach is to lift, pause solidly at the lockout, then “fall with the weight,” release my grip, take a breath or two, reset my grip and body, and then go up for the next rep.
As with Kettlebell Simple & Sinister, you don’t need to move up until you feel ready. If you want to repeat a week, go for it. For example, you might repeat the numbers from the previous week but increase rest times or switch from quick resets at the bottom to standing up and taking a few breaths at the top before your next rep.
In a step cycle, you don’t take the next step until you’re ready to take it.
Other Lifts?
You’re on your own. This program takes literally just a minute or two of your training time on each training day.
Why Should I Use This Program?
Because it will coexist with whatever else is going on in your training and life. It will “give more than it takes.” If you’d like to discuss this Hybrid Step Cycle Deadlift Program, start a thread on our forum.
Holder of a doctoral degree in music, Steve is a former college professor and synagogue choir director, and a current church organist and private music teacher. He also instructs individuals and small groups in StrongFirst methods and practices in his basement gym. Steve recently set a national powerlifting deadlift record of 170 kg (375 lb) in the United States Powerlifting Association, Raw Division, male 65-69 year old age bracket, and 67.5 kg (148lb) weight class, which you may watch on StrongFirst’s Instagram here.
Steve administers StrongFirst’s online community at the StrongFirst Forum and invites you to join him there.
