best routine for deadlifting and squat?

[musclestack]

What do you guys recommend to increase as much strength as possible in the deadlift and squat. I plan on entering a full powerlifting meet towards the end of this summer, but I need to get these two lifts up as much as possible before then. I'm estimating that I have about 16 weeks.

So what do you guys recommend? I'm currently doing a 5x5 for deadlift, and for squat, I generally do 4 working sets of 8, 5, 10, 12 reps (in that order). I always do a couple warm up sets for both exercises.

[Khazima]

Squat more and your deadlift will go with it. You still have a long time to build before you peak so i'd recommend something like the texas method or some sort of linear program and then use a peaking program leading into the meet (personally i really like jonnie canditos 6 week program, you can also run that for 3 cycles leading into the meet, great program).

I'll be trying ed coans deadlift routine for 10 weeks next, probably stick with a linear program like jonnie canditos linear program for my squat and bench.

But if you want your squat to get better, squat more.

[Baxter35]

My first question is how is your current routine working for you? If you're making progress youre happy with then keep it, but if you feel you've stagnated then its time to change. For strength, I personally prefer much lower rep ranges (2-3 per set), and 4-5 working sets. That lets me train closer to my max which is where I find I make the most strength gains.

[musclestack]

Khazima-I have looked into all the methods you posted. Very interesting.

Baxter-I'm with you; totally agree. Right now, I do 4-5 working sets, but I only have one of those sets in the 3-5 rep range. The others are in the 8-12 rep range. I think I may opt for increasing the number of sets, adding maybe 3 more sets of low reps, and also keeping my higher rep sets (so I can also build size).

Thanks guys!

[RaginCajun]

musclestack, why not go until failure on your last set instead of a set number?

i think you need to drop one of the 8/12 rep range sets and shoot for total failure on your last and final set.

[Boozer35]

5x5 volume for deadlifts is a bit much. Also being on,y 16wks out from a comp means you won't gain much strength in that time frame. You should begin to concentrate on properly to super compensate for the meet.

[musclestack]

musclestack, why not go until failure on your last set instead of a set number? i think you need to drop one of the 8/12 rep range sets and shoot for total failure on your last and final set.

That's also not a bad idea, RC. Thanks!

[musclestack]

5x5 volume for deadlifts is a bit much. Also being on,y 16wks out from a comp means you won't gain much strength in that time frame. You should begin to concentrate on properly to super compensate for the meet.

Hmm..here I thought 16 weeks would be plenty of time to substantially increase strength. What do you mean by "concentrate on properly"?

[Boozer35]

Hmm..here I thought 16 weeks would be plenty of time to substantially increase strength. What do you mean by "concentrate on properly"?

"Properly" should have been "peaking"...autocorrect on my phone.

I'm not saying you won't get stronger just that it won't amount to a big difference in 16wks since a peaking cycle can take 4-16wks depending on how you approach it and how much fatigue has been accumulated over your training cycle. Either way I wish you the best of luck and a big total

[jnlentz]

musclestack, why not go until failure on your last set instead of a set number?

i think you need to drop one of the 8/12 rep range sets and shoot for total failure on your last and final set.

Going to failure when training for strength is counterproductive. A rep or two before failure is good, but never to failure.

[Khazima]

Going to failure when training for strength is counterproductive. A rep or two before failure is good, but never to failure.

I agree, you shouldn't be missing reps in training. You should be have structured progression within your capabilities. Only time you should miss a rep is if you're testing at a meet, or if you don't compete, just when you're testing.

[The Deadlifting Dog]

I agree, you shouldn't be missing reps in training. You should be have structured progression within your capabilities. Only time you should miss a rep is if you're testing at a meet, or if you don't compete, just when you're testing.

I agree and disagree.
I think you don't want to miss reps on a single or double rep set but...
If you are doing a burnout set after doing your heavy sets then going to failure is fine in my book.
What you don't want to do is go to failure on a set and then try to hit a heavy single. That is just silly.

[musclestack]

Thanks for the replies, guys!

[jackfrost88]

5x5 is a good base for deadlifting. Identify your weak points and work on them. For me, I was hamstring dominant so I added front squatting to my routine to strengthen and activate the quads. See what works for you and what doesn't!

[jjpaki1212]

Try the smolov squat calculator itl tell you what to do for a rough guideline