WESTSIDE BARBELL

GUIDE

FOR BEGINNERS
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 DEADLIFT GUIDE
FOR BEGINNERS

When thinking of exercises that are true tests of absolute strength, the
deadlift is one of the first to come to mind. One of the most impressive
feats of strength you can display is the ability to walk up to a heavily
loaded barbell and rip it off of the ground. However, as a beginner, you
must go about your deadlift training the right way.

Unlike the squat or bench press, where an eccentric phase provides kinetic
energy to help accelerate through the concentric phase, the deadlift
forces an athlete to generate muscular force without the help of kinetic
energy. The absence of the eccentric phase makes a deadlift “dead.”

As a beginner, it is important to understand the proper execution of

the deadlift. Your form and execution are essential, no matter what the
exercise is. Still, maintaining optimal form on the deadlift is critical due to
the excessive shearing forces that can be experienced by the spine when
poor movement meets heavy weights.

Exercise programming is also an important aspect when developing the

deadlift. Excessive heavy deadlifts can cause considerable fatigue and
slow down or derail your strength gains. Just as it is important for an
athlete to have the ability to execute the deadlift properly, it is equally
important that the athlete follows a training program that appropriately
manages the fatigue caused by heavy deadlifting.
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 INITIAL SETUP
Here is how to build your deadlift the Westside Barbell way:

When choosing your deadlift stance, you will have two options:
conventional or sumo stance. This choice will only define the stance you
use during your main exercises. Different stances are required during
specific accessory exercises to attain maximal benefit, such as using the
conventional stance to perform Romanian deadlifts.

There are many reasons coaches will give as to why an athlete should
choose conventional or sumo. At Westside, we typically have athletes who
compete in sports such as football, baseball, and martial arts pull sumo.
However, our strength athletes choose their stance based on which stance
allows them to pull the most weight.

Here is how to correctly set up for each stance:

Conventional:
1. Walk up to the barbell, look down, and set your feet so that when
looking down, the barbell cuts them in half.

2. You will set your hands with the hamstrings fully extended and the
hips elevated. You want to set your hands so your arms remain tight
to the torso as the barbell moves. Placing your hands too wide or too
close will significantly reduce your ability to pull heavy weight.

3. Once you have your hands set, the next step will be to begin bracing
and preparing to sit your hips into the deadlift. You want to take
your air with the hips still elevated, allowing you to take the most air
into your diaphragm.

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 4. When sitting the hips into the pull, you want to drop into the pull 1-3
times to achieve an adequately shortened hamstring and establish a
strong brace.

5. Execute the deadlift.

Sumo:
1. Walk up to the barbell and set your feet apart under the barbell at
the same width you would stand to squat.

2. Once in a sumo position, you will want to move the feet to the width
that allows you to produce as much lateral force as possible. This
may take a few warm-up sets to establish, so starting with your
squat stance width is best.

3. Now that you have your stance width established, you will want to
grab the barbell with your hamstrings fully extended and the hips
elevated to allow you to create a strong brace. You want your grip to
be set to enable you to take advantage of arm length to reduce the
movement’s range of motion.

4. Next, you will set your brace, sit your hips down to create as vertical
a torso position as possible and focus on making as much lateral
force as possible.

5. Execute the deadlift.

Form
Regardless of the stance you choose to use, the rules regarding form
and execution are nearly the same. The deadlift is a lift that heavily
depends on proper form and execution. If you cannot maintain your form
throughout the lift, the spine will begin to experience shearing forces,
which will quickly shut down your ability to produce force.

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 Here are the things to look out for with each stance:

Conventional:
1. Always try to sit your hips into the pull as much as possible. You
want to start with as vertical of a torso as possible to reduce the
stress on the lumbar spine.

2. Avoid excessive lumbar flexion. This is why a vertical torso and

proper brace are important. You want to avoid regularly lifting max
effort reps with excessive lumbar extension. It is a recipe for injury.

3. Always keep the arms as straight as possible, reducing the strain on

the biceps. Failure to do so will lead to injury.

4. Use your brace and trunk to maintain a neutral spine throughout

the lift.

Sumo:
1. Use your legs, and avoid placing all the demand onto the lower back.

2. Turn the feet slightly outward to engage the glutes/hips properly.

3. Focus on producing lateral force by pushing with the mid/outside of

the foot.

4. Make and maintain a solid brace to allow the chest to remain

elevated and the upper back max to be maximally engaged.

5. As you can see, each stance has some slight differences, but the big
ideas are still the same.

6. Sit into your deadlifts, keep your chest elevated with a strong brace,
use your legs, set your grip to take advantage of arm length, and
avoid excessive lumbar flexion.

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 MAIN EXERCISES
We will perform the deadlift once every 2-3 weeks as a max effort lower
main exercise. This is because it takes most athletes nearly two weeks to
recover from a max-effort deadlift properly. Our goal is to keep fatigue
levels adequately managed and avoid having to take a deload week or
reduce training frequency due to excessive fatigue.

Our max effort deadlift training will always be performed for 1-3
repetitions, using a few exercise variations to alter the training effect.
Our deadlift max effort training aims to perform the heaviest set possible
while leaving a rep or two in the tank.

This program will feature deadlift training every other week, with
an additional max effort exercise getting thrown into the mix: good
mornings. The good morning is the ideal workout to pair with the deadlift,
considering the good morning allows us to train a motor pattern like
the deadlift without holding a heavy barbell with our hands. The only
difference is the good morning features an eccentric phase, while deadlifts
do not.

Max effort good mornings will always be performed for three reps. We
avoid single-rep good mornings due to the injury risk associated with
them. Unlike the deadlift, where you can walk up to the bar and miss
without much trouble, failure to accurately call a single rep weight on
good mornings can lead to catastrophic results.

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 ACCESSORY
EXERCISES

We focus on building up the muscle groups responsible for deadlift and

squat strength in lower body accessory work. Providing an athlete with the
right amount of hypertrophy-focused training will help build muscle mass,
improving strength and body composition.

Our focus when programming accessory exercises is to use multi and

single-joint exercises to target the following muscle groups:

• Back/Paraspinal Muscles
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Quads
• Calves
• Abs

Athletes typically perform accessory exercises such as deadlift, good

morning, or squat variations for 3-5 sets of 5-8 reps. Athletes will perform
exercises such as hamstring curls, Inverse Curls, and Reverse Hypers 4-6
sets of 10-12 or 15-25.

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 We also perform deadlifts as a primary accessory exercise for every
dynamic effort lower training day. These deadlifts are performed
immediately after squats have finished, with the idea of improving the
rate of force production in the deadlift.

Here is the typical three-week wave a beginner will follow:

Week 1: 65% 5 x 2
Week 2: 70% 4 x 2
Week 3: 75% 3 x 2
For beginners, we do not use accommodating resistance. Our miniband
setup will add 200lbs at the top for most lifters, which is too much band
tension for a beginner. You will use plate weight only for your dynamic
effort deadlifts.

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 FAQS /
TROUBLESHOOTING
Q: How should I decide which stance to use?
A: The decision comes down to two things: leverage and comfort.
You want to choose the stance that allows you to pull the most weight
without excess discomfort.

Q: Should I use a standard power bar or a deadlift bar?

A: The standard power bar will be more difficult to pull, while the
deadlift bar has a whip that allows a lifter to achieve advantageous
joint angles before the barbell breaks the ground. If you compete,
you want to deadlift using the bar you will compete with. You can use
whichever bar you choose if you want to get stronger. We suggest
picking one and sticking with it throughout a training cycle.

Q: Should I work up until I miss on max effort?

A: No, we always want to avoid missed max effort lifts, especially with
the deadlift. This will lead to excessive fatigue and can potentially lead
to injury.

Q: How low should I go when performing good mornings?

A: You want to lower your torso so that you are close to the same
position you would be in when pulling a conventional deadlift.

Q: I am experiencing excessive lower back soreness;

what should I do?
A: For one week, avoid main exercises and perform accessory
exercises only. If pain persists, consult with a qualified medical
professional.

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 9 WEEK CONJUGATE
DEADLIFT PROGRAM
FOR BEGINNERS
Week 1
ME Lower:
Deadlift – work up to a top set of 3 reps

Front Squat – 3 x 5
Opposite Stance Deadlift – 4 x 8
KB Swings – 4 x 15-20
Abs – 5 x 25

DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 5 x 2 @65%

Romanian Deadlifts – 5 x 5
KB Swings - 4 x 15-20
GHR - 4 x AMRAP
Abs – 5 x 20-25

Week 2
ME Lower:
Good Mornings – work up to
a to a top set of 5 reps
(use cambered bar if able)
Beltless Squats – 3 x 8
Inverse Curl - 4 x AMRAP
KB Swings - 4 x 15-20
Abs – 5 x 20-25

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 DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 4 x 2 @70%

Romanian Deadlifts – 4 x 8
Reverse Hypers - 4 x 20-25
KB Swings – 5 x 20-25
Abs – 5 x 20-25

Week 3
ME Lower:
2” Mat Deadlifts – work up to a to a
top set single
Beltless Good Mornings – 3 x 5
Belt Squats - 4 x 10-15
Abs – 5 x 20-25
KB Swings – 4 x 15

DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 3 x 2 @75%

Reverse Hypers - 5 x 20-25

KB Swings – 4 x 20
Abs – 5 x 20-25

Week 4
ME Lower:
Front Squat – work up to a top set of
3 reps

Romanian Deadlifts – 4 x 5-8

Opposite Stance Deadlift – 4 x 5-8
Belt Squats - 4 x 15
Abs – 5 x 20-25

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 DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 5 x 2 @65%

Hamstring Curls - 4 x 10-12

Reverse Hypers - 4 x 20-25
Abs - 4 x 25

Week 5
ME Lower:
2” Deficit Deadlifts– work up to
a top set single

Stiff Leg Deadlifts – 5 x 8

Belt Squats - 4 x 15-20
KB Swings – 4 x 15-20
Abs – 5 x 25

DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 4 x 2 @70%

Good Mornings - 4 x 8
Reverse Hypers - 5 x 20
Abs - 5 x 20-25

Week 6
ME Lower:
Good Mornings – work up to a top
set of 3 (use cambered bar if able)

Beltless Squats – 3 x 5
Opposite Stance Deadlifts – 4 x 8
Abs – 5 x 20-25

DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 3 x 2 @75%
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 Belt Squat - 4 x 15
Reverse Hypers - 4 x 20-25
Abs - 4 x 20-25

Week 7
ME Lower:
Zercher Squat – work up to a top
set single

Deficit Deadlift – 4 x 5
Romanian Deadlifts – 4 x 8
Abs – 5 x 20-25

DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 5 x 2 @65%

Inverse Curl - 4 x AMRAP

Reverse Hypers - 5 x 20
Abs - 4 x 20-25

Week 8
ME Lower:
Deadlift – work up to a top set single

Beltless Front Squats – 3 x 5

Good Mornings – 4 x 5
KB Swings – 4 x 15-20
Abs – 5 x 25

DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 4 x 2 @70%

Romanian Deadlifts - 4 x 8
Hamstring Curls - 3 x 12
Abs - 5 x 20
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Week 9
ME Lower:
Good Mornings – work up to a top set of 5 reps
(use cambered bar if able)

Opposite Stance Deadlift – 4 x 5

Belt Squats - 4 x AMRAP
KB Swings – 5 x 20-25
Abs – 5 x 20-25

DE Lower:
Speed Deadlifts – 3 x 2 @75%

Reverse Hypers - 4 x 25
KB Swings - 4 x 20-25
Abs - 5 x 20

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