Hi,

Im currently 5'6" and 138-140lbs. My best 1rm was 345lbs yesterday. I don't use straps, chalk (dumb gym rules), or a belt. My training so far has been :

1RM once a week

10 rounds of 10 pistol squats (+10lb plate this week) each leg/10 leg raises/10 explosive pushups/ 10 sit ups or 1RM cleans

100 chest to bar pullups / 100 wall ball with 15 lb medicine ball / pushups / sit ups

.5 mile wind sprints up to 2 miles or 1 mile timed run ( 5:41 is my best to date )

I would like to compete in a deadlifting comp but I am very unfamiliar with standards and such. Whats the minimum I should be shooting for my size? Im pretty lean so im also in debate if I should go up to 148 or cut to 132. Also, if there is somthing else I should be doing instead of what im doing workout wise? Every week my dead has improved at least 10lbs.

Stop maxing every week. Start working in deads off a platform (100 lb plates work well) i like the fact that you are going up every week but try using 3's and 5's for your work set. You can start doing GM's, pullthroughs, box squats, Romanian deads, SLDLS and any other posterior exercises as supplemental and accesory lifts. Don't worry about what is good for your weight class, go in and compete and don't worry about making weight for your first meet. I think i weighted 276. 5 the first time i lifted and i ended up in the 308 class.

agreed, dont max every week. Focus on weights you can handle and work in lower reps.

Awesome, I'll give some 3's and 5's a shot! I'll have to look up some of those other excersises. When should I 1rm? Or if there are any books/sites any of you would reccomend? It's hard to fish through some of the trash on the internet as a beginner :/
I just want a good foundation of knowledge instead of learning stuff wrong.

Should I replace the stuff im doing with the excersises you reccomended? Or pepper them in my current workouts?

All the help is much appreciated!

-dave

Dave, depending on when you plan on competing you can start a progressive overload run on the plates at 5's and when you can't get anymore you can move to 3's and when that stops you can go to the floor until you can't get 3's their and then do a few weeks of singles before you compete. Deadlifting is best kept simple imo, especially when starting out.

find what works best for you and cater it to your routines. i find that working around a 5rm is where i get the most increases in strength when deadlifting

Even the best powerlifters use sets of 5 and 3. Just mix up your training and you'll be fine.

ive been maxing every week for a year now ive taken a couple 4 week breaks. but it works.

i like to work up to around 90% of my 5rm for a couple weeks, increasing the amount of weight moved buy using 1x10 at 70%, 1x5 at 80%, and then 3x5 at 90% and then i'll max out every 3rd or 4th week using 5x5

Just hit 355 a day ago at Bwt 139! As well as a new PR on my mile 5:38! Been doing lots of pullthroughs, squat 3's and 5's, and wieghted box jumps and 1 leg squats. Hoping to hit 365 in 2 weeks!

All the help has been awesome!

-Dave