Deadlift 5 x 3
w/u: DL 10 x 66 kg, 5 x 76 kg, 5 x 81 kg
w/o: DL 3 x 90 kg, 3 x 100 kg, 3 x 110 kg, 3 x 115 kg, 3 x 120 kg
Did triples because I ran out of weights doing singles last time. Question for the trainers: is it legit to drop the weight when doing triples? I felt OK lowering the bar up to 110 kg, but thought I was taking an injury risk above that weight, so I dropped it, regripped and pulled again. Is this OK or should I limit the triples (and 5x etc.) to what I can safely lower?
Hey Kid,
You have no business picking up something that is dangerous for you to put back down. That being said, I believe that anything you can pick up for a set of 3, you are fully capable of setting down safely. You just have to learn how to do it properly.
Remember that putting down a Deadlift is simply a reversal in the motions you took to pick it up. That means that from the top position, the hips break first to keep the knees out of the way as the bar slides down your thighs. When the bar is clear of the knees, they can bend to finish the remaining distance. I can’t stress enough that throughout the whole motion your back should remain absolutely locked out. The only danger in setting down a deadlift will come from putting it down with your back rounded like a fishing pole… that is the part that is tough for some people since they loose concentration after the weight is up.
You don’t have to lower the weight to the ground especially slowly, that would use a lot of energy in an eccentric movement during an exercise that is meant to be almost completely concentric. Lowering it quickly with the form I described will not use too much energy, but will avoid losing control of heavy weights like we would if we just dropped the bar… and we always want to control the weights we lift.
Practice setting the bar down with good form in your warm-ups and hopefully it will carry right through to your work sets.
Good luck!
