Interview with Andy Bolton

Set new deadlift PR's with Andy Bolton

Technical

OK Andy. How bout we start with technique. What, in your expert opinion, is the best technique for deadlifters?

The technique that I teach is to start with bar very close, if not touching the shins. As you lower down to grab bar you need to make sure your shins don't travel forward. If you do, this will push the bar away and when you pull up, it will come up and away from the legs.

I like to keep the weight on my back to middle foot so that I am pulling back, not up.
Feet should be shoulder width apart, arms by the legs. Arms should always be long and relaxed with no bend and no tension in them at all. Just before the pull, I like to contract my lats. It's very subtle, but it keeps you tight throughout. When the bar is pulled up and reaches the knees I then force my glutes forward as hard as I can.

The sumo deadlift is a more leg dominant lift. With this style you still need to keep the bar close and pull slower. There is very little room for mistakes in this style.

Beginners should learn good technique first with lighter weights. Afterwards, they should increase the weight but never go above 90% unless they are testing their 1 rep maximum.

What are common technical errors you see?

The biggest one is pulling the bar but not keeping it close enough to the legs on the way up. To fix this, pull slower, keeping the bar touching the legs at all times. In time, the speed of the pull should increase.

Another is the legs and back not working together. The legs will straighten before the bar is sufficiently high up. To fix this, again pull slower making sure both the back and legs lock out together. As it improves you can speed up the lift. Another is jerking at the bar. This will hurt your back. You must learn to pull with high tension on the bar before the start of the pull.

Exercise selection

Let's talk special exercises. What builds the start best?

For me, breaking off the floor is initiated by the hamstrings, then as it moves the quads straighten the leg. So its hamstring and quad strength. The best movements for the hamstrings and quads in my opinion are the leg press, wide stance squats, front squats & hamstring curls

How about the top? What exercises build the top best?

The top end is all glutes. I like to use kettlebell swings. I work up heavy, 10 sets of 10 reps with a weight up to 92kg. Back strength is important but the deadlift itself will do this for you

Grip is often weak, what do you suggest for this?

Grip is an area I have worked very hard on. I like to do the following movements, choosing only one each week:

• Pinch grip(using plates)
• Fat bar holds 10 to 20 sec
• Fat bar deadlift(double overhand grip)
• Olympic bar shrugs 
   
  These are what I like to use. Something else I do is to not chalk up for deadlifts for training. I only use chalk the day of a competition

A weak like torso isn't going to help. What areas of the torso need development and what are the best methods?

Getting the torso tight is very important. For the abs I like to use:

• Heavy side bends
• Power planks
• Crunches with the feet set wide apart

Front squats are also very good at helping to keep tight. I only do deadlifts for the lower back, nothing else. Anything else I feel over-trains it

For the lats/upper back I like:

• Regular hammer rows
• Cable rows
• Lat pull-downs

Building the foundation: 4 week conditioning phase

Would you recommend a pre-stage cycle of conditioning before starting your 12 weeks cycles? If so what would someone do?

It's always good to be in shape. You must have a solid base to build on as a cycle will tax you. For myself, I use kettlebell swings during my off-season. This preparation phase lasts 4 weeks. This means before I even enter the 12 week plan in preparation for a meet I am already in shape and not starting from scratch.

What should be the intensity of the deadlift at the start and then transitioning to the finish of this phase?

For the squat, deadlift & bench it is high volume 3's & 5's at an intensity of about 60/70% of maximum. During this time, I use lots of volume and only train the lifts on the days specified later in this article. In terms of sets, I work up to maybe 8 sets of 3's or 5's. Rest periods are shorter, 2 mins as compared to 3 to 5 mins in the main cycle.

How will you utilise the kettlebell swings during this period?

During the conditioning phase I use kettlebell swings on the Friday or Saturday. At the start of the conditioning phase we will begin with a 36kg kettlebell and do 5 sets 10 reps each session with a rest period of one minute for every single set. Gradually we will increase the sets to 10 over the weeks. When we hit 10 sets we will then increase the weight and return to 5 sets and repeat. This is done throughout the cycle whereby the goal is to ultimately work up to 92kg kettlebells at the end of the cycle.

12 week cycle: Programme design

What guidance do you have for a deadlift cycle, days per week, reps, sets etc?

Planning a program for the deadlift is simple - train it once a week on the same day as the squat and after the squat training is finished. Keep training to no more than 3 days a week in total.

So the schedule of a weeks training will be:

Monday - Bench press, shoulders, triceps, grip work

Wednesday – Squats, deadlifts, leg presses, hamstring curls

Friday or Saturday - Kettlebell work, core work(abs), back assistance work(rowing and lat pull-downs), more grip work

In terms of deadlift intensity at the start of a 12 week cycle, for me it begins at about 60% and increases up to 90% at the end. 60% is low at the start, but at this stage I am working on lots of speed sets, getting myself ready for heavier work to come. In terms of sets and reps, for the squat and deadlift, sets are around 10 to 15 each. Reps range from 2's or 3's to 5's. Sometimes I use singles but never max singles at this stage.

How about sets/reps for assistance work?

Assistance works starts at 8 reps. I then work down to 12 reps and then 15 reps as the cycle moves on.

So you decrease the weights in assistance work during the cycle?

Yes, I start with heavy 8 reps and as the powerlifts go up, the assistance comes down to 12 or 15 reps

And how many months/weeks should one train consecutively?

I like 12 weeks of straight training then I go into a show. I like maybe 2 big shows a year. The amount of rest I like to take is 4 weeks at a time. During this period I don't go as heavy. I only de-load when I feel tired, I never plan it. I like 12 weeks because for me it gives me time to work on speed & explosive power at the start while using high volumes. Then obviously, there is a decrease in volume as the weights increase. 12 works well and allows you to hold your focus. Any longer & you will lose focus.

One last thing Andy, could your average gym rat follow your training principles here(obviously with lighter weights) but same percentages, sets reps on everything?

Yes anybody can use this system. Its very simple, but hard work during each and every week. You need to be explosive in the beginning as the weights are lower. You need to pull every rep in every set of deadlifts with as much explosive power as you can.

Take home points:

• Get in shape to train. If your out of condition and have to rest 10 minutes after every set you will be unable to handle optimal amounts of volume at the correct amount of muscular and nervous system excitability. The consequence will be a training routine that will fall short. In addition, you will take longer to recover and will over train easily.

 

• Get tight – if you cannot get optimal tension you will not transfer force optimally. The result will be a sub-par deadlift.

• Don't just deadlift – even the mighty Andy Bolton uses special exercises to fortify the correct deadlifting muscle. Use a variety of exercises to build the areas needed to start and finish the lift 

• Take occasional weeks of reduced training to recuperate 

• Train hard

• Train smart