You Aren't Training These Hard Enough (3 Deadlift GAME-CHANGERS) 

BaseStrengthAI is more reliable than a coach, cheaper than an Excel template!👇👇👇 www.BaseStrength.com/the-app Bromley Merch from Barbell Apparel only available HERE! 👇👇👇 barbellapparel.com/Bromley

Last year I pulled ~450 lbs and then took deadlifts out of my rotation. Did 3x8 good mornings, RDLs, and different types of rows for a few months, and first time back deadlifting pulled 500. New gym has a reverse hyper and GHR which I've never used before, I would think a similar result is possible.

LATE FOR CLASS, LOOKS LIKE IM ABOUT TO BE 15 MINUTES LATER 😎😎💪🏻💪🏻

People hate doing rows? The fuck I love barbell rows, rowing 365 for reps feels incredible, working on 405 Nothing like gripping and ripping, Krofk rows too hell yeah brother

Really enjoyed this video, excellent reminder of how important and conducive to growth (in terms of deadlift performance) the RDL and rows are, i will keep these lessons in mind as i return to a consistent training schedule. Thank you for continually inspiring and providing us with content!

Picked up the paperback versions of Base and Peak Strength this week -- just wanted to say thanks for writing them. It's nice to see someone demystify programming in a way that's really easy to understand and not full of a bunch of gimmicks or trying to push one specific training methodology.

Need a video like this for squats too.

Glad to see rows mentioned here. I remember when I used to wrestle the strongest guys I trained with all had one thing in common; a huge upper back. I think pendlay rows helped my deadlift a lot but I also think rows offer some of the best functional brute strength for athletes.

I'm so glad I was told about all these movements when I started lifting at 16yrs, especially RDL's, GM's, BOR and Hyperextenions. Upper back in general I think is overlooked too. Even though I missed years of lifting, (still did pull ups/chin ups & dips) these accessory movements do build a great base, so when I did get back on that horse I was a lot stronger then I thought I was gonna be lol. Even though I'm by no means a world class lifter, I love the gym! It's such a great way to handle depression 😃

man you have no idea how excited I get when you post this informational gold!

RDLs have excellent carry over to locking out both sumo and conventional deadlifts. I'm at 650 on deads and I use 315 for sets of 10 on RDL. I love following RDLs with lying hamstring curls to build hamstring size and strength.

Thanks for the advice ! Revers hypers really helping me with my low back strength! Hopefully I can see more of ur vids with other things I need help on

I can't speak highly enough of this video. I peaked with my max DL years ago and spent ages trying to force my way past to no avail. I stopped deadliftong and worked an accessory exercises and it helped so much. Hyer ys and hammy curls

I use weighted back extension for my track athletes and seen great improvement especially coming out of the blocks

Great video once again , the shoulder training video u put out is gold my strict OHP is steadily getting better from all the types of over pressing and front raises You had suggested !

Always great content Bromley. Been taking a break from powerlifting to do muay thai and bodybuilding, but when you were training me you introduced me to a lot of annoying ass movements that definitely pay off big time if you can drag yourself to put in the work.

Really amped me up .. great motivation as always to add 🔥 to my workout ..

Keep the vids up. Love the ones like this

Thank you so much. Amazing content as always thank you Alexander ..

Thanks for the video! Useful information as always! I rotate Rows, RDL, and hip thrust in one of my slots for pull, every 6-8 weeks or so. Helps tremendously.

I'm big on doing upper back focused rows for a block or two and then doing lat focused rows for a block or two. One day in the 8-10 rep range and the other day in the 12-15 with a deficit or a pause at peak contraction - being almost parallel to the floor is key here.

Push/Pull comp coming up. Will be implementing these tips.

Awesome tips. One of the best things i've incorporated was zercher good mornings to help with my bracing & core strength since that was always a weight point

This is awesome dude. Just started learning deadlift liftin light as hell (so I don’t get jacked up lol) going to start incorporating these into my program.

Really cool hat there Bromley hanging on the rack and really good video as usual!

This is great information! Thanks!

Great video, going to implement some of this in my training. Hanging around a 555-560lb deadlift, and want to drive it up over 6 eventually.

Ngl I love this dude …thx Brom again for all your info

Dude, your channel and Wennings are the two most understated in all of fitness and ALL of RU-vid! Great video brother

Nice video Bromley! Just wanted to say thank you for all the amazing content you put out. I've made pretty good gains across the board using volume phases that I drew together from a few of your past videos. I am working on getting my lagging lower body up to snuff. What would you suggest as a replacement for reverse hypers and back extensions towards the end of the video? I'm training in a home gym at the moment with decent equipment but missing those. Also any ideas for quad development for someone who has a bone spur blocking their ankle? Do I just do all my squats with a plate under my foot? Lol. Thank you for the amazing content as always!

great content, thanks

Great video and advice.

Great presentation. For my training (41 ys old), I am a weightlifting hobbiest/enthusiast. It has always been my favorite form of exercise. That said, I have also considered the DL as king of all exercises, since I was in my early 20s. It is the most functional for everyday life movements and can prevent injury when you're lifting a box, or furniture, or your girlfriend. Additionally, it's a total shred for the posterior chain. Thanks to John Meadows' videos and legitimate folks like this video, I have rearranged my back/pull days to work from the upper back to the hams in one session, doing two sessions in a given week (noting recovery, of course). In my older years of lifting, I found that heavy back should be my third or fourth exercise, with the first two or three being "supported" or iso movements for the upper back, lats and hams (I also warm up for 5-10 minutes on a cardio machine that hits these, plus glutes). Heavy movements are then either a DL, RDL, Pendlay, or BB/DB row, finishing the workout with a couple "easier" iso movements for the glutes/hams, like KB swings, bridges, and then hypers or now reverse hypers. I find this gives me enough warm-up to get to those heavy lifts, with enough energy to sustain the rest of the day. Next Pull day, I will do whatever movements I didn't get to do the session before. Example: DL one day, RDLs, the next, sometimes even two smaller sets of two heavy movements. But, I think it is important not to kill your back with a ton of unsupported rows and heavy pulls. This method of pyramiding up and down has worked well for the last year. I lost 50 lbs, several inches around my neck and waist, and became really improved strength and stamina, even in everyday life. I gained a lof "covid era weight" and now that is gone. I love coming across solid videos like this to keep the ideas flowing and learn new approaches, or to reinforce some of the priorities in a program. This material is much better than the sales pitches you see on IG, where every week a new exercise completely snatched someone's waist, or rippled their back, while they use lighting and clothing tricks to convince everyone of their bullshit. Great job explaining the detail here and nice to come across a true pro's instruction.

Awesome video, lots of good ideas here. Would love to see the same but for squats!

Another class video! My hams really blow up doing goodmornings!

Hypers/back extensions are one of my go-to deadlift accessories; I genuinely attribute my smooth lockout to that movement. You got me with the barbell rows, though... I used to hate them, but have been trying to incorporate them lately. Literally did any other type of row just to avoid having to be in that bent over position and holding it for a prolonged time. But I'm getting accustomed to them... hopefully, they'll do something positive for me.

The line should probably be drawn for barbells rows in that they are probably have a more synergistic carryover to deadlifting because of the need for a strong posterior chain to hold your body stable, while also providing an upper back stimulus, but if you want to just grow your upper back, cable and machine variations are just as valid and have their place. It’s really a spectrum of specificity at the end of the day I would say. That being said, I could try to do more Dumbell Rows or even Seal Rows!

Been hitting hammies real hard recently to try to benefit my deadlift. I think I may have fallen into the habit of using rdls as too much of a mind muscle exercise and worrying about keeping 'textbook' form. I've pulled 585 and I don't think I've ever done a set of rdls at over 225.... thanks for the knowledge.

I love RDLs. I also like the variant where you just go from ankle to knee , it fries your hamstrings and I think helps with off the floor strength.

Needed this!!

For back extensions, dumbbells and barbells work very well, can take to to super low reps as well, super good movement.

Great video

Training vs testing is a great point

Great video! Very true.

Thank you a lot.

Back extensions are really great.

glad to know i’m doing pretty much all this already, god i wish my gym had a reverse hyper tho i might just have to pull the trigger and get one for the home gym

Great recommendations...I definitely have to do more RDLs. Any thoughts on weighted pull-ups?

I have a mental block for deadlifts at the moment. Just hit 585 and pulled a hamstring, and hurt my low back running a marathon. The injury primarily came from a squat mis-spot. One of the guys “helped” me rack the weights after I completed the lift and it tweaked my low back.

I needed to see this.

Great video!!!

Definitely gonna try crock rows instead of my cable rows i do on my back day. Great video.

Hey Alex, just found your channel and I’m enjoying the content and training tips. Will give the banded back extensions a shot tomorrow. Do you have any guidelines on how much someone should Be able to good morning with around a 500 pound deadlift? I have a pretty long torso and I’ve always found the GM to be really uncomfortable. I love doing RDLs though! Been repping 315 on those, need to grind that a bit higher.

Awesome video mate cheers from🦘🦘🦘

I agree with the rows being apart of a good deadlift. I row around 200lbs for 10 reps give or take a rep and how I feel that day. Trying to get to that 1000lb deadlift club 😊

Amazing video

I've only tried RDLs once and did a pathetic weight. I'll start adding these back in with bigger weight. My main assistance has always been stiff leg DLs; GMs were always a squat assistance for me.

Thanks

Great video as usual !! Do you think all these are necessary if your doing strongman events weekly..without going overboard and doing too much ? Thanks

This is a great video

I automatically found RDLs to be more maintainable in a program(fatigue) so I switched to RDLs and actively progressed them. My grip and deadlift max went up pretty fast.

Awesome man :)

Could you do a video like this for the overhead press?

Looking to find fitness again at 50. Cycling aka bike riding was my thing. So here I am back In the garage working on deadlifts and spinning. The mountain is taller than a remember but I think I can make it.

45 Degree back raises for the win!

Rubish rows are excellent also , back extensions holding a barbell out in front

For the second section: what do you recommend for isolation movements if you have a home gym?

Just found your channel, BadAss!!!!

To make good mornings even better, place safety pins at the rack at the height that would be at the bottom of the movement. When descending, try to lower the bar and rest it there for a 1 second, while maintaining core/spine tensions. Then, explode using your glutes and driving upper back into the bar behind you, toes jammed into the ground.

Need a video like this for bench! My bench is terrible!!!

great video

The best movements for me for pushing my conventional up are: -RDL -Weighted decline situps (could sub in any heavy ab work but I like these) -Hip thrust machine (I started doing them mainly just out of curiosity but they really have made it easier to push my hips through at the top). -Safety bar squats

Ever played around with snatch grip RDLs? Would the extra stimulus in the traps carry over more than normal grip RDLs. Great channel man. I think I watch each video at least three times so I can learn it, know it, live it. Lol

Grate video. Funny enough i've been doing these exact movements in my training, to work my spinal erectors, lower back ect. and i improved deadlift max by 20 kilos in 2 weeks without doing any deadlifting meanwhile.

It made me pretty happy when you said a 600lbs deadlifter should be RDLing in the 400s. I recently did a 418lb 3x6 on RDLs nice and deep and haven't hit a max since i was at 350 for 3x8 on RDLs (which granted me a 517 dead at the time). Hoping this increase translates to something even remotely close to 600. Haha!!

I love RDLs & GMs I do GMs on Squat Day & RDLs on Deadlift Day.

What do you think how mich weight is good for good mornings with a straight bar ? I am doing good mornings regularly and serious since a month and already getting benefits of learning how to brace and getting the elbows in the right spot (More in line with the trunk to prevent the bar from rolling) for the squat 🙂

Stiff legs and rdl’s are life. Ghr and reverse hyper have been a staple for me for about 6-8 months after squats and deads and the difference has been huge. The good girl bad girl machine has been big for me too in helping my hips feel less beat up and helping develop the adductors

Couldnt agree more What is your opinion on doing DL with totaly straight legs? Given one is flexible enough

Would you add pendlay rows to help a deadlift? Would imagine it would help with the power from the floor

There are also just very few things more sickeningly badass than heavy bent rows. I’ve been hitting some conventional deadlift prs near the mid 500s, all pretty smooth and fast. But what really got people’s attention was my 315 x 4 pendlay row pr, minimal body english, beltless. Always funny when people wonder how I don’t have back pain, when they’re watching me do the exercises that are responsible

Would doing Straight-legged RDLs be helpful for deadlifts as well? Perhaps even as a substitute to RDLs if one wanted to really isolate and work on the hamstrings and glutes? Would these be helpful in increasing DLs? Thanks!

What is your breathing/bracing like for larger bent over row sets

Pulls ups are great also

I’m on it, Bromley. I’m awarding myself 3x 3-rep pulls of 500 for my 65th birthday.

Rows are fucking godly. Big heavy ass barbell rows. strict on the warm up sets, little bit of momentum on the heavy sets. That's how U get strong. Let yo nuts hang out

Is your Breathing and Bracing book still available somewhere?

I program myself for 4 different lifts - deadlift, bench, squat, and clean and press with at least a day in between. Can I safely program a row variation on all 4 days?

This is what Coach Blaha does. It would be awesome if Alexander and Coach made a collaboration video together!

Barbell finger curls has been really big for my deadlift. My grip is easily the weakest part of the deadlift, so a movement that strengthens my whole grip & hypertrophies my forearms more than a rack pull

Anybody have any tips for getting past high hamstring / proximal hamstring tendinopathy?

Would you say RDLs can be swapped for good mornings and vis versa,what about front squats as accessory for deadlift.

Anyone tried rotating variations from workout to workout? Like doing RDLs day one, good mornings day 2, conventional day 3, hip thrusts day 4 etc?

I do nordics instead of hamstring curls, garage work around 🤙

Doing a set of 12 rep rdl when do you breathe and brace again or do you hold your breathe the whole time

What about SLDL’s? R they also good in ur opinion?

I can strict DB 105lbs, and the only problem is my grip, which is due to hand and wrist injuries. Should I just use straps? That weak grip is my only limiting factor on those.

Will these work for improving sumo deadlift too?

Would you do all these accessary movements in one training day or in a couple? Because you listed more than 3 exercises?

Reverse SSB good mornings, like flipping the bar upside down, cambers the bar even farther away from your hips and really stresses the erectors