4-Day Hypertrophy Template and Deadlifts

Barbell Medicine Crew:

Thank you for the content. I am planning to attend the San Antonio Seminar and recently purchased the 4 –Day Hypertrophy Template. A little background on myself…

I previously competed as a 63kg lifter and my best competition pull is 152.5kg (with a rounded lower back). I am 5’7” tall with a long torso and am extremely fast off the floor. I have decided to compete as a 72kg lifter going forward, so I am currently doing the Hypertrophy Template. I will likely purchase the Strength Template to run right after, with plans to do a meet in January in the heavier weight class.

Since my last meet, I have been honing my technique – using a wider stance, slower pull off the floor, and working on keeping a flatter back. Prior to starting the template, I would warm-up with a 5, 3, 2, 1 rep scheme before reaching my first work set. Currently, I am using 6’s across all warm-up sets. During the top sets at 79% today (Week 2), my lower back started rounding again. I think this may be due to the additional volume I am performing in the warm-up, as I pulled the same weight for three sets of five (beltless) just six weeks ago with significantly less rounding than today. Do you suggest that I take weight off the bar or revert to my previous warm-up protocol? Please note based on your template, this estimates my 1RM as 320lbs, yet I have pulled 347.5lbs in training. I do understand that this is not a strength block, so I am not too concerned with the 1RM estimate. However, I want to correct my technique while getting stronger and pulling sumo is not an option.

Welcome as we look forward to seeing you in San Antonio! If you are working to improve your DL technique, then I would have you use a weight that allows you to hold your back flat. Your overall pulling volume, warm ups and working sets is likely markedly higher, so I’m not surprised that you’re carrying a bit more fatigue. You should be basing your work off the RPE for the day, not a max from another (in likely different circumstances) in training or a meet.

Thanks, Leah!