I’m on week 12 of Powerlifting II, have learned a ton and have had great results with strict compliance: pain-free, higher work capacity, squat PR already on an RPE 8.5, etc. The only trouble I’ve encountered is that my heavy deadlift performance (RPE 8.5-9+) has declined. My sub-maximal performance has all gone up and back-off sets have progressed well, but just those top singles coming in close to competition numbers feel harder to find leverage with. Unlike squat and bench, I’m less comfortable with the same weight I had at RPE 9 before PL2.
I’m a long-armed, conventional puller and my hunch is that this is just down to being accustomed to more RPE8-9 singles in previous training. I might just need more practice at high loads to realize the gains from earlier phases in the program. Any tips on how to go about adding singles to the next run of PL2? Is it as simple as try adding an extra 1@8 throughout or should I focus on tailoring week 10+ comp deadlift sessions to add more heavy singles?