So I am back on a hunt for a triple body weight dead lift. At around 175lbs I need to pull 525lbs off the floor, which will not be an impossible feat but won’t be done in a day. So I am currently running myself through a deadlift rehab program. The four exercises I will be focusing on include the zercher deadlift, a box dead-lift, a rack pull, and the almighty classic dead with a straight hook grip.

Yesterday we did rack pulls from the center of the knee and I racked out our bar at 565lbs. Other than inspiring the purchase of more metal plates this proved to me that the finish was not the problem with my deadlift. It also ruled out my grip as being the weak link, as I was comfortable pulling and holding the weight at the lockout. This of course left the bottom end of the dead pull as my sticking point. My solution today was the zercher dead-lift. In other words I decided that I wanted to suffer.

The Zercher dead-lift takes a slightly wider than normal leg stance, and changes one other crucial factor: the grip. With the zercher dead you lift the weight from the crook of your elbow. For very obvious reasons this makes the lift far harder than the more traditional lift. I spent most of my day pulling triples in the range of 225-265lbs and at no point did these lifts feel easy. It may be that my CNS had not yet recovered from the heavy work the day before but with the low angle, open hips, rounded back, and longer pull this was a bundle of happiness.

For those trying out the zercher dead-lift I would recommend starting with a stupid light weight. If you happen to have access to bumper plates I would recommend starting as low as possible while still getting the bar set at the proper height. This lift will destroy your posterior chain in ways you can only begin to imagine. It is a good super set with one arm-pullups, one arm statics, or any of the whole wide array of pull-ups that I have mentioned in the past.