20 rep dead

[the People's Champ]

I did these for the first time . I was lifting 225, and by the 8th rep, I had gone into a high where I couldn't feel anymore pain, but at the 10th rep, I couldn't go anymore. I did three more reps after a brief rest, and then I blasted 7 more. I need to work out the supporting muscles groups and work on my endurance to get this down. at the 8th rep, I felt GOOD. it seemed like the pain from my thighs, abs, obliques had gone, but they couldn't handle anymore lifting at that time. any suggestions on how I could improve this without lowering the weight?

 

[ballast]

Try resetting after each rep.That is, after you lower the bar back to the floor, pause for a second, take a deep breath or re-adjust your grip if necessary, then go for the next rep.The brief pause won't tax your grip as much as touch and go reps will, and it will also allow you to control your breathing a bit easier as well.

 

[Doktor Bollix]

Hill sprints are the way to go. They kick your conditioning up a gear fast.

I love the 20 reppers but progress is not linear. You should pick a weight that you can bang out 12-14 reps with, then take a breath or two or three between each rep the rest of the way, either put the bar down and stand up between reps or just stand and hold it; putting it down while strapped on and holding it bent over is the worst option, you lose your core tension. If you need to use straps bang out the first 12-14 reps with the straps and take them off, you'll be doing the rest as singles anyway.

A friend of mine just trains his 10 rep max, works hard on the hill sprints and does the 20 once a month and he makes progress, but the mental game takes practice so I go for the 20 each time. Pick a weight to aim for like 275x20 and only when you know you can get out of bed in the morning and get that 20 no matter what should you go for the next milestone like 315 or whatever. Wave loading works best with these or you'll be banging your head off a brick wall fast.

 

[the People's Champ]

thanks for the feedback. mind you, this was the first time attempting a 20 rep dead.

 

[wiseguy7]

thanks for the feedback. mind you, this was the first time attempting a 20 rep dead.

Try doing 20 rep squats also!

 

[Night Fly]

Nice job, PC! I know that when I was going for max reps in 90 sec for my deadlift set one day...I got to the point where I could feel no pain. I was also doing 225 and felt great up until about 12 and then I started slowing down. I rested once after that for about 5 seconds...and it sure does start to wear you out after that! I only did 17, though...wasn't trying for 20...and if I was I probably would have had to wait 3 more minutes in order to get them!

Seriously, though...really nice job on those...they are hard as crap and really taxing to the body.

 

[gettinlarger]

i just have a question about the 20 rep dead ... how does it benefit the body? ive done them twice now, and they really do tired you out, and they feel incredible, but will it help me grow? im just wondering, because i always thought such a heavy compound movement should be hit heavy and in low quantities.

 

[bigdelt69]

I cant really see how a 20 rep dead would benefit the body either.
That is unless you stuck on a platue, I tried this with 215 and thought I was going to pass out. Did feel good but now I feel a little overtrained.

 

[Vortexx]

I speculate it's the GH release from this kind of taxing your body.

It's said that heavy low rep squats (3-5 reps) help to increase testosterone, but the 20 rep squats and deads really use a lot of oxygen too, so i think because of oxygen shortage, you get a massive build of lactic acid in the body(?) the hypothalamus measures this and starts releasing GH (?)

 

[Blkout]

Any high rep compound movement is better performed with high reps. The body does release more GH and thus makes the whole body grow more. I used to do low rep squats and deads and they don't even compare to high reps for growth.