Maggie's Farm

Readers know I consider the Mighty Mighty Deadlift as the core of creating/maintaining a sturdy body - followed by the other powerlifts of course.

Deads are a total body exertion. I only do them once weekly (I do barbell squats on Mon, Deads on Thurs, high-rep leg press on Sat - and still have skinny runner's legs). 

To mix it up and to keep things interesting, about every 6 weeks I switch Squat and Dead from higher reps (ie 8 reps for 6 sets)  to 5 sets of descending reps, increasing wt by 10 lbs for each set (6,5, 4, 3, 2 reps/set). The final two get me within sight of my one-rep max. Gets heavy, and grip gets iffy.

Someday, I will get my one-rep max into the 2 rep range.

Keeps things interesting, and keeps your body off balance by changing routine. 

2-3 minute rest between sets for heavy lifts, please. What is "heavy"? It's all relative to the individual. You know what you can't move, and back down from there.

Re the photo, that's the grip I use