How to Get My Deadlift Past 135 Lbs As a Beginner

To Deadlift 155 lbs, You Need to Lift 115 lbs First

To get your deadlift past 135 lbs as a beginner, you need to stop trying to lift 135 lbs every week. Instead, you're going to follow a simple 4-week cycle that starts with a weight that feels almost too easy: 115 lbs.

That probably sounds backward. You want to lift heavier, so the advice is to lift lighter? Exactly. The feeling of being pinned at 135 lbs-one 45-pound plate on each side of the bar-is one of the most common frustrations in the gym. You add 10 pounds, and the bar feels glued to the floor. Or worse, your back rounds like a fishing rod and you know you're risking injury.

Here’s the truth: trying to max out or near-max out every single week is the fastest way to stay weak. Your body doesn't build strength during the lift; it builds strength during recovery. By constantly pushing your absolute limit, you're creating so much fatigue that your body never has a chance to recover, adapt, and actually get stronger.

Think of it like this: you're repeatedly 'testing' your strength instead of 'building' it. To build it, you need perfect reps with manageable weight. This allows your nervous system to learn the movement pattern efficiently and your muscles to grow without being constantly beaten down.

So, we're going to take a step back. We'll drop the weight to 115 lbs for sets of 5. It will feel light. This is the point. You're giving your body a chance to catch up. You're practicing perfect form, building confidence, and creating momentum that will blow past 135 lbs in just a few weeks.

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The Real Reason You're Stuck: You're Paying a 'Recovery Debt'

Your plateau isn't a strength problem; it's a recovery problem. Every time you perform a difficult set, you create a stimulus for your muscles to grow. But that stimulus comes with a cost: fatigue. Your body has to pay off this 'recovery debt' before it can adapt and get stronger.

When you're a beginner trying to lift your 3-rep max of 135 lbs every Monday, you're taking out a massive loan. The workout creates a huge stimulus but also a massive recovery debt. Your body spends the entire week just trying to get back to baseline. By the next Monday, you haven't gotten stronger; you've just barely recovered. So you fail at 140 lbs again.

This is the cycle of frustration. The solution is called progressive overload, but not the way most people think about it. Progressive overload doesn't just mean 'add more weight.' It means making the workout slightly harder over time in a way your body can actually handle.

Our plan-starting 20 lbs lighter and adding 5 lbs a week-manages this perfectly. In week one, lifting 115 lbs for 3x5 is a small stimulus with a tiny recovery debt. Your body pays it off in a day or two, then has several days left to adapt and get stronger. The next week, 120 lbs feels just as manageable. You're accumulating fitness, not just fatigue.

This method of training with submaximal weights ensures that you are always operating from a place of strength and recovery. You are 'practicing' the deadlift with perfect form, making your nervous system more efficient. Each week builds on the last, creating unstoppable momentum. You're no longer gambling on getting stronger; you're engineering it.

This is the system: Stimulate, Recover, Adapt. You now know the 'why'. But knowing the 'why' and actually tracking the 'what' are two different things. Can you say, with 100% certainty, what weight, reps, and sets you did for deadlifts four weeks ago? If the answer is 'no' or 'I think so,' you're not running a system. You're just hoping.

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The 4-Week Cycle That Breaks the 135 lb Barrier

This is not a 'hope and pray' program. It's a simple, repeatable system. You will deadlift once per week. The goal is not to grind out ugly reps; the goal is to execute each set with perfect form and move on. The strength comes from the structure of the program, not from destroying yourself in one workout.

Step 1: Find Your 'Work Weight' (The Minus 20 Rule)

Your current sticking point is 135 lbs. We're going to subtract 20 lbs from that number. Your new starting 'Work Weight' is 115 lbs. Yes, it will feel easy. That is the entire point. We are building momentum and giving your body a break from the strain of constant max-effort attempts. If your sticking point is different, like 115 lbs, then your starting weight would be 95 lbs. The principle is the same.

Step 2: The Weekly Progression (The Plus 5 Rule)

Here is your exact plan for the next four weeks. You will perform 3 sets of 5 reps (3x5) with the prescribed weight. Rest 2-3 minutes between each set. Focus on a clean setup and a powerful, smooth pull for every single rep.

• Week 1: Deadlift 115 lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps.
• Week 2: Deadlift 120 lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps.
• Week 3: Deadlift 125 lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps.
• Week 4: Deadlift 130 lbs for 3 sets of 5 reps.

By the end of week 4, you will have lifted 130 lbs for 5 reps. This weight should feel challenging but doable, a huge confidence boost compared to struggling with 135 for a single. You have now built the strength base to smash your old plateau.

Step 3: Test Week and Resetting the Cycle

Week 5 is not another 3x5 day. This is your test day. After a proper warm-up, you will work up to a new one-rep max (1RM). It should look something like this:

• Warm-up: 5 reps with the bar (45 lbs)
• Warm-up: 5 reps with 75 lbs
• Warm-up: 3 reps with 95 lbs
• Warm-up: 1 rep with 115 lbs
• First attempt: 1 rep with 135 lbs (this should feel easy now)
• New Max Attempt: 1 rep with 145 lbs

If 145 lbs moves well, you can even try for 150 or 155 lbs. Once you hit your new max, you've won. To continue making progress, you start the cycle over, but based on your new strength level. Let's say your new max is 155 lbs. Your next 3x5 work weight would be around 135 lbs, and you'd build from there.

Step 4: Add The 'Support Lifts' That Matter

A strong deadlift isn't built by deadlifts alone. On your other training days, you need to strengthen the muscles that support the lift. Don't go crazy with a dozen exercises. Focus on these three high-impact movements.

• Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs): 3 sets of 8-10 reps. This is your #1 accessory for building hamstring and glute strength. Use a much lighter weight (65-95 lbs) and focus on pushing your hips back while keeping your back flat. This teaches your body the hip-hinge pattern crucial for a strong deadlift.
• Barbell Rows: 3 sets of 6-8 reps. A strong upper back prevents the bar from drifting away from you during the pull, which is a major cause of failed lifts and lower back strain. Pull the bar powerfully to your stomach.
• Planks: 3 sets, holding for 45-60 seconds. Your core is the bridge between your powerful legs and your strong back. A weak core will buckle under load. Planks build the rigid stability you need to transfer force from the floor into the bar.

What Progress Actually Feels Like (Hint: It's Not Linear)

Following this program requires patience. You have to trust the process, especially when the weights feel light. Here’s what you should expect week by week so you don't get discouraged and quit too early.

Week 1-2: This Feels Wrong (It's Right)

The first two weeks will feel suspiciously easy. You will finish your 3 sets of 5 at 115 lbs and 120 lbs and think, 'I could have done more.' Good. That's the plan. Your job is not to test your limits; it's to execute every single rep with perfect, crisp form. Film your sets. Is your back flat? Are your hips rising at the same time as your chest? Use this easy phase to become a technician.

Week 3-4: The Challenge Returns

Lifting 125 lbs and 130 lbs for sets of 5 will start to feel like real work. The last rep of your last set should be a grind, but a successful one. Your form must remain solid. This is where the strength you built in the 'easy' weeks pays off. You'll feel strong and in control, not on the verge of failure.

Month 2 and Beyond: The New Normal

After you smash through 135 lbs in week 5, you'll feel amazing. You'll then start the cycle over with a heavier starting weight. Progress will not always be this fast. As you get stronger, you may only be able to add 5 lbs to the cycle every other month. You might have to switch from 3x5 to 3x3. This is not failure; this is the nature of getting stronger. The goal is consistent, measurable progress over months and years, not just weeks.

Warning Sign: If at any point you feel a sharp, shooting, or radiating pain, stop immediately. That is not normal muscle soreness. The most common technical flaw that causes this is letting your lower back round. If you see this happening on video, the weight is too heavy. Drop the weight and focus on form.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Often to Deadlift for Strength

Deadlift once per week. As a beginner, your body needs 5-7 days to fully recover and adapt from a heavy deadlift session. The deadlift is extremely taxing on your central nervous system. Training it more often leads to accumulated fatigue, not strength gains. Use your other training days for squats, bench press, and the support lifts mentioned above.

The Role of a Lifting Belt

You do not need a lifting belt to get past 135 lbs. A belt is a tool to help advanced lifters brace against very heavy loads, typically 85% or more of their one-rep max. Learning to brace your core naturally by taking a deep breath and flexing your abs is a fundamental skill. Using a belt too early becomes a crutch and prevents you from developing this core strength.

Conventional vs. Sumo Stance

Stick with the stance that feels most natural and allows you to keep a flat back. For most people, conventional (feet hip-width apart) is the best place to start. Sumo (feet very wide) uses more hips and quads and can be a good option for people with certain body proportions. Neither is inherently 'better.' The best one is the one you can perform safely and consistently.

What If I'm Stuck Below 135 lbs?

The same principle applies. If you're stuck at 95 lbs for five reps, your first work week starts at 75 lbs (95 minus 20). You will then follow the same 4-week cycle of adding 5 lbs per week. The specific numbers on the bar don't matter as much as the principle of submaximal progression. Trust the system.

Using Bumper Plates vs. Iron Plates

Always lift from the standard height, which is the center of the bar being 8.75 inches off the floor. This is the height of a standard 45 lb (or 20 kg) plate. If you are lifting less than 135 lbs and only have smaller iron plates, the bar will be too low, altering the lift. Use bumper plates if your gym has them. If not, place blocks or other plates under your weights to raise the bar to the correct starting height.