Block Pulls

[TehWeak1]

Anyone have experience with these?
Did you stack multiple 4" blocks? Or did you simply pull from one? Interested in your insight.
Thanks

 

[spdrew2143]

I've used them in the past. I used different heights, but always had the bar height below my knee. Didn't help my deadlift much...

 

[McBryde Mats LLC]

I've also used them in the past, they are great to use if your sticking point in the dead is in the hip-flexors as you are driving up.
plus, you can do them with monstrous weight, so it looks cool too

 

[TehWeak1]

Thanks guys.
I'm going to be pushing my Deadlift over the course of a 8 week period and thought it might be a useful tool to use towards the last few weeks of training. I will hopefully be pulling in a sanctioned Deadlift only or Push/Pull in December.

 

[selfcritical]

If back fatigue is the limiting factor in training frequency, you could use block pulls to increase total training volume without exploding

 

[Obscure Terror]

I've done them off 1 and 2 2" mats. I find them much harder than conventional deadlifts as there is no quad drive to get the bar moving. YMMV as some people are much stronger from around the knee.

If you have a sticking point below the knee they can be effective in training that weak spot. However as with all deadlifts, overall fatigue needs to be monitored.

 

[boingyman]

I did them from time to time, although I would end up doing rack pulls more often since it was easier to setup and others would be pulling off the floor on our only platform.

 

[TehWeak1]

I did them from time to time, although I would end up doing rack pulls more often since it was easier to setup and others would be pulling off the floor on our only platform.

Problem I have with rack pulls besides the number it does on the bar, is that the slack is already out of the bar, where as with the block pull you have to take the slack out. Anyway, food for thought, I was just curious. Thought maybe anyone who's done Sheiko could comment.

 

[nephel]

Problem I have with rack pulls besides the number it does on the bar, is that the slack is already out of the bar, where as with the block pull you have to take the slack out. Anyway, food for thought, I was just curious. Thought maybe anyone who's done Sheiko could comment.

i do sheiko and do block pulls all the time. a lot of sheiko programming for deadlift breaks it into half pulls from the floor and block pulls. This allows both to be done heavier and with more volume since you are effectively getting a long rest between parts (sheiko programs bench press between the two deadlift sections).

The platforms at my gym have pieces you can replace the catch bars with that are flat platforms. I use those and set it up so that the bar is just below my knees.

Early in my lifting (relative to now), i had some trouble with lockout on a couple of max attempts. I've found the block pulls have solved that problem.

 

[TehWeak1]

Great info. Thanks guys!

 

[boingyman]

I use to do it more off blocks when I did Sheiko because the rest of the team would be doing it as well. I've probably done 3 full cycles of a modified Sheiko (12 weeks) back in my competition days. I agree it's different than rack pulls. We use to pull with either Ivanko or Texas Power bars since we mostly competed in USAPL so there wasn't really much slack on those in comparison to other bars. At least that's my excuse and it's probably because I was never strong enough at pulling to use heavy enough weight to get a lot of flex in the bar, lol....

 

[Flash_Monsta]

Just introduced block pulls into my programme, I'll let you know in 10 weeks if they've had a positive impact on my lifting.