Regimen Alexander Karelin - Resistance Bands?

[period]

You'd be amazed how many incompetent people there are walking around with advanced degrees. I have no clue what he knows or doesn't know. I will not 'read into' what I am seeing or just give him credit for a certain knowledge. I am only going of my experience and what limited information I saw in the video with the overt/clear explanation. I have met trainers and coaches who were completely clueless. There are likewise some absolutely brilliant minds with such advanced degrees. It comes down that many of such people are 'book smart' and have little practical experience training themselves or others. I have noticed there are increasingly more knowledgeable people in the last twenty years.

I understand when training athletes there's the element of balancing injury risk and making sport specific improvements. But there are way of doing it without hitting one rep maxes and likewise using ten pound resistance bands or using light dumbbells.

In the Soviet Union and Russia you can buy and get degrees without a problem. It makes the college scandal from a few years ago in the US seem laughable in comparison.

The way these high rep records are performed involves doing wide grip through limited ROM, bouncing at the bottom and getting chin just b's arely to or above the bar. It is not something I find particularly useful unless the only goal is to meet some minimum standard and achieve some number of reps to say you did X pull ups. I personally find calisthenics guys doing full controlled pull up reps for 10-20 reps far more impressive but this is of course a very subjective matter. It's similar to the people doing insane bench arch to move the weight three inches so they can claim a certain accomplishment.
I have personally found deadlifts incredibly beneficial at control people. In my opinion deadlifts may be one of the single most effective exercises for athletic and real world performance. If mobility and flexibility allow for it, Zercher Deadlifts are absolutely awesome for that.

I will keep this short because it's past midnight here and my alarm will ring for roadwork in less than six hours.
I have trained with coaches and athletes from Russia for years, and my experience has always been: they do what works. If it doesn't, they ditch it. If you have a problem, they have usually already encountered it a hundred times, and will tell you how to fix it. If you do what they tell you, you will usually see quite quickly why they gave that advice. That is not to say they know everything, but their training culture is open and based on exchange, provided they like you. And ixn order for them to like you, usually you just need to out-train everyone in the room and be polite. In other words: they don't stick to tradition or half-knowledge for it's own sake, or because the book said so. They stick to it because they've seen it work, time and again. And to me it seems like Karelins shows what worked for him.
And yes, I know about book-smart people - I have been teaching at universities for over twelve years now That's the polar opposite.

Interestingly enough, my experience with deadlifts was the opposite as well. I am tall and lanky, my arms almost reach my knees when standing. Therefore, I pulled double bodyweight the day I first walked into a gym at nineteen, and close to triple BW after four months total of deadlifting spread out over the next five years. Didn't do anything for me, but squats, rope climbing, kipping pull-ups (I don't like slow ones; if I want more time under tension, I do 90° holds. Plus, for me high reps tend to translate to higher maxes - e.g. 40 reps in the pull-up gave me a single with + 65 kg without doing low reps in between), hill running and bands did immediately. That's not to bash deadlifts, but I think it shows that some things work out differently for different anatomies.

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

I will keep this short because it's past midnight here and my alarm will ring for roadwork in less than six hours.
I have trained with coaches and athletes from Russia for years, and my experience has always been: they do what works. If it doesn't, they ditch it. If you have a problem, they have usually already encountered it a hundred times, and will tell you how to fix it. If you do what they tell you, you will usually see quite quickly why they gave that advice. That is not to say they know everything, but their training culture is open and based on exchange, provided they like you. And ixn order for them to like you, usually you just need to out-train everyone in the room and be polite. In other words: they don't stick to tradition or half-knowledge for it's own sake, or because the book said so. They stick to it because they've seen it work, time and again. And to me it seems like Karelins shows what worked for him.
And yes, I know about book-smart people - I have been teaching at universities for over twelve years now That's the polar opposite.

Interestingly enough, my experience with deadlifts was the opposite as well. I am tall and lanky, my arms almost reach my knees when standing. Therefore, I pulled double bodyweight the day I first walked into a gym at nineteen, and close to triple BW after four months total of deadlifting spread out over the next five years. Didn't do anything for me, but squats, rope climbing, kipping pull-ups (I don't like slow ones; if I want more time under tension, I do 90° holds. Plus, for me high reps tend to translate to higher maxes - e.g. 40 reps in the pull-up gave me a single with + 65 kg without doing low reps in between), hill running and bands did immediately. That's not to bash deadlifts, but I think it shows that some things work out differently for different anatomies.

I appreciate your insight. I enjoy reading other perspectives.

I've seen terrible coaches and athletes that succeed despite the bad training they received. You can't train a 50 inch vertical or 2+ meter height. Usually that's what it comes down to. I've certainly improved my jumping ability back in the day but it paled in comparison to some of my friends who were naturally more gifted or some other random people I've encountered(random 5'10 white soccer player at my university who could do 360 dunks in our basketball rec games. He was so powerful and explosive that I had no ability/time to apply my strength advantage versus him).

Eastern European athletes/Russians also heavily benefitted from their AAS programs which masked sometimes less than perfect training methods. Not trying to crap on the most elite of coaches, I am sure many or most were brilliant minds but it also came out Bulgarians and more recently Russians were doping on a state sanctioned levels.

Being very strong allowed me to control significantly larger people whether in basketball, in grappling or in law enforcement (back in the day). I have usually been around 100kg and most people typically thought I was much heavier. I was able to just hold a brown belt for a prolonged time on the mat on just raw strength and 40lb of bodyweight advantage when we matched up in judo sparring. I am not even a white belt in anything(I am a complete beginner). I have easily pinned people to the ground on the street without needing to use force. Having a 600+ lb deadlift is heavily beneficial for just about any sport.

I've always been stronger on close grip chin ups. I've done 135lb for a rep at 220lb. I have recently started using regressions with bands to improve my wider grip pull ups and increase volume.

I agree with you that anatomy and leverages play a role into which exercise will be best in translating into brute strength improvements or increased athletic performance. Some people will absolutely be better off doing squats, cleans or some other random exercise. I have always been terrible at squats. My best squat was 500lb, more than 200lb less than my deadlift.

 

[1rawdog]

You'd be amazed how many incompetent people there are walking around with advanced degrees.

Post of the day right here, at least based on this line. Basic illustration of the appeal to authority fallacy. The world is full of Mcdojo education. Even funnier to me that @ROcknrollracing liked it for the other paragraph while posting about his certs in another thread.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

I appreciate your insight. I enjoy reading other perspectives.

I've seen terrible coaches and athletes that succeed despite the bad training they received. You can't train a 50 inch vertical or 2+ meter height. Usually that's what it comes down to. I've certainly improved my jumping ability back in the day but it paled in comparison to some of my friends who were naturally more gifted or some other random people I've encountered(random 5'10 white soccer player at my university who could do 360 dunks in our basketball rec games. He was so powerful and explosive that I had no ability/time to apply my strength advantage versus him).

Eastern European athletes/Russians also heavily benefitted from their AAS programs which masked sometimes less than perfect training methods. Not trying to crap on the most elite of coaches, I am sure many or most were brilliant minds but it also came out Bulgarians and more recently Russians were doping on a state sanctioned levels.

Being very strong allowed me to control significantly larger people whether in basketball, in grappling or in law enforcement (back in the day). I have usually been around 100kg and most people typically thought I was much heavier. I was able to just hold a brown belt for a prolonged time on the mat on just raw strength and 40lb of bodyweight advantage when we matched up in judo sparring. I am not even a white belt in anything(I am a complete beginner). I have easily pinned people to the ground on the street without needing to use force. Having a 600+ lb deadlift is heavily beneficial for just about any sport.

I've always been stronger on close grip chin ups. I've done 135lb for a rep at 220lb. I have recently started using regressions with bands to improve my wider grip pull ups and increase volume.

I agree with you that anatomy and leverages play a role into which exercise will be best in translating into brute strength improvements or increased athletic performance. Some people will absolutely be better off doing squats, cleans or some other random exercise. I have always been terrible at squats. My best squat was 500lb, more than 200lb less than my deadlift.

You can actually increase your vertical significantly if you focus on just doing that. This is another thing I disagree with that coach from Texas we all know about. I didnt even understand proper programming when I was 17 and just from playing everyday I was able to grab rim at a 5'9" 165 pound mosquito and I am not terribly explosive(max vert is 24 inches). Look up Isaiah Rivera on YouTube(vertical jump record holder)he has a bunch of videos on how he built up to a 50 inch vertical. You are right though most people have no business focusing that hard on it and your power/vertical should be a byproduct of your training.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

Post of the day right here, at least based on this line. Basic illustration of the appeal to authority fallacy. The world is full of Mcdojo education. Even funnier to me that @ROcknrollracing liked it for the other paragraph while posting about his certs in another thread.

I am not sure what you are getting tbh. Are we not allowed to critique an athletes training methods unless we are ourselves the absolute best in a given sport? If the answer to that is yes then why are we even on this website?

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

You can actually increase your vertical significantly if you focus on just doing that. This is another thing I disagree with that coach from Texas we all know about. I didnt even understand proper programming when I was 17 and just from playing everyday I was able to grab rim at a 5'9" 165 pound mosquito and I am not terribly explosive(max vert is 24 inches). Look up Isaiah Rivera on YouTube(vertical jump record holder)he has a bunch of videos on how he built up to a 50 inch vertical. You are right though most people have no business focusing that hard on it and your power/vertical should be a byproduct of your training.

I have seen Rivera's content as well as countless other videos to improve vertical/jumping ability. I still have those goofy platform shoes from 25 years ago to train my vert.

Sure you could make some marginal gains unless you're innately gifted like Rivera.

At my peak I probably had a 35 inch vert at 5'11.5. I could pin the rim about six inches above my wrist (somewhere halfway between wrist and elbow). I don't think I've ever had a legit dunk. One time I jumped and layed the ball in with both hands but it was a standalone hoop in a parking lot of our station. It was after my 715lb deadlift and I was flying on adrenaline. I could never jump that high ever again. But I still have my doubts if that hoop was 10'. The single biggest exercise that helped my vertical was my deadlift.

I see plenty of goofy plyometric or strength training videos doing pogo jumps, one legged lunges, hopping on and off platforms, etc with promises to have a huge vert like some 5'4 guy that dunks. It's mostly laughable/ridiculous.

I used to play basketball at my uni rec gym. For one semester we had a D1 soccer player from the uni team come and break a bit of sweat with us in the pick up games. He was maybe 5'10 skinny white guy who probably never stepped foot in a gym or trained his vertical. He was doing 360 dunks in game. I had no ability to block him out or impede him despite being far stronger and heavier than him. You cannot train this type of innate ability.

I recently saw a post where some random fan asked Kevin Durant on his IG if he still had a chance at NBA despite being 28-29 years old. KD responded sure if the fan could shoot like Steph Curry and stand at 6'8+. So in other words if you're a Lebron James and can shoot like Curry it's in the bag(paraphrasing). I would argue that both of these are innate. I know it's easy to say you may not be able to train to 6'8+ but surely you can train to shoot like Curry (or just be an amazing shooter through sheer practice) but I would argue that's folly.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

I think the best exercises for vertical are simply jumping a lot, power cleans, squats and depth jumps. Sprints are probably the best plyometric anybody could be doing FWII.

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

I think the best exercises for vertical are simply jumping a lot, power cleans, squats and depth jumps. Sprints are probably the best plyometric anybody could be doing FWII.

That's literally what athletes with innate ability do to improve their jumping, they simply practice jumping(or their sport) and like a miracle they jump(run etc) and discover they have a 40+ inch vert or can run 100 meters in under 10 seconds. Some of them eventually hit the weight room and do a bit of strength training or plyometrics and maybe marginally improve a bit more and then think it was their work ethic and strength training that got them the results. Most people underestimate sheer chance/genetics for why some things happen or don't happen.

Something tells me that even my genetics are probably not as bad as I thought despite my dad being a nerd with bad scoliosis. I remember back in the USSR when I was a kid I watched him move huge bookcases(from floor to ceiling) full of books without an issue. He has never stepped foot in the gym and he was maybe 5'10 and 160-170lb. So when I discovered I had above average ability to deadlift it's not as surprising as I initially thought if I really reflect on my genetics. There are likewise some truly crazy strong people who do nothing but farming or moving furniture.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

That's literally what athletes with innate ability do to improve their jumping, they simply practice jumping(or their sport) and like a miracle they jump(run etc) and discover they have a 40+ inch vert or can run 100 meters in under 10 seconds. Some of them eventually hit the weight room and do a bit of strength training or plyometrics and maybe marginally improve a bit more and then think it was their work ethic and strength training that got them the results. Most people underestimate sheer chance/genetics for why some things happen or don't happen.

Something tells me that even my genetics are probably not as bad as I thought despite my dad being a nerd with bad scoliosis. I remember back in the USSR when I was a kid I watched him move huge bookcases(from floor to ceiling) full of books without an issue. He has never stepped foot in the gym and he was maybe 5'10 and 160-170lb. So when I discovered I had above average ability to deadlift it's not as surprising as I initially thought if I really reflect on my genetics. There are likewise some truly crazy strong people who do nothing but farming or moving furniture.

I would have to agree with that.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

You are definitely correct about the deadlift. I dont really know if there is any science to it but after my heaviest deadlifts either for max or rep PRs is when I always feel the most athletic. I would be cautious of that if you are an athlete in a non strength sport though because the CNS fatigue from them will defititely be detrimental after a point.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

I have seen Rivera's content as well as countless other videos to improve vertical/jumping ability. I still have those goofy platform shoes from 25 years ago to train my vert.

Sure you could make some marginal gains unless you're innately gifted like Rivera.

At my peak I probably had a 35 inch vert at 5'11.5. I could pin the rim about six inches above my wrist (somewhere halfway between wrist and elbow). I don't think I've ever had a legit dunk. One time I jumped and layed the ball in with both hands but it was a standalone hoop in a parking lot of our station. It was after my 715lb deadlift and I was flying on adrenaline. I could never jump that high ever again. But I still have my doubts if that hoop was 10'. The single biggest exercise that helped my vertical was my deadlift.

I see plenty of goofy plyometric or strength training videos doing pogo jumps, one legged lunges, hopping on and off platforms, etc with promises to have a huge vert like some 5'4 guy that dunks. It's mostly laughable/ridiculous.

I used to play basketball at my uni rec gym. For one semester we had a D1 soccer player from the uni team come and break a bit of sweat with us in the pick up games. He was maybe 5'10 skinny white guy who probably never stepped foot in a gym or trained his vertical. He was doing 360 dunks in game. I had no ability to block him out or impede him despite being far stronger and heavier than him. You cannot train this type of innate ability.

I recently saw a post where some random fan asked Kevin Durant on his IG if he still had a chance at NBA despite being 28-29 years old. KD responded sure if the fan could shoot like Steph Curry and stand at 6'8+. So in other words if you're a Lebron James and can shoot like Curry it's in the bag(paraphrasing). I would argue that both of these are innate. I know it's easy to say you may not be able to train to 6'8+ but surely you can train to shoot like Curry (or just be an amazing shooter through sheer practice) but I would argue that's folly.

This last part is absolutely true. Shooting the ball is the most important skill in basketball. I played against Kendrick Perkins in high school who was Durants teammate in OKC. The main reason I got scholarship opportunities at Bryan college and the military institute was because I could shoot well standing at 5'9". It definitely wasn't my innate explosiveness. Admittedly I regret not playing college sports to see if I could make the next level with the training knowledge that we now have.

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

This last part is absolutely true. Shooting the ball is the most important skill in basketball. I played against Kendrick Perkins in high school who was Durants teammate in OKC. The main reason I got scholarship opportunities at Bryan college and the military institute was because I could shoot well standing at 5'9". It definitely wasn't my innate explosiveness. Admittedly I regret not playing college sports to see if I could make the next level with the training knowledge that we now have.

My best friend in high school and college who played violin in his childhood had insanely strong wrists(and he was just a wiry strong guy like Brad Pitt's character in Snatch). With some practice he began emulating Kobe Bryant's fadeaways and shooting. He was clowning Div I basketball players in rec games. He was maybe an inch taller than me and with minimal practice started dunking no problem off one foot(I am a two foot jumper). This guy hardly ever stepped in the gym and when he did I easily out lifted him in any exercise(he struggled with 185 bench). He was also insanely strong at arm wrestling despite not training for it at all. I was very disappointed when he chose never to play organized basketball. I thought he could have been a walk on even at the Div I school where he studied computer science. His ability to create space and shoot the ball was second to none. I would have done anything to have that innate ability but such is life.

 

[1rawdog]

I am not sure what you are getting tbh. Are we not allowed to critique an athletes training methods unless we are ourselves the absolute best in a given sport? If the answer to that is yes then why are we even on this website?

No, I'm commenting on the sad state of what certifications or any titles, diplomas etc mean anymore. So many industries have sprung up that just churn them out and then tons of people that are fucking clueless have some sort of claim to being superior to others. It's downright dangerous in some cases and a ripoff to anyone consuming the bullshit.
I have personally had some epic battles with personal trainers, dietitians, endocrinologists etc over the most rudimentary things - how do you figure those lat pulldowns are working her triceps dumbass? I'm 230lbs with low bodyfat I eat 4000 cal a day and you want me to suddenly subsist on 1800 calories and 112g of protein for 10 days post surgery? This medication has a half life of 4.5 days and you want me to take it every 3 weeks?
Get fucked.
And don't get me started on "ticketed" tradesmen.

Critique away man, everyone is entitled to an opinion. I might disagree of course and may offer mine but the only time you'll usually see me get obstinate about it is when we are arguing facts. A statement from someone with some certificate is no better than that of anyone else if it's not based on fact and the way you can basically buy some title these days is disgusting.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

No, I'm commenting on the sad state of what certifications or any titles, diplomas etc mean anymore. So many industries have sprung up that just churn them out and then tons of people that are fucking clueless have some sort of claim to being superior to others. It's downright dangerous in some cases and a ripoff to anyone consuming the bullshit.
I have personally had some epic battles with personal trainers, dietitians, endocrinologists etc over the most rudimentary things - how do you figure those lat pulldowns are working her triceps dumbass? I'm 230lbs with low bodyfat I eat 4000 cal a day and you want me to suddenly subsist on 1800 calories and 112g of protein for 10 days post surgery? This medication has a half life of 4.5 days and you want me to take it every 3 weeks?
Get fucked.
And don't get me started on "ticketed" tradesmen.

Critique away man, everyone is entitled to an opinion. I might disagree of course and may offer mine but the only time you'll usually see me get obstinate about it is when we are arguing facts. A statement from someone with some certificate is no better than that of anyone else if it's not based on fact and the way you can basically buy some title these days is disgusting.

What would be your solution though?

 

[ROcknrollracing]

My best friend in high school and college who played violin in his childhood had insanely strong wrists(and he was just a wiry strong guy like Brad Pitt's character in Snatch). With some practice he began emulating Kobe Bryant's fadeaways and shooting. He was clowning Div I basketball players in rec games. He was maybe an inch taller than me and with minimal practice started dunking no problem off one foot(I am a two foot jumper). This guy hardly ever stepped in the gym and when he did I easily out lifted him in any exercise(he struggled with 185 bench). He was also insanely strong at arm wrestling despite not training for it at all. I was very disappointed when he chose never to play organized basketball. I thought he could have been a walk on even at the Div I school where he studied computer science. His ability to create space and shoot the ball was second to none. I would have done anything to have that innate ability but such is life.

The best basketball players are normally the weaker guys who have the energy to run around all game during plays and of course shoot the ball. Being able to do hook shots, fade aways and of course being 3 feet short than the basket is more important than being the strongest guy on the court especially in games like 21 or 3 on 3 etc. Strength of course helps with rebounding and being able to position yourself but a skill game like that its not a priority.

https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/cathedral-player-receives-honor-754744.php
For my last two years of school I was one of the better players in this area.


Sadly these days I wouldnt even go to court in my city without a weapon or like 5 friends because the gang warfare and violence is terrible here. I have Been involved in several fights on courts here and somehow im still here.

 

[period]

I appreciate your insight. I enjoy reading other perspectives.

Eastern European athletes/Russians also heavily benefitted from their AAS programs which masked sometimes less than perfect training methods. Not trying to crap on the most elite of coaches, I am sure many or most were brilliant minds but it also came out Bulgarians and more recently Russians were doping on a state sanctioned levels.

Being very strong allowed me to control significantly larger people whether in basketball, in grappling or in law enforcement (back in the day). I have usually been around 100kg and most people typically thought I was much heavier. I was able to just hold a brown belt for a prolonged time on the mat on just raw strength and 40lb of bodyweight advantage when we matched up in judo sparring. I am not even a white belt in anything(I am a complete beginner). I have easily pinned people to the ground on the street without needing to use force. Having a 600+ lb deadlift is heavily beneficial for just about any sport.

Same here.
Yes, the Russian team has been caught and sanctioned repetedly, but then again, so have other teams and coaches, Poliquin for example had a huge number of athletes that were caught, including a number of US stars (though as far as I can remember, the only wrestler he ever trained was Helen Maroulis), and the way things are now, you can never be sure who won until they re-test a decade or two later. I think it's a sad business altogether, and regardless of what they do will never fully compensate whoever ranked best without using PEDs. Then again, as far as I can tell, PED use isn't as rampant in wrestling as it is in BJJ - I only ever heard of one guy juicing in the leagues I was competing in, and some rumours about international competition.
Yes, being the stronger person is definitely an advantage in all sports, although some sports are technically a lot more complex than others and therefore allow you to compensate certain shortcomings better. The main question in my opinion is: what does it cost to become the stronger person, and what else could you achieve with the same effort? If I take myself as an example: whenever I was lifting really heavy, I would minimize everything else I was doing in order to achieve that, and I would still feel sore most of the time. So yes, I am quite confident I could move my deadlift from around 500 to around 600 lbs in a year or so, maybe even without moving up a weight class (although that's a tall order, I always cut at least 6 kg to make the 74 kg limit, and our weigh-ins are an hour before matches start), but I would have to minimize my mat training to achieve that, and I would have to reduce my conditioning altogether. And even then, at least for me the deadlift didn't carry over well to begin with. However, it is entirely possible I am looking at this the wrong way, since I always thought of that lift as "displaying strength" rather than "building strength" - which may have to do with me always doing short, intense cycles rather than long ones (due to the factors mentioned).
On the other hand, I found I can move up my performance in higher-rep (40+) squats, see-saw presses and pull-ups with very little effort (3-5 sets each per week, either at the end of my morning training or after mat training in the evening), zero soreness and zero impact on my daily life. My goal is that everything I do on the mat in regular training is a 50% strength effort at most, and for me, whatever weight I can move for 40 is typically around 50% 1 RM. Likewise, I can improve my tumbling ability and flexibility in as little as ten minutes per day each, again resulting in me feeling better and not worse, as was the case with heavy deadlifts.
And finally, I am already unusually strong for the 74 kg category - in fact, I don't think I ever lost a match because I was the weaker or less conditioned guy, every time I lost was because the other guy was technically better than me. So the lesson I learned was to prioritize technique,, and build my S&C around it.

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

Same here.
Yes, the Russian team has been caught and sanctioned repetedly, but then again, so have other teams and coaches, Poliquin for example had a huge number of athletes that were caught, including a number of US stars (though as far as I can remember, the only wrestler he ever trained was Helen Maroulis), and the way things are now, you can never be sure who won until they re-test a decade or two later. I think it's a sad business altogether, and regardless of what they do will never fully compensate whoever ranked best without using PEDs. Then again, as far as I can tell, PED use isn't as rampant in wrestling as it is in BJJ - I only ever heard of one guy juicing in the leagues I was competing in, and some rumours about international competition.
Yes, being the stronger person is definitely an advantage in all sports, although some sports are technically a lot more complex than others and therefore allow you to compensate certain shortcomings better. The main question in my opinion is: what does it cost to become the stronger person, and what else could you achieve with the same effort? If I take myself as an example: whenever I was lifting really heavy, I would minimize everything else I was doing in order to achieve that, and I would still feel sore most of the time. So yes, I am quite confident I could move my deadlift from around 500 to around 600 lbs in a year or so, maybe even without moving up a weight class (although that's a tall order, I always cut at least 6 kg to make the 74 kg limit, and our weigh-ins are an hour before matches start), but I would have to minimize my mat training to achieve that, and I would have to reduce my conditioning altogether. And even then, at least for me the deadlift didn't carry over well to begin with. However, it is entirely possible I am looking at this the wrong way, since I always thought of that lift as "displaying strength" rather than "building strength" - which may have to do with me always doing short, intense cycles rather than long ones (due to the factors mentioned).
On the other hand, I found I can move up my performance in higher-rep (40+) squats, see-saw presses and pull-ups with very little effort (3-5 sets each per week, either at the end of my morning training or after mat training in the evening), zero soreness and zero impact on my daily life. My goal is that everything I do on the mat in regular training is a 50% strength effort at most, and for me, whatever weight I can move for 40 is typically around 50% 1 RM. Likewise, I can improve my tumbling ability and flexibility in as little as ten minutes per day each, again resulting in me feeling better and not worse, as was the case with heavy deadlifts.
And finally, I am already unusually strong for the 74 kg category - in fact, I don't think I ever lost a match because I was the weaker or less conditioned guy, every time I lost was because the other guy was technically better than me. So the lesson I learned was to prioritize technique,, and build my S&C around it.

You are absolutely correct that skill/technique is number one followed by conditioning. This is why many fighters do well with training just their sport and doing some basic calisthenics on the side.

You can do density sets for deadlifts as well. For example I did a challenge of 405 for max reps in 10 minutes. You can do 315 in 5 minutes. It's usually best to reset its rep for full deadlifts unless you're doing RDLs, SLDLs, Dimels, etc.

I am still fairly confident I can take at least a couple 5 year old black belts in any discipline. LOL

 

[period]

You can do density sets for deadlifts as well. For example I did a challenge of 405 for max reps in 10 minutes. You can do 315 in 5 minutes. It's usually best to reset its rep for full deadlifts unless you're doing RDLs, SLDLs, Dimels, etc.

Out of curiosity, how many did you get? I usually do pretty ok with density stuff, partly because of the higher rep training both on and off the mat. Before I maxed out last on deadlifts (11 years ago - time flies), I was doing 3x10 with 420 lbs with 3 min in between, so 30 reps would be my baseline. That being said, I think for me, seiing how often I can squat bodyweight on the bar in 10 minutes would be more productive. I'll go for that next time I get stuck somewhere with a barbell and no training partners, or someone around my weight who is willing to be lifted but unwilling to grapple

 

[1rawdog]

What would be your solution though?

Solution for what?

 

[maximus__]

You are absolutely correct that skill/technique is number one followed by conditioning. This is why many fighters do well with training just their sport and doing some basic calisthenics on the side.

You can do density sets for deadlifts as well. For example I did a challenge of 405 for max reps in 10 minutes. You can do 315 in 5 minutes. It's usually best to reset its rep for full deadlifts unless you're doing RDLs, SLDLs, Dimels, etc.

I am still fairly confident I can take at least a couple 5 year old black belts in any discipline. LOL

I had something similar programmed recently for deadlifts. I had to hit 4x2 at 2x BW with 40 secs rest between sets.
It was only around 4 mins work for that whole block within the session. I think that sort of work is better than max deadlifts once you get past a certain amount in the deadlift. I would love to do the same session but hit 2 per min instead.