ShareToday I have a super cool challenge for you to try!
I discovered this through one of my friends and mentors, Martin Rooney. And his training partner, the legendary deadlifter Rich Sadiv came up with this insane protocol.
It’s called Sadiv sets. Original, right? 
First, let me give you a little background.
I have a love/hate relationship with deadlifts. This move is without a doubt one of the best exercises for building strength in your posterior chain – your upper and lower back, shoulders, glutes, hamstrings – basically every muscle on the back of your body.
However, if you have limited mobility and muscle weaknesses which affects your technique and form… you can get hurt.
Warning: Before you get cracking on this advanced challenge, please make sure your deadlift form is absolutely solid. This is not an exercise for beginners (I’m sorry), and even intermediate lifters need to be extremely careful.
So please, altogether now… Safety first!
Back to this Sadiv sets deadlift challenge…
The idea behind this challenge is to train Muscle Unit Recruitment – which is obviously something you can’t see. The more of these units you recruit and activate, the stronger and faster you will be. The best way to initiate recruitment is to lift a heavy load as fast as possible with excellent form.
Here’s a quick analogy…
Imagine a 50 piece orchestra inside of you, but not all the instruments are being played simultaneously. This protocol gets all 50 pieces to play at once for the optimal sound.
Or in this case, optimal strength.
Ready? Here’s how to do it:
As always, you want to warm up first foam rolling, dynamic and mobility moves plus activation exercises. Do not attempt do this cold!
- Load up the bar with 60% of your 1 rep max. For example, my current 1RM is 240lbs, so I loaded up 145lbs on the bar.
- Set a timer for 12 minutes and do as many reps as you can.
- You can do the sets a single reps or as many as 3 reps each sets. Just make sure you come to a complete stop at the bottom of the movement and each rep is done as fast as possible, concentrating on perfect form.
- Remember, your first rep and your last rep should look exactly the same.
“How many reps should I get in 12 minutes?”
That’s a great question.
If you are new to this protocol, aim for 20 reps in 12 minutes. As your reps increase to 40+, move the weight up to 63% of your 1 rep max. Up the percentage by 3% every time you hit 40 reps or more.
What do you think of this 12 minute deadlift challenge? Hit reply and let me know.
If you’re not a fan of deadlift, you can try this workout program instead. I think you’ll get a good sweat on!
Keep on rocking it!
KV
