Build Muscle
The Pull — 8-Week Deadlift Block
Eight weeks to move one lift. Two deadlift exposures a week — the competition pull and a range- or grip-biased variant — while squat and bench sit at a stated maintenance dose of two sets with the load held. Percentages for three weeks, then a daily top single with back-offs priced off it.
- Category
- Build Muscle
- Length
- 8 weeks
- Frequency
- 4 days/week
- Est. session
- 50–70 min
Last updated: June 2026
About this program
The Pull is a single-lift specialization block for a deadlift that has stopped moving. The competition-stance pull is trained heavy once a week and a variant — deficit first, then snatch-grip — is trained submaximally a second time, while the squat and the bench press are held at an explicitly stated maintenance dose: two working sets each, load fixed at the week-1 reference, no upward autoregulation. That maintenance rule is the program's identity: a block only brings one lift up if the other two are genuinely parked.
Built for intermediate and advanced lifters with a competent, repeatable deadlift and no meet on the calendar — including the very large group whose squat has passed their deadlift. It needs a barbell, plates and a rack, and nothing else — a flat bench is optional and the press days carry a named floor-press substitution for anyone without one. Skip it if you cannot hold position across five hard sets of four in week 1 — run a novice linear progression and come back. Skip it if you want balanced whole-body progress right now, or if you are inside six weeks of a meet, where a peaking block fits better.
The arc follows our Periodization framework as true block periodization on one lift. Weeks 1-3 accumulate at 72%, 75% and 77% for five sets of four. Weeks 4-6 intensify: a top single at RPE 8, then back-off volume priced off that day's single rather than a stale max, so the block autoregulates daily. Week 7 halves the volume and caps the top set at RPE 7. Week 8 tests — a true max only if the block earned it, otherwise a heavy single at RPE 9 and an estimated max. Expect a measurably stronger deadlift with the squat and bench held flat, then return to a balanced split.
Build Muscle · 8 weeks · 4 days/week
Start to finish
- Frequency
- 4 days/week
- Per session
- 50–70 min
Who it's for
Four ways to tell at a glance whether this block belongs in your week.
- 01The goal
- Eight weeks to move one lift.
- 02The commitment
- A steady four-plus days a week
- 03The arc
- 8 weeks, 4 phases that build and reset
- 04The coaching
- Your coach drives the plan forward — it reads each session and moves you up the moment the work gets easier, so you keep progressing
How it progresses
8 weeks across 4 phases — your coach watches the effort in your logged sets and moves the weight up the moment a load starts getting easier, so you keep climbing instead of waiting on the calendar.
- Weeks 1–362Intensity
Phase 1 · Accumulation
Accumulation
Three weeks of steady, submaximal pulling volume at rising percentages. Squat and bench settle into their maintenance dose from week 1.
- Weeks 4–682Intensity
Phase 2 · Intensification
Intensification
The pull day becomes a daily top single with back-off sets priced off it. Volume drops, load rises, maintenance work does not change.
- Weeks 7–730Intensity
Phase 3 · Deload
Taper
Volume halved and the top set capped, so the block's fatigue clears before the test week without losing the sharpness built in it.
- Weeks 8–888Intensity
Phase 4 · Testing
Terminal Test
One gated test session on the deadlift, then the block ends. Two branches, both of which give you a number.
Sessions in this program
The individual workouts this program schedules through the week — open any session for its full exercise list, sets, and coaching notes.
- Heavy Pull Day2 exercises · ~51 min
- Maintenance Squat & Trunk Day3 exercises · ~38 min
- Variant Pull Day — Deficit4 exercises · ~54 min
- Maintenance Bench & Upper Back Day3 exercises · ~39 min
- Variant Pull Day4 exercises · ~54 min
- Heavy Pull Day — Top Single + Back-Off2 exercises · ~49 min
- Taper Pull Day2 exercises · ~29 min
- Maintenance Squat & Trunk Day — Reduced3 exercises · ~23 min
- Variant Pull Day — Reduced4 exercises · ~27 min
- Maintenance Bench & Upper Back Day — Reduced2 exercises · ~21 min
- Terminal Test — Deadlift1 exercise · ~36 min
Why your coach builds it this way
The Pull is a single-lift specialization block for a deadlift that has stopped moving. The competition-stance pull is trained heavy once a week and a variant — deficit first, then snatch-grip — is trained submaximally a second time, while the squat and the bench press are held at an explicitly stated maintenance dose: two working sets each, load fixed at the week-1 reference, no upward autoregulation. That maintenance rule is the program's identity: a block only brings one lift up if the other two are genuinely parked.
Built for intermediate and advanced lifters with a competent, repeatable deadlift and no meet on the calendar — including the very large group whose squat has passed their deadlift. It needs a barbell, plates and a rack, and nothing else — a flat bench is optional and the press days carry a named floor-press substitution for anyone without one. Skip it if you cannot hold position across five hard sets of four in week 1 — run a novice linear progression and come back. Skip it if you want balanced whole-body progress right now, or if you are inside six weeks of a meet, where a peaking block fits better.
The arc follows our Periodization framework as true block periodization on one lift. Weeks 1-3 accumulate at 72%, 75% and 77% for five sets of four. Weeks 4-6 intensify: a top single at RPE 8, then back-off volume priced off that day's single rather than a stale max, so the block autoregulates daily. Week 7 halves the volume and caps the top set at RPE 7. Week 8 tests — a true max only if the block earned it, otherwise a heavy single at RPE 9 and an estimated max. Expect a measurably stronger deadlift with the squat and bench held flat, then return to a balanced split.
Common questions
The facts most people check before they commit a block to it.
01How long is the The Pull — 8-Week Deadlift Block program?
The Pull — 8-Week Deadlift Block runs 8 weeks at 4 days a week, structured into 4 phases so the load builds and resets on schedule. In Squatly, the coach tunes it to you, so the plan keeps moving with your training.
02Who is The Pull — 8-Week Deadlift Block for?
Eight weeks to move one lift. It sits in the Build Muscle category, and the coach reads your training to tell you whether it's the right fit before you commit a block to it.
03How does The Pull — 8-Week Deadlift Block progress over the weeks?
It opens with accumulation and finishes with terminal Test. Each phase has a job — accumulate work, push intensity, or back off to absorb it — and the coach moves your load when your logged sets earn it, not on a fixed schedule.
04Does the coach adjust The Pull — 8-Week Deadlift Block to me?
Yes. The program is the starting structure; the coach reads your e1RM trend, your weekly volume, and your effort on each lift, then tells you when to push — when a load is getting easier, it's time to add weight. It shows you the trend lines behind every call, and you accept, edit, or reject it. With every workout, the plan gets more yours.
Keep moving forward.
The program sets the structure. Your coach drives it forward — reading your numbers and pushing the weight up as you get stronger, so the plan stays yours and you keep progressing.
iOS · Works offline
Aleks · Coach
Proposal — add weight