deficit deadlifts

Deficit pulls are some of he best deadlift variations you can do. They increase the ROM thus increasing the time under tension, build more muscle mass and improve the initial part of the pull where most people tend to struggle. 

There are three variations I like to do and I recommend you try them all. 

1/ deficit deadlift off low deficit 

These would be done standing on a 1 inch deficit and the form would mimick as close as possible your regular deadlift. These have a very high carryover to regular pulls. The initial pull is going to be a bit more difficult and you need to set up perfectly before the pull, taking max slack out of the bar and really engage your glutes. 

You can swap these with regular deadlifts for, say, a 3 week wave, maybe: week 1 - 3 sets of 3 medium heavy, week 2 - 3 sets of 3 heavy, week 3 - 2 sets of 2 very heavy. 

2/ deficit deadlift off high deficit 

Typically done while standing on a 4 inch box. You have to set up a bit differently sinking your hips lower and the initial pull will require more quads, more glutes and better core strength. These are done typically as your accessory pull, say, 4 sets of 3 with 65% of max pull. 

3/ snatch grip deadlift off high deficit 

These suck. I hate those. You have to start with your hips really, really low and you will have to reduce the weight significantly. But they hit your quads, hips and the whole posterior chain like nothing else.

Use 40-50% of your max deadlift for, say, 3 sets of 4 as a heavy accesory lift. 

Your deadlift should increase after incorporating some of the above into a 6-8 week building cycle. Good luck!