PTP cycling with light weights for Franklin

Franklin, you asked about my making gains in the deadlift by training with mostly light weights in a PTP format. First of all, in adapting any of these comments to your own training, there is some context to keep in mind. When I began training the PTP deadlifts I already had some history with the lift and had a max of 365. Also, I have consistently trained power cleans, KB swings, weighted pistols and squats on the same days as my deadlifts. This is not a “Party Approved” method and may indeed prove too stressful on many people’s backs, but it has worked well for me.
An example of a deadlifting cycle might look something like what follows. If you REALLY care about knowing exact weights that I have used then my training is all in my blog, but I think this fictional example may be sufficient to answer your question. The cycle below would be based on a max of 400 pounds.

Day 1: 275x5, 250x5 (starting about 68% of 1RM)
Day 2: 280x5, 255x5
Day 3: 285x5, 260x5
… (etc. 5 pound jumps for several days)
Day 7: 305x5, 270x5
Day 8: 315x5, 285x5
Day 9: 325x5, 295x5 (feels heavy, but good)
Day 10: 335x5, 305x5 (feels heavy. I estimate I have one more good day and I want to wrap this cycle up)
Day 11: 375x3, 315x5 (That felt heavy as hell. Tomorrow off.)
Day 12: 285x5, 260x5

OR at day 10 I might have realized that that was as heavy as I want to go, and this is where having some training history and a willingness to be flexible would kick in.

Day 10: 335x5, 305x5 (I got it, but don’t feel good about going up next time)
Day 11: 310x5, 280x5
Day 12: 315x5, 280x5
Day 13: 325x5, 295x5
Day 14: 335x5, 305x5 (much better this time, go for it next session)
Day 15: 375x3, 315x5
Day 16: 315x5, 275x5

Training frequency on the deadlifts would be anywhere from 3-6 days a week for me, with other exercises about once or twice a week each. (See previous posts for examples of my programming.)

Hope this helps. The reason for the bigger jumps near the end of the cycle is because once the weights start to feel heavy I don’t like to hang out in that range for too long. By using big jumps I can cut the length of the cycle and spend the majority of my time lifting lighter weights. Obviously as Pavel has said you have to lift heavy weights sometimes, but too much work in the 80-95% range leaves me drained. Practice with weights in the 65-80% range allows me to get form dialed in with weights that are heavy enough to enforce good form but light enough to allow me to deadlift and train my assistance lifts every day without feeling drained.