Deadlift Progress And Improvement Thread

[markos]

[markos]

[markos]

Pat you should post up some vids so we can see what your sessions have been able to do for you, and give us a rundown on how youve trained over the past 5 years, will be good to learn from others

[jangles]

Crap is subjective. What do you actually want from the exercise? The movement to be ratio balanced with the rest of your compound movements? To be stronger than PTC girls? To beat Birds? To impress Markos? To go as strong as your ankle will let you?

Whatever the desire, set a quantifiable strength goal and shoot for it. This might give you motivation to push harder when you can see goalposts. It could be as simple as a target number, or saying that you want to beat your previous session lifts by x KG. If you don't know what you're working towards, your mind will likely take the path of least resistance and subconsciously say "that'll do" for now. Lots of people at commercial gyms make their goal "to look good". This is fine as a mission statement for the long term, but often they do not set weight targets for exercises and end up doing the same mediocre routine/lifts everytime they go = those skinny or fat guys you've seen in the gym who look like they did 5 years ago.

Once you have this goal, implement some 1RM training. You can even stick it at the end of your volume, like I do, if you're OCD about doing your volume sets first (disclaimer: this is NOT the most efficient way to train 1RM, but I believe it does still work). The 1RM doesn't have to be huge to start with. Try 10kg above your current highest weight for your volume sets. Add 5kg to this number each week. You'll be surprised how long you can keep doing this until you plateau. Adjust volume set weights as your 1RM goes up...the two complement each other.

Deadlifts are awesome to 1RM increase because the smallest increments go relatively unnoticed. If you were to add 2.5kg to your 1RM each week, after a year you'd be pulling over 220kg, which is nothing to laugh at. Obviously increases aren't that linear, but nothing says you can't achieve it if you train for it.

Just as a general observation in varying threads..

Dan claims he doesnt want to be strong but likes to mention/complain not being as strong as everyone else. Then when someone advises, he takes a step back and has no goals, is happy with what he is doing... Until the next lot of results he compares himself to.

Edited July 29, 2013 by jangles

[No Crust Racing]

I'd never thought of it like that actually.

I see your point.

Easy solution though

[Birds]

What do you want ultimately, Dan? What are you training for?

[No Crust Racing]

I'm asking myself the same question.

While Jangles is generalizing and I don't entirely agree, he makes a pretty valid point. I think I back away from clear goals because it makes slow progress/stalling easier to mentally justify. Yes I do have a bung leg, but I am still gaining slowly, but it's pretty eye opening to realise how far off the game I am, and it's not that I'm out to "win" but I think anyone who does anything will naturally compare themselves to others who do the same thing.

I don't have any clear goals, my goal initially was squat and deadlift because I never had and it was obvious I had a strength imbalance. When I've thought about numbers I thought 140 squat and 160 dead would be good for me given the leg and that I'd like to be running again also.

Holistically, why am I training at all? Probably because I was always the skinny kid and I've never really full shed that mindset, so you'd say my reasons are purely egotistical/aesthetic.

I do enjoy the extra strength though, dropped the box in my car on the weekend and was surprised how light it was, because essentially I was just benching it lol

In terms of fitness, yeah it helps, but I could be running more and doing less weights and still be plenty fit.

So I dunno, I guess that's why my posts come across as all over the shop as Jangles pointed out.

I will say that deading has made my back heaps better and I'm happy about that.

[jangles]

We are off topic in here I feel.

Edit: I may be generalizing but it seems like time and time again the same conversation is happening with you involved Dan, set your goals high and try progress towards them continually.

Edited July 29, 2013 by jangles

[No Crust Racing]

Agreed.

How is your DL progress Jangles?

[Birds]

It's alright to be unsure of ultimate goals or not have any. You just wouldn't want to be kidding yourself, if on one hand you want to be lifting at a certain level, and on the other you're convincing yourself and others that you don't want to...becuase it causes you dissonance to see others lifting more than you, or you are unhappy with your progress, or trying to justify a crap routine.

It's a similar phenomenon to people walking into PTC and not wanting to train there because they start at the bottom of the ladder and would rather return to their top spot at their commercial gym. The cognitive dissonance is more easily resolved by shutting out the threat to the ego, rather than committing the time and resources towards overcoming it.

So if it does properly bother you that certain people are stronger, go set some strength goals and fix it or stop complaining about others being stronger

160kg is a good start for your deadlift, particularly as you're supplying your own weights...you'll be there in no time though. You won't even plateau before you get to that, given you're already repping 120 with ease.

/psychologymajor

[jangles]

Agreed.

How is your DL progress Jangles?

Did 2x190 @75 first time back after injury. Haven't done them since. Squatting more often now.

[No Crust Racing]

Birds: I don't think I'm kidding myself, just not sure what I want entirely.

Jangles: Great numbers dude.

When I see that sort of thing, people weighing 10kg less than me and doing close to 200, THAT's when I go man why do I bother lol

But it's all in jest, it's good to know it can be done easily enough.

Edited July 29, 2013 by ActionDan

[Birds]

Birds: I don't think I'm kidding myself, just not sure what I want entirely.

Oh well, get some strength goals anyway then...might as well work towards something while you're training!

[No Crust Racing]

I do, if I had to pick numbers it'd be repped 140/160 and back to running.

[jangles]

Birds: I don't think I'm kidding myself, just not sure what I want entirely.

Jangles: Great numbers dude.

When I see that sort of thing, people weighing 10kg less than me and doing close to 200, THAT's when I go man why do I bother lol

But it's all in jest, it's good to know it can be done easily enough.

I do, if I had to pick numbers it'd be repped 140/160 and back to running.

I've got nothing on other people my weight and less!!Those people inspire me. Thats when you should think, wow, I know my body can do that if i train it to, then set those goals to the same number!! Getting stronger is infinite

Edited July 29, 2013 by jangles

[Birds]

What jangles said...

Your attitude shouldn't be, look at them, why do I bother...it should be look at them, why don't I bother. Use someone else's strength as inspiration and proof that if they can do it, you can. Yes we are all different, but they are only human, just like you.

Like I said, I never would have imagined deadlifting 185, but people weighing less than me have far exceeded that...it makes me realise that I am capable of much more and gives good drive to achieve that.

[markos]

My opinion.

I love when clients do Novice comps.

Every time they step on the platform they are only competing against their previous total

It doesnt matter what others are doing. Here at my gym you could get very disheartened if you compared yourself to the stronger guys.

The average lifter weighs between 80kg and 90kg, so you would be comparing with Martin and Max, thats counterproductive. The average lifter will not train like these two so they should not expect their results.

Just beat yourself at every novice comp, I find thats the most productive way to progress.

[Sisbro666]

Markos, great lifts, and again he could not continue lifting heavy like that and doing full body workouts, I'm guessing that's why he stopped doing it 3 years ago

He probably had the energy in his first 3 years as no one trains intensely in their first few years, they just lift with every muscle except the one they should be using

I've always trainee one or two body parts a night doing 2-3 exercises and usually 5 reps

After doin squats or dead lifts there were many times I went home straight after or spent half an hour feeling sick in the car from exhaustion, so I believe if u can do squats after deads or other heavy lifts you are doing it half assed

My 20c

[Sisbro666]

Weight means nothing, form is important.

I knew a guy who had 21 inch arms I had 19 and I could curl almost double than him with the same form

Some people are just stronger than others no matter what they do, comes down to genetics usually

[bozodos]

I did squats and deads the other day, supersetting the squats with walking lunges, my glutes and hams were sore for the following 3 days (did not think to stretch either silly me!) It's doable. I even started doing sets of 20x100kg squats after reading Markos's mention it in one of the threads around here.

It's hard to get out of the mentality of doing bodypart splits though, especially when you're training with someone else.

I agree with the mental thing too - my bench went up 20kg tonight on incline and decline just because I thought 'f**k it ill see how much I can lift for reps', and I reckon I might have even had a bit more in me.