Day Four, Week One: Deadlifts

Tuesday deadlifts.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	3/22 2011	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	400x5
	400x5
	400x5
	400x5
	400x5
Dumbbell Step-ups	55x14 (7)
	55x14 (7)
	55x14 (7)
Lying Hamstring Curl	40x15
	45x12
	47.5x8
(#) Weight per arm, step-ups per leg

Day Four, Week Four: Deadlifts

The last workout of recovery week #4, day four has me doing 5 sets of 8 deadlifts at 60% of my one-rep max (by the way, even at only 60% of my one-rep max, 5 sets of 8 deadlifts is excruciatingly exhausting), followed by two supplemental exercises. And I still HATE lunges! Fortunately I begin a new workout tomorrow which doesn't include them.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	2/22 2011	3/1 2011	3/8 2011	3/15 2011
Deadlift	135x10	135x10	135x10	135x10
	225x8	225x8	225x8	225x8
	380x5	435x5	380x5	325x8
	380x5	435x5	435x5	325x8
	380x5	435x5	460x6**	325x8
	380x5			325x8
	380x5			325x8
Dumbbell Walking Lunge	35x10*	45x10*	55x10*	55x10*
	35x10*	45x10*	55x10*	55x10*
	35x10*	55x10*	55x10*	55x10*
Kneeling Hamstring Curl	35x15†	45x15†	55x15†	55x15†
	45x15†	55x15†	65x15†	65x15†
	55x15†	65x15†	75x15†	75x15†
* Weight per arm, and steps per leg † Weight per leg ** Reps until near failure

Day Four, Week Three: Deadlifts

Day four of week three has me doing 1 set of 5 deadlifts at week one's weight, a set of 5 at week two's weight, followed by a final set of 5 until (near) failure at 85% of my one-rep max, all followed by two supplemental exercises. Can I just say, I HATE lunges!

Also, I followed it up by climbing 31+ flights of stairs when I arrived at my building from the gym.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	2/22 2011	3/1 2011	3/8 2011	Week Four
Deadlift	135x10	135x10	135x10
	225x8	225x8	225x8
	380x5	435x5	380x5
	380x5	435x5	435x5
	380x5	435x5	460x6**
	380x5
	380x5
Dumbbell Walking Lunge	35x10*	45x10*	55x10*
	35x10*	45x10*	55x10*
	35x10*	55x10*	55x10*
Kneeling Hamstring Curl	35x15†	45x15†	55x15†
	45x15†	55x15†	65x15†
	55x15†	65x15†	75x15†
* Weight per arm, and steps per leg † Weight per leg ** Reps until near failure

Day Four, Week Two: Deadlifts

Day four of week two has me doing 3 sets of 5 deadlifts at about 80% of my one rep max weight, followed by two supplemental exercises. I followed it up by climbing 31+ flights of stairs when I arrived at my building from the gym. I need it, as I weighed myself this morning and was dismayed to see that I was up to 300.2 lbs., leaving me with 25+ pounds to lose in < 4 months just to compete in the weight class I've been competing in, or nearly 60 pounds to lose to compete in my desired weight class. I've got my work cut out for me.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	2/22 2011	3/1 2011	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x10	135x10
	225x8	225x8
	380x5	435x5
	380x5	435x5
	380x5	435x5
	380x5
	380x5
Dumbbell Walking Lunge	35x10*	45x10*
	35x10*	45x10*
	35x10*	55x10*
Kneeling Hamstring Curl	35x15†	45x15†
	45x15†	55x15†
	55x15†	65x15†
* Weight per arm, and steps per leg † Weight per leg

Day Four, Week One: Deadlifts

Day four has me doing 5 sets of 5 deadlifts at about 70% of my one rep max weight, followed by two supplemental exercises:

Deadlift Day
Exercise	2/22 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x10
	225x8
	380x5
	380x5
	380x5
	380x5
	380x5
Dumbbell Walking Lunge	35x10*
	35x10*
	35x10*
Kneeling Hamstring Curl	35x15†
	45x15†
	55x15†
* Steps per leg † Weight per leg

Media: 2010 Fife Holiday Classic, Deadlifts

Squat	Bench	Deadlift

Deadlift #1: 227.5 kg./501.6 lb.

Deadlift #2: 245 kg./540.1 lb.

Deadlift #3 (FAIL): 252.5 kg./556.7 lb.

Day Four, Week Four: Deadlifts

Well I rebounded a bit from last week's disappointing deadlifts, successfully lifting 500 and then 530. However, I did not attempt heavier, as I'm sick and didn't want the pscyhological impact of failing a deadlift days before competition. The good news is I was down to 276.6 this morning, leaving only 1.6 pounds to lose in 5 days, which is well within reach.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	11/8 2010	11/15 2010	11/22 2010	11/29 2010
Deadlift	135x5	135x5	135x5	135x5
	225x3	225x3	225x3	225x3
	315x2	315x2	315x2	315x2
	405x1	405x1	405x1	405x1
	440x1	455x1	490x1	500x1
	460x1	485x1	510x1	530x1
	480x1	515x1	550x1
	500x1	535x1	530x1
	520x1
One-Arm Row	70x12*	75x12*	75x12*	75x12*
	80x12*	80x12*	80x12*	80x12*
	80x11*	80x11*	80x12*	85x10*
Box Squats (Explosive)	245x3†	250x3†	255x3†	260x3†
	255x3†	260x3†	265x3†	270x3†
	265x3†	270x3†	275x3†	280x3†
	275x2†	280x2†	285x2†	290x2†
	285x2†	290x2†	295x2†	300x2†
Rear Delt Fly	20x12*	20x12*	20x12*	20x12*
	25x12*	25x12*	25x12*	25x12*
	25x10*	25x10*	25x12*	30x9*
* Weight is per arm † Used adjustable height box at lowest setting, rather then traditional bench, increasing difficulty

Day Four, Week Three: (Disappointing) Deadlifts

The good news is I was down to 280.4 this morning, leaving me with just over 5 pounds to lose in 12 days--well within reach. The bad news is, my deadlift workout was very discouraging. I failed at 550, and then again at 530, which is making me wonder how ambitious I'll be able to be in competition. However, I was stuck using a thicker and heavier bar than usual at the YMCA, and my friend failed as well, leading me to believe the bar may have largely been the culprit. We'll see next week when I try the standard bar.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	11/8 2010	11/15 2010	11/22 2010	Week Four
Deadlift	135x5	135x5	135x5
	225x3	225x3	225x3
	315x2	315x2	315x2
	405x1	405x1	405x1
	440x1	455x1	490x1
	460x1	485x1	510x1
	480x1	515x1	550x1
	500x1	535x1	530x1
	520x1
One-Arm Row	70x12*	75x12*	75x12*
	80x12*	80x12*	80x12*
	80x11*	80x11*	80x12*
Box Squats (Explosive)	245x3†	250x3†	255x3†
	255x3†	260x3†	265x3†
	265x3†	270x3†	275x3†
	275x2†	280x2†	285x2†
	285x2†	290x2†	295x2†
Rear Delt Fly	20x12*	20x12*	20x12*
	25x12*	25x12*	25x12*
	25x10*	25x10*	25x12*
* Weight is per arm † Used adjustable height box at lowest setting, rather then traditional bench, increasing difficulty

Day Four, Week Two: Deadlifts

I reduced the number of working deadlifts by one, but the last lift at 535 was still pretty tough (I did make it, though). For the third and fourth week, where I intend to finish at 550 and 560, respectively, I'm going to reduce the number of working lifts by one again. The good news is, I'm confident I'll be successful at my second attempt in competition at 530.

When I got to work I again climbed the 650+ stairs to the top of my building and back down, and over the weekend I did a ton of cardio. Even more encouraging than my confidence that I'll lift more in competition than I did in June, the better news is that whereas a few days ago I was still at 290, this morning I was down to 284.8, which leaves me with just under 10 pounds to lose in about 19 days! This is VERY encouraging, and I'm beginning to think I might just be able to make it.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	11/8 2010	11/15 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x5	135x5
	225x3	225x3
	315x2	315x2
	405x1	405x1
	440x1	455x1
	460x1	485x1
	480x1	515x1
	500x1	535x1
	520x1
One-Arm Row	70x12*	75x12*
	80x12*	80x12*
	80x11*	80x11*
Box Squats (Explosive)	245x3†	250x3†
	255x3†	260x3†
	265x3†	270x3†
	275x2†	280x2†
	285x2†	290x2†
Rear Delt Fly	20x12*	20x12*
	25x12*	25x12*
	25x10*	25x10*
* Weight is per arm † Used adjustable height box at lowest setting, rather then traditional bench, increasing difficulty

Day Four, Week One: Deadlifts

Was a little bit of a tough deadlift workout today. My goal in my 4th week is to lift 560, and spreading that out across four weeks meant today I'd lift 520. Because that is not usually approaching 100% effort, I added two more lifts of increasing weight to the three working sets I did last routine, for a total of five successively heavier lifts starting at 440. Well boy, I tell ya, what a difference two more lifts makes. Adding to that, I worked out by myself today so I didn't have as much time to rest between lifts. As a result, that fifth lift at 520 took nearly everything I had. Definitely gonna go down to four working lifts next week.

Also, when I got to work I climbed the stairs to the top of the building and back down again, which I'll repeat around lunchtime. Hopefully my 1,300 step weight loss plan gets me to where I need to be in, wow, less than 4 weeks now!

Deadlift Day
Exercise	11/8 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x5
	225x3
	315x2
	405x1
	440x1
	460x1
	480x1
	500x1
	520x1
One-Arm Row	70x12*
	80x12*
	80x11*
Box Squats (Explosive)	245x3†
	255x3†
	265x3†
	275x2†
	285x2†
Rear Delt Fly	20x12*
	25x12*
	25x10*
* Weight is per arm † Used adjustable height box at lowest setting, rather then traditional bench, increasing difficulty

Day Four, Week Four: Deadlifts—Plus New Personal Best and Milestone!

What a way to close out a 4-week training period! Before competing in June I managed an unofficial deadlift at 540 pounds, but in competition I received three red lights at that weight for "hitching" the bar up. Today I successfully deadlifted 545 pounds, slowly and steadily without "hitching," which is both a personal best and a milestone (5x45 + 1x25 plates on each end)! As the Fife Holiday Classic in early December draws nearer, I'm very encouraged, and think I may try to lift 560 on my third attempt if successful at 500 and 530.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	10/4 2010	10/11 2010	10/18 2010	10/25 2010
Deadlift	135x5	135x5	135x5	135x5
	225x3	225x3	225x3	225x3
	315x2	315x2	315x2	315x2
	405x1	405x1	405x1	405x1
	455x1	465x1	475x1	485x1
	505x1	515x1	525x1	535x1
	525x1	535x1	535x1	545x1
Wide Grip Overhand Pulldown	165x12 (P)	165x12 (P)	170x12 (Y)	170x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)	170x12 (P)	180x12 (Y)	175x12 (P)
	175x8 (P)	175x12 (P)	180x8 (Y)	180x10 (P)
Box Squats (Explosive)	225x3	235x3	245x3	255x3
	255x3	265x3	275x3	285x3
	275x3	285x3	295x3	305x3
	295x2	305x2	315x2	325x2
	315x2	325x2	335x2	345x2
Lying Hamstring Curls	25x12* (P)	35x12* (P)		40x12* (P)
	35x12* (P)	40x12* (P)		45x12* (P)
	40x12* (P)	45x8* (P)		45x8* (P)
Seated Hamstring Curls			140x12 (Y)
			160x12 (Y)
			180x12 (Y)
* Weight is per leg (P) Machine used at the PRO Club (Y) Machine used at the YMCA

Day Four, Week Three: Deadlifts

Awesome deadlift workout today! Successfully lifted 535, and my trainer was there and said it would probably have been good in the judges' eyes. It felt easier than I remember 540 feeling back in June! I can't wait for December!

Deadlift Day
Exercise	10/4 2010	10/11 2010	10/18 2010	Week Four
Deadlift	135x5	135x5	135x5
	225x3	225x3	225x3
	315x2	315x2	315x2
	405x1	405x1	405x1
	455x1	465x1	475x1
	505x1	515x1	525x1
	525x1	535x1	535x1
Wide Grip Overhand Pulldown	165x12 (P)	165x12 (P)	170x12 (Y)
	170x12 (P)	170x12 (P)	180x12 (Y)
	175x8 (P)	175x12 (P)	180x8 (Y)
Box Squats (Explosive)	225x3	235x3	245x3
	255x3	265x3	275x3
	275x3	285x3	295x3
	295x2	305x2	315x2
	315x2	325x2	335x2
Lying Hamstring Curls	25x12* (P)	35x12* (P)
	35x12* (P)	40x12* (P)
	40x12* (P)	45x8* (P)
Seated Hamstring Curls			140x12 (Y)
			160x12 (Y)
			180x12 (Y)
* Weight is per leg (P) Machine used at the PRO Club (Y) Machine used at the YMCA

Day Four, Week Two: Deadlifts

I was encouraged by my workout today! I "hitched" 515 up a bit, and would probably have failed in competition. But I managed to lift 535 slowly but consistently upward until I stood completely erect. It was tough, but I think it would have counted in competition. Before today I was worried I would not perform as well in the deadlift when I compete in December; now, however, I think I'll do better!

Deadlift Day
Exercise	10/4 2010	10/11 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x5	135x5
	225x3	225x3
	315x2	315x2
	405x1	405x1
	455x1	465x1
	505x1	515x1
	525x1	535x1
Wide Grip Overhand Pulldown	165x12 (P)	165x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)	170x12 (P)
	175x8 (P)	175x12 (P)
Box Squats (Explosive)	225x3	235x3
	255x3	265x3
	275x3	285x3
	295x2	305x2
	315x2	325x2
Lying Hamstring Curls	25x12*	35x12*
	35x12*	40x12*
	40x12*	45x8*
* Weight is per leg (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

Day Four, Week One: Deadlifts

I'm perhaps most worried about the impact my lack of diligence has had on my deadlift. Lifts of 500 and 520 are feeling considerably harder today than they did in June. I'm going to have to really push hard to meet or beat the number I put up at the YMCA Seattle Summer Classic.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	10/4 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x5
	225x3
	315x2
	405x1
	455x1
	505x1
	525x1
Wide Grip Overhand Pulldown	165x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)
	175x8 (P)
Box Squats (Explosive)	225x3
	255x3
	275x3
	295x2
	315x2
Lying Hamstring Curls	25x12*
	35x12*
	40x12*
* Weight is per leg (P) Machine used at the PRO Club

Day Three, Week Three: Deadlifts

I've been sick and haven't been working out, so I missed days one and two of this week, which would have been heavy bench and squats. Also, I made a mistake when I planned today's workout, and ended up doing the same weight for all my floor cleans :(

Deadlift Day
Exercise	7/20 2010	7/26 2010	8/2 2010	Week Four
Floor Cleans	65x10	65x10	65x10
	135x6	140x6	140x6
	155x6	160x6	160x6
	165x6	170x6	170x6
	175x6	180x6	180x6
	180x6	185x6	185x6
	185x6	190x6	190x6
Deadlift	405x1	415x1	425x1
	455x1	465x1	475x1
	505x1	515x1	525x1
Box Squats	185x3	195x3	205x3
	225x3	235x3	245x3
	245x3	255x3	265x3
	265x3	275x3	285x3
V-Bar Pulldown	150x12 (P)	160x12 (P)	170x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)	180x12 (P)	180x12 (P)
	190x8 (P)	190x9 (P)	190x9 (P)
Back Extensions (Hanging Bar)	40x12	60x12	75x12
	55x12	70x12	90x12
	60x10	80x12	100x12

(P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Three, Week Two: Deadlifts

Last week deadlifts were day four, but my friend and workout partner wanted to switch speed bench to day four, so that makes deadlifts day three. It also means that next week squats will be day one and max bench press day two.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	7/20 2010	7/26 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Floor Cleans	65x10	65x10
	135x6	140x6
	155x6	160x6
	165x6	170x6
	175x6	180x6
	180x6	185x6
	185x6	190x6
Deadlift	405x1	415x1
	455x1	465x1
	505x1	515x1
Box Squats	185x3	195x3
	225x3	235x3
	245x3	255x3
	265x3	275x3
V-Bar Pulldown	150x12 (P)	160x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)	180x12 (P)
	190x8 (P)	190x9 (P)
Back Extensions (Hanging Bar)	40x12	60x12
	55x12	70x12
	60x10	80x12

(P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Four, Week One: Deadlifts

To close out the workout week I returned to deadlifts today. However, because I struggled toward the end of the lift in competition, in order to work on developing more explosivity and momentum, my trainer has me preceding my deadlifts with floor cleans. Boy, those can sure be exhausting.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	7/20 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Floor Cleans	65x10
	135x6
	155x6
	165x6
	175x6
	180x6
	185x6
Deadlift	405x1
	455x1
	505x1
Box Squats	185x3
	225x3
	245x3
	265x3
V-Bar Pulldown	150x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)
	190x8 (P)
Back Extensions (Hanging Bar)	40x12
	55x12
	60x10

(P) Machine at the PRO Club

Day Three, Week Three: Deadlifts--Plus New Personal Best!

Today was my last deadlift workout before the YMCA Seattle Summer Classic next Saturday, and it was a great one. I felt supercharged, and had planned on lifting a new best of 530 for my last lift, but skipped it and successfully lifted 540! I'm pumped!

Now the difficult task of deciding what I'll attempt in competition. I'm thinking I'll open with 232.5 kg., or 511.5 lbs. I've successfully lifted more than that for 3 weeks in a row. As it turns out, according to the latest USAPL Washington State Men's Open records, the record deadlift in my weight class and RAW division is 262.5 kg., or 578.7 lbs. It's a long shot, but I might be able to beat that on my third lift, so for my 2nd attempt I'll cut the difference nearly in half at 245 kg., or 539 lbs. Finally, if successful in my 2nd lift, perhaps I'll aim high at 265 kg., or 583 lbs. It'll be last lift of the day, so heck, why not?

Deadlift Day
Exercise	6/2 2010	6/10 2010	6/17 2010	Week Four
Deadlift	135x3	135x3	135x3
	225x3	225x3	225x3
	315x2	315x2	315x2
	405x1	425x1	430x1
	455x1	475x1	480x1
	475x1	495x1	500x1
	495x1	515x1	520x1
	505x1	525x1	540x1
Seated Wide Grip Row	150x12 (P)	200x12 (P)	200x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)	210x12 (P)	210x12 (P)
	200x11 (P)	220x8 (P)	220x8 (P)
Underhand Pulldown	165x12 (P)	165x12 (P)	165x12 (P)
	175x10 (P)	175x12 (P)	175x12 (P)
	175x10 (P)	180x10 (P)	180x10 (P)

(P) Machines at the PRO Club

Day Three, Week Two: Deadlifts--Plus New Personal Best!

Boy I'm realizing that chalk is a deadlifter's best friend, and a belt is his second-best. The second of three weeks of training before my first competition and I achieved a new personal best in the deadlift. Actually, I did it twice in this one workout, lifting 515 and then 525 (I lifted 505 last week)!

I will admit that the last lift wouldn't have counted in competition because half-way up my finger caught on my shorts and I lowered the bar briefly before continuing the rest of the way up. Still, I think that actually made it harder since I didn't have the initial momentum to carry me through the whole lift. To be safe, however, I think I'll repeat this sequence next week, or maybe only move each lift up by 5 pounds.

Deadlift Day
Exercise	6/2 2010	6/10 2010	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x3	135x3
	225x3	225x3
	315x2	315x2
	405x1	425x1
	455x1	475x1
	475x1	495x1
	495x1	515x1
	505x1	525x1
Seated Wide Grip Row	150x12 (P)	200x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)	210x12 (P)
	200x11 (P)	220x8 (P)
Underhand Pulldown	165x12 (P)	165x12 (P)
	175x10 (P)	175x12 (P)
	175x10 (P)	180x10 (P)

(P) Machines at the PRO Club

Day Three, Week One: Deadlifts--New Best and Milestone!

The first of three weeks of training before my first competition and I achieved a new personal best in the deadlift: 505 pounds! Chalk and a belt make all the difference in the world; I think I could probably have done as much as 525 had I started heavier. Additionally, exceeding 495 was also a huge milestone for me.

Those of you with some experience at the gym know that barbell plates come in a few weight increments: 2.5, 5, 10, 25, 35 and 45 pounds. My milestones exist at 25x2 and 45x2 increments (a plate on each side). The bar weighs 45 pounds (typically), so whether squat, bench or deadlift, my milestones are at 135, 185, 225 pounds and so on. With four 45-pound plates on each side of the bar, deadlifting 405 was a big milestone. When I broke through 455, I was thrilled, and today I broke through the 495 milestone and beyond! Next stop, 545!

Deadlift Day
Exercise	6/2 2010	Week Two	Week Three	Week Four
Deadlift	135x3
	225x3
	315x2
	405x1
	455x1
	475x1
	495x1
	505x1
Seated Wide Grip Row	150x12 (P)
	170x12 (P)
	200x11 (P)
Underhand Pulldown	165x12 (P)
	175x10 (P)
	175x10 (P)

(P) Machines at the PRO Club