Tuesday, August 18, 2009

deadlift max

Well, today's wod was one I could do RX'd, and was very happy about it.

Deadlift:
1,1,1,1,1

325 was my goal, and I hit 315 on my third rep, but Chriss pointed out that I was leaning over the bar and engaging my back/traps. My arms were bent so I was pulling the weight up instead of standing the weight up. He suggested I think about it like I was sitting back, and so I tried 325 the next time and nailed it. It was fairly easy, so I upped it to 345 and tried again. The weight was heavy enough that I encountered something I'd never encountered before: I struggled to keep my grip on the bar and ended up dropping it. This was due to the fact that I used overhand grip with both hands. Chriss recommended I use mixed grip, or Western grip. I waited a bit and tried it again. The bar was much, much easier to handle, and I stood up rather easily. After I locked out, I could completely relax and turned (my head) to Chriss and commented on how light the weight was.

...On another note, Chris Gruber attempted 450 (I think) and his struggle was the coolest thing I've seen in a while. Hopefully both my lift and Gruber's attempt are posted on Facebook (Chriss taped both)

5 comments:

Sean said...

I'M COMING FOR YOU BIG GUY!

Sean said...

Well... technically you're coming for me SO LET'S DO THIS THING!

Adam said...

Game on

Bacon said...

From what I understand you DO want to lean out over the bar, with your shoulders forward of the bar and your arms at a slight angle coming back towards you. (http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/51-2006_AnalysisofDeadlift.pdf)

What you don't want to do is pull with your arms, though. They are just "straps" to hold the bar. I always tell my clients to think of it like you're pushing the ground away from the bar, rather than pulling the bar off the ground, if that makes sense.

Adam said...

Bacon, you're right in that it is correct to start out with your shoulders above the bar (thanks to the great Rippetoe we know why), but what I meant was I would start at the correct position, then the shoulders would move even moreso forward as the legs straightened. This caused me from using the arms like straps to using my arms to try to "row" the weight towards my chest. Obviously, this is not the correct manner. ...I always think of it as trying to use the bar to push my feet through the ground, makes no sense but it seems to work for me.

Glad to see you back Bacon, I hope you're enjoying my blog, I try to make it more than just a workout diary and try to make it useful/entertaining.