nearly 2X BW Deadlift after 1.7 years on Fundamental Leg Str

Hey guys

had a bit of a shock to my system yesterday at a Crossfit Gym that i went to yesterday, applying for a position as a trainer in their Mobility and Gymnastic department. after running around from 4:30pm to 9PM and helping people with form checks on their progressions and also demonstrating why I was making those form corrections(I was under evaluation of the Head Coach, who gave me the opportunity to assess him, show him my dynamic of teaching, so i was doing my best to reitorate cues, philosophies and reasons to enforce certain cues as stepping stones to other progressions. so i was nervous and pretty beat by the end of the day, but i asked two of the strongest lifters to spot me on my 1RM DL and to help me with cues, etc, the same way i had done for them earlier(did some fascial releases on those two in their hips and one of them nearly lost their S#$%, when he pulled his warm up weight during his WOD, so they were extremely helpful and very detailed in my "lack of form, but i could make a good robot in an assembly line" xD

so, in January of 2013(4 months after GST programming on my own, still hadnt bought Foundation because it hadnt been released yet) my 3 rep max was 135lbs and my 1RM totaled at 225lbs. i couldnt muster any juice to get it out of the hole again, so i called it a day.) 

fast forward to yesterday, September 8, '14 and I repped 135lbs, to see how i was going to do on the 225lbs. once i did the first pull, i knew i didn't want to waste any energy on it, so i only lifted for 3 to get the form down and then went to add the 225lbs. took a 2 minute break and completely blew away my expectations by maxing out at 8 reps, never once dropping the weight from the top position, always setting it down. 

the real shock to my system was how different it felt, from what i had last remembered. I felt like I had to fight tooth and really push/pull to lift the weight off the ground in January and yesterday, it felt like i was lifting something really heavy, but as soon as i got out of a certain position, standing up was a breeze. apparently i was making it harder on myself by levering my body up like in the video for all 8 reps. the real surprise came when I put in 35lb plates totalling it at 295lbs. 

the barbell kept rolling out of my hands because it was welded and i didn't feel like i could get it out of the sticking point without my fingers coming off the barbell. after giving myself adequate rest(3-5 minutes) and forgetting that it wasn't a GB WOD (mobility as rest was such a habit, that i let myself chill out to see what i could do after my battery was full) I pulled the 295lbs for 2 reps before feeling i had to call it a day.

 for the first year, i was developing the flexibility and endurance to be able to do Deck squats and Skiers as well i could emulate the form cues and to give my knee some time to acclimate(lots of clicking and knee valgus going on). now i've already mastered Cossack Squats and am currently working Side to Side squats(4x8) with Inside Squats (5 reps). I'm still a bit shocked at what I could lift, without having previous experience doing power lifting and the fact that I could, still had me in disbelief at what was happening while I was lifting the weight. it felt like the ocean parted. 

I wanted to share that experience with everyone, still feeling like a noob because you're on PE1/2 or whatever for so long, because i'll be honest in admitting that it can be intimidating being around so many strong, mobile, agile and lean individuals doing very well with the Foundation Courses, on the other hand, your work ethic, your sharing of personal experience and in the case of certain individuals, Mark Collins, Jon Douglas, Tris, Ravn, Micawberian, RJS, Cole, Cory and Coach reaching out through PM(or outside of forum) being kind giving me tips of fixes to help me troubleshoot my problem areas, have become my friends/brothers in arms and I honestly feel at home and in confidence, even if they tell me the harsh truth that i'm either not working hard enough or being too hard on myself on things that don't really need the attention.

here's a toast to this small victory and the appreciation I feel for being given the tools to heal my broken body. now, back to work.

Congrats! I'm looking forward to testing my deadlift sometime in October, when I get to a proper gym(I'm on SE2).

Imagine what you'll be pulling when you finish FLS and Foundation...

Good job! It was perfect form especially for 1RM.

what the PL'er led me to see was that I was "levering" the movement too much instead of pulling straight up like an accordion. so which is it? or since this is a technique lift, there is different strengths in doing them differently from time to time?

Duff said:

Congrats! I'm looking forward to testing my deadlift sometime in October, when I get to a proper gym(I'm on SE2).

 

Imagine what you'll be pulling when you finish FLS and Foundation...

oh my goodness. this is what i mean. the hamstring + glute iM's look SO freaking diabolical and give me gnarly cramps. you might just make my lift look like a freaking joke! hahaha i'll be looking forward to hearing about it when you do

RF_Guy said:

Good job! It was perfect form especially for 1RM.

the video i posted is of the 225lb, that i did 8 reps of. the 295lb for the first 4inches felt like i was ripping a tree out by its roots >_<

Nice work!

What fascia release stuff did you do on their hips?

Congrats man, I always love reading your guys progress! I can't to be able to share my own more modest ones. 

Congrats! I didn't watch the video yet, will do.

ChrisUK said:

Congrats man, I always love reading your guys progress! I can't to be able to share my own more modest ones. 

you're doing a bridge on your neck in your profile pic, man. I definetely don't know how to program for neck strength, so your light years ahead of me in that regard be proud of the hard work you've done this far, but know that the work will never be truly over.  if Coach is still pushing the limits of GST and all of us, that should give us testament enough of what we should we be doing, if we want to be strong like his athletes.  

Keep up all of the hard work. Slow steady progress is still progress.

Keilani Gutierrez said:

what the PL'er led me to see was that I was "levering" the movement too much instead of pulling straight up like an accordion. so which is it? or since this is a technique lift, there is different strengths in doing them differently from time to time?

It is better to listen to your coach as he can give you personal cues. What is helping me in general is to think more about pressing my feet into the ground as hard as you can instead of lifting. That seems to take care of evetything else including torso angle and bar position. If you really want to improve your DL I thik that you should do it 80-95% at least once in two weeks in order not to "forget" how to stay tight. Just my $0.02.

From a PL'ing perspective different body types will benefit from slightly different movement patterns. Someone with a relatively long torso and relatively short legs will generally pull the most weight by keeping their torso more upright and trying to squat the weight up. On the other hand someone with a relatively short torso and long legs will generally pull best by focusing more on levering/hinging at their hips more so than squatting.

Watch some vids of some of the top DL'ers and you'll see that their pulling forms differ depending on their individual biomechanics and anthropometrics.

I tend to agree though that, especially for someone not looking to compete in PL'ing and instead just looking to use DL's for basic strength without injuring themselves in the process, using the more upright torso and lots of "leg drive" is generally the safest approach.

Awesome work.