Today was deadlift day and it’s surely my favorite exercise to get a bit ugly with. Nothing makes you look so ugly in the face than a few tough sets of deads…but man oh man do you sure look pretty once you hit the stage.

I finally have my deadlifts back up to 4 plates today…nothing too special…but it’s only my 4th deadlift session since the Yorton Cup. 

12/1/11 - 5/3/1  Deadlifts
170lbs x 5
225lbs x 5
255lbs x 3
320lbs x 5
365lbs x 3
405lbs x 5
255lbs x 5 x 10reps

It felt great, but there is still a lot of work to do and its work I really look forward to and enjoy doing. My goal is to surpass my previous best of 445lbs x 5 in which I did back in early 2011 and I’m looking to pull 500lbs for 1 in the next few months. I know I can get there as long as I remain patient, be safe and just take it one step at a time. It’s how I’ve always approached this sport…with patience and a lot of consistency. With that 500lb goal in mind, I know there should be some really nice physique improvements that will accompany that strength goal. Looking back earlier this season it became very apparent the one bodypart that drastically improved from 2009 to 2011 was my back. I definitely added some size, density and width and the reason was surely due to incorporating deadlifts to my training back in September of 2009. Thanks again Mr Helms ;)

June 2009

October 2011

I still get all excited looking at these comparison photos…simply because in 2009, right after I turned pro at 38 years of age and with over 20 years of training under my belt, I truly felt my potential was tapped out. Well that simply wasn’t the case and now at 40, I have a new sense of motivation and optimism for the future. My plan is to hit the stage again in 2013 which will give me two more solid years to deadlift…or to get even uglier…and then the question will be… how pretty will I be then? 

Until my next blog keep training hard, smart and naturally!