Been writing this one over and over in the shower for a few days, finally remembered to get it typed up.
March 2023 Flow :
Lifting in the yard I no longer subscribe to many ways of the gym.
•If I deadlift I want a pump.
•I’m not going to mix grip, and I’d prefer not to throw on my pair of long neglected spud straps.
The other day I pulled some one arm deadlifts, the bar holding 25lb bumper plates.
Frankly I was surprised by the high level of full body tension on something so light.
In the same session I found that between the barbell one arm snatch, or maybe the kettlebell snatches before it, probably both most honestly – that my two arm barbell clean had improved, there was significant added power to my pull.
Easily I found the bar at the shoulders.
Long one arm pulls give both explosive pop and horsepower strength to two handed shorter pull variations.
…
Instead of the ability to max at home with a load of 500lbs, with my most recent gym equipment purchase I can now load a barbell to 620lbs, plenty of weight to set deadlift PRs past the 515 lifetime PR I pulled in summer 2016.
However, I no longer desire to mix grip, and would prefer not to pull with straps.
Heck I honestly don’t much want to pull heavy, but recently I realized that the heavy deadlift now scares me to a degree, therefore making it worth doing again.
The recent enough past has shown me I get very strong on pulls with lots of light, high tension, massive pump work on pulls.
So doh for anywhere from 2 to 15 sets of high tension 3s at 205lbs is worth and equal to 455+ lbs.
I can likely pull more from lower.
The precedence is that I made an ugly 495lb pull at the end of 2021 after sets of 2-4, at 2p25 tops, usually 3s, often enough 2s, at less, 2p mostly but even 1p25 in the smith machine…
I can pull high from pulling low (weight).
But those 95lb one arm deadlifts the other day intrigued me.
High high full body tension. Yet only the doh equivalent in the hands to double it on paper.
Reread the smith machine statement, what if I get to pulling one handed 185, 205, more?
That could very well be 545+ doh conventional.
Yes, I’ll be doing one arm olys and presses as parallel training and in support of the barbell c&p on which I want to hit 275lbs this summer.
All the olys are pulling work and carry over to the deadlift as well.
Add in some one arm deadlifts treated as a moderate to heavy movement, two arm deadlifts light for a glute pump on conventional and as more moderate movements on snatch grip, sldl, and the movement only I do…snatch grip sldl, all these things occasionally at a deficit of the bar starting at toes…
I’m basically building a deadlift I could’ve had years ago with the finnish deadlift approach.
I see no reason not to pull, some variant or other, on a regular basis.
Just build massive work capacity that way.
And see if this calendar year I’ll pull the entire 620lbs I have available with an overhand grip.
I’d be a whole lot more “walking the walk” credible (in my own eyes) this way. I am strong. My total does not much support that, though the pressing has been getting better and better.
10×185 is nearly any given day, 8+ is, while 2×205 is as well.
And only a few years ago those were either PR or very very nearly so, today they’re any time, any day, baked in numbers.
I want my conventional deadlift to get to the level of my press which too I am taking higher.
A barbell and the ground is enough to get you very strong. I’ve been living it the past year and change.
Persistence & Tenacity