Lumbar-spine rounded conventional deadlifts, anyone?
They actually seem quite popular on this site
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I had a really great workout today. Today was the first workout in my 5/3/1+ week. I really felt like I had unlimited energy this training session.
Bench press:
160lbs: 5 reps
180lbs: 3 reps
200lbs (1+ AMRAP Set): 6 reps
210lbs (Joker Set): 1 rep
superset 3 rounds:
close grip bench press: 140lbs 8 reps
barbell row: 140lbs 10 reps
Both of these moved super fast and felt great.
Giant Set 3 rounds:
Overhead Press: 85lbs x 5 reps
Chinup: bodyweight x 12 reps
Face pull: 40 lbs x 20 reps
I focused on making the chinups more strict than usual. The Overhead pressing was super easy
Giant set 3 rounds:
Skullcrusher: 20lbs x 15 reps
Hammer Curl: 30 lbs x 10 reps
Lateral raise: 20lbs x 12 reps
Superset 3 rounds:
Tricep rope pushdown: 30lbs x 15 reps
bent over rear delt fly: 10lbs x 15 reps
The idea behind me doing all these supersets and giant sets is to try to build up my work capacity. I feel like I have pretty poor work capacity for lower body lifts, and often feel super out of breath early in the workout. I usually donāt feel like my work capacity is particularly challenged on upper body days. Some of this stuff like lateral raises or bent over rear delt flys Iām basically only doing to push my conditioning a little bit harder.
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Finally, a fight. Nice work.
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That sixth rep was a hell of a fight
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Looking forward to catching up on your journal tonight!
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A few updates on training plans.
- I just began a friendly race to a 500lbs deadlift alongside @wanna_be @vvfoo @strongmanbrett @duketheslaya @liftangryordie500 I am SO excited for this. I love some friendly competition (even if I donāt expect to do too well)
- I think I might start tracking RPEs. Just to get better at it in case I ever use a program that incorporates RPE training
- After I come back from the summer, I might look into Juggernaut A.I. coaching.
- Tomorrow for my deadlift session, on my 1+ AMRAP with 370lbs, I think Iāll aim for 5 reps without too high an RPE, then go for a 405lbs pull for a joker set. Even though I hit 418lbs and 441lbs in my meet, Iāve never gone over 385lbs in the gym, so this is exciting for me.
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I just hope nobody hits it before I even start eating again 
be a sad quick loss.
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Well, at least you know it wonāt be me any time soon! Iām amped to hit 95lbs under the goal tomorrow, and Iām taking 6 weeks off soon.
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I am
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You have the most potential to pull bigā¦get up to 200 and youāll throw 80 pounds on your deadlift
I donāt want to get too fat lol, not for a while at least
Oh hush. @chris_ottawa can talk some sense into you! 
Bigger person = bigger pull, at least until you hit 300 pounds and canāt reach the bar.
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Not really, I donāt have any statistics to give you exact numbers but basically once you pass around 220-242 there doesnāt seem to be any real advantage for your deadlift to gaining more weight. It will go up, but not that much. If you gain 30lbs and increase your deadlift by 30lbs is that really a good tradeoff? Getting that big will help your squat and bench more than anything.
As for this:
Yeah, thatās reasonable but itās a long term thing, like aim to get to 200 in 2-3 years. If you are a lean 200 you will be stronger than a fat 200, and the easiest way to get fat is by gaining weight too fast. Bulk when training volume is higher, eat at maintenance when itās lower. Or bulk constantly and gain tons of fat.
Also, I would hope that gaining that much weight would add more than 80lbs to your DL. By the time you get there I would be hoping for 600+.
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With the whole getting fat thing, you have to put things into perspective. If you get big and fat and you are winning world championships and setting world records then you could argue itās worth it. But if you get fat and still suck then whatās the use?
I watched the SHWs at IPF worlds 2 years ago, there was Ray Williams, Jezza, and this Iranian guy who was a lean 300lbs, he had no chance of winning by total but on Wilks (yes, Wilks!) he was up there and anyway he was strong as fuck. Now these other guys just looked like fat sacks of shit and they were nowhere near Ray and Jezza. Honestly, I felt sorry for them, watching those guys made me feel sad. Why do that shit to yourself?
Being a little bit on the fatter side is one thing, but turning yourself into a 350-400lb blob so that you can squat 700 just doesnāt make sense. Can these guys meet girls? Can they fit into a car? Ray and Jezza are fat, but at least they look like they lift and they are two of the best in the world.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have guys who are like 6ā1" and 150lbs but donāt want to gain weight because they are in love with their abs.
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Yeah, Iād definitely agree with you on that. Your ability to deadlift more levels off as you gain more and more weight. I was thinking that level would be around 300 pounds but 225-250 seems reasonable as well.
But I assume youād also agree with me that thereās a lot of potential to be seen in slow bulking to 200 pounds and bringing your pull up in the same BW: weight ratio you had it at before.
Case in point:
I found that even when I wasnāt training effectively, my deadlift still went up by 2 pounds for every pound of weight I gained. However, even when I lost all the weight Iād gained, I got stronger simply because I learned how to train effectively. As of right now Iām sitting a little over a 2.5x BW pull at 165 pounds (I rarely pull singles in training, but Iām positive Iād have 425-430 pounds in the tank after a peak). Iām hoping that as I bring my weight up to 185 and eventually 200 Iāll bring my deadlift within the 3x BW range (therefore putting me at a 600 pull). I was saying that even if I trained and recovered like shit that if I weighed 200 I could probably pull 80 pounds more on my deadlift just because of what Iāve seen in my own training.
I only wish to be a competitive, albeit athletic, strongman. Abs mean nothing to me. I just want to be big, strong and able to live a comfortable life. Iāll take bigger traps, legs, arms, neck over abs any day of the week.
I also know I am not fit to break any world records, and I do not aim to do so. Iād eventually like to pull 750-800, but that still isnāt coming close to any records I can think of.
I definitely do NOT want to be fat. Iād like to be a bigger, stronger human!
It probably depends on your proportions too. I would like to see what Cailer Woolam or Krzysztof Wierzbicki could pull if they gained a whole bunch of weight. Those guys are both lean and proportionally skinny for powerlifters.
Those 2 guys I mentioned (plus Belkin) are pulling 4xbw or more, there are some strongmen who pull more than them but not in proportion to BW. Also, if you go by BW:weight ratio then the smallest guys always win. Ray Williams pulls a little over 2xbw and squats a little over 2.5x, if you weight 180 then numbers like that are nothing.
In terms of fatness, you should aim to be at a healthy BF%. Over 20% is pushing it, and 30+ is asking for a heart attack. If you can be a lean 300lbs natural then do it, but very few can. Possibly none.
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Iād love to see what top strongmen could pull sumo. Itād be pretty cool to witness the records people could set in competitions like Giants Live.
Yeah, Iād like to keep my BF under 20% this time around. I got to a āfat sack of shitā 195 pounds and then lost the weight. Now Iām at an athletic 170 and stronger than I was at 195 a year ago. A slow bulk to 185 should benefit my lifts significantly. Just eating in a surplus will allow me to set more rep PRs across the board.