Exerbabble for 3-6-7

Today’s Workout:

Conventional Deadlift:
3 @ 135 lbs
2 @ 225 lbs
F @ 255 lbs
2 @ 225 lbs
F @ 245 lbs

How anticlimactic. 255 didn’t even budge. I reset with 225 to keep my legs fresh, and remind myself that I’m not a weakling. It’s good for the ego that I own 225. But I couldn’t budge 245, either. Amazing what a difference all of 20 lbs can make. I racked the weights, and pondered for a while, eventually doing my post-workout stretching. I have to say, doin those groin stretches has been working. I can get more range of motion than I used to. Plus, my legs feel better afterwards. I weighed myself, but I completely forgot what the number was. No biggie.

I was pretty demoralized afterwards. I toyed with trying to do some glute-ham raises, but I’m not strong to do them yet. I should work up to it. The last time I tried manual hamstring curls done sitting backwards at a lat pull apparatus, my left kneecap ended up slipping. Since then I’ve been careful to make sure that when I’m prone on my knees, to make sure I’m not actually on my knees – that the pressure is either on my lower thigh or just below the knee.

It’s possible my plan of attack was backwards. I pulled 225 from a deficit last Saturday and last week. This may sound retarded, but pulling it while standing on the floor made it felt heavier. How the hell is that possible, there’s less range of motion! It’s possible I’m able to generate more force in the low position, and just accelerate through my proverbial sticking point. It’s a thought.

I can’t say it’s all mental. I think I just need to get stronger. Back to the drawing board, as they say. Work the assistance lifts. There’s not much you need to know about legs. Glutes, hamstrings, quads, and maybe your calves. I don’t lift with my lower back. Working up to glute-ham raises would fix any hamstring weakness, if that was the weak point. But picking out weak points just seems silly. I need to get strong – period.

I thought I’d keep the volume low, as I thought the deadlifting would take a lot out of me both physically and neurologically. But perhaps I should try the opposite direction to see what will happen. I had great success with an A/B type split last year, so I’m going to do that next. But after that, I’ll probably try an upper/lower with a squat day and a deadlift day. What may be required isn’t necessarily heavier weights, but lifting masochism. Screw the rules, screw what’s supposed to work, I’m going to figure out what works for me.

This isn’t over.