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burlyman30
04-24-2013, 11:37 PM
It's been over 20 years since I really was training with any regularity in the deadlift. I'm phasing it back into my training for a while because I think it is one of the most transferable lifts in the "real world". In my line of work (construction), a strong and healthy back is important. Though we may not lift things in perfect deadlift fashion on the jobsite, just having the strength to heave objects upward is important. I have to lift a 150+ lb pressure washer (might be 200+, not sure, but it's awkward) into my truck with some regularity. Also, I load many other large, unbalanced, awkward and somewhat heavy items that weigh 75-150 lbs on a daily basis. Keeping my core in decent shape means I am less likely to strain myself.

So those are the present reasonings. And to be honest, a couple other factors were reading some of the powerlifting logs and reminiscing about my days of deadlifting.

Going back in time for a bit... (boys and girls, it's story time!)

I always liked the deadlift. When I first went into my highschool weightroom as a 95 lbs soaking wet freshman, one of the seniors took me under his wing. I was given 3 lifts. Bench, Deadlift, Powerclean. I was told to do 5 sets of 5. That's really all I knew. And I did pretty much just that for 2 years, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. My sophomore year, at a strapping 108 lbs (I wasn't trying to gain weight yet, just get stronger), I won the Oregon State Highschool Powerlifting Championship in my weight class. But believe me, my numbers weren't that impressive and I didn't have much competition in the human skeleton weight class.

It was about this time that I shifted to bodybuilding and only occasionally did deadlifting, preferring to do stiff-legged deads for my hamstrings. I did go pretty heavy with these, though, getting up to 405-425 for sets of 10-12 in my "prime" which was ages 19-21. I only sporadically did deads from that point on, because of a couple reasons. I was already working the bodyparts that the deadlift works. Also, the deadlift is exhausting and I would be sore in so many places from a good deadlift workout that I couldn't fit in many of my workouts around it.

That being said, I probably will not pull weekly. We will have to see how recovery goes. I'm sure pulling less that weekly isn't ideal for maximum gains in that lift, but I am not in a hurry and I have no plans to compete.

I have not been working out my lower body since I returned back to the gym 6 weeks ago. I had only been lightly working legs (and other bodyparts) for a couple months prior to the month break I had, all of which was preceeded by a 5 month break because of my very poor health (bronchitis/virus/general malaise/low test/etc). The last time I was training heavyish (not counting the past month) was July or August. Part of my hesitation on lowerbody workouts stems from knee issues, some stems from needing to stay limber to jump in and out of my truck (the tailgate is 36-40" high, which is high for a short guy like me), and some stems from laziness. I love lowerbody workouts, but they do beat me up. I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle that drain on my body and continue my breakneck work pace (worked 100 hours last week).

So, this isn't entirely lower body, it's "whole body", but it's a start into lower body workouts.

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 12:05 AM
4-24-13

Bodyweight: approx 182.

Rather than my normal back and delt night, I decided to load up the bar a bit and tinker with the workout...

I loaded up 135 and did a set of 10, which felt good and I was trying to get my groove back after all this time. Surprisingly, it wasn't too hard to find.

I had no idea how any weight increases would feel, so I bumped it up to 185... set of 8. Felt good. Better than the previous set.

Upped it to 225 and pulled 5x. Again, it felt good. Actually better than I thought it would. However, I ripped open a small wound on my shin while bringing the bar upward. Though I could have done without that, it didn't surprise me. I have years of bloody shins behind me from my early days of pulling.

http://i.imgur.com/C5mDLHP.jpg

Again, I'm trying to test the waters as far as weight and also keep my form in good shape, so I upped it another 50 to 275. Another set of 5.

Next up was 315. I pulled it without issue. I have to say, I was a bit surprised I dropped to 3 reps on this set (purposely) to conserve energy.

I wasn't sure if 50 lbs would be too big of an increase, but I loaded it anyway, up to 365 lbs. Again, I pulled 1 rep, and again, it felt better than expected. It was starting to get heavy, but expected 315 to be my top weight for the night, so I was happy.

I debated with myself for about a minute on whether or not to go heavier. I just started deadlifts again, so I don't want to hurt myself right out of the gate. I also thought it wasn't so heavy that I couldn't increase the weight a bit and still get a better idea of my starting baseline.

The second thought won out for one more pull. I loaded it to 405. I really had no reference point to know how this would feel for my first night coming back. I figured I'd just give it a heave ho and see what happened. I'm glad I did. The 405 went up for a single just fine. I definitely felt the weight of the 405 on this pull. But it went up, and form stayed true.

After this, I went to do some bent over rows and put 225 on the bar. Well, the arms and delts were ready to go... the lower back told me it was very very tired, so I just did the one set of rows and shifted gears to pullups. I finished up the night with about 6-8 sets of pullups at 6-10 reps each. My body was pretty well burnt by then, so I abandoned delts until another day.

Grip was strong and didn't even cross my mind until later.

Until next time...

Dcabedo
04-25-2013, 12:11 AM
Very nice Burly! Hope everything goes good with the addition of deadlifts to your routine!

Coolazice
04-25-2013, 01:55 AM
2x body weight + an additional 40 pounds on your first DL workout??? Impressive!!! Why don't you remind everybody what your age is since there is bound to be a few folks around here that are unaware.

h2s
04-25-2013, 06:36 AM
Hesitant first pull back in the gym....pulls more than most. Good work b.

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 06:48 AM
2x body weight + an additional 40 pounds on your first DL workout??? Impressive!!! Why don't you remind everybody what your age is since there is bound to be a few folks around here that are unaware.

Haha... yep, I'm old. Turned 43 last week.

Thanks for working out the math for me, too... I don't keep up with stats of what a "good" number would be( i.e., 3x bodyweight?), so I guess I'll just have fun with it.

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 06:51 AM
Hesitant first pull back in the gym....pulls more than most. Good work b.

Thanks bud. This old set of spinae erectus had more go juice than expected.

JM1000
04-25-2013, 07:18 AM
Good job Burly, just got to 405 myself... After 7 months though:S

DJM
04-25-2013, 07:23 AM
powerfull
ill be first to admit i dont pull more, impressed by the old guy, especially with the layoff

***liquid chalk is good stuff

Coolazice
04-25-2013, 07:25 AM
Haha... yep, I'm old. Turned 43 last week.

Thanks for working out the math for me, too... I don't keep up with stats of what a "good" number would be( i.e., 3x bodyweight?), so I guess I'll just have fun with it.

I'm betting that the average 'Joe' can't DL much more than body-weight the first time he were to try it, so for you to still be able to do more than 2x BW straight out the gate after a 2 decade layoff definitely puts you in the impressive category in my book. :cool:

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 07:51 AM
Good job Burly, just got to 405 myself... After 7 months though:S

Nice job on the PR! I'm sure those numbers will only get more impressive.

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 08:00 AM
powerfull
ill be first to admit i dont pull more, impressed by the old guy, especially with the layoff

***liquid chalk is good stuff

Good to know. Never have used the liquid chalk. I have some regular chalk somewhere around the house, but not sure if the gym allows it. I have no idea how much weight my grip will hold with and without the chalk. I suppose I'll find out.

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 08:04 AM
Woke up this morning a little sore, but not bad, considering the workout. No apparent damage. Shoulder is a little tweaky, which was true before the pull, but I can tell I put some strain on it. Really glad I didn't try to push myself and work delts afterwards.

DJM
04-25-2013, 08:05 AM
Good to know. Never have used the liquid chalk. I have some regular chalk somewhere around the house, but not sure if the gym allows it. I have no idea how much weight my grip will hold with and without the chalk. I suppose I'll find out.

i prefer it to straps for pulling movements.....weight wise enables me another plate

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 08:13 AM
I'm betting that the average 'Joe' can't DL much more than body-weight the first time he were to try it, so for you to still be able to do more than 2x BW straight out the gate after a 2 decade layoff definitely puts you in the impressive category in my book. :cool:

Thanks bud. I guess it's all relative, really. Where I used to work out in my heyday, we had lots of guys pulling 800+. Granted, these were national and world champions, but I was always the puny guy there. Lol.

I started the log to record progress and thought it might be interesting to others. Also thought it might be a decent place to talk about the dead lift in general, talk about technique, and congratulate others on their milestone PRs. Since my pull days may not be every week, we can use this as a gathering place for all kinds of questions on the dead lift.

O_RYAN_007
04-25-2013, 08:16 AM
Great idea on starting this thread. My favorite lift is the deadlift, and I love talking/learning about it. I'm glad you put it back into your regime, I'm sure you'll see some great results aesthetics wise.

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 08:34 AM
Great idea on starting this thread. My favorite lift is the deadlift, and I love talking/learning about it. I'm glad you put it back into your regime, I'm sure you'll see some great results aesthetics wise.

Funny you should bring up aesthetics. I am in the process of recomping (slowly) and I am curious as to the effects while in a non-bulk mode. Wondering about ab and oblique development, as well as glute/ham development. May also bring additional thickness to my mid/upper back.

As far as discussion on the lift, I'm glad we have Rodja and Sorrow here to add their 2 cents. And now Wesley, too.

I watched a Rippetoe vid on YouTube about the dead, and he stated some great info on the biomechanics of the lift. I'll have to look it up later. It confirmed everything I had always believed about back angle and overall body placement.

O_RYAN_007
04-25-2013, 10:27 AM
Funny you should bring up aesthetics. I am in the process of recomping (slowly) and I am curious as to the effects while in a non-bulk mode. Wondering about ab and oblique development, as well as glute/ham development. May also bring additional thickness to my mid/upper back.

As far as discussion on the lift, I'm glad we have Rodja and Sorrow here to add their 2 cents. And now Wesley, too.

I watched a Rippetoe vid on YouTube about the dead, and he stated some great info on the biomechanics of the lift. I'll have to look it up later. It confirmed everything I had always believed about back angle and overall body placement.

I think regardless of the way you're pulling (conventional vs sumo), you'll def develop every area you mentioned.

I've managed to get my sumo deads up to 545 for my 1RM. I've really had to work on my weaknesses (glutes and hams) to get that weight off the ground, as well as working on bar pulling speed.

"So you think you can deadlift?" is one of my personal favorites from Dave Tate. He does a great job explaining both sumo and conventional pulls.

Macdon1588
04-25-2013, 10:45 AM
I have had good success this year dead lifting and I've found chasing weight evokes a variety of good habits: The lift requires highly executed form, and concentration with attention to details like feedback from your body.

I think it's the best bang for buck as far as lower body movements are concerned. I know it's sac religious but, I've found that the trap bar is a good way to add volume to a dead lift training day if for anything, it's a little safer plus it helps target the upper back nicely.

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 12:10 PM
I think regardless of the way you're pulling (conventional vs sumo), you'll def develop every area you mentioned.

I've managed to get my sumo deads up to 545 for my 1RM. I've really had to work on my weaknesses (glutes and hams) to get that weight off the ground, as well as working on bar pulling speed.

"So you think you can deadlift?" is one of my personal favorites from Dave Tate. He does a great job explaining both sumo and conventional pulls.

I pull conventional. Sumo never felt comfortable to me. I've seen the Dave Tate video, and yes it has a lot of great points in it. If I remember correctly, it talks a lot about bar speed which is something I never really concentrated on in the past but I did play with it a little bit on my pulls last night. 545 is a great number. You should be proud of that!

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 12:24 PM
I have had good success this year dead lifting and I've found chasing weight evokes a variety of good habits: The lift requires highly executed form, and concentration with attention to details like feedback from your body.

I think it's the best bang for buck as far as lower body movements are concerned. I know it's sac religious but, I've found that the trap bar is a good way to add volume to a dead lift training day if for anything, it's a little safer plus it helps target the upper back nicely.

How dare you defile the altar of the deadlift with a trap bar. Sacrilegious indeed! Lol.

O_RYAN_007
04-25-2013, 12:37 PM
I pull conventional. Sumo never felt comfortable to me. I've seen the Dave Tate video, and yes it has a lot of great points in it. If I remember correctly, it talks a lot about bar speed which is something I never really concentrated on in the past but I did play with it a little bit on my pulls last night. 545 is a great number. You should be proud of that!

It takes a toll on the hips after a while if going for a 1RM every week, so I try to max out once a month or so. Sometimes I go longer in between, but as Macdon said, listen to the body (which I'm sure you do). I've been maxing out for about 4 weeks straight on squats and its def taken a toll on my mind and body. Next week I'll take an entire week off from lifting. My body is telling me to back up.

Rodja
04-25-2013, 01:38 PM
Funny you should bring up aesthetics. I am in the process of recomping (slowly) and I am curious as to the effects while in a non-bulk mode. Wondering about ab and oblique development, as well as glute/ham development. May also bring additional thickness to my mid/upper back.

As far as discussion on the lift, I'm glad we have Rodja and Sorrow here to add their 2 cents. And now Wesley, too.

I watched a Rippetoe vid on YouTube about the dead, and he stated some great info on the biomechanics of the lift. I'll have to look it up later. It confirmed everything I had always believed about back angle and overall body placement.

The conventional deadlift is an odd lift in that "proper" form is going to depend on the person and their frame. Unlike sumo, there isn't a one-size-fits-all technique for conventional. Some will have their hips higher than others and some like to round/relax their thoracic, but neither one is correct or incorrect; it all depends on the person. The main things to concentrate on while pulling, though, is bar speed, tightness, neutral lumbar, and a straight line from the shoulder joint to the bar.

O_RYAN_007
04-25-2013, 03:09 PM
The conventional deadlift is an odd lift in that "proper" form is going to depend on the person and their frame. Unlike sumo, there isn't a one-size-fits-all technique for conventional. Some will have their hips higher than others and some like to round/relax their thoracic, but neither one is correct or incorrect; it all depends on the person. The main things to concentrate on while pulling, though, is bar speed, tightness, neutral lumbar, and a straight line from the shoulder joint to the bar.

Solid advice!

Sorrow
04-25-2013, 09:51 PM
That was some great work! Regardless of age, stance, layoff.. hell anything. Great job! And welcome back to life with the deads!

Should be an interesting thread to follow along with. Thanks for starting it.

burlyman30
04-25-2013, 10:41 PM
That was some great work! Regardless of age, stance, layoff.. hell anything. Great job! And welcome back to life with the deads!

Should be an interesting thread to follow along with. Thanks for starting it.

Thanks for your support! Really glad you found your way to this thread. I'm sure you'll have great input for me and others with your experience. Pretty sure I won't be pulling that 700 you mustered up, though. That is some serious poundage.

burlyman30
04-26-2013, 12:02 AM
Here are some informative videos by Rippetoe:

Mark Rippetoe: Deadlift Anatomy - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht363HslwnM&feature=youtube_gdata_player)

Mark Rippetoe: Deadlift Starting Angles - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4FwBkuK6o&feature=youtube_gdata_player)

Mark Rippetoe: Deadlift Alignment Pt. 1 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vue17RjRhwM&feature=youtube_gdata_player)

Mark Rippetoe: Deadlift Alignment Pt. 2 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu3-64C7JEY&feature=youtube_gdata_player)

A combination of trial and error, watching others, and finding what was most effective for me and others led me to pretty much the same conclusions as Rippetoe regarding personal biomechanics integrated into the deadlift. I had been taught (in highschool, by another highschooler) to be as upright as possible, but biomechanically, I am very weak that way and my butt always wanted to pop up into a stronger mechanical position before the plates came off the platform. I finally figured out that if I start from the position where my body WANTS to be, then I am starting off in the strongest position possible and increasing the likelihood that the weight will come off the platform when loaded heavily.

burlyman30
05-07-2013, 11:26 PM
So I hadn't really intended to pull this week...

I got to the gym after a long and stressful day and to be honest, I really didn't want to be there. I was out of sorts mentally from the day I had, I was hungry, having only had three 300-350 calorie snacks all day, and I was likely dehydrated as I was working in warm temperatures and sweating throughout the day. I was a little concerned about cramping from being dehydrated, and I expected 315 to be about my limit today because of the state I was in.

I got there and was planning to do back and delts... and just wanted something that would hold my interest since I was mentally "not there". So I said to myself "fine, let's pull again. It should be interesting after my lackluster state of being."

135 x 12 Felt light (obviously)
225 x 5 Easy enough
315 x 1 Felt good. Light.
405 x 1 Went up much easier than last week. Really no challenge, but I felt the weight of it.
455 x 1 Up it went. It was heavy, though, and definitely a max effort.

I didn't really like my form with the 455. Passable, yes, but not up to my standard. I think it was mostly a timing issue. My hips drove up fast and my back ended up having to catch up. It's possibly indicative of a weak link, but I still think mostly a timing issue.

I decided I wanted to work on my fundamentals a bit to make sure I would perform the lift correctly under a load, so I dropped the weight to 315 and did 3 sets of 5. These were by no means max efforts. But I wanted enough weight on the bar to force me to some level of exertion. Enough weight that would help me examine my form. All of those went well, so I think next time I pull, I should up the weight of the working sets to about 365 for sets of 5 and see if that brings up any form issues at all.

Grip was strong throughout the workout. No issues at all without having any chalk.

I actually had more energy after this workout than I did after the other DLing workout I described last week, so I did several sets of parallel grip pullups and then continued onto delts. However, delts had been pretty well tired out from the deads and pullups. I worked my way up slowly to the 80 lb dumbells for overhead presses, then worked my way back down the rack 10 lb increments at a time... all the way to the 10s.

Overall very satisfied with this workout and felt better after doing more than I did after the last DL workout where I did quite a bit less volume.

weekend
05-08-2013, 01:27 AM
does it make my grip weaker to use chalk? i use chalk on almost every heavy lift, including bench, deads, rows, cleans and even squat. seems to help my stability

burlyman30
05-08-2013, 04:10 AM
does it make my grip weaker to use chalk? i use chalk on almost every heavy lift, including bench, deads, rows, cleans and even squat. seems to help my stability

Chalk just keeps the palms dry, rather than sweaty and slippery. It can't weaken your grip. It just puts you at a stronger mechanical advantage (higher friction) when used for pulling exercises. No advantage would be gained in pushing exercises.

weekend
05-08-2013, 04:41 AM
Sorry, what I meant was does it foster weakness like straps.

burlyman30
05-08-2013, 07:26 AM
Sorry, what I meant was does it foster weakness like straps.

Even straps don't weaken your grip if you only use them on the sets where your grip would normally give out. They just don't help you strengthen your grip. When I do bent over rows, my grip gives out at anything past 275, but I can use straps in order to add another 50 lbs and give my back a proper workout. But I only use them for the heaviest sets.

olddawg
05-08-2013, 08:05 AM
Burly, been fighting the urge to make a funny here, but I can't last any longer. The thread title Burly Decides to Pull again, and the announcement of your new wood, just sayin, it paints a funny picture every time I read the thread

burlyman30
05-08-2013, 08:11 AM
Burly, been fighting the urge to make a funny here, but I can't last any longer. The thread title Burly Decides to Pull again, and the announcement of your new wood, just sayin, it paints a funny picture every time I read the thread

I nearly made a joke about it in my initial post of the thread, actually, and have been surprised no one else did... so it's about time. :D

olddawg
05-08-2013, 08:17 AM
I've been sick :( and off a little lol

burlyman30
05-10-2013, 11:28 PM
I was looking in the mirror today and noticed a muscular effect already taking place from the DLs... my traps are growing taller and thicker. Upper traps are something that do seem to grow pretty easily with me, so I think it's muscle memory responding to its old friend, the deadlift. However, it's been ages since I was holding 400+ pounds in my hands (no remarks about fat girls, please. lol). I think it's the body's response to the heavy weight that is forcing the traps to grow so noticeably in a short time.

burlyman30
05-14-2013, 12:29 AM
So it seems that my original intent was not to pull weekly, yet I get to the gym and I get lured in. I pulled again today, though not for a 1 RM. I had a pretty rough day at work and had a terrible time concentrating on the weights. I have the customer from hell, and I am a subcontractor on this project, so I don't hear a complaint from the customer (even though I talked with him for several minutes before I left the jobsite). He's passive aggressive and then calls the general contractor who then wants to know what is going on and why there are problems. I got to the gym and I was livid. Wanted to go punch the customer for stressing my crew out to the point that they were making critical errors in their work and then costing me more money and time to fix. And I still have to go back and face this idiot for another trip or two to his house to deal with "issues".

/venting over

Anyway, concentration was very difficult. I didn't have the mentality for a 1 RM and I hadn't necessarily planned to do one anyway unless I felt "unstoppable". I followed my plan from last week, which was to work up to heavy sets of 5 reps.

Here's how it went:

135 x 12 back felt tight. helping someone move last night, I think I have a vertebrae out of alignment in my lower lumbar. Tried to adjust it myself, but no go. Ended up getting a pretty good pump from this set, though.
225 x 5 back still feels "out", try to adjust it again. I get a couple "pops" but not low enough.
315 x 3 Goes up easy. back is warmed up enough that I think it'll go heavier without issue, even though it's still "out".
365 x 5 definitely a work set for me. Had to re-grip on rep 5, as sweaty hands and no chalk make it tough to keep hold of the bar.
365 x 5 Again, definitely had to work for this. All went up fine, and I was surprised that this set I got 5, since the last set was heavy. Got my heart rate way up and was breathing hard and heavy for a while prior to the next set.
365 x 5 I really didn't expect to get more than 3. I even told myself to pull 3 good ones, but after 3, I went for 4 and 5 and both went up for me.

Form seemed rock solid on all heavy reps. No glaring weaknesses in certain points of the lift at this point. Everything moves together well. I anticipate some things coming to light more as I add another hundred pounds, but we will wait and see how things progress.

I was wiped out after these sets... heart rate very high and breathing fast and heavy for several minutes afterward. This has to be considered aerobic, right? Or at least as some form of interval training.

Before I had a chance to catch my breath 100%, I was back over at the pullup bar, doing parallel grip pullups and did about 6 sets.

Last week I finished with heavy (for me) overhead DB presses, so this week, I just did isolation/high rep delt work, tri-setting, rear delt flyes, front delt raises, and lateral raises with light weight and high reps. I think I did about 5 or 6 tri-sets. I stopped when I was feeling an ache.. almost a feeling of something being torn, but it was just the intensity of the pump that was so painful. I thought this was a good place to stop.

In the last 3 weeks of pulling (followed by pullups) I am noticing more thickness in my traps across my back (which has been a weak point for me) and my mid to lower lats are growing noticeably (to me) thicker and wider. Also, I am noticing my forearms are thickening in the mid-belly of the muscle (inside or bottom side of forearm, depending on how you are holding the arm).

Assuming I pull next week, I will probably try 385 for sets of 5. I will also try to bring some chalk. It's getting to that point, now. Weekend... bro... I have you in my crosshairs... lol.

burlyman30
05-14-2013, 01:01 AM
Later at night, I got home and stretched forward, grabbed my toes, and pulled down and finally the vertebrae popped back into place. Thank goodness!

I got up from my recliner a moment ago to get some FOOD and it was at that time I really felt my hams, glutes, and my spinal erectors. Not painful, just very very well worked. I may have to slow my monkey moves tomorrow.

burlyman30
05-14-2013, 07:35 PM
Today, my hams and erectors are stiff and mildly sore, as are my traps and glutes. What did surprise me today was the sore biceps. It takes a lot to get them sore, and it's sore from the tendon in the forearm all the way into the muscle belly. It is more prominently sore on the left arm where my palm faces forward during the lift.

weekend
05-14-2013, 07:40 PM
Later at night, I got home and stretched forward, grabbed my toes, and pulled down and finally the vertebrae popped back into place. Thank goodness!

I got up from my recliner a moment ago to get some FOOD and it was at that time I really felt my hams, glutes, and my spinal erectors. Not painful, just very very well worked. I may have to slow my monkey moves tomorrow.

Wait what? Your spine is messed up?

I'm thinking ill try for 385 for 3 sets of 8-10 on my next deadlift workout.

burlyman30
05-14-2013, 07:45 PM
Wait what? Your spine is messed up?

I'm thinking ill try for 385 for 3 sets of 8-10 on my next deadlift workout.

You didn't read that in the workout rundown? Couldn't get my back into alignment prior to pulling, so I muscled through.

As for the 385 x10-12... now yer just startin' to piss me off. Lol. J/k... I'm sure I'll do better on my 4th DL workout after a year away. ;)

O_RYAN_007
05-14-2013, 09:20 PM
Today, my hams and erectors are stiff and mildly sore, as are my traps and glutes. What did surprise me today was the sore biceps. It takes a lot to get them sore, and it's sore from the tendon in the forearm all the way into the muscle belly. It is more prominently sore on the left arm where my palm faces forward during the lift.

I get this same exact feeling in the bicep. I don't use any straps when I pull, just chalk.

burlyman30
05-14-2013, 11:26 PM
I get this same exact feeling in the bicep. I don't use any straps when I pull, just chalk.

I've never used straps for DLs. Only for heavy bent rows (anything over 275) or heavy pulldowns (anything over 230) because the bar starts rolling out of my fingers. Alternating grip solves that problem of rolling out, but a sweaty hand starts causing grip trouble. Gotta find my chalk. I know it's around here somewhere....

burlyman30
05-21-2013, 11:33 PM
Ok... 4 DL workouts in as of tonight. Turned out pretty good, too. I'll get back to that in a minute.

Wanted to thank DJ for mentioning the liquid chalk. I couldn't find my chalk block anywhere around the house today! :mad: So, I went to Sports Authority and they had run out. I asked about liquid chalk and got a blank stare. So I went to another nearby sports store and was batting zero there too, until I went over to the TENNIS section. They had a "liquid grip enhancer". Alcohol-based gel with chalk in it. Score! This running around put me a little late for my workout, but better late than never.

With the way my day went (I had eaten a real meal about 11am and then had a protein bar as a snack around 2pm), I was a bit hungry by the time I got to the gym, but my peptopro/TANG combo keeps my stomach from that feeling that it is chewing on itself.

135 x 12
225 x 5 felt heavyish for some reason. Started to wonder what the night would turn out like and began to question my plans to move up 20 lbs and repeat the rep count from last week (3 sets of 5).
275 x 2 This felt much better than the previous set. I would have normally just gone to 315, but did a set here based on the way 225 felt.
315 x 1 Felt great.
365 x 1 needed to test the waters at this weight, since this is where I did 3 sets of 5 last week. Felt great.
385 x 5 Went up easy. Too easy, in fact. If anyone was there, they may have seen a confused look on my face after the set. lol. I'm not saying it felt "light". Just too easy to be doing a near max effort for sets of 5.
405 x 5 Decided I needed to bump it up and was a little apprehensive to do it, but it seemed a 20 lb jump would be just right. It was. The weight was heavy, but doable.
405 x 5 Again, I had to work, but they all went up and form was intact throughout. All were solid throughout. Grip was not an issue in the least thanks to the liquid chalk.

I peeled off the bar then walked around to catch my breath before proceeding to pullups and DB overhead presses.

Here's an interesting thing I noticed about the heavy sets of DL. I noticed it last week too, but moreso this week. My first rep of a set always seems to be the hardest (except for maybe the last rep of a set) and if form is off at all, it will always be the first rep. Not sure why. It's as if I have to use the first rep to "calibrate" the rest of them. I tend to use a bit more back on the first rep. This is something that has been going on since I first began DLing. Don't get me wrong, the form isn't bad. It's just not as precision as I like it. But the form being off makes the weight feel heavier.

Overall, I have to say I'm very happy about this unexpected jump in strength and the way this DLing "comeback" is going. Based on this week's results, I'll plan to do 425 next week and see how that goes. I was attempting to do 85% of my last 1 RM. I ended up doing 89%. 425 works out to about 93% of my last 1 RM (455). Though I am speculating, I would imagine my true 1 RM to be closer to 485 at the moment.

Oh, and Weekend... I think I just passed up your 405 x 4, so you may want to get back to the platform and see what you can do about that. lol. Curious... how does it feel to have someone twice your age pass you up in 4 weeks of training? (just needling you a bit, bud. :D )

Coolazice
05-21-2013, 11:50 PM
After a 20(ish) year break from dead lifting? That is ridiculous and amazing at the same time. That kind of muscle memory is mind-blowing!

burlyman30
05-21-2013, 11:57 PM
After a 20(ish) year break from dead lifting? That is ridiculous and amazing at the same time. That kind of muscle memory is mind-blowing!

Glad to have you along on this journey. Each workout is kind of a "head scratcher" as I try to figure out how I just did what I did. :confused:

weekend
05-21-2013, 11:59 PM
Fuck, I probably won't be deadlifting until next week cause I have a pretty heavy squat workout planned for Friday and I just hit a new PR on cleans...

Hit 205x5, 215x2 PR and then 225x1x3 PR, then followed that up with 185x10x3!!

I'm torched... Followed that with hella rows and pull-ups and such so between that and squat... Well when's your next deadlift workout?

weekend
05-22-2013, 12:01 AM
Fuck you're going to do 425 already?? I wasn't gonna move up until I got 405x10 lol

burlyman30
05-22-2013, 12:05 AM
Fuck, I probably won't be deadlifting until next week cause I have a pretty heavy squat workout planned for Friday and I just hit a new PR on cleans...

Hit 205x5, 215x2 PR and then 225x1x3 PR, then followed that up with 185x10x3!!

I'm torched... Followed that with hella rows and pull-ups and such so between that and squat... Well when's your next deadlift workout?

Getting strong on the cleans, Weekend! Very nice PR numbers there! I haven't done cleans in 26 years unless you count just grabbing a bar with some plates and putting it onto the squat rack. I don't think my shoulders would like me very much if I started doing cleans. lol. The 185x10x3 at the end of your workout sounds like a total KILLer. Not sure how you had anything left after that! Animal!

burlyman30
05-22-2013, 12:08 AM
Fuck you're going to do 425 already?? I wasn't gonna move up until I got 405x10 lol

Old school philosophy I grew up with and around with some of the top lifters in the world: "Never do more than 5 reps in the DL unless it is a warmup".

So you won't see me doing any high rep DLs. Not sure I have the oxygen capacity to do them anyway. I breathe hard for minutes after a hard set of 5.

weekend
05-22-2013, 12:21 AM
it was the beginning of my workout heh...

to elaborate here was the whole thing

Cleans:
135x10
185x2
205x5
215x2PR
225x1PR
225x1PR
225x1PR
185x10
185x10
185x10PR i think to do 3 of those probably done 3x8 tho

Kroc Rows (45 degree db row)
100lbx20 each side
100lbx20 each side
100lbx20 each side
100lbx20 each side

Pullups supersetted with pulldowns (inspired today by olddawgs post)
10xpullups 6x160 lb pulldown 8x 120 lb pulldown (4 sets of this)

Facepull (been doing these on the floor for optimum shoulder isolation, i recommend)
50x15
55x15
60x15
65x15 PR

Bent over barbell row snatch grip to the mid chest supersetted with close grip underhand bb row to the waist:

135x8,x8 <-- 3 sets

Rear delt fly
20lb DBs x15
20x15
20x15
15x20

lol it was a good day today, took 2 days off prior

weekend
05-22-2013, 12:24 AM
Old school philosophy I grew up with and around with some of the top lifters in the world: "Never do more than 5 reps in the DL unless it is a warmup".

So you won't see me doing any high rep DLs. Not sure I have the oxygen capacity to do them anyway. I breathe hard for minutes after a hard set of 5.


i really think that's bull, i love doing 315x15 or even 20 or 355x12, nothing murders my glutes like that shit. plus anything where it's my 5 rep max my thoracic isnt in the best position on the way up, i like to work to perfect form before i move up

burlyman30
05-22-2013, 12:27 AM
Crazy workout. What are you, a T-100 series terminator??? You are a machine, bro. Much respect.

weekend
05-22-2013, 12:28 AM
haha, i dunno man, pretty standard amount of volume for me... maybe i should start a log.

i just dont seem to grow unless my workouts go something like that....

my workout partner today was pissed after the second set of pullups lol

it was 1:50 hrs

burlyman30
05-22-2013, 12:29 AM
i really think that's bull, i love doing 315x15 or even 20 or 355x12, nothing murders my glutes like that shit. plus anything where it's my 5 rep max my thoracic isnt in the best position on the way up, i like to work to perfect form before i move up

Depends what the goals are, I suppose. For strength, it's dead on. If you are looking for other development from them, then you are correct on utilizing higher rep schemes.

That being said, when I was concentrating on building my hams, in my prime, I was doing 400+ in the stiff legged dead for 12-15 reps. My legs grow best with higher reps.

weekend
05-22-2013, 12:35 AM
Depends what the goals are, I suppose. For strength, it's dead on. If you are looking for other development from them, then you are correct on utilizing higher rep schemes.

That being said, when I was concentrating on building my hams, in my prime, I was doing 400+ in the stiff legged dead for 12-15 reps. My legs grow best with higher reps.


exactly, i totally agree for a powerlifter... maybe 6-8 still might be good i dunno, but...

this is swolesource after all... im tryna be swole lol

burlyman30
05-22-2013, 12:39 AM
haha, i dunno man, pretty standard amount of volume for me... maybe i should start a log.

i just dont seem to grow unless my workouts go something like that....

my workout partner today was pissed after the second set of pullups lol

it was 1:50 hrs

Enjoy the endless energy of your youth. It doesn't last forever. hahaha.

Sperwer
05-22-2013, 01:17 AM
What Burly said. Nevertheless, I am just left gum-smacked by the weights and volumes here, including those by Burly himself on the comeback trail.

burlyman30
05-22-2013, 01:21 AM
What Burly said. Nevertheless, I am just left gum-smacked by the weights and volumes here, including those by Burly himself on the comeback trail.

Says the guy with the bad lumbar who, on a whim, decides to pull 6 singles during a skit at a weight 75 lbs higher than his previous PR. lol. You are no slouch yourself, Mr. Sperwer. ;) Also qualifying for Terminator Status in my book. :cool:

weekend
05-22-2013, 01:41 AM
let us all terminate. it shall be a grand old time.

O_RYAN_007
05-22-2013, 07:50 AM
I'll drop to sets of 3 after I hit 405, then just hit singles after that if I'm maxing.

burlyman30
05-22-2013, 08:14 AM
I'll drop to sets of 3 after I hit 405, then just hit singles after that if I'm maxing.

As you can see from my DL workouts, I keep my reps low as I rise up the through the poundages. I use the stairstep up in weights as more of a CNS "wakeup" than I do to get blood flowing. I always feel pretty well warmed up by about 4 sets in, even if I'm doing triples, doubles or singles on my way up. Any more than the minimum amount of reps heading up to my highest work weight for the day is just going to tire me out prematurely.

burlyman30
05-27-2013, 11:41 PM
This must not be my week. I noted in my benching thread that despite conditions warranting a good workout, I missed my target. So it was with my DL workout today.

I'm not entirely sure what happened, but things just felt heavier today. I took All-In preworkout which has proved to give me some good energy and great pumps in the gym, but it was not my magic bullet today. Things felt off. I felt like I was leaning too far forward and not driving enough with my hips out of the hole. But by the time I got around to figuring that as part of the problem and why, I was already done with my workout. As for the "why", I believe it was my head positioning. I believe I was looking down instead of looking forward to keep my hips a bit lower while driving upward.

My lumbar felt a little tweaked going into the workout, but not severe. By the end, my back had had enough. I pulled (not injured) my lower back a little and it's pulling a vertebrae or two out of alignment now. Ibuprofen, rest, and some stretching will be the name of the game for the next couple of days until it loosens up enough to be adjusted back into place. Good news is, this isn't an injury, just a minor pull. Other good news, I can come back next time and try to correct what I know went wrong and give it another go. Bad news is, I missed my target, which sucks, but is far from the end of the world.

135 x 12
225 x 5 felt "off"
275 x 3 felt better
315 x 3 felt ok, but too heavy for what it was
365 x 1 this one made me wonder if 405 was going to go up 5x and I was pretty sure 425 wasn't happening based on this set
405 x 5 got it, but it was an ugly set in my book. Felt way harder than last week. Almost shut down the workout after this one.
405 x 5 got it again, but had to groan on the last couple. form was a bit better than the previous set, but the strain to the back had already been done. I knew this was enough fun for one day and shut it down.

Followed this up with parallel grip pullups, which were harder today than usual. Ended with several tri-sets of rear/front/lateral delt raises with light weight and high reps.

I took my licks today, for sure. After some pretty good increases, it was a little hard to take this "defeat" as it was entirely unexpected. Things just weren't working out today. Oh well. That's what next week is for. Weekend, you've got another week to come at me, bro. ;)

weekend
05-28-2013, 12:03 AM
hah, gonna work on getting sets of 10 with 395 this week... good shit getting 2x5 on 405, hows the tren treating you?

burlyman30
05-28-2013, 12:14 AM
hah, gonna work on getting sets of 10 with 395 this week... good shit getting 2x5 on 405, hows the tren treating you?

from 405 x 4 last week to 395 x 10 this week?? You must be some kind of superman. Either that, or your muscular endurance is far more developed than mine (which probably wouldn't be hard to eclipse).

Maintenance dose of 75mg/wk of tren adds that extra zing to my TRT. No complications or problems with it at all. Only good benefits. Increased libido (contrary to the usual stories you may hear), helps with recomp/fat loss, aids in post workout recovery. Only side effects that are notable (but not problematic) are increased sweating after a large meal or while sleeping, and lately, increased hunger which I'm positive is related to my body trying to feed the new muscle growth.

weekend
05-28-2013, 12:15 AM
from 405 x 4 last week to 395 x 10 this week?? You must be some kind of superman. Either that, or your muscular endurance is far more developed than mine (which probably wouldn't be hard to eclipse).

Maintenance dose of 75mg/wk of tren adds that extra zing to my TRT. No complications or problems with it at all. Only good benefits. Increased libido (contrary to the usual stories you may hear), helps with recomp/fat loss, aids in post workout recovery. Only side effects that are notable (but not problematic) are increased sweating after a large meal or while sleeping, and lately, increased hunger which I'm positive is related to my body trying to feed the new muscle growth.

i think i can do at least 8. keep it up man, whats your test at, 200?

burlyman30
05-28-2013, 12:18 AM
i think i can do at least 8. keep it up man, whats your test at, 200?

I wish. lol. Only 100mg/wk.

weekend
05-28-2013, 12:21 AM
take a shot 10 days before your next blood test.. gave my dad a 450 TT reading at 190 lb.

blame SHBG lol

hes on 200 now woohoo

burlyman30
05-28-2013, 12:30 AM
take a shot 10 days before your next blood test.. gave my dad a 450 TT reading at 190 lb.

blame SHBG lol

hes on 200 now woohoo

Pretty much what I am doing.... Last shot of test (only 50mg) was about a week ago and I have a blood test in a couple of days. We will see where the readings come back at.

This just dawned on me... I know it's only been a week/week and a half, but not dosing my 50mg x twice weekly shots may have affected my strength levels for both my bench and my DL workout in the last week. Hard to say, but could be a contributing factor.

weekend
05-28-2013, 12:38 AM
i guarantee you it is a contributing factor. and thats from my extensive years of AAS experience.

- - - Updated - - -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fss3Xn5dZzU

burlyman30
05-28-2013, 01:07 AM
i guarantee you it is a contributing factor. and thats from my extensive years of AAS experience.

- - - Updated - - -

Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (Gigamesh Edit) - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fss3Xn5dZzU)

extensive years. lol.

Interesting remix, btw. No idea what it has to do with this thread, though. :confused:

weekend
05-28-2013, 01:44 AM
me either.

Sperwer
05-28-2013, 11:59 PM
Paid the price for my over-exuberance in those 6x300 pulls during the skit. Started with my old 225 standby today. Went up like a balloon on a windy day. But less than a couple inches in the release, it was clear it wasn't going down w/out serious lumbar trauma. Good thing there were some serious padding blocks on the floor....feel like i dodged a bullet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

burlyman30
05-29-2013, 12:19 AM
Paid the price for my over-exuberance in those 6x300 pulls during the skit. Started with my old 225 standby today. Went up like a balloon on a windy day. But less than a couple inches in the release, it was clear it wasn't going down w/out serious lumbar trauma. Good thing there were some serious padding blocks on the floor....feel like a dodged a bullet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yikes! Sounds like you definitely dodged that bullet. Back feeling ok now?

Sperwer
05-29-2013, 12:37 AM
A little left side sciatic tenderness; it'll probably be gone by tomorrow morning. Thanks for asking

Fat Bill Dwyer
05-29-2013, 05:51 AM
Paid the price for my over-exuberance in those 6x300 pulls during the skit. Started with my old 225 standby today. Went up like a balloon on a windy day. But less than a couple inches in the release, it was clear it wasn't going down w/out serious lumbar trauma. Good thing there were some serious padding blocks on the floor....feel like i dodged a bullet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'll break a floor before I break my back anyday, a lot cheaper to fix.

Sperwer
05-29-2013, 05:55 AM
I'll break a floor before I break my back anyday, a lot cheaper to fix.

Fortunately, the owner of my gym agrees. He was watching and told me to dump it.

Macdon1588
05-29-2013, 02:04 PM
I'm coming up against this same issue at my gym. I can't really drop my dead lift with alerting the whole place and yet lowering that shit is the most dangerous thing I do. I have a pretty good relationship with the people that run it though so I'm thinking about buying 300 lbs worth of bumper plates to take up there. Sorry to be off topic, but can standard run of the gym bars be used with bumper plates or do I need something special?

burlyman30
05-29-2013, 02:44 PM
I'm coming up against this same issue at my gym. I can't really drop my dead lift with alerting the whole place and yet lowering that shit is the most dangerous thing I do. I have a pretty good relationship with the people that run it though so I'm thinking about buying 300 lbs worth of bumper plates to take up there. Sorry to be off topic, but can standard run of the gym bars be used with bumper plates or do I need something special?

Not off topic, really, as this thread is for "all things deadlift" as far as I am concerned.

As far as the bar... bumper plates are thick, so you'll max out at around 400 lbs because you'll run out of bar to put them on. Other than that, they slide right onto Olympic style bars.

Macdon1588
05-29-2013, 02:52 PM
Not off topic, really, as this thread is for "all things deadlift" as far as I am concerned.

As far as the bar... bumper plates are thick, so you'll max out at around 400 lbs because you'll run out of bar to put them on. Other than that, they slide right onto Olympic style bars.

Good to know. I started incorporating clean and press movements so it would be nice to drop the bar on those as well.

weekend
06-05-2013, 01:28 AM
Just got 405 for 3 sets of 5 tonight! Followed up with 365x10, then moved onto sumo deads.. Hit 4 sets of 10 with 295, then moved to 4 supersets of underhand pull-ups with stiff leg deads for 20 reps

Am I winning??

burlyman30
06-05-2013, 01:37 AM
Just got 405 for 3 sets of 5 tonight! Followed up with 365x10, then moved onto sumo deads.. Hit 4 sets of 10 with 295, then moved to 4 supersets of underhand pull-ups with stiff leg deads for 20 reps

Am I winning??

On reps and endurance, I won't even attempt to compete with you there. YOU WIN! Haha. I have no idea how you can do that many high rep sets of deads because after just a few low rep sets, I'm burnt like toast. On the strength portion... looks like you and I are neck and neck. Nice going, by the way. You are strong, getting stronger, and blasting out those high reps is a serious feat to accomplish. Props from Burly.

weekend
06-05-2013, 04:12 AM
Yessss... I can feel my ego inflating now..

I liked sumo though and I'm going to strictly be doing front squat and sumo squat for my main squats on squat day instead of back... back squats aren't very fun anymore haha I need to improve on stuff for it to be fun and all that happens on squat is I lose gains from my cycle.

burlyman30
06-06-2013, 12:15 AM
Well, Weekend, you have another week to gloat because my DL workout today was a bust.

I twisted my knee getting into my truck today. It doesn't take much for my knees to get outta whack. Well, I knew I torqued it a bit this afternoon, but it wasn't hurting me constantly. However, when I went to warm up with 135, I couldn't even get into bent-knee position without sharp pain.

I decided to manipulate the patella a bit to see if I could get it tracking better. After a couple minutes, it did indeed feel better, but it was still popping/crackling every few steps. I was able to do my warmup set. I noticed my upper and mid back was extra tight today. My upper back and neck have been tight for a few days and causing headaches, but it didn't dawn on me until I got into position and pulling the weight just how tight it was. I'm not entirely sure of the cause. Seasonal allergies give me headaches and then my upper traps and neck tighten, so that could be part of the issue.

My lower back felt tight, too, but seemed ok to move up. So I went to 225 for a set of 5, which went ok but everything being so tight, it felt a bit heavier than usual. I then moved up to 275. I felt my lower back a bit, but sometimes I am able to work through the kinks during warmups and things get better. My mid back was still feeling very tight.

I moved up to 315. For whatever reason, my body was not ok with this. I got into position, pulled about 2 inches off the floor and my lower back and mid back had sharp pains and I shut down the pull. Quite frankly, I was a bit confused. None of the pain presented itself at 275. I decided maybe it was a fluke and regripped the bar for another attempt. Same result.

I have to say, I was pretty unhappy about how this workout went. The strength is there, but the pain overrules it. I'm smart enough to know when to call it quits, so I unloaded the bar and tried to make the most of the rest of my back workout.

Even when I went to pullups, my mid back was feeling all kinked and knotted up. After a few sets, I decided to just go light, get bloodflow and see if I can loosen this mess of a back. I supersetted close grip pulldowns (palms facing me) with T-bar rows. Both with light weight that allowed for about 15 reps. I did about a half dozen supersets and got a decent pump. It also helped to loosen up my back a bit. Not entirely, but it helped.

I went light on shoulders, too, just doing some shoulder flyes to the front, back, and side.

After 2 workouts that went poorly, I'm a bit discouraged about the deadlifts. I will just have to give my back more time. That vertebrae is still not in alignment and it is obviously pinching a nerve. Every once in a while, during my normal day, that nerve gets pinched a bit and if I don't switch my weight to the other leg, I would probably fall over. I lose strength in that leg for a nano-second in just the right position.

burlyman30
06-10-2013, 11:33 PM
Things went better today. Keep in mind, I haven't really DL'd for over 2 weeks now because of my back.. might be nearly 3 weeks.

I went to a different anytime fitness today when I realized their rubber plates were round, not octagonal like I thought. This had kept me away from this gym (my usual gym) for DLs until this week. There is a little more room to DL here... provided you are willing to DL inside the power rack, which I did today.

The knurling on this bar was a lot more aggressive and I was a little fearsome that it would turn my palms into hamburger, but all went remarkably well in that aspect. Palms are intact. My shin, on the other hand.. not so much. I took a narrower stance today so that my shins would stay in the smooth section of the bar. That knurling would have chewed up my shins something fierce!

135 x 12
225 x 5
275 x 2
315 x 2
365 x 1
405 x 5
405 x 5

Everything felt quite good throughout the workout. My back is still out of alignment a bit, but no more pinched nerves. No pain in the knee like last week's attempt. I stopped after 2 sets at 405 for two reasons. First, it has been weeks since I've DL'ed this much weight and second, I could tell I had already gotten a great workout and there was no reason to push it on the first day back to pulling.

After the DLs, and for the first time since I started DLing again, I dropped a couple plates off the bar and did a few sets of bent over rows with 225. I could tell my back was seriously fatigued. Any more weight would have been too much strain on my back with it being pre-fatigued like that. I could tell that I have been missing that exercise in my repertoire, too. It hits a part of my back that no other exercise will mimic. I finished out back with pullups and DB rows and then did BB presses to the front for delts, as my rear delts were literally on fire from all the rows/pullups.

I think next week, provided it all feels good, I'll jump up to 425 on the DL and see how that feels. ;)

weekend
06-10-2013, 11:59 PM
Just beat my 405 3x5! Cause I'm not planning on any weight increase until I get a set of 10! Lol

burlyman30
06-11-2013, 12:05 AM
Just beat my 405 3x5! Cause I'm not planning on any weight increase until I get a set of 10! Lol

You can keep your high rep deads. I want no part of them. I was huffing and puffing so hard today after my sets of 5 that I am not sure what the other people in the gym were breathing because I am pretty sure I was hogging all the oxygen.

I had a couple kids come up to me after the pull and say "wow, we've never seen anyone pull 4 plates. How long have you been working out?" I didn't have the heart to tell them that when I was their age I was pulling 5 plates+. Nice kids, though. Turns out one of them is buddies of the grandson of Doyle Kenady, the DL king of the 80s that I worked out with.

burlyman30
06-19-2013, 09:50 PM
Since I did squats yesterday, I came into DL day with sore glute, quads, and hams. I was a little worried how that might affect my day. Overall, it turned out pretty good, with a little disappointment at the end...

135 x 12
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 2
365 x 1 felt real good.
425 x 5 felt like I could have done 8+
455.... vertebrae popped out of alignment as I went to pull. End of DLs for the night. Thankfully, after some pullups to stretch out, I think I got myself realigned with some self-chiropracty. Back feels good. Just tired.

One "good" part about an abbreviated DL session was that I wasn't too exhausted to put in a full back workout. Ended the session with some db presses for Delta and, of course, calf work.

Cobalt
06-20-2013, 06:58 AM
455.... vertebrae popped out of alignment as I went to pull.

I winced as I read this.
I'd be done if it happened to me, I don't play with back problems.

Is this something normal for you? I can dislocate my left shoulder and pop it back in with no issue due to a nice tear in my rotator cuff. Dunno if you just have something similar going on.

Sperwer
06-20-2013, 07:14 AM
I winced as I read this.
I'd be done if it happened to me, I don't play with back problems.

Is this something normal for you? I can dislocate my left shoulder and pop it back in with no issue due to a nice tear in my rotator cuff. Dunno if you just have something similar going on.

I rolled up into a ball on my side and hid under the blanket. I'd rather have abdominal surgery with no anesthetic and a dull combat knife.

And do something for that cuff before the scar tissue hardens and creates an adhesion.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

O_RYAN_007
06-20-2013, 07:15 AM
Yessss... I can feel my ego inflating now..

I liked sumo though and I'm going to strictly be doing front squat and sumo squat for my main squats on squat day instead of back... back squats aren't very fun anymore haha I need to improve on stuff for it to be fun and all that happens on squat is I lose gains from my cycle.

I think we should give the Squat the name it deserves, The SQUAT. It's the King of Lifts for a reason. Crossfitters dubbed the term back squat, which I hate.

burlyman30
06-20-2013, 08:00 AM
I winced as I read this.
I'd be done if it happened to me, I don't play with back problems.

Is this something normal for you? I can dislocate my left shoulder and pop it back in with no issue due to a nice tear in my rotator cuff. Dunno if you just have something similar going on.

Back problems ever since I was young. After going to a chiropractor 3x/ wk for a year at age 10, my back goes in and out easier than most people. The good part is that I can usually adjust it myself.

burlyman30
06-20-2013, 08:12 AM
I think we should give the Squat the name it deserves, The SQUAT. It's the King of Lifts for a reason. Crossfitters dubbed the term back squat, which I hate.

All this talk of squatting... on a dead lift thread! Haha

As I woke up this morning I felt pretty beat up. The whole back side of my body-- from my neck to my calves-- is sore. Hard to wake up, too. I think the session took more out of me than I realized. Time for coffee...

burlyman30
07-10-2013, 03:38 PM
I've been on vacation for a week and sick as a dog for a week, so I've had no updates to add. Once I get back into the swing of things, I'll get back to this. Same for my bench and squat logs.

Thanks for following.

burlyman30
11-22-2013, 10:55 PM
OK boys...

5 or 6 months later I finally got back to doing a DL workout.

Watching Sorrow, Oryan, and Weekend doing their thing was a motivator for me to get back to pulling, but my niece's husband works out pretty seriously and wanted to get together for a few pointers on DL, so we met at his gym.

We worked our way up

135x10
185x10
225x8
275x5
315x3
365x2
405x1 success for me, fail for him
455x1 not bad for the first day back :rolleyes:

Pulled my left shoulder blade midway through the 455, which gave me some pause because it hurt like hell, but decided to continue the pull.

First time I've had someone around to take video, which was pretty cool. Feel free to give me some constructive criticism on my form.

VID_20131122_174038_244.mp4 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mpM7jAPhfU&feature=youtube_gdata_player)

Jack O'Neill
11-23-2013, 02:14 AM
Very impressive Burly ! I like your motivation, I can feel the link between the barbell and your mind before lifting :)

I never tried a 1RM for my deadlifts. Always on 8-10 reps @140kg (~300lbs)

But all your tries give me motivation to try a 1RM

Jack O'Neill
11-23-2013, 02:16 AM
Very impressive Burly ! I like your motivation, I can feel the link between the barbell and your mind before lifting :)

I never tried a 1RM for my deadlifts. Always on 8-10 reps @140kg (~300lbs)

But all your tries give me motivation to try a 1RM

Correction : I actually always do a stiff-legged deadlift. Different

weekend
11-23-2013, 04:09 AM
Nice man, I think great form for the weight. This is what I should strive for in the heavy weights, I suppose

Cobalt
11-23-2013, 11:27 AM
That looked so clean, very nice.

Jack O'Neill
11-23-2013, 11:49 AM
That looked so clean, very nice.

That especially looked so easy ;-)

burlyman30
11-23-2013, 12:02 PM
That muscle pull that happened midway up was more than a cramp, but less than a tear. It's fairly painful today, but I don't think it is a serious injury. I'm hoping a few days of resting it will allow it to heal.

On a side note... I gotta say it was a bit of an ego boost to school the other guy who is nearly 20 years younger than me. He, like me, had been on an extended break from DL, but he has pulled 475 before.

burlyman30
11-23-2013, 12:38 PM
Nice man, I think great form for the weight. This is what I should strive for in the heavy weights, I suppose

Gotta catch up to you, now. :p

weekend
11-23-2013, 03:32 PM
Ehhhh looks to me like you could do more with my form. Not sure if my back could be quite that flat on 455. Maybe though. I'll get my next DL session filmed and see. (Won't be going as heavy)

Jelisej
11-23-2013, 05:45 PM
It souns like you have steam machine in your gym....
Good job Burly, I was bit suspicious about your lower back- but it seems that is OK, and well done- first training after 6 months and you've beaten my PR by almost 100 lb. maybe I should start knitting, er :)?
Well done, Burly.

VayneZ
11-23-2013, 07:03 PM
A lift done by the experienced DL'er himself.
I think all of us are now inspired by this!

xxiv
11-23-2013, 07:15 PM
your back and shoulder development really shine in that lift. you didn't compress at all.
great lift

weekend
11-23-2013, 08:24 PM
Jel- what is your hormonal status? Are you on TRT or other things?

burlyman30
11-23-2013, 08:42 PM
Jel- what is your hormonal status? Are you on TRT or other things?

Wrong thread. :rolleyes:

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 09:55 AM
The muscle pull is feeling better already, just 36 hours later, which is encouraging. It is still sore in a way that is different than usual muscle soreness from a back workout, but not so sore that I would deem it painful. My next day to work lats is scheduled in two more days. If it is still sore, I'll see what I can do to work around it.

O_RYAN_007
11-24-2013, 11:03 AM
I can't see the vid, not sure why.

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 11:15 AM
I can't see the vid, not sure why.

Did you try on both mobile and laptop?

O_RYAN_007
11-24-2013, 02:33 PM
Did you try on both mobile and laptop?

Just on my computer.

weekend
11-24-2013, 02:37 PM
So you pulled your rhomboid?

Form seemed so solid I'm surprised something pulled

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 03:08 PM
So you pulled your rhomboid?

Form seemed so solid I'm surprised something pulled

When it first happenned , I thought it was my rear delt. But it was right below/behind that. Maybe rhomboid... but more out to the side than I think the rhomboid is. May need to look at the anatomy chart again.

weekend
11-24-2013, 04:24 PM
ah, teres major i presume

- - - Updated - - -

it may have been somewhat like a charlie horse rather than a pull?

one advantage of my rounded back is that would never happen! but you are protecting your spine much more so seems like a good trade off lol

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 04:54 PM
Just on my computer.

Hmm. Does the link work, but no video when you get there? Or is the link broken? You can try going to my YouTube channel, and accessing it that way. SuperBurly30.

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 05:02 PM
ah, teres major i presume

- - - Updated - - -

it may have been somewhat like a charlie horse rather than a pull?

one advantage of my rounded back is that would never happen! but you are protecting your spine much more so seems like a good trade off lol

More than a cramp. It got overstretched a bit, I think. Or, as it was in a flexed (contracted) and weighted (stretched) position simultaneously, and because my body angle changed as I went through the movement, it may have been stretched over a neighboring muscle, causing it to "catch" and overstretch. It wasn't a tear. Well, maybe micro-tear, as that probably happens in a pull.

Cobalt
11-24-2013, 05:09 PM
superburly30.

Super Burly

1002

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 05:11 PM
LOL

Sorrow
11-24-2013, 05:28 PM
First time I've had someone around to take video, which was pretty cool. Feel free to give me some constructive criticism on my form.

VID_20131122_174038_244.mp4 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mpM7jAPhfU&feature=youtube_gdata_player)

My criticism, you F'n rocked it!

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 05:30 PM
My criticism, you F'n rocked it!

Haha. Thanks bud!

Jelisej
11-24-2013, 07:21 PM
For comparison purpose- strongman from back home performing deadlift (with usual humdrum)
his technique is very poor, and compared to Burly looks like complete noob

Ervin Katona 400kg deadlift.mp4 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8P3LZcNCzc)

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 07:31 PM
For comparison purpose- strongman from back home performing deadlift (with usual humdrum)
his technique is very poor, and compared to Burly looks like complete noob

Ervin Katona 400kg deadlift.mp4 - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8P3LZcNCzc)

He caved in at the top... but still a lot more weight that I could even get off the ground!

Jelisej
11-24-2013, 07:41 PM
He caved in at the top... but still a lot more weight that I could even get off the ground!

Your deadlift is clearly better, in any aspect apart of weight, but even there you deserve more credit for not biting more than you can chew.
Anyway, point that I tried to make is that very often "recreational lifters" deserve more credit than pro's.

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 07:53 PM
Your deadlift is clearly better, in any aspect apart of weight, but even there you deserve more credit for not biting more than you can chew.
Anyway, point that I tried to make is that very often "recreational lifters" deserve more credit than pro's.

Thanks for the kind words. I was taught "form above all, and the weight will follow" when I first started lifting. I was extremely fortunate to train with some very accomplished PLers in my teens, and watching them lift was a great example of that philosophy.

Eden
11-24-2013, 07:55 PM
love a lot of how power lifters try to preserve taking care of yourself with proper form and consistency.

weekend
11-24-2013, 08:37 PM
that lean back thing he does looks so bad. i could never even do that, i don't know how that works.

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 08:39 PM
love a lot of how power lifters try to preserve taking care of yourself with proper form and consistency.

It's really about longevity. If you love the sport (or activity), you want to continue it as long as possible. And the longer you stay healthy and uninjured, the more you can accomplish. So you take preemptive measures. Stretching, warmups, form checks, etc.

h2s
11-24-2013, 10:19 PM
Great lift Burly, also great advice. Wish I was as disciplined with form as I should have been when I was getting started.

Bucks
11-24-2013, 10:39 PM
Super Burly

1002

Loved it when I saw the channel name!

burlyman30
11-24-2013, 10:47 PM
In case anyone cares to watch it, I also got video of my lift prior to the 455, at 405. I was surprised how light it felt, which inspired me to up the ante.

405 lb DL - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x489iH94RQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player)

O_RYAN_007
11-25-2013, 05:32 AM
VERY GOOD FORM!!!! I finally was able to watch the vids, and they are very impressive! The bar speed on the 455 lift was nice too, and when it slowed you used those gluteus and hips to lock the lift out.

burlyman30
11-25-2013, 09:20 AM
Thanks for the feedback. It's always nice to have another set of eyes on a lift.

I've never had the opportunity to watch myself perform a lift, so it was good for me to watch for a few things: bar close to body, starting hip position, head position, back angle from shoulders to hips, bar speed, back rigidity, point of greatest strain, etc. And then to compare the two vids to look for differences, breaks in form, etc. between the lighter and heavier load was helpful. I did notice my starting hip position was down an inch or two on the lighter weight. This is something for me to be mindful of.

burlyman30
11-27-2013, 12:06 AM
Just a quick update.

Last friday , I pulled an upper back muscle, right under my shoulder. The pain lessened considerably over the weekend and so I thought I would test the waters, as today is my back/delt day.
Well, it became clear that things are still not back to normal. I only went up to 75lb for close grip pulldowns and the injured muscle hurt in the stretched position. I just kept that weight and did slow reps, for a few sets of 20-30 reps. I tried a set of light cable pullovers, and that seemed to aggravate it more, so I shut it down and moved to the next body part.

With the additional rest from the gym during the holiday, I hope to give this muscle enough time to heal.

burlyman30
12-04-2013, 12:07 PM
Back is healing up, but not quite there yet. With lots of warmups, I slowly worked up to 210 on lat pulls for sets of 6. For a reference point, before the injury I was using 285. I could feel the muscle pull a little, but I'd put myself at 70%. In another week or two I may make another run at the deadlift, but probably no more than 315-365. I'll just have to see how the muscle feels and let it be my guide.

Cobalt
12-04-2013, 03:52 PM
Be careful, we need burlyman, not brokenman.

burlyman30
12-04-2013, 03:57 PM
Be careful, we need burlyman, not brokenman.

Haha. True.

Funny thing I discovered while talking to another experienced lifter at the gym. We were discussing all my injuries and pains. He said "Everything is on your left side?". Sure enough.... all my main or chronic pains or injuries happen on the left.

O_RYAN_007
12-04-2013, 06:06 PM
Haha. True.

Funny thing I discovered while talking to another experienced lifter at the gym. We were discussing all my injuries and pains. He said "Everything is on your left side?". Sure enough.... all my main or chronic pains or injuries happen on the left.

You may think about looking into a good sports PT or a good ART Dr to work on the imbalances in the muscles. My wife is an Occupational Therapist, but she does a lot of Sport Type Physical Therapy. THey use Trigger Point Therapy to work on these muscles and I must say, IT WORKS!!! She's about to take a test to get her Certification in Trigger Point Therapy (I forgot the exact cert name, it was a year long course.) You just have to get a script from your Primary care Physician. The PTs and OTs don't diagnose an injury, they just address the diagnosis from the PCP.

ryhigh
12-04-2013, 06:15 PM
You may think about looking into a good sports PT or a good ART Dr to work on the imbalances in the muscles. My wife is an Occupational Therapist, but she does a lot of Sport Type Physical Therapy. THey use Trigger Point Therapy to work on these muscles and I must say, IT WORKS!!! She's about to take a test to get her Certification in Trigger Point Therapy (I forgot the exact cert name, it was a year long course.) You just have to get a script from your Primary care Physician. The PTs and OTs don't diagnose an injury, they just address the diagnosis from the PCP.

Lucky man! I bet that comes in handy lol. My ex is a massage therapist and I had a table set up in my house so I got worked on like every other day, those little hands worked magic

O_RYAN_007
12-04-2013, 06:27 PM
Lucky man! I bet that comes in handy lol. My ex is a massage therapist and I had a table set up in my house so I got worked on like every other day, those little hands worked magic

It's not everyday I get worked on, but she knows my problem areas. SHe also uses quite a bit of the Kinesio tape to work on the muscular imbalances. She took a course for that too. She works on fixing the internal rotation of my shoulders cause by the pecs being so tight that they pull the shoulders forward. That is one of the nicest feelings being taped to correct that issue. My shoulders are pulled back, my anterior shoulder pain is gone, my posture is amazing, and my chest pops the F out!

Jelisej
12-04-2013, 06:40 PM
Haha. True.

Funny thing I discovered while talking to another experienced lifter at the gym. We were discussing all my injuries and pains. He said "Everything is on your left side?". Sure enough.... all my main or chronic pains or injuries happen on the left.
Most of people have more injuries on one side, but yours sounds a bit extreme- it could be chance but anyway-
I'm wondering whether you have some muscular or flexibility imbalance, or if you have some spinal/back injury that would also lead to over-use of one side...

weekend
12-04-2013, 07:26 PM
While were on this topic.. I am not sure if my left leg is longer, but recently put it to the test during squats and realized my left shin is longer. The left knee is about 1/2 inch higher when in ass to grass state.

Squat is my main injury causer other than rotator cuff stuff. The recurring injury seems muscular, and localized to the left lower back. It is better on steroids and better the more I keep working it. It is injured when I go to a max and lose proper form out of the hole (never injured going down)

Consequently, I also feel my right glute and hamstring more on stiff leg deadlift. Compensation by stronger side in squat causing strain on left side of lower back? I think highly possible

And the thing I mentioned earlier about cable crossover.. That only happens on the right side.

nate3993
12-04-2013, 07:28 PM
yeah, i think that's how most of us are. one arm longer than the other, leg, etc, and it can cause an imbalance in our physique. i think that finding the proper form that accommodates our weak points, helps

Cobalt
12-04-2013, 08:01 PM
Sure enough.... all my main or chronic pains or injuries happen on the left.

Your endo say anything about your left testicle being the smaller of the two when she was down there? :p

Jelisej
12-04-2013, 08:25 PM
Your endo say anything about your left testicle being the smaller of the two when she was down there? :p

"Chang et al (1960) found that the right testis was the higher in 62.1% of 486 men, and the left testis higher in 27.4%, the two being equal in height in the remaining 10.5%. Antliff and Shampo (1959) found an essentially similar result in 386 men, the right testis being higher in 65.1% and the left higher in 21.9%.


The left testicle hangs lower in right handed man. The opposite seems to be true for left-handed men. This keeps the two balls from squeezing against each other when the man sits down.

weekend
12-04-2013, 09:04 PM
My left testicle is smaller than the right and experiences shrinkage significantly faster on cycle.

Jelisej
12-04-2013, 09:12 PM
My left testicle is smaller than the right and experiences shrinkage significantly faster on cycle.

You are either left-handed or simply belong to minority...

burlyman30
12-04-2013, 09:38 PM
Wow... y'all got chatty in here while I was away...

On my left side... its not just muscular. Knee joint. Ankle joint.

And I have injured the right side before. Tore my right quad about 2 years ago. Have torn my right shoulder many times. And have had tendinitis in my right bicep tendon, along with tennis elbow and golfers elbow on that side.

I am, however, keeping note of this left sided phenomenon, to see if it continues or gets more commonplace.

weekend
12-04-2013, 09:39 PM
It hangs lower though like the study says. I am right handed. The actual but itself is just smaller, and not as heavy feeling in the hand.

- - - Updated - - -

How did you tear your quad?!!

burlyman30
12-04-2013, 09:40 PM
And weekend, take all this talk of your testicles into some other thread. Lol.

ryhigh
12-04-2013, 09:42 PM
And weekend, take all this talk of your testicles into some other thread. Lol.

lol

weekend
12-04-2013, 09:47 PM
My apologies.

burlyman30
12-04-2013, 09:59 PM
How did you tear your quad?!!

It was a combination of things...

The weight was standard... 385 for a set of 8, nice and slow and deep. Nothing outrageous.

Problem was, I think, two factors... I was using some PP Turinabol, which is a great compound, but if I don't ingest enough carbs, I will get horrible muscle cramps. Abs would cramp from me bending over to put on a shoe. It was chronic, and painful, until I realized to add in carbs. Well, I had had a busy say, hadn't eaten much, and probably low on carbs...

When I went down on maybe the 4th or 5th rep of that set of 8, a terrible ripping noise occurred on my outer quad. It felt like a handfull of rubber bands pulled until they snapped. I went down to the safety bars and limped out of there. I believe that my quad cramped at the stretched point and stretched+cramped (contracted) simultaneously was too much for the area to withstand.

Another factor... the area that tore.... I had been to the doc even a year before that telling him that I had a numb spot on my leg. They did the "look away while I poke you" test to confirm it. It was a section maybe 3" around. There may have been some type of impact/damage done years earlier. Hard to say. I'm a contractor, so in my world, sometimes things can fall and hit you unexpectedly. Lol.

weekend
12-04-2013, 10:05 PM
Jesus. Is it fully recovered? What was the recovery process like?

I want to avoid a muscle tear at all costs. As I understand, using both masteron and Winstrol puts me at high risk of joint injury And muscle tear...

burlyman30
12-04-2013, 10:48 PM
Jesus. Is it fully recovered? What was the recovery process like?

I want to avoid a muscle tear at all costs. As I understand, using both masteron and Winstrol puts me at high risk of joint injury And muscle tear...

I would say that is fully recovered. I have no problems with my right quad at this time. Recovery was about 4 months of no leg work... it was painful for just under 4 months... started extremely light- freehand squats for a while.... took me about 2 months of incremental training before I was doing 3 plates again.

As far as risk... steroids increase the risk of muscle tear simply because of the increased load you can put on them. Minimizing risk = no steroids. The next option level is to stop short of maximal weights and efforts while using steroids. And the third option, which I tend to fit into.... warmup slow and a lot, stretch, and kill it when you get to your top weights.

weekend
12-04-2013, 11:15 PM
I would say that is fully recovered. I have no problems with my right quad at this time. Recovery was about 4 months of no leg work... it was painful for just under 4 months... started extremely light- freehand squats for a while.... took me about 2 months of incremental training before I was doing 3 plates again.

As far as risk... steroids increase the risk of muscle tear simply because of the increased load you can put on them. Minimizing risk = no steroids. The next option level is to stop short of maximal weights and efforts while using steroids. And the third option, which I tend to fit into.... warmup slow and a lot, stretch, and kill it when you get to your top weights.

would you say a muscle tear is less likely with test / deca or test/dbol, than with test/winny/mast/tren?

ryhigh
12-05-2013, 12:03 AM
Injury is always possible when pushing the limits. As stated warm up slow and stretch every chance you get, before workouts, during sets and stay hydrated

burlyman30
12-05-2013, 12:33 AM
would you say a muscle tear is less likely with test / deca or test/dbol, than with test/winny/mast/tren?

Good question, but don't take my answer as anything but a "best guess".

I would tend to see a test/deca cycle as one of the safest because 1) strength goes up but not generally in huge jumps, and 2) both are aromatizing compounds, and estrogen keeps tissues softer and more flexible.

After that, test/dbol would be the next choice, as they both aromatize estrogens. The danger is in the quick strength gains dbol can provide.

Any non aromatizing compound with estrogen combating characteristics (mast, winny, proviron, etc) will tend to reduce flexibility because of their high androgen content. Combine this with a compound like tren that increases strength dramatically for many people, and you put yourself in the higher risk category.

Again, this is just my opinion based on what I have seen or experienced. It is not gospel. If someone else has a different opinion, I am open to hearing it.

weekend
12-05-2013, 12:51 AM
Good question, but don't take my answer as anything but a "best guess".

I would tend to see a test/deca cycle as one of the safest because 1) strength goes up but not generally in huge jumps, and 2) both are aromatizing compounds, and estrogen keeps tissues softer and more flexible.

After that, test/dbol would be the next choice, as they both aromatize estrogens. The danger is in the quick strength gains dbol can provide.

Any non aromatizing compound with estrogen combating characteristics (mast, winny, proviron, etc) will tend to reduce flexibility because of their high androgen content. Combine this with a compound like tren that increases strength dramatically for many people, and you put yourself in the higher risk category.

Again, this is just my opinion based on what I have seen or experienced. It is not gospel. If someone else has a different opinion, I am open to hearing it.

i might venture to say that it is likely that the androgen levels of these compounds combined with the non estrogenicity causes a tightness and dehydration of the muscle, leading to easier tears. i know i was much better at lifting heavy especially on squat, when bloated.

increased fluid retention in the joint is probably helpful against joint injuries on deca.

Jelisej
12-05-2013, 07:23 AM
Magnesium citrate is something you should add to your regimen Burly, and when adding magnesium why not add l taurine, as they both have synergetic effect and are also big time help for heart.

h2s
12-05-2013, 09:40 AM
Magnesium citrate is something you should add to your regimen Burly, and when adding magnesium why not add l taurine, as they both have synergetic effect and are also big time help for heart.

Always good info Jel.