Today I officially finished my first week of the workout routine “Boost Your Deadlift 40 Pounds in 6 Weeks!” by Chad Waterbury. My old deadlift max is 425 (pulled sumo style), but i’ve stalled on that number for about 3 months now. I want to hit at least 455 for my upcoming pl competition on Oct. 10 (in my weight class, 148lbs, it will be a raw/junior division state record), but more would be just fine with me, so I decided to switch back to conventional for the time being and give this a shot. Here’s what I’ve done so far to kill that d.l. pr:
Week 1 workout 1:
rack pulls (from approx 3in below lockout) 2x6 @ 465 (no straps allowed in my workouts)
wide grip pullups (with fat gripz) 10x5 b.w.
1 arm db rows (with fat grips) 4x8 50lbs
Week 1 workout 2:
rack pulls (from approx 3in below lockout) 2x6 (465, 475) no straps
box squats 8x2 (235, 245, 255, 265, 275x4)
wide grip pullups (with fat gripz) 10x6 b.w.
1 arm db rows (with fat grips) 4x10 50 lbs
I’ll keep this updated as the weeks progress, any advice, comments, or encouragement is more than welcome.
Week 2 workout 1
At first I thought this was going to be a horrible workout, reason being I had done squats yesterday and it never occurred to me that that might take a little bit out of my tank. On top of that fact, i’ve lost my ipod, so now I get to listen to the music my school gym plays=fail.
Turns out I was able to do even better than my previous two workouts and still haven’t had to use a belt. Here’s what happened today:
rack pulls (same spot for safety pins, standing on 35lbs plates) 1x5, 1x6 @ 475lbs
wide grip pullups 10x6 (with fat gripz)
1 arm db rows 4x10 60lbs (with fat gripz)
close grip seated cable rows 3x8, 10, 10 (fat gripz) @80, 100, 100lbs
today was an interesting day. My school gym was closed sat, sun, and mon. for labor day, so first day back after doing absolutely nothing all weekend. It seemed that I had the grip of a one-armed pre-pubescent girl today, so I had to re-chalk once each set on the 4th rep today. Also, I didn’t feel like doing shit, so I kept it short and sweet today.
WEEK 2 WORKOUT 2
rack pulls (same spot for safety pins, standing on 35lbs plates) 1x5 @ 475, 1x6 @ 485
cable rows with fat gripz 4x10 @ 120lbs
yea i know…reeally short workout, but i plan on hitting it really hard the rest of the week so today was just helping me ease back into it a little.
Week 3 workout 1
started including the belt today. Even though it was only about a 2 inch drop it felt like a foot. Also, tore one of my calluses off my right hand so that made it feel even better. I had to drop 10lbs off for the 3rd set because my back started to round during the previous set.
rack pulls (2nd to last hole) 3x4 475, 475, 465
pullups (fat gripz) 5x8
cable rows (fat gripz) 3x10, 10, 8 130lbs
1 arm db rows (fat gripz) 3x12 1x20 (no f.g) 60lbs
WEEK 3 WORKOUT 2
Had a good workout today, but it could have been better had I not been such an idiot. I set up the rack today at the 2nd to last hole just like last time, but I also decided that i was a super badass and didn’t need to do another week of just that setting, so i stood on 2 35’s as well. I pulled 2 reps and realized that I should have done the fucking workout like it was planned…so i put the 35’s away, rested for about 5 min, and basically started over. Here’s what happened today:
rack pulls (2nd to last hole) 1x4 @ 465 (had to re-chalk after 2 reps)
1x4 @ 465 (pulled all 4 like they should be done)
1x3 @ 475 (i only managed 3 successful reps on this set, and i believe the cause of that was from the very beginning where i was a fucking idiot)
decided to not use the fat gripz today to see how far my grip has progressed:
1 arm db rows 3x10 (80, 90, 100lb db)
pullups 3xfailure (15, 14, 16)
WEEK 4 Workout 1
Today was a good day, but i need to remember to not workout on a Sunday because it is absolutely dead on Sundays. Today i set up the rack with the pins on the last hole. There is a big gap between the last pin and the floor, so by week 5 it seems like i’m going to have to stand on 2 plates to even out the distance. Here’s how it went down today:
Rack pulls (bottom pin) 1x3 @ 465, 1x1 475, 1x2 465
First set went up easy, so i threw on another 10lbs for the second set. My callus split open during the 1st set, and i just lost the intensity for the 2nd set and only pulled 475 once. So i threw off the additional 10lbs and pulled out 2 more…all in all a successful day for this portion of the workout.
1 arm db rows (fat gripz) 3x8,10,12 at 65lbs, 1x12 90lbs (no fat gripz)
close grip cable rows (fat gripz) 3x12, 8, 8 @ 100, 120, 120lbs
core work (bridge 5x 1 minute)
WEEK 4 Workout 2
Only two official workouts left before max day; I have to say i’m gettin very anxious/excited to see what i’ve been able to do with this program. Here’s the layout for what happened today.
NOTE: I decided last minute to do this workout today instead of tomorrow, so the time I gave myself to do supplemental lifts was cut very short…hence only 1 supp. exercise for today. However, I did do some wide grip barbell rows yesterday so I’m gonna count that as well.
RACK Pulls (bottom pin) 1x3 465, 1x2 465
1 arm db rows 1x5 (80lbs) 2x9 (100lbs) 2x6 (110lbs)
WEEK 5 WORKOUT 1
Today was a great day. There was alot of intensity at the gym. The weight went up much easier than last week, and i never once felt my back rounding or giving out like i have in some previous workouts.
RACK PULLS (bottom pin, standing on 2 45lb plates each side) 2x465, 2x465, 1x475* lift would not have counted in a meet, dragged the bar up my legs after getting it past my knee
1 arm db rows 3xfailure (100 lb dumbbell) 10, 11, 9
pullups w/ 45lb plate 3x8