SBWC Fall Classic Training Log

Hello! I have been lifting semi-consistently for a solid 11 months now. I am a 24 y/o student pursuing a master’s degree at the moment so studies tend to get in the way of recovery and nutrition. The new goal is to hit a 550 conventional deadlift by August 1, 2018.

A summary of my deadlift progression so far:
295x3 May 2017
405x1 September 2017
425x1 January 2018
465x1 March 2018
500x1 April 14, 2018

Vid of 465 sumo from when I first started this thread in november 2017

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Nice deadlift. You’re around about as strong as me (maybe stronger but I won’t admit that).

I find mixed awkward with sumo too so I switched to hook grip and it feels much better. Hook also feels a lot of like straps. Give it a go if you want

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In to see a 500 pound pull.

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Thanks for chiming in! I definitely will need to switch to hook grip sometime in the future if I ever plan on competing. At the moment, I don’t see myself competing in the near future, but its something to think about.

Awesome! Glad to have you here :). If I can pull it by the end of January that would be a 500lb sumo deadlift in about 6 months of training. Not the worst performance but hopefully I don’t snap myself along the way (knocks on wood).

I got good news! I PR’d again at 470. I only took 4 days off since my previous PR at 465, and I could tell my CNS was still fatigued. I was quite sore as well. I also missed a 395 double overhand so that was another clear sign that I was quite recovered yet. Nevertheless, my workout was as followed:

Sets/Reps
5x135 Double overhand (DO) sumo
5x135 DO
5x185 DO
3x225 DO
3x275 DO
3x315 DO
1x345 DO
1x395 DO (missed)
1x405 Straps
1x470 Straps (New PR!) - Felt fairly similar to 465
5x345 Conventional (straps) - Havent pulled conventional in awhile but it felt very easy, couldve gotten 10

Pullups 4x7
Farmer Walks -80lb dumbells 30seconds x4 (absolutely destroyed my grip)
Good mornings 4x5 (135,185,185,135)
Facepulls superset with hanging leg raises (4x8 and 4x10 respectively)

I basically destroyed myself this workout. I’ll hit the gym on sunday so thats 7 days of recovery. I absolutely expect to hit 475 strapped and 395 double overhand next workout.

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  1. glad to be here.
  2. 500 pound pull? I’ll be lucky if I get 5 x 5 x 275 conventional tomorrow. :sweat_smile:
  3. Are deadlifts all you have time to train because of school? If so, I’m in your boat. Due to time constraints and lack of a power rack, I’m only training DL, push press, and standing OHP for the next few months.
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Mainly because of school yes. I ran Madcow for a solid 4-5 months and after a certain point couldn’t consistently hit prs every week on 6 hours of sleep and terrible nutrition every day. I’m eating slightly better now and getting more sleep these days but one heavy workout a week has been working well so far. One downside of only going once a week is you’re obviously not going to have time for everything. For example, my bench and ohp have gone down the drain, but something’s got to give.

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Yup. I agree 100%. I just got done running SS 3x5. Made some great gains, gained about 10 pounds BW. Now I’m running Pavel’s 5 x 5 w/ DL, push press, and OHP. Because I currently get 6 hrs. sleep each night just because of coursework and my life, I’m just sticking with the really basic lifts.

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Awesome man you’re not all that far away.
Do you plan to cycle lifts (squat/bench/OHP) once you reach 500? Or just keep keep pulling till you top out?

Thanks dude! Still at least a few weeks out and hopefully I can get some vids along the way.
I do plan to keep pulling until I can’t consistently add 5lbs per week. I understand that I’ll miss the weight at some point and require a deload. However if I’m consistently missing PR’s week after week then it might be time to change it up. I don’t see myself cycling the other lifts individually, mainly because I don’t enjoy them quite as much as deadlifting :stuck_out_tongue: I’d most likely go back to a more general strength program and build up from there.

Morning update:

I’m sore as hell this morning. Traps are absolutely fried today, and I’m not sure if it was conventional deadlifts or the farmer walks that did me in. Nonetheless, trap soreness is always welcome. Bit of lower back DOMS and I’m guessing this was either the conventional deadlifts or good mornings.

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Went for a 475lb pr. Was on about 5-6 hrs of sleep and felt pretty drained before the workout even started. The lift felt terrible aswell but hey, I’ll take a pr any day. Pr’d on double overhand also, hit 395lbs and held it there for a solid 5 seconds aswell. Could have probably done more. I didnt do any accessories other than 4x8 pullups simply because I felt so drained. Rep scheme & vid below:

Sumo Deadlift
5x135
5x185
3x225
3x275
3x315
1x345
1x395 (double overhand PR)
1x405 (straps)
1x475 (straps) PR!

4x8 bodyweight pullups

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I noticed that I’m not nearly as upright as alot of the big sumo pullers I see. My pull looks like more of a hybrid stance. I went to the gym for a brief conventional deadlift workout and thought I’d play with my sumo stance. It felt much less powerful when I took a slightly wider stance although the ROM was shortened. Ive looked at @Vincepac1500 pull sumo and it looks extremely efficient and he is very upright. I just can’t seem to get into this position without feeling awkward/weaker.

Don’t just set the hips down and pull. As your hips are going down you should be pulling into the bar creating a lot of tension until you begin the pull. Not everyone will be able to get into a very upright position an example is dan green. A few small things will help you pull better, turning the elbows in hard before pulling and adjusting the foot angle a bit more out. Also focusing on getting the knees out and hips close to the bar. You can’t expect to be stronger right right out of the gate but it will make you a much better puller not too far down the road

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Thanks alot for the reply Vince! I’ll definitely try that out next session. At lighter weights when warming up, do you feel the bar lifting off the ground when you get set? I find that if I try to pull myself into the bar with anything less than 225lbs the bar starts to rise off the ground. I’m not sure if I’m doing it correctly.

Also, by turning the elbows in do you mean turning the elbows towards the center of the bar? You also mention turning the feet out wider. May I ask why we are making these changes?

I really can’t get into position until about 405-495 is on the bar because of the tension I put into it before I pull. Yes elbows in towards your body. Wider isn’t the word, but turning the toes out a hair more will help with opening your hips up to get the knees out.

One other thing I forgot to mention in my opinion, u should try not to make smaller jumps in weight and then a larger jump when you can help it.
You went up +40, +30, +50, +10, +70

I would’ve skipped the 185 and 275 sets added 2-3 more reps on the 135 and 225 went 315, 365,405,445ish, 475 sometimes I’ll make a large jump of over 100lb but normally I try to get within about 50-90 lb of a heavy single.

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Thanks for the clarification. I’ll be sure to implement these changes next session and see how it feels.

You make a great point regarding the weight jumps aswell. It’s something I actually thought about fixing that as my max increased and you echoed my thoughts exactly.

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Just go slow after the adjustments and it should help a good bit. And get another video.

Yep I will definitely get some footage next session. After you get yourself into position and the bar bends, are you exploding through the legs? Or is it more of a controlled gradual increase in force? The way I’m doing it now is I set quickly and just try to blow the weight off the floor.

Once the slack is out and your whole body is tight you can explode up. But you want to make sure you can stay in position.

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Exams are over thankfully. I tried my best to implement what @Vincepac1500 told me, taking the slack out of the bar instead of just sitting back. I tried pointing my toes just slightly further out and it felt decent.

I pr’d double overhand at 400lbs, and pr’d again with straps at 480lbs. No footage today unfortunately. I’ll be off to the Dominican Republic for a week so I’ll be looking to bulk up a bit lol. Did pullups, goomornings, ab rollouts and a ton of grip work afterwards.

Sumo
2x5 135lbs
1x5 225
1x3 275
1x3 315
1x1 355
1x1 400 (double overhand PR)
1x435 straps
1x480 (PR)

Pyramid set pullups
4x5 good mornings
Ab rollouts 4x8
Farmer walks for grip (80lb dumbbells)

Looks like 500 is getting closer and closer! Even getting to 5 plates would be awesome for me.

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