Makes sense. There is certainly nothing wrong with your selection. What are your thoughts about yoga? I hear all kinds of good things about it and I know there are athletes who do yoga but I have never tried it before. Even though I do a lot of mobility stuff and am surprisingly mobile for my build I think it would have to look ridiculous if someone my size does yoga :D. A coworker of mine is pretty experienced in it and I have thought about asking her if she could introduce me to it on a basic level.
I started doing yoga about five years ago. I played football from age 9 through the end of college, and during all that time certainly never imagined that I would become a regular yoga practitioner. But with plenty of old nagging injuries here and there, my then-girlfriend convinced me to try it and I took to it right away. Now please don’t confuse the fact that I like it with being “good” at it - I’m awful, and can barely do half the poses in any given class properly. But over time, you learn the special modifications for certain postures, and you realize that even if you’re not flexible or “good” at yoga, you still can get something out of it. Also, I am terrible about doing any stretching and mobility work on my own, so I figure that going to a yoga class every week gives me one whole dedicated day to focus on it. Plus, you meet a lot of interesting people at yoga studios. I’ve made a lot of cool friends over the years just from talking to people before and after class.
Re: the concern about someone your size…you’d be surprised. This varies from studio to studio but you see all sorts of body shapes and sizes at yoga. For every 90 pound ballerina that can twist herself into a pretzel there’s a 250-pound fat old guy who took it up a year ago and swears that he’s never felt better. There are a couple articles out there about different NFL and NBA players who have taken up yoga.
Monday 1/18
A1. KB Swing 12x88
A2. Seated Row 10x120
Six rounds.
B1. KB Press
1x88 (RH)
1x88 (LH)
2x88 (RH)
2x88 (LH)
3x88 (RH)
3x88 (LH)
4x88 (RH)
4x88 (LH)
Pressing the 88 pound kettlebell four times (in an unbroken set) is a PR. Was able to do it with each hand, too, which was nice - some days my right feels a little stronger than my left so I can’t always match with both hands. Solid little workout.
Tuesday 1/19
DB Lat Raise 10x5’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Front Raise 10x10’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Curls 10x15’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Hammer Curl 10x20’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Alternating Curl 10x25’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Press 10x30’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Press 10x35’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Press 10x40’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Press 10x45’s
KB Swing 10x88
DB Press 10x50’s
Wednesday 1/20
A1. KB Swing 10x88
A2. Lat Pulldown 6x120
Five rounds.
B1. KB Clean-N-Press 2x88
Five sets.
KB Press 3x88 (RH)
KB Press 3x88 (LH)
Thursday 1/21
Deadlift
5x135
5x135
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
4x335
Friday 1/22
KB Clean-N-Press 15 x 2 x 88
KB Press (RH) 3x88
KB Press (LH) 4x88
Saturday 1/23
Deadlift
5x135
5x140
5x145
5x150
5x155
3x160
3x165
3x170
3x175
3x180
1x185
1x190
1x195
1x200
1x225
1x225
1x275
1x275
1x315
1x315
1x350
1x350
1x385
1x405 (PR)
Boom. Nailed it.
Awesome. Congrats on 405.
Yes congrats! That’s a solid number!
Thanks guys. It actually went up pretty easily - I posted the video on Facebook and a fellow lifting friend commented that I was good for another 40 pounds. So I may even try 415-425 sometime in the next few weeks.
Also noteworthy, my fiancee was lifting alongside me (hence the reason for all of those sets at 135, 140, 145, etc - I just used that as a long and thorough warmup while she did her deadlift workout). She hit a PR of 195 (no doubt) and was extremely close on 200 - she had the weight all the way up, but I don’t think it would have passed in a meet, as she was a little too wobbly at lockout. She has the strength, just needs to harness it…currently she’s just relying on carryover from the kettlebell work she does, but once she moves here this summer she will probably start doing a heavy deadlift workout every week, and I expect that she’ll be hitting 225 comfortably by our wedding in August.
Monday 1/25
KB Clean-N-Press 10x2x88
KB Press (RH) 3x88
KB Press (LH) 3x88
Congrats on hitting your deadlift goal man. Good to see the hard work paying off.
Gratulations! Hope to get there soon aswell. Keep it up!
Nice work hitting 405!
Thanks, everyone. Let’s keep it in perspective here: a 405 deadlift is not anything more than a 200-pound healthy male ought to be able to do. But I do appreciate the hosannas, and I am pleased to have the basic level of strength necessary to pull four plates per side.
However, I do think that my last few months’ progression to a 405 pull illustrates something many of us who’ve been around agree upon: unless you’re already pretty advanced and pecking around the margins to squeeze out that last bit of strength, you can make good progress with very, very simple programming. I reached a 405 deadlift with basically nothing but 1-2 weekly deadlift sessions and a bunch of kettlebell swings, cleans, and presses plus a yoga class every week or two. Something like the first 20 percent of the work can get you 80 percent of the results? Really, it doesn’t have to be complicated if you put in steady and consistent effort for a period of time.
Tuesday 1/26
Deadlift
5x135
5x135
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x225
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x335
1x335
1x335
1x335
1x365
Pull-ups
1x10
Wednesday 1/27
KB Press 1x88 (RH)
KB Press 1x88 (LH)
KB Swing 10x88
KB Press 2x88 (RH)
KB Press 2x88 (LH)
KB Swing 10x88
KB Press 3x88 (RH)
KB Press 3x88 (LH)
KB Swing 10x88
KB Press 2x88 (RH)
KB Press 2x88 (LH)
KB Swing 10x88
KB Press 1x88 (RH)
KB Press 1x88 (LH)
KB Swing 10x88
DB Press 10x50 (RH)
DB Press 10x50 (LH)
Thursday 1/28
Deadlift
5x135
5x135
1x225
1x245
1x275
1x295
1x315
1x335
1x365
1x365
1x365
1x365
1x315
1x315
1x315
1x315
Friday 1/29
DB Lat Raises 10x5’s
DB Front Raises 10x10’s
DB Curls 10x15’s
DB Hammer Curls 10x20’s
DB Alternating Curls 10x25’s
DB Press 10x30’s
DB Press 10x35’s
DB Press 10x40’s
DB Press 10x45’s
DB Press 10x50’s
KB Press (RH) 1x88
KB Press (LH) 1x88
KB Press (RH) 2x88
KB Press (LH) 2x88
KB Press (RH) 3x88
KB Press (LH) 3x88