Furo's Comeback Log

Thank you @ActivitiesGuy, I really appreciate the tips! It’s definitely true that I’ve learnt my lesson now.

Week 32: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 16

Deadlifts
100kg: 12x1
EMOM

My back is getting better, but it’s still not great. 100kg felt solid in terms of strength and technique, but I was really having to brace extremely hard. Tomorrow I’ll stick with 100kg again and then next week I’ll use 120kg and after that I should be back to normal.

Week 32: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 17

Deadlifts
100kg: 10x1
EMOM

Barbell Complex (Press-Row-SLDL-Squat)
25kg: 3x10-10-10-10

I was feeling tired but strong today - the deadlifts felt very light and my back is almost 100%, but I just didn’t have much energy at all. I’m going camping for the weekend, and I’m confident I’ll be back to normal deadlifting when I get back.

Week 32: Summary

Bodyweight: 97.1kg

Training: 5 sessions

Nutrition: Poor

Despite the setback of a lower back injury (as well as a sore knee) this week has gone pretty well. Two heavy sessions - a beltless 180kg deadlift and an easy belted 200kg rack pull - as well as three sessions with just 100kg. I’ve continued my bad habit of barely doing any assistance - one set of bench press and three sets of pull-ups all week lol. Oh well.

Deadlift Goal
I’ve set myself the goal of deadlifting 200kg on (or before) the 26th of Sept, so I’ve got a month. I’m planning on continuing my current training style, mostly using a work weight of around 140kg. I’d really appreciate any advice to help me reach this goal. After the 26th of Sept I’ve got a set of nightshifts and then we go straight off on our delayed honeymoon, and I just plan on taking all of that time off. I feel like I’m burning out a little in terms of motivation and a short break will do me good.

Week 33: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 18

Deadlifts
140kg: 5x1
EMOM

Pull-Ups
BW: 5x5
EMOM

Got home a bit earlier than expected from camping so bashed out some deadlifts and pull-ups. Both felt pretty heavy.

Week 33: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 19

Deadlifts
140kg: 5x1
EMOM

Pull-Ups
BW: 3x5
EMOM

Bodyweight: 97.0kg

I was really tight for time today, so didn’t do much. 140kg felt very heavy, my grip was feeling it much more than usual. My lower back and knees felt a little unsafe.

Week 33: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 20

Deadlifts
140kg: 5x1

Squats
60kg: 5
80kg: 3
60kg: 7

Bodyweight: 96.6kg

Deadlifts felt a little stronger today. I decided to do some squats for the first time in weeks - pretty happy with them as they were almost painfree and very smooth, but obviously weak.

Week 33: Summary

Bodyweight: 96.8kg

Training: 3 sessions

Nutrition: mediocre

I only managed 3 sessions this week, which is ok - I needed the rest days that I took. I’m clearly not quite over hurting my back, but I’m happy I managed all sets with 140kg. Next week I want to get back to 140kg feeling light - I want at least 5 sessions with it. I neglected pressing again this week, but I just can’t get motivated for it. My bodyweight has stayed stagnant at around 97kg for ages with a “relaxed” approach to nutrition, and I’m pretty happy with that.

Week 34: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 21

Deadlifts
140kg: 5x1
EMOM

Pull-Ups/One-Arm Push-Up Superset
BW: 3x5/1

Bodyweight: 96.7kg

140kg felt stronger today, but still not as easy as I hoped. I worked it out as 78% of my 1rm, so it is heavier than I strictly should be going, but not by much. I contemplated dropping down to 130kg for the next few sessions, but actually I think it would make more sense to start using a mixed grip on all of my work sets. I always feel much stronger with a mixed grip and it will be more relevant training for my max attempt at the end of the month.

I decided to try some one-arm push-ups today and they were awesome! I haven’t done them in years, and the technqiue was pretty sloppy, but they were good fun. I’m leaning more and more towards doing a bodyweight-only routine for a while once I’ve reached my deadlift goal, and they’re a perfect bodyweight press.

Week 34: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 22

Deadlifts
140kg: 5x1 - mixed grip
EMOM

One-Arm Push-Ups
BW: 5x1

Crosstrainer
60min

Bodyweight: 97.1kg

The mixed grip helped a little bit, but 140kg still felt heavier that I’d hoped. I’m determined to stick at this weight though, I really can’t face going lighter. I was going to do some more pull-ups but for some reason my lats were completely fried today. I did an hour on the crosstrainer just to get my heart rate up and my lower body pumped with blood. A good session overall.

Week 34: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 23

Deadlifts
140kg: 10x1 - mixed grip
EMOM

Pull-Ups
BW: 3x5
EMOM

One-Arm Push-Ups
BW: 5x1
EMOM

Bodyweight: 96.1kg

This was a much better session than the past few - my work sets flew up, although I did suffer from some lower back discomfort/tightness. I think the issue came with the last few inches of the eccentric, so for the final reps I dropped them at knee level. The one arm push-ups are improving quickly - my technique is better already.

Week 34: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 24

Deadlifts
140kg: 5x1 - mixed grip
EMOM

Pull-Ups
BW: 4x5
EMOM

One-Arm Push-Ups
BW: 5x1
EMOM

Bodyweight: 97.3kg

I felt absolutely rotten yesterday, I kept feeling like I was going to faint at work, but I seem to have fought it off pretty quick. My usual trick of thousands of crappy calories and vitamin C has worked lol. I’m not 100% today, but definitely getting better.

Week 34: Cardio

Crosstrainer
40min

I felt pretty unwell today so skipped the deadlifts. I’m starting nightshifts tonight and so I need to take it a bit easy.

Week 34: Summary

Bodyweight: 96.8kg

Training: Good, 4 deadlift sessions with a reasonable amount of upper body work.

Nutrition: Poor

This was a good week - I’m happy that I managed four deadlift sessions with 140kg, as well as four one-arm push-up sessions and three pull-up sessions. The one-arm push-ups were a pretty big success in general.

Week 35: High Frequency Deadlifts - Day 25

Deadlifts
140kg: 1
160kg: 1
170kg: 1
185kg: 1 - PR

Pull-Ups
BW: 5,5,3

One-Arm Push-Ups
BW: 3x1

Bodyweight: 96.9kg

I did this after a night shift and I still feel pretty rough so I’m extremely happy to have hit a new lifetime deadlift PR of 185kg (408lbs). I used a mixed grip but no belt. I felt pretty exhausted and didn’t manage much else at all.

Congrats! Nicely done!

Thanks a lot @ActivitiesGuy, I really appreciate that!

Week 35: Trap Bar Deadlifts

Trap Bar Deadlifts
147.5kg: 1
167.5kg: 1
187.5kg: 1 - belt on
207.5kg: 1
217.5kg: 1 - huge PR!

Boom! I’m so proud of this one! I felt like pushing myself after my nightshift (seventh shift in a row) and went with the trap bar instead of the conventional deadlift. 207.5kg was very tough, and I thought I should probably call it there as a solid 10kg PR, but ended up pushing on to 217.5kg. It was a really slow rep, and my back arched pretty outrageously, but I’m a real convert to @T3hPwnisher’s philosophy of the importance of bracing rather than maintaining a neutral spine. I certainly felt no pain after this rep.

I’m beginning to think that I might not just come back from this injury stronger than before - I may even come back actually strong.

Trap Bar Deadlift PR
Here’s the video of today’s PR - 217.5kg (480lbs). As above my back arches pretty badly, but I braced well and have no discomfort. I don’t actually have much scope for improvement on this exercise at my current gym - there’s no room for more plates on the bar, so the max that can be loaded is 227.5kg.

1 Like

First, congrats on another PR.

Second, you might want to check out an article on the website Breaking Muscle called “What We Mortals Can Learn From Eddie Hall’s Deadlift” that’s pertinent to this point. Helped me understand the difference between what appears to be a technically-perfect lift vs. what lifts might LOOK like something is “wrong” but actually be just fine. The perfectly-arched, neutral spine is a wonderful idea but I’ve never seen someone pull a really heavy, maximal weight in that position.

1 Like

I’m not sure how I completely overlooked this but amazing job on the PR! For some reason when I clicked on your log it took me down to ActivitiesGuy’s comment so I’m just now seeing the video. That High Frequency Deadlift Program seems to be paying off very well. Come on up to the 500 club very soon!!!

1 Like

Thanks a lot @ActivitiesGuy, that was an interesting article.

Thanks @jblues85, I really appreciate that! Its definitely working, and it’s nice to see the carryover to the trap bar too.

Week 35: Cardio

Crosstrainer
60min

Stiff Leg Deadlifts
25kg: 100

Bodyweight: 96.3kg

I have ridiculous lower back DOMS from yesterday’s session (did I mention 480lbs?? Sorry just proud) which is funny considering the total volume of 3 reps lol. Today’s session was just about loosening up and getting blood flowing, and I’m going to follow it up with an ice bath.