PR… and that’s enough.

Wendler 5/3/1 program, cycle 20, week 3

• Work Set – Deadlift (working max: 395#)
  • 1x5x160 (warmup)
  • 1x5x200
  • 1x3x240
  • 1x5x300 (work)
  • 1x3x340
  • 1x3x380 (PR)
• Foam Rolling

I’ve been feeling so beat up, I decided it put everything into the main lift then go home. No assistance work today.

Working up to the PR was interesting.

First, I do think I’m getting a ritual down for deadlift that’s working out pretty well for me. To set up and get to the bar. Refined it a bit more today, and it’s working well. Really helping my bar path and how my body “unwinds” as I stand up.

As I warmed up, I was thinking “gosh, the weights are heavy today”. Bad sign. Don’t do that because then yes, they will be heavy. Just lift.

When I did 340, my grip was dying. That really bothered me because there’s no reason for it to. I figure it was because I was gripping much harder and more securely on all the other sets, maybe they were tiring out? I don’t know, but it really bugged me. I wondered if I would be alright for the 380 (true PR, never lifted that much weight before, ever). I thought for a moment about wrapping my wrists, but no… why? this isn’t a competition. This is training, and if I miss I miss. And to help me not miss, grip harder! Plus I figured alternating grip on the last set would help some too (I always grip double-overhand, except on the last set I alternate).

I took a light whiff of ammonia, and yeah… I am starting to see how that works. I was so in the zone, so focused… I hit the bar and the 380 flew up. Now, in my effort to keep it to prescribed reps, 1 is all I need. But I felt VERY good and just kept going. I tell myself “no more than 3” and I stuck to that. I did feel like I could have gotten 1-2 more (2 would have been a grinder). So this is all good.

I really felt good about this PR. And that was enough.

I was debating if I should go up 5 or 10 pounds on both squat and deadlift next cycle. This clinched it: 10.