500 lb deadlift? Soon.

This is 5+ week, and the top set is 385 for 5+. Looking at the data, I needed at least 9 reps to keep on my upward trajectory. I figured it would be do-able. And it was. In fact, I was really surprised how easy it came. I just kept repping and it went so fast, so quick. Every rep of the workup was fast and felt light, and I knew the 385 would come easy — but didn’t think it would be this easy. Could the deadlift bar have something to do with it? Maybe, don’t know. What’s also interesting is at 9 reps I could have kept going! But my brain was so focused on “hit 9” that once I hit it I stopped. I’m ok with that, but it was interesting that I had LOT more in me.

But what really got me? When I entered the data into RepCount and looked at history, the history screen puts an estimated 1RM.

It said 501.

That’s a first for me. And it kinda blew my mind. 🙂

Now, I don’t expect that to actually mean I could pull 500 off the floor right now. Every 1RM formula is just an estimate, and the more reps into the equation the further from the truth it becomes. However, it’s still useful as a measure of progress and comparison.

And I am closer to pulling 500 than I’ve ever been. It really excites me, and makes me feel like I could do this before the end of the year.

In other news…

Using the 2.5kg collars for deadlifting, which is great for keeping the plates tight and secure. But I do have to remember to factor them into the plate math. While it’s roughly 11 lb, I just figure it as 2 5 lb plates — it’s 10 lb for all intents and purposes.

Belt squats are finding a home. For sure I do need to do some warm-up/work-up to ensure things feel good. And seeing the reps I was hitting, I’m going to keep upping the weight. I don’t want it to be some max effort movement – it’ll still be about reps. But I can move more and I want to get all I can out of this movement.

The 1-leg reverse hypers are still an experiment. The hardest part is finding a good position. I was resting my “other” foot on a little rest, but that ends up taking on too much pressure and I don’t feel my working leg is getting the work it needs. So I tried more dangling it and just not being involved but stable, and that seemed to improve things but still felt a wee awkward. So I’ll continue to keep the weight kinda light and continue to work to find better positioning. BUT I can say, as I’m working on arching at the top and rounding at the bottom, I actually felt something “move” in my lower back. Something felt better! That was a nice thing.

Upright Rows felt fun to do 135. I do need a bit of warm-up, but otherwise that felt good.

And the cable curls are just a lot of fun.

Skipped the bike today — time constraints. But I am spending more time on the foam roller afterwards, doing my PT work as well as just more general rolling and stretching. It’s the stuff I used to do but kinda fell away from it for whatever reason. I feel better

5/3/1 (4th cycle, leader-1, 5/3/1+PR sets)

• Deadlift (superset with band pullaparts)
  • 185 x 5
  • 225 x 5
  • 275 x 3
  • 295 x 5
  • 340 x 5
  • 385 x 9 (rep PR)
• Belt Squat
  • 90 x 15
  • 135 x 15
  • 180 x 15
  • 180 x 15
• 1-Leg Reverse Hypers
  • 75 x 20e
  • 75 x 20e
  • 75 x 20e
  • 75 x 20e
• Upright rows
  • bar x 8
  • 95 x 5
  • 135 x 8
  • 135 x 8
  • 135 x 8
  • 135 x 8
• 1-Arm Cable Curls
  • 40 x 12e
  • 40 x 12e
  • 40 x 12e
  • 40 x 10e