There's that old adage, "You don't know what you're capable of until you try." Well the more I geek out on weightlifting and the more inspired and motivated I become, the more I realize that I have no idea how much weight I'm really capable of lifting. The only thing I know for certain is that I haven't even come close to my potential yet. It's just a feeling I have. Of that much I am certain.
As a lifter you'll always get those questions about how much you can lift in X, Y, or Z lift. For the most part I know what I've been able to lift thus far in most lifts. I know I've snatched 76k, clean & jerked 94k, back squatted 129k, and what I can do for reps for various lifts. However, it wasn't until recently, and I'm not really sure why it took so long, that I realized I have no idea how much I can deadlift. Hell I didn't even really have a goal for deadlifting. It's just not something I had ever really thought about and again I have no idea why.
In addition to all of these lifting epiphanies I keep having regarding my own training, I also realized in the past few weeks that I've stagnated on lifting and, dare I say it, become a little complacent. They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to fixing it. So the past few days I've stepped onto the platform with renewed vigor and a desire to rip the head off the lion that is weightlifting.
I've given myself a goal for each training session in at least one lift. Since my current focus is just to get insanely strong and see what happens to my other lifts, all my goals are targeted at the strength lifts. Thursday my goals were entirely centered around getting a heavy deadlift for reps. My goal was to deadlift 120 for 5 reps. I based that goal on wanting to deadlift more than I squatted the previous day which was 117x5. All my sets were done for 5 reps and I started out with a solid 97 before jumping to 110. After that I figured why waste time and jumped directly to the 120. Boom! Done deal, 5 reps in the bag. There was no question that I was going to attempt more so I threw more weight on the bar. BOOM! Knocked out 126 for 5 solid reps.
Here's a video of the deadlifts that technically count as new PRs since I had not previously established any....
I never knew what I could really deadlift before I tried. And it certainly goes to say that if I can lift 126 for 5 reps, I'll be able to move even more than that for a single. We're not quite there yet though. Right now its building that base up even bigger so when I do finally attempt a heavy single, I'll have that good foundation for a nice technically solid lift.
Now as a side note, I didn't just jump face first into attempting heavy deadlifts. I know my training level and abilities as well as what my body can handle. I wouldn't have someone I just started coaching attempting heavy singles on any lift until they were technically sound and had built up a good base of strength. Otherwise we start talking about the Zero to Hero complex I mentioned in a previous posting.
Back to the main point and the moral of the story....you really don't know what you're capable of until you give it a try. It's about putting yourself on the right path to accomplish those things you might never have dreamed possible. It's about the things you have accomplished and taking them to the next level. In the end you'll learn something and may even surprise yourself.
As a lifter you'll always get those questions about how much you can lift in X, Y, or Z lift. For the most part I know what I've been able to lift thus far in most lifts. I know I've snatched 76k, clean & jerked 94k, back squatted 129k, and what I can do for reps for various lifts. However, it wasn't until recently, and I'm not really sure why it took so long, that I realized I have no idea how much I can deadlift. Hell I didn't even really have a goal for deadlifting. It's just not something I had ever really thought about and again I have no idea why.
In addition to all of these lifting epiphanies I keep having regarding my own training, I also realized in the past few weeks that I've stagnated on lifting and, dare I say it, become a little complacent. They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to fixing it. So the past few days I've stepped onto the platform with renewed vigor and a desire to rip the head off the lion that is weightlifting.
I've given myself a goal for each training session in at least one lift. Since my current focus is just to get insanely strong and see what happens to my other lifts, all my goals are targeted at the strength lifts. Thursday my goals were entirely centered around getting a heavy deadlift for reps. My goal was to deadlift 120 for 5 reps. I based that goal on wanting to deadlift more than I squatted the previous day which was 117x5. All my sets were done for 5 reps and I started out with a solid 97 before jumping to 110. After that I figured why waste time and jumped directly to the 120. Boom! Done deal, 5 reps in the bag. There was no question that I was going to attempt more so I threw more weight on the bar. BOOM! Knocked out 126 for 5 solid reps.
Here's a video of the deadlifts that technically count as new PRs since I had not previously established any....
I never knew what I could really deadlift before I tried. And it certainly goes to say that if I can lift 126 for 5 reps, I'll be able to move even more than that for a single. We're not quite there yet though. Right now its building that base up even bigger so when I do finally attempt a heavy single, I'll have that good foundation for a nice technically solid lift.
Now as a side note, I didn't just jump face first into attempting heavy deadlifts. I know my training level and abilities as well as what my body can handle. I wouldn't have someone I just started coaching attempting heavy singles on any lift until they were technically sound and had built up a good base of strength. Otherwise we start talking about the Zero to Hero complex I mentioned in a previous posting.
Back to the main point and the moral of the story....you really don't know what you're capable of until you give it a try. It's about putting yourself on the right path to accomplish those things you might never have dreamed possible. It's about the things you have accomplished and taking them to the next level. In the end you'll learn something and may even surprise yourself.
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