It's Day 2 of the Gym Jones Cert and today (amongst other things) we worked on the 1 Rep Max for The Deadlift. This is a test of maximal strength.
Of course it is not something you step into cold, we 'warmed' up with 10 reps, then 5 reps, working up to 3 reps, then onto 5 single rep efforts. Increasing the load at each stage until we could lift no more.
First a little background, my previous PB (Personal Best) was 148kg which I deadlifted in May. I am now recovering from a hamstring injury so I was not expecting too much today.
However, I was pleasantly surprised with the result:
- 10 Reps : 60kg
- 5 Reps : 80kg
- 3 Reps : 120kg
- 2 Reps : 140kg
- 1 Rep : 150kg
- 1 Rep : 160 kg
- 1 Rep : 170 kg
- 1 Rep : 180 kg (just exceeds twice my bodyweight)
- 1 Rep : 190 kg/418lb (new PB)
At the 1 rep max efforts, there was a minimum of 2-3 minutes rest for recovery. I tried 2 attempts at 200kg/440lb, the bar moved an inch on the first attempt. No movement on the second.
This lift today made me realise I was far stronger than I previously thought. Of course peer pressure (as well as support) played a part and anyone who knows me personally acknowledges I am very competitive.
To be honest this was not about competition. It was a practical experience of removing some of the mental limitations to performance.
No excuses about:
- not being built to deadlift,
- or that I hadn't done it for a few months,
- or being too old to do this
- regardless of what happened today I knew it was my best effort.
Today I focused more on the act and experience of lifting, not on how much I was lifting or by comparing myself to others. I just enjoyed the journey.
Thanks Mark and Rob of Gym Jones for the experience today, it reinforces my belief that we impose artificial limitations on ourselves far too often. I wasn't the only one to experience this. Many people surpassed their previous PB's today.
190kg (418lb) Deadlift (Photo: Mark Twight - Gym Jones)
The worrying thing was shortly afterwards we did a workout called the 'Jones Crawl'! I will post a video of this max lift and the subsequent workout in the next day or so.
Darryl Edwards