Deadlifts Are Good Medicine for The Soul!!

Just coming out of the first deload I've ever done, it felt good to actually challenge myself. A whole week of leaving the gym feeling like you haven't even trained is boring and unfulfilling. Probably not much more exciting than knitting a sweater, or a marathon of Duck Dynasty... I kept telling myself that the deload would be worth it and that my performance would surely see a nice boost. The results of today's session support this.

I've just recently started doing Power Cleans before Deadlifts. To my surprise, performing them first seems to help me achieve more hip drive on Deads, without wearing me out. I feel they're a great primer. If you've never tried this approach, it may be worthwhile to give it a shot! If you haven't tried Shovel Deadlifts yet, I'll tell you that nothing has ever destroyed my obliques quite like these do. All you have to do is load one side of a barbell and perform a Deadlift. Light weight and high reps are the way to go, for these. Focus on keeping your torso straight and the bar parallel with the floor, go a bit slower on these to get your core totally engaged!!

Without further adieu, here is an overview of today's session:

Monday, March 31 -- Deadlift Day -- (PC Training Max: 180/Deadlift Training Max:375)

Power Cleans:
Warmup Sets - 65x5/85x3
Work Sets - 115x5/135x5/155x5

Deadlifts:
Warmup Sets - 175x5/205x4/225x2
Work Sets - 245x5/280x5/320x11

Front Squats - 1x8x170/3x8x185

Lunges - 3x10x75 Dumbbells

Shovel Deadlifts - 3x75x15

Introduction

I'll try to keep this farily short and sweet. I've been on this journey for about five years now and as of today, am 12 weeks away from my first Powerlifting meet. Having logged my past month's worth of training; the benifits are more than I had expected. In terms of having something concrete to base each session off, as well as being able to go back and reflect on my progress. I wish I'd started doing this much sooner, but better late than never!! From now on, I'll be posting a log of every session on here. To start with, here is what my training schedule will look like for the 12 weeks leading up to competition:

(Using Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 system for main movements.)

Weeks 1 to 4:   5 - 3 - 5/3/1 - Deload Wave
Weeks 5 to 8:   5 - 3 - 5/3/1 - Deload Wave
Weeks 9 to 12: 5 - 3 - 5/3/1 - Rest Week

Monday

Power Cleans - 5/3/1

Deadlifts - 5/3/1

Front squats - 4x8

Lunges - 3x10

Shovel Deadlifts - 3x15

Tuesday

Bench Press - 5/3/1

Seated Behind Neck Press - 5x8

Weighted Dips -4x6

Turkish Get-Ups - 3x5

Standing Cable Crunches - 3x20

Thursday

Pull-Ups - 5x5

Pull-downs - 3x8

BB Rows - 4x8

DB Rows - 1x30

Seated PC's - 3x15

Alternating Curls - 3x20

Friday

Squats - 5/3/1

RDL's- 4x8

Bulg. Split Squats - 3x6

Leg Press Calf Raise - 2x30

Back Extensions - 3x10

Leg Raises - 3x10

Saturday

Strict Press - 5/3/1

CG Bench - 5x8

Incline Laterals - 3x10

Rotator Extensions - 3x15

Face Pulls - 2x20

Shrugs - 2x30

Rotational Landmines - 3x20