In my post sharing my two goals for 2022, I said I was looking to achieve a net worth increase of $120k after tax and to perform a Clean and Jerk (C&J) of 120kg (265lbs). While I have no intention of spamming gym pictures, I find it motivating to share good milestones reached on the way.
As the title suggests, I've also added a personal goal of doing a 200kg (440lbs) Deadlift (DL). Since I've hardly ever done one-rep max attempts before in my workouts, I figured that 1. It would be necessary to also practice it in order to reach my goal of a max C&J, and 2. That knowing my max DL would help me better understand where I ought to be with my cleans in terms of just strength (my lifting technique for the C&J obviously need a lot of work as it is a very complex lift. So knowing if I'm at a barrier due to lacking strength or technique will come on handy).
Thus, a goal of a 200kg DL is very compatible with my ambition of seeing 120kg lifted up and above my head in the C&J, plus it's just a fun number to reach ^^.
Training for max strength and power
Training for max strength is quite different from training for size. Bodybuilders aim to maximize muscle hypertrophy which is achieved with short breaks (60-90 seconds) and 10-12 repetitions. Training for max strength, however, requires one to also drop down into the 2-5 rep ranges.
So I'll be doing that more often, as well as adding accessory lifts that are more focused on improving performance on the lifts most relevant to my goals rather than just aesthetics.
Plan going forward
It is obvious that performing a one-repetition max lift requires strength. But the Olympic lifts (Clean and Jerk and Snatch) are different from the normal powerlifting moves (Squat, deadlift, and bench press). Powerlifting moves are pure strength exercises, where you put your muscles under maximum weight and then push against them as hard as you can. The lift can sometimes be done relatively slowly, with the barbell taking its time to get off the floor in a DL, or allowing you to be stuck for a second in the middle of a squat or benchpress before grinding it out.
C&J and snatches, however, are far more explosive. Thus, it not only requires great stregnth, but also great power. While strength is the body's ability to overcome resistance, power is its ability to produce force in a limited time. Bringing the bar from the floor and upon one's shoulder's as done in the clean is thus depending on the ability to produce enough power to get the bar up to a sufficient height in order to quickly drop down below it and catch it on one's shoulders.
Training for power
To improve my force off the ground, I'll be incorporating a lot more deficit deadlifts. For those who don't know, that's when you elevate your own standing positions, normally by standing on top of one or two plates, so that you have to reach down further to grab onto the bar. This allows you to focus your training more on the muscles responsible for getting the bar off the ground at the beginning of the movement, which is essential to produce high force.
Once the force off the ground is good, being explosive at the hip hinge is the next step in order to "jump" the bar up in the air. I will likely add some more box jumping (stacking boxes on top of each other to increase the height at which I'll have to jump vertically), as well as just practicing the clean without the jerk at the end. The nice thing about these last parts is that it's also really fun! So I look forward to it a lot.
180kg Deadlift done today!
It was a bit of a coincidence that I went for a new personal record (PR) today on the Deadlift. Heading to the gym, the plan was to have just another heavy leg day. So after warming up, I started with a set of 4x4 130kg back squats before intending to do a series of 4x5 155kg Deadlifts.
But for some reason, I didn't feel like exhausting myself with that number of reps after already being quite tired from the squats. So driven mostly by curiosity rather than thinking it wise for my training, I figured I would just make my way up in the DL with heavy single and then see how far I could go.
I had actually never lifted anything heavier than the 155kg that I intended to use for the four sets of fives, as again I hardly ever do few reps before now. So I tried out first with just 165kg. That felt easy. So I went up to 170kg. Still easy. At 175kg, I felt powerful but just at the edge of what I could comfortably do with good form. I was already really happy when I did 3 sets of single reps with 175, before deciding to add another set of small plates to make it 177.5kg. That was really heavy!
But there was no way I could do that without also giving 180kg (about 400lbs) a shot. After all, it's cooler to hit a new round number! I struggled quite a lot, and the weight sure took its time to get off the floor, pass the knees, and get locked out. But I still did it!
Have to say I've hardly felt much stronger than when I laid it back down and yelled out of excitement and satisfaction (perhaps to the annoyance of some of the others working out on the same floor).
Perhaps I would have managed to go higher had I not already done the heavy squats just before, and instead warmed up towards a one rep max deadlift from the start.
But knowing that perhaps I still have more in the tank only makes me more excited to try again soon!
In any case, I feel really good that I will be able to reach my goals and have had amazing progress these past few months.
So let's fucking go! 😎