Dominant Hand

Workout date: 6/7/17

I've been stuck at 385 pounds for my top deadlift weight for such a long time that I don't wait for 1RM deadlifts to be scheduled anymore before I make attempts at my goal of hitting a deadlift of 405 pounds.  5RM, 3RM, 2RM...it's all the same to me.  If I have a decent lifting day, I will finish off my sets with a single attempt at 405 pounds.  There have been a couple of occasions where I've gotten the barbell off of the ground, but I've yet to get it past my knee.  With Wednesday's WOD focused on having us determine a 3RM deadlift, I prepared myself for yet another attempt at my nemesis, 405.

Wednesday's workout was one part strength session (3RM deadlift) and one part skill session (15 ring muscle-ups).  To say there's only a tiny subset of the gym that can perform 15 ring muscle-ups would be an understatement, so we were more than likely going to be doing some scaled version of the ring muscle-up or working only on a portion of the movement (for example, the transition).  Bryan and I were chatting earlier in the day about what we were hoping to hit on the deadlift and Bryan mentioned that his goal was 250 pounds.  I'm always hoping to hit a PR (which would mean 380), but my sights were really set on that one rep at 405.  In terms of the ring muscle-ups, I was convinced that Bryan could get one.  He moves very fluidly when doing bar muscle-ups and it seemed logical that he could convert that into a ring muscle-up as long as he believed he could do it.  Having that belief was probably going to be the toughest part for him.

When I showed up for Coach Jenna's 7:30 class, I discovered that Bryan and I would be the only two participants in her class.  As much as I enjoy the social aspects of taking classes at KOP, I also enjoy having plenty of space to operate in, especially during the summer when class sizes tend to be larger and the gym becomes much more humid.  Jenna let us know that we'd go over the ring muscle-ups after we were done working on our deadlifts, so she briefly made sure our form was good on this simple lift before allowing us to get to work on our sets.

Like always, I had a plan mapped out in my head as to how I was going to progress through this workout.  Usually I start with 135 pounds (two 45 pound plates on the barbell), but I decided to skip the easy opener and move to the next weight on my list, 185 pounds.  Jumping to 185 allows me to have two 25 pound plates handy, which I end up using throughout the progression.  I'd go 185-225-275-315-345-365-380.  It might seem weird to jump 40 pounds, then 50 pounds, then 40 pounds again, but it's simply the result of transitioning through 25 pound plates and 45 pound plates.  And because we were only doing 3 reps today, the sets weren't really going to become difficult until I got beyond 300 pounds.

Bryan and I moved right along through those lighter sets.  I couldn't have spent more than 5 minutes getting through the sets at 185, 225, and 275 (and that's including the time needed to change out the plates).  I don't think Bryan and I truly started alternating our sets until we get closer to the heavier end of our ranges.  I wasn't sure how many sets Bryan had done, but he seemed to be making his way to 250 at a more gradual pace than I was en route to 380.  I watched him do three very easy reps at 205 and decided to take matters into my own hands.  I wasn't sure if he planned on going to 215 next, but I brought over two 45 pound plates and peer pressured him to move on to 225.

315 pounds is consistently the point where deadlifts feel heavy for me.  More than anything, it probably says more about my lack of grip strength than anything else.  At 315, I just don't want to hold on to that barbell forever.  5 reps at that weight is very tough, but 3 reps was doable.  The set at 345 had a real chance of being my last successful one.  The 3RM deadlift is one of our benchmark tests for the year and I wasn't able to get beyond 345 when we had done this back in March.  Things went a little smoother this time around as I made my way through 3 reps at 345 with the belief I could handle more still intact.  Bryan was going strong as well.  When he went to do his set at 245, he put his hands on the barbell and then stopped.  It looked like he was uncomfortable with his setup, so I told him he should stand up and start over.  He decided to be stubborn (a trait I can definitely relate to) and move forward with his set despite being hunched over his barbell for what seemed like a long time.  I was expecting him to have trouble once he began, but he did 3 more easy looking reps.  He was definitely surpassing 250 today.

I got ready for my set at 365 feeling fairly optimistic that I could get it based on how the set at 345 had gone.  I still wasn't buying into the idea that I could get the final set at 380, but 365 would still be an improvement on what I did back in March.  And as long as I could get past this set and do one rep at 380, I'd hold on to the belief that I could cap off this workout with one rep at 405.  The toughest part of the set was simply getting the barbell moving on that first rep.  I had a lot of faith that I could hang on for two more reps as long as I got that first rep moving.  That ended up not being completely true.  Reps one and two were fine, but I could feel my right hand losing its grip as I pulled the third rep from the floor.  I was able to hang on, but if a 4th rep was required, I would have been screwed.

Did I mention that Bryan was definitely surpassing 250 today?  His set at 255 looked just like the set at 245 minus the lengthy delay during the setup.  I started thinking that he might get to 275 before we had to move over to the rings.

While I was taking some time before my PR attempt at 380, I started talking to Faby, who was the only other soul in the gym.  He was doing some strength training on his own.  I see him deadlifting frequently, so I thought I should pick his brain for some tips.  I needed some help with my grip.  I use a mixed grip when I deadlift, with my right hand on top of the barbell and the left hand under the barbell.  My two-part question to him was a) whether he used a mixed grip and b) whether he ever reversed his grip, especially if one hand seemed to be getting tired.  He told me that he did use a mixed grip, but that he never changed it.  Disappointed with those answers, I asked a follow-up question.  I asked Faby which hand he used underneath and which hand he used on top when he held a mixed grip.  He told me that he used his dominant hand (right hand) underneath.  Crap, had I been doing the mixed grip wrong since I began Crossfit?  I've always had my dominant hand on top.  Maybe this was the reason I've never been able to get beyond 385.  I was dying to test out the mixed grip the way Faby does it, but it was too late in the workout to try it this day.  Attempting a set of three reps at 380 with a new grip was a bad idea.

I didn't have a lot of good thoughts in my head as I stepped up to try 380.  I just found out that I might be gripping the barbell wrong.  My right hand had barely held on through the 3rd rep at 365.  And from what I recall, the day I did 3 reps at 375, my form wasn't wonderful.  It was asking a lot to get three reps at 380 today.  Of course, my selfish goal required only one rep at this weight, so that took a little pressure off of me.

I think I've always thought of the proper weight for an "x" rep max as the weight where you would have to struggle like hell to get rep "x".  As had just happened with the mixed grip, my view was about to change.  I grabbed the barbell and tried to pull it from the floor.  It slowly came off the floor.  I strained to get it over my knee and eventually got it to my waist.  I got my one rep.  I wanted to let go of the barbell at that point, but Jenna, Bryan, and Faby were yelling at me that I had this.  Usually when I'm doing a set, I can use the momentum from the first rep to help me on the remaining reps.  That didn't really happen here.  I tapped the floor with the barbell and experienced the same struggle I had on the first rep.  It took everything I had to keep the barbell moving, but somehow I got it to my waist again.  Two reps down, one to go.  Now I was as invested in this set as Jenna, Bryan, and Faby were.  I was not going to be pleased if I fell one rep short.  I tapped the floor again and strained as hard as I could to get the barbell back to my waist a third and final time.  It was incredibly slow again, but I found a way to get it done.  All three reps were insanely hard.  Faby told me that was what a 3RM should look like.  Final score: 380 (PR!).

My grip was completely gone after that set.  It felt like the top layer of skin had come off of my hands.  I wasn't sure that I could open up some of the apps on my phone because I was pretty certain that I no longer had fingerprints.  I was excited that I had held on through all 3 reps at 380, but I might have used up all of my energy doing so.  I was going to give 405 a shot, but this would really have to be my night if I was going to make that lift.

As I grabbed plates for my attempt at 405, I missed Bryan's final attempt at a 3RM.  I'm not sure if he went with 260 or 265, but when I turned around, I saw him holding the barbell at his waist and then dropping it.  I was hopeful that he had just completed rep #3, but when he turned in my direction, I could see the dejected look on his face.  He must have bailed early.  Still, he exceeded his goal and got a PR with his set at 255.

I loaded up my barbell and got ready for my attempt at 405.  The speech I gave myself was simple.  You weren't sure you could get the set at 365.  You did it.  You felt certain you wouldn't get three reps at 380.  You did that.  You might not think you can get 405.  You're about to do it.  The speech was good.  The execution was bad.  I put everything I had left into that lift, but I'm not sure you could have slid a piece of paper underneath the barbell.  It felt anchored into the floor.  405 wasn't happening on this day, but after some practice with a new grip, maybe I can finally overcome my nemesis.

Jenna brought us over to the rings.  Bryan and I explained that neither of us had the ability to complete 15 ring muscle-ups.  I thought there was a good chance that Bryan could get his first one though.  His skill session would involve actual attempts at ring muscle-ups, while I would work on jumping muscle-ups.  Bryan came close several times to getting his first ring muscle-up, but he needed to be a little more aggressive in his transition.  As is the case with the bar muscle-up, he seems to float up to the height he needs to get to.  Now he just has to get quicker rotating over.  As for me, I learned during my jumping muscle-ups that I needed to lean back more as I do them.  Without leaning, it is easier to do the jumping muscle-ups.  Of course, the reason they are easier is because I'm not truly mimicking the position my body would be in during a real muscle-up.  It's better for me to get in that position while doing jumping muscle-ups if I ever want to have success on the rings one day.

When we were all done, I joined Jenna at the brew pub across the street for a beer.  And some appetizers.  And some unexpectedly free chocolate cake.  It was like a mini-reward for the guy with no fingerprints.

Thursday preview: Last summer I took 5 weeks off from the gym to get my head right again.  Is it time for another sabbatical from KOP?