Just how heavy Heavy really is?

You see, weight doesn't count. Effort does.

Today, we Lifted the Dead. So let me deliver the Post Deadlift Wisdom; deep thoughts invoked by the pure effort, pain and suffering of 'picking shit off the floor'.

My destiny was six sets of ten repetitions, right with my ten-rep-max, with no more than ninety seconds rest between each set. After the even sets an all-out effort on Pendlay Rows were scheduled, since anything lower than a four-rep-max does not really tax your nerves so much so; you will still have a bit of power for a nice, long set of explosive rowing. Now, since Ms Hedgehog's load for deads is my load for Pendlays, and Pendlays should be explosive anyway, this was just a logically inconvenient choice.

My load was a metric hundred. Not a lot of weight, but by the fourth set the effort became extremely high! For Ms Hedgehog, the load was half of it; but with the same effort. And for the Big Guy, the barbell would be fully stacked to two-hundred-and-fifty! Now, which of us trains harder?

None. Because the effort is the same.

After all of this, we cleaned the rack with seated incline curls and laying tricep extensions... that is, we picked the heaviest pairs of dumbbells, and drop-setted down to anything lower than 4 kilograms, step-by-step. If you would be here, and you would make it all the way down, I would immediately reward you with a second set; in reverse (from four kilos up). Then down to the floor, and repeat the process with tricep extensions.

And this is my point; I was screaming in pain, pushing out rep after rep with a six-kilo dumbbell. Looks funny; the only indication of me being absolutely serious was the sweat on my face and the pile of dumbbells around me. At that point the weight was not really high; but I can assure you that the effort was!

So leave your EGO at the door and stop comparing the weights of your lifts to the weights of the others' lifts. You see, those numbers are only results anyway; the results of the effort (consistently) made by the athletes. So if you really want to compare, compare exactly that. How, you might ask? Easy; just be responsible and honest - and go all out. Make sure that on that day you give as much as you can! And when you fail, stand back up and keep giving more; the first collapse is just the sign that you have reached the barrier of your 'normal'... which is the sign that you are going to step through the door to the realm of 'extraordinary'. So keep going.

That is why I never ask anyone 'how much d'ya bench?'. It is just plain irrelevant. The question is; 'how far do you push yourself?'.

Unfortunately, that's something only you know the answer for. That's why there are not many Schwarzeneggers and Bradley Wigginses strolling around on the streets.

Anyway, gotta go... it's dessert time - homemade berry jam with yoghurt, delicious enough to make me wrap this up quickly.

Until next time,

The G