End of Cycle Deadlifts

On to the next one. DEADLIFTS. Another one of those "last year started off good" things but then went backwards. At the start of last year my best competition deadlift was 285kg and with a goal of 300kg by the end of the year. That goal was achieved at the Canterbury Champs in April and even though I reset the goal to 310kg at the Commonwealths it just didn't happen and by the end of the year I would have been lucky to pull 290kg. WHAT WENT WRONG!. Not quite sure, could have been to much weight, not enough targeted variety, could have been an attitude thing. However that is the past and now I have to regroup and focus on this year. I have given my deadlift program a major overhaul in how I approach it.

With Wednesday being the last day of heavy deadlifts for this cycle it was to see where I am at and to set myself up for the next couple of cycles. Even though it was the last week I wanted to do doubles.

Set 1 220kg 2 reps
220kg Set 1 2 reps
Set up is pretty good and speed off the floor is okay. I could have dropped my hips a little at the start of the first rep. I like to put the weight on the ground and reset before doing another rep. It teaches me to pull off the floor and not to bounce. The second rep is a lot better as I get my hips down a lot more. The weight felt pretty good.

Set 2 240kg 2 reps
240kg Set 2 2 reps
Set 2 I increased the weight to 240kg. I was a little slow off the floor on both reps and could have got my hips down a bit more. I make the second rep look a lot harder than it really was. Speed on the rep was also a little slower than I would have liked.

Set 3 250kg 2 reps
Set 3 250kg 2 reps
This set was a lot better. I don't know why I have started to do the roll but whatever works at the moment. Just have to get the timing right otherwise it looks a bit like the second rep. Hips are still to  high but the speed off the floor and though the rep is good although the second rep is a little slow. Felt pretty good.

Happy with how these went and a reasonably good finish to the cycle for deadlifts. Could have gone to probably 260kg and still got a double.

Overall for the cycle I am pretty happy with my deadlifts however I will have to continue to push myself on these over the year. As for the other exercises I do on Wednesday it is a bit of a hit  and miss affair. Shoulder press and bentover rows went pretty well however I could have been a lot better on pronated dumbbell presses. Cable pull-throughs and any other form I will do them in are a wok in progress, however over the year my strength should come through in that area. Prowler pushes I am happy with especially being back up to 100kg on the prowler. They however have shorten the matting for it which is a bit of a shame.