MattC, I can tell you from experience (my own) that your observations regarding strength reflect my own. At 23, and only 2 years of consistent training, I hit a 500 pound deadlift at a weight of around 180-185.
I learned thereafter (after years of training) that the deadlift was my best exercise, and somewhat to my detriment in other areas. What I mean is that the deadlift is so taxing on the CNS (your hands are the most innervated part of your body, IIRC), that your body does not recover enough for you to grow in other areas. I could deadlift and chin with the strongest guys in the gym, but my pressing was terrible.
So, I refocused my energy on being a very balanced lifter, and lo and behold my believed injuries all but disappeared.
I hated the squat, or any variation thereof, because I was not strong in the squat. But I made myself love the squat and spent an inordinate amount of time perfecting my form with the Buffalo Bar, straight bar, front squats, etc. I use the trap bar to deadlift in the higher rep range from time to time, but it is no longer my bread and butter exercise.
I am a better lifter, and look better for it.
Matt, if you have any aspirations of building a better physique, ditch the ultra low rep stuff. Anything under six reps, in my experience, is inviting injury, and doesn't do too much in the way of muscle growth.
Great post!!!
The way I saw it, since I obviously wasn't going to get any bigger, I may as well get stronger. I decided this around Fall of 2009 and thus far it has worked fairly well. I think by next week or the week after I will hit a 350 bench and 500 deadlift, with form around this for the deadlift:
This is the second time I did the trap bar deadlift:
When I hit 510 the first time trying it, I figured there is no way that it is
that much easier than the conventional deadlift and it gave me the confidence to do 455 then 475 to see what I could do and I got it! I had no idea going over 450 was just a mental barrier for me. I was quite pleased.
I attempted a high rack pull today with 680 but I was rather tired after my chest workout earlier in the day, but I suspect I will hit 725 on this soon enough:
I feel quite confident in hitting a 365 bench and 525 deadlift at some point in 2011. I'm at least 50/50 on that right now. I'm not sure what it is, but I feel very strong lately, which is odd because I'm eating less and less but just feel great basically. Granted, I did use Gaspari's SIZEON in March after the Arnold but I don't think that's it. I'm a quite realistic person in terms of my goals but obviously I would like to get as strong as I can.
If/when I hit a 500 deadlift I will strongly reconsider the thought that Layne Norton is natural. If I can hit a 500 deadlift on crap nutrition and not being structurally advantaged for the deadlift as Layne is, couldn't he hit at least 600 or possibly more? He has long arms and is built for the deadlift. Also, he has claimed he is pretty consistent with his nutrition. I certainly am not. I do not drink a litre of water a day. I eat next to nothing.
it's pathological with you; you are loaded with steroids; no doubt your asshole took a turn for the decidedly supra-saltus when Axio went up shit creek... what with you having an Axio loyalty card that would make Dave Palumbo shit! ya dirty cunt:
You truly believe that I'm consuming gear at 160-170 pounds while eating nothing in the way of calories?
First of all, I would jump on steroids IMMEDIATELY if [1] I could eat enough to actually make it worth it [fat lot of good extra protein synthesis is going to do when you don't eat much protein to begin with] and [2] one could actually KEEP the gains for a significant period of time.
I have no objection to steroids, to the contrary I've been kind of waiting for a good time to run a course of gear but have not proven to myself in the past year or two that I can eat worth anything. With my appetite, it would be a waste of gear.
Give me the name of one pro or one bodybuilder at any level who actually has any size resembling his gear size six months, one year, three years, down the line! The first bodybuilder I saw in person was Melvin Anthony at the 2007 Arnold Classic. Mere months after from being in the top six in the world the man looked to be all of 230 pounds and soft! Regardless of whether or not he stopped juicing, training, whatever, how on earth does one go from being one of the top six in the world to being barely recognizable as a bodybuilder? Dorian looked huge this past weekend but he's probably still running something, at the very least HRT.
Trust me, I would LOVE to run a cycle but it would not do me any good on the calories I'm on. It's as simple as that.
