I took it easy today because I have been tired this week. I super-setted just 3 dead-hang pull-ups with sets of 10 one-handed swings. I could have completed a few sets of 5 or even 6 pull-ups, but didn’t want to spend the energy.

Today was the heavy day of the dead-lift cycle I have been following for the past 9 weeks. The plan was to complete 10 singles with 255 pounds – 20 pounds under my competition maximum. Instead I completed 6 singles and one set of 5.

I have been reading Deadlift Dynamite: How To Master The King of All Strength Exercises by Andy Bolton and Pavel Tsatsouline. Andy suggests that beginners in their first year of training focus on sets of 5 in the deadlift to build size and strength. I have been lifting erratically over the past 10 years, so probably still qualify as a beginning lifter.

I pulled 135 pounds for a set of 5 and then pulled 225 for a set of 5 to warm up. Then I pulled 255 once to see how the weight felt. After marching around a bit, I came back to the bar and pulled a set of 5 with 255 pounds. I think my maximum must be higher than 275 now because it was not seriously hard for me to get 5 reps. I didn’t want to depart entirely from my training plan, so rather than spending the energy to pull another set of 5, I performed five more singles with 255 and then did another set of 5 with 225 when I was unloading the bar.

Next time I am in the gym, I think I will start working with 3 x 5 @ 235 and see how long I can go adding 10 pounds per week. There are 18 weeks before the next Tactical Strength Challenge. That gives me roughly 16 weeks with one week of vacation and one week of rest before competition. I want to be ready to open at 350 and potentially pull 375 on April 11, 2015.

Today turned out pretty good for a “get it done” day.

Quick summary:

Prying goblet squats
20 kg kettlebell – 3 x 5 = 15 reps, 660 pounds

Goblet squat curls
20 kg kettlebell –3 x 5 = 15 reps, 660 pounds

Halos: 12 kg kettlebell – 3 x 10 = 30 reps, 780 pounds

One-handed swings
24 kg kettlebell – 10 x 10 = 100 reps, 5300 pounds

Pull-ups – 10 x 3 = 30 reps
Body weight 190 x 30 = 5700 pounds

Dead-lifts
135 pounds, 1 x 5 = 5 reps, 675
225 pounds, 2 x 5 = 10 reps, 2250 pounds
255 pounds, 6 x 1 + 1 x 5 = 11 reps, 2805 pounds

Get-ups
20 kg kettlebell – 5 x 1 L/R = 10 reps, 440 pounds

Farmer carries
24 kg kettlebells – 3 x 100 steps = 300 steps = 318 pounds

About 15 minutes of baby crawling, leopard crawling, rocking, arm and leg rolls, and neck nods.

Total weight: 19,588 pounds