I entered the gym, later than normal, as I had got caught up in a bunch of work earlier. I was feeling pretty good and wondering what exercises I would do today.
Then it popped into my mind…
“You can deadlift 505 today.”
Deadlifting more than 500 lbs. has been a goal of mine for over a year now. I’ve made progress on it only to get sidetracked a number of times over that year.
But now I was more serious about it. I had run my 17 Steps to 100% Goal Setting Success so I knew it would happen sooner or later.
And now my intuition was telling me today could be the day…
But I didn’t believe it. Not at first.
Two days ago I had done 225 lb. Jefferson deadlifts for a total of 74 reps in just over 9 minutes. Then yesterday I was doing partial deadlifts on the plateau buster. Four doubles of 615 lbs. in 8 minutes.
Surely I can’t set a new 20 lb. lifetime max (previous max of 485 on 6/10/11) after doing some forms of deadlifts the past two days.
But I decided to at least give it the benefit of the doubt. I grab 135 on the bar and pulled it up. Felt good. Okay. 225, same thing. 315 was good too.
Maybe it is possible?
Since I’ve been deadlifting a while I’ve noticed a pattern. Whenever I set a new max I first pull lighter weights for more reps than I’ve done before.
At 405 I only did 4 reps but could have easily done 6, if not more.
At 455 I did a triple.
Wow, I think it actually will happen.
I loaded the bar up to 505.
This was only the second time ever I’d be attempting this weight. I had tried it once before at the Tactical Strength Challenge. It didn’t budge off the floor then.
I don’t psych up in the normal sense but I started to do some advanced mental and energy training tactics on myself. Its what my friends Bud Jeffries and Chuck Halbakken affectionately refer to as “voodoo” or “black magic”.
Specifically I was using what I’m calling the ‘Holy Sh!t This Is Powerful Technique’. I’ve still got more testing to do with this before I unleash it to the world but I think the name says a lot. 
I set the camera recording. Used a energy power installation and anchor to stack even more strength on top.
Then I got ready to do the lift…
Here is the video and I’ll give you a play by play below.
It started moving so I was off to a good start.
Once I was past my knees the involuntary shaking began. I’ve only had this happen twice before in my life when it comes to deadlifting. One time before I missed a new max back at 455. The second time I was successful with 485. Usually if the weight is too heavy I don’t get it past the knees.
At this point, it being a goal for so long, I was thinking in my mind, “You’ve gotten this far, just finish it!”
It was more than my body wanted to handle. But in this case my mind forced it and I locked it out.
Sure, I would have liked to have done it easier, and I will in the future. But true maxes seldom are pretty. (And I’m sure to get all kinds of hate mail about my form. At this point I’m used to it, but it works for me.)
There were a lot of things that went into making this possible. I’ve briefly outlined some of them here.
But right now I want to highlight the mental training aspect of it. No one is teaching this, yet it is one of the most powerful allies you have that can be added on top of whatever you’re currently doing.
And if a skinny guy like me, who grew up so weak I couldn’t do a pushup, can now deadlift over 500 lbs, you can accomplish your goals too.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t want to deadlift. If you want to excel at kettlebells, bodyweight training or feats of strength…
If you’re looking to shed some fat, or add on muscle…
If you just want the added edge in your sport…
This package deal will be pull down shortly. In fact I only have 5 left in stock.
There are techniques to unlock the powers of your mind, which will allow you to better unlock the powers of your body.
Use them and you will become more powerful. I guarantee it!
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells, Bio Feedback, Lifting Technique, Mental Training, Recovery, Videos by on Aug 8th, 2011. 7 Comments. 
Thick Bar Training. If you’re here I’m guessing that you are familiar with thick bars and perhaps even use them.
All the old-time lifters used them, often to build a super strong grip. Using their strong hands with a thick bar they could then lift a weight that the average person wouldn’t be able to budge.
All the top modern guys are big fans of them.
In many cases thick bars are better than other hand training, grippers for instance. This is because they work the hands and forearms while also working the rest of the body. Linking in that strength from fingertips to toes.
But here’s the problem. Thick bars ain’t cheap. A good quality one can be around $700!
For this reason people have come up with many homemade versions. I’ve seen some interesting setups using fence posts, PVC pipe, and even hockey pucks. While these are all valid I wasn’t looking for a big project. Call me lazy if you want.
(And after all I currently only have one barbell that I didn’t want to ‘switch’ over permanently to a thick bar. Although this is a valid way to go because then you have no choice but to lift with the thick bar.)
Then I stumbled across these…
From Normal Bar into Thick Bar Instantly
So simple. So easy. And cheap too.
With the Fat Gripz you can, in about two seconds, slide them onto a barbell or dumbell and, voila, have a thick bar ready to use.
(As a side note I tried them on kettlebells but that didn’t work out as well as the handle isn’t long enough. But you can use them on a pullup bar for some grip-blasting chinnups!)
They’re made from heavy-duty rubber and feel great when you use them. When put onto a normal barbell the thickness suddenly becomes 2 ¼ inches.
Thick bar training is a secret to becoming super strong. Not everyone has access to a thick bar. But with the Fat Gripz you no longer have an excuse.
I bought my pair a couple weeks ago and have already fallen in love with them. Deadlifts, rows, curls and presses. Just start using them on the exercises you do everyday and your hands will become stronger.
Easily one of the best training tools purchases I’ve ever made for it’s cost and effectiveness.
You can read more about the Fat Gripz and order your set here.
In Strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. I do make a small commission on this product when you order. But as usual I would never recommend anything I do not believe in. I want you to get this product because it’s awesome and I know it’ll take your training up a level.
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells, Hand Strength, Oldtime Strongmen by on Aug 24th, 2010. 6 Comments.
I received this question the other day after my post on Convict Conditioning, and since it was well thought out I’m going to give an in depth answer.
Hey Logan,
You obviously have far more experience than me and I don’t even compare to you in terms of strength/conditioning. You’ve done an awesome job from what I can see! I’d like your opinion, please I read Coach Wade’s “Convict Conditioning” and I want to do the “Big Six” moves!
Goals – strength in the “Big Six” and mutant conditioning.
Preference for the kettlebell swing.
‘Decent’ recovery abilities.
Equipment – barbell, dumbells, 35lbs & 70lbs kettlebells, & pullup bar.
Not much money.
I was planning on trying out the ‘Veterano’ routine with swings three times a week (light, medium, and heavy swing days). A concern–over training with back bridges and swings.
Do you think this a great way to reach my goals?
Is ‘Veterano’ not enough strength work?
Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you & God bless!
David
Considering your goals and equipment, I think what you have laid out is a good plan. If you want to get good at these moves you should do them. Adding in a conditioning component with the kettlebell swing makes it even better.
For those of you who don’t have the book yet the Veterano is a routine that consists of doing a few sets of one of the six exercises each day. In my opinion, since the volume is already kept minimal I believe this program would be better with more frequency.
These moves require a high degree of strength but also a high degree of skill. So practicing them more often should result in faster gains. One thing I learned from Pavel is that its better to do one set of an exercise everyday then six sets one day a week.
For this reason I would modify this routine to do two exercises each day instead of one. One arm pushups and bridges. Handstand pushups with hanging leg raises. And one leg squats with one arm pullups. This way you do each move twice a week instead of just once. Adjust the volume if you have to but I think this will give better results.
I wouldn’t worry about overtraining with the bridges and swings. If you’re knew to bridging or swinging just be sure to ease into it.
A light, medium and heavy swing days is a good way to approach it but I personally never liked light and medium days. When I train I want to go hard all the time. If it works for you do it but here is how I’d approach it.
While swings are one of my favorite exercises I caution you against relying on just one movement for your conditioning. When you do this you may become real efficient at that movement and your conditioning may not actually improve that much.
Its good to have a conditioning goal like a number of swings (see Bud Jeffries recent Kettlebell Swing article) to go after. But its good to have some variety too. Personally I would focus on swings one day a week and do some sort of circuit conditioning on another day. You can mix swings and snatches with other exercises like sprinting, burpees, jumping rope or many others. This’ll give you a different feel and end up being better for your endurance.
In fact this is what I am doing in my training right now except I’m focusing on kettlebell snatches instead of swings.
I hope that helps you out and if you have to ask any follow up questions. Be sure to let me know how you progress.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. If you want to check out Convict Conditioning, click here.
Filed under Bodyweight Exercise, Conditioning, Workouts by on Jan 27th, 2010. 7 Comments.
An important part of a complete training program is to do some sort of conditioning work. Of course, this can come in many shapes and sizes.
Sprints, kettlebell swings and snatches, skipping rope, and high rep bodyweight exercises are a few of my favorites.
And just like in any other training, your conditioning work should be made progressive. The thing is its not so easy as just adding more weight like you can with a barbell.
In these cases you’ll most often be working with volume and time. That is to do a certain amount of work (no matter the exercises or tools used) in a period of time.
If you can do the same work in less time, or more work in the same amount of time you’re doing better than before. Since this is a conditioning based activity progress means you’ve improved your conditioning.
You can change up what you do to condition yourself from session to session as long as you have a ‘test’ workout. That’s a specific workout you come back to again and again to see if you’ve improved.
I’ll share with you what I use later on to test out my conditioning levels, later on. But for now just make sure you do progressive training when it comes to strength AND conditioning.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Conditioning by on Aug 11th, 2009. Comment.
There are bodyweight guys. There are kettlebell guys. There are clubbell guys. There are barbell guys.
Some of its marketing but I think the biggest reason behind this sticking to one system is exactly what happened me.
I use to go to a commercial gym like most people seeking to get fit. And I never got much by way of results. Then I found out about bodyweight training. After a little testing I went full force into that.
This was good and bad. The good was that I focused on that training and saw lots of benefit from doing it. The bad was that since I was now getting results I thought anyone who did anything else was wasting there time.
Over time I started using some other training implements and saw the benefits in doing so. The fact, is each tool has its own unique advantages and drawbacks.
Bodyweight exercises are great because you can do them anywhere. They quickly get you in tune with your own body. And you really should have some mastery over you body before doing anything else. But sometimes in life you have to pick something heavy up, and there’s no way you can recreate that with bodyweight exercises.
Barbells are great because they are balanced, actually the perfect tool for lifting maximum weight. With plates you can incrementally use more and more weight. But for the most part the training is one-dimensional. And that balanced tool can act against you when you have to lift something that’s not made for lifting.
Clubs are great because they offer real three-dimensional training. You can hit the arms and shoulders in ways that can’t be replicated. But for building maximum strength levels they may not be your best choice.
I could go one but I think the point is clear.
In my training I use bodyweight, kettlebells, clubbells, Indian clubs, trap bar, barbells, thick handled dumbbells, block weights, grippers, the formulator, sledgehammers, nails, bands and I’m sure there are a few other items I’m forgetting.
Each tool has its purpose and that’s why I use it. In the end that’ll make you stronger and a better athlete.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
P.S. Making good headway on the big project I mentioned last time. Next week I should have an update, the first details on what it is.
Filed under Barbells and Dumbbells, Bodyweight Exercise, Kettlebells, Odd Objects, Strength Training Concepts by on Jun 10th, 2009. Comment.
