Dreadlift Day

This was one of those days a part of me was looking for an excuse not to work out. The little voice inside my head said, "It's--it's deadlift day, isn't it?" Still too sore from the last couple of workouts, the voice said. Need a little more rest, the little voice said. That bar is going to get really heavy, really fast, it croaked.

The little voice was right in many ways. I was in fact still stiff from the previous workouts. I felt fatigued, and all I'd eaten to that point had been a couple of eggs and a couple of chicken breasts.

I was, however, also still hyped up on the frozen coffee beverage I got at Java Brewing Co. So I told the little voice to go take a little nap while I finished the workout.

Okay, I openly and unashamedly admit I did not complete the full itinerary.

At the start of the workout I felt like a dried up tree frog on Dixie Highway. With warm-up set one in the books, the little voice was saying its I-told-you-so's. Maybe I'll just go light today, I told myself, ignoring the snickering from Little Voice. Yeah, fine, I said, maybe some higher-rep, lighter-weight sets for today until I fully recover and get some good solid meals under the belt.

By warm-up set three, I was feeling a lot better. The tightness had gone away for the most part, and the fatigue was fading. I think I can do this, I told myself. We'll see what the next few sets feel like.

When I did five easy reps at 275, the idea of doing a few light sets was gone altogether. I followed that up with three reps at 295 as an acclimation set and then did a full five reps at 315.

Now, I've deadlifted more than 315 before, but I don't ever remember doing more than a few reps. Those were five big reps made all the bigger because all I wanted to do was curl up with a pillow.

I finished up with a reverse pyramid back down to 235. I had thoughts of doing a few sets at 205, but, frankly, after the last set at 235 my hamstrings were quivering, and Little Voice was accusing me of  being a masochist. Fearing Little Voice might be right, I quit for the day and didn't even bother with the hanging leg raises or the Pendlay rows. After hitting five reps at 315, I figured I'd done enough for one day.

Yes, Fitocracy, until another day.