Personal Best Deadlifts

Next week is the last week of the EP Summer Program.

These twelve weeks have gone so quickly!

This challenge has also been the most physically and mentally challenging of all the weights programs I've done at EP. In previous challenges, I've steadily climbed right throughout, lifting heavier each week and seeing constant, rapid progress. Coming into this challenge, I expected the same, but this has been a real rollar-coaster ride for me, with some weeks being exceptional and some weeks just not. 

There were also quite a few weeks where I felt like I was going backwards! For instance, one week I'd successfully progress from seventy-five to eighty and, the next week, I couldn't even get the seventy-five off the ground! This was frustrating for me, and if I hadn't had the support and encouragement from Pat and Hilal to keep going and continue, even when I felt like I was slipping, I don't believe I would have finished the challenge.

It's also helped that my arm day, when I deadlift, has been the same day as an amazing woman, who is super encouraging and inspiring. We make a great team and working out with her always pushes me to perform at my peak - even if my peak one week might be slightly less than last week. This has cemented for me the benefits of having someone else alongside you, to motivate and encourage you to keep going, while also having the accountability partners in Pat and Hilal to ensure that I turned up every single week.

And, overall, despite a few weeks of feeling like I was slipping, my performance has actually improved dramatically.

And nowhere have I felt this more than my deadlifts. I want to share the last three weeks of deadlift progress with you, as this really illustrates how far I've come in my strength progression. Each of these deadlifts was a personal best until next week came along and I smashed it, and none of these was easy! Each lift was a real fight and my technique slips every so often, but I lifted them all and know where I went wrong, so I can correct it next time I lift.

Deadlift Progress

Date: 17 January 2019
Weight: 80kg
​Reps: 8

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​Date: 24 January 2019
Weight: 85kg
​Reps: 6

​Date: 31 January 2019
Weight: 90kg
​Reps: 6

I am hoping to hit 100kg for four reps next week. Stay tuned!

​- Jewels