Is strength a skill? I wanted to test this assumption when I attempted to hit my target of 170-kg (375-lbs) in Dead-Lift over a total gym time of only 6 hours! Yes, you read correct – 6 hours! Unfortunately the best I could reach was 150-kg (331-lbs). I failed when attempting my last planned lift of 155-kg (342-lbs) [see chart below].
Why did I choose to focus on deadlifts? Because as Pavel Tsatsouline pointed out, the dead-lift is “a pure “mind lift” that allows one to get very strong without adding much weight.” In other words I did not have to eat like a pig, day in and day out to ensure that I put on enough muscle to be able to reach my target weight. Based on prior experiments, I can say that disciplined eating is the hardest part of any workout program. Without the need to focus on putting on muscle, I could focus on lifting with proper form!
What actually motivated me to try this DeadLift Experiment? Watching a 60-kg girl deadlift 155-kg (342-lbs). She looks like the girl next door and is lifting 2.5x her bodyweight. Isn’t that crazy? When I watched this video (below) I was like “WTF…if she can do it, so can I.”
