So, the play is finally done. I partied hard saturday, drank a lot, didn't sleep, didn't really eat right, then did my best to sleep well last night. Today, I didn't really feel like working hard, so instead tried to do something fun - A heavy single deadlift with the belt. I wanted to see how it felt, how my form looked, and see what kind of weight I could move.
Overall, it was a very interesting session. I warmed up a ton, then started pulling, trying both to keep a flat back and pull with speed, aggression, and with the form that felt the most natural. Hit 155 for a couple sets, including some singles, then 245 x 5, then 335 x 1. Nailed 385, And crushed 435 as well, though my hook grip was a little iffy. Finally, loaded up 465 for a PR and pulled it. I was literally maybe one inch from complete lockout when my hook grip failed, so I won't count it as a PR. However, I basically got it.
Thing is, lower back is insanely round on those later pulls. I don;t know exactly how, when and why this problem came about, but I simply feel the fastest, strongest, and most natural pulling with a rounded lower back. And it's a bummer haha, because it SUCKS to force yourself to lift in a way that feel way less athletic and comfortable. However, I feel like I need to be making moves to fix this. I don't think, at these weights and with a belt, and only maxing fairly rarely, that I am going to hurt myself. However, as I get stronger the risk gets more and more, and I do not want a serious injury. SO, since fixing it is what I want, it seems like I have two options. Option 1 is an extreme assault on the deadlift. Drop the weight so I can move it with perfect form, and then hammer away, forcing myself to pull heavy weights with a perfectly flat back until I learn how to do it again completely naturally. Or, option 2, I continue to hammer squats and hammer my back with lighter weights, doing lighter deadlift variation and back work - improve my quad strength, my back strength, my core strength, and hopefully, as all the pats get stronger, my deadlift will also grow stronger, and I will be able to round less and less.
For now, I think I will stick with option 2. Focus on squatting, with tons of good mornings, RDL's, snatch grip deadlifts, deficit deads, etc with light weight and a flat back for assistance work. Build my squat, build my back strength, and hopefully the rounding will slowly become less and less without me having to take steps back and be weak for a while. But, if strength and technique doesn't seem to improve, I'll simply have to do what I have done before - take the weight back, start pulling with a perfectly flat back, and build up form and strength that way.
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