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It is critical to find comfort in being uncomfortable. Last week was a wake up call, I hit a workout at Uncle Mike's Gym and got a whoopin' that I hadn't experienced before. I was sore in places I didn't expect or imagine. The mind says GO and the body has NO clue what the F**k is going on.
Then, some crazy bastards called me out for a 50 rep deadlift challenge. 50 reps for time! If you know me, I am a power focused trainer, I love density work and tend to stray from those high reps.
I didn't even know what the deadline was for the competition but I decided to find comfort in being uncomfortable.
I did it with 235 lbs instead of 225 because there were NO 10 lb plates available. I knew that going for it would push me to do it again, but MUCH better.
On the flip side, the problem with 2nd chances is life doesn't always give second chances. I'm not gonna go easy on myself or make excuses, that won't help me become better at ANYTHING.
Below is Round I, Round II I will beat my time by 30 seconds.
Total time was clocked at 4 minutes 2 seconds.
Lessons Learned:
1) There isn't always a second chance, live life as if there will be NO second chance. I am guilty of this and learned my lesson.
2) Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Drop a comment with your thoughts and more specifically, let me know about your lessons in life that have come through lifting. How do YOU find comfort in the UNcomfortable? Looking forward to your response!
--Z--
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23 Responses
good luck walking next week!
Killer Z! nice work pushing through those last 4. looked like your hands wanted to explode. G-unit!
Was always scared to hit that workout but now gonna hit it up.
Do work Son!
hiya z
cant watch the vid man.my internet connection’s slow for some reason. but from what i read it must be awesome.. besides if Elliot gave a comment like that, it must be hardcore.today was special day for me.i mentioned in some of my comments that i’m a student of BW training.i wanted to try out training with a BB, but didn’t have access to one.. so i made one(using a wooden pole n’ 2 bags filled with gravel).can’t measure the weight so i use markings on the bag to see how much weight i used. i did some squats n’ overhead pressing with it.n’ what do u know?i lost the war in the press. fell short by 2 reps(i aimed at 5).i’m just bak from the war… it took me abt half an hour to type this.my shoulders r screaming..
Man so psyched up after watching! i did 50s myself as well at midnight with 88 kgs!no excuses
Need to get out of my comfort zone…. went to garage this morning and cranked out some BB and DB rows,various curls and ran two quarter miles. followed up with leg raises and crunches. ended with 5 sets of wrist rolls with a 25lb. dumbbell on the end of the rope.this was supposed to be my rest day……did bench and deadlift yesterday…..
For many years the bane of my exsistence were handstand pushups and the wrestlers bridge, they were so hard for me that for a long time I avoided doing them, until one day after watching a gymnastic meet I decided that “enough is enough, I’m not going to let these f&*$ers beat me”. So i began adding them back into my workouts and after 3 months of always including them in my workouts somewhere i finally achieved them. Now I can do over 50 handstand pushups in a set and hold a bridge for a little over 3 mins.
You so got it right Zach, “get comfortable being uncomfortable” and push thru, don’t let anything stop you from your goals.
Thank you so much for all of the wonderful workouts and even more so for the invaluable inspiration, YOU RAWK!!!!
Rick M.S, CSCC, MMASCC, CPT
@elliott, ha ha, my hammies are hurtin more than anything, I def. can cut 30 seconds off my time with adding afew extra reps to each set, having aset plan for designated reps and shorter rest periods.
being that i did so poorly fires me up to get better, so i am glad I did this without “training” for it
@Rick, I gotta rock those handstand push ups more so as well
they r f**in great for shoulder strength, NO denying it!
Lesson learned through lifting – I was a morbidly obese teen (6’1″ 345lbs.@15)and went through all the torture being a big fat kid. I was super active! Lifting made me stupid strong! I moved cars, carried stuff grown men couldn’t lift, etc…..
One day I thought to myself “If I can get this strong there isn’t anything I can’t accomplish.” In 1 year’s time I dropped all that fat down to a buff 230lbs. to get into USMC bootcamp. I even got a girlfriend.
I’m 43 now and never forget that lesson.
FWIW – Good job rocking out those 50 reps. As a Lic.Massage Therapist I think the CF Challenges are designed to keep future Orthopedic Surgeon’s in BMW’s!????????????
get comfertable with being uncomfertable…….opt!!!!!
Zach,
studly effort! If we call 14 reps your comfortable “max” [you could have done more, but you would have really slowed down and strained], then 7 reps is 50% max. Try 7 reps every 20 seconds the first minute, 6 rep sets the second – this gives you 39 reps in 2 minutes. Then crank out a six rep, then a five rep effort, and you will be done around 2:30-40.
Losing the shoes, and moving your grip in slightly (get your arms vertical) will improve the angle of your hip at the start, improving your power and speed. You take about 5 seconds to re-position and re-grip the bar. That can be cut down if you stay in one place.
A common mistake people make in doing high rep things is that their first set is a near max set, and they fatigue too early and the increased rest times kill your overall time. Paced work is what GS is all about, so I’ve learned a lot about this over the past few years. You can repeat multiple 50% efforts with minimal rest. Give it a try and see how it works for you!
Tom
p.s. this is a method for “tests”, not training, as training loads need to be closer to your max to stimulate gains.
Good work, Z!
We all need to work on ourselves to improve.
Glad you always “lead from the front”!
Keep up the good work!
unbelievable as always Z. keep crankin out the good stuff. and another little tip is to keep your breathing steady even during the rest periods that way you always have an even flow of oxygen coming in. anywayz i’m amped up myself to try that one out as the dealift is my favorite lift — i’ll give it a shot and sent you a vid.
@Tom damn bro you hooked me UP!!!
I normally have a closer hand grip, but for some reason felt natural to go wider
I will DEF STOP moving around for rest
I train solo so I have no one clocking me or helping me keep track of time, if I have a clock it will def. push me for better numbers
The plan of not hitting 14 reps is best, it is better to crank 75% at a time or so.
U rule bro, BIG thnx for ALL those tips!!!
I have always been able to pull pretty well, but hate higher reps of anything. I have worked back from a lower back injury and have been feeling good so decided (to quote a wise man) to “kill it!” Last monday With tire flips. I had last done 5sets of 20 flips and thought I might hurl. So clearly it was a bright idea to throw on a 50# pack and go nutty! It was an epic personal workout…alone…in my back yard!
Yo here is The CrossFit Love Deadlift Challenge Page. . .http://bit.ly/9FEKVf GETSOME.
Thanks for another motivational post. Has DOMS kicked in yet?
Glad my ideas helped. Maybe 9 reps in 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest – kind of a Tabata Interval could be good for you.
The clock is a great motivator and helps to keep you on track. I use it in GS training during every workout.
Another way to analyze what you did would be to examine what “gave out” first/the most during the 50 rep Challenge. Grip? Low back? Legs? Hips? Wind? After pin-pointing the biggest problem, you design some workouts to address the issue, hit it hard for a few weeks, then rest and re-test and see if it worked out.
Good luck in all your training and keep inspiring people to train hard and have fun – you are a great example of that!
Tom
Zach,
Great job! That was impressive.
At 60 years old a year ago I did 100 reps Deadlift with bodyweight (175). Took me about 16 minutes. I’m looking to beat that by at least 3-5 minutes.
I’m definitely trying the 225 for 50.
Thanks for everything, Zach.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable. <- This is key man! Well put!! I have a couple guys in my gym getting into Crossfit workouts (mainly Crossfit for football), and they look absolutely brutal. Now that I'm getting into better shape I plan on hopping in with them at least a couple times this week to feel the full effect!
Wow- didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. I felt your pain mate. S**t sounds easy until you actually do it, so don’t be so hard on yourself. Takes guts to push through that lactic acid build up. Good luck next week, I’m sure you’ll kill it.
The uncomfortable zone is a fun zone it remind you that you still have something to work on.
Life is a learning process, if you don’t want to learn anymore, just sit and wait for your délivrance. . . NO ?
Last december I took 200kg/440lbs and decided to see how many reps I could do before I blacked out or died. There was no time limit, only a limit on my courage. I managed 17 reps, I know I could have gotten 18 but the flex in my lumbar spine was too much and so I dropped my bottle and stayed with the 17, afterall ‘fatigue makes cowards of us all’. As soon as I sat down on my bench My world shrank to a long dark tunnel with light at the end. My heart couldnt keep up with the demand for oxygenated blood and my lungs wwere screaming (literally making shreiking noises). It took me over 7 minutes to recover enough to stand up. It then too 6 weeks to get back on track, my CNS was hammered into the ground. I didnt own a camcorder back then so I didnt film it. If I ever feel like frying my immune system again and trying to better last years stupidity then I will shoot the eveidence over to you. Gotta agree with you on low reps and more sets. It makes so much more sense and you dont feel like dying afterwards.
Peace
Guy