Should Your Max Always Be Your True Max?

The other day I worked up to a 2 rep max (RM) with trap bar deadlifts.  After I finished the 2RM, I could have “easily” (ok, not easily, but I certainly left some weight on the table) added more weight and gotten a higher 2 RM for the day.  And no, I’m not acting like the typical internet forum hero and making claims that have no truth.  Here’s the video for proof…

That is 405 pounds X 2. *** While certainly no world record, it is not bad since I currently weight just under 160 pounds (“bulking season” is just around the corner however ) After I finished rep #2, I felt as if I could have done another 2-3 reps, or done another set and added at least another 20 pounds to the bar and continued working up to my 2 RM for the day.  I decided to do neither.  At this point in my life, in my opinion, it is not worth it.  I’m 34 now, and my main goal is to have a buff, healthy body.  If I were to continue working up to a higher weight, only to round my lumbar spine and herniate a disk, I’d be very pissed at myself.  If I continued to work up to a heavier weight for the next 4-5 weeks in my program, and hit 450 X 2, or 475 X 1 (or whatever), would I really be healthier and more buff?  Maybe, maybe, maybe a touch bigger.  Every exercise we do in the weight room has a risk:reward attached to it.  Going for a number considerably bigger than 405 X 2 on deadlifts to me, is riskier than what the reward would bring.  When doing deads, my goal is to go as heavy as possible while having perfect, or near perfect form on every rep.  If you look at the video, I think my form is good for lifting a weight that is more than 2.5 times heavier than I am.  But it is not perfect.  (And how much sloppier would it get if I were to continue working up to a higher max?)  I slightly extend my neck as I lift the bar off the floor.  And my hips rise SLIGHTLY before my shoulders but overall, I’m happy with the lift.  Certainly much better than many deadlift attempts that you’ll see out there…

Your Goals, Your Call

If you think I’m being a big wuss for not really caring too much about not getting my deadlift up considerably higher, that is fine.  And if your goal is to deadlift as much weight as humanly possible, I am completely cool with that.  I get it.  Lifting heavy weight is definitely an important component to having a muscular body.  That is why I have worked up to deadlifting over 400 pounds.  But I am not competing in powerlifting and again, adding some lbs to the bar in this lift won’t do a ton to making me more jacked.  Even Eric Cressey, a former competitve powerlifter who has a deadlifted over 600 pounds has stated this in an article…

Category 1: Weekend warriors who deadlift to improve functional capacity and correct or prevent imbalances.

Category 2: Athletes who deadlift to improve performance and bulletproof themselves against injury.

Category 3: Powerlifters who deadlift to get better at deadlifting.

Logically, I’m willing to take more chances in category #3 than I am in #2, and certainly #1. Weekend warriors don’t get aggressive loading parameters (singles over 90%). And while athletes might get to pull heavy singles, they only get to do so in a controlled environment (elevated trap bar deadlifts, pulls against chains).

A veteran athlete would blur the line between #1 and #2, and a more resilient up-and-coming athlete would be more of a “true” #2.

According to Eric’s categories of deadlifting, at this point in my lifting “career,” I put myself in category #1, merging with category #2, as my competitive juices get flowing sometimes and I can’t help but “really going for it!”  But I’m certainly not willing to go into category number 3 just to add a few pounds to the bar.

Other Lifts

There are plenty of other lifts out there where going ALL OUT with weight carries a much smaller risk.  And on those lifts I often work up to a true max (and have my clients do the same), whether that means a 1 RM, 8 RM, or any other rep range that I am working in.  For example, the other day I worked up to a 1 RM with chin-ups.  I hit 100 lbs X 1…

Later on in that same training session I did some hammer curls…

If I ended up picking a weight that had me falling a little short on that chin-up (missing a lift – rarely, if ever a goal), I think my injury status would still = healthy.  Same thing with exercises like curls.

Moral of the Story

I hope you don’t think I am saying that you should not try to get stronger in certain lifts, like the deadlift.  Getting a big(ger) deadlift will do wonders for your physique.  But with certain lifts, I want you to ask yourself how important it is to really go for a true max.  While in other exercises, pushing it to a true max is probably worth it.  Only you can answer the importance of what category you put each lift in within your training goals.  As I get older, I get smarter and am comfortable of knowing when to hold back a touch, and when to completely go for it.

*** Like I mentioned, 405 X 2 is not a world record.  But it is a world record for the most weight ever lifted while listening to John Mayer.  What the hell was that!?!