Pulling Double Bodyweight

I have reached a milestone that eluded me for over a year. I pulled 265lbs in the trapbar Deadlift at a bodyweight of 131lbs which calculates to slightly more than 2 times my bodyweight. My grip felt good, my legs felt good, but my lower back was surely the weakest link. It's just nice to be back where I was last winter with less than 2 months of work so I can now focus on progress!

Chalk

Simply put, if you are not using chalk, you probably should be. If the bar is slipping out or your hands or you are slipping of the bar chalk will help. It dries your hands and keeps them from getting sweaty and slippery. If your gym is ridiculous and disallows chalk try Rosin powder, it dries the hands and does not leave a mess.

The Misdirected War

The War on Fat and the War on Carbs are the wrong wars. Fat and Carbohydrates, along with Protein, are essential factors in a healthy diet. As with everything, these nutrients must be consumed in general proportion and not to excess. The mere presence of Fat or Carbs in a diet will NOT cause one to be unhealthy. The real enemy, when portions are the proper size is sugar. Sugar and sweeteners are everywhere. They are used for taste and for preservation and sugar can be a real problem for people that just can not seem to get rid of those last few pounds. If you take the time to look at what you are putting into your body you will notice that sugar is everywhere in packaged foods. It is in your cereal, it is on your beverages, it is in your lunch snack, your afternoon candy bar, and your nightly bowl of ice cream. I really like to focus on sodas as one of the worst offenders. A can of soda generally contains 45 grams of sugar. To put this into real world terms, 1 teaspoon is 4 grams, which means there are at least 11 teaspoons of sugar in one can of soda. Just imagine putting 11 scoops of sugar into your next cup of tea or coffee.
Think about it next time you complain about weight.

Whole Body

My hands are holding my running times back.  It is not a preposterous claim when you consider that I rode my bicycle for 6 months and did very little grip work.  My lack of grip strength is by far the weakest part of my Deadlift which means that I am not lifting enough to really promote growth and strength in my posterior chain; the posterior chain is comprised of the lower back, glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves and is responsible for generating the force required to run and jump, amongst other things.  This imbalance is forcing me to focus on improving my grip strength so I can make my legs stronger.