I get to go to my nephews school today and BE show and tell.  We have already decided I was going to lift my nephew as if he was the bar.  We practiced last night, and it went well besides a lot of giggling!

Today my sister and I are planning on hiking at Hanging Lake.  If… my hamstrings can handle it.  I AM SOOO SORE!!  Doing killer legs Tues night, then driving 10 hours the next day and deadlifting heavy Thurs…  capital O, capital M, capital G, and ‘!’ x 10.

Then we are headed to the saloon for a pedicure.  SWEET!

It was good to get back in the gym today.  I normally start the week with Chest/shoulders.  I got a late start this week and we do a lot of push-ups in pro-wrestling practice, so I wanted to stay fresh. That is why I chose to do Deadlifts and Back assistance work.

A lot of people ask me if I deadlift Sumo or Conventional.  I have always been a conventional style deadlifter. A great reference is the book Strength Training Anatomy.  It shows you use a lot more muscles in your back when lifting conventionally.

When it comes to shaping the back, I think conventional is the way to go.  If you are not competing in powerlifting, stay with a double overhand grip for symmetry.  In this case, I think it is okay to use straps for grip support.  But, do not use them until you really need to.  Use a hook grip first; I put my first and middle finger on top of my thumbnail.  Hurts like an S.O.B. at first, but you get used to it.  When I was training heavy, I would use my overhand grip until 500 lbs, then I would switch to reverse grip.

I remind people that the strongest female deadlifter, me, and the strongest male deadlifter, Andy Bolton, deadlift conventionally.  So, if you want a big deadlift, do what the strongest deadlifters do.

BACK WORKOUT
Deadlifts
Close Grip Lat Pulldowns
Wide Grip Low Rows
Straight Arm Extentions
Weighted Abs
Ahhh… shoot, I was lazy today. I should have done some DB Rows.