I stumbled upon this 1 rep max deadlift video (circa 2007) recently and since it is #throwbackthursday I thought I would share it along with my progress on the lift! That 355# was a PR that I hit in my garage where CrossFit Kinnick started in the same year. The deadlift has become one of my favorite movements throughout my training despite some issues with it in the past. There was a period that I struggled to break past certain numbers on my deadlift and I had to attack it in as many ways as I could to make it a strength. On February 10th, 2009 I pulled 397# for a big PR, then 6 days later I broke past the 400# mark with a 417# lift. It was tough for me to make big progress and it took me that 2 year period (2007-2009) to get into the 400# club. Later that year though, I had a huge breakthrough at the 2009 CrossFit Games, I was able to PR in the deadlift ladder event and pull a 435# deadlift. In the next year of training I worked hard at making it a strength and got my 1 rep max up to 485# in April 2010. I’ve gone through many different training phases using different accessory lifts and programs that have brought me to where I am. The last few months have been huge for me in regards to my overall strength and my deadlift is no exception, below is a more recent video of a 10 rep deadlift at 465# and a 5 rep at 485#! In my development as a CrossFit athlete I have focused heavily on developing posterior chain strength and I think it has benefited my overall strength and capacity a ton.