Are failures in life necessary?

Rant and Tip for October 5 2012

Quote: "We all have a few failures under our belt. It's what makes us ready for the successes." – Randy K. Milholland

We all obviously have moments and times where we fail at something. It is how we address those failures that make a difference. If a failure is not addressed then it can and most likely will happen again. If you make a mistake in your diet or do not follow it as you know you should make a point of determining what caused the misstep. Do not focus on the misstep itself but the cause of it. The same can be applied to your exercise routine, whether just getting the time in for the gym or getting your form right in a lift. Practice will make perfect, but only if you practice perfectly. All these little failed moments will set you up for sweet success.

My form in the squat and deadlift is far from perfect, but I work them both weekly. I have switched up my workout schedule to be sure I am getting the guidance I need for the lifts. Today is a deadlift day and I hope to record the lifts. Where I lift during the day, does not have the best bars for dead-lifting but I have to make it work. The knurling on the bar is not that great but at least they just got a lever to lift the bar for loading. That will make things a lot easier. I want to work up to 400 for reps today. If I find the right bar that should be able to happen.

Have a great workout!

Tip: Dead lift tips I found at muscleandbrawn.com

Rounded back. Start with a lower back arch and try not to round your back when deadlifting.
No jerking. The best way to prevent the strain from jerking is to make sure your arms are completely locked when starting the deadlift. If they are not, a chain reaction will ensue resulting in bad form.
Raising hips. Concentrate on keeping your hips in the same position as you deadlift. Many deadlifters have a tendency of lifting their hips after initially jerking the weight off the floor. Raising the hips turns the deadlift into a lower back lift.
Heels. As you lift, press down with your heels. Do not deadlift from the balls of your feet.
Fall back. As you lift the weight, concentrate on falling back and/or pulling the bar back.
Knees. Try to keep your knees in the same position as you lift. Do not move them in or out.
Head. Do not look to the left or right when deadlifting. Messing around like this can result in a bad neck strain.
Shoes. Wear Chuck Taylor’s. No thick bottom exercise shoes, or running shoes. You need a thin, flat shoe for deadlifting.
Mirrors. Avoid deadlifting in front of a mirror. Even the slightest stance adjustment to watch yourself can cause injury.
Gloves. No weightlifting gloves allowed. Gloves decrease grip potential by making the bar virtually bigger.
Lowering. Always lower the bar with a flat back.
Collars. Never deadlift without some form of collar to hold the weight in place. Sliding weights produce injuries.
Strict Form. Train with strict form at all times.
High reps. Higher rep deadlfit sets can be dangerous, simply because as you muscles fatigue, form goes to hell. At all times, focus yourself before each rep. Proper form trumps set cadence.
Advanced training techniques. Do NOT perform negative reps, forced reps, etc. when training the deadlift.
Heavy training. It is very easy to overtrain the deadlift. Do not train heavy all the time.
Shoulder blades. Do not lift with the shoulder blades tight together.
Shoulders. Keep your shoulders behind the bar at all times.
Eyes up. Do not look down when deadlifting. Your body will follow your eyes. Nor do you want to look straight up at the ceiling. Focus your eyes slightly below the ceiling of the far wall.
Low hips. Do not start with your hips too low. Proper hip positioning takes practice. Watch videos of seasoned lifters.
Head. Lead the lift with your head. Visualize yourself being tugged upwards by a rope on top of your head, as if you were a puppet.
Glutes. Keep your glutes squeezed tight.