When did it become cool to get comfortable sucking at something? We all see it, our shitty lifts justified with cheeky hashtags #povertybench #fuckdeadlifts #squatsssucklikeJennaJameson thinking somehow that makes it ok. Again like most "articles" I throw together in a caffeine-induced frenzy, I'm guilty of the subject at hand.

Let's set the calendar back a tad here something to the tune of 2 years ago…
I was competing at the UPA battle on the Mississippi meet in the "high" state of IOWA. I believe I squatted around a 905, benched a 556, in which the head judge was a bench only guy, so I got parked. I checked my FB notifications, texted two of my buddies and snapped a selfie before the press call, but I got the lift never the less.

Time for deadlifts, I fucking hated deadlifts, like full on wished there was a squat and bench only meet the type of hate. At this point the meet was over for me KNOWING - I all capped that so it sticks out when I bring it back around later so keep that word fresh in your mind - I sucked at them. I lacked intensity and went through warmups basically wishing the meet was over. I opened with 675, my first attempt gets to the knees, my grip goes, and I drop it…another failed JP Carroll deadlift. I ended up successful on my second attempt but just barely, and if we're being completely honest here, I think I got a gift.

Fast forward to my next meet, I'll make this quick I squatted a 915 and just missed a 572 bench at the lockout. Then I find myself warming up for dead's again, flat again, thinking about how much I suck at these. Hell, I even picked a pretty awesome song for my sorry excuse of a deadlift, Big Sean "I don't fuck with you." I had reached a point of being completely comfortable sucking at deads. I made jokes about it people laughed, I made videos on Facebook asking if anyone has seen my deadlift. I had become completely complacent and accepted my dead's were a joke.

Why though, why was sucking at deadlift's ok? I had made various excuses for myself. "I'm a big ass dude," "I have a pinched nerve, so my grip sucks," and last but not least and also my favorite "yea but I got one hell of a squat."

I managed to string a couple of decent meets together with a shitty deadlift and somehow pulled a 2143 total out of my ass, but fuck my deadlift was holding me back. One day, I decided to write down what was wrong with my pull (deadlift). In doing so, I came to the conclusion I need to 1. Lose weight to find a better starting position. I know the dreaded thought of losing weight and losing strength in the other two lifts doesn't seem to make sense to some, but I'm a tried and true proof is in the pudding example of fat loss isn't strength loss so fuck off. 2. I needed to address grip issues and 3. Fix my technique.

Being lucky enough to train with some very phenomenal lifters, I started asking questions. One response that stuck out, in particular, was when I asked Chris Hickson, a kid who pulled 800 lbs. At 18 years old about grip.His answer changed my thought process on how I was going to go about "reworking" my deadlift. He said "Huge I never had grip problems, you'll have to find someone who has had grip problems and ask them how they fixed it." Well fuck, here I'd been watching Pete Rubish's videos trying to mimic his deadlift, he's 220ish, and I was nowhere near his size or build.

So now that I was fixated on fixing my deadlift, I started approaching it like squat and bench. I lost weight, and I set my starting position which in turn made my grip issue nonexistent. I studied guys similar to my size and build and most of all I experimented with hand placement, foot placement and actually analyzing my videos and adjusting until I found what worked for me. The truth is always ALWAYS found at the bar!

Earlier I mentioned keeping the word "knowing" fresh in your mind, well the mind is a powerful thing and plays a vital role in this sport much more than most realize. "Knowing" I sucked I continued to suck. "Knowing" I could get better, I got better, much better I've pulled 800lbs several times now with ease. When I believed I could, then I did

Moral of the story KNOW you can be better, and never get comfortable sucking at any lift. Hell at anything in life, as long as you have blood in your veins and air in your lungs YOU have the power to change. So stop justifying why you suck at something and fucking change it plain and simple.