Test your deadlift

 One key factor we use when training our athletes is how can we continue to push them while making the workouts exciting and fun.  The majority of our athletes and clients are High School kids aiming to get better at their sports and insanely strong.  Weekly, we throw random and odd training concepts at them to keep them on their feet while pushing them to their limits.

Here are a few of our weird but effective deadlift training hacks

1: 2 Barbell Deadlift.  This is not an easy task.  With 1 barbell in each hand the athlete will lift the weight similar to a Farmers Walk but since we are using barbells and not Farmers Handles they need to fully engage their core to lock in the stability while balancing the bars in each hand.  Attached below is a video of a former athlete, Devon (Track and Field) deadlifting 225 per hand.  While this may seem like a circus act adding this in has helped to keep things exciting while boosting the motivation in the weight room.

2: Farmers Walk Shrugs.  This can be done with Farmers handles, track bars, kettlebells, weight plates, dumbbells or anything heavy.  Have the athlete walk 1-5 steps then perform 1-5 shrugs.  The ideal distance is between 50-200 feet per set.  Obviously, they will not be able to handle as much weight as they usually could during a farmers walk but they will quickly be able to get more of a mental attachment to how their grip strength works and how much additional work is going to be required to increase their overall grip strength and power.