Project Big Joe

I met big Joe last night.  He called me about two weeks ago out of the blue.  He got my number from a mutual friend and wanted to learn more about powerlifting.  Currently he has been training with kettle bells and doesn't have a ton of experience with the barbell.  Our schedules haven't been able to match up until last night.  Joe has a goal to pull 405. I told him I can get him there no problem.  Getting strong is the easy part, you just have to show up and be consistent.   A little background info on Joe, he is 6'8" and about 250 or so.  When he pulled up it reminded me of some advice a friend of mine, Sean Donegan, got from Louie a long time ago, "Don't be the tallest guy in your weight class."  Well Joe is pretty much out of luck there.
     
      It actually worked out pretty well because Scott came by to train last night and he was pulling so Joe got to see some sumo pulls with some pretty good weight while Scott was training.  Once Scott finished it was Joe's turn to step up to the bar.  We started from the very basics with 135.  From there we went to 225, then 275, and I think Joe surprised himself when he pulled 315.  In the process of working up in weight Joe was doing a great job of keeping the bar close to his body.  So good, in fact, that he began to bleed.  Bleeding shins are very common in the world of deadlifting, a badge of honor.  I have never had the privilege of bleeding shins.  That also could be another reason why I have the deadlift of a freshman in high school.  Back to Joe.  We taped him up with duct tape and he continued to pull.

      It took Joe a little while to get used to flexing his lats and pulling tight off the floor.  Once he got the hang of it, the bar really flew off the ground.  I really believe that guys who are built like him can be great pullers.  He has great leverages.  I should mention that we tried both sumo an conventional with Joe and thought that conventional would be most beneficial for him.

     At the end of the night, John worked up to two singles with 315.  Not bad for the first time ever deadlifting ever.  It is a great starting point and I think he will progress very quickly.

Big Joe Pulling 315 x 1

I am excited to see how this process turns out.  Stay tuned to follow the Big Joe project.