July 16, 2026

The Bar Wasn’t Finished With Me Yet

Some workouts tell me exactly what they are going to be from the beginning. Others wait until I am already in the middle of them before showing their hand.

This was the second kind.

I started at 7:45 AM with seven minutes on the treadmill, followed by supine 90/90 breathing, glute bridges, and a bodyweight hip-to-hinge drill. Nothing unusual. Nothing theatrical. Just the work required to get my body moving correctly before I started pulling weight from the floor.

Then the bar started climbing.

The Weight Kept Moving

The deadlift progression began with 135 pounds for five repetitions. From there, I moved through 185, 245, 275, and 305 pounds.

At 335 pounds, I completed three repetitions at RPE 6.5. RPE is my estimate of how difficult a set felt on a ten-point scale, and 6.5 meant there was still something left.

So I added weight.

I pulled 340 pounds for three repetitions at RPE 7.

There was still something left.

So I added weight again.

The final deadlift set was 345 pounds for two repetitions at RPE 7.5.

None of these were desperate pulls. I did not reach a point where the bar stopped moving or where I had to turn the session into an unplanned test of survival. The work simply kept giving me permission to take another step.

That is what had me so pumped when the deadlifts were finished. I had not forced the session into becoming something bigger. I had followed it there.

Holding On After the Pulls

The rest of the workout stayed focused on the muscles and positions supporting the deadlift.

I completed ISO lateral kneeling leg curls at 65 and 75 pounds per side before moving to farmer’s holds with the 100-pound dumbbells. Both holds lasted 30 seconds. The first reached RPE 7, and the second reached RPE 8.

Thirty seconds does not sound especially long until there are 100 pounds hanging from each hand and the clock has apparently decided to become involved in a personal dispute.

I finished the strength work with two sets of 12 reverse back extensions, then returned to the treadmill for five minutes before leaving at 9:08 AM.

Workout Log

Exercise	Set	Weight/Settings	Reps / Time	RPE
Treadmill	A	2.4 mph	7 minutes
Supine 90/90 Breathing	A	BW	5 breaths	0
Glute Bridge	A	BW	10	1
BW Hip to Hinge Drill	A	BW	8	1
Deadlift	A	135	5	2
Deadlift	B	185	5	3
Deadlift	C	245	5	4
Deadlift	D	275	4	5
Deadlift	E	305	3	6
Deadlift	F	335	3	6.5
Deadlift	G	340	3	7
Deadlift	H	345	2	7.5
ISO Lateral Kneeling Leg Curl	A	65/side	10/side	5
ISO Lateral Kneeling Leg Curl	B	75/side	10/side	6
Farmer’s Hold	A	100s	30 sec.	7
Farmer’s Hold	B	100s	30 sec.	8
Reverse Back Extension	A	BW	12	2
Reverse Back Extension	B	BW	12	3
Treadmill	A	2.4 mph	5 minutes

Still Feeling It, in the Best Way

A few hours after leaving, I still felt great.

That mattered almost as much to me as the numbers on the bar. I had pushed beyond the first heavy working set, but the session never felt reckless or out of control. Each increase felt earned by the set before it.

I walked in expecting a deadlift day.

I walked out feeling like the bar had shown me there was more work available than I had originally planned to take.

I am glad I took it.