Originally Posted by
BMueller
Hey Michael, a question I've been meaning to ask you. One I'm not particularly sure you can answer, but one I'll venture nonetheless. I watched your "ugly" 605lb pull (as if 605 could be ugly) from a couple weeks ago at WFAC, and I believe I remember reading that you've previously herniated a disc on a deadlift attempt. I know that, having had a couple of my own disc herniations in the past (though none while deadlifting), it would scare the shit out of me to have my lumbar so rounded. In fact, watching my deadlift videos, if I see the littlest bit of rounding, I get quite concerned. I know that this has put a real limit on my deadlift numbers and my ability to get much stronger generally.
I want/need to get beyond this fear to move forward and attain some legitimate lifts, but it's honestly a struggle, as I don't compete in powerlifting and therefore don't have the same kind of drive and the willingness to sacrifice all else that I might possess if it were my sole interest in lifting. But I don't think I just want to sit where I'm at and be content with weakass numbers and not push myself to improve. Do you have this specific fear at all? How do you manage? Balls? Drugs? Fancy pep talks? Existential philosophical reading? Talk to me, mang.