International Women’s Day Calls for Deadlifts

March 8 is International Women’s Day. This year I happened to be at the gym working out with Maria Stadelman and I was doing deadlifts.  Somehow we got the idea that since it was International Women’s Day, we were celebrating by seeing how heavy I could lift. Hey, you know things can get a little goofy in the gym.

Deadlifts are a strength-building lift that involves lifting a weighted bar from the floor to your hips. Deadlifts provide a full-body workout and are great for building strength. There’s lots of information online about deadlifts and you can see a variety of videos on Youtube, of course. According to Nerd Fitness, “when you deadlift, you use every single muscle in your body.” Deadlifts differ from squats because you should be sticking your butt out rather than down as you do when squatting. Also, the thing that everyone tells you when you’re deadlifting is to keep your back flat and lift through your heels.

I worked up to 135 pounds:

And then we decided well, let’s go higher so we added 10 pounds to the bar for a total of 145 and I lifted that.

And finally, we said, “It’s International Women’s Day, let’s keep going” so we added ten more pounds. I deadlifted 155 pounds. This is why I like to work with a trainer. She added the weight but also didn’t let me go crazy.

So, is deadlifting 155 pounds an amazing feat? Not for everyone but it felt good to me. I don’t know what my personal best is but this was my personal best in recent memory.

I’m going to say that I did not go to the gym with the intention of having videos created. I might have dressed a bit better and combed my hair if I had realized what I’d be doing. And isn’t that a typical female reaction? I’m deadlifting but I’m also worried about how I look in these videos.