And why I stopped.

Published Sep 8, 2025 · Around 2 minutes to read

I love deadlifts. It works out your entire body in one move: arms, traps, back, legs. Plus there’s something primal about picking up heavy stuff off the ground. It feels great.

Eight years ago, I started the 1-2-3-4 plate challenge. 1 plate = 45lb weight on both sides of a barbell. The challenge was to complete one rep of a 1 plate overhead press, 2 plate bench press, 3 plate squat, and a 4 plate deadlift.

It took me about two years to to complete the 1, 2, and 3 plate lifts. The 4 plate deadlift was the only thing left.

405lbs.

I attempted it the first time in 2020. Sumo stance, mixed grip. I got the bar off the ground, but I switched to lifting with my back in the middle because it was too heavy and I threw my back out. At the time, I thought I was permanently injured. I was in extreme pain and I could barely walk for weeks after.

I decided to retire from deadlifting. But that incomplete challenge kept nagging at me. Workouts are boring if I don’t have some goal to achieve. So after a three year break, I decided to try again.

I hit new PRs every week. And each new attempt was terrifying. What if I throw out my back again? I hit my max deadlift in Jan 2024: 385lbs. In the warm down set immediately after this lift (365lbs), I threw my back out. Same excruciating pain.

I gave up on heavy deadlifting permanently.

My recovery was much faster this time. And I decided to stick with lower weights. But I threw my back out again a few months later doing 225lbs. That’s it. No more deadlifts.

I haven’t deadlifted in over a year. Yesterday, I saw a clip of Hafthor Björnsson breaking the deadlifting world record at 1124lbs. Insane.

It got me thinking: I’m just 20lbs away from the 4 plate deadlift.

The itch is back.

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P.S. I trained my cousin on lifting. He’s never weightlifted before. And he crushed a 4 plate deadlift a few months after we started. That still annoys me.

P.P.S. Pro-tip: When deadlifting, visualize pushing your feet into the ground instead of thinking about your body lifting the weight up. Your hip is the hinge.