Tip: You're Still an Ego Lifter Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training Tip You re Still an Ego Lifter Newbies do it and it can even sneak into an experienced lifter' s workouts Here' s what to watch out for by Andrew Heming May 29, 2019August 18, 2019 Tags Powerlifting & Strength, Tips, Training When you hear the term "ego lifting" you probably think of one-fourth squats, curls that use everything but biceps, and bench presses that double as the spotter's deadlift workout. As a T Nation reader, you know better. However, you can easily fall prey to a more subtle version of ego lifting where you train at or too close to your 1RM. This is especially common with the bench press and deadlift. A lifter trains hard and can eventually hit a plate milestone. It might be a three-plate bench press or a four-plate deadlift with proper form. Now he's hooked. Each time he trains that lift, he wants that feeling again (and wants everyone in the gym to see him). As a result, his training session consists of working back up to that 1, 2 or 3RM. A typical deadlift workout might look like this: Set 1: 5 x 135 Set 2: 3 x 225 Set 3: 2 x 315 Set 4: 1 x 365 Set 5: 1-2 x 405 The problem with subtle ego lifting is that the intensity is too high. This can easily lead to burnout, plateaus, and injury. The other problem? The volume is too low to actually build muscle and achieve long-term strength gains. If you're serious about results, swap subtle ego training for true strength building. True strength building is when you... Check your ego at the door Come to the gym to build strength, not to demonstrate it Lift heavy, but not maximal, weights Train hard, but leave a rep or two in the tank each set Use a moderate, repeatable amount of volume (3x5, 5x5, 4x6, 3x8, 5-8x3) Work on your weaknesses A true strength training deadlift workout might look like this: Warm-up sets Set 1: 5 x 135 Set 2: 3 x 225 Set 3: 2 x 275 Set 4: 1 x 315 Set 5: 1 x 345 Work sets 2-3 sets of 5 reps with 365 This may not seem as cool at first, but this is a very easy way to add 5-10 pounds per week for quite a while. Before long you'll be doing a perfect set of 5 with your old 1RM. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Tip The Seated Box Jump This seated variation of the box jump helps athletes develop power from the ground up. Athletic Performance, Exercise Coaching, Tips Wil Fleming May 25 Training Tip Do Partner Flyes for Bigger Pecs Manual resistance flyes. Yeah, this is gonna hurt. Here's how to do them. Tips, Training John Meadows April 4 Training Tip The Perfect Way to Overhead Press This variation allows you to lift heavy without messing up your shoulder health. Check it out. Training Lee Boyce December 19 Training Is Sport-Specific Training a Myth Coach Mike explains why the exercises an athlete doesn't perform can have the biggest impact on his success in a training program. Training Michael Boyle February 23