Dead Lifter

Today I deadlifted for the first time in at least five years. Deadlifting was the power lift I used to love the most because I had perfect form and, for single lifts at least, I could actually lift more than I weighed. I never reached my goal of 225 for a single lift, but in the process of striving for it I strengthened my back to the point where my backaches disappeared. My old exercise log shows that in August of 2005, before all my foot problems set in, I was doing 3 sets of 8 reps for 100 pounds. In January of 2003, I lifted 3 sets of 140 pounds for 8 reps.


I also loved the word, "deadlift". I love to read mystery novels and the word "Deadlifter" sounded like the perfect title for a murder mystery. One of my online buddies is a champion deadlifter and her tales of the politics that go on at power lift meets makes it obvious that they are perfect settings for a tale of murder and mayhem.


Once I got the title Dead Lifter in my head, I realized there are a lot of phrases in the English language using the word "dead" that would lend themselves to a sports venue, and I thought of a whole list of titles that could be set at our local university: Dead Ball (football), Dead Center (basketball), Dead Wood (baseball, although college baseball bats are metal, not wood), Dead Heat (track and field), Dead in the Water (swimming), Dead Meat (wrestling), and Dead Set (volleyball).


But in a university setting, why stop with sports? There's always Dead Drunk for a tale of death at a frat house party. Malice in the math department could give us Dead Reckoning. There's a veterinary school (Dead Duck) and of course the business school (Dead Loss) or the law school (Dead to Rights). My favorite idea, though, was for a murder set in the dental school and called Dead Gummit. Unfortunately, thinking of titles is a far as I ever get. When it comes to the hard work, like plot development, character development, setting, I am at a dead end.


But to get back on topic, this morning I deadlifted for the first time in at least five years. I did 3 sets of 8 reps each with a whole 40 pounds. Not something that would knock 'em dead at meet, but it's where I started the first time around, so I'm dead certain it's where  need to start now.