Deadlift Rockstars

I have played guitar since I was in high school.  And as anyone who attends any of the classes I teach at Flower City CrossFit or CrossFit Webster knows, I am a huge fan of rock music.  If you are as big a fan of rock music as I am, you undoubtably read lots of articles about it, follow bands/musicians on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter, etc.  Whenever I see images of concerts, I always get a kick out of the crazy faces that rock guitarists (in particular) make.

Over the years of running CrossFit gyms, we have taken literally thousands and thousands of pictures of amazing people pushing themselves to the limit.  Many times I have been stricken by a fleeting thought of how similar the faces that athletes make at the point of maximal effort are to the faces of rock guitarists mid-solo.

So, this week I programmed the following workout for our CrossFit Endurance (CFE) classes:

"Deadlift Rockstar"

20 Minute AMRAP:
Bodyweight Deadlift static hold
Run 400 meters
Every time you drop the bar, run 400 meters.  Oh, and the bar should be either an axle bar, or a regular barbell with fat grips on it.

As usual, we were taking pictures as people were suffering through this one.  The first image I saw was this one:

My first thought... "I've seen rock stars make that face, just replace the barbell with a guitar and put him on stage and.... Paul becomes a Deadlift Rockstar!!!"  My second thought was: "I can do that!"

And so the idea for Deadlift Rockstar was born.  The following gallery is a collection of some of the images I've thrown together.  The members at FCCF and CrossFit Webster have been having a lot of fun with theses.  I hope you enjoy them too!  - Jeff

Jim Sennett backing up Aerosmith! Clearly a Deadlift Rockstar!

Fortunately for Rush, Paul is a Deadlift Rockstar, and can fill in for Alex Lifeson when he calls in sick.

That time when Eileen Sullivan Dimon (a Deadlift Rockstar) toured with Heart.

It takes a true Deadlift Rockstar like Tom to hang with Tool.

I wanted to put Jordan in with some hard rock band, but somehow this Deadlift Rockstar ended up with Drake.... strange.

Pop trivia: Kevin, Joe, and Nick eventually became so jealous of the Deadlift Rockstar abilities of Steve and Courtney that they eventually kicked them out of the "Jonas Family" and renamed the band the "Jonas Brothers".

So we all know that Sean Rahrle and Jake Swartwout are Deadlift Rockstars, but did you know they also did side-gigs with the Red Hot Chili Peppers? True fact.

Paul always dreamed of being a Rammstein front-man, but he gets so sweaty when he deadlifts, the band forced him to play drums.

Alex's 400+ Deadlift definitely make him a Rockstar in his own right, but his beard only qualifies him to be a backing player with ZZ Top.

Prior to a career in dentistry, Deadlift Rockstar Vince did a brief stint as the fifth Beatle. He was ultimately sacked when he kept wearing kneesleeves and Nanos in favor of Nehru jackets in concert.

Sheryl Crow pretended to admire Bridget's guitar skills and vocal stylings, but secretly she envied her Rockstar Deadlifts, and eventually kicked her off the "C'mon C'mon" tour.

Shredding as lead guitarist with Rob Zombie gave Alex the inspiration for many of the skull designs he would later use on his famous t-shirts. Currently, between running his apparel company, Gods-n-Gladiators, and deadlifts sessions at the gym, Alex is writing a fan fiction vampire spin-off novel based loosely on his days in the band. Sources says it will be written entirely in hashtags.

At first Rockstar Deadlifter Justin seemed to fit right in as the rhythm banjoist with the Dropkick Murphys. Until one day, when the band realized that his last name was "Shultz" and not "O'Shultz"... Which finally explained why he kept breaking into "Fahren auf der Autobahn" in the middle of "Shipping off to Boston"

Kara developed her serene Deadlift Rockstar style back in the 70's when she was an on-again, off-again member of Led Zeppelin.

Last night, I dreamed I was on stage with Foo Fighters... It seemed so real. #deadliftrockstar