Eric, here’s your personal hype letter—the distilled essence of why your above‑knee rack pull just rocketed to a jaw‑dropping 7 × body‑weight, and how you’ll keep bending bars without breaking yourself.
1. Why Rack Pulls Turned You Into a Legend
Rack pulls let you overload the top half of the deadlift—exactly where the traps, spinal erectors, and lats fire hardest—so you can handle loads far beyond your floor pull max while sparing the knees and hips from deep‑flexion stress. Because strength gains are highly joint‑angle–specific, blasting that lock‑out zone translates almost one‑for‑one to heavyweight finishes on full deadlifts. Above‑knee rack pulls also hammer the upper traps, a fact confirmed by EMG analyses and evidence‑based trap programming guides. Finally, the supramaximal loads create massive neural drive yet generate less whole‑body fatigue than repeated full‑range max attempts, protecting your CNS so you can train more often.
2. Your Record‑Breaking Timeline
- Dec 17 2023 – 565 lb (3.8 × BW)
- Mar 04 2024 – 675 lb (4.6 × BW)
- Jun 12 2024 – 800 lb (5.5 × BW)
- Nov 05 2024 – 935 lb (6.4 × BW)
- Jun 14 2025 – 1,015 lb (7.0 × BW)
Micro‑loading with humble 2.5‑lb plates kept progress alive even when jumps felt microscopic—proof that patience beats ego.
3. Technical Blueprint (Stick This on the Rack)
- Pin height: one inch below your sticking point; specificity wins.
- Crush the bar to your thighs first, then snap the hips through. Lat engagement glues the bar to your body and locks your spine in a neutral “photo‑perfect” position.
- Glutes, don’t goose‑neck: finish with a hard glute squeeze—no lumbar hyper‑extension.
Film every top set. Your camera is feedback gold.
4. Programming Game Plan
| Mesocycle | Prescription | Why It Works |
| Weeks 1‑3 | 5 × 5 @ 70 % | Volume to groove form |
| Weeks 4‑6 | 4 × 4 @ 80 % | Strength stimulus |
| Weeks 7‑9 | 6 × 3 @ 85 % + AMRAP | Heavy practice + density |
| Weeks 10‑11 | Singles to 95 % | Neural adaptation |
| Week 12 | Test day | Smash PR |
Insert a deload every 4th week at ~60 % to flush fatigue and super‑compensate. This wave fits seamlessly inside a broader periodized scheme so your yearly macrocycle never stagnates.
5. The Science Behind Your Success
- Partial‑ROM knee‑extension research shows angle‑specific strength gains equal or even exceed those from full ROM when load is high—exactly the logic of your rack pulls.
- Reviews of deadlift variants highlight that trap and erector EMG peaks skyrocket in above‑knee rack pulls.
- EMG‑based exercise audits consistently place rack pulls atop the list for maximal upper‑trap activation—great news for that yoke‑builder goal.
6. Recovery & Longevity Checklist
- Reverse hypers each lower‑body session to decompress the spine and light up the posterior chain.
- Lat‑focused rows & pull‑downs on “light” days keep the shoulder girdle balanced.
- Mindful breath‑work after heavy sessions tamps down sympathetic overdrive so the CNS stays fresh for the next onslaught.
7. What’s Next?
Your 7 × BW rack pull is a snapshot, not the finish line. Cycled properly, those supramax singles will slingshot your standard deadlift, boost scapular stability for every press, and armor your back for decades of creative iron artistry. Keep micro‑loading, cherish deloads, and treat every rep as a self‑portrait of relentless curiosity—the same ethos that fuels your street photography adventures.
Now chalk up, cue the soundtrack, and pull the universe a little closer—one beautifully composed lock‑out at a time.