Let’s face it, picking up 250lbs on a barbell is a lot easier than picking up 250lbs of anything else. Barbells are made to be picked up: rough knurled grip, bar circumference is the perfect size to fit in your hands, bar osculation can be used to spring weight up, weights far on the outside of your body.. etc.
Try picking up 250lbs of anything else and notice how much more difficult it is.
Undoubtedly the most difficult of all objects to pick up is a sphere. And what better than a sphere made out of concrete: An atlas stone.
Deadlifting 250lbs is a lot different than picking up an atlas stone, even just to the lap position.
The stone has no grip to hold onto. So Picking it up requires you to jam your fingers deep under the rock, lock your hands and wrists while you close your forearms into the stone like your trying to crack it like a walnut, and then a very hamstring dominant lift until the stone finds its spot to rest on your knees and lap.
If your deadlift is stuck in a plateau, consider switching up the object you’re lifting. Try lifting stones, kegs, and farmers carries. You will use muscles (stabilizers and accessories) that you never thought you had before. Lifting these objects will also force you to pull more explosively while leading with your chest. After a few weeks, when you’re back to the barbell, things should fire up a little easier.
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