The Bucket List Gym

My name is Dave Raymond, but some people know me as Dump Truck Dave—arguably the most handsome man under 200 pounds. I keep a list on my phone, a bucket list of gyms I want to train at before I can't anymore, and this place, elitefts, is right up there at the top. Walking through the doors is a surreal experience. The moment I stepped inside, the atmosphere hit me. There’s an energy here that’s hard to describe. My first thought was just:

God damn it, this place has some voodoo magic on her or something, it feels so good.

Today's plan is pretty straightforward. I'm in a meet prep right now, so this is an accessory day. The agenda is to perform some SSB squats to get warmed up, and then proceed to the main movement for today: low-pause deadlifts.

But the energy in this place isn't just for soaking in; it's for fueling the work. It was time to get started.

The Warm-Up: A "Chill" Approach to Squats

My philosophy on training, especially warming up, is to keep it chill. I’m probably the most nonchalant powerlifter there is. For today, the SSB squats are really just a tool. The goal isn't to hit a massive PR; it's to get my body warmed up and ready for my deadlifts. My deadlift is the main movement I’m more worried about today, so everything else is just preparation for that. I find that people tend to overcomplicate training, assigning a deep, complex reason to every single thing they do. For me? "Dude, I'm just showing up and doing it."

Balancing the Bar and Real Life

Of course, that "just show up" attitude has to be flexible. Real life doesn't always cooperate with a perfect training plan. I’ve got kids, and that means sometimes you're on a time crunch. These are real-world problems. I might get off work and realize, "Shit, I got to go pick my kids up in an hour," and a thirty-minute warm-up just isn't in the cards.

There have even been days—and I don't like to do this often—where I have to split a session. I'll come in, complete the main movements, pick up my kids from school, and then return to the gym to finish the accessory work. It sucks to ramp back up, and it's definitely not ideal. But in a hobby sport like this, you just do what you have to do. We're not getting paid for this stuff, so you adapt your training to your life.

With the squats done and feeling primed, it was time to move on to what I was really here for: the deadlifts.

The Main Event: Tackling the Pause Deadlift

As I approach the bar for my working sets, my mind is quiet. On a typical training day, I just go dark. There isn't a lot that rolls through my mind; it’s just lifting weights. It’s almost like, “here we go again.”

A meet setting, however, is a different story. When I get up on the platform and there's a big weight on the bar—a weight I know I need—I’ll talk to it a little bit. It's a one-on-one conversation between me and the steel.

You're mine motherfucker. I'm going to own you... you will not defeat me.

My Setup: The "Why" Behind the Pull

Every lifter makes choices about their technique. For anyone starting out, it might seem random, but there’s usually a story behind every decision. Here's the "why" behind my pull.

• Why Sumo? I used to be one of those guys. I went through the phase where I thought, "sumo's gay," and swore I'd never pull that way. Before I ever competed, I decided to train like a powerlifter for a year to ensure it was something I truly wanted to do. I started out pulling conventional, but it just never felt right. A buddy of mine suggested I try sumo. My first response was, "Absolutely not." But I tried it anyway, and on the very first day, I pulled a PR. It felt so much better than conventional that I never looked back. I’ve never even done a meet conventional.
  
  
• Why Straps? I use straps in training for two simple, practical reasons. First, my grip strength is a significant weakness for me. It's just not that good. Second, I don't pull with a hook grip for multiple reps in training. It saves my hands and allows me to condition my hook grip more gradually as a meet approaches. It might seem silly, but tearing up your hands on a 5-rep set in the gym doesn’t help you on the platform.
  
  
• Why No Belt? This was another evolution. I have a really short torso, and a standard lever belt was just painful. Every time I put it on to deadlift, I felt restricted. I couldn't get a good breath, I couldn't brace properly, and it just felt off. One day, during a meet prep, I decided to see how high I could go without a belt. I ended up pulling 575 pounds at 148 pounds bodyweight, and it felt fucking phenomenal, way better than my belted reps. After that, I decided to take on a full-time, beltless job in my next off-season. The weights started just skyrocketing. It simply feels better for my body.

Pulling in this gym today, every rep felt clean and powerful. That voodoo magic was definitely working.

It’s All About the Fun and the Vibe

My perspective on lifting has changed over the years. Early in my career, before I had a family, I was solely focused on powerlifting. I’d come home from work and spend all night watching training videos on YouTube. I was fortunate to have great mentors early on. I met Dan Bell because he was in the area doing the same meets, and we just hit it off really quickly. He helped me a ton.

Now, my approach is more balanced. I take this sport "as serious as it has to be," but I also make sure to have fun with it. That’s the most essential part.

It’s a conversation I feel like I have all the time with people new to the gym. Noah, the guy filming the session, brought up a concern I've heard a thousand times. He was thinking about getting into powerlifting but was worried, saying something like, "I feel like I'm past my prime though, I didn't even start lifting till I was like 25."

My immediate response was, "fuck that it don't matter."

And that’s the truth. If you feel good and you want to do it, start. It doesn't matter when. Being here at elitefts really is a dream come true, and the vibe of this place is unreal.

That "voodoo magic" makes you feel like you could walk up to any bar and destroy everything.