March 02, 2012 - March 04, 2012

First off, congrats to my friend Mike Jenkins on winning the Arnold Strongman Classic yesterday. Been training but too busy to write down my thoughts until now.

March 02, 2012 - Squat

Dynamic Warm-ups

21" Front Box Squats w/ 2 IW#2's
No Bands
45x10
Add Bands (+60lbs)
45x3
Add Bands (+125lbs)
45x3
95x3
145x3
185x3
205x3
205x3
225x3
245x3
245x3
245x3
255x3
255x3
255x3
265x3
275x3
285x3
295x3

Zercher Squats
245x5
295x5
335x5
385x5 PR+5lbs
420x4 PR+3 reps

Glute Ham Raises
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Comments: Hamstrings were quite tight going in to this workout. Most band tension I've used for front box squats. Didn't feel too bad. Goal was to be explosive and do a decent amount of work sets. Moved up in weight when I felt good. I think 275lbs was about my upper limit with maintaining good speed but I was curious. Zercher squats were just miserable. I've done them in about two years or so and when I did do them, it was with a thick bar to alleviate some of the pressure. I had brought in my thick bar but only one rack would accommodate it and everyone was squatting so I sucked it up and used a barbell. Started light to get used to it. Not a fun sensation but managed to put up some decent weight. I was going to go for 405lbs on the last set but decided I'd make it the weight of the final stone in the series of the contest. Got a hard four. Did my thing on glute hams. Still working at them. It was really late so no stretching.



March 03, 2012 - Press

Dynamic Warm-ups

12” Log Strict Presses
90x5
130x5
170x3
200x3
220x3
240x3
260x3 PR+10lbs

Swiss Bar Incline Bench Presses
150x3
190x3
220x8
240x8
260x2
220x8

EZ Curl Bar Skull Crushers
120x12 PR+10lbs
120x12
120x12
120x12

27 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Felt a bit beat going in to this one. Hips were sore from the day before. Made smaller jumps in weight than had planned in hopes I'd loosen up a bit. Must have worked as I hit 260lbs for a triple. Unfortunately, that didn't carryover to incline as I sucked on that big time. Made up for it with an extra set and really pushed the skull crushers.



March 04, 2012 – Events

Dynamic Warm-ups

Play Stone Carries
313x40'
385x132'6" (turns at 50')
385x0
385x97'6" (turns at 50')
313X200' (turns at 50')

Atlas Stone Loads
No Tacky
240(18")x3 to 54"
290(18")x1 to 54"
Added Tacky
324(20")x1 to 54"/350(20")x1 to 54"/385(20")x1 to 54"/427(20")x1 to 54"/427(20")x0 to 54"

Comments: Stayed up late to see Jenkins win the Arnold. I really didn't want to wake up today. I knew it would be hard. There is always that bit of doubt. That fear of failure. Waffles and coffee seemed to make it shut up. Tried out some new stuff on the stone carry. Put on the Shaw Sleeves as well as walked backwards when I felt my grip slipping. The sleeves are too bulky and it made my picks really tough. Might just go with a layer of tape. Backwards walk is weird but effective. Made a nickel size gash in my left palm, even through the gloves. Bleeding quite a bit when I took them off and made atlas stones a little tricky. More so than usual. We took some plates and wood to elevate the platform to contest height. The extra 2" make a big difference. I took my time because I wanted to finish this heavy series and the setup with the stones was a bit crowded. I got the first three easy but had issues with the 427lbs stone. Couldn't keep it high enough on both attempts. I was lucky the first time and pushed it on, not so much on second. Granted I would have liked to finish, it is a big improvement for me on a 54" series. Last time I tried it, I missed a 355lbs stone. Just got to let my hand heal and get through the next two weeks.