Thursday, August 30, 2012

August 30, 2012 – Lower Body Training

Been busy securing strongman stuff. Bought a stone mold, stone sleeves and a car deadlift frame and I might have all of them before the weekend.

Dynamic Warm-ups

Truck Pushes (60 seconds rest)
7000x150'
7000x150'
7000x150'
7000x150'
7000x150'

26 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Today was just truck pushing so I didn't bother filming it. I wasn't too sure how it would feel going right into truck pushing as the last two times I did this, it was after doing moving events to a top set for the day. Also interested in how the extra two sets would play in to this. Had to work off the lazy with my warm-ups. Didn't feel as easy as the last time but I think I was more awake then and it was a different position in the training week. I'd go, walk back to the start and go again when the truck was backed up. Quite exhausting, noticed each time that it took a little longer to go from the tiny calf steps at the start to the long strides. Spent a few minutes in front of a fan to cool down before stretching.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

August 28, 2012 - Upper Body Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Close Grip Barbell Bench Presses
45x10
95x5
135x3
185x2
215x2
245x2
275x2
305x2
325x2

Dumbbell Bench Rows
70'sx5
90'sx5
110'sx5
Added Straps
130'sx5

Bigg Dogg Strongg Dumbbell Clean and Presses
35x1 R
35x1 L
55x1 R
55x1 L
85x1 R
85x1 L
105x1 R
105x1 L
130x1 R
130x1 L
147x1 R
147x1 L
162x1 R
162x0,0 L
162x1 L
152x5 R
152x6 L

Comments: Back is feeling better bit by bit. I'm now realizing how effective the recovery cycling in this workout truly is. Benching didn't feel so hot, I think a lot of it had to do with the new bench setup and the thin barbells. Weights felt heavy on my chest. My lower back fatigue was probably making it harder for me to keep arched. Called it when I felt I was struggling. Didn't have access to a chest supported row station so I went with the alternative provided of doing dumbbell rows while being supported by a bench. Had to use plyo boxes to make it high enough. Forearms were quite sore from events on Sunday. Ran out of dumbbells so had to load up the thick handles. Used straps since my grip was cramping. Really tough to get the five reps. Moved on to circus dumbbell after that. Looking for some redemption from last time. Granted I'm still not where I want or need to be, familiarity and comfort with the dumbbell is returning to me. Other than two instances where the weights fell off (got get a better wrench), it was solid work. Messed up a little on the rep sets. It was supposed to be 10lbs more than last time, not 10lbs less than the single for the day. Oops.

Monday, August 27, 2012

August 26, 2012 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Sled Drags
141x200' (turn at 100')
241x100'
341x50'

Husafell Carries/Sled Drag Medleys
300xpick
400x146'8" (turns at 42')/241x100'
400x136'8" (turns at 42')/341x100'

Comments: Doesn't look like a lot but it was a super long day. A last resort type training situation to get the work in if you will. Ended up driving down to The Edge down near DC. Left at 9:30 AM and got back after 7:10 PM. Lower back was and is still super stiff and the long car ride didn't help matters. Took the sled outside and had a bit over 100' to work with. I treated the sled drags as warm-up as the goal for all of them was foot speed. They all felt good and appropriate for what I needed to hit. Husafell was worrying me with my back. Wasn't sure if I could even pick up the weights. I actually had a tough time getting it to contest weight. Stuffed that thing to the rafters with ankle weights, collars, chains, 2.5lbs plates, tiny dumbbells and some lead ingots. As I thought, the pick felt awful but once I was up, it was light in my hands. Had to make short turns since the one section had thin matting. While not a PR, it is the farthest I've gone in training. Jogged outside to do the sled drag. I waited probably close to an hour to do the next set as my back was throbbing and other people needed to use the husafell stone. After they were done, I loaded it back up and gave it another run. Only lost 10' from the last run. Sled drag was quite tough but still manageable. Got stuck in traffic coming home. Felt good to sleep.

Friday, August 24, 2012

August 23, 2012 – Lower Body Training


Dynamic Warm-ups

18" Farmer's Deadlifts (1.5" thick handles)
52x10
102x5
142x5
192x3
232x2
282x2
302x2
322x2
342x2
362x2
382x2 PR+12lbs
397x2 PR+27lbs
(6 second hold)
347x1 (6 second finger tips hold)

Hanging Leg Raises
bwx35 PR+5 reps

29 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Had a lot of aggression to get out of my system today. Upper back was doing that thing whenever I lowered the weights. Went away once I got good and angry though. This workout felt like the first one since I started my prep for Nats that felt strong. 397lbs was a big PR for me. I missed the second rep the first time around but still hit it and that to me is even a bigger plus since I rarely can repick a missed heavy lift. My entire lower back seized up from that effort though and it hurt to hold the weight so I let go of it well before my grip gave. Had to rest a good, long while to even attempt the lighter weight for the loose grip hold. Struggled to get it off the ground. Let go once I felt my calluses start to slip. Leg raises felt good with my back so tight. Going to take a while for it to calm down.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

August 21, 2012 - Upper Body Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Axle Push Presses
72x5
102x3
132x1
162x1
192x1
222x1
252x1
282x1
312x0,0
312x0,0
232x7

Parallel Bar Dips
bwx32

27 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Another day of hard lessons. Weights felt comfy in the racked position but I have nothing for the lockout. Very frustrating. I feel I have a lot of power. Dips were fine, felt more soreness in my shoulders and chest than triceps until the end. Decent bit of stretching.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

August 19, 2012 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Atlas Stone Loads to 58"
240x1
315x1
335x1
365x1
385x1
409x0,0
409x0
409x0
452x0
315x7

37 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: My stone lifting has gone downhill in my hiatus from them. Everything felt fine, just not as strong as I was on them. Stones were dusty but it's not a worthy excuse. The 409lbs is several years old never been touched. Felt like sand the first time I grabbed it on the one side. I managed to lap it twice and get very close to loading it. First time I felt every vertebrae crack as I extended with it. I gave 452lbs a shot even with the misses to see. It stayed wielded to the floor. Settled for 315lbs for an easy set of seven. Lots of stretching after this one. I feel like I'm so far behind.

Friday, August 17, 2012

August 16, 2012 – Lower Body Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Olympic Squats
135x5
185x3
225x2
275x2
315x2
365x2
405x2

28 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Easy day today. Workout was just to work up to a double with 405lbs on high bar style squats. Purposely easy due to getting into Nats prep and probably because of how heavy stuff felt last week on my lower body squat workout. Since it was easy, I took long breaks, used a whippy bar, no support stuff and bumper plates. 365lbs and 405lbs seemed to irritate my upper back thing. I felt like I could do at least five reps with 405lbs, even without the belt. Stretched and called it a day.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

August 14, 2012 - Upper Body Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Bigg Dogg Strongg Dumbbell Clean and Presses
35x1 R
35x1 L
55x1 R
55x1 L
75x1 R
75x1 L
95x1 R
95x1 L
115x1 R
115x1 L
131x1 R
131x1 L
151x1 R
151x1 L
177x0,0 R
177x0,0 L
129x7 R
129x7 L

29 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: I knew I wasn't going to be at my best and to just roll with the punches this session as I had done a tough upper body workout just two days earlier. Warmed up with a plate loadable dumbbell handle before switching to the actual circus dumbbell. Quite a different tactic from how I used to train this lift as I'm now treating each side as it's own separate lift. Right side is definitely weaker due to lack of training. I injured my thumb back in April training it so this was the first serious workout on that side since then. I made a bigger jump than I should for the last single. I didn't have my wrench to make sure the clamps stayed tight so I just elected to go with the end caps. Too much for today. Felt stapled to my right side and just kept launching it up and forward on the left. Just couldn't recover and lock it out for those. Gave each side two attempts before moving on to the reps. Should have used a little less but I felt it was more important to get used to the empty implement than some predetermined weight, especially since I felt I had more in the tank than the effort showed. The reps felt good. Took long rest to make sure each side got a fair shot. Left side was much easier to get the seven reps for the workout. Got a long way to go to get where I need to be.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

August 12, 2012 - Upper Body Training

Goofed up a little, supposed to start my Nats prep today.

Dynamic Warm-ups

Close Grip Barbell Incline Bench Presses (2 second pauses)
50x2
90x2
130x2
170x2
210x2
250x2 PR+5lbs
260x2 PR+15lbs


Barbell Push Presses
55x3
85x3
115x3
145x3
175x3
205x3
235x3
265x3
295x2

Barbell Overhead Lockouts
75x1
105x1
135x1
165x1
195x1
225x1
255x1
285x1
315x2 (26 second hold at top) PR+30lbs

31 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Despite how crappy I've felt this whole week, the workout went well. Hit my goal for incline easy so I made a small jump and did another set. Tough but doable. Push pressing felt good, nice and comfy on my shoulders. Rack position felt solid. Would have liked a triple with 295lbs but happy with how it felt considering I struggled to get a single with 290lbs two weeks ago. Overhead lockouts were alright, easy working up in weight but a bit iffy with 285lbs. I almost blacked out with 315lbs so I had to press it again so I could do my static hold. Just brutal. Felt good to stretch.

Friday, August 10, 2012

August 09, 2012 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Farmer's Walk (15" pick)
124x50'
174x50'
224x50'
274x50'
324x50'

Truck Pushes (60 seconds rest)
7000x150'
7000x150'
7000x150'

33 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Felt tired, like I didn't want to workout today. Too bad. Hips were very sore from Tuesday. Besides my back/rib (might need to get a referral to an ortho) I felt alright. Pick felt off on 274lbs (like I was about to loose my balance) so I knew that 324lbs would be my last set of the day. Speed felt good on that one. I was told I needed to be moving fast with the truck pushes so I did the same setup that I did for the drags two weeks ago. Much better and I was able to keep the rests short. Only got the first set filmed due to camera operator error.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

August 07, 2012 – Lower Body Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

18" Safety Squat Bar Box Squats w/3 Mini Bands
No Bands
70x10
Add Bands (+40lbs)
70x5
Add Bands (+80lbs)
70x5
Add Bands (+120lbs)
70x2
100x2
130x2
160x2
190x2
220x2
250x2
280x2
310x2
340x2
370x2
400x2

Reverse Hyperextensions
100x5
190x5
280x21 PR+10lbs

GHR Situps
bwx55

34 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Squatting didn't go so well. Never felt easy, second rep of every set just was slow and felt heavy. Was seriously thinking of ending the workout after how tough 340lbs felt but I kept going. 400lbs was as heavy as I was going to be able to go tonight. Disappointing. Legs felt heavy. Reverse hypers and abs were a bit better. Didn't get as beat up from the high rep stuff like I did last time. Quite a bit of stretching to cool down.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

August 05, 2012 - Upper Body Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

12” Log Clean and Presses (Strict + Push)
95x1+1
115x1+1
135x1+1
155x1+1
175x1+1
195x1+1
215x1+1
235x1+1
255x1+1 PR+5lbs

Pulldowns
140x5
170x5
200x5
230x5
260x12

Close Grip Barbell Bench Presses (2 second pauses)
50x2
100x2
140x2
190x2
230x2
280x2
320x2 PR+5lbs

12” Log Chest Supports
270x5
300x5
330x5
360x5
390x5
420x5 (10 second hold on last rep) PR+10lbs

32 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Today didn’t go so well. Still beat from the sandbag on Thursday. Got a bruise the size of a walnut on my left oblique. Neck was stiff and my back ached. Everything felt tough today. 235lbs on the clean and pressing felt like 250lbs from last time. Tons of effort to get a measly 5lbs on this. Lost my air and had to set the log back down before going for the push press. It was either that or pass out. Did the pulldowns with a different style this time per Mike’s suggestion of using more body and to make the top of the movement like the lockout of an overhead lift. Definitely makes it tougher doing that at the top. Barely got 12 reps. With everything feeling heavy, I just went for a small increase on the paused benching. Good call on that. Might have been good for a little more. Supports felt off. I thought the bigger jumps would leave me fresher but I was wrong. Got three tough reps and then missed it twice attempting the fourth rep. Got but then missed the fifth so I took a breather (to let my hands get some blood in them from the wraps) and then tried again to get it. I put in a lot of effort today, but I don’t know if that really matters.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

August 02, 2012 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Sandbag Carries/Sled Drags (turns at 50')
230x100'/281x100’
230x100'/281x100’
230x100'/281x100’
230x100'/281x100’
230x100'/281x100’

Time: 9 minutes, 28 seconds

Comments: Very warm today. Today's workout was short and sweet; five rounds with no set rest breaks, just time the whole thing. Felt like a crossfit WOD to me. I was not looking forward to this workout as my legs were still sore from Tuesday. I also knew this simple workout was going to be tough and make me look foolish.  The idea was to use a 200lbs sandbag but the lightest I have was 230lbs. The mixture of fatigue and sweat made this awful. Immediately the suck was evident. Breathing really hard. The sled dragging wasn't bad as I've been doing a lot that recently but I was an amateurish mess with the sandbag. I remember watching competitors struggling with the sandbags at WSM last year and I felt their pain here. Dropped the sandbag on the last round at 50' and had to repick it. That was it for the day. Talked with Jenkins about his training and WSM coming up soon.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

July 31, 2012 – Lower Body Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Sumo Deadlifts w/Monster Mini & Mini Bands dbl
No Bands
135x5
Add Bands (+65lbs)
135x5
Add Bands (+85lbs)
135x3
Add Bands (+150lbs)
135x3
185x1
215x1
245x1
275x1
305x1
335x1
365x1
395x1
425x1
455x1
Added Straps
485x1
515x1

Axle Olympic Squats
45x1
95x1
135x1
185x1
225x1
275x1
315x16 PR+6 reps

Hanging Leg Raises
bwx30

33 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: I was very interested in how this workout would go today. I was a bit down from how push pressing had gone but I knew that my lower body training has been going well. Not sure on the exact amount of tension from the bands but my best guess is probably conservative. Left hip and lower back felt stiff (due to hammie scar tissue) so it took a bit of concentration and warm-up to get everything feeling right. The upper back thing was feeling slightly better and I’ll continue to work at it. Not used to pulling sumo on a regular barbell (been using a deadlift bar) so it was a bit odd. Felt good, quite surprised I got 455lbs without straps. A bit of a hitch on the last one. Next was high bar squats. None of the barbells had center knurling so I just went with a hollow axle. Make it bit more difficult. Upper back annoyance with the rep set. I haven’t really tried for max reps with 315lbs in a while. I could have kept going but it would have just gotten uglier and become a breathing squat set. Finished up with a set of hanging leg raises and stretching.