September 30, 2013 – Overhead Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses (Left Side Only)
20x5
20x5 (clean once)
50x5
80x3
110x3
130x1
147x4
147x4
147x4
147x4
167x2
187x2 PR+2lbs

Axle Jerks
135x3
185x3
235x8
235x8
235x8
235x8

Band Triceps Pressdowns
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25

Face Pulls
LB+MMBx25
LB+MMBx25
LB+MMBx25
LB+MMBx25

27 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: As I've prefaced my other workouts since last week, I was worried about my right knee and I think I'm going to be like that until I do every exercise. First set with 147lbs was just terrible. I was slow and unbalanced. Luckily I woke up after that crapfest and hit the rest of my reps well. Crushed 167lbs and learned from last week and chalked up my shoulder for my heaviest double. No weeble-wobble here on the 187lbs set. Very happy about that and I feel good for more. Started a bit lighter for the axle jerks (knee) and it went fairly well. Some tightness in my lower back made some reps sloppy but never any doubts of getting them all. Despite what I said last time, I upped the band tension for triceps and upper back. I should be at these for some time.

September 28, 2013 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Yoke
250x50'
250x50'
450x50'
600x50' in 8.25 seconds
685x50' in 10.40 seconds
770x50' in 12.49 seconds

18" Pick Farmer's Walk
140x50'
205x50'
250x50' in 7.31 seconds
280x50' in 8.72 seconds
315x50' in 10.65 seconds

Car Deadlift Frame Hold (18" Pick)
Carx1
Car+90x1
Car+180x1
Car+270x1 for 38.71 seconds
Car+300x1 for 35.97 seconds
Car+200x1 for 41.31 seconds

Comments: Felt a bit more organized coming in to this training session as I knew exactly what I wanted to hit. Again, concerned about my right knee but it seemed to take it fine. Lower back definitely not fully recovered from the rest of this week and my times on yoke were about a second slower than I would have liked. Farmer's went well though, moved fast on the two lighter sets and just slightly slower than my best with 310lbs a hand so progress in some sense. The big thing I wanted to test out was car deadlift holds with contest weight. Brought some blocks over to elevate the handles to the contest height. Like last time, it felt dead with just the car and I was worried this was going to be impossible. I tole myself I just needed to pull and it would go. I knew after the pick with 180lbs on the handles that 270lbs could definitely happen. I think I was more anxious about picking it up rather than holding it. I came very close to my time from last week from the low pick with 70lbs less. I was going to stop here and do a lighter set but thought why not more. Grip isn't the issue for me and 300lbs is nicer number. Slow pick up but I got it. Surprised to get close to the time I set with 270lbs. Hands were just fed up with what I was doing when I did a lighter set with 200lbs. Beat my time by about 1.5 seconds after all the other crap.

September 26, 2013 – Squat Training & September 27, 2013 – Press Training

September 26, 2013 – Squat Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

21" Axle Front Box Squats
72x10
116x5
160x5
195x5
235x3
275x3
315x3
350x11
275x8
275x8
275x8

Angled Leg Presses
+500x3
+600x8
+600x8
+600x8
+600x8

Chest Supported Rows
340x12
340x12
340x12

Leg Raises
bwx15
bwx15
bwx15

32 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Right knee has been sort of bothering me since my suited pull workout. I was very concerned that it would hinder my workouts. Luckily I was wrong. Very much the same as last time and I had a rep goal set in my mind to reach and I hit it at 11. Again, felt like I left at least one in the tank here. I increased the weight considerably on leg press since it was so easy last time. I think a lot of it has to do with feeling more comfortable with the leg press and getting used to all the squatting beforehand. Rows still going strong. I dropped the weight from the leg raises and I'm just going to do them with bodyweight. I don't want to be killing myself on ab work since I'm doing beltless sets.



September 27, 2013 – Press Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Close Grip Barbell Bench Presses
45x10
95x5
140x5
175x5
205x3
245x3
280x3
315x9 PR+4 reps
245x8
245x8
245x8

Axle Strict Presses
150x3
190x8
190x8
190x8
190x8

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extensions
65x12
65x12
65x12

IYT’s
5’sx12
5’sx12
5’sx12

30 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: With how easy 295lbs felt last week, I knew I had to go big with 315lbs. My best was only a rough set of 5 and I knew that was unacceptable with how I dominated 295lbs. I got pumped and hit it for 9. I wasn't expecting that, especially after I had to catch myself after the third rep. The down sets felt really heavy after calming down from the exciting heavy set. That definitely meant the overhead pressing was going to be a pain too. Weight didn't feel heavy, just arms and shoulders were tired. I still managed to get all the reps. Keep track of how many reps I was doing on triceps this time haha.

September 24, 2013 – Deadlift Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

8" Block Pulls
165x5
255x5
345x3
435x3
Added Straps
Added Metal Gear Pro Deadlifter (Straps Down)
525x4
525x4
525x4
525x4
Straps Up (loose)
600x2
Straps Up (tight)
675x2
No Suit
525x11

Glute Ham Raises
LBx3
LB+47x8
LB+47x8
LB+47x8
LB+47x8

Wide Grip Pulldowns
190x12
190x12
190x12

Ab Wheel
bwx15
bwx15
bwx15

30 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Moment of truth kind of session as this would be my first pulling in a suit. After getting advice from friends with more experience/strength than me, I went for it. It was definitely not comfortable but I didn't have too hard of a time getting it on. In preparation, I changed two things. One is that I added 1" of mats under my feet to get the pull right at contest height (17") because I knew that once I got the straps of the suit on tight, getting down to the bar was going to be a feat in and of itself. The second was recalculating my max. I was initially basing it off of a 705lbs goal weight but I'm now using a 750lbs goal weight. For the 70% work, I did it with the straps down. Didn't really notice a difference other than lockout feeling weird. I think a lot that has to do with the height of the pull since these things are supposed to give pop off the floor. It is awful if you get off the groove though, which is what happened on the second rep of my final 70% set. For the first double, I got the straps up and they were on quite loose, like they'd fall off my shoulders if I relaxed. Didn't feel like a big difference here other than a bit harder to get to the bar. I wasn't convinced at this point to invest in the suit. For the final double, I had the straps cranked down. This was more like it. Just getting set to the bar was difficult, I felt like I was cranking a jack-in-the-box to get setup. It felt ridiculously heavy but I also felt I could do another rep or two. Quite strange to have that feeling of something being really heavy and yet be able to move it. Even if I only get 30lbs out of it right now (maybe), it is worth it to get some extra points at the show. Took off the suit for the down set and got 11 reps with at least one or two in the tank. Lower back was beat by this point but on to glute ham raises. I was taking fairly long breaks to let my lower back recover here. Pulldowns were quite easy now that I'm getting used to them. I may go up a bit more for next time. Finished up with ab wheel and stretching.

September 23, 2013 – Overhead Event Training

Things are getting serious now as the contest isn't just some far off date now. Got to get some things I'm trying out and I have to get some more structure for events besides the yoke and farmer's (those are perfect). For dumbbell, I'm going to try to focus on just my strong side from now until the show. For the hummer tire deadlift, I'm going to be trying out a deadlift suit and hopefully be able to up my weights a bit in training. Stones, well, I think that will be every other week with one being heavy to low platform and the other being light to high platform. The event is a little different as it isn't most reps with heaviest stone wins but total weight lifted in 60 seconds. For instance, if someone does 10 reps with 300 over 60", they would need to do either 9 reps with 350 over 48" or 8 reps with 410 over 40". Might as well work both the high and the low load (low is still 50" for me haha) to prep. That leaves the two grip intensive events (car deadlift hold and arm-over-arm). Going to put these in the week I don't do stones (week 4 is a rest week). Car deadlift hold pick up is supposedly 18" which should make it quite a bit more manageable for me to pick it up. Arm-over-arm is a bit tougher to line up so I'm going down to Brute Strength Gym on 10/27 to do a plane pull for charity. I'm going to try and do it as an arm-over-arm pull and this is probably my only session to do it. Just got to keep lifting, pushing it and waiting.

Dynamic Warm-ups

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses (Left Side Only)
20x5
20x5
50x5
80x3
110x3
130x1
145x4
145x4
145x4
145x4
165x2
185x0
185x2 PR+5lbs

Axle Jerks
180x3
230x8
230x8
230x8
230x8

Band Triceps Pressdowns
LBx25
LBx25
LBx25
LBx25

Face Pulls
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25

27 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: After some debate with myself, I'm going to only do my left side (strong side) for circus dumbbell leading up to this contest. My weaker arm is 15lbs behind for a max lift last I checked and expending energy is probably taking away from pushing the side I'm going to use at the show. A little weird just doing the one side. Both biceps became extremely sore once I got up to working weight from stone training on Saturday. Surprised myself with how fast 165lbs went up, I think I was really excited prior to the lift because I became airborne looking at the video. I screwed up on my first attempt at 185lbs. The first mistake is that I cooled down too much from my previous set. My father had stopped by the gym to talk with me. The second mistake was not chalking up my shoulder. When I went for my initial drive, the dumbbell slid, so I had to readjust and expend more energy before attempting to press. I rested a bit and decided to give it another shot and hit both reps; first one solid, the second one shaky. Happy with that as I'm better at singles and it means I'm getting better. Biggest lesson learned is to just bath in chalk like a chinchilla before circus dumbbell haha. Moved on to axle work. I wasn't sure how this would feel since my left side would be ready (but fatigued) while my right hasn't really pressed anything yet. Didn't seem to be an issue. First set was the roughest and I got better at driving under the bar as the sets went on. On set three, I felt and heard a lot of snaps and pops in my legs around my knees and ankles. Band work was next and while it is getting easier, I'm going to keep the tensions the same until it feels as easy as when I used mini bands. Good amount of stretching for hamstrings to finish up the day.

September 21, 2013 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Yoke
250x50'
250x50'
410x50'
410x50'
555x50' in 7.21 seconds
640x50' in ??? seconds
725x50' in 9.82 seconds

18" Pick Farmer's Walk
140x50'
190x50'
240x50' in 7.54 seconds
270x50' in 8.50 seconds
300x50' in 9.11 seconds

Car Deadlift Frame Hold
Carx1
Car+90x1
Car+180x1
Car+200x1 for 39.66 seconds

Atlas Stone Loads
220x3 to 50"
325x3 to 50"
415x3 to 50"

Comments: I got in some great training but kind of a crappy and exhausting day besides that. Won't get into that here. The goal was to get my usual yoke and farmer's work in and then hopefully get stones in as well. It was only me and another guy there when I arrived and he left before I did farmer's so I thought of a back up plan. For yoke, I was worried I was moving slow. Turns out I was wrong after comparing it to my times and seeing the video. I don't know what my time was with 640lbs as the camera just took two pictures instead of recording it. My last set was just under 10 seconds so quite pleased with that as it is close to a 2 second improvement with this kind of weight. Farmer's walk went well too. Longer handles allowed me to move a bit faster. These felt fast with my foot speed. Only thing is the pick as I feel like I'm really getting slowed down. Happy with getting 300lbs in just over 9 seconds. With no else there, I didn't feel comfortable doing stones so I dragged out the car deadlift frame. Not sure how low the pick will be for the contest so I'm going from 12". Rather than guess what I'm lifting, I put my car on it. I had used it in the past but never got close to the contest +270lbs in the handles. It felt like it would be a crappy session when the car by itself felt fused to the ground at my first attempt. Just my head messing with me as I got pretty easy after that. I did singles to see if it was a good weight for a hold. I know my weakness is just going to be getting the thing to lockout to do the hold. +180lbs was kind of tough to pick up but I knew I had a little more in me and I wanted to work my grip hard. Felt tougher than the setup I had about a month ago with the plates and tire and people. Held it for about 3 seconds longer. I'll take it. I tried doing a set with my fat gripz but that was just stupid. Some guys came by and I stuck around so I could do stones. When I finally got to lift, I just do two warm-up sets and then one heavy set with the 415lbs stone. I got three with some effort and screwed up a fourth by getting off balance in the lap. I just stopped it there. I'm rusty but I got the strength and that was my biggest concern. I'm just glad to be home to recover.

September 20, 2013 – Press Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Close Grip Barbell Bench Presses
45x10
95x5
140x5
175x5
205x3
225x5
260x5
295x11 PR+5lbs & 2 reps
225x8
225x8
225x8

Axle Strict Presses
145x3
185x8
185x8
185x8
185x8

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extensions
60x12
60x12
60x11 (miscounted)

IYT’s
5’sx12
5’sx12
5’sx12

24 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Mulling things around in my head and decided I wanted to do bench pressing. Benching as primary, strict overhead as supplementary. Initially the weights were going to be 5lbs lighter but my ego would not allow for me to do work sets of less than two plates a side. I was really surprised with how easy 295lbs felt. Cut it short once I felt like I could miss the next rep. Arms were pretty tried doing the down sets. Pairing the strict presses like I'm doing for jerks, 4x8. Took a little off of what I did last time since I was adding another set and doing it after a lot of benching as opposed to being somewhat fresh. For extensions, I went really light, working on being as strict as possible. Not bad, just lost count on the last set. Finished up with upper back and shoulders, stretching and burritos.

September 19, 2013 – Squat Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

21" Axle Front Box Squats
72x10
116x5
160x5
210x3
255x5
295x5
330x13
255x8
255x8
255x8

Angled Leg Presses
+450x3
+550x8
+550x8
+550x8
+550x8

Chest Supported Rows
335x12
335x12
335x12

Leg Raises
22x15
22x15
22x15

25 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: With how many reps I got with my heaviest weight two weeks ago, I knew this was going to be somewhat unpleasant for this week. I knew I was getting double digits and I kind of put a cap on myself to not go over 13 reps. Pretty much stopped because my upper back muscles were getting fatigued from holding up the weight for so long. Maybe had two more in me if I went for broke. Legs were feeling heavy after the squats so I wasn't sure how leg pressing would go. Actually felt easier than two weeks ago. Rows felt good and leg raises are getting better. Hopefully they will become as easy as ab wheels are for me now.

September 17, 2013 – Deadlift Training

Put in my entry for Maryland's Strongest Man today for the HW class. I'd need to cut weight to make 265lbs and under now. Ever since I started growing a beard, I've put on weight. Over 286lbs with my work clothes and shoes on now. Coincidence? I think not haha. Also found out that deadlift suits are going to be allowed at the contest for the hummer tire deadlift. Guess I need to work that in so I don't have people lifting over 200lbs more than me again.

Dynamic Warm-ups

9" Block Pulls
155x5
245x5
335x3
425x3
Added Straps
515x4
515x4
515x4
515x4
585x2
585x2
515x10

Glute Ham Raises
LBx3
LB+41x8
LB+41x8
LB+41x8
LB+41x8

Wide Grip Pulldowns
185x12
185x12
185x12

Ab Wheel
bwx15
bwx15
bwx15

32 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Another good session. Tried to move through my pulls as fast as I could while still being recovered as another lifter needed the deadlift bar for his workout. Getting used to this routine. I tried to build more tension and kind of squat/get more legs into the lift on my two heavy doubles. Made it feel slow though it looked plenty fast on video. Just took the slack out of the bar on my downset and the first rep felt like a speed pull, or something I could try cleaning haha. After that, I moved on to glute hams with bands and wide grip pulldowns. Ab Wheel is getting easy. Bunch of stretching after this one.

September 16, 2013 – Overhead Event Day

Dynamic Warm-ups

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses
25x5 R
25x5 L
50x5 R
50x5 L
75x3 R
75x3 L
100x3 R
100x3 L
120x1 R
120x1 L
142x4 R
142x4 L
142x4 R
142x4 L
142x4 R
142x4 L
142x4 R
142x4 L
162x2 R
162x2 L
162x2 R
162x2 L

Axle Jerks
175x3
225x8
225x8
225x8
225x8

Band Triceps Pressdowns
LBx25
LBx25
LBx25
LBx25

Face Pulls
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25

24 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Still recovering from helping out this weekend at PA's strongest man. I was expecting to be a little rusty this workout. Left knee was sore from jumping off the truck at the fair (stupid). Wasn't too bad, only made a few slight mistakes. Biggest one was trying to press 162lbs too fast on my second set with my left side, screwed up my first rep. Since I have some idea of what my next contest will be after this one, I'm putting in axle jerks to get used to that as well. Felt heavy on my wrists but went up easy. Worked the band stuff hard as well. Going to stay at these tensions until they feel easy.

September 13, 2013 – Press Training Deload

Dynamic Warm-ups

Axle Strict Presses
75x5
100x5
125x5
150x5
100x8
100x8
100x8

Swiss Bar Floor Presses
160x8
160x8
160x8
160x8

EZ Curl Bar Overhead Extensions (seated)
90x12
90x12
90x12

IYT’s
5’sx12
5’sx12
5’sx12

27 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Went through this workout quick as I didn't have to wait to use anything this time. Only thing is that my knees ache when I start doing standing presses after leg work the day before. Hopefully the next 5/3/1 run will work better with the correct weights this time. Working on eating as much as I can during my deload weeks.

September 12, 2013 – Squat Training Deload

Dynamic Warm-ups

21" Axle Front Box Squats
72x5
116x5
160x5
190x5
230x5
160x8
160x8
160x8

Angled Leg Presses
+320x8
+320x8
+320x8
+320x8

Chest Supported Rows
200x12
200x12
200x12

Leg Raises
22x15
22x15
22x15

26 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Good thing this was a deload week as the power rack was in use. Ended up doing my squats out of the tiered squat rack so it was like a half squat to unrack the axle. A bit achy in my knees and back but started to feel better once I was warm. Considering how leg press felt on my legs last time, it was a pleasant change. Perhaps I just knew what to expect this time and hopefully that will carry over to when I go back to normal. Moved through rows and ab work quickly. Stretched and feasted on more burritos.

September 10, 2013 – Deadlift Training Deload

Dynamic Warm-ups

9" Block Pulls
145x5
200x5
260x5
325x5
390x5
325x5
260x5

Glute Ham Raises
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8

Wide Grip Pulldowns
110x12
110x12
110x12

Ab Wheel
bwx15
bwx15
bwx15

23 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Worked at Jenkins' new gym in Hershey. I was dropping off the farmer's handles I had borrowed and figured it be less hassle to do my workout there rather than go back an hour through rush hour traffic. Practically Summer conditions again with the heat and humidity. I was sweating putting on my shoes. I used the S Cube bar for my pulls just to get the feel of the thicker bar. I'd prefer using it for this training cycle but not a luxury I can do right now. Not as much volume as the last deload session for deadlifts. The Ort/Mag stuff is tougher than 5/3/1 so wanted to make the deload as easy as I can without totally leaving me surprised come next week. No band pegs on the ghr so I just did bodyweight. Would have used a light band tension anyway. Concentrated on my hamstrings. Feeling a bit more familiar with the wide grip pulldowns. Got better as the sets went on as far as keeping my shoulders tight and pulling with the back. Finished up with abs, stretching and burritos.

September 09, 2013 – Overhead Event Day Deload

Dynamic Warm-ups

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses
25x5 R
25x5 L
50x5 R
50x5 L
75x5 R
75x5 L
90x5 R
90x5 L
110x5 R
110x5 L

Band Triceps Pressdowns
MMBx25
MMBx25
MMBx25
MMBx25

Face Pulls
MMB+MBx25
MMB+MBx25
MMB+MBx25
MMB+MBx25

22 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Definitely needed an easy day. Broke out in a cold sweat doing the dumbbell work. Second time this has happened in the past two weeks. Possibly from doing events the day before or eating too close to working out. Survived so that's that. Finished up with bands and stretching. Went home and ate tons of steak.

September 06, 2013 – September 08, 2013

Busy and distracted the past few days. Implementing a squat day into my routine so that I'm doing 2 event days and 3 gym days (1 event day in the gym for overhead). Doing front box squats with an axle like Jenkins has suggested to in the past to above parallel box. Going to be my default squat exercise when I have a deadlift at a contest and no squat. Obviously I'll adjust it depending on events. 5/3/1 for squat and strict press right now. Trying out doing the first two work sets without a hard belt. Should be interesting.

September 06, 2013 – Squat Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

21" Axle Front Box Squats
72x10
116x5
160x5
190x5
230x3
285x5
325x3
360x9
285x8
285x8
285x8

Angled Leg Presses
+440x3
+530x8
+530x8
+530x8
+530x8

Chest Supported Rows
150x3
240x3
330x12
330x12
330x12

Leg Raises
22x15
22x15
22x15

28 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Went better than expected. Opposite hip and SI joint were bothering me after deadlifting on Wednesday. No where near as bad as what I did at the contest back in June but enough to be annoying. I felt like garbage warming up at first but got better as my lower back and knees warmed up. Surprised myself getting so many reps with my top weight. Left at least one in the tank and did well with the down sets. A little tricky after these as I didn't really have a good idea on what lift I wanted to do next. Should I model it after my deadlift workout by having a light lift or after my press workout and have a heavy lift? I went with the leg press. I haven't tried using two legs on this one. Went as deep as I could, which involved moving my stance out so that my knees wouldn't hit my chest like they usually do. Felt heavy and slow and I don't think I could move it any faster if I tried. Felt a stretch in my lower back. Unsure if it helped or exacerbated the pain there. Chest supported rows after that. Since I didn't do any upper body stuff, I did some light warm-ups to get ready. Felt a lot easier than when I do it on upper body days. Finished up with leg raises and stretching.



September 07, 2013 – Press Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Axle Strict Presses
75x5
105x5
135x5
165x3
195x5
220x3
245x2
195x8
195x8
195x8

Swiss Bar Floor Presses
215x3
265x8
265x8
265x8
265x8

EZ Curl Bar Overhead Extensions (seated)
145x11
145x9
145x8

IYT’s
5’sx12
5’sx12
5’sx12

Comments: Workout was sub par and totally my fault. I was on my feet most of the day at a fundraiser event and only ate breakfast. I drank a shake when I got home and went to lift a few hours later. So maybe 1000 calories total. Standing around all day and doing heavy leg work the day before made unracking weights feel tough. Also didn't help that I misloaded my weights by 5lbs too much on axle press. I got at least a single so not completely ruined. I would've felt worse if they were the actual training weights. Floor press felt heavy as well but I had no doubts I would get all the reps. My triceps were beat to hell by this point and it showed in the overhead extensions. They usually get a bit more rest because I usually do rows right after floor press. Going to take time to get used to it. Might switch another exercise in there instead. It was super late so I just did my upper back stuff and skipped stretching.



September 08, 2013 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Yoke
215x175'
485x50'
630x50' in 8.94 seconds
715x50' in 11.13 seconds
800x50' in 15.20 seconds
215x200'

18" Pick Farmer's Walk
150x50'
150x50'
200x50'
200x50'
240xpick
265x50' in 8.98 seconds
295x50' in 10.14 seconds
325x50' in 11.28 seconds

Comments: With my plans, couldn't really train events anywhere this weekend so I did them at home. Borrowed some higher pick farmer's handles from Jenkins to use instead of my low pick ones. Slept in and did this in the afternoon. I counted moving my empty yoke from the backyard to the front as my first warm-up set. This yoke is harder than most of the contest yokes so I figured I wouldn't be making any PR's today. I actually set some small ones on the first two sets but I was about a second slower than my best with 800lbs. This is definitely by far the best I've felt with this yoke though so definite progress. Took a short break to get some food in before doing farmer's walk. The pick height was good but the length was smaller so I had to make smaller strides. Slower than what I usually do but not by a lot. Figured it would happen on unfamiliar handles. I was still pleased with how the workout went. Really looking forward to some easy workouts this week.

September 03, 2013 – Overhead Event Day & September 04, 2013 – Deadlift Training

September 03, 2013 – Overhead Event Day

Dynamic Warm-ups

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Presses
25x5 R
25x5 L
50x5 R
50x5 L
75x3 R
75x3 L
100x3 R
100x3 L
120x1 R
120x1 L
140x4 R
140x4 L
140x4 R
140x4 L
140x4 R
140x4 L
140x4 R
140x4 L
160x2 R
160x2 L
180x2 R PR+3lbs
180x1 L
180x1 R
180x2 L PR+3lbs

Band Triceps Pressdowns
LBx25
LBx25
LBx25
LBx25

Face Pulls
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25
LB+MBx25

26 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: This workout didn't start out so hot. I was a bit off from doing stones the day before. I warmed up and realized I had forgotten my collars for the dumbbell. Meant I had to rig something up myself and I ended up using my straps and spring collars. I also broke out into a profuse cold sweat at this point and I had to calm down. Either worried or feeling remnants of the past two days. Started out slow but made it through on the sets of four and the first double. Ran into trouble with 180lbs though. I got one rep no issue but going for another was something else. It's only 3lbs! I got the double first on the right side. Second rep was super iffy, would have liked to get it solid and secure but I take what I can. Left side, I got the first rep easy but I overshot the second and it went over and nearly caved my head in. I was going to call it there but I decided I needed to try again. Started with the right side again but only got a single. Again with the left but managed to lockout a second rep. Still ugly though. Finished up with bands for triceps and upper back and beat feet home.



September 04, 2013 – Deadlift Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

9" Block Pulls
145x5
235x5
325x3
415x3
Added Straps
505x4
505x4
505x4
505x4
575x2
645x2 PR+10lbs
505x10

Glute Ham Raises
LBx3
LB+36x8
LB+36x8
LB+36x8
LB+36x8

Wide Grip Pulldowns
90x3
135x3
180x12
180x12
180x12

Ab Wheel
bwx15
bwx15
bwx15

26 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: I made some day of changes going into this workout. Just deadlift focus, moving squat stuff to separate day. I knew this was going to be tough with stones so close to the workout day and adding 10lbs to everything. I was worried when 415lbs felt heavy. After the first two sets of four reps, I felt warm and better. But definitely tougher than last week. The first double went up well enough but I knew that the next one was going to be terrible and I needed to be committed for it to go. First rep felt like a max effort and I had to catch my breath, regain my composure and go again. It felt like it wasn't moving at first but up it went. I'm so very glad I have a rest week and a ramp-up week before I go for another stupid heavy double like this. Just did ten reps for the down set. I had maybe two more reps but I was feeling the fatigue at this point. From there, I went in to glute ham raises. Only went up a pound since I was adding a set. Not bad. After that was pulldowns. Using as wide of a grip as I can on these. Wasn't sure how these would feel since I haven't done pulldowns in about a year I think. Hopefully these will improve with familiarity. Idea here is more back work (will do some more on squat day) and some spinal deload. Finished up with ab wheel and stretching.

September 02, 2013 – Event Training Leftovers

Dynamic Warm-ups

Atlas Stone Loads
240x3 to 60"
315x1 to 60"
385x1 to 60"
385x2 to 52"/315x2 to 56"/240x2 to 60"

Comments: Got up early today as Jenkins had an Open Gym session at 9:00 so I went over to do just stones. As little work as that was, I was dieing big time. No video this time as I couldn't film and use tacky. Probably for the best as it was a big sloppy mess of a session with tacky sliding like butter and me sweating an entire person. With the dirty stones, the heat/humidity and the time, I worked fast and aimed for low volume. Certainly rusty since I haven't touched stones since May. The last set was a max effort, especially since I missed lapping the 385lbs stone twice right before I was to go. Still got time and I can only hope to improve.

September 01, 2013 – Event Training

Dynamic Warm-ups

Yoke
300x50'
300x50'
450x50'
590x50' in 7.70 seconds
670x50' in 9.34 seconds
760x50' in 12.38 seconds

18" Pick Farmer's Walk
140x50'
140x50'
190x50'
245x50' in 8.08 seconds
275x50' in 8.87 seconds
310x50' in 10.59 seconds

28 Minutes of Stretching

Comments: Oof, the heat and humidity today were just oppressive. Only got through two events in like three hours because I had to load and move my own stuff, which was a chore in and of itself. Yoke went well today. First set was almost a second faster than last week with 40lbs more. Stronger than last week as confidence. Slowed down a bit with the heaviest set. At least I now have numbers to look at besides weights on moving events so I can see if I'm improving where it counts. I was dreading farmer's since it meant I had to get down close to the black top to load the plates and the heat coming off the ground was like putting my face over a steaming pot. I thought I was feeling slow (I was compared to yoke) my first set but I improved on the times from last week with 15lbs more. Close with the heavy set, about .5 a second slower. I was just dead after this and luckily I had some help putting all of this crap away. Going to try and get stones in tomorrow at Jenkins.