December 16, 2017 – Week 3, Day 3

5 Minutes Schwinn Airdyne Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15

16” Box Squats
BWx15

Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx10

Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx5/5

Keg Tosses
28.5x1
28.5x1
28.5x1
28.5x1
28.5x1
28.5x1
28.5x1
28.5x1
28.5x1
28.5x1

Tire Flips
425x1
650x0
650x1
Added Tacky Towel
900x1
900x1
900x1
900x1
900x1
900x1
900x1
900x1
900x1
900x1
900x1

EMOM Medley (20)
Keg Carry – 225x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
Sandbag Carry – 230x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
Keg Carry – 225x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
Sandbag Carry – 230x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
Keg Carry – 225x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
Sandbag Carry – 230x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
Keg Carry – 225x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
Sandbag Carry – 230x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
(final series not EMOM)
Keg Carry – 225x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’
Sandbag Carry – 230x100’
Prowler Push – 235x100’

Stretching

Comments: Not optimal sleep this week. Maybe getting 6hrs a night. Maybe. Lots of work stress, trying to get in early to get more work done. Really wanted to just eat and go to sleep after work Friday but I knew I’d be super sore if I didn’t do some activity to get blood moving in my legs. Hamstring tendons were feeling pretty sore from all the band work and it helps relax me going for a brisk walk. I compromised by sleeping in an extra half hour as the workout wasn’t going to be as long as event days usually end up being. I knew I’d be pretty much solo even if I came in normal time as two guys were competing at the Official Strongman Games and a good portion of the crew was there spectating. The rest were gone before I got too serious into the workout. Airdyne bike again. I’m really starting to like this for warm-ups. Not sure why I had been avoiding it in the past. Maybe stigma of reminding me of high school or that most bike machines aren’t adjustable for me and bother my knees. Calf raise work was super easy. Barely noticing the pressure on my palm. It’s a little worrisome that I still have issues but I am hitting things hard since Nats and it’s probably a miracle that it isn’t getting worse but getting better with all the goofy shit I’m doing. Box touches with box squats in between the two variations again. I think I used a lower box height this session (the actual squat box was in use as bag holder haha) but it felt fine and I think my hips liked the increased movement. Both styles of box touches felt good. The conventional stance I considered what I was having issues with last workout as far as the first rep and I think concentrating on that helped this session. Band rows after that felt good on my back. I made sure to fully grip the band right from the start to get the full hand engaged. Push-ups ok, more pressure on the palm of my hand than the calf work. But I’m used to it. It isn’t getting worse. Like having pressure on a bruise really. Hip airplanes felt good. Then on to the event work. No accessory stuff, this all purely strongman stuff. First up being keg toss. Plan being to do my empty keg (which I finally weighed haha) and toss it higher and higher each set with 20 seconds rest between throw. I had to clean a lot of spiders off this thing before packing it in the car to go out to train which gives you idea of how long it has been since I’ve used it. I was legitimately agonizing over having a way to measure the heights of the throws without a gauge like I have at home (too cumbersome and heavy to transport) but I was told that was ok and just throw it for working the movement and explosive out. Snow on the ground so I wore leather gloves. From experience working this event in the snow as the snow gets stuck to it as well as the condensation and mud/dirt. With my camera setup and no one to actively move the video, I couldn’t really see the apex of the throw. Wind was blowing something fierce and kept knocking the camera down too (missed my fifth throw). Only throw that I felt was off trajectory wise was the third throw with went back more than the others. It was getting tough to get maximal height after the first half. The wind was an annoyance all day actually, shut the door one time and I had to walk all the way around to the other side of the complex to get back inside. I ended up finding a way to keep the wind off the camera for the rest of the workout. Up next was tire flips. This is a good event for me usually. But I’ve been out of practice and the heaviest I’ve done was the 425lbs one from Spring 2016 before my injury. Never had issues with my biceps on tire but it is a concern as I get more stress on the arms and get older. Tires available were 175lbs, 425lbs, 650lbs and 900lbs. I initially had no plans to even attempt the 900lbs tire but as the day got closer, I started to reconsider it. I thought that 650lbs may be too light for the EMOM workout. But every tire is unique and I’ve never attempted this particular tire. So I told myself I would do the first two tires and if they felt fine, give 900lbs a shot and go from there. 425lbs was super easy, was able to do it with no hands once I got it to my lap. Haven’t missed a step I guess haha. So on to the 650lbs tire. I guess it doesn’t get much use as it had a bunch of water bottles inside it. But I was too cocky when my grip slipped on my first attempt with 650lbs. It was light though so I tried again and got it up. The 900lbs one was unfortunately outside. So I had to get snow off the outside and pick out the ice chunk in the inside. The thread was not a good grip and only parts of it were dry. Not a tire to attempt without tacky towel. I got set and was able to bump it up without much effort. So I was going to do this for all the sets. Got ready and went for it. Normally I would fully flip the tire but since there was limited dry area, I just brought the tire back in place so that I ensured I had a good place to grip it. Used my interval timer and it was an eternity waiting for the timer to go to signal the next set. I was worried I set it up wrong with how long it felt it took to ring. It felt fine the entire series of singles but my grip on the tread was getting harder in the second half. I think it was harder to put it back against the wall at the end then any of the lifts haha. Last thing for the day was more of the second half of the workout. EMOM workout alternating between keg carry, prowler push, sandbag carry and prowler push again with the plan being five rounds in a row of the those four exercises. Each for 100’. I was initially going to go heavier than I ended up doing but then I realized that that was a tall order and planned on lowering it. I split the difference for weights I ended up using. Even moving the 225lbs keg to the start was a bear and I began questioning how I did this kind of weight and my own sanity. The long setup gave me plenty of time to realize how much this was going to suck. First run of the keg I felt I was moving slow and I knew it was a bad idea. I felt I was making a good show of it into the second round (even with a bad pick of the sandbag) as I was moving slightly faster. But I hit a wall with third set as I started moving a slower. The prowler pushes were taking up almost half my rest time and the last one I had to walk back to the other side to start the keg. The fourth round I knew I had reached my limits. I was out of breath and it was struggle to walk straight. I didn’t bother turning the prowlers around for another round. I looked at the timer after the last prowler push and it was just over 20 seconds, no way to even walk back to the keg in that time to start the next round. I felt shame not being able to finish. I thought I was in good condition but I got work to do. But I realized after that that just because I couldn’t do the last round in the parameters didn’t mean I should just pack up for the day. So did that last round at my own pace. I was so beat from this workout. I was rushed to put the stuff away which lead me to having my knuckles get nicked and bleed again. Home to stretch, decompress, eat lots and hopefully get a good night’s sleep.