Even though more than half of my life so far has involved weight training of some kind, I still have to remember and relearn lessons. But also need to keep things in focus with strongman competitions. I’ve not competed frequently since 2018 (more than 2 shows, don’t really count 2019 since two of the shows that year were just against myself for maxes so like testing sessions). So I tend to forget that can need a bit of time to get up to par with competition season like I did when I started or prior to COVID-19. And even if some cycles for shows were shorter, the plan had been for those shows as far back as 9 months prior and slow integration of them over other training cycles and having similar events from one to the other helped with that competitive season. I think the biggest stress I get with pushing for the higher level stuff is with my not as good events when it’s for reps and the weight is above my all-time best max single in that lift. I’m hopeful for improvements but they are slow and usually when crunch time comes, I tend to not go at my own pace and try to just get there now. Rush and get stressed out that I’m not there and I’m going to fail it. Most events don’t award zero points for potential equivalent effort. And these events tend to be the qualifier events for online things for the bigger shows as well. As of kind of mentioned in passing, I need to think where I am as far as using training maxes for exercises/events going forward. Sure I have PRs since 2016 injury that I’ve been tracking but some things haven’t been done in a long time or at the level where a PR was set and that matters. Circus dumbbell was way too optimistic and arrogant on my part trying to put 38lbs on that lift in 12 weeks. Best was 187lbs since the back injury with my best being 202lbs from over half a decade ago. So still 23lbs life time PR. Even the open was a big jump from where I was with 18lbs. 10% increase. On my best since 2017. And I wasn’t at that point after the elbow and wrist injury. 177lbs was probably my best on a perfect day after that stuff. So these are the kinds of things I need to be mindful of. So doing a show with a max seems ok as I can aim for a PR but it doesn’t mean I get nothing if I don’t succeed and I can go at my pace and adjust if necessary. Like with the deadlift. Yes, 700lbs was the goal for the show but life happens and did a hard fought 650lbs (which is the lowest max I’ve done for a suited pull in contest) to tie for the New Jersey state record in the under 140kgs weight class. I need to take some things into consideration with events is all. Nothing set in stone time percentages or such but like within 5% of my current maxes if doing a less than 12 week prep and no other supplemental work that has been built upon. Some things need to get back up to a better baseline (log and axle full movements) as well as some of the heavier emphasis moving events (yoke and farmers). Depends on weights too. Stones I was able to stay 83-92% with just one session at 100% of contest. I know I can work lighter percentages and do well (hell great) on that event. Data from this past show as far as yoke shows me that I can work lower percentages with higher percentage holds and do ok. Not the most ideal obviously to do that but it was needed with the knee issues and the time given. Heaviest moving was 83% of contest and heaviest hold was 94% of contest. A break from the heavy and events isn’t a stop from doing tough stuff obviously. But I feel that base lines will need to be assessed on more standard things that haven’t been as emphasized with the past two contests under Andrew to see what I’m working with to kind of plan things further out than this next contest. Assuming that I recover well from the ouchies and aches.
Band Pec Flyes/Paused Band Pull-Aparts (3 seconds)
lb’sx20/µbx20
lb’sx20/µbx20
Band Pec Flyes/Paused Band Pull-Aparts (3 seconds)
lb’sx20/µbx20
lb’sx20/µbx20
12” Log Incline Bench Presses (3 seconds eccentrics)
87x10
107x8
127x6
152x3
177x10 (miscounted)
177x8
177x8
177x8
87x10
107x8
127x6
152x3
177x10 (miscounted)
177x8
177x8
177x8
Paused Chest Supported Dumbbell Rows (3 seconds)
10’x5
40’sx5
70’x10
70’x10
70’x10
10’x5
40’sx5
70’x10
70’x10
70’x10
Bench Dips
Feet On Ground
bwx4
Feet Elevated
bwx2
bwx6
bw+20x13 (miscounted)
bw+32x12
bw+45x12
Feet On Ground
bwx4
Feet Elevated
bwx2
bwx6
bw+20x13 (miscounted)
bw+32x12
bw+45x12
Leaning Dumbbell Lateral Raises/Band Face Pulls
22x15/15 – abx15
22x15/15 – abx15
22x15/15 – abx15
22x15/15 – abx15
22x15/15 – abx15
22x15/15 – abx15
Close Grip Push-ups
bwx37
bwx26
bwx37
bwx26
Stretching
Comments: Well the good news is that allergy/cold stuff is getting a lot better. Only had to use nasal spray as opposed to using Claritin and Dayquil. One super easy day and then back into it. And I think honestly that was enough time to feel like training with some intensity again. A little bit later start than planned but that was ok (other things going on) as needed to let my pot roast cook longer. So this would be the true start to the workout cycle. Offseason deemed as “pump/hypertrophy” phase. Start slow and build up from there. Feel the muscles working, don’t just move the weight. Still keeping an eye on the shoulders at this point. Starting point of the session was bands superset. Pec flyes with pull-aparts. Noting to try and feel the chest stretch on the later. Like those old timey chest expanders I guess. I wasn’t sure if I’d need more tension on these based off of how these had felt before. I decided that I’d aim lighter than if I was to be pushing things as this was higher reps than before, shoulders could be upset with me on them and I haven’t tried that long of holds for that many reps on pull-aparts. This was the right call. The pec flyes were perfect, though the tendonitis was acting up a bit (tolerable). The pull-aparts were torturous. Burning in the anterior deltoids from fatigue and lactic acid. Even using a micro band, these were a struggle by the last set. Shoulders and chest were already pretty toasted just one exercise pairing in and I had a good bit more to do. Just getting started. So first exercise with weights was log incline bench presses. Kind of expected since log is the press event for the next contest and from how training went in the first cycle with these (after I got used to them), these seem like a good secondary day exercise to work on getting shoulders, triceps and chest strong. So the plan for these was to pyramid up in and then do 4x8 with a weight I felt I could do with 3-5RIR on that first set. The catch was that these were to be done with 3 seconds negatives and brief pause at the chest and aim for 2 minutes rest. With how things felt after the bands, this could be a struggle haha. I decided that I’d do 20lbs-ish jumps in weight and then a bigger jump near the end before the working sets. Get used to the movement and feel how my shoulders were handling things. I also decided to not use any fractional plates and worry about that nonsense. I figured based off past numbers and then taking the goals of the session that log plus my red bumper plates would fit the bill. These felt fine enough. Took until the second set where it felt a good bit easier than the first that I realized I did 10 reps instead of 8 that first set. Right shoulder with how it has been feeling was definitely feeling more fatigued compared to the left one by the end. Understandable really. From there it was on to rows. Dumbbell rows using the bench to support my chest. Control the movement and hold in contraction for 3 seconds. No arching the back. Suggested was to put weights on a bench or box to make easier to get to. But I got long ass arms and picking them off the ground works best for me and they won’t touch the ground when set my position. I figured that I should stick lighter with the holds here as I’ve noticed that those really sap my strength (and I really seem to cheat rows in general) and don’t need to mess with plateloaded dumbbells just yet. Right side my scapula wasn’t tracking right. Or something wasn’t. Just felt like shoulder blade wasn’t moving right way and tendons and such were just off. I’m not sure exactly what it is or if I’m describing it right. But I’ve had it happen before and just need to get stuff moving again and it will feel fine. Part of the shoulder issue and I know that doing these kinds of exercises will get the shoulder stable and feeling good again eventually. Thing is that the week of the contest, the left side was the one that didn’t feel like it was tracking. Half way through the second working set, it felt normal with it feeling perfectly fine on that last set. With both shoulder blades feeling set, I was able to feel my midback contract better. I think that was when lightbulb clicked that this was going to help with log cleans with hitting these muscles. Next was an exercise I’ve maybe done before but never really did much in the past. Bench dips. I think just testing out exercises to see how they feel and if they are good ones to try with all the different things going on with the shoulders and knees. Plan being 3x12. See how they felt and adjust from there. I may have read things wrong and I might have been only to do 3x12 with bodyweight with my feet on the ground (essentially the easiest variation) with indication to put my feet on a bench and add weight for progression. I took that as if initial was too easy to do that to stick with a 3RIR difficulty. Did a few reps testing things out and shoulders seemed ok. This is definitely an exercise where my shoulders need to be warmed up and loose to do I think. If any shoulder was going to give me issues, it was going to be the right one. Yet another use for the single leg support bench thingy for this exercise. A bit tricky adding weight to my lap so perhaps may need to adjust by doing tempo or more reps possibly as these did seem like a good one for the triceps. Back to supersets. Leaning side laterals with band face pulls. I figured I could do a decent bit on the leaning laterals as most of what I’ve done has been with holds and pauses in the past. Same with the face pulls as of late. Only thing I made perhaps a misjudgment on was which side to start. I assumed my right would be the lagging side with how it has felt a little wonky and fatigued and that arms tendonitis is worse. It seemed to be ok. The left side was tougher. I did end up putting on the compression cuff for that side on the following sets and it felt a ton better. Have to remember that. Face pulls were quite easy compared. Shorter movement and less time really. Last item was close grip push-ups. Assuming these were to be bodyweight only. I made sure to keep the rest between to the 2 minutes or so to minimize how much I recovered. But I also tend to do a lot that first set and fatigue sets in quick and I struggle to hit higher reps. So I may have stopped prematurely on that first set as goal was to do 2RIR on these and probably closer to 3-4RIR. Hard to say when the fatigue hits on these. Wrists and shoulders ached initially on like the first two reps and then felt nice and smooth. Just haven’t been doing push-ups without ring or grip for like ever haha. Finished up this workout fairly quickly so I had time to put everything away and stretch before eating pot roast.
Comments: Well the good news is that allergy/cold stuff is getting a lot better. Only had to use nasal spray as opposed to using Claritin and Dayquil. One super easy day and then back into it. And I think honestly that was enough time to feel like training with some intensity again. A little bit later start than planned but that was ok (other things going on) as needed to let my pot roast cook longer. So this would be the true start to the workout cycle. Offseason deemed as “pump/hypertrophy” phase. Start slow and build up from there. Feel the muscles working, don’t just move the weight. Still keeping an eye on the shoulders at this point. Starting point of the session was bands superset. Pec flyes with pull-aparts. Noting to try and feel the chest stretch on the later. Like those old timey chest expanders I guess. I wasn’t sure if I’d need more tension on these based off of how these had felt before. I decided that I’d aim lighter than if I was to be pushing things as this was higher reps than before, shoulders could be upset with me on them and I haven’t tried that long of holds for that many reps on pull-aparts. This was the right call. The pec flyes were perfect, though the tendonitis was acting up a bit (tolerable). The pull-aparts were torturous. Burning in the anterior deltoids from fatigue and lactic acid. Even using a micro band, these were a struggle by the last set. Shoulders and chest were already pretty toasted just one exercise pairing in and I had a good bit more to do. Just getting started. So first exercise with weights was log incline bench presses. Kind of expected since log is the press event for the next contest and from how training went in the first cycle with these (after I got used to them), these seem like a good secondary day exercise to work on getting shoulders, triceps and chest strong. So the plan for these was to pyramid up in and then do 4x8 with a weight I felt I could do with 3-5RIR on that first set. The catch was that these were to be done with 3 seconds negatives and brief pause at the chest and aim for 2 minutes rest. With how things felt after the bands, this could be a struggle haha. I decided that I’d do 20lbs-ish jumps in weight and then a bigger jump near the end before the working sets. Get used to the movement and feel how my shoulders were handling things. I also decided to not use any fractional plates and worry about that nonsense. I figured based off past numbers and then taking the goals of the session that log plus my red bumper plates would fit the bill. These felt fine enough. Took until the second set where it felt a good bit easier than the first that I realized I did 10 reps instead of 8 that first set. Right shoulder with how it has been feeling was definitely feeling more fatigued compared to the left one by the end. Understandable really. From there it was on to rows. Dumbbell rows using the bench to support my chest. Control the movement and hold in contraction for 3 seconds. No arching the back. Suggested was to put weights on a bench or box to make easier to get to. But I got long ass arms and picking them off the ground works best for me and they won’t touch the ground when set my position. I figured that I should stick lighter with the holds here as I’ve noticed that those really sap my strength (and I really seem to cheat rows in general) and don’t need to mess with plateloaded dumbbells just yet. Right side my scapula wasn’t tracking right. Or something wasn’t. Just felt like shoulder blade wasn’t moving right way and tendons and such were just off. I’m not sure exactly what it is or if I’m describing it right. But I’ve had it happen before and just need to get stuff moving again and it will feel fine. Part of the shoulder issue and I know that doing these kinds of exercises will get the shoulder stable and feeling good again eventually. Thing is that the week of the contest, the left side was the one that didn’t feel like it was tracking. Half way through the second working set, it felt normal with it feeling perfectly fine on that last set. With both shoulder blades feeling set, I was able to feel my midback contract better. I think that was when lightbulb clicked that this was going to help with log cleans with hitting these muscles. Next was an exercise I’ve maybe done before but never really did much in the past. Bench dips. I think just testing out exercises to see how they feel and if they are good ones to try with all the different things going on with the shoulders and knees. Plan being 3x12. See how they felt and adjust from there. I may have read things wrong and I might have been only to do 3x12 with bodyweight with my feet on the ground (essentially the easiest variation) with indication to put my feet on a bench and add weight for progression. I took that as if initial was too easy to do that to stick with a 3RIR difficulty. Did a few reps testing things out and shoulders seemed ok. This is definitely an exercise where my shoulders need to be warmed up and loose to do I think. If any shoulder was going to give me issues, it was going to be the right one. Yet another use for the single leg support bench thingy for this exercise. A bit tricky adding weight to my lap so perhaps may need to adjust by doing tempo or more reps possibly as these did seem like a good one for the triceps. Back to supersets. Leaning side laterals with band face pulls. I figured I could do a decent bit on the leaning laterals as most of what I’ve done has been with holds and pauses in the past. Same with the face pulls as of late. Only thing I made perhaps a misjudgment on was which side to start. I assumed my right would be the lagging side with how it has felt a little wonky and fatigued and that arms tendonitis is worse. It seemed to be ok. The left side was tougher. I did end up putting on the compression cuff for that side on the following sets and it felt a ton better. Have to remember that. Face pulls were quite easy compared. Shorter movement and less time really. Last item was close grip push-ups. Assuming these were to be bodyweight only. I made sure to keep the rest between to the 2 minutes or so to minimize how much I recovered. But I also tend to do a lot that first set and fatigue sets in quick and I struggle to hit higher reps. So I may have stopped prematurely on that first set as goal was to do 2RIR on these and probably closer to 3-4RIR. Hard to say when the fatigue hits on these. Wrists and shoulders ached initially on like the first two reps and then felt nice and smooth. Just haven’t been doing push-ups without ring or grip for like ever haha. Finished up this workout fairly quickly so I had time to put everything away and stretch before eating pot roast.
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