Comments: Surprisingly warm out today, at least when I was raking. Odds aren't too good with the auction since it's already up over $200 and getting closer to my max bid. Plan B is to make a squat stand out of railroad ties. I might also be getting 6 pairs of 45lbs plates from someone nearby for $0.50 a pound.
Comments: Walking helped clear my head today and I think I'm over this little pity party I've been having. The plan is to start fresh on Monday so I'll be taking Sunday off from lifting too. As far as current changes. here's what I have in mind:
Replacing 10" log bench press with 12" log bench press (no brainer here)
Replacing one arm dumbbell snatches with one arm dumbbell dirty (cheat) rows
Dropping abdominal exercises
Doing lunges for 3x10/10 and bavarian lifts for 3x20
Replacing yoke with duck walk
Alternating volume and distance for farmer's/duck walk (can only go 50' one way now)
What I'm working towards is making it so I can do my lower body dynamic days at my house which would involve speed box squats, yoke, farmer's and lunges. So currently, I'm looking to purchase extra olympic style plates and I'm currently winning an ebay auction for yukon power rack and 300lbs of weight. If that goes through, I'll most likely be purchasing a yoke from Pitbull Strongman Equipment. Still looking for places to store equipment and do events close by. Possible location is a gym called Sharks near by and storage place in York county. Fixed my chain yoke as well.
Comments: Everything was closed today so only walking, which did feel good. A lot of tension in my upper back and neck from stress. Kind of feeling tired and unmotivated today. Then again, that was after eating Thanksgiving dinner. A little more sleep and then I need to figure some of this crap out tomorrow.
Snatch Grip Bent Over Rows (straps) 235x12 PR+10lbs 235x12 235x12
Bent Over Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises 45'sx15 PR+2.5lbs 45'sx15 45'sx15
31 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: The workout went okay but my head was definitely not into it. Right palm was bothering me on board presses, seemed to feel better when I switched to a thumbless grip. I was expecting a little more than 300lbs (maybe 315), since I've handled 385lbs in straight weight and got it a few inches off the board. This is exercise is a different animal and I have to remember that. Setting up the rack for reverse band log presses is a pain in ass, especially by myself. I went with 190lbs as my first set instead of 150lbs since that's barely enough to keep the log down and last time it became a sling shot and killed a sweatshirt. I was pretty happy with how it was going (I thought I was using 330lbs on my last set) and went for what I thought was 380lbs (370lbs). So close to lockout on it but no good. I was pissed and then to figure out I was doing less weight made me even madder. In retrospect, the set with 320lbs was a lot easier than the last time I did them. I like the exercise but I need to start at a heavier weight (say 210lbs) and take smaller jumps (30lbs), for now. Anyways, I was between thinking about packing it in and just toughing it out. I took some rage out on the snatch grip rows and my lats were sore afterwards.
November 25, 2009
Walking – 31 minutes
Comments: I was planning to lift today but the Annex was closed and I had planned on getting my equipment from there to do my workout at the Y. I'll have to wait until Friday. Probably for the best, too angry to lift with purpose. It is surprising how a bunch of little things can pile on and stress you out. If anything, two days off will give me some time to think, plan and rest.
Comments: Kind of a mixed bag workout and I'm trying to focus on the positives. Week kind of got off to a stressful start right out of the gates. I worked up to 315lbs double overhand and I gave it a shot with 365lbs but put it back down half way up the first pull. Grip isn't that good. While 550lbs is PR for most I've deadlifted on either barbell or thick bar, I was expecting more. I have to remember that this Williams Strength axle is stiff as hell and has no give like the pipe ones and hollow one's I've used in the past. I also should be thrilled I got 570lbs so close both times, hell getting off the ground is a big step forward. Kind of killed me for the down set but it still is the first time I've repped 500lbs. Zerchers felt really tough until I got to 395lbs and 435lbs felt even easier. A good change from last time when I failed at getting a third rep. I was tempted to go for another set but thought better of it. Forgot my loading pin to do Bavarian lifts and tried to jerry-rig something up but it broke as soon as I did my first rep. So I went heavy on hip thrusts instead. Barbell situps were bothering my right palm so I may need to ditch that exercise too. A little more experimentation and thinking and I've have my new training set-up ready to go.
It appears that the one gym I've been training strongman events at (the Annex) is shutting down. I not sure exactly when but I just know that I have to get my stuff out of there in the near future. Essentially no more event training until we find another place to keep the equipment. I could still do events on the weekends at other places but they are about an hour away. Also means I'll have to adjust my training again for these new changes. Obviously the biggest one is no more weekly access to a yoke. Such is life. I'll post more when I know more about the situation.
Comments: Sunday appears to have become chore day. Cleaned the gutters and then raked up the leaves. Felt good getting blood flowing in the arms and upper back. Almost 248lbs this morning so the weight gain is on track.
One Arm Dumbbell Snatches 60x8/8 75x8/8 85x8/8 85x8/8
Barbell JM Presses 100x15 PR+5lbs 100x15 100x15
33 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Pretty good workout and it was probably for the best to rest yesterday because it was a tough one. I had to adjust my weights for log pressing since I had just done 25lbs more than the weight I was basing the percentages off of and I was little worried that it would be too much. My worries were unfounded and I think I did even better than I did last week with 30lbs less. Man is dumbbell work getting heavy now. Near had the wind knocked out of me cleaning that thing each time. Good practice for those circus dumbbells at Battle at the Barn. This is the most weight I've put up over my head with one arm. Snatches were just ho-hum, just going through the motions. JM's were strange today. The first set felt like I wasn't warmed up or anything, the second was easy peasy and the third set was really tough. Shoulders, triceps and traps are tired now.
Comments: Found out when I got to the gym that event training on Saturday was canceled so I figured I should catch up on my sleep and do Friday's workout tomorrow.
Comments: Walking is always good, especially after three hard days of lifting. It feels good. I'm over the moon with how my training has been progressing since PA's Strongest Man, especially this week. It's kind of surprising since I haven't been getting as much sleep as I would like this whole week.
Farmer's Walk 151x50' 201x50' 251x50' 301x50' PR+31lbs
Barbell Hip Thrusts 135x15 135x15 135x15
27 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Kind of a ho hum workout at the start. Squats were decent and yoke was relatively tough. Everybody else loves that yoke but I think it's wobbly as hell. The pain is good for me. Then I got to farmers. The pick was quite slow with 251lbs but my grip held in like a champ. I knew that I was in for a tough pick on my next set and probably wouldn't get too far due to grip fatigue. Glad I was only half right. The pick with 301lbs had to be the slowest and ugliest one I'd ever done. It went up and I walked it the whole way. Huge PR for me on probably my worst event. I'm ecstatic about it to be honest. Finished up with a new exercise called barbell hip thrusts aka barbell humping aka iron girlfriend aka weighted Friday night special. It's a ridiculous looking movement and it's bit tough to get the bar over my legs. I started light to see how it felt. It didn't feel like much until the last few reps of the first set. I'll need to add some more weight next time to see if it's worth keeping.
Snatch Grip Bent Over Rows (straps) 225x12 PR+10lbs 225x12 225x12
Bent Over Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises 42.5'sx15 42.5'sx15 42.5'sx15
26 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Excellent workout. I knew I would get more than my PR from March but by how much, I wasn't sure. I was certainly not expecting more than my axle jerk for sure. You know that feeling where you just unrack the weight and know that you're going to make the lift? Awesome. I got a little off balance on my down set. I think I have an easier time pressing for reps when it's clean and press every rep since the weight isn't constantly on my chest. Need to work on that. Was supposed to only do a 5lbs increase for rack log half presses but 10lbs was just easier to load. Upper back stuff was strong and explosive. I'm going to give those barbell hip thrusts a try with a light weight after farmer's walk tomorrow.
Comments: Changed my plans for this workout. Was going to do back squats but figured it would be better to try out my SSB and get some more work on it before any upcoming contests. I was a little annoyed that the sleeves are really thin and none of my clips or clamps would fit snugly on it. Looks like I'll have to use my PDA clamps next time. I really like it, I could feel it in the middle of my back once I got over 300lbs. My goal was 350lbs as I was basing it off of about 77% of my max back squat. I knew that 370lbs would go up so I went with 380lbs and had a little struggle with it but obviously not enough of a struggle to make me think that 400lbs would staple me; twice. A few more workouts with this bar and 400lbs will fall. The set with 345lbs was unbelievably tough, probably from missing 400lbs twice. Grip wasn't there today and I knew I couldn't get three with 335lbs double overhand so I went with straps for that set too. Back was pretty fatigued at this point but still got all the sets. Bavarians were really tough because I took off part of the loading pin setup making the pull about 2" longer. Abs went well but I may need to drop this exercise since I can only add another 20lbs to the triceps bar with 10's. Thicker diameter plates don't get past my shoulders and a barbell might be a tad dangerous and a hassle. Need to do some testing. Weight is going up again.
Comments: Mowing always seems to loosen up my lower back. Walking went nicely too. Still not sure about any contests before Battle at the Barn but I am leaning towards Clash of the Titans and Strongmen Support Santa over the Brute Strength one due to distance (I can sleep at home) and the possibility of my little sister competing in Clash of the Titans (which already has over 10 women competitors committed to it so a big turnout to learn from). I still have a few weeks to figure things out before I have to commit.
Comments: Ended up being the dynamic duo today with my little sister and I. I figured I try out some events from upcoming contests. The plan was crucifix hold, chain yoke, side handle apparatus deadlift and stones. However, when I found out that the Annex wouldn't be open as long as I had thought, we decided to drop stones. Brooke wanted to give the log another try after missing it a lot last week. After four failed attempts at the 10" 80lbs log she got it. I wish I had been filming her. Went on to crucifix holds and boy is that a boring event. It really needs to be done with flaming swords or severed heads to make it interesting. It also doesn't compliment my albatross wingspan. I think I can get over a minute with some more practice. Next was chain yoke and I haven't done this since August 17 of this year and I figured I'd be rusty from using strictly regular yoke. I also had no plans of going over the contest weight for the light weights (575lbs). After the first set I got in a groove. Really surprised how fast I was moving with it. Technically all sets were PR's for distance since the most I could go was 29' at the YMCA. Unfortunately, the ring that connects on to one of the loading pins bent when I dropped the yoke with 602lbs. Won't be doing chain yoke until I find a replacement. I was planning on deadlifts but I realized that I couldn't really add weight with only one person so I went with something I've dieing to try out, arm over arm with the 1.5" manila rope. Fun but really tough.
One Arm Dumbbell Snatches 64x6/6 79x6/6 94x6/6 114x6/6 PR+14lbs & 5 reps
Barbell JM Presses 95x15 PR+5lbs 95x15 95x15
32 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: An interesting workout today. Some sets were on and others not so much. Again had issues with one arm pressing but it came together on the last set and the weights went up effortlessly. DB snatches were originally going to be starting at 54lbs and going up to 99lbs but I decided to add 10lbs to the weights. That would have been fine if I didn't mess up and add 15lbs to the last set. That one was tough. It's the most I've done for a snatch with one arm. Finished up with JM's, which have been helping a lot with my triceps.
Comments: Walking felt good, especially after yesterday's workout. Add on the two previous workouts and you get really stiff and sore. That yoke carry is probably the toughest thing I've done in strongman. So yeah, a day off today was a good thing.
Farmer's Walk (turns at 50') 141x100' 181x100' 216x100' 216x100'
Barbell Sit-ups 95x15 PR+10lbs 95x15 95x15
24 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Good workout today but it was a long one. Box squats had good speed but it felt heavy due to the tough workout on Monday. I have to use the backroom now for yoke and farmers due to the yoke taking up main part of the Annex when I use it. Only change is that I can't go any farther than 75' so for my light 100' days, I'll need to make turns at 50'. I felt slow with 410lbs but the video suggests otherwise. In fact, all of my sets felt slow. 650lbs was tough so I knew that 770lbs was going to be incredibly tough. Some how I found a way to get it going and got 75' with no drops. Man was I tired after that. Farmer's were tough after that, especially with the turns. I loathe turns but they are good for me. Finished off with abs.
Snatch Grip Bent Over Rows (straps) 215x12 PR+10lbs 215x12 215x12
Bent Over Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises 42.5'sx15 42.5'sx15 42.5'sx15
27 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Excellent workout today. I found out earlier that my dad was back home so that put me in a good mood the rest of the day. I wasn't too sure how axle clean and jerks would go since I haven't done any axle cleans since August with only 240lbs at New Jersey's Strongest Man. The plan was to get just 5lbs over my previous best of 270lbs from York Barbell Cradle of Iron Strongman Show. I knew that with my overhead press (pretty much all of my pressing) going up, anything I could clean I could put overhead on these. I felt a little slow working up but I did manage to power clean 260lbs which is a 10lbs PR for an axle power clean. With a little effort I got my 275lbs goal weight and thought why not try 290lbs for kicks. Apparently 290lbs is lighter than 275lbs. My head wasn't in it when I tried for 300lbs after that and I missed the clean. Next time. The set with 263lbs went well, I think I had one more left in me. Had to really struggle on my last set of log bench since it was heavy and I had a bad grip on the log, making it really wobbly. Upperback stuff was a bit tougher, as it usually is following a deload. My SSB did arrive today but I'm waiting until tomorrow to take it out of its packaging.
Comments: It felt good to get back to the heavy stuff. It's been a little hectic with my dad in the hospital, recovering from surgery, and mom getting pneumonia. He should be out Wednesday. I was hoping to use my new SSB but it appears to have not been shipped until today so I should get it tomorrow. So I had to go with plan B, manta ray squats, aka the poor mans SSB. It went well besides the set with 350. My upperback wasn't able to stay tight and it kept pitching me forward so I racked it a two reps. Rack pulling went great, did 315lbs double overhand before going to straps and got 405 for three. I knew that I wouldn't get three with 455 but I wanted to see if I could even get one. Assistance work had me gassed. Getting sick with a cold and coming back from a contest deload isn't easy when it comes to the rep sets.
Comments: Actually got a good upper body workout from raking leaves today. Walking went well too. Still undecided as to what I'm going to do as far as upcoming contests.
Tackyless Atlas Stones 240x5 to 56" 330x0 to 54" 330x1 to 54" PR+6" 350x0 (no lap)
Comments: Really easy day, at least for me. The other guys did go up to 800 on the yoke. I'm going to be going heavy on it Wednesday. Did some tackyless stones. Almost loaded 330 the first time but it caught the edge. I really need to work on the top end load portion and I plan to not use any lower a platform than 54" on stones unless we some how get a freakishly huge/heavy stone. Got 330 the second attempt which was maybe 15 seconds after the first. It's a pr for height and ties the heaviest stone I've lifted without tacky for weight. This one is a bigger circumference then the other one I've done. It is also a PR for height for a stone this weight with tacky so yeah. Tired to budge the 21.5" diameter 350 stone sans tacky and I think I got it an inch off the ground my first try but I wasn't even close on the others. It's going to take some time to get this one sans tacky. Had my younger sister training with us and Myka helped her out a ton on the events. She worked up to a 310lbs yoke for 55' four times, did some picks with 360lbs and 400lbs, attempted quite few times at pressing a 80lbs 10" log and loaded an 118lbs stone to a 48" platform three times. SSB didn't come yet, it might some later but it looks like I'll have to weight until Monday.
Comments: Okay lifting today. Just viper styled all the log presses, I'm really terrible at doing them that way, practically a muscle snatch with the log. Thick dumbbell was bothering my right palm a little and my left forearm when I would lower the dumbbell from the clean. That I think is from Conan's Wheel on 10/24. Snatches and JM's went smoothly. My SSB didn't arrive today so hopefully tomorrow or Monday at the latest since I would like to be using it then.
Comments: Getting a little better each day no. Barely any coughing when I was walking. Quite pleased that nothing feels beat up from the contest. As far as upcoming contests, there's a strong possibility that I'll be doing Brute Strength Gym's Strongest Man II (Jan. 9) and possibly Strongmen Support Santa (Dec.12).I plan on doing a lot more contests this coming year. Just have to see how these next few weeks go.
Snatch Grip Bent Over Rows (straps) 150x10 150x10 150x10
Bent Over Rear Delt Dumbbell Raises 30'sx15 30'sx15 30'sx15
36 Minutes of Stretching
Comments: Okay first workout back, especially with recovering from my cold. Still coughing up stuff and occasional sinus headaches act up but it's all good. Nothing really stood out as sore which is good, just had to do a lot of stretching. Appetite is improving so I'll hopefully be back on the weight gain train soon. Still undecided if I'll be doing any more contests this year or if I'm doing any before Battle in the Barn, January 30, 2010. This week I'm hoping my SSB arrives.
Comments: Felt horrendous yesterday, didn't even want to move. Feeling so much better today but not well enough to go to work or lift. Did a short walk today to at least get the blood flowing. Being sick has made me lose a lot of weight (I'm under 241lbs now) so I'm trying to put more food in me even with my suppressed appetite. I'm hoping another good night of sleep and I'll be well enough to do my post-contest deload workouts.
I’m a little taller than 6′6″ and I really like to lift weights. I’m a competitor in amateur strongman contests. My hope is to become a competitive professional strongman. Currently I'm training for Natural Strongman USA West Coast Championship in Poulsbo, WA on 5/17/2025. I’m not a major competitor yet and I have a long way to go but I’m having fun.
