March 29, 2018 – Week 7, Day 2

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Axle Strict Presses
72x5
110x1
130x1
150x1
170x1
190x1
210x1
230x1

Squats to 16” Box
45x10
135x5
185x3
225x1
265x2
318x2
371x2
424x2
477x2

Wide Grip Deadlifts w/ bands (straps) (band tension = 99lbs)
155x2
245x2
335x2
335x2
335x2
335x2
335x2

Stretching

Comments: Just tired all the time. Hitting snooze button a bit more liberally. Hopefully when it finally is time for the recovery time before the contest I will super-compensate. Day in and day out grinding. Still got aches in my right knee. Left inside of leg/hip has been feeling off since Saturday off and on. Car buffer daily on the upper body and legs and anti-inflammatories when needed. Warmed up on the AMT. 154bpm highest reading. Wearing the knee sleeve still during workouts. Calf work was pretty easy but right wrist a little tight. Hamstrings really tight on wide stance box touches. Box squats felt ok but knees ached. Regular style box touches felt ok. Little knee ache at the start but felt okay as I did the reps. Band rows were ok. Pushups not so much. Right pec cramped up immediately on the first rep. Stretching it out and trying to massage it the rest of the workout. Not sure what that was about. Hip airplanes were needed. Hips were tight as well as my hamstrings. Lost my balance once on the left side. Finished up the prep with biceps stretches. Found a slightly better setup to stretch this time but still not as good as the old setup with the smith machine. First item up was axle strict presses. Still pressing work but less stress on the knee. Empty axle felt fine but as weight went up, the unracking of the weight put more and more stress on the right knee. Same plan with 20lbs jumps as most of the pressing has been. With how log strict went, I was hoping that I would be close to that, despite not doing much axle work. 190lbs and 210lbs felt pretty good so I was surprised how difficult 230lbs felt. I think the knee bugged me on the unrack and I used more shoulder to get it off the j-hooks than I’d normally do. It looked a lot faster on video than it felt but I called it there. Weight went too far away from me off the shoulders so it was a lot harder. Not going to beat myself up on this since not much focus on strict pressing. Most pressing has been log since I qualified for Nationals in 2017 haha. Squats to box next. This was going to be interesting using the new “old” power rack. I think a few people weren’t sure it would hold up to much weight. It will take some getting used to as it is deeper but not as wide. There isn’t a back to it like the old one that I could put my feet up to so that I knew I was right under the bar. J-hooks are a little deeper so I can’t quite get the bar at the right spot as before on my back so walkout was a little tricky. I forgot that I was to do controlled negatives on the warm-up with the bar until I was about five reps in haha. I was also watching my knees and legs on these. The options had been working up in heavy doubles, speed doubles or skipping completely if my knee was acting up too much. I hate deviating from the plan. I was noticing little difference between the increased weight and discomfort so I kept pushing it to stick with the original plan of doubles up to projected 90%. Odd weights to stick with percentages. Everything felt heavy. Having thoughts like my left leg would just collapse under me on some of these lifts. Obviously didn’t happen but fatigue everywhere is definitely letting doubts seep in but I’m pretty good at blocking them out. Heavy stuff felt slow and heavy. Second to last double I got a little too far forward on the last rep trying to go up fast and had to stumble it back to the j-hooks. Last double felt pretty darn heavy. But maybe another two ugly ones in the tank if the world depended on it. Last thing for the day being the wide grip band pulls. Wasn’t as concerned about giving these everything I had this time as my right hamstring wasn’t feeling as off as it did last time. Right knee was a bit achy at the bottom getting setup but nothing actually lifting. This was also a bit tricky setting up as I worried I couldn’t setup like I usually do with the bands. There were band pegs but not wide enough to stretch the bands enough. But I made it work with using the band pegs and a dumbbell to be almost the exact same tension as the previous setup. I wasn’t expecting that haha. These don’t get any easier. By the time I got to my first work, set I had a little bit of an audience so I couldn’t look bad now. Taped my right shin to keep from bleeding. Second to last double the second rep wasn’t as confident as the other lifts. Just happy to be done the workout. Got recovery burritos and then home to stretch, relax, eat and sleep.

March 27, 2018 – Week 7, Day 1

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

12” Log Push Presses
100x1
120x1
140x1
160x1
180x1
200x1
220x1
240x1
260x1
280x1
300x1
320x1 PR+5lbs

Pulldowns
60x15
110x8
140x8
170x8
200x8
230x8

Bench Presses
45x10
85x3
145x3
195x3
245x3
295x3
345x3
1 Second Pauses
285x5

Stretching

Comments: Tired. Been trying to get to bed early so that I’m well rested for training. Definitely getting more sleep the past few days but it never seems to be enough. I guess the heavy stone took a bit out of me haha. Hamstrings tight as are the hip flexors. Stretching out my hip flexors on my rest days and adding massage with the car buffer to hamstrings and calves. Right knee is feeling better but still aches are stuff. Stupid deadlift miss still bugging me. Keeping the copper infused knee sleeve on for training at the moment. Had to do a double take when I got to the gym as they moved stuff, got new stuff and got rid of some old stuff. I was initially pissed as they got rid of the old power rack that I can overhead press in standing in needed. It is adjustable so it is fine for now. The old cable towers are gone so no idea if it is the same resistance on the new ones. There goes over a decade or PR tracking there haha. Smith machine also gone. I used it mostly for stretching and getting my deadlift suit on so not a terrible loss. AMT to warm-up. No issues doing this on the legs. Heartrate got up to only 153bpm. Maybe it is lower due to getting more sleep? Calf raise work after that. Good. No issues here. Box touches with a wide stance after that. Hamstrings were super tight but these felt good. Box squats felt ok. Legs felt fine. Knees a little achy but they generally are more so during the week with mid-week being the worst. Then regular stance box touches. Hamstrings tight but not as much as the wide stance but more knee ache. However it was less and less as the set went on. Band rows after that. Good here. Push-ups were also good. No achy shoulder. Hip airplanes were good and needed. Continuing to do a slow movement. Biceps stretching followed that. Had to use a different setup as the Smith machine is gone. Log again. A week break from the push presses and now back again. 20lbs jumps up to a top single. These sessions I’m always aiming for more weight. This was one session where not being at my best was ok with me. At least that’s what my body and mind were telling me. Right knee was not cooperating early on. Slow on starting the lift off the rack and no flexibility setting the log back down. I knew that had to be sorted out or it would get dangerous as the weight moved up and up. Had to play around with my stance a bit to find what didn’t make my knee act up on me. Honestly, everything felt heavy. Getting the weight up to press felt slow and I was surprised I even got 280lbs to go up. I figured after that effort that 300lbs would be my limit. A little slow and I really don’t know how I got 320lbs as I was going to give it a shot but wasn’t expecting it to go. I mean I was focused and treating it a real attempt but my default was feeling like maybe next time. Definitely went out a bit on the drive but my lower body drive I was able to get my hips back under the weight quick and power it up for a solid lockout. Everything feeling heavy and 15lbs on to my best log push press. So happy with that. On to the next thing. Pulldowns. Entirely new cable system so I really have no idea how it compares to what I’ve been doing. I figured I’d just do my usual and just take bigger jumps. Five sets of 6-8 reps was the plan. This is the first time that I’ve felt absolutely nothing in my right biceps on these despite increasing the weight a fair amount from last time. This setup isn’t the best for me as the seat isn’t adjustable but the leg pad is. Also putting on additional weight outside of the set jumps is a little tricky (since they got rid of one of the magnet weights). Felt good on these today despite the change. Last thing for the session was bench press. I started lighter than I meant as I had thought this was close grip style. I realized this as I setup on the bench with 85lbs so I made the appropriate weight jumps after that. Goal for the session being a decent triple. Right shoulder was a little tight and achy with the wider grip but nothing major or debilitating. 295lbs felt ok besides the lockout on the last rep. Had me considering the next jump being a bit much. But I got it with a little in the tank so just right. Tying my best triple again but it was much easier this time. Dropped off a bit of weight for a set of paused singles. Tough but doable. Home to stretch (a lot) and then eat.

March 24, 2018 – Week 6, 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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

12” Log Clean and Viper Presses
Dumbbells
10’sx10
20’sx5
30’sx3
40’sx2
Log
100x1
120x1
140x1
160x1
180x1
200x1
220x1

Yoke
300x60’ in 6.96 seconds
400x60’ in 7.34 seconds
500x60’ in 7.83 seconds
600x60’ in 9.05 seconds
600x60’ in 8.88 seconds

Atlas Stones (tacky)
231x1 to 53.5”/237.5x1 to 53.5”/287.5x1 to 53.5”
295x1 to 53.5”/330x1 to 53.5”/365x1 (22”) to 53.5”
365x1 (22”) to 57.5”
375x1 to 57.5”
439x0 (22”)
439x1 (22”) to 53.5”

Stretching

Comments: Normally a day I look forward to and sometimes very anxious about. Training out in Lancaster with friends doing event work. Workout started out low and ended on a high. My mind and body were fighting me today but luckily I’ve had a lot of practice from experience dealing with those feelings. I was tired and slept in and my stomach wasn’t feeling so good. Not as bad as Wednesday but I ended up about 40 minutes behind schedule. Slipped on a patch of ice (hidden by the shadows) getting inside the gym so I took that as a sign to wear the copper infused knee sleeve today. Warmed up on the bike and that felt good. Calf raise work good and easy. Sumo box touches felt good. Hamstring really tight but no achy knees. Box squats my hips were tight but no issues with my knees. Pleased with that so far. Regular style box touches also felt pretty good. Just tight hamstrings. Band rows good. Push ups were great too. Hip airplanes were easy. Made sure these were slow and controlled. Got called out for “doing yoga” by a training partner haha. Stretched out my biceps on the yoke. Then the meat and potatoes of the workout. Log viper presses on deck. Warmed up with dumbbells like I’ve done in the past and then used the log. I didn’t realize how long it has been since I’ve done these. A little over nine months. As has been the case with my overhead pressing exercises, singles doing 20lbs jumps. Taped up my right shin after the first single as it nicked it a little on the healing scab. I was curious how these would go with my modified clean style and how my log overhead has felt. But it didn’t go so well. I was worried my hamstrings were going to blow off my leg. An irrational fear but I had to fight that on just about every lift. 200lbs felt a little slow but it was still going up nice and fast. 220lbs was not nice and fast. Usually this doesn’t happen until the next jump in weight for me. I knew it was a technique issue but I didn’t want to hammer in bad form going for more weight or taking the weight again. I at least hit the minimum on the training sheet and then it was on to the next thing. I was bummed about it but nowhere near the toll of say missing a big lift. Yoke next. 60’ runs with the aim being speed. Always trying to move as fast as I can on warm-ups anyways but with was more to get a little break from the heavy stuff before one more super heavy day before the show. 100lbs jumps up to the top weight of 600lbs for two runs. Knee was achy. I did a bit more “psyche up” then I’d usually do for these sets with this kind of weight. Again, my mind telling me my knee was going to explode and I wouldn’t be able to walk again. It gets exhausting fighting these doubts. 300lbs wasn’t as fast as I would like but usually my first run isn’t always at the top gear. Just using 25lbs plates today so that I could easily bring them in and out of the gym since I wasn’t going that heavy. I felt slow the whole time but I think that was because I was doing 10’ more than I’ve been doing for my runs. Right side of my upper back was feeling a little tender but nothing I can’t handle. First run with 600lbs didn’t start off great. I was quick off the start but that caused the yoke to tip forward and graze the ground a little bit before it balanced out. I felt I was too slow and kept telling myself faster. Just over nine seconds. I knew I could do better. I needed to do better. Second run I was a little more controlled on the start and picked up speed and finished under nine seconds. That last run was I think the only run that I felt was good. Now I didn’t know that all these times were improvements over the last time I did these weights for these distances at the time so I was just thinking so so right now. I didn’t realize they were personal bests until I checked my logs. Then it was stone time. Last time was a good refresher session. But I still had my doubts. At this point, I was worried my body would just fall apart. Arms would explode, back would explode, knee would explode, hamstrings would explode. I don’t usually have to deal with this much anxiousness but I manage to tamp it down as best I can. I couldn’t get the platforms as high as I wanted here like at Tyson’s Playground. Highest I could make it with enough space for three stone series was 53.5”. Still over competition height so it will work. Light series was all 18” stones. Wanted to work something light. Never actually done real stones at this gym. First stone went up easy and on to the next one. I heard someone shout “look out” and I shifted my head to the right as I figured the stone I had just placed was rolling back off the platform. But it didn’t really phase me and on to the next one. Pretty easy and I felt my transitions between the stones was good. A little dirty but not as bad as last time in VA. Medium series was a bit tougher. The ugly 20” stone that I made and the 22” light stone were part of this one. I could’ve put the egg shaped 375lbs stone at the end but I wanted to try the lighter 22” stone as the one at the end of the contest series will be 22”. No one had tried the 295lbs one yet and I’d never tried the new 22” stone. I wasn’t sure how I’d do with the 22” stone. Would it put more stress on my biceps? Would I remember how to lap this size stone? I couldn’t get my tacky to spread like I did for the first series but it held up well enough. First two stones went up well and I was actually pretty quick. I felt my foot speed was better compared to the equivalent series last time. 365lbs stone was easy to pick up (sealing job was perfect haha) but the extension was tough. I forgot how much harder it is to do these with the extension. Abs wanted to cramp up. So next thing was to do three heavy singles. With these doubts swimming in my head, the missed deadlift and how tough the 365lbs stone had felt to load, I went with the 365lbs stone again to 4” higher platform. I figured it would be easier this time with just the one stone and properly adjusting it, not going for speed. It was and I gave a couple middle fingers in celebration. So next up was the 375lbs stone. It’s a 20” stone but it is more oval shaped so it is wider one way versus the other. I wanted to continue with heavy weights and to get used to the wider stone so I did it with gripping it on the wide side. Definitely a bit dirtier compared to the 365lbs stone but it went up pretty easy. I had hoped to do the 439lbs stone today. That had been the goal after I got the 407lbs in VA so easy. I went back down to the 53.5” load height as I knew that I didn’t have that height in my today. Especially doing a 64lbs jump in weight. I get ready and attacked it. I think I surprised myself getting it off the ground as easy as I did that I didn’t trust myself and tried to lap it too early and down it went. I tried again but the tacky wasn’t doing it and I waved it off. But I still wanted it. If I could get it lapped. I was so close. So I went at it again and got it in my lap. It felt heavy when it was there. I got set and started to extend. Such a grinder. I just couldn’t get it up any higher but my friends’ cheering kept me going and I had it right at the lip of the platform. I switch from extending to pushing it. And it finally went up. I had a lot of emotion pent up that I let out. I usually don’t do that but it felt good. It wasn’t as clean as I would’ve liked it but it definitely is a step back to where I was with stones. Drove home and cleaned off before stretching and doing soft tissue work. Going to be sleeping hard tonight.

March 22, 2018 – Week 6, Day 2

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Circus Dumbbell Clean and Strict Presses
Plate Loaded Dumbbell with Fat Gripz Extreme
20x5 R (one clean)
20x5 L (one clean)
40x1 R
40x1 L
50x1 R
50x1 L
60x1 R
60x1 L
70x1 R
70x1 L
80x1 R
80x1 L
90x1 R
90x1 L
100x1 R
100x1 L
110x1 R
110x1 L
120x1 L

Deadlifts
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x1
Added Straps
495x1
585x0

18” Rack Pulls (straps/suit)
135x1
225x1
315x1
405x1
495x1
585x1
675x1
745x1

Stretching

Comments: Lots of snow the day before. Work closed and had to shovel twice. Even without the snow, it would’ve have probably been a good day to use a sick day as something I ate disagreed with me and I may have gotten little dehydrated. Snow also caused a delay the following morning so a little extra sleep. Warmed up on the AMT. 163bpm highest reading this time. It’s been this elevated the past few workouts. I can’t tell if it’s because I’m tired or if I’m actively putting in more effort here. Calf raises were easy. A bit tight but ok. Wide stance box touches were ok. Less soreness, tightness and achiness in hips, hamstrings and knees respectively. Box squats were ok but knees still achy on these. Regular style box touches were ok too. Band rows after that. Not bad. Push-ups were alright. Hip airplanes were pretty easy. Really trying to focus on controlled movement to get the hips to relax and fire right. Finished up with the biceps stretches. Then on to the weights as per usual. New on today with circus dumbbell strict presses. I’d like to get up to using my empty bell but that’s bit much now so used my makeshift one for now. Idea was to do just the concentric and controlled drop to a mat or something. 20lbs cut a hole in the mats so that wasn’t happening haha. 10lbs jumps up to about 90%. Feeling pretty good (a little antsy with the biceps on the right) at the start. Almost felt like my left side would lag or be equal. 70lbs with the switch to the 25lbs plates made a big difference. Felt more shoulder with the shortened ROM I guess. I had really wanted to get 120lbs but the weights weren’t going up so easy so I knew that might be closer to a max. Left side decided to wake up and got easier. 110lbs felt like the limit for the right side but went up comfortably on the left. With some hesitation, I went for 120lbs. Maybe a bit much for today. Not a max single but definitely closer to 95-97% range. So on to deadlifts. Singles after warm-up with 90lbs jumps with a goal of 585lbs. Taped my right shin just to keep blood time down as it had gotten scratched up with the wide grip band pulls. Maybe my knee was bothering me but the pulls felt off somehow on the warm-ups. Weight was moving fine and I thought nothing of it. 405lbs with the belt on I felt my left hip adjust slightly initiating the pull off the floor. No pain or anything just noticed pressure. 495lbs on the bar and straps on. This felt heavy. Heavier than I wanted it to feel with another 90lbs to go. Put it was just a single, I should be able to get it. I get amped up and gave it a tug and it barely came off the ground. My spirits plummeted. This is the first deadlift I’ve missed since returning from injury. It wouldn’t have stung so much if it wasn’t already a weight I’ve lifted. Maybe I was little dehydrated still (my tibialis anterior had cramped up the night before), maybe shoveling heavy snow the day before had fatigued me. Any excuse doesn’t seem to be satisfactory. It’s good thing that raw deadlift from the floor isn’t a contested event for this competition because this would’ve killed the workout for me. So I donned the deadlift suit for the rack pulls. I had wanted a big lift but with how deadlift went, I wasn’t optimistic. Just trying to treat each lift like it was a max lift attempt. Started at 135lbs and did 90lbs jumps. Idea today was to do a top single. I had originally hoped to do 765lbs for the top set. But that was before missing that deadlift. Deadlift and overhead press misses seem to get me the most (stone of steels got to be up there too haha) with how much effort I put into them and how much worth seems to be on these in strongman. Weights seemed to be moving well and I was getting the suit to do what I wanted it to. Got slower at 585lbs. 675lbs went up ok but not with as much confidence that I knew I had 90lbs more. Hell, I wasn’t sure I had 50lbs more with how it went. So I went with just 70lbs more for 20lbs increase over last time. This was still a gamble. Setup took a bit to get it to feel like it was in the right groove, everything tight with the slack out. Slow goings but it broke off the pins and up to lockout with no hitch. Right knee and hamstring held up. Hopefully I can achieve the 765lbs pull for an all-time PR which should hopefully mean an even bigger lift at the contest with a more favorable setup. Home to stretch and eat meatloaf before going to bed.

March 20, 2018 – Week 6, Day 1

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Reverse Band Seated 12” Log Presses (no back support)
Dumbbells
20’sx15
Log (no bands)
90x10
Added Bands (175lbs assistance)
230x1
270x1
290x1
310x1
330x1
350x1
370x1

Pulldowns
60x15
110x8
135x8
160x8
185x8
210x8

Close Grip Dead Floor Presses
135x3
185x3
235x3
285x3
335x3
269x5

Stretching

Comments: Definitely needed the massage session. Right leg, hip and arm tense and left side of my lower back tense. Got another one scheduled for the week of the contest. First day of spring and another snow storm. Luckily it wasn’t sticking to the roads so the gym was opened as it was going to be worse the next day. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at 163bpm. Right knee is still a little tender but I think it is feeling better after the massage to get the other muscles to stop pulling. Calf raise work after that. Tight but easy. Right calf definitely felt a little less tight. Box touches with a wide stance after that. Some knee aches. Hamstrings tight. No pain on box squats but knee really really achy. Then regular stance box touches. Felt about as good as the wide style. Maybe I was getting warm but not as much knee issues with is usually the opposite. Band rows after that and they were super easy. Push-ups were also good. No achy shoulder. Hip airplanes were pretty easy. Did an extra rep as some of the earlier reps didn’t feel like anything and wanted to make sure I was getting the hips to fire right. Biceps stretch after that. Ok here. Weights after that. Pretty big change here from the previous half of this training cycle in that not doing log push presses out of the rack. Not sure if this is a change due to my knee acting up last week or if this was always the plan. New exercise for me with doing seated log press with reverse bands. I like the no back support style for better carryover to my press since my torso moves with the lift. Warm-ups were higher reps without the bands as I figured with the planned band assistance needed that it would take a lot of weight to really feel like anything. It took a bit of time to figure out the setup and that usually is the case trying out new band stuff. I had meant to try this on a rest day. Goal for assistance was 140-180lbs. I had brought my average bands as I thought that would be enough but it wasn’t. Even when I had the bands go around the log rather than on the loading pins. Good thing I brought my monster minis too. Finally ready to go. 230lbs flew up like nothing so I put on two plates a side. I didn’t want to put too much at the start as I think the benefit of the frequent pressing has been the number of sets of singles working up. 20lbs jumps here. This got heavy fast as the ratio of band to straight weight shrunk. 350lbs still went up pretty smooth but I felt I had more. It was a gamble going for 370lbs but it went up. Not a true max but pretty close. Then on to the pulldowns. Same as it has been with light warm-up and five work up sets. This time just sets of eight reps. With the drop in reps, it can be tempting to bump up the weight a bit but I did just 10lbs more. Felt good. Only rep that felt off was the second to last rep of my last set that felt a little like it was overstressing the biceps. Otherwise, no feelings of dread like I’ve had on some sessions with this. Still 40lbs shy of my best in training since coming back but I feel my back is getting stronger on these with the controlled style. Dead floor presses with a close grip to finish out the day. Sets of three to a decent top triple and then a back off set of five with no grinding reps. I overestimated my abilities based off of how easy benching was last week. I set an overly optimistic top set to aim for and started with 135lbs off the bat. Probably should’ve done another warm-up set. Just adding 25lbs weights each side each set until 235lbs. Then since I wanted to rest a little more I switched to the 75lbs plates for the next set. Felt tough but not so much so that I felt the next set wouldn’t happen. 100lbs plates swapped on now. Definitely tough. Misgrooved the last rep and had to air hump it up to finish the lift. Burning the candle a little too close to wick here. I was going to do 275lbs for the down set but did a bit less just to be safe after that effort. Camera didn’t record this set but it also felt tough. But no grinders. Just slow. Home to stretch, recover and eat and hopefully sleep well.

March 17, 2018 – Week 5, 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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

12” Log Strict Presses
Swiss Bar
45x10
Log
100x1
120x1
140x1
160x1
180x1
200x1
220x1
240x1
260x1

Medley (Sandbag/Keg/Prowler)
200x60’/200x60’/275x60’ in 36.74 Seconds
250x60’/250x60’/325x60’ in 42.33 Seconds
300x60’/300x60’/375x60’ in 42.15 Seconds

Prowler Pushes
225x100’
225x100’
225x100’
225x100’
225x100’

Stretched

Comments: Knee bothering me but it’s manageable. I’ve had worse pains haha. Really tired. I had hit my snooze button five times the day before when I always do it once for work days. Ended up sleeping in later than expected this day too. Doesn’t really bother me to walk and I think the hamstring is doing a little better now. Drive out to Lancaster took a little longer due to construction. Only few people there for strongman when I started but more came in as I was doing my warm-ups. My dad gave me one of his copper infused knee sleeves. Like me, he doesn’t know if the claims are true but it will keep the knee warm. Also wore my arm one too as I wanted to stay warm for medley work outside. Warmed on the bike. Easy and felt good. Best it has every felt. Usually I feel like I’m breathing a bit or my legs can feel sore but it just felt peaceful almost. Calf raise work was good. Right calf is still tighter than left. I think that is also stressing the knee and I’ve been working the car buffer there too. Sumo box touches no issues. Hamstrings were really, really tight on these but felt good. Box squats also felt good. I was expected some knee aches but not much really. Regular box touches felt ok. More hamstring tightness and I had more knee aches here than box squats. I figured that might be the case due to more flexion of the knee here. Band rows and push-ups felt great. Hip airplanes were easy. No balance issues. But tight hips again. Stretched the biceps. Good. Not nearly as tight as they have been. Same with shoulders. On to the fun stuff. Originally the plan was to do log clean and push press like I have been doing and top out at 280lbs. But plans changed due to the knee and this was changed to strict press with the log out of the rack. Little tricky haha. The gym doesn’t have a rack that I can press in and nothing like the squat rack at the Y. The jerk blocks don’t go high enough for me either so I had to get creative. I used the two yokes for my “rack”. They aren’t quite even as far as height so I had to have the one on rubber mats to get it somewhat even. Warm-up set with a swiss bar. Log strict the idea was 20lbs jumps to a top single that wasn’t a max lift but a nice and powerful lift. I had a general idea of what I could do based off of training but can be hard to gauge. Knees were achy but I figured this would be the case getting the log off the yokes but it got better as I did them. I’ve done “strict” work on log before but I’ve either had knee bend or used the momentum of picking the weight off the rack to press so not really that strict. I wanted these strict. I paused the log for a moment after the lift off the rack and really tried to get my chest muscles into the lift.240lbs went up ok and probably would’ve been a good one to stop on but I wanted more. I figured if I got into little more excited that 20lbs more would be nothing. Mimicked the movement a few times and then got the log up and put it up about as easy as 240lbs. Pleased with that I I feel I had maybe 20lbs more there for a max. Took a bit to put the log away. I knew the medley was going to take time to setup. The sandbags had all been adjusted and reweighed. I did picks with the sandbag and the keg to see if it bothering anything in my knee or biceps. Same with the prowler drag. The workout came to a screeching halt though as my one training partner injured his left biceps doing a really light keg medley. He was distraught and I did my best to rationally explain things. Hopefully it is only a partial tear and he can recover quickly. But I have the feeling lingering with my own arm but I have to push it to the back as best I can. Medley work finally ready. Originally this was just going to be two sets with one really light and then contest weight. Another set in between those was added. Sandbag I reverted to my previous style of grabbing the top knot with my one hand. I’m leery of putting additional stress on that biceps at this time, especially with stones added to the mix. Up and going and easy transition to the keg. I had been thinking about these all this week on my walks in my head. Keg I didn’t carry as high since I had to put it back down and upright at the end rather than load it. I figured I’d have more control this way. The prowler drag was interesting. The weight listed for the contest is light but it might be changed. However, it could be just back loaded like I’ve seen in some videos. This makes the usual style of pulling work against you since it lifts to front up and has less points of contact. So the lean forward style I used seems to combat that effectively. I’m training both styles just in case. So not bad for the first run. Upped the weights on everything 50lbs for the next run. The wind changed direction so I had to reset my camera setup so it wouldn’t get knocked over. Almost had an equipment malfunction as the top knot on the 250lbs sandbag (the old 230lbs one) felt like it might snap but I got it up to my lap no problems. I had a bit of a misstep with the keg. The course had been reversed for this run so when I approached the keg, I was on the opposite side. That is my stronger side but I still want to avoid unnecessary stress to that biceps so I adjust my pick up on the fly. Oops haha. No issues with the drag. Then the big run. Contest weights for sandbag and keg. Don’t have a 300lbs sandbag just yet so I ended up duct taping 25lbs bag of lead shot to the new 275lbs one (previously 253lbs). I just needed it to hold for one run haha. A strongwoman competitor and friend, Paula, helped me set up the last run. I was impressed with how well she was moving the 250lbs and 300lbs implements. I was really worried about that stupid sandbag as I don’t know if I would’ve been able to get it up again if I dropped it. But things worked out better than expected. No issues on anything other than the sandbag being harder than the previous one to lap and carry. Last thing was some lightish prowler pushing. Was going to be a single stupid heavy sled drag but with the knee this was modified to this for today. Five sets of 100’ with a minute rest. Probably could’ve gone heavier but it felt good. Home to stretch eat and maybe fall asleep. Looking forward to deep tissue massage on Monday to be ready to go for the second half of this training cycle.

March 15, 2018 – Week 5, Day 2

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Axle Push Presses
72x5
110x1
130x1
150x1
170x1
190x1
210x1
230x1
250x1
270x1
290x1

Squats to 16” Box
45x10
95x5
135x3
185x3
238.5x3
292x3
345x3
397.5x3
451x3

Wide Grip Deadlifts w/ bands (straps) (band tension = 99lbs)
155x2
245x2
325x2
325x2
325x2
325x2
325x2

Stretching

Comments: Tired. Still feeling beat from event work on Saturday will all the driving and the heavy stuff. Noticing I’m not needing the car buffer for as much as I was doing now so might mean improvement there. Still using it daily. Right hamstring still got me cautious. Warmed up on the AMT. 157bpm highest reading. Felt my legs working hard on these. Some days I feel it in the muscles, sometimes in the joints and sometimes not at all really, just moving. Right calf a little tighter than my left on the raises. It’s easy stuff. Hips felt tight on the wide stance box touches as well as my hamstrings. Box squats felt ok. Hips tight but felt alright on the knees and no issues with the hamstring. Regular style box touches felt ok. More hamstring stress with this style. Band rows and push-ups after that. Both felt alright. Right shoulder a little achy on the push-ups. Hip airplanes were needed. Hips were tight as well as my hamstrings. Finished up the prep with biceps stretches. Feeling alright here. Time to lift. First item up was axle push press. Same plan as it has been with warm-up and then 20lbs jumps. Log had gone well so I was hoping that this would be good too. It was not. Right knee hurt just unracking the empty axle. Now sometimes it just is really achy and it gets better as the sets go as I get more and more into the session but not really the case this time. At the time, not sure what it was. Maybe the right hamstring being tight is pulling something. The more likely thing might just be push press three times a week is getting to be too much as the weight increases. I was playing around with the drive trying to make it more hips than quad to see if that would alleviate some of the stress. Even with how my knee was feeling, I didn’t want to call it quits too early. In hindsight, I probably should’ve stopped at 270lbs as 290lbs was definitely tougher than I would’ve liked and very close to a grinding lift at lockout. The funky squat to box was next up. I was feeling ok here. More knee issues unracking than actually squatting as I can sit back. I’ve done this before. But also nervous with it. Triples this time with set percentages. The odd red clamps were back and they come out to 2.5lbs together so I was able to get close to the weights I had so did some half pound lifts haha. I was feeling I was moving well and fast. It wasn’t until I got through the first planned working set that I realized that I was to be doing controlled negatives so I squared that up after that point. I know it is because of less total reps each set working up but my top sets even felt like I had more in the tank and bar speed on the concentric looked better the first few reps too. Last rep of the set with 451lbs I felt my right hamstring “shift” a little but no pain just had me concerned a bit. Last thing for the day being the wide grip band pulls. I normally love these but today I was leery. Loads on the hamstring on the super controlled eccentric. Slow moving against bands just puts a lot of stress on the deadlift muscles I need to build. And that’s why I normally love this. But could be pushing it today. Trying to keep the same bar speed or better from last time with just 10lbs more. But I know I wasn’t going 0-60 off the floor with my hamstring acting up so I was gauging how it felt and then trying to apply more load before going for a pull. I didn’t want any slack back there. I think on the first working set I cut my right shin so I had to wrap my leg with tape to keep from bleeding everywhere. Really working on controlling the weight down and having the weight gently resting on the ground without losing tightness in my back or legs. Like a butterfly landing on a flower gentle. Home to recover, put Icy Hot on my knee and eat a tasty meatloaf. Really looking forward to resting this weekend.

March 13, 2018 – Week 5, Day 1

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

12” Log Push Presses
90x1
110x1
130x1
150x1
170x1
190x1
210x1
230x1
250x1
270x1
290x1
310x1
315x1 PR+5lbs

Pulldowns
50x15
100x10
125x10
150x10
175x10
200x10

Close Grip Bench Presses
45x8
95x5
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5
320x5

Stretching

Comments: Did feel like daylight savings was having an effect on me until Tuesday afternoon. Then I felt the sleepies. Body is beat. I feel like a glass cannon sometimes. I got strength but I’m worried that minor things and aches will be bigger things. Might just be my own anxieties. Still got to watch the right biceps. Right hamstring also sore from that 407lbs stone. Under the arm and chest on the right the tendon feels stiff. Massage and walking to promote recovery with blood flow. Glad I booked two sessions for deep tissue massage this training cycle rather than my usual one. I was definitely dragging by the time I got to the gym as I was yawning the whole drive there. AMT to warm-up. No issues with the hamstring so that is good. Heartrate got up to 161bpm. Calf raise work after that. Easy but calves were tight and some pressure in my wrists. Box touches with a wide stance after that. Watching hamstring here too. Hoping these help get it to loosen up. Box squats felt ok. Legs felt fine. Knees a little achy. Then regular stance box touches. Again watching hamstrings here. Band rows after that. Good here. Push-ups were also good. No achy shoulder. Hip airplanes were pretty easy. Needed these again. Biceps stretching followed that. Log again. Goal 20lbs jumps up to a top single. Essentially what I’ve been doing the previous weeks. Last week kind of caused a hiccup. Last week was to be a conservative single. I got 310lbs and got greedy and went for 315lbs and missed that one pretty spectacularly. So this became a repeat going for 310lbs and if that went up well enough go for 315lbs again. I was bit petulant initially with having to “take a mulligan” as I thought I should just blaze past this. Some days I may not be at my best with this frequent pressing. But this was the plan and I needed to listen. Log felt a little off working up as my right side felt “looser”. Pits were soaked through with sweat by the time I got to 190lbs. But the weight seemed to keep going up. Hips were definitely still feeling the murder yoke from Saturday. I got 310lbs again. I don’t know if it was easier or even the same as it felt last week. It probably felt harder in truth but I didn’t want to stop there. I needed to push more. 5lbs more on the log. Didn’t feel as heavy this time and I got the groove right and it went up smooth to lockout. I definitely feel good for more when my for is on. Compared to last week feeling dejected with the miss, I was pumped with the solid lift. Pulldowns again. With the happy result on log, I increased the weight by 10lbs for my top set and took slightly larger jumps to get there. Now with how my arm was feeling after stones I really wasn’t sure how pulldowns would go working up but it seemed to be just fine. I set the seat down lower so that I had tension the entire lift. I worry that having a moment of relaxation might lead to more stress on the biceps. Moving pretty quick with the workout at this point. Bench press to end the session. Same as the dead floor presses going tit for tat as far as percentages. Work up in fives to a good set of five. I made some mistakes. I miscounted the warm-up with the bar but that is ok. This was supposed to be regular grip for the bench but I made the assumption this was also to be close grip. Quarter, plate, quarter jumps and other than being close grip and more stress on the wrist it was moving quite well. I was originally just going to do three plates but I figured that that could be too easy maybe and added the okie collars to get another 5lbs. Might have been 5-10lbs shy of what I should’ve used as this felt smooth and at least another rep there for sure. Home to stretch, eat and recover. Just got to keep an eye on everything.

March 10, 2018 – Week 4, Day 3

5 Minutes Keiser M3i Indoor Cycle

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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

12” Log Clean and Push Presses
100x1
120x1
140x1
160x1
180x1
200x1
220x1
240x1
260x1

Yoke (on turf)
300x50’ in 5.93 seconds
400x50’ in 6.57 seconds
500x50’ in 7.04 seconds
600x50’ in 8.50 seconds
700x25’ in 6.92 seconds
800x25’ in 8.35 seconds
900x25’ in 11.47 seconds
960x36’2” in 27.05 seconds

Atlas Stones (tacky)
225xlap
225x1 to 57”/262x1 to 55”/285x1 to 53”
300x1 to 57”/330x1 to 55”/350x1 to 53”
350x1 to 57”
370x1 to 57”
407x1 to 57”

Stretching

Comments: This weekend’s training was a bit hectic. The gym in Lancaster had a competition this date so I was looking to make alternative plans. With some other things going on, the best option was a gym about 2hrs away with my friend Barry who I haven’t seen in a few years. Was going to be interesting considering the driving and the new place. My dad drove with me (I was originally going to go solo) which was probably for the best in case anything happens. Strongman stuff is part of facility called Tyson’s Playground. I had to have a look around to see what was what. Warmed on a weird bike machine to get the blood pumping. I hadn’t gone for a walk the day before and had done some stuff with the car buffer. My lower back was pretty toasted from rack pulls and deadlifts. Then got around to doing my usual warm-ups. Calf raise work good and easy. Sumo box touches I had to improvise using a strongman log as there wasn’t anything like what I have at home. I got off balance a little. Right inner side of hip was tight (I had tried to work on it a little the night before). I was expecting sore knees for the box squats with how much stress suited work puts on my knees and with the driving but they felt fine. Regular box touches were ok now that I was used to the setup. Band rows good. Push ups were ok. Hip airplanes were easy. Needed these today. Stretched the biceps too. Felt good here. Then on to event stuff. Log clean and push presses as has been the case so far this cycle. Can’t really say it is light with the top weight going up each week as we are over 85% of my best clean and push press as the weight. Log was longer than the ones I’ve used. I was worried that I was going to strain something in my arm just getting it out of the bar holder. I had a bad choice of shirt on I guess as it was feeling slick. Haven’t had that issue with the new clean style I’ve been doing but I guess it is still something. Put belt on earlier this time so that I got in some work to get used to how it felt when I’m breathing on the lift. Legs doing surprisingly well considering the drive beforehand. 260lbs I’m not sure what happened on the dip for leg drive but I think it went too far forward or something because I went down more than I usually do and bit herky jerky but the weight still went up easy. Then it was time for yoke. Goal was the same as last session but 20lbs more on the top set. Had enough room inside to do the planned 60’ run. But it didn’t happen. The area for moving events was on turf. I had no second thoughts on that or even thinking that would do something but boy was I wrong. I noticed that with just my first set I just felt slow and the weight felt heavier. My lower back was feeling pretty beat but it was last time I did yoke and I hit speed and weight PRs. I knew it wasn’t just having an off day after a few more sets with the 50’ run where it became apparent that the turf was adding something. It was making the weights feel a lot heavier, like at least 100lbs more than what I had on the yoke. The ground had “give” and there was resistance against my feet. 900lbs for 25’ was a bear. Took me about 3.5 second longer than last time. I took my time getting setup for the “longer” run. Just told myself to just go until I couldn’t. One drop and I would stop. Getting it even an inch would be a PR for after my injury. Yeah this was not fun. I slowed to a crawl just short of halfway and my legs just wouldn’t budge anymore from fatigue and down it went. I’m not too discouraged as I was just shy of 40’ and I could’ve grinded out that distance with another pick in the 60 seconds time limit at the show. Just got to see if this training reflects on hard ground next time. Then it was stone time. I was supremely anxious. I didn’t put the weights away from yoke as I wanted to see if I could even do stones as if I couldn’t then I would be ending the workout then and there. Lucky stone shoes and lucky stone shorts on. Stones were in an annex loading dock type place. Stones were dusty. Tested things by getting myself into position to lift the 225lbs and no pain applying pressure so I figured it was safe to proceed. Been so long since I had tacky in my hands. Again with the 225lbs stone and this time just a pick and not quite lapping it. No issues (other than balance haha) and I setup the first stone series. Jenkins’ old platform so I could actually do a series to decent heights. Every load would be above contest height. Still some hesitancy with the pick on stones but no pain. Weights were easy the first series but the dirtiness of the stones did have me a little concerned with the 285lbs stone. The next set has had a bit more use so not quite as dirty. This was to be a “medium” series. Felt good but foot work to the last stone was off and I definitely rushed it. I think I was worried about resetting and my back was feeling quite toasty. I asked Barry based off that last run what he thought I should do for a single to the highest platform and he said 350lbs. He’s got more years and injuries so I deferred to him. My plan had been to do 407lbs but maybe do 370lbs. Well 350lbs went up well so I asked to do the 370lbs stone. As long as I wasn’t feeling any discomfort I was golden. That one went up too and had to ask for the 407lbs stone. I’ve done this one before in competition and for a few reps but never to this high a platform. A bit tougher to break off the floor. Right hamstring got really tense. Knew I was going to have to buff that out later. Lapped it low (glad I haven’t forgotten how) and got everything squared up and extended to load it. Really happy to have gotten to that after all the issues. Way easier than stone of steel since I don’t have to crush it as much with the tacky. Still not 100% on doing that. Took a while to put stuff away and clean up tacky. Drove home and cleaned off before stretching and doing soft tissue work. Got to keep watch of everything. But the car buffer thing seems to be working.

March 8, 2018 – Week 4, Day 2

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Axle Push Presses
72x5
110x1
130x1
150x1
170x1
190x1
210x1
230x1
250x1
270x1
280x1
290x1

Deadlifts
135x5
225x3
315x2
405x2
Added Straps
495x2
545x2

18” Rack Pulls (straps/suit)
185x1
275x1
365x1
455x1
545x1
635x1
725x1

Stretching

Comments: I didn’t use my day off wisely haha. Still a bit stressed. Continuing to do soft tissue work with a focus on my right biceps. I think it is doing something but I don’t know if the stuff I’m doing is “breaking up stuff” from older injuries. I used to have a divot in my right biceps from a keg load miss from like three years ago that is gone. Warmed up on the AMT. 161bpm highest reading this time. So that is a bit elevated. Downstairs was busy so I did most of my warm-ups up with the cardio equipment. Calf raises were easy. Wide stance box touches were ok. Box squats were ok. I had to use a weird bench for these. Knees were achy. Regular style box touches were ok too. Downstairs to finish up. Band rows after that. Ok here too. Push-ups alright. I think I’m getting the thought of the right shoulder aching out of my head. Hip airplanes were pretty easy but definitely felt some aches in my right knee. Finished up with the biceps stretches. Then on to the weights. First item up was axle push press as has been the case the previous three weeks. Same start with empty bar and going up 20lbs jumps. Going by feel. Knees felt like crap at the start but go better. Hard to know if I’m pushing these too hard. Definitely tougher than the first week working up to just 210lbs. Set weights I got goals but idea being if it goes up fast and no grinding or helicoptering it is good. I wanted to make 270lbs go up smoother than it did last week and go from there. Wasn’t that bad as far as bar speed and form. So 10lbs more. Definitely felt heavier but went up about the same. So another 10lbs. Again, not sure if this was ego butting in or pride. Missing the 315lbs log earlier this week still had me pissed off at myself. So hard to not go for this weight. A little slower (heavier on my chest) but still going up fast. Called it there. Not going for max lifts this day on this exercise. Working on getting fast lifts with good form. On to deadlifts. A little different from last time with the warm-ups. This time, another set added to the top set and working sets just doubles. Work up to 405lbs with no straps and then straps for the other sets. This workout initially didn’t seem bad but then the day before I started having major anxiety about it. I had no doubt I could deadlift 545lbs for a double normally but I had not attempted it with doing the super controlled negatives. And I was going to be doing a double with 495lbs right before that. I didn’t have to tape my shins as the scabs had healed enough. I was trying to control the lift even more than last time. No “relaxing” at the bottom, not even for a split second. Constant tension. Really made the reps harder. But I managed to do it. 545lbs has been dominated in this fashion now haha. Final item of the session was rack pulls from 18” with the deadlift suit. I was able to get into the suit with the straps I had set for the top sets for last time without adjusting things. So uncomfortable. I got some big lifters at this show on this event. Added 50lbs to the starting weight and did plate jumps. I wanted 725lbs. Singles all the way. Exhausting work in the suit and so many scrapes on my arms from the Velcro getting the straps on my shoulders. Stance on this is a bit narrower than regular deadlift. I noticed I wasn’t having as much of an issue with the left arm feeling like a nerve was trapped. Only change has been the soft tissue work with the car buffer and occasional nerve flossing motions. I noticed that after my deep tissue massage the week of my last competition, that I had no issues at the show so that made me think that it had something to do with it. 725lbs went up but it took a while for it to finally break the pins and glide to lockout. I feel I can definitely beat my competition PR of 750lbs as I’m just shy of it on a rack pull whereas that was done with a deadlift bar off blocks so a lot more give. Home to stretch, massage and eat.

March 6, 2018 – Week 4, Day 1

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

12” Log Push Presses
90x1
110x1
130x1
150x1
170x1
190x1
210x1
230x1
250x1
270x1
290x1
310x1 PR+5lbs
315x0

Pulldowns
60x15
110x10
130x10
150x10
170x10
190x10

Close Grip Dead Floor Presses
45x10
100x5
150x5
200x5
250x5
300x5

Stretching

Comments: I think stuff is still stressing me. Work and biceps. Using the car buffer on my upper body to hopefully help with recovery. Might be working. Body aches. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at 158bpm. Calf raise work after that. Tight but easy. Box touches with a wide stance after that. Issues here really. Box squats felt ok but knees were achy but not as much as they have been some days. Then regular stance box touches. Not as good as the wide stance but good. Just not as “snappy”. Band rows after that. Trying to get the back working. Some biceps tension. Push-ups were also good. No achy shoulder. Trying to put that thought out of my head. Hip airplanes were pretty easy. Trying to keep improving here. Biceps stretch after that. I think my shoulder isn’t as tight on the right as it has been with how these felts so possibly improvement from the car buffer. As has been the case the past two workouts, log from the rack to start off the weights. Same 20lbs jumps up to a conservative max single. Started with the empty log so that my top set would be just 5lbs more than last week. Log didn’t feel as “explosive” as was say two weeks ago or even last week. I had thought that perhaps the heavy yoke had beat me down last time. I forgot that I had done a lot of sled drag work so legs could be fatigued still. It did finally feel right at 190lbs though. Maybe I was taking it seriously then? I was moving pretty quick adding 20lbs and going and taking longer breaks as I got up in weight. Had a little equipment malfunction with the rehband belt with 210lbs. Weights didn’t feel so fast going up but still looked like I had more on video. 310lbs was the plan and it was only 5lbs more than last week. Should be sure thing. But log has been tricky for me. It actually went up pretty well to the point I would say it was a conservative max. Right biceps ached a little putting it back down on the rack but not where the injury was. A PR for most I’ve ever push pressed on log. But then I got greedy and deviated from the plan. I knew I didn’t have another 20lbs there to have it be conservative so I put on 5lbs more. Shouldn’t be a big deal. But it felt a ton heavier. Might as well have put another 20lbs on with how it felt. But I still went for it. It was not pretty. Helicopter the weight and only got my left arm to lockout. Just couldn’t get it on the right side and it had gotten too far out in front on the drive to recover. I hate misses. I had been a bit steamed earlier in the session. Really felt my heart sank with this miss. Feeling negative thoughts pouring in and just trying to keep them from effecting me. It was one lift, I have more things to do. Pulldowns after that. Same as it has been with light warm-up and five sets of ten reps. Still doing tiny jumps and really working on having the back do the work. I definitely took shorter rests at the start and longer as it went. Still watching the biceps. Biceps have been sore from the car buffer but this is the best they’ve felt on these. No feeling of it cramping up or that it was “teasing” a thread so maybe this is a good sign. Or it is healing without this extraneous stuff or I’m getting my back stronger and it’s putting less stress. I got a lot of thoughts swimming. Only, sleep, busy work or movies seems to keep me from being “distracted”. But hopefully I continue to improve all around. As has been the case the last session, I had to wait to do the last exercise. This was fine as my work had already been cancelled due to the possible winter storm so I had time. Dead floor presses with a close grip again. I did the bar for a high rep set due to how much downtime I had. Then did 50lbs jumps with the goal being 300lbs for the top set of five reps. Not to be a max this session either. 250lbs was a little slower than I would’ve liked but I figured with the wrist wraps on it would be fine. 300lbs wasn’t bad. I misgrooved the fourth rep as it was too close to my face and this was a struggle to get. I corrected it and the fifth rep went up pretty easy even after the effort I had to put in for the previous rep. Home to stretch, massage and eat. And I guess catch up on sleep since work is closed.

March 3, 2018 – 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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

12” Log Clean and Push Presses
100x1
120x1
140x1
160x1
180x1
200x1
220x1
240x1

I-Beam Farmer’s Walks
With Fat Gripz
122.5xpick
122.5x50’ in 5.98 seconds
200x50’ in 8.05 seconds
Removed Fat Gripz
250x50’ in 7.33 seconds
300x50’ in 8.92 seconds

BiggDoggStrongg Frame Hold
600 for 60.44 seconds

Sled Drags
275x100’
435x100’
595x100’

Stretched

Comments: Didn’t get my usual walk in after work the day before. The Arnold was happening and I had to get up early as I had plans after training on Saturday. I knew my legs would be sore the next day but I needed the sleep. Legs were sore walking into the gym. Hips tight and so are hamstrings from the squats and deadlifts. Gym had a few people when I got there but ended up packed (for the strongman crowd that is) once things got moving. I wasn’t expecting this many people with the competition next weekend haha. Warmed on the bike. Easy and felt good. Calf raise work was stupid easy. Nice and springy feeling in my calves. Sumo box touches no issues. Box squats also felt good. Regular box touches felt pretty crisp. Band rows good. Push ups were ok. I keep expecting my shoulders to be achy but thankfully they are not (right side). Hip airplanes were easy. No balance issues. Stretched the biceps too. Then on to event stuff. Started things off with light log presses. Still light for now but getting up there as I continue to increase by 20lbs each week. I had to wait a bit to use the log at the start. Changed it up again from doing it off of plates until I got up to enough weight to use the 45lbs bumper plates and then did it from the floor. I have no idea the setup for Beast of the Bluegrass so mixing it up should have me prepared for anything. Trying to keep my form the same every rep. Locking my upper back and lats after a breath and then going. Standing up fully with the log had felt weird at the start but it is really making a big difference with the clean and it takes a lot of pressure off the biceps. Felt very powerful up to 160lbs. That dipped forward a little bit. Bumper plates on for 180lbs and up. 200lbs I don’t know what happened but I “hopped” backwards. It went up fast but it wasn’t what I was trying to do haha. After 180lbs, I started to “let go” of the log after it go below my knees. Save the back a little and hopefully will prevent my from hurting my hand on a Bartos Boss Log if I end up using it in competition again. Belt on for 240lbs. Went up easy but the belt messed up my breathing. I’ll need to put it on earlier next time so that I can get used to it and not feel lightheaded on the lifts. I’m feeling more like I’m getting the weight up and back rather than forward and I don’t have to think about it. Farmer’s walk and grip stuff was up next. Plan today was to work up to 300lbs for 50’. The suggestion was to used “thicker” handles for the warm-ups so of course I bought Fat Gripz to put on the I-Beam handles. These handles are thin so they fit and they can rotate. I did a pick just to make sure that I didn’t bite off more than I could chew and got to work. Empty implements were easy. 200lbs was different ball of wax. Almost lost my grip near the end. Much more challenging than I was expecting. Grips off and belt on for 250lbs. Most I had done on farmer’s walk since the biceps injury had been 225lbs so it was going to be interesting to see how this went. Easy, .02 seconds shy of my best with this distance and weight and that is with a 2” higher pick. I didn’t know this until I got home to review my records and video. 300lbs up next. Chalked up the hands. It was a little daunting but I knew it was something I could do. Easiest this weight has felt on these handles and got sub nine seconds. Fastest I’ve done this kind of weight so happy with that. Next up was grip work. Originally it was just going to be the farmer’s handles I just did for time but since the goal was working the grip, I just put the same weight on the thick handle frame. I was hoping to get a minute. Felt comfortable at the start, like I was going to get bored. But then it got tough. More so with my tarps and upper back getting tired so they were getting pulled down and compressing stuff in my neck and arms. I knew I had to get a minute though before I stopped. Feeling it in my right arm. Broke a minute and put it down. Last thing for the session was sled drags. Unlike last time, it was working up over three sets. And the plan was to beat last time by 20lbs. Going to be tough. I took big jumps so that I would be ready for my top set. 275lbs I couldn’t quite get the full lean back since it was about the same weight as me. Much better with 435lbs. But the camera battery died so I didn’t get to see it all on review. 595lbs was going to be tough. 575lbs last time had been tough and I had to stop few times to finish that one. Just got locked in and told myself I’d finish it and got moving. It started out pretty good but I got tired and hit rough patches so I had to restart and keep going. But I wasn’t going to let it stop me. But I also wasn’t going to let it devolve into a stand a full body row. Finished in just around 75 seconds. Legs were beat from that, especially my calves. Put stuff away, stretched and used a car polisher/buffer to do soft tissue work on my right biceps, pec and deltoids. Got to get one of those.

March 1, 2018 – Week 3, Day 2

5 Minutes Precor AMT

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

Biceps Stretches
20 Seconds
20 Seconds

Axle Push Presses
72x5
110x1
130x1
150x1
170x1
190x1
210x1
230x1
250x1
270x1

Squats to 16” Box
45x10
95x5
145x3
185x2
225x1
265x5
318x5
371x5
424x5

Wide Grip Deadlifts w/ bands (straps) (band tension = 99lbs)
135x2
225x2
315x2
315x2
315x2
315x2
315x2

Stretching

Comments: Last day of the pills given after the MRI. Still got to watch the biceps. Really hope recovery picks up these next two weeks. Feeling wandering aches and pains. No real cause I think. Feeling it in old injury sites (lower back, SI joint, hamstring, shoulders). Weather has really been fluctuating so maybe that has something to do with it. Or that yoke beat me up haha. Warmed up on the AMT. 154bpm highest reading. No aches ore anything so that’s good. Calf raises were easy, just tight. Hips felt tight on the wide stance box touches. Box squats felt pretty good considering things. A little achy in the knee on the right side but nothing major. Regular style box touches felt ok. Band rows were good and easy. Felt the back muscles. Push ups were ok. Thankfully no shoulder aches today. I was thinking with my shoulders feeling tight but nothing. Hip airplanes I rushed them a little. Lost balance on one rep on the one side. Hips were tight, definitely needed to do these. Finished up the prep with biceps stretches. Hopefully the right shoulder/side will relax. Then on to the weights. First item up was axle push press. Same as it has been so far. Warm-up and then start light with 20lbs jumps. I’m a bit further longer than expected at this point. Goal is no “helicoptering grinders” but I’ve been trying to keep it to either limit based off a planned weight or when I feel it isn’t technical perfection. I added in belt and wrist wraps over the sets this time. Nowhere near my max on these still. Felt very explosive and powerful on the first single. Trying to get the weight to go back and not out in front. 210lbs went out in front but it’s so easy that I can compensate. Tried to focus on that for the singles after that. Had everything on for 270lbs. That one also went out in front on the drive. Still went up easy but shut it down here. Got to keep drilling this with log. Every session to get this pressing to be instinct. The squats were next. Same style of squatting to the box and using that as the switch. I think the controlled negatives is really helping me build my back and lower body. I was leery about these as last time this was rough haha. But I think I learned from the previous session so it went better. Using the odd weights since I had my collars with me to keep it based off the percentages. Same as last time but another set of five with more weight added. 371lbs felt a lot easier this time. But the set with 424lbs felt harder than 371lbs felt last time. Hard to move that weight fast with the reversal but I’ll get there. Third rep I got pitched forward a little. But I’m in control. Finishing up the day with wide stance (Shaw Style) deadlifts against bands. I like these and I hope they continue to help me improve my deadlifts. I had the setup nearby so I didn’t have to have too much rest from the squats. Tape on my right shin to keep from bleeding again. I put the bands on from the start and did plate jumps to the working weight. This was supposed to be a weight I did last cycle before I got beat up and then injured. So I really wanted a crack at 315lbs. I knew it might be rough going up 40lbs from last time. Really working on getting this down pat. Pulling the bar tight to my body on the negatives and trying to keep my body rigid and in position. No reset at the bottom just hovering there and delicately touching the ground. Negatives take a lot out of me on these as the pull itself feels easy. Home to stretch, eat and massage before getting some sleep.