December 30, 2017 – 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

Farmer’s Walk
117xpick
With Turns (at 50’)
170x200’ in 35.58 seconds
220x100’ in 18.09 seconds

Frame Carries (1.5” handles, drops at 58’3”)
600x204’7”

Sandbag Rows
101x10
205.5x8
303.5x4

Keg Load to Height (58”)
275x10

H-Stone Carry (off floor)
Turns at 50’
239x100’
300x209’3” PR+22’6”
325x167’11”
350x122’2” PR+16’10”

Stretching

Comments: Got out early from work again due to New Year’s. This was unexpected but needed. I had not been going to sleep at a reasonable time. And the strongman gym was only going to be open for half the normal hours. So to bed real early (got a walk in) to be well rested and be able to get up early to go. But winter had other plans. A fair amount of snow meant I had to shovel the driveway. I made sure the gym was in fact open as I didn’t want to drive in winter advisory conditions for an hour after shoveling snow for 20 minutes to find no one there. It was a tricky drive out there but I got there safely. Airdyne bike as I have been doing. Legs feeling it. Could be from not doing as much walking to recover this week as I usually do. Calf raise stuff was good with mobility of ankles. Much less tightness. Had some pressure in my right palm. Wide box touches were crisp as were box squats. Even regular style box touches felt better, not like I was trying to hyperextend anything to get full ROM. Band rows were stupid easy and push ups were pretty good too. Again, some pressure in the palm. Hip airplanes were also good. Then event stuff. Way too much snow to shovel the entire back area of the gym and I was on a time limit with the gym closing 3 hours earlier than usual. So I was limited to what I could do with the farmer’s walk stuff. Plan was originally the same as last time with first set 200’ with turn at 100’ and the next set 100’ with turn at 50’. But I only had 50’ course. So I went the same distance but just did a bunch of turns. Tight quarters so these were not pretty turns. I felt slow on the first leg and tried to make up for it. I was about 4 second slower than last time but again, a lot more slowing down with all the turns. I put on the copper sleeve on my right biceps as the tight turns weren’t feeling so good. Second set was the same as last time but even with the same distance, the tight turn was tough. I did this without a hard belt or wrist wrap and I was almost 3 seconds faster than last time. Last set was to be max distance straight shot. That wasn’t going to work today. Turns would tax the grip but not allow me to get the leg work I wanted. Multiple picks with the farmer’s handles also no bueno. But Jenkins’ old frame was high pick and had slightly thicker handles. So I upped the weight due to the increased pick height and set to work. Really hard to control this thing to the ground. Like last time with the farmer’s walk, my grip held strong, just my legs got tired quicker and I slowed down. Ended up doing four picks and a bit over 200’. I was beat from that haha. I moved quickly on to sandbag rows. I had a plan here. Light set, medium set, heavy set. I was to do either 5lbs more than last time or add one more rep to the heavy set. I got greedy. I had 50lbs of lead shot in 25lbs bags that I had brought in to make loading the husafel stone easier/quicker and I figured they would be easy to just put on top of the heaviest sandbag. I also wanted to go heavy and go lower rep with the crushing strength. Light bag was really light. Medium bag was definitely making me do some work. Making the sandbag over 300lbs was a bridge too far right now. Only managed four reps. It was heavy. A bit of a change up from last time in replacing sandbag load with keg load. Challenging keg weight for ten reps in my own time. I set it up to not quite as high as I did the sandbag last time but I was using a keg heavier than the sandbag. I wasn’t looking forward to this. Getting it to the lap was the hardest part as it dragged across my shins. I took my time after the first four reps. I’m sure I could probably make this go faster was far as getting the keg to the lap but probably not repeatedly. The load itself is pretty easy with how the keg rolls. I didn’t want it going over the bar as it would roll away from me. Shins weren’t bleeding by the end, just red. Only one more thing to go, cutting it close. Husafel carries to end the session. Three working sets. I did the empty one for a quick run to drill in the idea of moving fast. Having seen Zydrunas Savickas sprinting with 180kgs on a similar implement, I knew I needed to keep thinking speed on this event for the show. Allegedly at the contest we will be starting away from the implement to start. For now, I want to stay close a secure with the implement with heavier weights. Goal for the working sets was to move fast but also go max distance. Also did the empty husafel as first working set was much heavier this time. I felt good with the first set. I felt like I went a good deal further over last time. Turns out I was right. Top set to be contest weight again but jumps were 25lbs instead of 50lbs with lighter start weight. Still felt strong with 325lbs but boy does that little bit of weight added cause a drop in the distance. Loaded up to contest weight for the last thing of the day. Felt secure and knew I had down and back in me. I didn’t have that feeling when I did this last time. Not sure if I could get this moving quicker. Legs were quite beat from today. Drive home much smoother with the roads mostly cleared. Stretched before decompressing the rest of the day.

December 28, 2017 – Week 5, Day 2

5 Minutes Percor 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

16” Box Squats
45x10
115x5
185x5
260x5
340x5
420x5
380x8

18” Axle Rack Pulls
142x2
232x2
322x2
412x2
Added Straps
502x8

Smith Machine Weighted Planks
BW+104x30 seconds
BW+104x30 seconds

Side Plank
BWx60/60 seconds

Stretching

Comments: Still tired. Own fault not getting to sleep timely. Upper body pretty tight. Haven’t gone for a walk on my off days this week due to family functions. Lower back still a little achy. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at 157bpm again. Getting close to single digits in temperature right now. Again, pretty packed when I got there but clearing out pretty quick. Calf raise work after that. Felt good, not nearly as tight as it has been. Some pressure on my hand. Box touches, box squats and box touches again. These felt good today. Band rows were easy. Push ups after those and feeling ok. Continuing to improve as far as hand pressure. Hip airplanes were needed again. Little tougher on the right side as far as balance but still sturdy. Hamstrings were tight. Then on to the workout. Same but more from last time this workout popped up. Box squats had the same setup as last time but an added set of five. Still basing off percentages. I was a little worried that not doing recovery walks and having maybe six hours sleep would negatively effect this to an extreme. It certainly felt like that when 340lbs felt stupidly heavy. It made me doubt that I could get the next set of five with 420lbs for even a double with how it felt. But I think it had more to do with belt position and things clicked. I feel I could’ve done maybe another two reps as an all out effort for this weight. Then it was time to do set of eight. I had the option of doing 5-10lbs more than last time. I went with five as last time it was pretty tough and I was already feeling the previous sets. I kind of regretted going for just 5lbs more as it went up pretty easy. Probably easier than the previous sessions set of eight. Lower back was pretty pumped from all this. Then on to axle rack pulls. Doubles up to a top set of eight like last time. I had an idea of what I could hit for 8rm so I made plate jumps. Alternating grip up to the top set and then bringing out the straps for the set of eight. 50lbs more on the bar from last time for both the set before and the working set. Good as the grip felt better this time. I felt a slight “sting” in my right upper side of my glute insert on that first rep of the last double. Definitely caught my attention. Legs were slightly pumped and I was little concerned going for the rep set. I had doubts, I was feeling queasy as I knew this was going to be hard. But it went up. The controlled lowering for these reps is so tough, especially not resetting each rep to get the good leg drive. The eighth rep was too much and I felt my form break so I had to stop. I took a breather before I went for the rep again to finish the set. I then took my time putting stuff away before moving on to the abdominal work. I had a brain fart on how to setup the smith machine planks I did last time. Took me a bit to figure out what I did last time. I swore it was self-explanatory but I guess not haha. You’d think this would be easier this time but nope. I swear it felt harder this time. I was glad to be done with those and getting to do the bodyweight side planks. Still harder to the right side versus left side. Home to stretch and eat. Plan to catch up on the sleep for early event work on Saturday.

December 26, 2017 – Week 5, Day 1

5 Minutes Percor 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 Clean and Push Presses (1 clean)
92x3
143x3
187x3
231x3
280x5

Chest Supported Rows
200x6
250x6
300x6
350x6
400x6 PR+1 rep
(1 second holds)
310x8 PR+10lbs

Seated 12” Log Lockouts
180x5
220x5
260x5 PR+10lbs

Band Resisted Push-ups
SB+MMBx12 PR+1 reps
SB+MMBx12
SB+MMBx8

Stretching

Comments: Had a bad case of the blahs. Granted I had some good sleeping with the holiday and family over I was still dealing with a cold. Back is achy, arms are tight. Felt really unmotivated and felt like just packing it in for the rest of the year. I knew that was crazy talk so drove to the gym, fighting yawns. Warmed up on the AMT. Heart rate peaked at 157bpm. Not bad. Gym was packed again when I got there. It did clear out a good bit by the time I got to weights. Calf raise work after that. Calves were tight still but not as bad as it was all last week after tire flipping. Box touches into box squats into more box touches was bit more broken up than usual since I had to make a different box for the touches and then squats I had to wait for a bench. But all three felt good. Regular style box touches are still the odd man out but I’m persistent. Band rows felt good. Making sure everything is nice, warm and loose. Push ups after those and still going well. Continuing to improve as far as hand pressure. Hip airplanes were needed again. Little tougher on the right side as far as balance. Then the weights. First item for today was axle clean and push presses again. Lower reps with plan of a top set of being 6rm. I had an idea of a weight but I kept increasing it in my head. Cautious with the clean. Felt good with the weights, going up 20kgs jumps. Last set before the top set felt pretty good still so of course I went up more than 20kgs. Clean was a bit rougher (I’m out of practice) but it went up to the shoulders. Left hand didn’t feel as stable as I would like in the rack but I didn’t want to fiddle around with it and possibly sap some of my strength from the reps. Three reps went up pretty smooth. Fourth rep was a bit tougher. Fifth was a tough one, really had to fight to lock it out. I held it at the top to get my air and recompose myself. Didn’t work as the weight stalled and went out in front of me. I tried to reclean the weight but couldn’t get it past my belt. Still a very good session of push press for me as this is a 15lbs PR from a barbell push press out of the rack. Hopefully good things with this as a starting base. Rows followed. Plan this time a bit more open-ended with 6-8rm with a last set for holds each rep (same range). I felt that lower reps would be best with the regular style and higher reps for the holds. I started heavier than I did last time and took smaller jumps. Wrist was holding up better than last time. I did feel the need to wrap my wrist at 350lbs to make sure that my wrist was safe. These were tough at the higher weights. Shoulders were feeling the holds. Then on to more pressing. Well, I had to wait a bit for the power rack to open up but then on to lockout work. Same idea as last time, aiming for a 5-10lbs increase over last time. I felt the log was too high last time so I adjusted the height, lowering the rack pins about 1.5”. I feel this is better representation of the sticking point. Plan was just three sets with big jumps, possibly lowering the weight if I just made this infinitely harder. I also didn’t want to stay out later than I had to. First set felt a little rough and I worried I had made it too hard. But the next set was better. I knew 260lbs was doable but it was going to be very, very tough. Had a little trouble getting the first rep but I got it into the groove and I was off. Last rep I had to take a bit of a breather and it was a tough one to lockout but I got it. Happy to have progress with the ROM being increased and from a tougher spot. Last exercise was those darn banded push-ups again. Aim being 8-12 reps for the sets again for three sets. I learned my lesson from last time about setting up the dumbbells with the bumper plates. Don’t need any more bloody fingers. Wrist wrap on for these. Managed to get 12 on the first two sets. Last set was going to be the test. Last time I only eeked out four. Gutted out eight this time, stalling on a ninth. PRS on everything is a good sign. Home to stretch and eat.

December 23, 2017 – Week 4, 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

Yoke
180x50’ in 5.56 seconds
360x50’ in 6.37 seconds
500x50’ in 6.88 seconds
600x50’ in 7.88 seconds
700x50’ in 8.85 seconds
800x25’ in 6.93 seconds
850x25’ in 8.04 seconds
900x25’ in 10.11 seconds
950x25’ in 13.85 seconds

Stone of Steel Over Bar (57”)
138x1
182x1
225x1
275.5x1
330x1
Added Grip Stuff
379x0
379x0
379x0
379x1
414x0
414x0
414x0
414x0
414x0
414x0

Sled Drags
325x100’
415x100’
565x21’8”
505x100’

Stretching

Comments: Really wasn’t sure how this workout was going to go. Sleep wasn’t great this week and a lot of work stress. Got some cold symptoms. They closed the office 4hrs early on Friday. Usually a bad thing for me with all the work but it appears in my haste that I had forgotten my medication that morning so it was a good thing I could get home early. Ended up going to bed at 9:00PM to try and get a good nights sleep. My stomach was cramping up in the afternoon. Raining outside so that was going to make things a little difficult. Airdyne bike to start things off. Felt good. Calf raise work after that. Easy stuff but still pretty stiff. I mean it is less tight and stiff than it was the beginning of the week. Box touches with a wide stance after that. These feel just right. Then regular body weight box squats. Best they’ve felt this week as they usually do during the week. Not sure why, maybe it’s because I’m doing this earlier in the day versus the other times. Regular stance still is tougher than wide stance. Band rows after that felt good on my back. My back was tight. Push ups were good. Least amount of pain I’ve felt in my palm so far on these. Hip airplanes were good. Didn’t feel like much and they were easy. Then the event work. First thing being yoke. Same as last time this popped up. 50’ runs up to contest weight (700lbs) and then going for a top 25’ run with no drops. It was bit cramped inside so I took the yoke out in the rain. Only did one run before it was strongly suggested I bring it back inside so it didn’t rust. Not my equipment so I obliged. Had to move some stuff around to get a full 50’ with enough stopping room. I felt hot, like the humidity was high. My times working up to 700lbs were slower than the previous time by a little bit. However, my set with 700lbs I was faster than last time by almost half a second so sub 9 seconds which is good for me. Then on to heavy stuff. The strength building portion. Same jumps as last time, aim being to give 950lbs a shot depending on how I feel. I took off all the bumper plates I was using for the longer runs and put on metal plates so there was more room. Also to give me a little rest. My runs with 800lbs and 850lbs were slightly slower than last time. However, my run with 900lbs was much better this time. Over 3 seconds faster. I knew I had to go for 950lbs. But I was nervous. My back was sore and tight. My hamstrings were still feeling the deadlift suit. It was slow but I was in control and I knew I had it. Slow and steady. About half a second slower than 900lbs last time. Added bonus of beating the gym record for sub 300lbs. Pleased with myself with this. Stone of steel was next. Same as last time here as well but aim for more weight on both the naked lift and the armed to the teeth lift. Working up didn’t feel so bad. Taking plate jumps and then adding some more to get to 330lbs. This was tough without assistance. But I got it over. I then got the grip shirt, the gloves and tacky towel on for heavier stuff. It appears that there is a smaller margin of error as the weights get higher for the stone of steel. I got the 379lbs into my lap and I was little off balance and I grabbed the yoke crossbar to stabilize. I went for what I thought would be an easy load but I hit the crossbar and pushed the yoke back. I then failed to lap it giving it another go. I figured the tacky towel was used up (it was an old one from August) so I got another one. Same thing with missing the load by hitting the yoke and moving it. Now I was pissed. I got it lapped again and got it just right to go over. Things weren’t looking good for more. But I had to try. I’ve had misses and come back to hit them and then heavier weights so it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Loaded it up to 417lbs and gave it a shot. It came up but I couldn’t get it high enough to roll into my lap. Or I wasn’t squeezing it enough. I felt like it was stuck on the ground. I kept trying and trying and trying. It was starting to look pathetic. I finally gave up on it. A lot of the things that I need for stone of steel were increased in weight a lot this week. Not happy but not going to go into a murderous rage on the next living thing that crosses my path. Finally the sled dragging. Also like last time in that I was to work up to a top 100’ run and try to add weight to it. It had stopped raining but the friction between the road and the sled was insane. It felt like it added a good 150lbs to the weight I was pulling. When 130lbs less than my best last time almost killed me, I figured that I was going to be running on fumes if I did too many sets. I went up stupidly to 565lbs and just moved it about 20’. Could never get traction in my feet. I wouldn’t have moved any of these weights without my rock climbing shoes. My pride allowed me to drop the weight down to 505lbs and go from there. I made it 60’ before I had to stop and breathe. Went another 20’ and stopped again before finally finishing the last 20’. Exhausted. Stretched and drove home to decompress. Felt like I needed a nap so I had the air conditioner going in my car to stay awake.

December 21, 2017 – Week 4, Day 2

5 Minutes Percor 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

Deadlifts
135x1
185x1
Added Suit
225x1
275x1
315x1
365x1
405x1
455x1
495x1
545x1
585x1

16” Rack Pulls (straps/suit)
185x1
275x1
365x1
455x1
545x1
635x1
725x0,0
675x1

Barbell Shrugs
365x18
Added Straps
455x22

Stretching

Comments: Cold like symptoms aren’t letting up. Getting maybe six hours of sleep a night. Lots of work stress and just trying my best to manage. Body felt a little beat from the log and pulldowns. Warmed up on the AMT. Up to 152bpm. Machine felt like it wasn’t moving as efficiently as it should but not enough to make me change machines. Calf raise work after that. They are still pretty tight. Box touches with a wide stance after that. Nice and easy. Feeling good. Then regular body weight box squats. Also good, some knee aches. Then regular stance box touches. Still have some getting used to on them to have them be as good as the wide stance variation. Band rows and push ups were good. Still light pressure in the hands and fingers. Hip airplanes were needed again. Little tougher on the right side as far as balance. Then on to the workout. Pretty much the same workout as three weeks ago. Starting off with deadlift to a single. Plan being a conservative max single. But throwing in the deadlift suit. I’ve used it before but only for elevated pulls and really not much practice. Like I’ve used it fives before tonight and two of those times were in contest. I’d rather not use one but it is allowed at the contest and I need any edge I can to make up on points for the event. Even if it only ends up being 20lbs more. I was advised to start using it at two plates a side. Same idea as last time deadlifts were on the menu with plate-quarter-plate jumps. Suit is tricky to figure out with the adjustable Velcro straps. I think my first mistake was assuming that I could get fully set without doing the goofy hanging from a bar thing to get it all the way up the leg and hips. Really trial and error. Too tight and I would be barely touching the bar with my finger tips and too loose and the straps would fall off my shoulders at lockout. I’m able to keep a better back position without the suit. I proceeded to make the straps tighter each set. No issues with my grip other than it was an effort to get my hands on the bar and be able to lift. I honestly lost track of which hand was over and under each set. 315lbs the bar cut open my shin and I just pulled my socks up over it. 405lbs felt like death at the bottom. It was no fun. Frustrating how it was feeling. The bar was moving fast. Doesn’t make it lighter or easier, I’m just able to do it. Overloading I guess. Then add a belt to the mix and it becomes something else. Suit too tight it makes the midsection stick out more and harder to get the belt on. I got the bright idea to use the smith machine to hang the straps on to get more into the suit. This in turn made the straps looser and I felt better able to get my normal deadlift position. I then proceeded to make the straps a little tighter after that. Goal for the day had been 550lbs and if that felt easy, go for 585lbs. I didn’t feel easy but it moved very well so I went for 585lbs. The bar hesitated for a moment and I thought oh crap but then it broke the floor and glided to knee level before it felt tough again and locked it out. I’m definitely getting something out of the suit but it remains to be seen if it is worth it to keep trying for the contest with how hard it is to get into position (and my back isn’t in the best position) and if just going raw with straps (I plan to use straps with the suit too, just haven’t gotten heavy enough yet and I want to keep building) makes the most sense. I don’t think 635lbs to 655lbs is out of the question if I keep at it at the show. Then on to rack pulls. Already had the suit on so advised to keep going. Singles with 90lbs jumps up to a 1rm. No holding back this time. I’m much better at using the suit for elevated pulls. Able to keep better back position and really get it tight. Lots of pressure but I knew what to expect. 635lbs hesitated and felt heavy. I watched the video and it looked like it flew up so I thought I could do another 90lbs. But I was wrong. Couldn’t budge it off the pins and I gave it two good tries in the span of about a minute or two. I didn’t want to end it there as 635lbs was too easy so I went for 675lbs. That was hard but I got it. I had to wait a bit to find someplace to take off the darn suit as I didn’t want/need it for shrugs. I had gone too light on these last time. But I was playing it safe. So I went up 90lbs on the first set. Still not 100% with the right hand as my grip in the pinky and ring fingers weren’t up to snuff. Ended up getting just 18 reps. May need to wear the wrist wrap next time just to be on the safe side. Added another 90lbs and put on the straps. Did 22 reps here before my tarps got too tired to do the movement right. The suit stuff made essentially the same workout much longer. But it was still good work and I got some more suit experience. Home to stretch, eat recovery burritos and maybe fall asleep.

December 19, 2017 – Week 4, Day 1

5 Minutes Percor 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

12” Log Clean Strict Presses + Push Presses
90x3+2
120x3+2
150x3+2
180x3+2
210x3+2
Clean Strict Presses
240x3
Clean and Push Presses
240x2
265x2
290x2 PR+5lbs

12” Log Clean and Holds
315x1 (10 seconds)
340x1 (10 seconds)

Pulldowns
100x15
130x8
160x8
190x8
220x7 (miscounted)
250x8

Narrow Grip Bench Presses
45x15
95x3
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x3
335x3
Pauses (1 second)
275x5

Stretching

Comments: Not feeling the best. Feel like I have a minor cold all the time. Not sure if the humidifier is helping. Not liking the slightly warmer weather this week. Stressful day at work, missed one of my breaks so didn’t get to eat all my food I usually do during the work day. So not much confidence going into this workout. Wanted to go home and sleep. But if I used the metric to predict how training goes, I’d never train I think haha. Warmed up on the AMT. My dad was at the gym so I got to vent a little about work. Only checked my heartrate once at the end and it was only up to 146bpm. I felt relaxed haha. Gym was super packed so I had to maneuver around a lot of bodies at the start but numbers thinned as the session went on. Calf raise work after that. Calves really tight from all the tire flipping and carrying Saturday, especially my right one (support leg for tire flip). But still easy. Box touches with a wide stance after that. Nice and easy. Full ROM is feeling natural with these now. Then regular body weight box squats. Used the bench like last time I was at the Y. Felt good. Allowed me to go right from box touches to box squats to box touches in a circuit. Then regular stance box touches. These still feel weird going to completion at the top but getting better. Definitely a bit more exhausting than the wider stance. Band rows felt good. Upper back was pretty darn tight from event work Saturday so felt good to get things moving. Push ups were good. Feeling pressure in my hand less and less with these and no wrist issues. Hip airplanes were needed. Little tougher on the right side as far as balance. But hips were tight for sure. Then the weights. First thing being log. I kind of wanted revenge on the log from missing 305lbs last time for the push press. But that wasn’t the plan this time. Complexes with the log at the start. Strict press triples followed by doubles on push press. Last time it was just a single followed by another single on jerks. Strict seems to flow into push press better. Goal to work up to a top triple on the strict press and then go up to a decent (not max) double with the push press. Not terribly optimistic though with how this went last time. My arms looked like roughly handled produce with the bruises from tire flips Saturday and from husafell the week before. Forearms were sore as hell too. Luckily, I didn’t have a much a probably with my wrist and gripping the log handles so I was able to work up without a wrist wrap and keep my tilted forward style better. I felt I left a little in the tank on the strict press portion but not so much that it would be an appreciable jump in weight. I took less aggressive jumps after the top triple for the strict for the push presses. Playing in by how it felt and reviewing video. I didn’t feel terrible so I went for 290lbs. There was the possibility in my mind that I could biff this big time. But I got the first rep up and I knew I had it. Second rep didn’t require much effort either. To borrow a phrase from across the pond (Sugden Barbell is a bad influence on me haha) I was right chuffed with how the double felt. Definitely conservative today and a PR. I’m terrible for reps from the chest on log and this is the most I’ve doubled in training on log. So very happy with that and on to the log cleans. These were harder to clean than I would have liked. I felt perhaps the first set, I wasn’t giving the weight respect after how I put up 290lbs. I think it might have even been a little short of ten seconds. I wanted to make sure I made up that on the next set. Weight now tying the most weight I’ve ever successfully log cleaned. Muscled this one up and got it. Bruises on my arms had me a little concerned with the cleans today but all good. Then pulldowns again. Work plan being 5 sets of 6-8 reps up to a heavy set. I increased the weight a bit from last time. No need for a wrist wrap this time. I went up to the full stack on the last set. I had thought that I was going only a little more than last time as I misremembered how much I had done last time. I had only done 200lbs and ended up doing 250lbs. Good power, but maybe not my best form. Certainly the strongest I’ve felt on these in a long time. Close grip bench to end the night. This time, going for a 3rm. Only expecting a little increase on last time. Pressure still on the right hand but no wrist pain or feeling like it won’t hold. Plate-quarter-plate jumps up to three plates. I was expecting this to be my top set but it felt way too easy. I took a gamble and put another 20lbs on. Much closer to a 3rm this time. Dropped down to 275lbs for a set of five with pauses. Good control here. Felt good all-around this workout. Home to stretch.

December 16, 2017 – Week 3, Day 3

5 Minutes Schwinn Airdyne Bike

Leaning Calf Raises
BWx30

Sumo Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15

16” Box Squats
BWx15

Regular Box Touches (12” Box)
BWx15

Band Rows
MMBx20

Push-ups
BWx10

Hip Airplanes (supported)
BWx5/5

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

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

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

Stretching

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