Squats 12/27/12

I have been sick for 4 days now but Troy guild me I had to squat, so I did.  I'm very glad he made me.

Squat
135 x 10
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 3
500 x 5 PR
405 x 12 rep PR

After that i kind of milled around trying to catch my breath and not throw up.

45° hyper
Ab strap pull downs
Neutral grip pull ups

ME Deadlift

Reverse band deadlift
bands took off 150 at the bottom and were completely slack at the top
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 3
515 x 2
605 x 1
655 x 1
695 x 1
725 x 1
750 x fail at like 3 or 4 inches from lockout
735 x fail, same spot, I think I could have got this if I hadn't done the 750
655 x 3

Glute Bridge
225 x 8
275 x 8
325 x 8
405 x 8

GHR
with mini band assistance
2 sets of 6
no assistance
2 sets of 3

Pullups
Ab wheel
Grip (grippers and wrist roller)

10/18/12 Lower and 10/19/12 Accessory stuff

10/18/12

Lots of warming up.  Swings, hamstring curls, mobility, etc.

Front Squat
Double up to 315
365 by 1

My lower back and hips were feeling like they were being stretched really far in the bottom of these and it wasn't pleasant so I moved on.

12" Deadlift (from bottom of bar)
worked up to 525 x 8 in 60 seconds

GHR on swiss ball
8
6
6

Ab Wheel

Jump rope, kettlebell swing conditioning
50 jumps x 3 sets
100 x 2 sets

15 swings x 5 sets
We went so that one person was swinging and one was jumping and then switched, so little rest.

10/19/12

Swings, pull-aparts, etc.

Hang Cleans
225 x 3
275 x 3
225 x 3 x 2

Two Dumbbell Clean and Press
75 x 12
100 x 4

Keg carry, prowler medley
180 keg, 250? keg, prowler

1 run 30 feet, turn, 30 feet back with each.
1 run 30 feet, turn, 45-50 feet back with each.

Then a little gun sculpting.

11-5 to 11-11-12

11-6 Upper

Various warm up things.

Axle Bench - grip was between being a close grip bench and where I would typically bench
260 x 10
300 x 41 (reps varied each set, but were somewhere from 10 to 5 per set)

BB Rows
245 x 10
295 x 10 x 2
245 x 10
I varied my grip from shoulder width to almost a snatch grip on these.

Ab wheel
grip

11-8 Deadlift

Deficit Deadlift
365 x 10
405 x 10 x 4 - 2 sets dead stop each rep, 2 sets touch and go

We did not take a whole lot of rest between sets.  I felt like throwing up after 3 sets.

Suspended SSB Good Morning
245 x 5 x 2
395 x 5
335 x 5

Leg Curl
45 x 15 x 2
45 x 20

Neck
Ab pulldowns
a little jump rope

11-9 Accessory (this turned into basically just working our arms)

Laying tricep extension with EZ Curl bar
25lb bar + chains, each set of chains is 40lbs total at the top
1 set x 10
2 sets x 12
3 sets x 12
4 sets x 10
5 sets x 8
4 sets x 8
3 sets x 10
2 sets x 12
1 set x 20
rest times were basically how long it took to load or unload chain and for the other person to go
I really like these since they are easier on the elbow.

Pullups
green band assisted
5 sets of 4

Axle curl/ chain raises superset

Curls 65 x 10
65 x 12
85 x 12 x 4

side and front raise with one set of chains
3 each of 10 reps
the last set of side raises I just used 10 pound plates

11-11 Events
I was tired and my body did not feel very good starting out.

Log
worked up to
290 x 1
300 x 1 x 4
I was just trying to work on the clean and get some moderately heavy singles in.

High pin squats
with cambered bar
worked up to 790 x 1 x 2 in 90 pound steps

Abs and grip

Jesse bought us all some food from Boxer BBQ to eat after training.  So after we got our short and not too intense workout in we ate.  It was probably the best barbeque I have had.

Training

Last week:

We decided to do a 4 or 6 week cycle of high volume stuff.

Press:
incline 8 sets of 10
weight ranges from 185 to 225

Lower:
SSB squats
8 sets of 10 with 245
These were awful, and still 4 days later I'm not walking right and have to brace myself to sit down.

Events 11-4-12

Log from rack
worked up to 310 for a single.  The press felt easy, I just need to get used to having a log on my chest again.
did some strict pressing up to 250 after.

Farmers Walk
big handles were used
245 x 80 feet x 2
295 x 80 feet x1
335 x 50 feet x 1
355 x 25 feet or so

I think the 335 was actually a PR because I'm not sure I've ever even picked that up before, so I am very please with picking and walking with 355.  Once I got my feet in the right place the 355 pick was actually pretty easy.

Bear Hug keg carry
220 x 120 x 2

Neck and ab work.

Quad Cities Strongman

I have been terrible at updated my training log the last few months.  Here is a video and brief write-up from the meet that was on 10-27-12.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E18XLiae9IM&feature=g-all-u

Axle - 250 lbs
I got to 10 reps in 30 seconds, then just got tired.  I was credited with 11 reps, and had two more overhead but just didn't get my feet stable.

Car Hold
I got 50.x seconds.

Deadlift - 525 lbs
This was from like 13 or 14 inches
I got 11 reps.  I'm happy with this, but it just confirms that my deadlift sucks.

Truck Pull arm over arm
21.x seconds

Stone - 320 lbs over 48 inch bar
I got 8 reps.  My lower back was torched from the deadlift still so these could have been better.

10-16 Press

We decided to start pressing on Tuesday and doing lower on Thursday.  So, since we had already pressed last Thursday and again on Sunday we kept this lighter with a little higher volume.

Seated Axle (no back support)
170 x 8 x 3
170 x 5

Pull Ups
Some

DB Bench
100 x 10 x 3

Axle Rows
210 x 5
210 x 8 x 2 or 3

Landmines
some

Bear Hug Keg Carry
180 or so for 4 carries between 100 and 200 feet

Events 10-14-12

My upper back was all kinds of messed up all week, so I didn't do a whole lot but active recovery and a little pressing on Thursday.

Events
Axle C&P
I planned on just doing one set of 10 at 250, which is the weight for the next contest I'm planning on doing, and calling it good.  I ended up doing more.
250 x 10 I set it down after this even though I probably got through these in 20 seconds just because that's what I had planned
250 x 5 I recleaned the axle and did 5 more easy since everyone was yelling at me for stopping
310 x 3 clean and press each - I had no intention of doing this, but Spenser Remick came and trained with us and was doing this for nationals and so I figured I would do a few reps.

I brought one of my monster dumbbells to mess around with, and it weighs somewhere around 150.  I did a couple pretty easy reps with it.

Car DL hold
stupid event
Did one pick and held it for maybe 20 seconds.

Stones over 54" bar
I planned on not doing anything too heavy since my back was still not feeling great.
That didn't happen.  Also, a 54" bar is pretty damn tall.
360 x 1
400 x 4 singles, Spenser and I just went back and forth so there was probably a minute rest between each of these.

Arm over Arm Truck pull
Tundra plus car dl frame plus 150 lb monster dumbbell
2 runs, each pretty fast.
I really like this event and might try to remember to work it in as conditioning sometimes even if it's not in a contest.  It's great grip and back work as well as being good conditioning.

Events 10-7-12

I forgot to post what I did last week, and don't remember all of it.

Basically Tuesday was Safety bar box squat heavy with chains and Thursday I felt like shit and didn't do much of anything.

Sunday Events

Axle C&P

3 singles at 300

1 set of 2 clean and press each rep

1 set of 10 with 250 clean and press each rep (this was horrible)

Car DL hold

some

12" Deadlift

495 x 5

Stones

not much

Arm over arm truck pull

2 runs with my truck and the car deadlift loaded in the back.

Events 9-30-12

I decided I wanted to start Carb Back Loading and am in the middle of the preparation phase (no carbs at all for 10 days) so I didn't have a ton of energy going into this.

Also, I decided that between not really feeling ready for all the events (mostly just yoke) for nationals and not wanting to spend the money and take the time off work to go that I'm not going to.  I am going to focus on just getting stronger this winter, and really try to work my weak events as much as possible before next spring.

The things I feel like are my weakest points would be deadlift strength, upper back strength, posterior chain strength, grip strength, and conditioning in that order.  Obviously, if my upper back and posterior chain get stronger it is going to help my deadlift, so there is some overlap.  I am going to take the approach of trying to work in one exercise, even if it is just one or two sets, to work on at least 2 of these things every workout.

Having said all that, I am planning on competing in the Quad Cities meet on October 27th with Jesse and Troy, so those events are what I will be training.

Axle
250 for reps
I got 11.  I know I can probably hit around 15 in a minute, but my jerk was basically non-existent because my knees were pretty sore.  Also, conditioning.

Arm over Arm truck pull (Tundra)
60 feet x 2
These were both pretty easy and fast.

12" Deadlift
525 x 3
I was tired so I stopped.

Farmers Hold
300 per hand x 2 holds probably somewhere between 15 and 30 seconds
I just wanted to get some grip work in, not ruin my hands for a week

Stones
320 x some
I was completely out of gas by this point.

Pretty decent day considering I was ready to be done after the truck pull.

USAPL Power Surge 9/22/12

I have really dropped the ball on keeping my blog updated for all of the 3 people who actually read it or care about what I'm doing in the gym.  Since I can hardly remember a workout 24 hours after it is finished I am not even going to try to recap all of them.

I decided to compete in my second ever powerlifting meet, and the first full meet I've ever done.  It was in Alliance, so it was convenient and also a lot of fun because I got to lift in a meet with my dad.  I competed in raw which in USAPL mean belt, wrist wraps, and single ply knee sleeves are allowed.

Squat
476
530
562.xx - This was an all time raw PR of a little over 7 pounds.

All weights are approximate conversions from kilos.

Bench
355
375 - I did this easily, but I lifted my head off the bench so I got redlighted
385 - I planned on going for around 400, but I knew I was going to be more concerned with keeping my head down than anything so I took a smaller jump.

Deadlift
550
600
628.xx - This is an all time PR of 3 pounds, if you count deadlifts that I didn't hitch then it is a 13 pound PR. It felt pretty easy, so it reassured me that my goal of hitting a 650 dead by May, 2013 is definitely in reach.

I ended up with a 715 kilo total (1576.289 pounds) which I was very pleased with.  I had to be over 1565 to get on the top 100 total list for USAPL, and this should put me somewhere around number 95 on the list. I also set the Nebraska state record for total, beating all 3 previous lifts, by about 165 pounds.

I ended up winning the Raw Open 125+ division, which doesn't mean shit because I was the only lifter in it.  I won Best Lifter in the meet though too, which means a lot more.

Also, since I think just about everyone who could possibly read this knows my dad too, he did pretty well.  He ended up with like a 402 bench (with a shirt).  He wanted to go for around 415, which I think he has in him easily, but his second attempt he had his hands on the wrong marks and got off balance so he stayed with the same weight.

I really enjoyed this meet, and am going to plan on doing more powerlifting meets in the future.

Squat 9-4-12

I was still sore as hell from Sunday, but I wanted to work up to a heavy single to figure out where I will open at for the powerlifting meet I am doing.

Squat
135
225
315
405
455
495
545 x 1

All of these felt pretty solid.  I think I will probably open somewhere right around 500 and try to hit 560-570.

Good Mornings
135 x 10
185 x 10
185 x 12

Hamstring Curl

Hanging leg raises

Grippers

Prowler - these were all done at a walk

Events 9-2-12

We ended up training at 5 because Jesse's brother was in town so he couldn't train until later.  It actually worked out better for me and I felt better than I usually do training in the mornings.

Monster DB
100 x 5 each arm
100 x 3 each arm
100 x 1 each arm

Axle
worked up to 250 x 15

Yoke

450 x 60'
540 x 60'
690 x 60'

I am terrible at this.

Car Deadlift

We just plate loaded my car deadlift frame, so I am not totally sure about the weight, but I would guess empty it was somewhere between 225 and 250 in our hands.

Frame + 200 x a couple
Frame + 400 x 15
Frame + 490 x 3
Frame + 580 x 1

All of these felt pretty good.  I used my suit on all sets.  I have no idea what these weights would be comparable to with a car, but the set with 400 felt similar to most car deadlifts I have done in competitions.

Keg Load

Troy said he wanted to do 26 reps of something for his 26th birthday, so this was it.
We used a 250 keg, I ended up doing 30 reps.

After all that we ate some cake.  Overall this was a very good workout.

8-30 Incline

Incline
all done with an axle
worked up to 260 x 3
added one set of chains (40 pounds)
260 + chains x 3
280 + chains x3
260 + chains x 3 x 3

BB Rows
225 x 5
315 x 5
275 x 5
325 x 5

DB Bench
100 x 10 x 3 with neutral grip

Blast Strap rows and face pulls

Landmines and Planks for abs

Prowler + 90 pounds x 10

Events and Squat

Events 8-26

Axle C&P
worked up to 310 x 5 clean and press each rep
None of the pressing was hard, but cleaning each rep really sucks

Frame
450 x 1 x 60'
640 x a couple missed picks and then one short run
I know that these felt shitty since I had just done the axle and I was still a little beat up from deadlift, but it shouldn't have felt as bad as it did.
540 x 60' fast

Stones
all over 54" bar
360 x 3
360 x 2
405 x 1

I had to leave earlier than usual, so that was it for the day.

Squat 8-28
My lower back was still ridiculously sore from Sunday, so everything felt like shit

Safety bar to high box (maybe 19")
425 x 3
425 x 3
445 x 3 x 3

Straight leg Deadlift
we used an axle to get a little grip work in on these
275 x 10 x 3
even as light as it was they all felt terrible because of my lower back

Hamstring curls
100 x 10 x 3

Band Pulldowns and some gripper work

Prowler sprints x 10

Deads 8-21

Deadlift
135
225
315
405
455
add chains
455 + 40 x 1
455 + 80 x 1
455 + 120 x1
495 +120 x 1
545 + 120 x 1
605 x fail

The chains were still on the ground a bit at the top, so I'd say maybe 5 pounds worth per chain were on the ground still.

I should have just stuck to my plan of 455 or 495 plus chains instead of going up.

Safety Bar Squat
245 x 10 x 2
295 x 10

Safety Bar hold for time
625 x 15 seconds x 2

Ab wheel
wrist roller
paloff presses
gripper

Complex of high pull, press, good morning, and row.

8-7 Pull, 8-9 Bench, 8-12 Upper

8-7
Rack Pulls from about 16"
worked up to 605 pretty easily and then just crapped out after that.  I think actually doing stones and some other strongman events got to me.

Glute Bridges
some, I don't remember exactly

Hyper
Two mini bands x 10 x 4

Ab Wheel
Paloff presses

8-9 Bench
I was by myself, so I didn't get a ton done.

Bench
I did all these with my feet out in front of the bench and a flat back, so zero leg drive.
up to 315 x a couple
335 x 1 x 3
315 x 1 x 3

I did some scarecrows and a little bit of light upper back work and that was about it.

Prowler
75' x 10

8-12
I ended up benching again because I was in Alliance and that was what my dad was doing.

up to 315 x 1
add Ram
315 x 3
365 x 1
405 x 1
425 x 1 - this was pretty easy, but the Ram made the bar path get too far back and I wasn't really comfortable to go heavier with that set up.

Seated Press pin presses
from about eye level
135 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5 x 2

Lat Pulldown
some

Sunday 8-5 Events

Log
90 x 5
140 x 5
200 x 5
210 x 1
250 x 10
rest 30 seconds
250 x 3

Farmers
120 x 100
210 x 100
310 x 80
310 x 60

Stones (these felt terrible, probably from not doing them for several weeks)
330 x 1
405 x 1
360 x 3

Arm over Arm sled pull
300 pounds x 60 feet x 5

Keg Carry
200 x 100 x 3

Fallouts

Week of 7-29

Sunday 7-29 Events (kind of but not really)

Circus DB
worked up to a single that was way heavier than it should have been at 167

Keg Loads
200 pounds keg x 30 reps
This was actually 32 or 33 reps, but I'm not sure so I'll call it 30.  Jesse and Zach were doing sets of 5 or 6 and we were passing it back and forth.  I went the whole time and they switched off.  It maybe took 5 or 6 minutes total, maybe less.  These were actually pretty easy and I wasn't all that tired after.

Prowler
10 runs of 80 feet with 90 pounds

I feel like there was something else that I did, but the way this day went I really don't think there was.  These days need to pick up in intensity and focus and I need to make sure I'm getting in at least 3 quality events and conditioning.

Tuesday 7-31 Squat

Squat
worked up to a max single
warm up
425 x 1
475 x 1
525 x 1
555 x 1 (10 pound PR)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXvEHEmVyuM

Safety Bar Squat
275 x 2
365 x 2
365 + 40 pounds chain x 2 x 5 sets

Glute Bridge
up to 300 x 10 reps

Ab Wheel
3 sets of 5

Grippers
Heavy Grip 200 x 10 x 3 or 4 sets with hold

Thursday 8-2 Bench

Bench
warm up
Add heavy reverse bands
405 x 1
455 x 1
495 x 1
545 x fail
515 x 1 x 5

These got better with each set after feeling the weight and getting used to the path of the bands.  Feeling the heavier weight in my hands is going to make a big difference with my heavier presses.

BB Rows
245 x 5 x 5 sets (fast tempo, little rest between sets)

DB Incline
100 x 10 x 3 sets with neutral grip

Lat Pulldown
This was set up with a bar hanging from bands
heavy band x 10
heavy band and monster mini x 10 x 3

Paloff Press superset with Jump Rope
100 jumps
10 presses per side
5 sets of jump rope 4 sets of Paloff press
These were done with no rest as conditioning.

Sunday 7-22 and Lower 7-24

Monster DB
I worked up to a pretty easy single at 167, with my right arm only since I can't figure out how to hold it with my left.
I gave 187 a couple tries, but just couldn't quite get it pressed.  I think with a little training 200 is definitely attainable in the near future.

That's really all that happened that's worth putting down.  I was struggling with the chest congestion that I've had for a week and felt like shit.



Safety Bar Box Squat
The warm ups were to a 17" box which is right at, or maybe just a little below parallel for me.  The work sets I added a plate on top of the box so I was probably just above parallel.
155
245
335
335 + 40 pounds chain x 2
335 + 80 pounds chain x 2 x 2 sets
385 + 80 pounds chain x 2
425 + 80 pounds chain x 1   I got pinned on the box on my second one.
385 +120 pounds chain x 2  I might have done this for 2 sets

245 x 20 no box

I did some light hammer curls in between sets.

Glute Bridge
120 x 5
210 x 5
300 x 5
390 x 5 x 2

I need to do these more often.

Ab Wheel x 5 - My abs were still sore from whatever I did Sunday so I switched to Paloff Presses and Planks for 3 sets a piece.

I did the 200 pounds gripper for 10 per hand with a hold for 3 sets, took my dogs for a nice little 20 or 30 minute walk, and called it a night.

This week

Tuesday 7/10
I did some random snatches and cleans and stuff to warm up.

18" Deadlift
I worked up to singles at 625, 715, and then 750. All went up pretty easily. 750 was a 45 pound PR on this lift. I would have gone up again, but I had other things planned.

Car Deadlift
This wasn't exactly a success. I had to use Jesse's Blazer, and so to be able to pick it the lever was basically at the back of the frame. I added a couple hundred pounds to it, did a couple reps, and was tired of screwing around with it.

Safety Bar Squat
315 x 2 x 3
405 x 2 x 2

These didn't feel too bad.

Barbell Rows
I started with 245 and went up from there. I only did 3 or 4 sets.

Kettlebell Tabata

I'm not sure what the weights were, but we had three different kettlebells. We rotated between them each round and did 9 rounds of swings.

Wednesday
I went swimming with Cassie at Troy's pool. We swam for 30-45 minutes and I just swam laps the whole time.

Thursday 7/12
Bench
I was by myself and didn't really have a plan, so I decided to do some reverse bands for sets of 3 or so. I figured out that the band tension at my chest was around 60-65 pounds and basically nothing at the top. I used light bands.

315 x 5
365 x 3 x 5 (I actually think this was 6 sets, but I lost track and so I just erred on the side of caution to make sure I did them all.)

These were all pretty easy. I think I would have bumped the weight to 385 or 405 if I had a spotter there, mostly for the lift off.

Incline

85 pound dumbbell for 10
100 pound db for 10 x 2

I did these all with a neutral grip. I think I would have increased the reps or sets if I had someone there to spot. These all went up easy.

I did some random barbell rows and curls in between some of these sets.

Dumbbell Row Conditioning
10 reps per arm
do one side, rest ten seconds, do the other side, repeat 5 rounds
I used an 85 pound dumbbell. These weren't super hard, but I think 100 would have been too much. I kept my form fairly strict.

Jump Rope Tabata style
10 rounds

I also took my dogs on a 20 minute or so walk after.

Last Week

Since I forgot to post all last week I will do my best to remember.

Tuesday 7/3 Squat

I did a few light snatches to warm up a little.

Safety Bar Box Squat
I used one more plate, so I was squatting to may 14 or 15 inches, so well below parallel. I think I would be at parallel with an 18" box.

I know the safety bar weighs 65 or something like that, but for simplicity I just consider it 45 pounds.

worked up to 365 x 2 x 2
405 x 2 x 3
365 x 2 x 2

The weight on these seems super low to look at, but they suck to do.

Safety Bar Good Morning
185 x 8 x 4 (this could have only been 3 sets, but I know I was planning 4)

I know I'm missing something here.

Sled Drags

400 pounds, not sure how many trips I did.

Thursday 7/5 Upper

Jesse came over so I had someone to do an upper body workout with finally.

Bench
I did double up to 375 paused. I tried to go 405 but missed it.

Incline with chains

Weight was 205-225 with 80 to 120 pounds of chain. I did a few sets of 3-5.

Barbell Rows
225 x 10
275 x 10
315 x 5
365 x 3
385 x 3

Thick handle dumbbell deadlift and hold for grip 140 or so for 5 sets.

Dumbbell Row
100 x 20
100 x 15

Jump Rope Tabata (Kind of)
I just do 50 jumps and then rest 10 seconds per round. I figured out I almost always hit 49-51 jumps per 20 seconds for a tabata anyway.

10 rounds

Friday 7/6
Lots of stretching and foam rolling.

Jump Rope
75 x 2
Tabata style for 17 rounds, for a total of 1000 jumps in about 10 minutes.

Sunday 7/8 Events
Axle Medley
225, 250, 275, 300, 325

The first 4 went up pretty easily. The last was on an axle that I always seem to have more trouble cleaning, and I missed the clean and so I missed the press. I actually don't feel too bad about this because I know I could get the press if I get the clean done well.

Farmers
My hands were not feeling too great after spending the whole day moving Troy on Saturday. I just did a not too impressive 60' run with 280.

Tire Flip
One 80 foot run with the 600.

Stones
I used the 330 stone and did 10 reps. They were pretty slow, maybe took me 2-3 minutes to finish, my body felt pretty terrible after moving all day the day before, so I was just happy to get this in.

Now I just have to decide if I want to do this contest last minute or not.

Events and Squats

6/24 Events Day (USAWA Day)

I had the intention of doing at least a little log pressing and stones, but after taking 2 or 2.5 hours to get through the USAWA events in the heat there wasn't a whole lot of energy or desire to do either.

Clean and Press - 2 Dumbbells
I worked up to 117 per hand, which if I am looking right should be an all time record in the USAWA. That's assuming no one will do more for this postal.

Hang Snatch
My last attempt was 205, which I got. This should be an all time record as well.

Cheat Curl - 2 Dumbbells
I got 107 per hand. I tried 117 per hand, but didn't quite get it. This should be an all time record as well.

My total for the 3 lifts was 653.

I tried a little log pressing and stones, but it just wasn't in the cards for the day. Also, it was really hot and so conditioning wasn't gonna happen either.


6/26 Squats

Yoke bar squats to a low box
315 x 2 x 2
365 x 2 x 3
405 x 2 x 2ish
225 x 20 (no belt)

The last rep with 405 I kind of got stuck in the bottom. I just sat there for a minute and then used the safety bars to push myself up. So, I didn't really get it, but it's not like I dumped it either.

These really suck. 405 is not a lot of weight, but with this bar it feels 100 pounds heavier. It's obviously a good thing for me to work with since it targets a lot of what I consider to be weaknesses (glutes, hamstrings, upper back, core).

The 20 rep set had my abs almost cramping.

Yoke bar good mornings
135 x 8
185 x 8 x 3

Light weight, but these suck lots too.

Ab Wheel Rollouts

3 sets of 8

The tempo of this workout could have been a little faster, but that's become standard for me.

I think I am going to stick with the yoke bar squats for awhile and maybe vary the box height. I am not a big fan of box squatting, but I am doing these more for my deadlift than my squat and so starting from the bottom is beneficial. As I'm typing this, my hamstrings, glutes, and abs are so sore I can barely walk so something worked the way it was supposed to.

6-21 Upper

I started off with a little foam rolling a T Spine mobility.

Incline
135 x 5
225 x 5
225 + 40 pounds chain x 2
225 + 80 pounds chain x 2
245 + 80 pounds chain x 2
225 + 80 pounds chain x 2
225 + 80 pounds chain x 2

I would guess that at the bottom of this only half the chain weight ended up on the floor, maybe a little more. I just wanted to do some lighter pressing but wanted to get a little more out of the top.

Barbell Rows
225 x 5 x 5

I stopped and reset each of these and really tried to focus on pulling with my lats.

Front Raises
20 pounds per hand x 10

These were supersetted with the rows.

Blast strap pushups
5 sets of 10

Jump Rope
These were supersetted with the pushups
150 x 2 sets
100 x 2 sets

I spent less than an hour from start to finish, so this was a pretty quick workout for me. Obviously not a lot of weight was used on anything.

2012 Missouri's Strongest Man: The Gus Lohman Memorial

I went into this competition expecting a pretty close battle between the top 3 or 4, and it ended up being a battle between myself and Spencer Remick for the top 2 spots overall.

Log
260 for reps

I ended up with 9 and tied for second overall. First was 13 reps, which I think on a more level surface I could have hit. I could not keep my balance and could not get in a rhythm because we were pressing on a slight decline.

Farmers Walk
280 per hand for about 80 feet

I finished in 10.xx seconds and got second overall by like half a second. So this one just came down to who was on the stop watch basically.

Tire Flip
700 pound tire for 80 feet

31.xx seconds I believe and first place overall by about a second. I stumbled on the last flip because my feet were in a dip in the ground and my foot slipped in my shoe. It still worked out though.

Car Deadlift

I needed 24 reps for first and ended up with 20. I got 21 just after time ran out. I feel like I was at a slight disadvantage on this event going last. The car deadlift frame was set on grass, and so as each person went it sunk down a little deeper. By the time I went I had to pull it out of the holes and so I couldn't get the bounce that a lot of people were getting off the ground. That's still not an excuse though because I took a couple breathers that cost me time and reps. Overall deadlift strength needs to come up, and my conditioning could use work.

Duck walk / Sled drag medley
340 duck walk loaded into a tire and dragged back, 80 feet each way.

Spenser destroyed this event and finished in a little over 30 seconds, so even if I had won the car deadlift he would have won overall. I finished in a little over a minute I think. The drag was brutal.

I finished first place in the superheavy class, and second place overall in the heavyweight division. I think third place overall was quite a ways back, and second place in the superheavies was quite a ways back from me too.

This was an extremely efficient meet, and even with 40 competitors and all those events to keep having to reset we finished in just over 4 hours. It is always a good time to get to see all my strongman friends at these competitions and to watch most of them compete. There was a lot of impressive lifting all day long. It was also a really interesting venue since it was incorporated into Belton Community Days which is basically a carnival, so there was a pretty sizable crowd all day long.

Week of 6-3

Tuesday 6-5 Deadlift

565 x 3
475 3 x 3

Duck Walk
250 x 60' x 2 runs
320 x 60'

I don't really remember what else I did. Duck walks felt a lot better.

Thursday 6-7 Bench
Bench
I wanted to work on some heavy singles and use form that would pass in a USAPL meet, so feet flat and a pause basically.
worked up to 365 for a legal, long paused single.

385 without my feet flat, but paused.

405 definitely not legal, but I'm happy I hit this.

Light OHP
165 x 10
165 x 8
165 x 6

GHR
several sets of 5-8

There was some other random stuff including pullups in there, but I don't really remember it all.

Sunday 6-10 Events

Since it was the weekend before the Gus, I figured I would do what I usually do and run through the events once.

Log (260)
11 reps in 60 seconds. These are getting better. If I can find a nice rhythm I will be able to hit at least this many. I will need at least this many to stay in the running too.

Farmers (280)
1 easy run of around 80', and I think it was a little longer than 80, in just over 13 seconds. The pick was really slow and I didn't feel like I was moving as fast as I could, so I think my time could improve easily.

Car Deadlift
20 fairly easy reps in 60 seconds, car was at 65" from handles. This will be a rep fest between the top 5 or so guys if it's the same set up that was used last year, so I will need everything I can get.

Tire flip
Jesse's 600 pound tire, which again is harder to flip than almost any 700-800 pound tire I've come across, for 80+ feet. I believe I finished in 44 seconds. I was hoping for a little faster, but honestly don't think I could improve this a lot. All but one of my flips was fast and fairly easy, and I didn't take much time between. I could have taken less time in between, but I think the run went good.

Duck Walk/ Sled drag medley.

One the bright side, I didn't drop the duck walk. On the bad side, the run was far from fast. This was a different set up than we had used, again, and I think it showed. The sled drag wasn't fast either, but it was steady. I could have pushed myself a little more on the drag too. I really hope I get to go somewhere close to last on this event so I know what I need to do.

I feel very ready for the contest. With the lineup of events, and the people competing, I think it will be one of the most competitive contests I have done. The events leave very little room for error, so to win or even place in the top 2 or 3 overall is going to take near PR performances on every event.

Events 6/3

It was hot again today. I was a sweaty mess just from warmups.

Log
worked up to 260 which is the comp weight
warm up set of 3 (I need to make sure I get a warm up in with the comp weight at the competition because my first set always feels bad)
set of 9
set of 8

The first set went pretty well, I just wasn't able to find a rhythm. I know I need to squeeze a few more out of this to stay in the top couple places. The second set the jerk went much better and I kept a better rhythm. I just need to put both together and I should be fine.

Farmers
I did one very fast and easy run with 280. It was probably only like 60' so a little short, but that's because there was some other stuff in the way.

Tire Flip
I think we used Jesse's 600 pound tire, which is harder to flip than just about any tires I've used in competitions that were supposedly heavier.

I did two quick and fairly easy runs. I'm happy with how these felt since it was the first time I had trained them in probably over a year.

Car DL
I used a suit with the straps down and moved the car up again this week so it was heavier.

2 sets of 10

Duck Walk
I am more worried about this than any other event. I don't know if it's the set up or if I'm just bad at them, but they are just terrible to train. I think a lot of it was the set up though because Jesse was giving me all kinds of shit about it and tried to do a run and made it about 5 feet, and he is supposedly the king of duck walks. I also remember a competition last year that had one and training it went awful and I basically ran with it at the competition.

Who knows, I guess I just have to do what I can to be quick.

Sled Drag
I knew I needed to work these too since I really hadn't for a long time. There was 400ish on the sled, so more than comp weight, and all the runs I did felt pretty easy. My quads were burning, but that's expected.

I was happy to get through all the events, and to have good runs on all of them but the duck walk. It took almost 4 hours I think, so timing was probably close to competition time too. It was hot and I was really starting to crash so I just considered the sled drags conditioning and didn't do any other accessory work.

USAWA Record Day at Jobe's Steel Jungle

Jesse made sure to remind me that I never did a write up of this so here it is.

I had a whole wedding weekend leading up to this since one of my best friends was getting married. What that meant for me was Thursday through Saturday doing too much drinking and not enough sleeping or eating for my own good. I made an effort to not drink too much and kept it under control because I still wanted to do a couple things at the record day. To add to all of the other things going on though I had a pretty nasty sinus infection going on at the same time. All of this add up to me not feeling too good and having just north of zero energy on Sunday. Once I got started lifting I started to feel a little better, but I never really felt "on" all day. My lifting didn't really reflect this though, and I'm not sure I could have put up much better numbers even if I would have felt better. I basically cherry picked a few lifts that I wanted to set the all time record in regardless of class, and went for those and saved my energy by going more for quality than quantity of records. I also judged a little bit.

James Lift
I had to do this since Al called me out to be the first person to break the 200 pound mark. I consider this an accomplishment because it is a very difficult lift. Part of the reason that the mark has never been hit before is because most people don't want to or can't do this lift.

I hit 202 without too much difficulty and left it at that so I could try to improve on it next time.

Team Deadlift – Fulton Bar, Ciavattone Grip: 670#
Troy and I knew we could hit this easy and wanted to get the all time record back. We jumped to 700 after this and it was too much. I think we could have hit 680 or so, but that'll be for another day.

Clean and Seated Press: 247#
This was just a lift that I saw and knew I could get the all time record because this is how I do all my pressing at home minus the clean. My ceilings are too low for me to stand so I press seated with no back support.

Clean and Press – On Knees: 227#
I don't even know what made me want to try this. This is the only lift that Jesse didn't get video of, and it's the one I wanted to see most. I have no idea how I managed enough hip drive to get the bar high and then was able to get under the bar. Pressing was not an issue, but the clean is very difficult. Darren said something close to this after I managed to finish the lift, "That was the most impressive thing I've ever seen."

Vertical Bar Deadlift – 1 Bar, 1″, Left Hand: 215#
I didn't even push myself on this. 215 was loaded on the bar and it was enough to get the record so I did it and moved on.

Deadlift – No Thumbs: 602#
I really only did this because it at least resembles some strongman training for the day. Since this meet was 4 weeks before one of the biggest strongman meets in this part of the country I needed to train a little at least. Considering how I felt, and that an ugly 625 is the most I've ever deadlifted, I was pretty impressed with myself being able to pull this clean. I don't think not having my thumbs on the bar effected my grip too much really though.

Clean and Press – Middle Fingers: 87#
I could have easily done 20-30 more pounds on this, but again this is what was on the bar already and it was enough for the record so I did it and moved on. Maybe another day I'll try to get more.

Deadlift – One Leg, Right: 205#
I think Troy or Jesse was trying these so I said what the hell and jumped in. I think I've pulled more than this messing around, but that was with being able to move my foot.

Deadlift – One Leg, Left: 205#
Same as above.

Deadlift – Ciavattone Grip, Left Arm: 235#
I'm not sure why I decided to try this, but I am pretty please with it. This was tough to keep balanced, and therefore hard to keep a grip on.

Team Deadlift: 1097#
This should have been attempted much, much earlier in the day, but it wasn't and it still turned out alright. I'm not totally sure why Troy and I do well together on the team deadlift events since there is around a 6 or 7 inch height difference, but it works. Watching the video I figured out why it felt so hard for me to lock this out though, Troy was locked out and I still had a few inches to pull. So not only was I pulling my end of the bar, but I was levering some of his up too. I think the next time we attempt this it will be when we are both a little fresher and hopefully we can get around 1150. I would like to hit 1200 in the near future too.

This was a really fun day and there was a lot of impressive lifts to be seen. Thanks to Jesse and Allison for putting it on and supplying some wonderful burgers.

Last few workouts

Nothing much happened between KSM and last Sunday, just a couple of workouts with nothing of note.

Sunday 5/17 Events
It was very hot. I think it got up to 94 and it was really humid too. I was absolutely exhausted after this even though I only got through three events I think mostly from the heat.

Log
Jesse told me to just press the competition weight for the Gus 20 times in as many sets as it took.

260 log
First set - 6 reps - these all felt awful
Second set - 8 reps - I think I just needed to get a feel for the log again on the first set. These all felt pretty easy, I just ran out of air. I think on a little cooler day or a little less humidity I could have gotten 10-12.
Third set - 6 reps - all easy. I just put it down because I hit 20.

280 farmers
I think I took at least a half an hour between log and this to cool down a little bit and get energy back.
2 runs of about 80'. Picks felt easy, speed was probably not quite what it should be.

Car Deadlift
Between setting up the car deadlift and resting, I probably spent another 45 minutes of down time between farmers and this.

I did 2 sets of 5 and then found Joe's old squat suit and put it on. I did another set of 5 with it on and had to stop and take off my belt because I couldn't breathe. After a quick little breather I did 5 more. These all felt surprisingly good.

Prowler/ Sledge Swings
60' down and back with plates
10 swings per arm
4 rounds


Tuesday 5/29
I planned on front squatting, but was super sore from Sunday still so I worked up to a couple at 315 and that was it.

Hamstring curls
3 sets of 5-10, I don't really remember

2" dumbbell deadlift
140 pounds, 5 reps per hand, 3 sets

wrist roller
some

I did some light curls between most everything too.

Prowler
90 pounds
about 70' runs
10 total

Wednesday 5/30
I went to Lifetime with Zach and decided I would front squat since I felt better and basically didn't do it the night before.

Front Squat
315 x 3
335 x 3
375 x 3 (this was supposed to be 365, but Zach loaded a 35 on one side instead of a 25 and somehow I didn't even notice the weight difference)

I was only going to do 3 sets of 3 at 315, but they felt good.

Incline
225 x 8
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 2

I did some light T bar rows in between these sets

Dumbbell Rows
130 x 10 x 2 sets
105 x 10 x 2 sets

Glute Ham Raise
4 or 5 sets of 5

Preacher Curl
50 pounds, 3 sets of 20

Preacher Curl machine
some with a very slow lowering portion

I did some other curls and was done.

Kansas Strongest Man 2012

This was my first competition since hurting my foot, so I was pretty anxious and nervous before.

Axle for max weight
I thought I was going to have a decent advantage on this event knowing that I should be able to hit 350. It kind of took a lot of wind out of my sails when everyone opened at 300 or above.

I ended up hitting 300, 330, and 350. I could have probably got more out of the last press, but 330 felt kind of crappy. I ended up taking 2nd.

14" Deadlift for max weight.

I wouldn't doubt that this started at 14", but the heavier it got the lower the pick got. I was not confident about this event going in since my deadlift isn't all that great, and again it didn't help that I had to open at 650 to keep up which would have been maybe a second or third attempt in other circumstances.

I got the 650 pretty easy. Next attempt was 700. I got it over my knees but just didn't hitch and lock it out.

I am actually happy about how this went. The 700 had to have been no more than a 12" pull and so it makes me confident that my deadlift is improving.

Farmers Hold for time

Again, an event I didn't feel too confident about going in. This was 300 per hand. I know my grip is pretty decent, but I hate events like this.

I ended up getting 46.xx seconds, and second place. Everyone was over 45, and first was 49, so everyone was very evenly matched.


Keg Carry and Load

255 and 280 keg carried 40 feet and loaded over a 48" bar.

I knew this would be one of my stronger events. I got first and finished in 15.xx seconds I believe.

Stone over bar for reps

330 stone

I knew this would be a good event for me, I just wasn't sure how other people would do on it. I needed to win the event to win the contest, and I had one guy going after me so I had to go all out.

My conditioning on this isn't where it should be, and the most I had got in training was about 5 reps.

I told Troy before that I wanted 7, and I loaded my seventh rep with no time left. I think the next best was 5 reps.

I ended up winning the heavyweights. This was a really fun and efficiently run contest. It was also a great contest to get back into competing.

The last week or so.

Sunday 4-29 Events Pressing all felt like garbage, so that's not worth going into. It was raining so we couldn't get outside to do the keg medley. 14" Deadlift worked up to 1 at 650. This was heavy, but I think I could get a little more out of it. Farmers Hold These were pretty awful. I'm supposed to do 300 per hand. I did it, but my hands were killing me and it felt like I was going to tear something. My grip wasn't going to give out but I set them down anyways short of 20 seconds. I'm guessing I will need to be well over 30 to even be in the running on this event. Stones. I have to do 330 for reps at KSM. My first set was 330 x 8, I probably got 5 or 6 of these in the minute allowed. Outside of the minute I was just taking a second between the last few to get more tacky. I'm hoping for at least 6 at the competition. Those all felt good so I decided to take a run at the 405 for a rep or two. I also wanted to do this because Jesse tried to load it and couldn't get it out of his lap. I ended up getting 3. Not easy, but not hard either. I also discovered that I still have a little bit of a mental block with heavier stones that's probably going to take awhile getting comfortable with. one down set at 250 x 10 Prowler 5 60' runs with 90 pounds Tuesday 5-1 Deadlift Coan Phillipi week 5 505 x 3 x 3 405 x 3 x 3 None of these felt that great, probably because of the stones Sunday. Power Shrugs 375 x 5 x 3 Straight Leg DL 295 x 5 x 3 Bent over row 295 x 5 x 3 Let Pulldown weight x 5 x 3 Good Morning 225 x 5 x 3 Abs Sledge Swings 3 sets of 5 with the 60 pound sledge Thursday 5-3 Upper Seated OHP 135 x 5 185 x 3 225 x 3 (pretty sure this is a rep pr seated) Bench 225 x 3 275 x 3 335 x 3 I did all these paused at the bottom. I think I might do the Cornhusker State Games in July and need to get used to benching like this. Dips 3 sets of 5 Hills 6 runs These suck, a lot, with the warmer weather and humidity.

Squat 4-24

I did some light cleans and snatches to get moving. I also did a little bit of heavy sledge swings. Squat worked up to 460 x 2 385 x 3 x 3 sets I was going to do more light sets, but my lower back was really tight and sore from Sunday still so I quit while I was ahead. I squatted in my olympic shoes for the first time in quite awhile. I don't understand why I go through phases where squatting in flat bottom shoes feels great, then some time later I try olympic shoes and they are back to feeling better. I will stick with my oly shoes for now. Good mornings 5 light sets of 10 reps. I think the heaviest 2 were 185. Sledge Swings 3 sets of 10 per arm with the 25 1 set of 20 per arm with the 16 That was enough for the night. It was one of the first semi hot weather workouts I have done this year, and I was still sore as hell from Sunday.

Throwing and Events

Friday 4-20

I went to Jesse's with the intention of throwing a little, but Melissa was training so I had to find some stuff to do while I waited.

The only highlight really is that I did one set of 20 with 225 squatting. These were easy, but I was still breathing heavy and tired after them.

I did some weight over bar up to 13' too.

Shortly after that we went to throw.

LWFD
I didn't realize how much form I had lost on these until I tried to throw and completely forgot how.

I think most of my throws were in the low 50's. I would like to be over 60'. I don't think it will be that difficult if I can figure out the spin and do this when I'm a little more fresh.

We forgot the Braemer, so we threw a 16 pound shot.

These were ok, but I wasn't getting much leg drive out of them. Probably from squatting first.



Events 4-22
60# sledge 5 swings per arm, 2 sets
This is a great way to get some blood moving.

Light snatches
135 and 155 by a couple

Axle
worked up to 310 x 1 easy.
Put on 330 and missed it. This shouldn't be that hard. I'm going to blame benching with quite a bit more volume than I'm used to for this.

Log
I also need to work on the log since I haven't used it forever and have a contest coming up with it.
250 x 5 easy
270 x 5 not so easy. The pressing was pretty good, I just ran out of gas and am not used to having a log on my chest and breathing.

Keg carry and Load
250 and 270 keg for 40 feet, load over a 48" bar.
Did 2 runs. The time was probably similar on both. I'm guessing somewhere in the low 20 second range.

Stone over bar.
330 stone
one set of 3 reps
one set of 5 reps
I could have done more on the last set, by my right sleeve slid down my arm and I couldn't get a grip on the stone with it like that. Next time I'll have to make sure it is tighter.

Car Deadlift
I really only wanted to do this because I just built a car deadlift frame. We weren't loading it a lot, but I also don't know how to compare it to other car deadlifts that I have done. The frame itself is so heavy that it affects the weight a lot.

I did one set of 3 with Troy standing on the frame behind me and Jesse's kia loaded. (I didn't know Troy was on the frame.)

10 x 1 I couldn't believe how much lighter this felt without Troy on it.
25 x 1 I was gonna do 13, then kept going. I am paying for it in a good way today.

Front Squat and Bench

4/17 Front Squat

Sledge swings
I brought my new 60 pounds sledge that I made so I tried it out.
a couple sets of 3 per arm
2 sets of 5 per arm
I was definitely warm after these.

Snatch
135 for a couple sets
I think I am kind of figuring these out finally. I'll keep them light until I do for sure.

Front Squat
worked up to 365 x 2
285 x 3 for 5 sets

Sumo Deads
I did 5 sets of 3 at 225. These were not hard by any means, I just wanted to see what they would feel like and pull really fast.

Paloff Presses
3 sets of 10

Ab Strap
3 sets of 10

more sledge swings
3 sets of 5 per arm

This new sledge is brutal.




4/18 Bench
Zach came over, which is nice to have someone to bench with for a change.

Front raises with a bar
65 x 3
75 x 3
85 x 3
95 x 3

I would like to break the USAWA record for the holdout so I better work on it.

Bench
worked up to 315 x 5 x 5 sets

Pullups
pathetic x a couple sets

Blast strap pushups with chain
started with 4 chains (80 pounds) and worked to zero doing 3 reps at each weight
one more set starting with 2 chains and doing 5 reps at each weight

Hills
These were awful this week. I think it was because Zach was there and so I was pushing myself to run a lot faster than I probably have been.

10 hills (I was ready to be done after about 4)

4/10 Deadlift

Squat
up to 455 doing singles.

These felt awful.

Deadlift
565 x 2
565 x 1 (the second one before wasn't quite locked out)
475 x 3 x 5 sets
These definitely were not as fast as they are supposed to be.

That's pretty much all I did. I think I should have deloaded.

4-11 Hill Sprints
I did 9 this week.

4/3/12 Deadlift

Coan Phillipi routine week 3

535 x 2
435 6 sets of 3

These didn't feel too bad, but my lower back is still bothering me a little. It's just gonna take some time to recover since I haven't really given it a chance to.

Straight Leg deadlift, bent over row, good morning, assisted pullup complex.

3 sets of 8 (I just did 20 total reps on the pullups because even assisted I couldn't get 8)
SLDL 245
bent row (used an axle) 210
GM 135 one set, 185 2 sets

I stayed somewhat light on these to make sure that I maintained good form throughout. It is still a mother to do assistance like this.

I took about 30 seconds between exercises and maybe two minute between sets.

Hammer Curls, wrist roller superset
10 curls, wrist roller up and down twice
3 times

Ab Wheel, ham curl superset
2 sets of 10 and 2 sets of 5 on ab wheel
3 sets of 5 on ham curl - I was taking it easy, these were just to get a little more work in.

Prowler
2 runs of about 80'
8 runs of somewhere between 100' and 120'

4/1 Events

After about an hour of bullshitting and "warming up" I finally got into some sets on the log. The worst thing about this is that Troy and I were the only two working with the log.

250 x 7
270 x some (I think it was 3 or 4)

I am not very happy about how terrible this felt. I'm not sure if it's not being used to the log anymore, being used to pressing heavier weight on an axle, or just having a shitty pressing day. I officially know now that my axle does not carry over well to the log, but the log I believe does carry over some to the axle. Looks like some work is in order here.

Jesse mentioned it, and I kind of like the idea myself of pressing on Thursdays instead of Sunday. I usually bench on Thursday so we'll see if it works out. I think it would give me a lot more quality time to focus on other events and conditioning instead of spending half the day on Sunday just pressing.

Farmers
260 x 60 feet
310 x 60 feet x 2

These were all with the smaller black handles. These are way harder to carry than the larger handles.

I think some lighter farmers to figure out how to move again is in order. I also did a bunch of jump roping on Friday and my right ankle (the bad one) and calf were super tight so these didn't feel real great.

Stones
This is one event that I shouldn't have to worry about losing my touch on. Well, I'm not sure what the hell was going on but these just felt terrible. I don't know if it's not being used to training in heat, conditioning, fatigue, or just from being locked in all winter and getting back outside but these felt awful.

I did some ab work and went home.

A few things I want to start doing more of:

1. Loaded carries - keg, sandbag, farmers, whatever. These are all terrible. I especially want to work in more conditioning work with sandbags and kegs. There is nothing like carrying a heavy sandbag for conditioning.
2. Loading - I'm not sure why we prioritize pressing over loading so much. Pressing is always going to be contested, but we all press during the week too. Loading is probably almost as common of an event type but it seems to always get pushed to the end of workouts and so most of the time it gets skipped. There is a conditioning aspect of stone and keg loading that can't be mimicked any other way, and I am severely lacking it right now.
3. Prowler work during the week - I don't know why I have my own prowler but can't drag my ass into the street and push it 3 days a week. If I even just did 6-10 runs of any distance or intensity that would add a ton of conditioning work every week.
4. Yoke - I think there would be a huge carry over to a lot of things by doing more yoke work. The core work it provides alone would help with just about every other lift. Plus I suck at it because my core is weak so doing more should be a good idea.

3/29 Upper

Jump Rope Tabata type thing
50 jumps, 10 seconds rest - 4 rounds
100 jumps, 20 seconds rest - 2 rounds

Foam roll/ stretch

Bench
135
225
315 x 5
335 x 3
365 x 2

I need to get back on some sort of program on these, although I'm pretty happy with getting 365 for 2.

Press
225 x 1
235 x 1
245 x 1
255 x fail
225 x 1
225 x 1

I just wanted to do 5 heavy singles. These were all done seated, and the 245 was a very easy PR of 10 pounds.

Blast Strap Push ups
3 sets of 10
I need to have someone around to train with so we can do these with chains. They are easily my favorite exercise for pecs and they hit triceps pretty well too.

Hills
I decided to just do one more rep per week when I started this and see how far I could get.

This week was 7. They weren't all that bad.

Battle in the Barn

Jesse and I went to ET's House of Iron and Stone to compete in a USAWA competition yesterday. The events were Appollon's Axle (max axle), Goerner Stroll (like a farmers walk but carrying two barbells), Crucifix, and 18" max deadlift.

Appollon's Axle
300 good
325 good
355 good and a PR

The weight that made this a famous old time strongman event was 365, and I am not far from getting that. I also think this is supposed to have a little bit higher pick than a normal axle like we were using so that would help too.

Goerner Stroll

This is a 16.5' course.

I had only tried this once, and it was with two bars that weren't the same, so I wasn't sure how this would go.

410 (205 per hand) good
520 (260 per hand) I touched one bar about 2 feet short on the first run, so I had to do this again within the minute limit, but I got it.
570 (285 per hand) This would have been the most ever done on this event. I picked it up easy, and ended up having one bar tilt forward right at the end of the walk so I missed it. I think I could get 600 on this event if I work on it a little.

Crucifix

60 good
80 good
90 fail

This event is very humbling. It is also not suited for people with long arms at all.

18" Deadlift

I hadn't done anything heavy on these without straps, so I wasn't sure how it would go.

605 good, very easy
655 good
705 good and a PR
I tried 725 just for the hell of it and was out of gas.

I really enjoy doing the USAWA competitions. There are a lot of people who have been in the sport for a lot of years that come to these and it's always a pleasure to get to meet them and see them compete.

I ended up winning the heavyweights by quite a bit I think, and overall too. Jesse was close on the overall, but had I got the 570 Goerner I don't think he could have been able to catch me.

3/20 Squat and Dead

Squat
225 x 3
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 1
455 x 2

I want to try to Coan Phillip deadlift routine on my squats. I'm not sure if it'll work out, but I like low reps.

I decided to deadlift as assistance instead of more squatting.

Deadlift
315 x 3
435 x 7
435 x 3

I wanted to do one set of 10, but my entire back was still pretty beat up from heavy farmers on Sunday so I fatigued out and had to split it up.

Hyper
BW x 15

Leg Curl
couple low rep sets

I did't do any ab work or anything else Tuesday, but on Wednesday I did some cardio and abs after yoga.

3/18 Events

Today we did the events for the USAWA Eastern Postal Meet.

Feet in the air bench.

315 - good
345 - good
365 - good, PR

I've obviously forgotten how to use leg drive when my feet in the air bench is within 10% of my regular bench.

Front Squat

370 - good
420 - good, PR
460 - fail

I should have taken a slightly smaller jump. 420 went up pretty easy though.

Continental to Belt
If there is one lift that I will probably never, ever train and only do in competitions when I have to it is this one. I hate it.

370 - good
410 - good
430 - fail
I tried 430 again just to see if I could get it and got it without too much trouble.

Overall I feel pretty good about the lifts. If I would have taken a little bit smaller jump on the front squats and got it and got the first attempt at 430 CtB I would have won the BCC this month. I suppose that I can't fell too bad about it when I outweigh everyone by around 70 pounds and I have been very close to winning, even with coefficients, the last couple times.

Farmers walk with heavy handles
245 x 60 feet
295 x 60 feet
345 x 20 or 25 feet. I should have walked the other way down the driveway to see how far I could have gone, but I ran out of room. I'm also going to call this closer to 350 a hand, because I think the handles are actually 247 or so a piece.
This was probably the highlight of the day for me. 6 months ago I would not have been able to pick these up, the pick wasn't fast by any means, but I think I even had a little more left in me.

Prowler
5 sets of 60' down and back, low handles down, high back.

Ab strap
4 sets of 15

Pulling 3/13

Snatches
95 x a bunch
up to 135 by a couple per set

Deadlift (Coan Phillipi week 2)
worked up to 495x1 using Ciavatonne grip (double overhand, no hook)
505 x 2
405 x 3 x 8 sets

These suck, but my body already feels better than it did last week the day after, so maybe it'll help condition my lower back.

Accessory Circuit
Straight Leg Deadlift - 275
Bent over rows - 275
Underhand lat pulldown - whatever 2 plates and 2 25's means on Jesse's lat pulldown
Goodmorning - 235

3 sets of 8 reps per exercise performed as a circuit with probably too much rest between sets (I would say 1-2 minutes. This really shows that I have been lacking in the intensity department and probably volume too on my accessory work when I am breathing heavy and ready to be done after one round.

I really like this routine. I have never got much out of pulling heavy reps. Pulling heavy singles or doubles is always what has gotten me a little progress, so this hopefully will pay off.

Events (Kind of) 3/11

Snatches
95 x some
135 x some
155 x some
185 x 1

I need to start doing these a lot more, even if I just do really light weight for lots of reps.

Axle C&P
worked up to an easy single at 300
tried 350 and just couldn't get it

Farmers
used 200 pound oxygen tanks
4 or 5 60 foot runs

I wanted to do a lot more of these, but my achilles on my bad ankle started to get really tight so I didn't.

Crucifix
40 - pretty easy
60 - felt terrible, but I think I could get them with a little work

Zercher - starting from the ground
Jesse wanted to do these, and it was a dumb idea
I worked up to 1 at 385, which wasn't too hard, but I don't think I'd want to do a whole lot more unless it was in a competition.

That was pretty much it. I should have done a lot more, but it was raining and everyone was kind of having a shitty day so that's all that happened.

3/6 Deads

I did some light rows and snatches to get some blood moving.

Ciavatonne grip axle deads
280 x 3
300 x 3
320 x 1 x 2

Coan Phillipi DL week 1
475 x 2

385 x 3 x 8 sets

I'm not sure why exactly I didn't do the right assistance lifts, but I decided not to.

Front Squat
I just wanted to try these with knee wraps. Doing them after pulling is dumb.
up to 365 x 1 pretty easy.

Good Morning
225 x 5 x 2 sets

18" Deadlift
605 x 1
655 x 1
705 x 1
725 x miss

I was spent after that and so I just called it a night and went and ate a whole bunch of wings.

Events 3/4

I haven't been very good about keeping this up to date, but nothing really important has happened.

Axle C&P
worked up to 300x3
I wanted to do 5+, but I think the benching and other stuff I decided to do on Friday was affecting my pressing strength.

Jesse also bet me that I can't do 325 for 5, so it looks like I've got to start doing some heavier rep sets.

Crucifix
As far as I'm concerned, I got the 50's. I think it would pass in a meet.

Yoke
450 50 feet or so
540
650
750

These suck, a lot. I think I'm going to start doing at least a few runs with 400-500 every week to get my back, core, and legs used to having the load on them.

Goerner Stroll
These are in an upcoming USAWA comp, so I figured I would give it a shot. I only wanted to do one run because my thumbs are not conditioned for hooking.

240 x 16.5'

Stones
405x 2 singles
I wanted to do a little more, but the stones were dirty and I kept slipping. I still kind of have a mental block on these I think and once I started slipping I just stopped.

Pinch Grip
2 25 lb plates
we decided to go for revolutions around our bodies
10 reps
15 reps
6 reps (I started laughing)
Troy was a dick and did a set of 25 revolutions.

1" V Bar
I think I got 200. I am not that strong on these.

Standing abs
one or two sets

Plank with a band row
3 sets of 10 per side

This seems like a lot, but it was pretty low volume on everything so I didn't feel like I did very much.

Events 1/29

Axle C&P
165
205
255
305
335
355 x fail, I was really close on this one at least.

Yoke
250 x 60 x 2
450 x 60 x 2
630 x 60 x 2
720 x 30 x 2

Keg Load over bar (around 48")
250 keg
6-8 singles then one set of 10

Prowler, Sledge swing medley
5 swings per arm with 25 pound sledge
Prowler +90 70 feet

I don't know exactly, but I did 10-12 rounds of this.

Deads 1/24

I haven't posted in awhile, but this workout was worth writing down.

Power Cleans with Axle
200 x 10 reps
These were really light, but I just wanted to get blood moving.

Reverse Band Deads
Worked up to 665 x 1
Tried 675 x 1 and got it to the point that I need to just pull my shoulders back but didn't lock out.

Deadlift
405 x 10

Cambered Bar Goodmorning
135 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5

DB Rows
155 x 10 x 3

Sledge Swings
finally got a new handle on my 25 pound sledge
3 sets of 10 per arm

I feel like I'm leaving something out, but overall it was a really good lift.

Catch Up

Since I haven't posted in awhile, I'll just go over some highlights and my most recent training.

Deadlift - 655 with 200 pounds chain, so only 455 from the floor
Squat - 505 with belt on 1/13
Bench - 385 for a pretty easy single
Overhead - nothing of note recently

Events 1/ 15
Axle C&P
worked up to a set of 10 at 275

Frame
620 x 2 runs of 60 feet pretty easy

Farmers Picks and hold
340 per hand for 15 seconds
attempted 380 per hand

Stones

405 x 5 singles (a couple were fairly quick singles)

Blast Strap pikes
Paloff Presses