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.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Friday, June 22, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, June 18, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
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.
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.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, June 4, 2012
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.
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.
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