Odd Haugen Classic - Anaheim Visegrip Viking Challenge by Ironmind

I have not posted in the longest time.  I need to keep better records of what I'm working on/towards.  I had the great opportunity of competing in Anaheim two weeks ago, against the likes of the great Odd Haugen and Martins Licis.  Met some really cool people in the process and am looking forward to competing again soon!

I finished in 4th, and know I can do better.  Here's a video of some of my lifts:

I'm continuing to lift regularly - 3 or 4 times per week.  I'd like to, and need to do a better job of cataloguing that for future reference, as a log for myself, if nothing else.

Thanks for reading!

Catching-up, Utah's strongest man

Back in early August, my lifts were coming along, and I was feeling good.  Then we moved.  I've been using more energy than I'd care to working on the house, fixing things, etc.  We also spent the better part of 2 weeks moving from our old house to the new, as it was only a couple of blocks away and we figured it would be easy.  Long-story, short, we've had a debacle on our hands for weeks, and I'm still worn-out from it all.  I've started getting some decent lifts in, again, which would be great, but it seems like one thing after another keeps me exhausted (gas leak in the middle of the night, as example), so I can't recover.  I've got nagging pain in my left bicep, and same in my back and right oblique - it is nothing crippling, but I'm off on all my lifts, because of it. 

Today, I'm probably off 10% on all my lifts.  I got an easy 555 lb squat this week, but failed on 605.  I easily pressed 235 lbs overhead, but missed 245 on the axle.  I pulled a marginally ok 585 lbs, but then missed a second rep, and could barely muster a 500 lb axle pull, and even then, tweaked my oblique.

Bottom-line, I'm lifting, but I'm not in shape to compete in Utah's Strongest Man this year.  I've got too much going on, too much stress, and things pulling me in opposing directions.  I need to reset and reestablish because I just don't have it today.

Here's to a solid reset, and starting work towards next year, and my other short-term goals like 1,700 lbs in 2015.

Thanks for reading!

Push-pull

Been a while...

Had a crazy virus my kids caught in the pool which put me down for 2+ weeks, and we just moved, which has been killing me for another 2.  Needless to say, I haven't had a real solid lift in over a month.

I did hit a light squat and overhead session Monday working up to 335 x 4 on the safety squat bar, and 215 x 2 on the log.  I felt pretty weak.

Today, I benched up to 435 x 3 (including chain weight) on about 2/3 ROM from pins, and then pulled 525 x 1, double-overhand (felt awful). 

I'm tight all over, and my weight is down.  I've got some work to get back into shape before Utah's Strongest Man in October.  Let's see what I can do!

Back day - deadlifts and farmer's picks

I may be coming down with a bad cold, as my kids have been sick all week, and I don't feel great today.  With that in mind, here's what I struggled to get done today:

				Weight	Reps
Warm-up and stretch
Reverse Hyper				200	25
Deadlift (Ivanko clips)				146	12
				256	6
				386	4
				436	2
				486	2
				486	2
Farmer (pick only)				290	4
				390	2
			held for 25 seconds	615	1
Medicine ball picks (for cardio)				100	15
				100	15
Kettle Bell Swings				52	12
Reverse Hyper				200	15
Abs (weighted)				60	50
Grip work with CoC				140	50
Cool-down and stretch

Light shoulder day

Sick kids, and negotiation woes have taken their toll this week, so here's a light shoulder workout for the week as follows:

				Weight	Reps
Warm-up and stretch
Seated log press				100	8
				100	8
				140	6
				190	4
				230	3
				230	3
				230	3
				230	3
				230	3
				230	3
				140	15
Lateral raise				15	20
				15	20
				15	20
Front raise				25	20
				25	20
				25	20
				25	20
				60	200
Cool-down and stretch

Light squat Wednesday

Today was leg day and since I'm recovering from the Highland games, still, I hit safety squat bar for about 60% of my normal squat max.  I worked up to 5x2 on 390 lbs with a full pause.  Here's today's lift:

				Weight	Reps
Warm-up and stretch
Squat				150	8
				150	6
				200	4
				250	3
				300	2
				390	2
				390	2
				390	2
				390	2
				390	2
Step-ups				20	110
				20	110
				20	110
Curls				25	30
				25	30
				25	30
				25	30
				25	30
Plyometrics				300	150
Abs				60	200
Cool-down and stretch

Bench Day

Last week I did some Highland Games stuff for the first time.  It was tough - lots of respect for what those guys do!

Today I'm still recovering, so it was a light bench day as follows:

				Weight	Reps
Warm-up and stretch
Bench				135	8
				185	6
				185	6
				235	4
				235	4
				275	2
				275	2
				295	1
				295	1
				295	1
				295	1
				295	1
				295	1
				185	8
				185	8
Incline DB				60	24
				60	24
				60	24
Decline				150	20
				150	20
MB press				100	35
				50	60
Abs				60	150
Cool-down and stretch