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

Speed bench day

Today was all about speed.  I'm loving lifting with chains.  It adds a new dynamic that is hard to explain if you've never tried it.

Most of the workout was flat bench where I worked up to 10 sets of 2 on 295 (including chain weight).  It felt really good and I didn't have any pain, anywhere.

I rounded out the lift with some auxiliary triceps and pressing work, as shown below:

6/29/2015
				Weight	Reps
Warm-ups and stretch
Bench with 90 lbs chains				155	6
				155	6
				205	4
				245	3
				295	3
				295	2
				295	2
				295	2
				295	2
				295	2
				295	2
				295	2
				295	2
				295	2
				295	2
				245	10
				155	20
Incline Medicine Ball				100	15
				100	15
French Press				85	15
	superset - descending			85	6
				65	8
				45	10
				25	20
Skier to burnout				150	25
CoC (2.0)				195	20
Stretch and cool-down

Strongman Saturday

Today was event day - Strongman Saturday.  I was fairly beat-up from the week having lifted four times.  Fortunately, yesterday was a day off.

We spent the entire lift on the medicine ball which mimics both stones and sandbags, and has reaching benefits into all things full-body.  Here is a quick video of me and Brian:

Here is the workout:

6/25/2015
				Weight	Reps
Warm-ups and stretch
Medicine ball to 50 inch				100	10
				100	10
				100	10
				150	10
				150	10
Abs				60	40
Stretch and cool-down

Speed back day

I'm short on time, today, so here's the lift, and until next time:

6/25/2015
				Weight	Reps
Warm-ups and stretch
Speed deadlift				135	6
				135	6
				245	3
				245	3
				385	2
				385	2
				385	2
				385	2
				385	2
Band rows with monster grips				150	25
				150	20
				150	20
Ring pull-ups				300	8
				300	8
Superset
	Romanians			245	36
	Monster DB rows			60	72
	Abs			150	45
Stretch and cool-down

First ever use of safety squat bar as well as chains

I've never used a safety squat bar, nor have I ever lifted with chains, so today I broke precedent and incorporated both, together.  It took a little getting used to...

Even with the pads, the SSB digs into your shoulder's far differently than a normal squat.  It also requires far more supporting muscles in the back and abs as it feels more like a front squat.  It was hard, but I liked it.

The chains add a cool element as they allow you to really focus on explosion and speed.  I'll be working those into future bench workouts, too.

Here is a quick video of a few sets, including my top set of 510 lbs:

And here is today's lift:

6/23/2015
				Weight	Reps
Warm-ups and stretch
Safety bar squat				160	10
	90 lbs chains			160	10
				270	6
				270	6
				320	4
				370	3
				420	2
				470	2
				510	1
				320	12
				270	15
Hammer curls				35	24
				45	24
				55	24
Thinker curls superset				25	60
Calf raise superset with curls				270	40
Rolling thunder				120	60
Reverse Hyper				200	30
Stretch and cool-down