Heavy Event Training - 700 lb farmer's carry!!!

I trained yesterday with Brian and Van in Mapleton at the local crossfit gym where Van has set-up shop.  We hit a couple events and tied up with deadlift.  Here is a video of a painful PR for me on farmer's carry - 700+ lbs!!!

And here was the workout:

Log press - 100 lbs up to 255 lbs
       I'm still having difficulty on the lockout, but let's give it time
       My cleans are coming along well - no issues getting to my shoulders!
Farmer's carry - 460 lbs up to 700+ lbs (estimating just over 700!)
       Multiple sets; speed on lighter weights, getting thru it on 700
       Hands performed well, now just need to improve balance and speed on heavy carries
Deadlift overhand on axle to grip failure
       145 x 3, 255 x 2, 300 x 1, 345 x 1, 390 - made it halfway and grip failed
       390 lbs x 10 reps using straps, once grip failed

I left feeling pretty beat up, but I'm thrilled because I'm getting a lot stronger.  My back has gained quite a bit, cleans are much better, speed is up on yoke and farmers.  My shoulders continue to hold me back as I can't put my arms back far enough when extended overhead...more stretching I guess.

With that, thanks for reading!

Lockout training

Today was almost all about shoulders, and more specifically, lockouts.  I started with triceps lockouts, did overhead lockouts, with some other auxiliary work, and finished up with abs and some band work for hips and hamstrings.  Here is a video of the overhead lockouts which were targeted at assisting my log pressing:

And here is today's workout:

Shoulders (cord work)

       Total reps on equiv. 25 lbs – 700

Triceps lockouts using bent bar (combo with pull-overs)

       25 lbs x 75, 45 lbs x 50, 55 lbs x 50 x 2 sets

Overhead lockout press (barbell, strict pressing from seated)

       (Axle) 75 lbs x 6 x 2 sets, 125 lbs x 6, 175 lbs x 6, 195 lbs x 3
                   225 lbs x 3, 245 x 3

Front raises (bar)

       55 lbs x 12 x 3 sets

Hamstring kick-backs with 75 lb bands – 100 total reps

Abductor inward sweeps with 75 lb bands – 70 total reps

Abs – 110 total reps

Squats and deadlifts

Brian and I lifted yesterday with almost complete focus on lower body.  Before I delve into the workout, I want to show you my beautiful breakfast:

Looks appetizing, yeah?  This was super healthy and actually didn't taste too bad!  Here's what was in it:  4 cups of spinach, about a cup of berries (blueberries, raspberries and strawberries), half a banana, some OJ and some vanilla yogurt.  Blend that baby up and it is a good source of some greens, vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, etc.  The whole thing probably only had 10g of protein but I get that in other ways.  The purpose of this was to get the things I tend to miss!  I've also been eating more salads with fish to alter my protein sources and get the leafy stuff I don't always make room for.  In the long-run, this should balance my diet enough that I'll keep my cholesterol low while I continue to gain weight for strongman.

With that rambling done, here is yesterday's workout:

Warm-up set (squat, good-mornings, calf raises, stretching)

Zercher Squats – 115 x 8 x 2, 165 x 6, 205 x 3 x 3

Hex deadlifts – 230 x 6, 340 x 4

Hex deadlift with purple (75 lb x 2 in addition to weight) bands –

       230 x 4 x 5

 

Hip thrusts with 200 lb bands –

       25 reps x 3 sets    

Still sick...

I had something bad to eat this week and it has been plaguing me for the last 3 days!  I couldn't make it to Van's workout today with Brian and company, so I did what I could at home.  I focused on hands and shoulders:

1750 total shoulder reps
     1,500 with cords and 250 with kettlebells
200 total reps on the Captains of Crush trainer
6 minutes per hand palming a 6 lb medicine ball
450 total reps of abs
A bunch of stretching

I also worked in some cardio to keep pace with my weekly goal.

Not much of a strongman workout, but it keeps my shoulders healthy, and hands are critical to everything I do.  Cardio has pros and cons as I feel it makes me lose weight and strength, but without sufficient cardio, you can't succeed at strongman.  There is a balance in all of this that I'm still trying to figure out, and I am getting better, so even if I haven't found the apex of strongman training routines, I think I'm doing pretty well!

I got some interesting instruction from some old 80's videos of Kazmaier training that I found on Youtube.  I'm looking forward to implementing his triceps routine in hopes of getting a better log press here soon!

With that, thanks for reading!

Log pressing

I've had a somewhat boring week thus far.  Since Tuesday I've just done a light shoulder workout, and then rested as I had a sore knee, and some questionable sushi that left me down and out for a day!  I'm also taking today off so I have some juice for tomorrow at Van's.  Here is a video taken last week of a sorry attempt at a 235 lb log.  I failed before I finally got it.  My shoulders are just flat weak, to be honest.  I've been nursing them along for so long that I have no pressing power.  Watching this makes me realize I have more in me, so hopefully tomorrow I'll have a better showing!

Thanks for reading!

Zurcher Squats!

If you haven't ever tried a zurcher squat, I highly recommend it.  Here is a video of what we did today:

This hurts your arms, makes it hard to breath and feels as awkward as it looks, but I can tell it isolates the back and hips in a very unique way.  I'm hoping this will help me with my atlas stones, and will generally strengthen my back and hips.

I lifted with Brian and Roger and we had a fairly long workout.  Here's the rundown:

Back squats with pause on bench
     135 x 12, 225 x 8, 275 x 6, 315 x 4 x 2
Zurcher squats with axle
     115 x 8, 165 x 6, 205 x 6, 255 x 4, 275 x 4, 205 x 8
Zurcher squat using black bands
     150 lbs of resistance on 2 bands, 3 x 12
Hip lockouts/thrusts
     200 lb mega rogue bands, 2 x 25
Abs
     75 lb bands, 100 crunches, 80 lateral crunches
Various plate holds for hand strength
     Extra thick 45s, 55s and Rolling Thunder 118 lbs

So that will do it for today.  As always, thanks for reading!!

Strongman event training

I went with Brian down to Van's crossfit gym in Mapleton today.  Here is a video of something I'm fairly proud of - 330 lbs per hand on farmer's walk!!!

We had an event-focused day, with some auxiliary work, too.  Here is the lift:

Superset for warm-up
     100 lbs - 8 reps of each of the following, 2 sets
          Upright rows, standing presses, hang-cleans, bent rows
Log-Press
     105 lbs, 255 lbs, 215 lbs, 235 lbs (clean and press on all weights)
     reps varied by weight
Straight bar clean and press
     135 lbs x 2 sets, 185 lbs
Farmer's carry
     230 lbs per hand (460 total) for 2 lengths of approximately 50 feet
     330 lbs per hand (660 total) for one length (PR on pick and walking)
Atlas Stones
     250 lbs for 4 total reps, 310 lbs failed
"Cool-down" superset for shoulders
     Clean and jerk for 10 reps on 135 (5 cleans, 10 presses) then
     Kettle-bell lift from between legs to overhead 72 lb bell for 10 reps
          We did this combo 2 times
     We burnt-out on standing press for 12 reps on 135

After this, I rode the bike for 30 minutes to log 3 miles towards my weekly goal (3 bike miles = 1 for my record keeping).

That is it for today...thanks for reading!!!