Fuck yeah, man! Sick performance. Sick mentality. Focusing on the positive can really illuminate just how much you have going for you.
Yeh I’ve always heard people say that there is a great sense of cameraderie at strongman events eventhough everyone is competing & are all rivals.
I agree with the others man, to go to the Nationals for only your second comp & be competitve is a great achievement in itself. As well as strength many of this guys have been practising the technical aspects of those lifts for a lot longer than you did. Just goes to show how much better you can get once you have worked on those events some more. Loads of potential!
Congratulations my friend.
I look forward to seeing the videos, and to learn more about strongman training in your future training.
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Nice work, and even more so for being only your second competition. Sounds like you definitely reached the next tier of competition. Nothing to be disappointed about at all.
What kind of things did you learn? How are you going to change your training?
Also, does this mean you’re automatically qualified to compete at Nationals again next year, or do you have to win again at a regional level first?
Alpha Dude! Congratz on the tournament! You finished in the middle? So what! You kicked @$$,had fun, learned how to get better at your craft and met great people. That’s what matters most dude! I’m eagerly awaiting vids! Stay Alpha dude!
Spar4Tee: Thanks Boss, I hope you are right!
Lift and Eat: Thanks man. Yea, i am definitely going to work a lot more on being more technical rather than just using strength. Hopefully it works for me in the future!
theBird: Thanks brother! I really appreciate that!
LoRez: Thanks man! I’ll cover a lot of what I learned in my write up of the event (Which I should get to tomorrow night hopefully) and No, this doesn’t automatically qualify me for next year’s Nationals, I will have to win another event to get a new invite. Hopefully it won’t take me too long to do so!
FarmerOwen: Thanks so much brother! Yea, I am most happy about all that I learned and the people I met. I will definitely do better next time!
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“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” --Calvin Coolidge
WEDNESDAY, 08OCTOBER2014 - Work For Today
CONDITIONING
Alternate Movements Every Minute for 14 Minutes. As Many Reps As Possible each exercise every minute.
Odd Minutes: Thrusters (with 135lbs on the bar)
Even Minutes: Burpee Lateral Jumps
STRENGTH
Worked up to a 1RM Paused Front Squat following this pattern:
Unrack the Bar and walk out
Drop and pause for 6 Seconds in the bottom
Stand and hold the Front Rack position for 10 Seconds before Re-racking the bar
Then Complete 1 Back squat @ 540, 1 Rep @ 550 and 1 Rep @ 570lbs
SUPERSET - 5 Rounds
7 Tire Flips
10 Plate Loaded Reverse Hypers
NOTES:
- Normal rucking first thing in the morning
- This is the first time I have ever tried front squats with a pause this long. I got 365 daily easily, but lost 385 in front of me…I will get it next time. I got the idea off of a “Barbell Shrugged” podcast and figured i would give it a shot.
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For those of you who asked if I would post my food intake, here is today’s.
Meal 1: 3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, 1 Superfood, coffee, 2 tbs Coconut Oil, 2tbs Grassfed butter
Meal 2: 1lb grassed ground beef, cheese, onions, olive oil mayonnaise, 1 Flameout
Meal 3: Grassfed Steak, peppers, onions, 1 Flameout, Milk
Meal 4: 3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, 1 Superfood
Meal 5: 3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, milk
Meal 6: Grassfed Steak, peppers, onions, 1 Flameout, Milk
[quote]Alpha wrote:
Spar4Tee: Thanks Boss, I hope you are right!
[/quote]
I’m certain of it.
I’d like to hear that.
I’ve never heard of olive oil mayonnaise lol. Neat to see that you’re a beef kind of guy like me. Do you just put the mayonnaise and cheese on the beef?
Great job at the competition man.
That squat was legit! Controlled from start to finish.
Smooth squat! I’ve heard some people around the internet say that paused front squats have helped them out odd object lifting events.
Thanks for taking the time to do a write up on the event. I would like to compete someday and I’m looking forward to what you thought about it all.
[quote]Alpha wrote:
Hey everyone. Firstly, I truly want to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for all of your encouragement and support!
I ended up finishing right in the middle of my class at Nationals, which is very disappointing to me, but everyone there kept telling me that is is a great accomplishment considering it was my second show ever and my first time at Nationals.
I met some amazing people there, especially Snodgrass and his crew (he keeps a log on here). They made the event a ton of fun for me and literally taught me how to do half of the events right before I competed. They are some first class guys and I cannot thank them enough.
I always tell people that it is not “win or lose” but rather it is “win or learn” and learn i did. I now know what I am doing wrong and how to fix it. That is a greater win than any award. I am going to start training correctly for my next show.
I have vids of everything and will put them up along with my write up of the event soon. But right now I just have too much on my plate.
Thank you all again for your support and help with all of this![/quote]
Oh shit were you competing against Chase Karnes there? There were some veterans at that contest man.
Spar4tee: Yeah man, cows taste much better than birds to me! and I grill the meat hamburger style then just add the other stuff. Thanks for checking in!
trivum: Thanks so much brother! I really appreciate that!
Roran: Thanks so much boss! Yea man, the paused front squats are my intended to help me out with my stone and keg stuff. Thanks for stopping in. Just posted the write up with vids on my site
csulli: Yea man he was there and is an awesome guy! There were some misters there!
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“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might has well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” --J. K. Rowling
THURSDAY, 09OCTOBER2014 - Work For Today
CONDITIONING - Tabatas - :20 Seconds work / :10 Seconds rest for 8 rounds (4:00 Minutes). Complete all rounds of one exercise before moving onto the next
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) Tabata Snatches
Rest 1 Minute
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) Tabata Squat Cleans
Rest 1 Minute
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) Tabata Sled Drags
Rest 1 Minute
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) Tabata Sumo Deadlift High Pulls
Rest 1 Minute
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) Tabata Squats (keep the bar on your back during your rest periods)
Rest 1 Minute
For those of you interested I just posted my write up and thoughts about my performance at Nationals on my site. Link: http://www.neversate.com/wrath/2014/10/9/2104-north-american-strongman-national-championships-event-results-and-thoughts
It talks about about how I felt throughout the competition and has vids of every event on there. Check it out if you are interested. I would post it here but it is pretty long and has 6 videos with it.
I hope everyone is doing well out there
Thanks for the write up & vids, like you say you have learnt so much from doing it that you can only come back better next time!
Just saw the vids on your page, finally some HD you handsome sob.
Looked like the yoke was set a little too high.
Just wanted to congratulate you again.
Lift and eat: Sure man, I hope a lot of people make their way over there to the site. That took me a long time to write up the article and upload the vids!
MattyG35: Hahaha thanks brother…I think! And yeah i think you may be right about the yoke.
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For those of you who asked, here is my food intake from yesterday:
Meal 1: 3 Scoops Metabolic Drive, Coffee, 2 tbs Cocoanut Oil, 2 tbs Grassfed Butter, 1 Flameout, Milk
Meal 2: 1lb grassfed ground beef, cheese, onions, olive oil mayonnaise, 1 Flameout, 1 Avocado
Meal 3: Grassfed Steak, peppers, onions, 1 Flameout, Milk, 1 Apple
Meal 4: 3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, 1 Superfood, Coffee, 2 tbs Cocoanut Oil, 2 tbs Grassfed Butter
Meal 5: 3 Scoops of Metabolic Drive, 1 Flameout, milk
Meal 6: Grassfed Steak, peppers, onions, 1 Flameout, Milk
Meal 7: 1/2 Cup of Natty Peanut Butter, 1 Scoop Metabolic Drive, 1 tbs Manuka Honey
Apparently the secret to a freakish front squat is jammin’ Sam Cooke.
Incredible write up, thanks!
With the experience, I bet you’d place very high next year if you’re still competing. Speaking of which, are you working towards anything specific now?
WhiteFlash: Hahaha yea man, I figured Sam Cooke or steroids…Went with Sam Cook hahaha
Roran: Thanks man, I hope that you are right! Yea, i have some things on my horizon but haven’t made any decisions yet. I am pretty sure i will be competing in some form of strength sport or fighting/grappling every month for the next few months. It will keep me focused. Thanks for checking out my Nationals write up on my site and for the kind words brother!
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“Everybody has goals, aspirations or whatever, and everybody has been at a point in their life where nobody believed in them.” --Eminem
“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.” --Jack Canfield
FRIDAY, 10OCTOBER2014 - Work For Today
CONDITIONING - As Many Rounds As Possible in 12 Minutes
5 Chest to Bar Pull-Ups
10 Deficit Push-Ups Push-Ups
15 Bodyweight Wall Squats (To work on your squat form and hip/ankle mobility)
STRENGTH
Every Minute on the Minute for 10 Minutes Complete 3 Log Clean & Presses @ 230lbs
GIANT SETS - 6 Rounds, Adding Weight Every Round
3 Weighted Pull-Ups: 115, 135, 160, 170, 180, 180
1 Strict Press: 225, 245, 255, 270, 280 (PR vid Below)
15 Medicine Ball “V” Sit-Ups
EVENTS
Work up to a 1RM Stone over a 54" Bar
NOTES:
- Normal Rucking First thing in the morning.
- Stone work is coming along. I am really trying to work on my technique rather than raw power. It seems to be working.
- I am stoked about this Strict Overhead Press PR! It has been a long time coming and is a 15lb PR. Here is the Vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YdBBCSLNiA&feature=youtu.be
Alpha Dude! I visited your site, thanks for your write up on the comp. and the vids! Congratz on the strict press pr, it seems like that is the hardest make weight pr’s on at least for anyways. Keep killin’ it dude you’re a huge motivation!
Strong effort on the competition. Glad to see you are always looking at ways to improve and always do better, that is why your log and your site are always worth a read. I have watched a lot of strongman and even did an events session myself and was surprised by how different a lot of seemingly similar events are to normal gym lifts. I agree completely on the camaraderie in strongman. Even against their closest rivals they still give support to each other.
I take it you plan to compete again? I can’t wait to follow your journey to the next competition, with that experience under your belt.
Very nice write up.
The part that surprised/fascinated me the most were your comments about the car deadlift. Considering both your strength and your high work capacity, it doesn’t seem like this would have been an issue at all.
How are you thinking to prepare for another one of these in the future?