Thank you so much for the reply. I saw the trailer for the movie earlier and since that’s the second time the book has been suggested, I’ll be reading it. As far as my goals, I want to lift heavy weights. I see it as useful and I enjoy it. I do, however think running is a basic human skill that shouldn’t be ignored. I’ve also been considering the military and if that is the route I choose, I would like to make the PT part of BCT training as easy as I can since I know I can train for that aspect ahead of time. I’m at one of those forks in life’s road right now and have a lot going through my mind.
As always, thanks for the help and for the log. There are pages of useful things in here.
Roran: Thanks man, I am glad the reply helped. If you decide to go the military route, I don’t think basic will be any trouble for you. I totally agree with you on the running part though. Just remember that whenever you are at a fork in the road, the harder of the two is usually the more rewarding path. Good luck brother and let me know if I can help you in any way!
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“If you’re going to doubt something, doubt your limits.” --Don Ward
FRIDAY, 31OCTOBER2014 - Work For Today
CONDITIONING ? At the Top of Every :45 Seconds for 20 Rounds.
5 Pull-Ups
10 Push-Ups
15 Bodyweight Squats
STRENGTH
Axle Deadlift 7,000lbs as fast as possible with nothing but single reps.
-My lightest set was 500lbs. My heaviest was 590. Went Pretty Fast for me.
Alpha Dude! Que pasta? Still killing as usual . I’m assuming that 7,000lb is total volume correct?
This was my expression when I first saw the 7k! LOL
Farmer Owen: Hahahaha yea man, that was total weight.
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SATURDAY, 01NOVEMBER2014 - Work For Today
Sooooo, I just won Maryland’s Strongest Man 2014 Comp! I didn’t really mention it on here because I didn’t think i would do very well just coming back from Nationals a few weeks ago…But I went and ended up winning!
I will be posting a full write up and videos either tomorrow or early next week.
Thank you all for your support!
Alpha Dude! You crazy mofo, a huge congratulations to maryland’s strongest man!
Beast. Mode. Always. On.
Congrats man.
I know I’m a few days behind but thanks for the quick reply! My only question is wouldn’t the conditioning that’s placed before the strength sets hamper your strength?
Hahaha I started dying laughing when I read that last post that you seemed so surprised to win. Congrats man, those ground to overheads are your bread and butter!
FarmerOwen: Thanks Brother!
Raven78: Thanks brother, I really am just trying to get a little bit better every day!
gvaldes: Thank for the kind words man! And you know, people ask me that about when they look at my programming. The short answer is No. We have tried going for PRs With no prior conditioning at all, PRs outside of Giant Sets, PRs inside of Giant Sets and PRs after conditioning…We honestly have not seen much of a difference in any of those circumstances. If anything the conditioning seem to prime the major muscle groups for hitting big weights. I know it does not make much sense and all of my evidence is only anecdotal but it works for the athletes in my gym. This is why i am so careful about the exercise and weight selection for the conditions portion. You want to prime the muscles for work but not pre-exhaust them enough to impede strength progress…I hope that makes sense. If you give it a shot for a few weeks, i would be very interested in your results! I hope that yeps out man!
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“People think I’m crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. Dostoyevsky had it right: ‘Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.’ Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery.” --Dean Karnazes
SUNDAY, 02NOVEMBER2014 ? Work For Today
SKILL - Animal Walk Suicides
40 Foot Bear walk forward, 40 Foot Bear Walk Backward
30 Foot Bear walk forward, 30 Foot Bear Walk Backward
20 Foot Bear walk forward, 20 Foot Bear Walk Backward
10 Foot Bear walk forward, 10 Foot Bear Walk Backward
Rest 1 Minute
40 Foot Gator walk forward, 40 Foot Gator Walk Backward
30 Foot Gator walk forward, 30 Foot Gator Walk Backward
20 Foot Gator walk forward, 20 Foot Gator Walk Backward
10 Foot Gator walk forward, 10 Foot Gator Walk Backward
Rest 1 Minute
40 Plate Overhead Walking Lunge forward, 40 Foot Plate Overhead Walking Lunge forwardBackward
30 Plate Overhead Walking Lunge forward forward, 30 Foot Plate Overhead Walking Lunge forwardBackward
20 Plate Overhead Walking Lunge forward forward, 20 Foot Plate Overhead Walking Lunge forwardBackward
10 Foot Plate Overhead Walking Lunge forward forward, 10 Plate Overhead Walking Lunge forward Backward
Rest 1 Minute
STRENGTH ? Giant Sets - 5 Rounds
2 Weighted Pull-Ups: 200, 200, 200, 200, 200
2 Log Clean & Presses: 260, 260, 260, 260, 260
10 Ab Ring Layouts
50 Foot Burpee Broad Jumps
CONDITIONING ? Power Clean/Front Squat/Overhead Press Ladder
Set Up 4 Barbells with Increasing Weight Intervals. At each station, every Rep must be cleaned from the floor to front rack position, then front squatted, then pressed overhead before returning the bar to the floor.
Barbell 1 (225lbs) : 4 Reps ? Move immediately to Next Barbell
Barbell 2 (245lbs) : 3 Reps ? Move immediately to Next Barbell
Barbell 3 (265lbs) : 2 Reps ? Move immediately to Next Barbell
Barbell 4 (285lbs) : 1 Rep
Completed the Ladder 4 Times Taking 2 Minutes Rest Between Rounds
I just saw your thread in the Strongman forum. Nice job. Also very cool you got the award from Brian Shaw.
Looks like the event training paid off; you look like a natural with all the implements now.
oh my god. Even alpha looks normal next to Brian Shaw. That man dwarfs everybody!
Alpha, great work on your competitions! That frame hold looked brutal. Reminded me of those European subcompact car carrying events they used to do in World’s Strongest Man. Maybe you’ll get to do that someday. Seeing a man carrying a car is one of the most awe inspiring sights in sports!
That yoke was not too friendly to you at all. Looked stupid strong on the keg press and stones though.
Wow. Your speed n technique on the events is night n day. Congrats man! You earned it.
LoRez: Man, I cannot tell you how much more comfortable I feel with the implements now. I cannot wait to see what I can learn by this time next year. Thanks for posting brother!
Sutebun: Yea man, he is a monster! But one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.
LiftingStrumpet: Thanks so much! Yea, the frame was really wide for me. That was the first time I had ever touched one in my life. I need to get access to one so i can get better! I go over the frame stuff in my event write up on my personal site if you want to check it out. Thanks for checking in!
Reed: Yea man, I won the keg and stone events. Came in third for the yoke. It was a different kind of yoke that only had a 2" cross-member rather than 3-4". It made it very “mobile” on my back. I wrote a lot more in death about it on my site if you want to read it. Thanks for checking in brother!
Barbedwired: Thanks man, I learned more than I can describe at Nationals and am starting to put it into practice. Hopefully i just keep getting better!
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“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.” --D. H. Lawrence
MONDAY, 03NOVEMBER2014 ? Work For Today
CONDITIONING - With An 88lb Kettlebell
3 Minutes Max Effort Kettlebell Swings
3 Minutes Max Effort Double Unders
2 Minutes Max Effort Kettlebell Swings
2 Minutes Max Effort Double Unders
1 Minute Max Effort Kettlebell Swings
1 Minute Max Effort Double Unders
STRENGTH
At the top of every minute for 10 Minutes, Completed 2 - 2" Axle Deadlifts @ 510lbs
EVENTS ? Completed the following Ladder 2x
Stone Over Bar (54? Bar height - 300lb Stone)
5 Stone Loads
Rest 1 Minute
4 Stone Loads
:45 Seconds Rest
3 Stone Loads
:30 Seconds Rest
2 Stone Loads
:15 Seconds Rest
1 Stone Load
NOTES:
- Normal Rucking first thing in the morning
- For those of you interested in my event write up and thoughts about the 2014 Maryland’s Strongest Man, you can check it out over at my site, or just click here: http://www.neversate.com/wrath/2014/11/2/2104-marylands-strongest-man-event-write-up-and-thoughts
- I definitely hurt my back during the Car deadlift event this Saturday, so I am trying to take it a little bit easy…Hopefully it will rehab itself in a few days.
- i really appreciate all of you who read my stuff and take the time to comment here or send me emails. It makes keeping my log here totally worth it.
Stupid question - what’s a double under?
Tim_Tom: It is when you are jumping rope but the rope passes under your feet 2x per jump.
So, I know I said I was taking it easy because of my hurt back. But when I got to the gym to train people this evening, I realized that it was Mike Jenkin’s Birthday today. His brother had just showed up for the workout and I decided to hit a PR on the Axle Deadlift.
600lb Axle Deadlift
Happy Birthday Mike. Miss you brother.
Alpha Dude! congratz on the pr! That axle flew up!
On a side note if you are still trying to simulate a car deadlift, you could get a little ATV trailer used off craigslist or something put it on platform for the right height and load it with sacks of dirt or sand and I did this for awhile it worked great but my cousin needed his trailer back so I currently dont do them lol. But since you’s would be more permanent you could weld handles onto it and voi la! Hope that helps!
Stay Alpha dude!
Similar to what FarmerOwen suggested, this guy built something that might do the trick for you.
FarmerOwen & LiftingStrumpet: Thanks guys! I am definitely going to try some of those things out. I really appreciate the help!
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“If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” --Mario Andretti
TUESDAY, 04NOVEMBER2014 - Work For Today
CONDITIONING
Tabata Chest to Bar Pull-Ups: 20 Seconds Work / 10 Seconds Rest for 8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes)
Then took 10 Minutes to Work up to a 225lb “Z” Press. Then immediately cut the weight down to 135 and completed 8 rounds of Tabata “Z” Presses
STRENGTH ? 10 Rounds
2 Flat Bench Presses: 405, 405, 405, 405, 405, 405, 405, 405, 405, 405
2 Beltless Deficit Deadlifts: 225, 315, 405, 455, 495, 515, 550, 550, 515, 515
10 Dragon Flags: 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
EVENTS
At the Top of Every Minute for 10 Minutes, Completed
2 Circus Dumbbell Clean & Presses (Left Side) 140lb Circus Dumbbell
2 Circus Dumbbell Clean & Presses (Right Side)
NOTES:
- Normal rucking first thing in the morning.
- “Z” Presses felt good today. 225 was no joke!
- Bench press was smooth, no real problems there at all.
- Beltless deficit deadlifts: I am trying to build up my power off the floor because that is where I miss my reps. If I can get the bar to mid shin, i can lock it out. I really surprised myself today with these. and after an easy 600 axle pull last night, maybe I am starting to understand the deadlift a little bit more.
** BJack from these very forums came to my gym and worked out last night! He got his first introduction to stones! He did awesome and it was a pleasure to have him. I hope he comes back for Wednesday’s training session.