Alpha's Work IV

Training Training Logs
701

Pwinsher: Thanks for the kind words and thanks for giving your input about the axle!

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“To know a species, look at its fears. To know yourself, look at your fears. Fear in itself is not important, but fear stands there and points you in the direction of things that are important. Don’t be afraid of your fears, they’re not there to scare you; they’re there to let you know that something is worth it.” --C. JoyBell C.

THURSDAY, 23JULY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 10/Day 4

CONDITIONING - As Fast As Possible
20 Ring Pull-Ups
20 Ring Dips
Run 400 Meters
15 Ring Pull-Ups
15 Ring Dips
Run 400 Meters
10 Ring Pull-Ups
10 Ring Dips
Run 400 Meters

STRENGTH & CONDITIONING
ODD MINUTES: 1 Barbell Snatch, Adding Weight Every Round - Worked up to 255lbs
EVEN MINUTES: 1 Power Clean, Adding Weight Every Round - Worked up to 335lbs

NOTES:

  • Good conditioning day. The second portion was especially fun, I am definitely going to give this another try sometime.
702

I was at a friend of mine yesterday. I couldn’t lift wit my broken arm, but coached him.

I showed him your work, and he was lyrical. We ran an adapted version of this workout (no ring or space to run), so we replaced the run with a 400 m row, the dips in the squat rack and burpees instead of pull-ups.
And after the olympic lifting he did bring sally up.

He loved it, and it was awesome to help him with it.

Keep killing it boss!

703

Pano: That is awesome brother! How is the arm healing up?

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“If I am always standing at the bottom of the mountain longingly looking up, in all probability it is because I have heeded the pillaging dogma of mediocrity which persistently tells me that the dream is not worth the climb.” --Craig D. Lounsbrough

FRIDAY, 24JULY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 10/Day 5

EVENTS - Tabata (:20 Seconds Work / :10 Seconds Rest for 8 Rounds (4:00])
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) of Tabata Tire Flips
1:00 Minute Rest
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) of Tabata Keg Shouldering
1:00 Minute Rest
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) of Tabata Tire Flips
1:00 Minute Rest
8 Rounds (4:00 Minutes) of Tabata Keg Shouldering

STRENGTH GIANT SET
Axle Deadlifts: 315x3, 405x3, 455x3, 500x3, 550x3
Axle Bench Press: 225x5, 315x5, 365x5, 385x5, 405x5
Ab Wheel Roll-Outs: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

ACCESSORY GIANT SET
Double Paused Axle Deadlifts: 315x3, 405x3, 455x3, 455x3
Axle Bench Press: 315x10, 315x10, 315x10, 315x10
Zercher Yoke Carry: 270x50’, 360x50’, 410x50’, 450x50’

NOTES:

  • Not a stellar day for me, so I just decided to get a good amount of volume in.
  • Deadlifts were slow, not surprising after hitting the deficit deads earlier in the week.
  • Zercher yoke carry is always a miserable way to spend a morning, but it is an event at nationals, so I figured I’d work it a little bit.
  • Speaking of which, I am really leaning toward competing at Nationals. I think a few of the events are asinine and people are going to get hurt, but it’s Nationals. It is the Catalina Wine Mixer of Strongman shows, and my sponsor wants me to go, so I probably will.
704

My arm is healing slowly. Still shouldn’t use my biceps too hard, and using my triceps (even in a reflex) makes my elbow almost explode. And the whole zone there feels quite senseless, maybe you had that too with the pins. Sometimes I doubt I ever lift or fight again, but your backbreaker horror stories give relief.

About the nationals is f*cked up! What do you believe are dangerous events?
2015 feels like the year of the stupid ideas in comp tho: we watched the team event of the crossfit games. They had to climb from the field up the tribune to get lumpy sandbags from the upper steps. I was waiting for a guy face planting on concrete steps.

705

I’d understand if you didn’t want to complain about a competition, but what events do you think are dangerous and why? I’ve never done any of those events before or lifted with that intensity so I’ve no experience.

706

Pano: Thanks for the update about your arm brother. I am sorry to hear that it is slow going. Trust me man, when i was 18, I was in a cast from my groin all the way down to my ankle for almost 9 months. I didn’t think i would ever recover from it, but the human body is an amazing thing, you will bounce back from it and be stronger than ever. It will just take time.

Pano & Roran: Well, here are the events and my thoughts on them…

Day 1
Event 1
Log Clean and Press for reps- 60 seconds to get as many reps as possible
Each must be cleaned from the floor. 
Weight for my class is 275lbs.

  • I have no problem with this event. In reality I think it is great. Especially since you have to clean every rep. The clean will make it not only a test of outright strength, but will tax your lungs like crazy. Me gusta mucho.

Event 2
Conans Carry with Yoke Walk- 60 seconds to carry implement 60 feet. Unlimited drops. My weight will be 350lbs.

  • I think this is too light. Unless there is some atrocious implement being used, I think all of the times will be too close and the winner will come down to whichever judge hits the stopwatch the fastest. If it were heavier, I think the class would be spread out more making the winner easier to distinguish. However for the lightweight women, the weight is 230lbs. I think that is too heavy. There is no way there should only be 120lbs difference between light weight women and middle weight men on a carry event. Just my opinion. I think i can do really well on this event, but I think the judges fingers on the stopwatch will be the deciding factor, which I think is not really fair. I also think you are going to see a lot of people falling over and even toppling the yoke. Pretty dangerous.

Event 3
Farmers- 60 seconds to carry implements 60 feet. Front of implement must cross the line.1 drop allowed. My weight will be 310 each hand.

  • Standard strongman event. No complaints here. The winner will be the guy who can pick up 620lbs with a staggered stance and get to his first step the fastest. Hopefully that will be me.

Day 2
Event 1 Push Pull Medley
(Giant Dumbbell and 1 arm deadlift)- 60 seconds to get as many reps as possible. 1 one-arm press then 1 pull back and forth (The one arm deadlift will look very similar to a farmers handle implement) MWM DB 160lbs DL 250lbs

  • This is stupid. I think I will do fine here, but I just think the event is a joke. There is no other real deadlift in the comp, so they choose to go for a 1 Arm DL?!? In my opinion this makes it look more like a circus freak show then and actual athletic test of strength. I would have much rather have seen something like 1 Circus DB Press, to 1 Axle Deadlift @ 585lbs or something. I think that would have been a better test of strength and endurance. I think you are going to see a lot of jacked up shoulders and weird torso strains from this event. Blah.

Event 2
Sand Bag Loading event- 75 seconds to load 4 sand bags onto the platform. Each sandbag will be placed about 30? away from platform
Sand Bags - MWM 220,220,260,260

  • No real issues with this either other than I think the weights are too light. It is going to demolish people though. That much running under load mixed with sprinting between is going to make my heart explode out of my chest!

Other thoughts. They downgraded from 7 events over 2 days last year to 5 events in 2 days this year. That means they are probably expecting even more competitors, which makes for horribly long days. Last year the first day started at 8:00AM with warm-ups and at 9:00PM people were still out there competing. It was horrendous. I am not looking forward to that this year. I hated the long days, but I think 5 events are not enough to crown a national champion. If you bobble even one thing, you are pretty much out of the running because you don’t have a whole lot of opportunity to make it up.

It is what it is and I don’t mean to bitch about it, but you guys asked my opinion so I gave it. I hope everyone does well and makes it though without injuries, but every year people go to the hospital. it is just part of the game…Anyway, those are my thoughts on Nationals this year.

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“If your Nerve deny you - Go above your Nerve.” --Emily Dickinson

“Maybe it’s an issue of being unable or unwilling to realize that we can actually impact things sufficiently to change things, rather than seeing ourselves as being exiled to some distant side line of life where we can do nothing more than sheepishly root for a life that?s far too far away to touch.” – Craig D. Lounsbrough

SUNDAY, 25JULY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 2/Week 10/Day 7

STRENGTH GIANT SET
Front Squats: 225x3, 315x3, 365x2, 405x2, 455x2
Axle Strict Press: 185x3, 225x3, 245x3, 265x3 (PR), 275x2 (PR)
Farmer’s Walk: (Each Hand), 225, 275, 295, 315, 335x only made it like 25ft before it slipped out.
Banded Glute Ham Raises: (Red Band) 


NOTES:

  • Short on time today so i just got in and got done what was most important to me.
  • Front squats felt pretty light, my shirt was just so sweaty that the bar kept sliding forward
  • Strict Axle Press went really well. 265x3 is a PR and so was 275x2
  • Farmer’s walk didn’t go as well as I would have hoped, but I just couldn’t keep my hands dry from sweat. 335 each hand would have been a 50ft PR, but it wasn’t in the cards. I’ve carried 700 for the same distance, so i know it wasn’t my grip. Just more the environment. I’ll do better next time. Also, since I was front squatting and OHPing in my Oly shoes, i just kept them on for the farmer’s. I won’t be doing that again. Heeled shoes made my gait a little weird and clunky.

Here is a vid of the 265x3 &275x2 Strict axle presses and the 315 each hand (630b) farmer’s walk.

707

Alpha dude question for ya bud, currently buying a yoke is not in the cards right now and building a makeshift wooden one with scrap wood is not the safest, tried. so my question is what are your thoughts on timed holds in a squat rack with supra maximal weight, I know the movement factor is a big piece of the pie with a yoke but do you think it would be worth the investment of time and energy till I could get one? Thanks for your time dude any and all advice is most appreciated.

708

Thank you very much for the motivation!
Well, the recovery isn’t going real slow, I should start loading in a week, so I’m on track.

I catch your drift for the nationals. It doesn’t feel so much as “strongest man” now. Some events sound more like a decent training then an event to test real strength. Pretty disappointing to see a light-ish yoke, no stones, no car deadlift, no flips.
I do not consider this bitching, man! You just spoke your mind when asked.
(Carefull with that tho, THE ufc cutman was cut after speaking out against reebok)

709

Hey Alpha,

I really appreciate the honest opinion, so thank you! I saw several complaints about the Conan weights on the Facebook page so maybe they’ll change it.

Also I recently bought “Becoming a Supple Leapord: 2nd Edition” by Kelly Starrett and I highly recommend it if you have the time/money/inclination. It goes over a bunch of stretches and mobilizations but more importantly overviews his movement standards, shows how to program mobility work and has prescriptions for specific mobility restrictions or pain. I know this sounds like a commercial, but it has helped me a ton since I got it and I feel its at least worth a look over. You should be able to find it at any book store.

Hope all is well!

710

Hey Alpha I apologize for the double post, but I have a couple of related questions about GPP for non-athletes. I would consider a good basic program for someone to include heavy lifting, fast running, and some form of martial art training. I was wondering where/if you would consider strongman training to factor in for someone just looking to get tougher and stronger, and if you think events (log/stones/yoke/farmer etc) are good ways of building strength or just ways of demonstrating strength built through barbells.

711

FarmerOwen: Hey brother! Well, I think it depends on what you are trying to achieve by performing them. If you are trying to drive up your squat numbers then I think that it will work very well. If you are trying to drive up your yoke walk number than unfortunately, you have to move under the weight just because it is such a different animal. I think farmer’s and other carries will help you with the foot work of the you until you get your hands on one. I hope that helps man, I wish I could give you an idea of a good replacement exercise. Thanks for checking in man!

Pano: That is great news about your arm man! And yea, nationals is what it is. I am okay with it. No contest is what the contestants would like for every event, but the standards are the same across the board so we will just see how it goes. Thanks for posting brother!

Roran: Hey man! I actually have the original supple leopard book and it is invaluable. I am not sure how much has changed for the second edition but I will have to check it out!

As far as your second post. I think strongman training is by far and away the best form of lifting for a person who just wants to get better at life.

  1. It is the most functional form of lifting. If you can lift a stone/sandbag or other odd object, it has better carry over to real everyday life things. A bag of groceries feels pretty light when you are used to moving heavy farmer’s walks. A 300b stone will make moving a couch seem like a joke and I even think flipping a tire has more real world value than a traditional deadlift.
  2. It is extremely good for your cardiovascular system as well as your strength. People don’t realize it, but moving heavy loads quickly for short periods of time builds muscular and cardiovascular endurance like few other things.
  3. It is not boring. Most people quit lifting traditional barbells because it is not fun for them after a short period of time. Racing your friends in Medleys or trying to lift a bigger rock than them doesn’t feel much like you are working out.
  4. It make you stronger, more muscular and leaner but in a way that doesn’t look like a bodybuilder. It makes people look powerful and dangerous, not puffy and muscle bound. It gets results.
  5. The events in strongman work virtually every part of your body simultaneously. Yoke, log clean & Press, farmer’s, stones, kegs…doing anything with an implement requires you to use your body in its entirety to complete a designated task. The same can’t be said for the majority of bodybuilding movements.

Along with the strongman stuff, i think everyone should know how to punch properly (generating power from the ground, using your hips, etc), be able to avoid a takedown and have a good idea of how to handle themselves on the ground.

Add in Sled work, hill sprints and jumping rope and I think you have the base for a terrific physical human specimen. i hope that answers your question brother! Sorry if I got a little long winded! Thanks for asking!

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“Most humans, in varying degrees, are already dead. In one way or another they have lost their dreams, their ambitions, their desire for a better life. They have surrendered their fight for self-esteem and they have compromised their great potential. They have settled for a life of mediocrity, days of despair and nights of tears. They are no more than living deaths confined to cemeteries of their choice. Yet they need not remain in that state. They can be resurrected from their sorry condition. They can each perform the greatest miracle in the world. They can each come back from the dead…” --Og Mandino

MONDAY, 27JULY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 1/Day1

CONDITIONING - 10 Rounds
5 Burpees
50 Meter Hill Sprint
20 Meter Downhill Bear Walk

EVENTS - Sandbag Suicide Runs
Sprint 100 Feet, grab 200b Sandbag. Sprint Back carrying it.
Sprint 100 Feet, grab 200b Sandbag. Sprint Back carrying it.
Sprint 100 Feet, grab 200b Sandbag. Sprint Back carrying it.
Sprint 100 Feet, grab 200b Sandbag. Sprint Back carrying it.
Sprint 100 Feet, grab 200b Sandbag. Sprint Back carrying it.
Fall on the ground like I was shot in the face.

I did this medley 5 Times.

NOTES:

  • Today was all punishment. Hill sprints were extremely hard. Medley was extremely hard. Much sweat. There was simply not enough oxygen in the world today. Good hard training, but it was a tough day.
712

Alpha dude thanks for you time and input, my goal with 'em is increase squat and over all strength, I think im gonna give 'em a go fore a few weeks and see what the results are. i’m thinking Im gonna plug them into my friday am giant set

713

Dude I just freaking love reading your log. Its nice to look at some big guy conditioning and try and adapt it to my own style, being a much smaller individual. Thanks for that previous advice on putting chins before I press, my shoulders feel nice and warm heading into heavy sets now. Have you got any tips for increasing OHP at all? other than just doing it of course?

I’ve started doing a lot more crossfit style conditioning, especially ones that involve handstand pushups, and I’ve been practicing these at home. My instinct says these will carry over well but I figured it couldn’t hurt to have Alpha’s opinion, as Tnations resident guru haha

714

Sandbag sprints seem like the perfect accesory for chasing pussy after founding a city…rape of the sabind women-style.

I’M HAVING AN EYE OUT FOR YOU, ROMULUS!

715

The conditioning alone seems horrible lol.
‘F*ck me’ kinda workouts are awfully brutal but you feel invincible afterwards.
Good work man!

716

You’re responses are never too long-winded and I appreciate such a detailed one as I know you are short on time. This “just get better at life” or (though it has some negative connotations now) “prepared for anything” is what interests me the most in the fitness world. Thats how I found your logs in the first place. I remember someone calling it “crossfit for strong people” haha.

Strongman events really interest me though and I’d love to give a competition a shot some day.

Also the supple leopard book is pretty good. I have both and the second one is not just a “I added in a paragraph and called it a new edition to sell more” scam. It’s definitely worth a look over.

Finally that last conditioning workout looked brutal…I’ll have try that when I join my new gym.

717

FarmerOwen: That is great man! If I were doing it, I would try working up to around 85% of your 1RM performing regular squats, then walkouts and holds with a super-maximal loads for a few sets then dropping the weight back down to your 90-110% and continue with the squats. I am not speaking from experience because I have never tried that out, but it makes sense in my convoluted brain.

The closest thing to this that I have personal experience with is yoke walking with super heavy loads one evening, then hitting heavy squats less than 12 Hours later. I was doing this out of necessity because of leaving town for work for a few weeks in a row, and totally expected the yoke walks to brutally lower my squat numbers because of my hips/legs being tired. But the opposite happened. Weights just felt abnormally light on my back and I was able to easily work into the 85-95% range. I am not saying that it is ideal or that it would work for everyone, but it has been my experience. I hope that helps you out brother.

kleinhound: Thanks boss, i really appreciate the kind words! As far as overhead press is concerned, I actually just recently wrote an entire article over on my website laying out the steps and cues I use for a strict press. http://www.neversate.com/wrath/2015/6/27/strict-overhead-press-tips-and-cues You may be able to get some helpful tips from that. If you are talking about a push-press or a jerk, I’d say the biggest game changer i have come across is getting the bar out of my hands and onto my shoulders for the dip and drive. This way your bone structure is supporting the bar instead of your arms (which allow the bar to move too much and you lose bar positioning and power) in the front rack. This one tip alone added 30-40lbs to my push-press. But again, if you are trying to build up actual shoulder strength and size, check out the article on my site.

I too am a huge fan of handstand push-ups and feel like they really helped build stability and strength in my pressing. If I had to give my top accessories for Overhead press, they would be:

  1. Bamboo Style presses with kettlebells supported from bands
  2. Z Presses
  3. Overhead Squats
  4. Row Variations

I hope that helps you out brother and I appreciate you stopping in and asking my opinion!

Pano: Hahahahaa oooookkkkkk. Things just got a little bit weird around here! Hahahah just kidding man, plus the sandbag weighed in at 260lbs. That is a big girl!

Regev: Thanks brother! You are definitely right it was a heaving sweat show!

Roran: Thanks for the insight on the book, I will definitely pick up a copy and check it out! And i love the “crossfit for strong people” moniker, i have heard that used for strongman in general! And I am a firm believer in being prepared for anything. Life is hard. For some people it is boring and lame, but if you are doing it right, there will comes times when you run into something a lot tougher, bigger, stronger and meaner than you are. If you are not prepared, it is going to win. And the cost may not only be one of your personal body, money and piece of mind. It could be your girl’s, kid’s or innocent people’s problem if you cannot be the wall that stands between them and the offending party (human or metaphorically)…I know it should cheesy and idealized, but it is what I believe and how I try to live my life.

As far as getting involved in Strongman, I think it would be a great fit for you. I saw your work ethic last time you were at my gym. I think with some proper training on the implements and some time spent playing with them, you could be ready is a short amount of time. Hopefully when you come up to visit next time, you and I can go over all the facets of the sport and i can get you started in the right direction! I hope you are still planning on making the trip out in August! Go make your own luck man and thanks for getting my brain moving with these questions!

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“Billions of people have traveled and continue to travel the other path, and it grows wider every year…The trouble is that on this wide path, you don’t end up at awesome. You just end up at old. This path is called ‘average’.” --Jon Acuff

“Every advancing step I take toward my goal of comfort is yet another retreating step I take away from God’s goal of the impossible.” --Craig D. Lounsbrough

TUESDAY, 28JULY2015 - Work For Today
Wave 1/Week 1/Day 2

CONDITIONING
10 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (Left Side)
10 Kettlebell Snatches (Left Side)
10 Kettlebell ManMakers
10 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (Right Side)
10 Kettlebell Snatches (Right Side)
Run 400 Meters

9 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (Left Side)
9 Kettlebell Snatches (Left Side)
9 Kettlebell ManMakers
9 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (Right Side)
9 Kettlebell Snatches (Right Side)
Run 400 Meters

8 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (Left Side)
8 Kettlebell Snatches (Left Side)
8 Kettlebell ManMakers
8 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (Right Side)
8 Kettlebell Snatches (Right Side)
Run 400 Meters

7 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (Left Side)
7 Kettlebell Snatches (Left Side)
7 Kettlebell ManMakers
7 Single Arm Kettlebell Swings (Right Side)
Kettlebell Snatches (Right Side)
Run 400 Meters

Then reverse the ladder and work your way back through the 8, 9 & 10 Rep Rounds. Did all of this with 53b Kettlebells

NOTES:

  • Standard conditioning session for me. Not too hard, not too easy. But right now I have had a really long day and am crashing! Thanks for all of the great dialogue and support in the past few days everyone. I really like answering questions you guys pose.
718

Awesome article mate, thanks for the link!

719

Thank you for the kind words! I would love to get some help on the events if you have the time. I’ve been looking over my budget and school schedule and I think I can make it out to Brutes gym at least once a week to practice with the implements. Going in with a bit of instruction would be a real blessing.

As for the first part, a lot of the toughest guys I know and the guys I would want on my side if SHTF are the ones who have the same idealized or cheesy view of the world so there must be something to it. Plus it forces me to train on the days or even weeks when I don’t want to do anything at all.

720

Hahaha Alpha, I guess you got the the reference, man.

Damn, 260! Two chicks at once, or a bootey overload.

Keep up the great work. My friend honestely was inspired by Neversate!

BTW I think i’ve read why squats feel easier after yoke walks. I don’t know how it was called, maybe it was a form of post-activation potentiation?
In lay mans terms: you force your body lifting a weight above your max (with supramaximal holds/partials/yoke carries), so the next (lighter) movement feels even lighter.

As a metaphore: if you lift a full milk carton a few times, your muscles know how hard to fire to lift it. If the pack is half full next time, you’ll lift it far quicker.

That’s the reason I almost smacked a skinny cat of ours against the ceiling after lifting the fat cat for weeks.