Good luck on competition! Do you have any strongman or other goals after this?
Roran: Thanks man! As soon as Nationals is done, I will only have about a month before I am competing in Marylandās Strongest Man. That will be pretty much the end of the Strongman Season for me unless I qualify for the Arnold Classic. So i would take a few months off Competitive Strongman for the winter and may throw my hat into my first Powerlifting meet. As far as in the gym, before January 1st, 2016, I am hoping to Deadlift 700lbs, Squat 675 and Bench 505-510. Hopefully all three happen! Thanks for asking brother!
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āI want to stand as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you canāt see from the center.ā --Kurt Vonnegut, Player Piano
FRIDAY, 25SEPTEMBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 3/Week 1/Day 5
In full Deload mode now, so i didnāt do anything beside a 30 Minute hike with a 50lb weight vest and then coached all of my classes with it on. Got a good sweat going, but nothing too dramatic.
Tomorrow starts the water gorgeā¦Uggg, welcome to a week of peeing every 10 minutes!
Welcome the peeing season. Feels so clean when you piss gets clearer with the dayā¦detox styleā¦
I was thinkering with the idea of doing the neversate eating challengeā¦
But how the hell do I do that! Iām pretty much like the guy in the example: 250 lbs with around 20% bf, that requires 200 grams of protein. I need to chug down 100 grams of whey in shakes, then I have around 80 grams of protein (thatās relatively cheap protein, only 2 euroās).
And then I have to eat like 300 grams of chicken/600 grams of grounded beef and 100 gram of peanuts just to get my protein in. Then I have to hammer down of veggies, some fruit and a few fish capsules.
Thatās a job on itās own!
Iām really handicapped with maths, so maybe some input if Iām doing the maths right?
Iām obviously not Alpha but I did this challenge a few months ago (canāt now due to money issues) and Its easier than you might think. Here is what I did most days:
Breakfast:
6 eggs cooked in Butter
Sometimes Bacon
Sometimes Coffee with Butter
then veggies till I was full (cucumbers and tomatoes mostly)
Lunch:
Lots of ground turkey, half a pound to 2/3s a pound
Salad and olive oil until I was full
Post Workout or Snack:
50g Pro Shake
handful of nuts
fruit
Dinner:
Meat of any kind but again normally 1/2 to 2/3 pound
Mixed veggies and olive oil till I was full.
Most days I also drank whole milk for breakfast and/or dinner usually 2-4 cups.
If I was hungry at night I would drink milk, eat some 85% dark chocolate, have some cheese etc.
I also tolerate diary very well so that might not work for you, and at the time was working out every day of the week.
I hope you donāt mind Alpha
Pano: I am not sure what you mean. If you have 200lbs of lean body mass, then you only need 200 grams of protein. If you are getting 100g from shakes, then you only have 100 left in solid food. That is not much food at all. Roman gave you a really good example of what a sample day of eating would look like. It is really not hard to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight at all.
Roran: Thanks for putting that out there man, I hope that will be helpful for some people!
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Just drinking lots of distilled water and trying to heal as much as possible today.I really donāt like deloading.
@Roran and Alpha, thanks alot for the input!
I started recalculating. If I get 100 grams of whey, that would equal 78g of protein. Maybe use unskimmed milk with a chunck of butter to make the shakes.
Then get 3 meals with about 40 grams of protein in, so about 200g of some kind of dead animal (on average, depends on the meat) or cheese. Pig out ond veggies.
@Roran I think your set up is very solid! As far as I know, Iām not lactose intolerant. It never gives me the bloated feeling a load of carbs does. I wil have 3 shakes a day probably. Itās far more practical and cheaper than any meat out there.
I really like the idea for nuts and fruit as a snack, and adding olive oil tot the veggies. Maybe I get some fish oil capsules in there somewhere.
I hope your financial trouble subside soon (youāre a student, right? Then probably not, I know that feeling). What were your foundings when yu tried the challenge last time?
I hope it helps, I hit a huge squat PR while eating like this and still stayed pretty lean. The best part about eating like this was it helped me kick the counting calories habit. I just ate clean and ate till I felt full.
Also Alpha, I heard of this event from the Highland Games and wondered if you ever tried it. Just seemed like a fun/dumb idea.
Hey Alpha. I have a strongman competition coming up on the 17th. I have very limited access to stones for training but I was able to try them Saturday. I moved the 215 stone very easy and could shoulder it no problem. But when I attempted the 250 stone I could not even break it off the ground. Mind you I had no tack and was super sweaty but that really is no excuse especially since I need to pick a 300 stone at the comp. Does tacky make that much of a difference? And do you have any technique tips for getting it off the ground? It felt like the entire weight was on my hands.
Good luck at nationals man Iām rooting for you.
Roran: I was impressed to see the guy get a 275er up to his shoulder! Then taking off and trowing it is pretty awesome, i may have to give this one a try! And thanks again for providing what an average day of eating looks like for you.
Knox: Brother, out of all the things i have tried in my entire lifting career, tacky would be right near the top of things that made a huge difference. So much, that the first time I ever used it, as I was picking the stone, I audibly said, ?Are you kidding me?? It made a DRASTIC Difference. However, you may not be able to use tacky depending on the rules of your competition. If you are not allowed to use it, here are some tips that may help you out:
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Go back and get another shot at those stones before the competition. In my experience, many strongman implements seem impossible to move the first time you touch a new heavy weight. That said, once you get another shot at them, they seem very doable. Like the first time you flip a heavy tire. Initially it feels like the hardest thing in the world. But after you have done it a few times, it is not a big deal at all.
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Roll the stone on top of your hands. This is dangerous and hurts like hell, but it works. If you can?t pick it from the ground, you may need to crush some fingers to get more purchase on the stone. Some people make their hands into ?V?s when doing this.
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Focus on squeezing the stone like you are doing a pec fly.
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Get a big belly breath and brace prior to attempting the pick. No differently than you would on a traditional deadlift.
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Make sure the ?equator? of the stone is pointed directly between 3-9 o? clock or at your ankles. If you have the stone positioned too far out in front of you, it will feel twice as heavy as it actually is. And Once it breaks the ground, don?t be afraid to roll it up your shins to get it to the lap position.
All of these things should help you out whether you are allowed to use tacky or not. I would strongly advise you getting back to those stones before your comp and if it allows tacky, then try using some to see what techniques work best for you. i hope that helps you out some and keep me posted on how the comp goes! Go make your own luck!
Thank you Alpha that is very helpful and Iām relieved to hear that tacky is a big help since itās allowed at the competition. I will definitely be getting to the stones at least twice before the competition so Iāll let you know how it goes.
Thanks man, Iām gonna get a 6foot length then. Iāve been trying to hook a dumbell between my legs and now and Im more focused on not letting it drop than the actual lift haha. What do you think of doing a tbt on wednesday with rows, bench, squat then the day after doing weighted pullups, military press and deadlift?
Hey Alpha, I want to incorporate more farmers walks into my programming, but at the gym Iām currently at there isnāt much room at all for them, any thoughts on just a stationary Farmers hold for time? Or do you feel like Iād be better off pinching plates together.
Primary goal would be grip strength, secondary goal traps/core stabilityā¦if thatās even possible stationary haha.
cheers for any input brother (or anyone else)
Hey Alpha, in your previous reply to me, you spoke of tricking your mind. It is greatly effective, just need to be consistent with it(just like everything else in life). Also you spoke of a persons will and accomplishing things. I get caught up in the dogma of bs out there. My sense of adventure is coming back though. Thanks for the inspiration. Awesome reply! Thanks as always.
So I came in today with a tacky question also, but you covered it above and beyond in post above. Great info in there. I obviously need to tweak some things with the stones. To take your mind off of things, I have another question regarding equipment with stones. I notice sometimes your arms are wrapped, other times not. Whatās the story there?
Iāll throw a few more questions at you to further distract you from what must be a trying week. 1-you may have mentioned, I donāt recall. But why the conditioning first in your training? 2- I see youāve used the slingshot a few times. My bench(poor) has been stuck at 275 for over a year. Iāve tried several things to blast through, but it just wonāt budge. Do you think it would be worth it to purchase a slingshot? Iād really like to get 300 before years end.
I donāt get on the net much, but always read when I have the chance. Always look forward to your information. Excited for you for Nationals, really hope things go great for you. This may sound absurdly gushy , but youāre really helping change my life. And no, itās not about the weights!
Just wanted to say all the best at the comp. I know youāll crush it.
Knox: Thanks brother I am glad it was helpful! I plan on making a āhow toā for Atlas stones soon, hopefully that will help you out as well. And the Tacky is a game changer man. I cannot explain enough just how much it helps out!
la8: I think it looks great man, the only thing I would advise is to put whatever lifts you care about most first in the week. Also, I wouldnāt just cycle those 2 days twice in a 7 day period. I would put the main lifts early in the week then do variations of both later in the week. That is, unless you are only hitting weights 2x a week, in which case, I think it is a good set up. I hope that is not too confusing! If you need more clarification, I will happily provide it!
kleinhound: Well man, if grip is your main goal, I would probably recommend the assistance exercise that Ed Coan talks about in this video: Ed Coan's Favorite Skwaat and Deadlift Assistance Exercises - YouTube It is the single arm barbell one when he is holding it in the rack. I say this because I am guessing that your gym doesnāt have dumbbells past 150lbs. And if you really want to work your grip, you are probably going to have to go heaver than that. If you are talking about loading up and holding actual Farmerās handles, then I could see how that could be of good benefit, but more often than not, you lose grip on the Farmerās because of the implement jostling around as you walk (moving it more into your fingers than in your hand), not really because your grip gave out.
As far as stabilityā¦I think you can build up a good bit of it from static exercises but your load would probably have to be heavier. I consider something like a heavy squat to be more of a core stabilization exercise than a leg exerciseā¦so if you are trying to build up overall stability, i would stick to things like that. Also in the above video, the exercise Coan mentions is a great stabilization exercise in itself. However, if you want to build up your core for moving Strongman events, sadly you do have to move. If you can add in yoke walks, farmerās and front loaded carries, i think it would help more than anything.
So to recap:
Yoke, farmerās walks & front loaded carries are best.
Static holds with Farmerās Handles would be next
The assistance exercise in the video would follow
and static holds with the dumbbells would still help but, in my opinion, would come in last.
I hope that helps brother!
Betabill: Well, I wrap my arms when i use tacky for a couple of reasons.
- Because the tacky seems to adhere better to cloth than it does to skin. Especially if said skin is sweaty.
- It keeps me from ripping out all of my arm hair the days following the Stone day because that stuff is never really gone until days later.
- It keeps your arms protected. When throwing around concrete balls, your forearms will often get pretty cut up and you will get scars similar to that of road rash. It may be cool the first time you do them, but after awhile you get tired of explaining it to people.
- I only use tacky when performing stone loads or stone over bar. When i shoulder them i donāt wrap my arms. Really, I stay away from tacky as much as possible. I only use it when I am trying to get really heavy stones or during competition. If you can get a stone loaded without tacky, you can get it many times with it. So when training technique, i usually never use it. This makes my technique better and gives me confidence for when I throw it on.
Conditioning first: I do the conditioning first because, despite what most people believe, it doesnāt really effect my strength that much. I feel it primes my CNS for the heavier work and gets me plenty warmed up before I hit my main lifts. Also, in my Warrior Athlete programming, we train to perform when tired. The people it is designed for need to physically get to a destination before the work even begins or their sympathetic nervous system is so juiced up, that they are exhausted before they begin. Once they are there, they have to do their job, which mimics the actual strength stuff, then they need to get back out. Think of a firefighter running into a burning building with all of their gear on (Conditioning). Then having to break down doors, search for people, me stuff out of the way, etcā¦(Strength). Then they need to get back out carrying an individual (the Strongman extracts). Plus, if you do your conditioning first, it is guaranteed to get done. If you leave it for last, often times you will opt out.
Slingshot: I am not sure what you are referencing here because I do not own a slingshot and I have never even used one. I know a lot of people swear by them, but I donāt have any personal experience myself.
And thank you for your kind words brother! They mean a lot! Knowing that I am helping you along on your journey is exactly why I do this stuff, so i really appreciate you saying that!
MattyG: Thanks brother! Time to go make my own luck!
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So i leave tomorrow afternoon for Iowa. I feel mentally ready and pretty good physically. I am still 5 pounds heavy, but I should be able to cut that tomorrow. I can honestly say that this is the biggest, leanest i have ever gone into a contest. Whether that will translate over to strength remains to be seen, but it wonāt be for lack of trying!
Nothing but protein shakes today and my last gallon of distilled water. We will see where I wake up at tomorrow, but I am guessing there will be no food until after weigh-ins (mid-day Thursday) and i will have to cut all water consumption sometime tomorrow mid day.
Spirits are good though, and i (donāt think) i am being mean to people. A little bit of suffering for a memory I will remember for the rest of my life is a very easy decisionā¦
Thanks to everyone for all of your support and well wishes!
I hope it can help some people, I remember your food logs used to help me a lot. And the guyās name is Max Shank. I enjoy some of his stuff and he is a pretty strong guy. I was shocked at the stone shoulder as he is my height weight. Iāve got work to do i guess haha.
Good luck with the next few days, Iāve never done a cut before but Iāve heard they can be rough. Iām looking forward to hearing about the competition.
Oh awesome man! Thanks so much for that. Iāll give the Ed Coan a go for sure!
Alpha dude, go there take 'em down like a shotgun! Then tell us all about it!
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Best of luck brother!