Alpha's Work IV

Training Training Logs
981

Regev: Thanks brother, that is a great idea!

FarmerOwen: Thanks man, i just hope that they are taking the time to actually consider me. I sent an email last week to them inquiring about if it has been reviewed and i didn’t hear back. i just don’t want my application sitting in someone’s junk mail and not being seen. Honestly, If they decide to not sponsor me, I just would rather know than have it sitting out there with me wondering. If it is a good fit for them then it will happen, if not, I won’t look at their company any differently at all. Thanks for asking though brother!

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“As you grow older, you’lll find the only things you regret are the things you didn’t do.” --Zachary Scott

Saturday, 17OCTOBER025 Work for Today
Wave 4/ Week4/ Days 6

Ok, so I went back in last night and did my second workout before coaching my classes. it looked like this:

STRENGTH
2 count Pause Squats:135x3, 225x3, 315x3, 405x1, 500x1, 550x1, 585x1, 605x1 (Almost died), 625x1 (PR)
Kettle bell Band Suspended Strict Press: 120x5, 155x5, 205x5, 225x3

Then this morning I hit some yoke walks for speed:
270x100 feet - 2 rounds at that weight
360x100 feet - 2 rounds at that weight
450x100 feet - 2 rounds at that weight
540x100 feet - 2 rounds at that weight
450x100 feet - 4 rounds at that weight

NOTES:

  • The yoke walks this morning were all about quick pick-ups while transitioning to the first steps and keeping my feet moving as quickly as possible.
  • Last night was awesome! So i just thought I would work some pause squats and stay kind of light since I had already worked out pretty hard earlier in the day. But when i started adding weight, i felt like the walkout felt extremely heavy, but squatting the weight was no problem at all. So I just kept adding. i hit 500, then 550 and 585…I thought i should probably call it a day there…But the bar was still moving with decent speed. My previous 2 Count Pause Squat PR was 610. I figured I would stay a little below that and hit 605…Then i almost really, really hurt myself.

When unracking the bar, (because I am an idiot) the plates clipped the uprights and i started to lose my balance. In the video, you will see me freeze for a second to try and steady myself…Then on my next step I do it again and this time REALLY lose my balance! I feel the bar getting away from me backwards and i have a split second thought that i should toss it back and stay safe…But then my brain reminded me that if i dropped that weight, from that height onto the safety pins, then i am definitely bending that bar and really don’t want to pay for a new one, so i thought I would try to save it and just rack the weight.

i caught my balance after a few seconds and started working my way back to the rack. Then my brain said to me, “You really don’t want to go through all of that again…Just stop here and give the rep a shot.” You can see in the video that my core is wobbling all over the place …i guess it was tired from trying o stabilize, but i went for the rep anyway and all went well. Dancing around with 605 on your back is stupid. I was lucky to recover without breaking myself, but honestly, even after all of that, the weight still didn’t feel horrible to me.

I didn’t want to end a good session on a bad note, so i decided to load 625 and roll the dice. And here i am with a new PR

Here is a vid of the 605 set where I almost killed myself, a 315 Axle Continental Clean From yesterday and the 625 2 Count Pause Squat PR.

982

Nice save man! The fact you didn’t ditched the rep is very impressive, good work mate.

983

Any sane person would have re-racked that, and you still made that rep look so easy!
I hope MD’s Strongest Man goes well. I looked over the events and it looks like a pretty exciting competition. Have you ever car squared or viking pressed before?

984

Regev: Thanks brother! Yea, a smarter man would have put that weight right back! Luckily I am not a smarter man and made it through ok!

Roran: Hahahah yea man, i agree. And I hope MD’s Strongest Man goes well too! It is going to be a brutal day. And there are over 115 people signed up so it is going to be a long one! Hopefully i come out in the top 3 but only time will tell!

And you are 100% correct. I’ve never touched a car squat or a viking press in my life. But I am going to an open gym on the 24th where I will get to play with them a little bit so that should be a good mind-easer! Thanks for checking in man!

985

Mad props for not dying waltzing with a whale on your back. Even more for doing the squat after like it was nothing.

Viking presses seem like something with a not-that-steep learning curve, but better not underestimate it. Everything sucks the first time, even if it seems it doesn’t. Just a few reps training with the actual implement might be the difference between being a n00b and actually doing pretty good. I hope you learn alot in the open gym!

986

I’ve been lurking but I’ll try to post more. Finding the open gym sounds like a nice break, hopefully it helps. 115 people signed up sounds like a big day, Is that normal for local competitions? I always thought they were smaller.

In other new, I figured out my finances to allow me to train at Brute’s. I’m going to go probably this Sunday and see how the commute works with my schedule but It should work out. I’m very excited to start regularly training with the implements.

987

Are you still doing martial arts? I guess you’re not competing at the moment with all those competitions on your shoulders.
You know, I find it hard to believe that you run here training logs since 2009 haha

988

Pano: Hahahah yea thank man! And I totally agree. Everything DOES suck the first time you try it. I am very fortunate to get a shot with the implements before the competition. I will honesty just be happy if I just run all of my event cleanly and smoothly. If I can do that, i know I will place pretty well. Maybe even well enough to retain the title. Thanks for checking in man and making me smile with the whale comment!

Roran: That s really big for a local show and the venue is not large, so a lot of it will be outside. Being early/mid November on the east coast, that is going to make for a long day! Hopefully it all goes fairly quickly and smoothly though.

And man, that is awesome news about Brute’s! I hear that place is amazing and has everything you could want! I plan on doing one of their competitions this year sometime, so hopefully we can meet up and maybe grab some food or something. Thanks for checking in man!

Regev: Funny you should mention that man, I actually contacted my main training partner (for fighting) this past weekend and set up some time to get together and roll. So i will be back to that just as soon as Maryland’s Strongest man is over with.

i didn’t understand your last comment. i think there was a typo

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“When [what you are deeply passionate about, what you can become best in the world at and what drives your economic engine] come together, not only does your work move toward greatness, but so does your life. For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps, then, you might gain that rare tranquility that comes from knowing that you’ve had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain that deepest of all satisfactions: knowing that your short time here on this earth has been well spent, and that it mattered.” --James C. Collins

MONDAY, 19OCTOBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 5

MORNING WORKOUT

STRONGMAN CONDITIONING - Completed the Full Ladder
10 Atlas Stone to Shoulder
1 Bodyweight Man Maker
9 Atlas Stone to Shoulder
2 Bodyweight Man Makers
8 Atlas Stone to Shoulder
3 Bodyweight Man Makers
7 Atlas Stone to Shoulder
4 Bodyweight Man Makers
6 Atlas Stone to Shoulder
5 Bodyweight Man Makers
…And so on until I finished the ladder

STRONGMAN EVENT TRAINNG
245b Log Clean & Press immediately transitioning to a 130lb Circus Dumbbell Clean & press (Each Arm)
I did this a bunch of times trying to speed up my transitions.

EVENING WORKOUT

STRONGMAN EVENTS
18" Deadlift: 135x3, 225x3, 315x3, 405x3, 500x3, 585x3, 585x3, 675x3, 675x3
Knees to Elbow: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

ACCESSORY
Reverse hyper: 90x10, 180x10, 270x10, 270x10
SSB Good Mornings: 165x10, 185x10, 205x10, 205x10

NOTES:

  • Pressing was rough today. I think i was still fried from last week, but man it was ugly. Everything felt heavy.
  • 18" Deadlifts felt pretty good. I am still learning the technique on these. if I can get the bar moving i can lift it up. But it starts right at my sticking point and that seems to be a problem. We will see how MD’s Strongest goes but I am fairly sure i will barely break the top 5 in this even with the weight I am pulling.
  • Feeling good about my chances at this upcoming comp But time will tell
989

Well done with your training and competition recently, it looks like you’re really learning the ins-and-outs of strongman and I can see you being virtually unbeatable in another year!

I haven’t posted in here for a bit but I follow along and look for ideas wherever I can. One thing I’ve noticed is you often squat in wraps, and I’m wondering if you have any tips; I’m considering going for some wrapped PRs for a change soon, and I think it might benefit my setup to get used to unracking heavier weights too, so it seems like a good plan all round - how would you work them in?

Thanks for any advice you can give, and good luck at the Maryland’s Strongest Man!

990

I meant that the fact you’re logging in T-Nation your training since 2009 even though not consistently is quite remarkable (at least in my opinion).

By the way, a lot of people swear on the reverse hyper and especially for guys with herniated disc. Is it that great?

991

I believe they have a competition sometime this winter and one in the summer, I am considering entering the summer one but I know nothing about it. I’ve been to the gym once and it literally has everything you could want.

992

halcj: Thanks man, I really hope you are right! i know I have a long way to go with technique, but I haven’t been at it that long. I am hoping to find a coach or good training partner who can hone in that area and make be better. but i appreciate your words!

As far as wraps. Well, I tend to use them when i get within 100lbs of my PR. They definitely DO give me a few more pounds than I would have had otherwise, but mainly I use them as protection more than anything else. Most of the time I have them wrapped pretty loosely and they are there more like sleeve than anything else. With all of the volume I do between the normal powerlifting movements plus all of the strongman stuff, I feel like they keep the joint stabilized if i do something stupid. And I do stupid things often. That is why you will see me have them loosely wrapped during even my yoke work. Just as added protection in case things go bad.

My knowledge of them is very limited, so all I can tell you is that I only use them for about my top 2-3 sets on my heaviest days. Anything more than that and it makes my calves hurt for days. I could not tell you why, but it always happens. I wish i could give you more info brother, but honestly, I do not know much. Sorry bud.

Regev: Yea man, that is actually crazy to think about. I’ve been part of T-Nation all the way back since the T-Mag days. I still have some of the paper magazines they put out at the beginning. They were by far the best thing around back then. What is even crazier is that only have 2,400 posts over a decade…And if you looked at the stats, 99% of them would be in my logs. i may read stuff on other forums, but mainly I stay in the training log section.

As far as the reverse hypers…I cannot say if they help a herniated disk because when i herniated mine, i didn’t have access to one. But I can totally see how it would help. i love it as an accessory and since I’ve been using it, I have definitely seen a decrease in back spasms. You can use it a couple of different ways. One of which is traction. Doing these after a hard squat or deadlift day makes the following ones much less crippling. It definitely decompresses your spine as well as strengthens your whole posterior chain. It is a great exercise but honestly, i can’t give you any direct feedback as if it has helped certain lifts go up or using it for rehab.

I’d say if you are trying to make your lifts go up and wanted to buy one piece of equipment, it would be a SSB bar. Hands down one of the best things I have ever invested in. Hope that helps man.

Roran: You should DEFINITELY sign up for the summer comp man! Just jump in the novice class and see how you like it. If you hate it, you can say that did a competition and if you like it then it will open up a whole new wold of strength sports for you!

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“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.” --James C. Collins, Good to Great

TUESDAY, 20OCTOBER2015 - Work For Today

CONDITIONING
At the top of every minute for 12 minutes with a 50lb weight vest on
5 Pull-Ups
10 push-Ups
15 Squats

STRENGTH GIANT SET
Pendlay Rows: 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 275x5, 300x5, 315x5
Axle Bench Press:135x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 385x3
Ab Wheel Roll-Outs: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Then Loaded 225 on the axle and repped out a set of 30

NOTES:

  • You can’t hit a homerun every day and today was no homerun! No big deal, just getting work done. Every single day counts, even the not so great ones!
993

My pleasure, man.

I always wondered, most really muscular guys have a job with normal people to. You run the gym now, so you have to deal with pencil necks a great deal less. In the gym guys like you are very impressive, but how do you look when at the grocery stores? Or how the heck are you gonna fit in a suit? Most of your vids are in a pretty loose (aka non-douchebag) shirt, so you’re not really showin’ dem guns off.

Just a thought that passed my mind

994

Most of the time those days when you are just getting work done are the most beneficial to your progress, at least in my opinion… Am I right?

995

Pano: Well, honestly it is kind of annoying. Literally everywhere I go, someone makes a comment. Well, let me re-phrase that, a GUY always makes a comment. If I check out of a store, or have to interact with an individual at all, people always ask me about working out. A lot of times they ask f I do crossfit and I reply that i do, “strongman”. They look at me like I have 2 heads and then I explain that it is the stuff that “You see on TV sometimes where guys lift those big stones and deadlift cars.” Most people are then able to form some sort of recollection of what i am talking about and smile. Then they look confused again and say, “but your not fat.” Then i explain the weight classes. No lie, this happens probably like 10 times a week.

As far as suits go, I don’t wear them unless i had to for my previous job or if someone gets married or dies. Then look terrible on me. Since my waist is small and my shoulders and legs are wide, I have to get them tailored but they still look like I am wearing a bell shaped dress. I went suit shopping a few years ago and they said that they could no longer tailor them for me and that they would have to be custom made. I am not sure how that runs in your country, but over here that is like $1500-2000 in the US for a nice suit. I am unwilling to pay that for something that I only wear a few times a year. So now I either squeeze into an older one and look like I cannot breathe, or figure out some other way to “dress-up” without a suit coat.

It is always an adventure man!

Regev: I am not sure. I bet if you asked 100 different people that question, you would get 100 different answers. I think getting HIGH quality work done where you are hitting strong numbers is massively important. But yesterday, those were average numbers that felt extremely heavy, so it felt more like going through the motions. Kind of like surviving rather than performing.

I think ALL workouts are important because every single one is a win over resistance and procrastination, but some you walk out of knowing that you just became stronger while others you just walk out of. Yesterday was the latter.

In hindsight, i probably just should have dropped the weight and worked on my form/speed since the strength wasn’t there. But that is what i love about training so much. Even after 2 decades, I am still learning new things every day that I can apply to become better in the future. It’s all important, but (In my opinion) the biggest key to success is probably consistency.

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“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.” --James C. Collins, Good to Great

WEDNESDAY, 21OCTOBER2015 - Work For Today
Wave 5

MORNING WORKOUT

CONDITIONING - 15 Rounds
100 Foot Prowler Sprint with 270lbs on the sled.

NOTES:

  • Just trying to get some work in. My foot is still really bothering me, so these were extremely slow. But like I said above, even workout counts. Going to hit some SSB work this afternoon.
  • For those of you interested this is what i am going to be following for the next 10 weeks to finish out 2015. If all goes as planned 2016 will start with some decent PRs!
  • I am looking forward to this saturday where I will get the chance to play with some of the implements that I will be using for Maryland’s Strongest. This includes the dreaded car squat!
996

Provided that the date doesn’t interfere with school I will. I’d love to give a competition a shot. I haven’t competed in anything in years so it’ll be almost new.

Good luck Saturday. I usually enjoy training in new places. I’ve also heard the car squat is like an evil hack squat and kills your quads so good luck with that as well. Hope your foot feels better soon.

997

A lot of people believe that high quality volume work is super important for the heavy days.

And any update regarding the reading resolution?

998

Roran: Thanks man! and if it works out with your schedule, I think a competition would be an awesome thing to keep you focused over at Brute, and you would get to train with the implements that you would be using!

Regev: I would agree with whomever said that about volume work. That is where you build your real strength. And yea, I actually finished book 85/100 today. It is going to be close, but I am pretty sure i will finish the full 100. I update what books they are and when i finish them over on my Twitter feed.

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AFTERNOON WORKOUT

STRENGTH GIANT SET
Wide Grip Pull-Ups: 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12
Speed SSB Paused Box Squats: 160x2, 250x2, 340x2, 360x2, 380x2, 400x 2
Red Band Glute Ham Raises: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

MINDSET
SSB Box Squat Add/Strip Set
380x6
360x7
340x8
320x9
300x10
270x12
…Collapsed and almost diedx100

NOTES:

  • I was just going to go in and work on some speed reps with the SSB bar with some pull-ups and gar’s, but once I was done i wanted to do a little bit more so I loaded up the bar and went for the add/strip set. it was brutal. It made my legs burn a lot but the worst of it was by far the breathing. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest and I was heaving for air. it seemed like it was going to be so benign when i came up with the idea but i was very wrong.

Other athletes were already showing up for the 5PM class so I picked myself up off the floor and slammed my protein shake. Then proceeded to lay back down for a while. This was a poor decision. The next 15 minutes were me starting to stand up, fighting back puke and laying right back down. I know it sounds stupid but i hate wasting a protein shake like that! n the end, i didn’t puke, so that was a plus and I walked away feeling like I finished the workout strong.

Admittedly, I stole the idea from Dave Tate. At the end of his set you hear him yell, “I’m gonna need my bucket!” Hahaha i can relate. Anyway, i think it will be good training for the Car squat event. We shall see.

***So i added a link to what i will be doing for the next 10 weeks post comp but the Mods took it down. If you are interested, i explain it in the Articles section of my website.

Thanks for all of the support everyone!

999

You cracked me up pretty bad hahaha.

“But…but you’re not fat…” :'D
Well, it’s funny tho, and quite relatable. If I get asked if I work out I feel flattered, but I always get asked: “bro, did you know you’re tall?”
“No, I didn’t, but it explaines why my head keeps crashing into the doorpost”

At least people notice you work out haha.

I think you’re the first men who complained about having too much of an X physique.
Somehow I imagined that your previous job demanded a suit, most staf in that sector where I live wears that.
It sucks having to get a suit tailored, Custom mades really deviate in price here: on google you can find tailors that will do for 300 euro’s. Well, the people I know with the classier ones go into 10x that at least.
For a smart look try wearing a button shirt with a tie and a V-neck frat boy sweater. And wear glasses. Shout out to me when someone adresses you with “professor”:wink:

Ps. If you ever have to tightly suit up again, pictures would be nice! I love a laugh.

1000

Pps. Stop the strip sets, I want you to live