My pleasure.
Just be aware that if you find wraps uncomfortable now, this will make them much more so. Effective wraps hurt like crazy. You’ll also find that your hands get pumped up from wrapping and rolling.
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Yes but mostly worlds strongest man, back when Geoff Capes was competing all the way through to now.
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Todays training
30ish seconds each side of
Couch stretch
Pigeon stretch
Supine twist
Hurdler stretch
3x5xbar squats
Squat
Worked up to
5x3x407 lbs
Completely forgot to brace properly on the first rep and quite literally felt my middle back buckle coming out of the hole. No harm done, but a salutary reminder
High box squat (box around 18 inches)
2x12x352 lbs
Walking lunges
2x10 metres - it was specified whether or not to use weights, so I didn’t. Fuck using weights unless I have to
Barbell row
3x10x176 lbs
All up an hour and five minutes
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Good job you are a strong b@stard. Glad your ok.
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Glad to see things are still going well Mark. If I’ve skimmed correctly, you’re sleeping decent with the CPAP, back not troubling you too much at the moment and your head issues have subsided?
Training is a lot easier when you can just focus on training and not worry about all the other things that impact it!
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boy you were not kidding and I am still doing a shit job. This was actually a problem today
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Woke at 262.8 lbs, looking much the same if a little less bloated.
@simo74 I also am glad I’m ok. Thanks mate.
@littlesleeper absolutely. It’s a massive relief not to have to he working against stuff.
@Koestrizer you’ll get used to it eventually. It’ll still suck though. I find the hardest thing on my grip is tying off, which is where the long nose pliers help a ton.
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no, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. at least at the level I compete at. You can brute force your way through some really low level shows if you’re strong enough, but there is soooooooo much more technique to learn in strongman than in powerlifting.
great way to put it.
At local shows, the strongest dude in the room might win because, quite frankly, there is no technical proficiency in the room in the first place, so the strongest brute just wins by default.
There are a few ways to get a decent perspective on this. The easiest way, honestly, is just watch a heavy log press, and watch a heavy bench press. Which one LOOKS harder? Which one has more steps to learn, more ways to fuck up? Then take a look at a circus dumbbell… that shit is beyond crazy difficult.
There are only a few events where the brute force guy tends to do well at a national (or higher) level, and those events tend to be the powerlifting-like events. The deadlift is where the strongest guy in the room shines. I remember when I first started, I had like 4 events I could get through proficiently, and I avoided everything else like hell, or just took losses.
With all the variations in events you can have, there are literally thousands of ‘show’ combinations possible. you have to learn to deadlift from different heights, with different bars, side handles, etc and for both max reps and 1rm. You have to press logs, axles, circus dumbbells, blocks, and whatever else a promoter comes up with, for reps and for maxes. You have to carry yoke, farmers handles, frames, hussafel stones, natural stones, sand bags, etc for distance and for time, sometimes very heavy, sometimes not. You have medleys. You have to practice transitions. You have to learn to be fast with atlas stones. you have to learn how much tacky works, how much doesn’t. you have to learn what gear works for you in what situations, and what doesn’t. I’ve got half a dozen pairs of shoes, all kinds of wraps, sleeves, 3 different belts, stone sleeves. I’m always finding better ways to approach events.
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Thanks man. Makes a ton of sense.
It seems like the consensus is that at the lowest levels, you’ll do well with just strength. The moment you get beyond the lowest levels, technique becomes far more important not to mention ancillary skills.
So this lady is probably in for a shock at some point.
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Todays training
T-spine roll - very needed because that’s what buckled yesterday and it feels like an uncracked knuckle now
30 seconds each of
Pec minor stretch
Long head bicep stretch
Forgot thread the needle
4x12 lat pulldowns
2x15xbar bench supersetted with 20 each of band facepulls and pull aparts
Bench press
Worked up to
4x2x242 lbs
10x242 lbs - which, now I think about it (and the TrainHeroic records bear me out), is my heaviest set of 10 ever
https://www.instagram.com/p/B54h6eyAGC3/?igshid=1f5fjfvyopbx1
Incline press
2x12x181 lbs - fuck me but these are HARD
DB flys
2x15x27 lbs
Seated row
4x10x154 lbs
Plate raise
50x22 lbs in 30 and 20
All up an hour and 20 minutes
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Very nice work as always Mark.
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Strong work on that PR!
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Woke at 261.9 lbs, looking much the same. Got to be dehydration. I thought I drank plenty yesterday, but it was hot as all fuck so maybe not.
Woke at 263 lbs, looking much the same. Ate relatively little yesterday, but pumped the water.
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Todays training
30 seconds each side of
Couch stretch
Pigeon stretch
Supine twist
Hurdler stretch
3x5xbar deadlift
Deadlift, stiff bar
Worked up to
8x507 lbs
https://www.instagram.com/p/B59shHXgrEh/?igshid=vuyne3ngem6w
That’s my second rep PR this week. This is a biggie too, best with 507 previously is five. Also got my belt to the second tightest notch with no real struggle.
Deficit deadlift off four mats
2x10x346 lbs
These were unpleasant
Back raises
2x25
Lat pulldowns
10x154 lbs - too heavy to feel my lats
2x10x143 lbs - much better
Goblet squats
2x10x70 lbs
All up an hour and 20 minutes
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8x507 on deadlift is insanely impressive. ill get there soon, havnt tried anything close to 500 since I hit it last month… might be time.
Youre inspiring me, ill be sure to follow your Instagram tomorrow when I return to civilization.
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Thanks man.
Best advice I can give you is don’t chase numbers. You hit 500 last month, which is a pretty awesome milestone. In your shoes I wouldn’t touch anything over 425 for six months. Just do lots and lots of reps whenever you can. If you want a number to shoot for, try 425x10 with relative ease. Guaranteed you get that and 600 will be around the corner.
Those deads looked easy mate. Nice work
500 was the number to chase, never made sense to be as I would do sets of 455 for 6 beltless and couldn’t achieve 500 belted… turns out I was just exhausted and mentally blocked…
After 2 weeks of not training a thing, I jumped in the gym and pulled it so quick I almost fell backwards… funny how that works.
I feel I can probably hit 425 x 10 ill give it a go and see what happens when I get home this weekend.
Solid dead work. As per usual lol. I gotta say, only real reason I even have my Instagram account still, is to pause what I’m doing when I see you upload new lifts lol
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