Wow, that looked like a tough competition. Looks like you smoked it though. Congrats on finishing strong! 
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Wow, I was all tensed up watching it towards the end. Good job!
I loved hearing your family cheering you on. Happy-making.
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That looked awesome, canāt wait for the full write up
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Anxiously checking throughout the day to see when the write ups coming lol.
Looks like a great performance, that carry medley looked like an absolute killer. Nice work brother
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The shelving to place the keg and stone on was a flexinā and a rockināā¦!
Great work fella!
@alex_uk Thanks man! Definitely the most fun Iāve had in a LONG time at one of these comps.
@shaneinga Much appreciated dude! Iām so pleased with how it went.
@EmilyQ It was a total nailbiter! Being able to redeem myself on stones meant the world. And thanks so much! That cheering section makes it all worthwhile.
@dagill2 Always appreciate when you swing by.
@atlas13 Itās been crazy post comp! Appreciate the patience. And thanks for the kind words.
So on the Maximum Definition Diet recap portion, my pre-comp breakfast was 5 pastured eggs with some grassfed ghee alongside 8oz of Grassfed lamb and a 14oz piedmontese grassfed ribeye with a piece of liver. This fueled me through the comp with no issues, and after it was done I celebrated with a full rack of ribs and a side of brisket from my favorite local place. I didnāt feel all that hungry while I ordered the food, but once it got in front of me it vanished and I still felt like I could put away some more, so thatās probably a good sign. Through the competition, I just had about 5 bottles of water with some electrolytes.
Iām gonna do some wavetops of the competition itself. I travel out tomorrow for a business trip, which is sad times away from home but does mean a little bit more time to write.
FIRST EVENT 100lb keg, 150lb axle, 200lb log (max reps on log)
First event was the press medley, and this was what Iāve been training for this whole time. I was an awesome presser at one point, and then it fell apart, as my press strength tends to correlate with my bodyweight, and when I dropped 35lbs, my press plummeted and I effectively āforgotā how to press. My last comp, I totally bombed the event, and I was up against the same guy as last time.
I did zero training for the keg and the axle, because I knew I was strong enough to take care of those on their own: the log was the white whale here. That said, I bobbled the keg a little at the start, but got it under control to one motion it. The axle I may have been able to one motion, but I kept it safe and continentaled it and pressed. I dropped it from overhead, which I felt sheepish about.
Finally getting to the log, I knew 2 reps was the mark to beat, as I was thankfully in the position of going second in these events due to when I signed up. Nice thing was that this log was smaller diameter than what I trained with, although the handles were further apart. This was also my first time wearing my grip shirt for the log clean. In retrospect, the log didnāt feel heavy when I picked it up, and I sunk it in deep and felt the shirt really do an awesome job gripping it on the way up, making the clean effortless, which was the whole goal of my training block. From there, I muscled out a press just like I used to.
This was a clean once and press away event, but the press took so much effort that I dropped the log so I could have time to recover before trying another rep. Iām not sure if that was the 100% right call looking back, and maybe I coulda gotten more reps if I kept control, but things happen. I heard how much time I had left and knew I could get in one more rep if I took my time and set up strong, which is exactly what I did. I muscled out the other press and felt some redemption for all my previous pressing bumbles: the training paid off.
The press put me in a good place psychologically. It had fallen apart so hard leading up to this, and being able to reclaim it was huge for me. Iām feeling like a strongman again.
SECOND EVENT (Car deadlift max reps)
Because we tied, when we went into the car deadlift, I got to go second again. The guy I was competing against is a self-confessed poor deadlifter. He got 2 reps and then pulled out, saying he felt something in his back pop. I only needed 3 reps to win. It was at that point I decided exactly why I had shown up: for me. Not to win, but to have the best competition I was going to have. Because I cared more about the experience of deadlifting vs winning. Iāve never had a chance to pull with a bar in front before on a car deadlift, I have ALWAYS wanted to do that, and thereās no telling if Iāll ever get to do it again. I didnāt want to let the opportunity pass me by. And I got to prove to myself that I still have some pulls in me. I managed 11 reps within the allotted time, with the 12th getting edged out by time.
But the best part was I felt absolutely fine after it was done. Despite giving it my all, I didnāt blow my load on the second event. All the training leading up to this paid off immensely: my recovery was on point, and I could give maximal output in an event without concern for downstream impacts.
Iām also really delighted because I spent the first 9 weeks of the training cycle training āwrongā for this event: I thought it was going to be side handles. When I learned it was front handle, I had to quickly pivot, but it turns out I still have some pulls in me.
THIRD EVENT (200lb keg, sandbag and husafel stone carry 45ā)
This is the one that I was employing daily training on, and I was curious how that was going to work out. Specifically, it was the sandbag pick I wanted to speed up, because I was taking FOREVER to get it done in training initially. In turn, I was ONLY training with a sandbag, as it was the hardest implement for me. I donāt regret that, but do have āregretsā about the event. It was mine to lose. I rushed the keg, and it caught me. āSlow is smooth, smooth is fastā. I didnāt take my time to get set to load the keg, and I lost MORE time recovering it. But I felt awesome on all the pick ups, and that was what I focused on in training. This was the second time in my life carrying a husafel stone: it wasnāt all that awful.
I lost this event by 6 seconds, which, upon reviewing the video, I could have recovered that if I loaded the keg properly at the start. That stings a little.
FOURTH EVENT (20, 25 and 30lb sandbag over 15ā bar)
This didnāt get caught on video, which is for the best, because I zeroed the event. This was supposed to be 3 sandbags thrown over a 15ā bar. I really donāt like these events, but if I donāt start getting decent at them, Iām going to really limit myself in competitions. Technique is what is lacking. And zeroing this event cost me the win, because what should have been a tie between me and the other guy ended up giving him the win, because my zero got me zero points vs 1.
Thankfully, I didnāt realize this at the time, and I went into the fifth event thinking that winning it would have us tie, which created some outstanding pressure to perform.
FIFTH EVENT (240lb stone over 48" bar)
This was another redemption event: I havenāt gotten a rep on a stone event in my past 2 competitions, and blacked out on a few occasions. Iāve ended up glued to the stone due to tacky on a few occasions, and otherwise just didnāt have the strength to get through the event. I had been training hard with my stone of steel and working hard to develop actual technique and strength to get through this. The heaviest I went in training was 205lbs on a stone of steel, but carryover is different, as this concrete stone was smaller in diameter.
The initial pick felt heavy, and I STILL used too much tacky and had to fight it on the first rep, and I got the stone low and had to fight that first rep, but after that I found my groove. The training leading up to this had me feeling comfortable with the stone, and I remembered the techniques I learned. My time with the front squats had me sinking low and bouncing back out, and I learned how to get my chest on the stone with my grip shirt. I got the 4th rep JUST in the nick of time, and watched my competitor manage 2 reps before pulling out, claiming he felt something pop in his back again.
At this point, I was elated for having won the event, thinking I got the tie, but was also elated just to finally get some points on a stones event.
GENERAL TAKEAWAYS
ā¢ I felt like I belonged again. No imposter syndrome. No being out of place. No feeling like a fraud. I saw myself in the mirror in between events and I looked like a strongman. My physique was filled out and thick, not stringy.
ā¢ Cardio, conditioning, and recovery were all top notch. My body feels healthy and strong. And this was after a 10 mile race last week. Tactical Barbell gets my full regards.
ā¢ Nutrition was sound as well. Didnāt need to eat at all during the comp, felt energized and level. No spikes, no crashes. Just had to keep hydration up.
Oh yeah, Maximum Definition Diet recap
A pretty standard breakfast. Ham in the omelets, and I had some of my wifeās leftover baconwrapped shrimp from a girls night out on Friday. That was yummy.
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That feeling of belonging is incredible. Most of the time I donāt feel like I belong. Especially after being token last place again. Thatās gotten better, and it comes and goes depending on the competition.
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Fantastic write up great news here:
Thatās what itās all about at the end of day. Great sense of redemption on the log and stones, amazing performance on the deadlift as well, despite not needing it. Definitely no imposter - that was all classic strongman stuff!
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Late to this game, but excellent job!
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@BEAst_in_I Absolutely dude! After all the health stuff Iāve gone through, I had a bit of an identity crisis with strongman, really just wondering what the hell I was doing anymore. This was a great welcome back for me.
@alex_uk Thanks so much man! Always appreciate your positivity.
@Friedrich Thanks man! Any time you comment is a fine time.
AM WORKOUT (0400 wake up via alarm)
PREP WEEK
MAIN WORK
Buffalo bar squat (low bar)
2x5x275
1x8x275
ALTERNATE w/
Axle strict press
3x5x143
3 chins performed between all sets
20 minute EMOM circuit of chins, dips, ab wheel and pull pull apart
Buffalo Bar Squat
1x20
Rower
90 seconds on max intensity, 60 seconds rest, 90 seconds on max intensity
PM (1620)
1 hour walk
Notes:
-
Itās a travel day today: after that workout, I got in a car and drove for 7 hours into Cheyenne Wyoming, which has an even higher elevation than Denver, so thatās going to be fun for conditioning. But along with that, I wonāt be able to follow anything specific, so Iām using this week to test out some ideas and get some feelers.
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This was my first time squatting with a bar on my back in over 12 weeks, AND it was my first time squatting low bar in probably 2 years. Iāve proven whatever point I had with my high bar squat, and Iāve gotten the benefits: I am sinking these squats stupidly deep now, with much better mobility. I also donāt have the bar quite as low as I used to. Iām going to do my best to blend the two styles into something useful. My right knee feels awesome, which is a sure sign Iām doing something right to it.
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The weight for the squat was just some kentucky windage. I think thatās a good 70% weight for a future training cycle. Went for not-max reps on the final set, but enough to get in a struggle, and then went with 20 reps just to remember how that feels. Iām back to wearing a belt as well, because again: Iāve proven my point.
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This future training block is going to be inspired by the Paul Kelso quote of ābuild a back from the planet Mongoā. Pull volume is going to be high. For this workout in particular, I stole the assistance work from Building the Monolith, as I realized that was easier than coming up with it on my own. I got 40 chins done during the main work, and 60 done during the 20 minute EMOM by doing 3 per round. I got in 140 dips, 100 pull aparts doing 5 per round, and was alternating between 1 and 2 reps on the ab wheel. Will make it a goal to get in more dips total, and get the reps per set on the chins higher. Iām thinking another day with the curls and rows in it per day 2 of BtM makes sense, and even a lot of the stuff from day 3 can work. I also still have that plan to do Crossfit Cindy to prep for Murph on one of the training days. Itās all slotting in pretty nicely.
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That little bit with the rower at the end was a solid gasser. I want to make it that I cap off sessions with some manner of conditioning, even if itās not straight from TBII, and ideally the rower. Really just want to bring my backā¦back.
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I typically get in a 1 hour walk after dinner, but logged it specifically today because of the elevation.
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Iām super proud of the Maximum Definition Diet recap today. Since Iām traveling this week, I didnāt make a weekās worth of food (which, on that note, on Sunday I purchased 3 six pound chuck roasts from Costco because they were $8 off at the register, so Iāll be eating a lot of that upon my return), so I air fried a pound of piedmontese grassfed steak kabobs alongside some leftover Christmas ham (go vacuum sealer) that Iām eating to make space for our Easter ham. This was alongside my usual omelete.
- However, let me tell you the story about dinner. I SPECIFICALLY booked a room that had a ākitchenā, so I could cook. I get into the room today and see a full refrigerator, a dishwasher, a sink, a bunch of silverwareā¦and a microwave. Thatās it. THAT was their idea of ācookingā in a kitchen. This would not fly, so I got to Walmart and purchased a $20 plug in ceramic electric griddle, along with a big t-bone steak, some lamb shoulder chops, some flanken ribs and some eggs. I actually packed some grassfed tallow, because thatās how I roll, and I proceeded to get to yes. And I earned that victory steak.
- While Iām posting photos, my wife took a great one of our Costco shopping cart, featuring my 3 chuck roasts, 3 packages of frozen 3 cheese omelets, a package of Costco bacon, 3 cartons of egg whites, and all beef kosher salami. Winning.
- Oh yeah, I ended up weighing myself this morning, despite telling myself I wouldnāt. 82.4kg, and considering this is post family meal carb up AND all that food I ate for my competition, thatās absolutely nuts. Iām looking stupidly lean at this weight.
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Late to the party mate, but awesome write up, result and more importantly effort on the day. Loved watching that deadlift and the stone. The handle position on that log looked awful but hey that is strongman. Well done Pwn, love ya work mate.
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@simo74 Very much appreciated dude! This wasnāt the worst log Iāve ever used, but it wasnāt the best either, haha. The Rogue 10" is still one of the worst out there.
AM WORKOUT (0335 natural wake up, snoozed until 0345)
PREP WEEK
āINDOOR POWER INTERVALSā
2 min max effort on peleton
3 min rest
5 rounds total
20 chins
PM (1440)
6 chins
1 hour walk
6 chins
Notes:
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Hotel fitness center has a peleton bike, so I decided to give it a spin (puns!). With the elevation change, this was a total lungbreaker AND a leg breaker. Never realized how much intense cycling can blow up the quads. Tried to meet the stated intent of the workout of getting 80-90% max effort for the full 2 minutes, but was definitely petering out in the later rounds. In truth, I should have rested longer than 3 minutes, but I have a tight timeline during this trip. I can see this working well with my rower.
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Making an effort to get back to some daily chins, and greater chin volume in general as part of āPlanet Mongoā. There is a chinning bar in the hotel fitness center, so Iām making the most of it. I forgot to log yesterday that I was using all manner of grips during yesterdayās workout, and intend to continue that practice.
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May actually get in another walk today. Itās just something I like doing with my downtime.
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I notice I tend to get/stay more sore when Iām in higher elevation. Wonder if there is something to that.
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Been plotting out my next training plan. Iām honestly leaning back toward Operator rather than Zulu: Iāll map out some thoughts in a bit.
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Maximum Definition Diet hotel edition recap
Breakfast was 6 eggs (4 pastured, 2 pedestrian) alongside 4 lamb shoulder chops (slightly over a pound). All cooked in grassfed beef tallow, with some tallow on the chops to help it fry as well.
Dinner was the same composition of eggs (Iām getting better at plating them), with an eyeballed pound of beef flanken ribs. THOSE turned out incredible on the griddle. Coated them with some tallow and salt and ate them with my hands: like proper ribs. The lamb shoulder chops were cool as well though, because inside the bone there was some delicious bone marrow. This has been a great experiment.
While Iāve got your eyes with my delicious meat (phrasing), my thoughts going forward for training.
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The primary reason I was entertaining Zulu was because the 2 movement clusters for 3 sets each were going to allow me more time for conditioning and assistance work, specifically to bring up my back, but I realized that I can absolutely do that with Operator and still be totally within the rules of the programming. Meanwhile, I was going to run Zulu weirdly by trying to fit in SSB squats with barbell squats and some deadlifts, and though Zulu would have meant having an opportunity to do some heavy horizontal pressingā¦I donāt really care about that. Bringing my press back is still a priority, and if I can keep doing that with Operator, thatās awesome: Iāll do lighter horizontal pressing with conditioning and assistance.
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Along with this: I STILL prefer lifting 3x a week vs 4, so thatās just a win.
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Cluster is going to be low bar Buffalo Bar squat and axle strict press from the rack. Three sets per workout: bare minimums. This will allow more time after the workout for assistance and conditioning. And on the middle day, Iāll do mat pulls, using a ROM progression cycle. The first cycle will be a 7 week long one, just because of my schedule, but after that, 6 week ROM progression cycles that align exactly with the 6 week cycles of Tactical Barbell.
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On Day A, Iāll keep my 20 minute EMOM circuit made up of the Building the Monolith day A assistance work: chins, dips, pull aparts, and Iāll include ab wheel/HLR as well. Iāll get 100 chins, and work my way to 200 dips. Whatever time I have left over will be spent on the rower.
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Day B will be a busier day by having Squat, press and mat pulls. I donāt want to restrict myself to a timed pattern, so Iāll have a list of assistance work I want to hit. Abs and core are non-negotiable, and Iām also considering including the BtM Day B assistance of 100 curls and 5x10-20 DB rows, since itās been easy to map BtM assistance onto this plan. From there, if I have room for lateral raises and pull aparts, theyāll make it in there. Another possible COA is to bring back the ultimate shoulder workout from my little book of bad ideas.
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Day C will be the primary cluster, then Crossfitās āCindyā WOD for assistance/conditioning, as this will prep me for Murph. 20 rounds of 5 chins, 10 push ups and 15 squats, as fast as possible. Once Iām content with the speed, Iāll wear a weighted vest. Iāll still get in some ab work and pull aparts. And, again, if I have the space for it, the rower.
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On Days A and B, Iāll also include chins between sets of the main work, to up volume. For day C, Iāll be getting in 100: thatās enough.
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In between days A and B will be HIC, and most likely something rower based. Iāll either steal it directly from TBII or something from Wodwell.
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Between B and C will be a ruck.
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I honestly like the work Iāve done with the stones, and currently want to keep doing that on Saturdays. Be good to keep the skill there, and Iām sure it will contribute to a back from planet Mongo. Sundays will just be days with activity, most likely lawn mowing.
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Daily, I will get in some manner of chins, and I think I want to keep those sandbag carries in as well. I also should work throws, to include first improving technique and then actually drilling it on the daily. And, of course, walks will be happening daily as well.
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This is a lot of thoughts for something thatās ultimately only going to get run for 1 cycle, BUT, once I return from my cruise and get back to Mass Protocol, this can definitely be the āOā in the āOMSā protocol of Operator-Mass-Specialization.
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I have hiked in the Andes on 2 different trips, hiked Kilimanjaro and some more high altitude trip. And yes! I tend to get more sore too. Recovery tend to be slower and also you burn more calories just by being higher altitude. RHR can be higher too depending on altitude. I have seen those symptoms start somewhere around 2000 meters (6500 feet).
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Sounds familiar.
I did LB for some years and trained it to +500lbs. It caused havoc on my joints. After I stopped PL for a while and did bunch of āathleticā and āconditioningā stuff I moved to HB. Felt better overall, but the movement was somewhat awkward for me.
These days I use some kind of semi-highbar semi-lowbar mix, and I feel it has the best of the both worlds for me.
PS. Gongrats about successful competition!
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@Hugo_Fillion Thatās a fair observation there. I actually have noticed my RHR up a point or 2 on my Garmin. 6500 feet is pretty close to the elevation here: 6086 according to google.
@SepCalla Thanks dude! Whatās funny is, low bar was VERY gentle to my joints. It was my experiment with high bar that was grinding my knee to dust, but I was doing high bar with a VERY narrow stance, and it was after having already torn the meniscus in that knee. Hearing Matt Wenning discuss the squat, he seems to be a fan of a vertical shin low bar squat to spare the knees as well.
PREP WEEK
AM WORKOUT (0335 natural wake up)
āCROSSFIT CINDY WODā
20 rounds of
- 5 chins
- 10 push ups
- 15 squats
Time: 21:28
Lateral raise dropset (35x10, 25x5, 25x2.5, 25xEmpty Hands)
Band pull apart/cable curl superset
4x20/3x15x25
PM WORKOUT (1330)
Barbell low bar squat
3x5x315
Barbell strict press/HLR superset
3x5x145/3x10
Barbell low bar squat
10x275
Cable row dropset
20x100, 8x85, 8x70, 8x55, 12x40
1 hour+ walk
Notes:
-
The early hours for this trip are forcing early wake ups and shorter morning workouts. Basically split up a workout as a proof of concept.
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Cindy was moving well at almost EMOM pace, but it started to fall off at the chins. I got through the first 10 rounds without an issue, but around round 12 or so I had to break between reps 4 and 5, and toward the end 3 and 4. Push ups got a little sluggish around round 15 or 16. Given the elevation change, Iām more than pleased with this as a baseline.
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Rest of that workout was some general assistance work that I want to include. Using cables because I donāt have them at home. Got in a good pump.
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PM workout was the heavy work, as I had access to a gym where Iām working. It was a Crossfit style gym, and I forgot that Crossfitters are allergic to center knurling on a bar, so I wasnāt willing to push the squat too terribly hard. But the 3x5 at 315 was plenty heavy: I think thatās going to be a good 80% 1rm weight. Still focusing on bringing that form back. Itās a bit Layne Norton/Steve Goggins with how I low bar, but it means the depth is pretty awesome. My knee continues to feel great through this process. And considering I did 300 bodyweight squats in the morning before this, itās a good sign.
-
Barbell press honestly felt awful: the axle is just a great implement. But I was able to move it well enough.
-
Went with the cables for the rows because, again: I donāt have them at home.
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Maximum Definition Diet recap
Breakfast was 6 pastured eggs, .75lbs of lamb shoulder chops, and a flanken rib, all cooked in grassfed beef tallow.
Dinner was 9 pastured eggs, and an estimated pound of flanken ribs, all cooked in grassfed beef tallow. Iām eating 9 eggs for my next 2 meals because Iām leaving from my trip a day early due to weather, so Iām getting through all my meals. This, unfortunately, means my plans to get to In n Out burger have gone askew, but having to eat extra eggs is definitely throwing me into the briar patch.
Iām constantly reflecting on my dog with kibble analogy here. I genuinely love eating this way. Iām eating meals Iāve cooked in a hotel room on a $20 electric griddle and am so excited with every bite of it. Breakfast is worth getting up early and training for.
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AM WORKOUT (0344 natural wake up)
PREP WEEK
āOXYGEN DEBT 101ā modified on Peleton
25 second bike sprint
30 second rest
Repeat 3x
Rest 3 min
4 rounds total
20 chins
Notes:
-
Final hotel workout. Still want to use the equipment I have access to. I looked up average 200m sprint times for Masters sprinters (my age category) and found them to be between 24 and 26 seconds, so settled on 25 to meet the intent of the exercise. It definitely worked; legs and lungs were broken.
-
Still getting in those daily chins.
-
Going to try to beat the weather out of here. Will either get home today or stay with my inlaws and travel tomorrow.
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Maximum Definition Diet recap
Took an action shot of breakfast
9 pastured eggs and an estimated 1lb of flanken ribs
I made it home for dinner
āThe omeleteā with a 10oz grassfed piedmontese New York Strip and a can of sardines
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AM WORKOUT (0525 Wake up via Valkryieās alarm)
PREP WEEK
Buffalo bar low bar squat
3x5x275
Alternate w/
Axle strict press from rack
3x5x143+1 push press rep per set
ASSISTANCE CIRCUIT
5 rounds of
5 standing ab wheel
3 chins
20 pull aparts
CONDITIONING
3 rounds of 1 min on/1 min off on rower
Notes:
-
Actually did something smart: felt that all too familiar ache in my left hamstring and decided to shut down the heavy work after the 3 sets of squats. Original plan was to take 225 for a max rep ride at the end, but realized this was prep week, and it would do me no good to get hurt before the real training starts. I imagine this pain is a result of the 300 squats, which lets me know putting Cindy on Fridays is the right call: more time to heal.
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Outside of the ache, squats felt strong and natural. As I get back into squat shape things should really come along.
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Brought back that push press at the end of the set idea. I think that will have value going forward.
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I did sets of 5 chins between my warm ups and after my work sets, getting 65 total before that assistance circuit, for 80 total in the workout. Chins are already starting to feel easier. Be good to recapture that.
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That little bit of rower work at the end was an excellent use of 5 minutes. On the third round I could feel myself peter out. This also felt restorative on my hamstring.
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