I do this too, found it really helped me off the floor too.
I am definitely excited to keep experimenting with this technique. Each of the five sets felt smoother than my normal deadlift off of the floor. How long did it take you to develop your technique to be comfortable with it going heavier, say 90%+?
Good stuff, that sounds promising!
It was a little while ago that I made the switch, but from what I remember after a meet i started a 12 week program with the new technique and by the end of it was lifting above my previous pr. I didnt go above 90% until the last 1-2 weeks of the program so had a good amount of time to get used to it.
Just catching up on your log. Awesome work you’re putting in, looking forward to hearing how you do at WSM!
This was/is my biggest cue for my deadlift finally starting to ‘click’ and feel right.
I hear this a lot when listening to strongmen discuss fellow competitors. It really does show the class of competition.
Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say good luck and I’m rootin’ for ya!
Thank you! I appreciate the encouragement.
6 December
Warm up - kind of skipped warming up due to time constraints…not a good excuse, but I decided to do the aerobic work first anyway…so the first few minutes were kind of a warm up anyway.
Aerobic work - Ran for 30 minutes on a flat, indoor track. Maybe an 8:45-9min pace. Very easy, maintainable pace.
Planks - 3x60 sec
Vertical jumps, no arm swing - 5x3
7 December
Warm up - wall slides for the shoulders, agility drills to warm up the legs and hips for about 6-8 minutes.
Log Press - worked up to 250 for 8x2 with no belt. I kept the rest times to around 3 min to make the work a little more challenging. I was kind of surprised at how much I rely on a belt to overhead press. The belt definitely makes stabilizing the weight overhead MUCH easier. I will definitely be taking a break from the belt for a few months after WSM U90kg to rebuild the core strength.
Strict Log Press - 195 for 3x6, no belt. These were much harder than they should have been. I am not a great strict presser by any means, but these were tough on reps 5 and 6 of each set. I will be ready to attack my strict pressing in the off season after this eye opening performance.
Stone over Bar - worked up to 275 with the stone of steel over a 55" bar. I used a gorilla grip rag for these. Stones felt good today, but I stuck with the taper plan.
Today was my last 80% session. I will go down to 60-70% on Saturday for some light front squats and easy truck pulls. My body is recovering well from the last 4-5 weeks of heavy training. Tapering is kind of an art and it can be very individual. Some people prefer to keep intensity the same and drop volume (actually very popular with drug free powerlifting at the moment), even going as far as hitting 85-90% on the Monday or Tuesday prior to competing on Saturday. I think that approach is absolutely nuts…but the results some of the USAPL lifters are having in meets kind of makes me wonder. I am in the “lower intensity, maintain or slightly drop volume” camp. Strongman is such a technical sport that maintaining some volume during the taper keeps skill and technique on the events peaked going into a contest. I have always felt more recovered from dropping 10-20% of my normal training intensity, and maintaining similar volume, than I have by keeping intensity high and dropping volume. During my taper week, I will front load the lifts and events that traditionally take a little longer to recover from (deadlifts, Yoke walk, heavier grip events etc) and do the events that are a little easier to recover from later in the week (most pressing variations, lighter loading, lighter medley work etc). Larger/very strong individuals seem to do better with a two week taper and a one week reload week before big contests. I have been successful with a one week taper and one week reload so far, so I am sticking to that plan for this contest. Next week, I will basically only do a light body builder type session on Monday for a few of the major muscle groups involved in Strongman, some sort of Aerobic work on Tuesday, then shut it down until the contest.
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8 December
Warm up - walked 7-8 minutes on an incline treadmill.
Aerobic work - 30 minutes on a stair stepper. Avg HR of 145.
Planks - 3x60 sec
Box jumps - 6x3 to a 36” box.
9 December
Warm up - agility work and shoulder mobility for 8 minutes.
SSB Squat - worked up to 400 2x5, and 420 3x5
OHPG 2 Board Press - 315 4x5, and 305x5
Leg press, paused at the bottom - 3x10, 1x8
Lat pull downs - 5x10
Barbell Shrugs - 1x15, 2x12, 1x10
11 December
Warm up - none
Seated DB Press - 65s for 4x12
Lateral raises - 5x12
Hammer strength iso Row - 5x10 w/ a pause at the top
Lying leg curls - 5x10
Incline DB Bench - 90s for 4x10
These last two sessions were kind of a mix of tapering and playing around with some movements I want to use this coming off season. My body feels great and my mind is definitely excited for the contest this weekend. The higher rep sets were definitely a nice break from all the heavy event work. Last cardio session is tomorrow and then there is just a water cut and weigh ins before the show. 
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WSM U90kg
Day 1 events
Log Press, last man standing - hit 225, 245, 265, 285, 305, and missed 325. 
(This ended up coming back to haunt me.) 7 way tie for 3rd Place.
Yoke - 800 yoke for 50ft in 13.something. Not sure
where this put me.
Car DL - 12 reps to tie for 2nd.
Carry medley - 41 seconds to take 2nd Place.
Day 2 events
Truck pull - 27 seconds for 1st Place.
Stones - I was the only 90kg guy to load all six stones for 1st Place.
Overall I ended up second to Rob Ward from the UK by 1.5 points. I lost the most points on the log and the yoke, which happened to be Rob’s highest placing events! Haha. To prove how much consistency across all events makes a difference in a major contest…I beat Rob in 4/6 events…and he still beat me in points because he was always in the top 2 or 3 in each event.
I took the entire week off and ate like a psychopath, having a 2000+ kcal cheat meal each day. I decided to follow the Hadge Brothers’ technique of resting the week after a contest and going for a max on one lift the following Saturday or Sunday before starting offseason training. I wanted to Deadlift, but during warm ups I just felt off…so I opted to do strict log press instead. I worked up to a single at 285 for a 30 or 35lb PR (I can’t remember if I hit 250 or 255 before 
). This PR was a huge emotional win for me. My overhead press put me in second at Static Monsters and it ultimately cost me the points I would’ve needed to win against Rob at WSM U90kg. I am realizing through talking with Andrew Triana that I have some bad mental habits regarding my overhead Press. I plan on using this offseason to build a bigger base and reinforce good mental habits to push my overhead into the 300s, where it needs to be.
Thanks for following along the last few weeks! The support and encouragement has helped get me back to competing at the level I wanted.
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Wow really impressive achievement! Especially on the stones. Congratulations on your huge accomplishment.
Merry Christmas and all the best going forward for your offseason.
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Merry xmas 
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25 December
Warm up - push ups 2x15, incline bench 135 2x8
Incline bench - 205x12, 205x12, 215x8, and 185x10
Wide grip bench - 225x10, 225x10, 225x8, and 225x8
Dips - BW x14, 14, 12
Skull crushers - 85 x12, 10, 10, 10
Lateral raise/alt front raise - 3x12/12 w/25s
This session smoked me. I am definitely not used to resting 2-3 minutes between higher rep sets. The pump and lactic acid came on quick! To be honest, this was a nice change of pace and getting finished with training in a little over an hour was a nice bonus.
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26 December
Warm up - 90/90 hip lift for 4x12 breaths and a few touch and go deadlifts with 225
RDL - 365x11, 365x10, 385x8, and 385x8. Last set felt a little achy on my hips for some reason, but the first three felt great.
Shrugs - 315 3x15
Pendlay rows - 185x12, 185 3x10
Fat bar Pull ups - 4x8 (I had to use a small band to get the reps in on these because my back and biceps were so pumped I could barely get 2-3 pull ups. I’ll start with pull ups next week and hit RDLs second.)
I’ve been looking forward to offseason work for a few weeks now…half way through RDLs the pump in my erectors and glutes got so bad I could barely stand up straight, so as much as I was looking forward to this I am definitely not in shape for 2-3 min rest between 10+ rep sets.
28 December
Warm up - seated military press 95 2x10, 135x6
Seated military press - 135x14, 145x12, 145x11, and 155x9
Standing one arm DB press - 45 2x10, 2x12
CGB - 185x12, 205 2x10
Barbell curl - 75 4x10
Alt front raise/lateral raise - 12 ea, 1 min rest b/w ea, 3 total sets
Upright row - 95 3x12
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29 December
Warm up - 10 minutes of agilities and shoulder mobility work
Aerobic work - 10 min on the assault bike (5.7km), 10 min on the ski erg (2k), and 10 min on the elliptical (150 HR avg). Kinda of just wanted to mix it up today and have some fun with the aerobic work. Turns out this ended up being way more fun than doing any one variation for a full 30 min.
Core work - 4x60 sec planks off of a box. Two sets anterior and two sets posterior.
Stretched the hips, hamstrings, and calves for 10 minutes.
30 December
Warm up - agilities and a bunch of extra sets of squats on the way up to working sets
Squats, high bar w/ wider stance - 335 4x12
Good mornings - 155x8, 175 2x8
Reverse lunges - 145 3x10 ea leg
Reverse Hypers - 3x12
Leg press w/ Deadlift stance - 760 1x10, 3x8
My focus for lower body training this off season block is rebuilding and strengthening the hinge motor pattern, while my focus for upper body training is pure volume to add size to my delts and upper back. The Deadlift and the overhead Press need a bigger base if you want them to keep improving from year to year.
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1 January
Warm up - just a few light sets with 95 on military press x 10
Seated military press - 145x12, 155x12, 165x10, and 165x9
CGB - 225 2x10, 1x9
Standing OADB Press - 50 4x10 ea arm
Skull crushers - 95 4x10
DB Lateral raise/BB front raise/DB rear fly - 3x15 ea with 1 min between sets. Great deltoid finisher. 
2 January
Warm up - some banded hip stuff and lunges between sets of pull ups
Fat Bar Pull ups - 4x8
RDL - worked up to 385 for 4x8. These felt smoother this week, but I still kept them around the same weight. I want to keep reinforcing the correct motor pattern before I start worrying about progressive overload.
Barbell Rows - 225 4x12. I did these more like a body builder style row, but not quite as short of a ROM as a Yates Row. Kind of an in between.
Shrugs - 365 for 4x12
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3 January
Warm up - agilities for about 6-8 minutes
Shoulder Ext rotation on a cable machine - 3x15 ea
Reverse hyper ext - 90 3x12-15
Aerobic work - 30 minutes total, jumping from a few cardio machines to keep things interesting. Avg HR was between 140-155.
GHR planks - 3x60 sec
4 January
Warm up - incline bench 95 3x10, 135x10
Incline Bench - 205 2x12, 1x11, and 225x9
DB flat bench - 90s 4x10
Dips - 2x15, 1x14, and 1x12
EZ bar curls - 70 4x12
Three way shoulder complex - 3x15, 60 sec b/w movements
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Legs (6 Jan)
Squat (low bar w/ oly shoes, no belt) - 365x10, 385x10, 405 2x10
Leg Press - 4x8
Good mornings - 185 4x8
Lunges - 135 3x10 ea
Barbell Hip Ext - 245 3x10 w/ a 2ct pause at the top
Shoulders (8 Jan)
Seated military Press - 165x8, 175 4x8
American Bar CGB - 218x9, 2x8, and 1x7
Standing One arm DB Press - 45 4x12 ea arm
Lateral Raise/Rear Delt Raise - 4x10-12 ea
Tricep Pushdowns - 5x10-12
Back (9 Jan)
Barbell Row - 225x10, 245 3x10
Deadlift - 405 3x12 (ridiculous lower back and glute pump…had to take a few minutes to come back down to earth to do pull downs)
Close Grip Pull downs - 6x10-12
DB Shrugs - 150s 4x15
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I’ve missed logging a few workouts last week, but rest assured…I only did boring old body building stuff. This is going to be the first week involving any specific work toward overhead pressing/deadlifting, but it’s still just technique and speed focused.
Warm up - rdl 2x12, military press 2x12 w/ an empty bar, and five or six warm up sets on split jerk
Split jerk - 225x3, 235 4x3
Push press - 235 3x6
Seated military - 145x12, 4x10
Foam Roller bench - 275 4x8
DB Skull crushers - 35s 2x10, 2x8
16 January
Warm up - about 6 min of agilities
Aerobic work - stair stepper for 30 min, avg HR was 147.
Mobility work - 45 min doing the DeFranco Limber 11.
17 January
Warm up - foam rolled the hips and legs for 6-7 minutes and took a few extra warm up sets of deads after 315.
Deadlift - worked up to 520x3 at a 9 RPE.
Speed deads - 385 for 8x3 w/ 90 sec rest.
2” Deficit deads - 415 2x5
Lat pull downs - 3x10 regular grip, 3x10 close grip
Pendlay Row - 205 4x10
GHR - 4x5 with a pause at parallel
Not mad at this starting point considering it was my first time pulling kind of heavy since before WSM U90kg. The mobility work on Tuesday helped a ton and I was able to start the pull from a comfortable starting position, which eliminated any hip pain while pulling. I’ll keep that in the rotation for sure.
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