Nice job on the 315 bench.
I took a look at a couple of your older videos on youtube, and you’ve come quite a ways in a couple years. Well done.
I’m going to do Starting Strength. I started last night. Soon I will have strength.
So I have a buddy who fucked around with crossfit for a minute, and has an interest in lifting weights without having to do burpees all the goddamn time. He’s like 6’2, 150 lbs. So it’s not tough to see why crossfit wasn’t getting him where he wanted to be. A friend of ours suggested Starting Strength. Well, my lanky buddy joined my gym last week, so I’ll have the pleasure of working this program with him. I’ve actually never done Starting Strength, but I read about it, and it looked good. And there’s no reason it shouldn’t work just fine for me too. Lifting is lifting.
last night we did the ‘B’ day in the rotation. He did his 3x5 squats at 115, I used 325. We then did OHP. He used 75, I used 175. Power cleans were 85 for him, 175 for me. Neither of us missed any reps. Did some pullups at the end.
I won’t be able to progress linearly on OHP. Ain’t gonna happen. I think there’s a reasonable chance I can progress linearly on squats for a few weeks though, since I worked entirely without a belt last night. The addition of a belt should be sufficient to keep me numbers increasing for a bit. Not sure about the cleans.
MORE STARTING STRENGTH
Squat: 335, 3x5
BP: 275 3x5… only did 4 reps on the last set. 5 was there, but I felt like it might strain me unnecessarily. No reason to do that right now.
Deadlift: 415 1x5 easy. killing the deadlift right now.
Chris:
Squat: 105 3x5. This is actually the weight he did last time, I logged it wrong. Will increase the weight next session.
BP: 95 3x5
Deadlift: 115 1x5. He’s scared as shit about deadlifts, although I think this set helped his confidence. I had suggested that he pull 135, as I know he has this in him. He wouldn’t try it, instead opting for 115, which was way too easy. We’ll get there.
Got to try the log press today. I did a few singles at 170, and a couple at 180. I missed my second single at 170, but didn’t miss any reps after that. The press will definitely be the limiting factor. I was able to clean 180 with zero issue, it came pretty naturally to me. Based on my practice session today, I will either open with 170 or 180, depending on how fresh I feel. I did some tire flips in between reps so that I’d be working in at least something of a fatigued state, but depending on where this event falls in the day, I may be significantly more tired.
Strong bench man. One of my current goals is to get back to 3 plates at sub 180. How are you manipulating intensity on starting strength? I’ve seen a couple of different layouts fir “seasoned” lifters.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Strong bench man. One of my current goals is to get back to 3 plates at sub 180. How are you manipulating intensity on starting strength? I’ve seen a couple of different layouts fir “seasoned” lifters.[/quote]
315 at sub 180 would be pretty strong. I’m just over 180, and I feel like I need just about every pound of bodyweight I have for that, lol.
At this point, not really manipulating the SS program at all. 3 heavy sets of 5, on 3 major compound movements a day, is not particularly easy. I’ve been squatting once a week for awhile, so squatting 2-3 times per week is a challenge in itself. I haven’t even incorporated any additional assistance work to this point. Gym sessions are taking a long time right now, as my friend who I’m working with is still learning the movements, and I’m spending a lot of time coaching him, watching every set, monitoring his intensity, etc.
I’ve also got my competition this Saturday, so this week’s work will be scaled back a bit. Which brings me to last night’s session:
squats: This was a complete diversion from the program. I did a set of 30 at 135, a set of 20 at 185, and a single with 275 for something like a 10 second pause at the bottom, just for the sake of feeling something a bit heavier on my back.
OHP: a few sets at 135 for 5. I log pressed on Sunday night, so no need to push this hard.
Cleans: nope. no need. Did pull ups instead.
I also did some pull up bar jumps… I guess that’s what they’re called. Saw someone else doing these, looked like fun. Pull-up bar jumps.m4v - YouTube Not me in the video, but this is what I was doing.
Chris:
Squats: 110, 110, 115
OHP: 65
Cleans: 1 set at 95, the other 2 at 85
a few pull ups
he also did a couple bar jumps.
So this week is all about weight loss. 3 days ago I weighed in at 185, yesterday was 184, this morning was 182.3. I feel like I’m now reasonably close to the 175 mark I need to hit (next class up is 175-235).
I know everyone says that you shouldn’t cut weight unless you’re trying to set world records or whatever, but in this case, I think it’s warranted because A) I’m so close to the desired weight class, B) the weight classes are ginormous, C) since this is strongman, the implements change from weight class to weight class, so it’s not like powerlifting in that sense, D) I think I have a reasonable chance of winning my weight class, based on what I’ve seen. Obviously it depends on who shows up.
What I’m doing: As of Monday I took out grains and dairy (aside from whey, although I’m using this sparingly). Just lean meat and veggies. Which is actually pretty easy because my wife is reallllly good with the cooking. As in truly exceptional, chef quality. I’m limiting calories as well, just trying to get by with eating enough to keep me from feeling shitty. 20g pepto pro in the morning yesterday and today, meat and veggies at lunch, and 40g whey in the afternoon. dinner at night.
Drinking as much water as I can right now. Tomorrow’s food will be the same as today, but I will be eating dinner early (right about 5). Fasting starts at that point, as I weigh in between 5 and 8pm Friday. Cutting out water around 9 or 10 pm Thursday night.
No workouts this week, aside from the one I already did. I see no value in getting in 1 or 2 more lifting sessions. I’m walking every night, about an hour per night.
Friday I’ll have to make decisions based on where my weight is. If I’m a few pounds heavy, I’ll take off work around noon and do the hot bath thing a couple times, and hopefully that will be sufficient. I’ll also wear sweats/hoodie to work to try to naturally sweat off some weight. None of that trashbag running bullshit. At this point, I’m looking at 6-7 lbs for Friday cut, which doesn’t seem particularly daunting. If I weigh myself Friday morning and I’m 8 lbs away, I’ll abandon the cut.
Re-fuel: Chug Gatorade after weigh-in, and eat a big sushi dinner about an hour after. If I have an appetite, I’ll eat something around 10pm Friday night before bed. Big breakfast Saturday morning, and I’ll be at the competition by 9am, hopefully weighing 185-190.
Update:
morning weight was just over 182 this morning, as it was yesterday, so I believe I can expect it to be just under when I wake up tomorrow. #CANTWAIT
Good luck with cutting water, hitting the weight class, rehydrating and (obviously) the competition itself.
Is this the first strongman competition you’ve done?
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Strong bench man. One of my current goals is to get back to 3 plates at sub 180. How are you manipulating intensity on starting strength? I’ve seen a couple of different layouts fir “seasoned” lifters.[/quote]
315 at sub 180 would be pretty strong. I’m just over 180, and I feel like I need just about every pound of bodyweight I have for that, lol.
At this point, not really manipulating the SS program at all. 3 heavy sets of 5, on 3 major compound movements a day, is not particularly easy. I’ve been squatting once a week for awhile, so squatting 2-3 times per week is a challenge in itself. I haven’t even incorporated any additional assistance work to this point. Gym sessions are taking a long time right now, as my friend who I’m working with is still learning the movements, and I’m spending a lot of time coaching him, watching every set, monitoring his intensity, etc.
I’ve also got my competition this Saturday, so this week’s work will be scaled back a bit. Which brings me to last night’s session:
squats: This was a complete diversion from the program. I did a set of 30 at 135, a set of 20 at 185, and a single with 275 for something like a 10 second pause at the bottom, just for the sake of feeling something a bit heavier on my back.
OHP: a few sets at 135 for 5. I log pressed on Sunday night, so no need to push this hard.
Cleans: nope. no need. Did pull ups instead.
I also did some pull up bar jumps… I guess that’s what they’re called. Saw someone else doing these, looked like fun. Pull-up bar jumps.m4v - YouTube Not me in the video, but this is what I was doing.
Chris:
Squats: 110, 110, 115
OHP: 65
Cleans: 1 set at 95, the other 2 at 85
a few pull ups
he also did a couple bar jumps.[/quote]
Flip, at the level you are at, running something like the Texas Method would have you doing all the same stuff as your buddy but just with different set/rep schemes and intensities. Just an idea. Justin Lascek has a good book on the implementation of it. Also, don’t know how much you have read, so if I am telling you something you already know then I apologize but the next step in starting strength, when the squat starts getting really hard, is to alternate Deads/Cleans on your A day and Chins/Pulls w/Back Extensions on your B day. Just some ideas. At your level I could see SS beating you up pretty good.
Lorez: thanks! This is indeed my first strongman comp, and also the first time for me to cut weight for anything. I’m very much enjoying it. It’s daunting to think about what my competition might be like, but that’s part of the fun as well. Competing against others who have put in tons of hours into this stuff, and potentially beating them. I like it. I’ve been lifting for 10 years, and now it’s time to show that I’m something beyond a gym rat.
JB, I know nothing about the Texas method (even though I live in Texas, and a gym called Texas Gym is 5 minutes from my house, lol), but I’m reading about it as we speak. Yea, SS would be tough to run strictly I think. That being said, I rarely run any program strictly for very long. I get bored and play around with rep ranges, even if I’m using the same basic exercises.
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
Lorez: thanks! This is indeed my first strongman comp, and also the first time for me to cut weight for anything. I’m very much enjoying it. It’s daunting to think about what my competition might be like, but that’s part of the fun as well. Competing against others who have put in tons of hours into this stuff, and potentially beating them. I like it. I’ve been lifting for 10 years, and now it’s time to show that I’m something beyond a gym rat.
JB, I know nothing about the Texas method (even though I live in Texas, and a gym called Texas Gym is 5 minutes from my house, lol), but I’m reading about it as we speak. Yea, SS would be tough to run strictly I think. That being said, I rarely run any program strictly for very long. I get bored and play around with rep ranges, even if I’m using the same basic exercises.[/quote]
The book I mentioned was almost a must read if you were going to run the TM. It does a much better job than Practical Programming or any of the other sources that I have found that explains it. Also, Chad Wesley Smith from Juggernaut has a program called the Cowboy Method that uses higher rep ranges, similar to Lascek’s 10’s swollertrophy version from the book. All these and the Texas Method part 2 by Lascek can be picked up on Scribd.
Well, today’s the weigh in day. Some notes from yesterday:
I had my last full meal at 5. Salmon and potatoes. Potatoes were probably not ideal, but it’s what my wife made, and they were delicious. And I didn’t have too much. After that, I went up to the gym and spent a little time in the wet sauna. That dropped me like a pound and a half, although I know that’s transient. Sipped water throughout the evening, and had a handful of hazelnuts before bed.
Woke up this morning at 179, post urination, pre bowel movement. Very much on schedule! Sipped a little water, and then had a Metabolic Drive bar this morning (fun fact: Metabolic Drive bar weighs 2.2 ounces.) Skipped brain candy for the first time in awhile. So at this point, I’ve got 4 to 4 1/2 lbs to drop, and a little over 12 hours if needed, less than 10 if I don’t. Feeling good. Hungry, but good.
Hope the competition goes well. Where is it at anyway?
It’s at Destination Dallas, in Plano (formerly Metroflex). There’s a PL meet going on at the same time at the gym.
[quote]jbpick86 wrote:
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
Lorez: thanks! This is indeed my first strongman comp, and also the first time for me to cut weight for anything. I’m very much enjoying it. It’s daunting to think about what my competition might be like, but that’s part of the fun as well. Competing against others who have put in tons of hours into this stuff, and potentially beating them. I like it. I’ve been lifting for 10 years, and now it’s time to show that I’m something beyond a gym rat.
JB, I know nothing about the Texas method (even though I live in Texas, and a gym called Texas Gym is 5 minutes from my house, lol), but I’m reading about it as we speak. Yea, SS would be tough to run strictly I think. That being said, I rarely run any program strictly for very long. I get bored and play around with rep ranges, even if I’m using the same basic exercises.[/quote]
The book I mentioned was almost a must read if you were going to run the TM. It does a much better job than Practical Programming or any of the other sources that I have found that explains it. Also, Chad Wesley Smith from Juggernaut has a program called the Cowboy Method that uses higher rep ranges, similar to Lascek’s 10’s swollertrophy version from the book. All these and the Texas Method part 2 by Lascek can be picked up on Scribd. [/quote]
That’s why I asked how Flip was manipulating intensity. The two ways I’ve seen it set up for experienced lifters is heavy/light/medium like the Texas method or starting SUPER light (like 60% of top weights) and adding each workout 'til you can’t. I imagine trying to progress the same lifts each workout when you’re already pretty far along would grind you up pretty quickly.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
[quote]jbpick86 wrote:
[quote]flipcollar wrote:
Lorez: thanks! This is indeed my first strongman comp, and also the first time for me to cut weight for anything. I’m very much enjoying it. It’s daunting to think about what my competition might be like, but that’s part of the fun as well. Competing against others who have put in tons of hours into this stuff, and potentially beating them. I like it. I’ve been lifting for 10 years, and now it’s time to show that I’m something beyond a gym rat.
JB, I know nothing about the Texas method (even though I live in Texas, and a gym called Texas Gym is 5 minutes from my house, lol), but I’m reading about it as we speak. Yea, SS would be tough to run strictly I think. That being said, I rarely run any program strictly for very long. I get bored and play around with rep ranges, even if I’m using the same basic exercises.[/quote]
The book I mentioned was almost a must read if you were going to run the TM. It does a much better job than Practical Programming or any of the other sources that I have found that explains it. Also, Chad Wesley Smith from Juggernaut has a program called the Cowboy Method that uses higher rep ranges, similar to Lascek’s 10’s swollertrophy version from the book. All these and the Texas Method part 2 by Lascek can be picked up on Scribd. [/quote]
That’s why I asked how Flip was manipulating intensity. The two ways I’ve seen it set up for experienced lifters is heavy/light/medium like the Texas method or starting SUPER light (like 60% of top weights) and adding each workout 'til you can’t. I imagine trying to progress the same lifts each workout when you’re already pretty far along would grind you up pretty quickly.
[/quote]
I appreciate you guys considering me to be advanced/experienced. I like to pretend I don’t suck 
UPDATE:
down to 174, ready for weigh-in! 2 hours til food…
Competition was yesterday, and I finished 3rd out of 3 in my weight class. Some notes:
I weighed in at 173.2 on Friday. Chugged gatorade immediately after, followed by a big sushi dinner, and sipped a Plazma/Surge workout fuel/creatine combo over the next few hours. And another big gatorade. Went to bed weighing in the low 180’s. Didn’t weigh myself after that, because, quite honestly, it didn’t matter. Mixed up another Plazma/swo/creatine drink to enjoy over the course of the day on Saturday morning, and ate a Metabolic Drive bar for breakfast. By the time the competition was ready to start at 10am, I felt great. Based on my performance, I have to say that I showed no weakness from the weight cut.
Log press: My opener was a PR, at 195. I missed 215, just barely. I took 3rd in this event, with the winner hitting 235, using a split jerk style. The log was the big log, rather than the 8" log. The application was inaccurate on this, as well as basically every other event. We’ll get to that. I knew my overhead strength was poor for strongman going into this, so I was ok with the results. I’m really pretty new to training heavy overhead.
Crucifix hold: the weight was substantially heavier than advertised. I won this event at 20.5 seconds.
Keg toss: man. This is where my inexperience showed. It took me about 8 throws before I got one over. Height was not the problem… direction was. I finally cleared the bar with about 10 seconds left on my first keg, and immediately got the second keg over. Then time was up. I was easily strong enough to win this event, but I sucked at it. But this is the type of thing that was to be expected. The other 2 guys got all 5 kegs.
Car deadlift: 0 reps. 2 of the 3 competitors in my weight class, and half the middle weights, got no reps. The other guy in my weight class got 5 reps, which would have beaten all but 2 of the middle weights. Probably the equivalent of 600ish pounds, exceeding my likely max of around 550. No shame here, I just wasn’t strong enough.
Truck pull: all 3 of us got about the same distance. This was uphill, and there was a little dip at around 12 feet that none of us could get past. Nobody in any weight class completed the course. I think the best pull was like 60 feet or so.
I’ll post pictures soon.
Back in the gym…
My elbow pain when squatting has gone past the tolerable point. Shoulder mobility is my #1 priority going forward. I couldn’t get an empty bar on my back last night without severe elbow pain. So, I did front squats instead, bodybuilder-style grip.
I had intended to go heavy on my back squats, so I went heavy on front squats instead. Worked up to 275x4, and started to lose the bar. Then I did 295x1 and REALLY almost lost the bar. As in it slipped halfway off my shoulder and I probably should have dumped it. 295 was actually a 20 lb PR, mostly because I don’t front squat heavy much (at all). Decided to go for 315, but I chalked my shoulders first. Easy PR. Total PR of 40 lbs, and I most certainly had more in me, as you’ll see in the video.
OHP with 155, 3x5. Didn’t feel like pushing this any more, since I strained my right shoulder on the almost-dropped front squat at 295.
Skipped the cleans, and did pullups. Felt the strongest I’ve felt in awhile on these. My right pec strain I’ve been dealing with is giving me almost no pain at this point.
Curls and extensions with small orange band.
