You got to revenge that.
Could you go overhand/underhand? That would eliminate the rolling.
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@mortdk Appreciate the kind words dude. Itās mat pulls rather than a dead, so the low ROM makes it a lot more viable. Helpful when the back doesnāt wanna play nice.
Crazy to hear the hang has traveled all over, haha. Looks like 80 is the number to beat.
@Frank_C Seeing your trouble with front squats, I donāt fault you. Maybe belt squats hack squat machine if you had one.
@IronOne If Iām still here next year, Iāll get ready for it, haha. I could do overhand or underhand, but not mixed. Iām wondering if hook gripping woulda helped. Initially I thought I shoulda gone thumbless, but I realized that most likely wouldnāt help with a rotating bar. Interesting nut to crack.
PM WORKOUT
Air dyne
5 minutes
Prowler circuit w/90lbs
50ā high handles/50ā low handles for 3 rounds
Notes: Legs feel like theyāre going to fall off, so hit the airdyne to get rid of some soreness and the prowler to get blood flowing. My street has some weird spots on it. At one point, I was pushing so hard on the prowler that the low handles got bent while the prowler still didnāt move, so that gave me some solace.
No weigh in this morning.
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They released the scorecard for my competition, so I have some facts now.
I was 5ā shy of first place on the carry medley. That hurts, haha. However, I was 9 seconds faster than second on the keg toss and 7 seconds faster on the stones, so that is cool.
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AM WORKOUT
GIANT SETS
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x136
3x156
3x181
6x201
11x156
GB pulldowns 140
6x11
Band pull aparts
6x20
GIANT SETS
Weighte dips w/105lbs
5x8
Axle rows 186
5x10
DB curls 35
5x10
Notes: Iām adjusting much better to the axle. I matched reps for last week with 10lbs more on the axle during an AM workout, which bodes well. It definitely felt more natural in my hands today compared to last week. Woke up with a kink in my left shoulder blade, and then pulled something in my neck on the final rep of the topset on the right side, so I suppose thatās balance.
The dips feel good. Adding weight always makes it feel more stable, just a question of if my elbows will like it.
Woke up at 196.4.
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Appreciated the breakdown of your pre-comp training cycle from the blog. Good tips there, and valuable insight for fatigued performance as always.
Glad you appreciated it dude. I felt like I really struck gold with that training cycle, and wanted to capture it while it was fresh. Iām excited to do something like that again and put on some more quality mass. First time in a while I felt like I was really putting on muscle instead of just getting fatter.
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Iāll need to revisit that post sometime this winter. Iāll be looking to enter my first novice comp in the spring if this fall/winter goes well enough for me.
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Hell yeah dude, thatās awesome. Be great to see you compete.
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AM WORKOUT
Buffalo bar Squats 280lbs
8x10
Notes: 3 minutes rest between first 5 sets, 4 minutes between the final 3. Went up for set 9 and it was like the bar was welded to the j-hooks, which is usually a sign that Iām fried. Shut it down early, but this leads me to think Iāll get this next week. Considering I went from 36 reps to 80 reps in a week, itās progress Iāll accept.
Woke up at 193.4.
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How much unilateral work do you think a person really needs to do?
And I count any loaded carry type stuff as unilateral.
Iām always paranoid about neglecting the stabilizing muscles so I like to throw in a lunge or split squat. Perhaps I havenāt done enough of that since Iām still having hip problems 
Do you think just working hard on the big compound stuff is enough?
Oh man, Iām the worst guy to ask that question to, haha. I didnāt do a whole lot of unilateral stuff BEFORE I blew out my knee, and now with the way it is I do none, minus carrying things as you mentioned.
Going to depend on the goals of the training. If they perform a lot of activities where the legs move unilaterally, they probably need some unilateral strength. Not as much a deal for static stuff.
I guess since Iām having hip trouble Iām wondering if the hips need some attention similar to the shoulders for health and longevity.
Itās possible. Iāve never had hip specific issues that persisted, but have felt that way for brief periods when pushing the training too hard.
If I were ever dealing with super awful hip issues, Iād look into loose powerlifting briefs for training. At present, I always wear the Rehband blue warm-up pants for every training session, and I think they help in that regard.
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AM WORKOUT
GIANT SETS
Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x136
5x186
3x231
3x266
9x301
16x231
DB rows 105
7x10
Band pull aparts
7x20
GIANT SETS
Incline axle bench press 156
5x10
DB rows 105
5x10
DB lateral raise 25
5x9
Axle curls
1x50
Miniband tricep pushdowns
1x50
Notes: Man Iām bad at incline press. Really hope that spending some time on it will pay off, because itās certainly humbling. Wasnāt a great bench session in general, but I imagine part of that is still contest recovery. Feeling about 95%, almost there, but not quite yet. Had enough time for some dedicated arm work. I really should do some actual tricep work, as Iāve neglected it quite a bit.
Woke up at 193.8. Gonna stay on the lighter side until my cruise is up, and then see what I can do.
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I look forward to when I can have a bad day benching >3.5 plates.
In seriousness, why do you have a dedicated bench day as a strongman? Youāve probably written about this before but your blog is blocked in the office.
Typo. Thatās supposed to be 266. Iām still doing 5/3/1, so itās going to be 2 lighter sets, then 1 top weight set (the 9x301).
I have a bench day because bench makes my press go up while being a little kinder on my shoulders compared to an overhead press. I can press heavy overhead once a week and do alright, but when I try it twice a week, it tends to go poorly.
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Ha, sorry - still, I look forward to my bad bench day that involves a 9x135kg bench!
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This volume looks like youāre a bodybuilder!
Hah! Iām still pretty low in the volume end for me. Iām excited to push it once I can up the calories.
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I consider 12 sets of 10 on DB rows to fall into the high volume category these days. My āhigh volumeā days are 5 x 8 on two exercises so Iām still only getting 80 reps of pulling.