I have my thoughts on this, but as a competitor it’s probably best that I don’t voice them in a public forum, haha. I’ll just say that strongman, like everything else, has it’s politics.
Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x83
5x123
5x156
3x226
3x256
11x286
18x226
Notes: I might’ve missed a warm-up in there somewhere. The 286 set felt pretty good. Whenever I’m benching 225, I like to pretend I"m in the NFL combine, and the scouts are looking at me before they realize that I’m short, small, uncoordinated, untalanted and slow. But I was happy with 18 for FSL.
NG chins (various grips)
2x25
3x20
DB laterals 30lbs
5x8
Notes: Sets between sets of benching.
Floor press 206
5x8
Superset w/
Seated incline hammer curls 40lbs
2x12
3x10
T-bar rows
5x1plate
5x2plates
5x3plates
5x4plates
DROPSET pyramid
10x4plates
10x3plates
10x2plates
10x1plates
10x2plates
10x3plates
10x4plates
General notes: Woke up at 196.4. Mouth is feeling better; able to eat well. Appetite is still low. Creating pressure for bracing still a little painful, but in general it’s moving in a great direction.
Whenever I bench 225, I pretend it’s like 405 and I’m some 780lb benching monster. Feels good briefly until I rerack it and only see 2 baby plates on the bar.
Whenever I bench 2 plates I hope to get more than 5 reps and survive.
I can barely bench a plate and I’m scared my wrist will snap so… 
@strongmanvinny2 Just use 25lb bumper plates. They look just like 45s. Perfect for instagram selfies, haha.
@Koestrizer Nothing more fun than strapping in for the ride and seeing where it takes you. Like riding a bull…so I’ve been told.
@Benanything If I’ve learned anything, it’s that letting something snap is just an opportunity to come back stronger and better.
Which means I’ve most likely learned nothing, haha.
On the topic of learning, your mention regarding how life can be meaningless but why not just find something and be awesome (that was a mouthful) reminded me to mention that you may find Soren Kierkegaard interesting. He spoke to that topic a bit. Camus touched on it a bit as well. Finding meaning in a meaningless existence has always been a fascinating topic for me.
Treadmill
Speed: 8.2
Elevation: 1.5
Time: 20:00
Notes: Quickly gained, quickly lost. Been about 3 weeks since I could go on a long run, and I was hurting. I’ll build back up to 30:00 again quick, but with me moving soon, this is the first thing on the chopping block as time gets stressed. I like being in good running shape, but it’s real far down on my fitness priorities.
Woke up at 195.4. Going to do conditioning in the evening. Mouth is just about 100%. Should be good for mat pulls tomorrow.
Front carry medley
1: Run 200lb sandbag 50’
2: Run back to start
3: Run 100lb keg 50’
Did the above 5 times
Then
200lb sandbag 50’
Finished with
High handle prowler w/100lb keg for 360’
Notes: THIS was the workout I’ve been looking for! EMOM just wasn’t doing this, but went back to something evil and basic. First time touching the sandbag since the injury; I was worried the pick-up would bug the meniscus. Getting into position seemed to stretch the ligament a touch, but just meant I needed to warm-up a touch. After that it was back to old times. By the 5th round, I was just walking with the implements. I noticed that my sprint between implements had grown MUCH faster than it used to be; I imagine I can credit that to all the running I’ve been doing.
The prowler work at the end was an amazing finisher. Came down with a little bit of prowler flu.
It’s been too long since I posted in your log, although I’ve been keeping up with it. Nothing specific to say lol, other than keep killing it! Great work man.
Appreciate that dude! Congrats on the marriage too. Lifetime PR. Try to keep the reps of wives at 1, haha.
(2) Axle Mat Pulls
5x123
5x156
5x246
5x336
1x426
1x516
3x536 (deadstop)
10x426 (touch and go)
Notes: First thing in the morning, but feeling strong. I think 3 mats is just the kryptonite height. Next week I’m gonna try to hit the workout in the afternoon and go for a single. Just wanna see what I can manage for a post op PR.
GHR sit-ups
4x10
Buffalo bar squats
5xBar
5x100
5x140
3x190
1x230
1x280
1x320
RESTPAUSE (15 deep breaths between each set)
6x370
3x370
1x370
8x280
4x280
2x280
1x280
10x190
8x190
6x190
4x190
2x190
Notes: Went digging through my training logs and rediscovered this approach. Hit top set, 15 deep breaths, go for half, repeat until 1, drop 90, repeat. At the end I just went crazy and kept dropping 2 reps to get right around 50 reps. Like this because I get to spent a little more time with the heavier weight.
General notes: Woke up at 194.8. Went to the beach for 3 or so hours today. Had an amazing cheat meal of a triple bacon cheeseburger. Each patty was 1/3lb, so it was a pound of meat with bacon, mayo, spread, the whole nine. Just fantastic.
i read something somewhere today that was pretty good
now if i can just remember where i read it
damn i getting old
good blog post,
Hahaha, I figured that was coming. Thanks for the comment!
Treadmill
Speed: 9.2
Incline: 3
Distance: .88
Notes: Was falling off the treadmill, so called it. Legs are exhausted. Might need to cut the incline on this for a bit to actually finish the run.
read “somewhere” if you train more than “60” minutes you go into catabolic state.
count seconds under load for each set
get total of time under load
do not count rest time
how much time does average person really train
Haha thanks man, that’s certainly the plan!
Just read your most recent article - great stuff as always. I can especially attest to the whole false “expert” part of it. 6 years of medical school taught me absolutely nothing about exercise in any kind of useful way. Even the orthopaedic surgeons who I work with - absolute gods at what they do - have a very minimal understanding of the technicalities of strength training, compared with what can be learned first hand. The truth is that this particular knowledge is just so specific and, in the grand scheme of things, unimportant. It doesn’t earn any money and it doesn’t save any lives. I really hate titles for that reason, they prove a lot less than most people attribute to them. It must be especially frustrating in the US, where it seems a good chunk of graduates somehow seem to be given the right to call themselves a Doctor. Anyway, I know that wasn’t the main point of your article, sorry for going on a bit of a tangent there!
I particularly enjoyed your other article - the Weakness of Strength (I’m catching up on a little back log just now lol). Fantastic man, great stuff! In many ways I’ve been caught up in peaking and skill work during my recent training - especially with that Smolov bench cycle, but also with my new goal to rapidly improve my deadlift. In my defence though I’ve always felt that I’m stronger than I’ve been able to display - I’ve spent years putting in work, and I can ragdoll friends who significantly out-lift me - so maybe I’m balancing that out just now lol. Anyway, great articles as always - keep them coming!
Appreciate the feedback dude. I’m glad you brought up the point about how these folks are gods in their respective fields, because in retrospect I realize what I wrote could make it appear I was disrespecting the credentials in general. I think my orthopedic surgeon is a miracle worker when it comes to making brand new ACLs and giving me the ability to walk and train again. I shook his hand when it was all over and thanked him profusely for his work. Same with my physical therapist; he did a great job bringing me back to life. But they were also the first to admit the limitations of their knowledge, and when I asked them about what to do next, they left it up to me.
Don’t be sorry for that tangent at all; it really flushes out that point.
Glad you appreciated the other article as well. There’s no shame in wanting to see what you got going on under the hood. Understanding the difference is really the most important thing. If you know that you’re peaking, you’re fine. If you think peaking is training, you get disappointed when the “gains go away”, but once you got a handle on the idea of what you can hit on a bad day vs your best day, there’s nothing to sweat.
Besides, everyone wants a high number when someone asks “how much ya bench?”, haha.
Returned from post op check-up after wisdom tooth. It’s still healing, but no infection, which is what really matters. I was cleared to resume regular exercise…oops.
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Great article as usual, chuckled quite a fair bit when I read this part.
“Dude, it’s the guy who gave the drug test to Ed Coan; he MUST know how to pull 900lbs”
Thanks dude. My dirty secret is that I write the articles in advance, and then right before I post them I just add in a bunch of photos and captions. It’s why there tends to be such a huge shift in mood between the articles and the photos. I whip myself up into a frenzy for the article, and then relax when it’s time to submit.
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x83
5x123
3x153
3x173
7x196
11x156
superset w/
DB rows 105
1x12
1x11
1x10
1x9
1x8
1x7
1x6
1x12
Notes: 7 was the goal for 196, so happy to meet it, especially since around rep 6 the axle flew out of alignment and I had to fight to get it back in a straightline, get a breath at the top of the rep, and then really push for the final one. Loving that I’m getting my ability to grind overheads back. I remember, way back when I was a strongman, that I was pretty good at that.
Log press (clean once) 125
5x8
superset w/
NG chins (various grips)
5x20
Notes: Viper pressed the first rep on log each time. Log is really coming together.
Axle curls
1x140
Band pushdowns
1x50
Kroc rows 105
1x20
Notes: Woke up at 196.6 this morning. Bicep tendon is a little tender. Pulled it funny while at the beach on Saturday. Taking things easy.
Speaking of the beach, Mrs. took some photos with me in them. Thought I’d upload them. Kinda nice to get some more “candid” shots showings what my walking around bodyfat is like these days. I’m definitely leaner at this weight than I’ve been in the past.
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Dang, all I can say is your usual photos don’t do you justice. I guess I have a rough idea of what to look forward to if I continue training hard(hopefully) for the next 10 years or so. We’re the same height so I guess that’s moderately helpful to know.
Thanks dude. I meant to point out that these were taken AFTER I had that 1lb bacon cheeseburger I mentioned earlier, haha.
Glad to have someone else hanging out at 5’9. It’s a great height, I swear.
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Looking good man!!
Thanks dude! I’m hoping I can do better in my 30s than I did in my 20s, haha.
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