Stopping by to say that your log is very motivating and inspirational! Not many guys would have continued after an injury like this. Goes to show what kind of mindset you need to have to get to the level you are at. If you don’t mind a personal question: What would you say this sport means to you personally? How does it drive you and why? I know I had the biggest drive to make progress in the gym when I was very unsatisfied with my life and lonely. I held on to training because it was pretty mcuh the only thing left that interested me and made me “happy”. I don’t miss these times and I trained for the wrong reasons but I am always interested to know what (strength-) training means to people, especially guys who are at a higher level.
[quote]Koestrizer wrote:
Stopping by to say that your log is very motivating and inspirational! Not many guys would have continued after an injury like this. Goes to show what kind of mindset you need to have to get to the level you are at. If you don’t mind a personal question: What would you say this sport means to you personally? How does it drive you and why? I know I had the biggest drive to make progress in the gym when I was very unsatisfied with my life and lonely. I held on to training because it was pretty mcuh the only thing left that interested me and made me “happy”. I don’t miss these times and I trained for the wrong reasons but I am always interested to know what (strength-) training means to people, especially guys who are at a higher level.[/quote]
Thanks man, I appreciate you stopping by, and I was hoping that documenting this experience would be beneficial to anyone who runs into anything similar.
It’s a real whopper of a question you asked there, haha. I’ll try to answer it the best I can.
You’ll have to keep in mind that I found strongman pretty recently. I started competing in 2013. Prior to that, I competed in powerlifting from 2011-2012. I was training for/did a little MMA fighting in the mid 2000s, and from 2007-2011 I was just kind of lifting weights with no real direction.
In truth, I dig the sport because it drives me to get better all over. I was a decent powerlifter because static strength always came easy to me, but strongman forced me to work on getting faster, more skilled, have better conditioning, strong from weird angles, etc. Were it not for competitions looming, I’d just do the things I was good at and ignore the things I was bad at. Additionally, it does a great job of keeping me from getting too settled. As soon as I think I’m getting somewhere, I find a contest with some crazy heavy weights and decide I’m going to go do that. Even though it was a yoke that took out my ACL, I never thought I’d ever even move a 775lb yoke before that contest, and I ended up getting hurt because it felt too LIGHT to take seriously.
All of that said, I’ve talked about this a few times, but in truth, I have no love for my training. This is actually something I’ve trained myself to do. All I care about is results; I love being strong, and I hate getting strong. Having this mentality allows me to be absolutely objective and critical with my training. I don’t have favorite lifts, pet movements, or anything else getting in the way of my progress. As soon as a movement is no longer beneficial, I get rid of it, and as soon as I need to do something, no matter how ridiculous it is, I do it. In turn, it’s one of those things where training doesn’t keep me sane, it’s more that thing I do so that I can reach my goal of being strong.
So that’s the “how”. As for the why, I honestly wish I could put it into words. My earliest memories are of wanting to be strong. I know that at least at the age of 4 it’s all I wanted in the world, and it may go back even earlier than that. I remember being a kid, watching cartoons, and the Nautilus home gym commercial would come on, and I would try my hardest to write down the phone number because I thought if I just called them they’d send me the workout equipment and I could start getting strong, haha.
Nietzsche and Kierkegaard both kind of talk about this; how in a world without meaning, it is up to you to make your own meaning and pursue it with all you can. That could very well be what’s going on.
Man that was a lot of writing, haha. It means a lot that you asked the question though dude. If you’d like me to expand on anything, just let me know.
Thank you for the in-depth look into your mind so to say.
I really liked your story of you as a kid. It reminded me of myself watching James Bond movies as a kid. I always liked the bodyguards or helpers of James’ enemies because most of them were so big and physically strong and I always wanted to achieve that kind of intimidating look and physical superiority (even though I am not an agressive or violent person).
Are there moments where you doubt what you do? For example now that you are injured pretty seriously do you sometimes think all the time, the effort and the pain were not worth it? I remember a conversation I had where I was told that lifting would destroy my back and cripple me when I am older and so on and have since thought about this. I answered that lifting helps me through tough times, is always there for me and keeps me sane and that I hope to remember that if I am looking back in moments of doubt or pain I would remember that.
Something related to your injury: I have met someone who also had his ACL replaced, formed from his hamstring. He told me that his recovery wasn’t that hard, he has full range of motion in his squat and deadlifts just short of 500 lbs. He says he has a little bit of pain every now and then (often related to weather rather than training) and needs to keep good track of his mobility but other than that is fine.
It’s nice to hear your story on why you started and what keeps you going. Thanks for sharing.
I have a question about the safety squat bar. I’m a couple days away from completing a volume cycle and enjoy the new equipment. However, from the first few sessions I found that I couldn’t hold on to the handles because the pads would basically cut the circulation on my veins running across my biceps, causing my biceps to cramp up when doing high rep sets. I got around it by holding the main bar by my shoulders so my SSB effectively became an expensive high bar squat. It still works my upper back harder than a normal high bar squat so it’s a variation I plan to keep but I feel that I can’t take full advantage of it. Did you ever have this issue? And did you find it a major benefit to push the load more forward to make the movement harder?
Koestrizer: It’s an interesting question you bring up, as it’s actually the good times that make me question what I do versus the bad. I don’t shy away from adversity, and in fact I tend to welcome it, because I feel that it is the overcoming of adversity that makes us stronger. It’s not to say that I pursue getting injured, but when it happens, I get excited knowing that it’s another chance to become stronger mentally along with physically.
I love being able to come back better and stronger and to shut up any doubters. I take pride in the fact that I’ve gotten myself to the point that I am stronger hurt than most people are healthy, and if you examine the real champions in the sport, it’s not the guys that never get injured that go the furthest, but instead the guys that keep coming back after injuries that go far.
Now, this isn’t to say that I don’t get the occasional wondering thought and get pissed off over being injured, but it tends to be pretty fleeting, and I just focus on what I CAN do versus what I can’t.
As for the point you make about being hurt when you get older, I’ve heard that a lot too, and it never made any sense to me. I can’t grasp the mentality of people who live their youth for the benefit of their elderly years. That seems so backwards to me. We only go around this world once, and we’re young for such a short time, and I can’t imagine not taking the fullest advantage of this.
Another big part of this was a moment that happened to me when I was 16. I was on a family vacation with my Grandfather, who was in his 70s at the time, and we had to climb up something like 500 steps somewhere. I watched my grandfather fail to make it all the way up. My grathfather only ever worked out 6 weeks a year for 30 years when he was in the Air Force and had a fitness test coming up, but otherwise avoided exercise, and yet, here he was, crippled simply from LIVING to be 70. We’re all going to hurt when we get older, but very few of us are going to get to be strong when we’re younger.
Thanks for the info about your buddy who had the same surgery. From everything I’ve seen, this is very recoverable, which bodes well with me. At least I got a common injury, which means there is a lot of research behind it, haha.
lift206: I actually pull the bar as far forward on my neck as possible to really make things suck with the bar. This tends to round my upperback something fierce. You can see an example of it here
This also makes it so that the elbows are pretty far back, which prevents the padding from being able to run into my arms. Another part of it is that I use the TDS SSB versus a higher quality one, so there is less padding to work with.
Thanks for the question man, and hope that helps.
Had my weekly cheat meal: 3 item Panda Express. Fried rice, orange chicken, Beijing beef and beef and broccoli. Carbed out of my mind. Also, fairly certain I overdosed on Naproxen and it’s why I was having my GI issues. Mrs pointed out to me that my water intake has been down as well.
Holy fuck, THAT’s some shit to be doing so soon after post op. Kudos.
Seated chain suspended buffalo bar good mornings
Bar x 10
100x5
140x5
190x5
230x5
280x3 (belt on from here out)
320x3
350x2
Notes: Felt the left hamstring tendon tug a little when going for a third rep with the 350 set, and since I’m at the point post-op where the graft is at it’s weakest I shut it down rather than push. I at least broke it off the chains at that point, so I know the strength was there. Still really liking this movement. I’m thinking next week of trying some zercher good mornings with the axle, and then just swapping the 3 movements with 2 week waves.
Buffalo bar good mornings
1x50
1x30
Blast strap fallouts
3x15
1x20
superset in a circuit w/
Neck harness side to side 45lbs
3x20
1x25
Notes: Tried some reverse hypers but it was pulling on the hamstring pretty good. May try them later today after resting up.
General notes: Woke up at 188.0. Great post cheat-meal bloat going on.
[quote]strongmanvinny wrote:
Holy fuck, THAT’s some shit to be doing so soon after post op. Kudos. [/quote]
Don’t get too excited, that’s an old video, haha. I’m still not squatting on 2 legs yet, despite my body really wanting to. As soon as I get cleared though, it’s game on.
you said
Had my weekly cheat meal: 3 item Panda Express. Fried rice, orange chicken, Beijing beef and beef and broccoli. Carbed out of my mind
lightweight lol
for Christmas my sons got me a five pound Hershey Chocolate bar {i love chocolate} you want carb out out try that
your blog post was a good one this week , i find that most beginners,young people nowdays really dont understand what strong is or what hard work is
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
[quote]strongmanvinny wrote:
Holy fuck, THAT’s some shit to be doing so soon after post op. Kudos. [/quote]
Don’t get too excited, that’s an old video, haha. I’m still not squatting on 2 legs yet, despite my body really wanting to. As soon as I get cleared though, it’s game on.[/quote]
ruined ma day. I always liked picture books and never read…
Sam: Don’t mistake what I DO eat with what I CAN eat, haha. I’ve only ever been full twice in my life. I have a bottomless appetite, and in my earlier training log posted my 2200 calorie cheat meal at Taco Bell, which was still not close to my limit. However, I’ve played the game long enough to know when and where to pump the brakes, even on the cheat meals. Gaining weight has never been the problem, haha.
Glad you appreciated the blog post. The thing is, I heard all this when I was young too, and totally didn’t get it, so I imagine the target audience won’t receive it, but it’s nice to share with like minded people none the less.
Vinny: No sweat man. I’ll just take it as a compliment that you thought it was something I could do.
Finished up the day with 150 bodyweight reverse hypers in one set. Hamstring tendon still a little twitchy, so didn’t want to put any weight on it.
Looks like we both know the feeling all too well where you have to nod your head under the pretense that you’re full from a meal. Then you keep staring at the remaining food holding back from inhaling it violently so everyone doesn’t think you’re a fatty :(.
But hey, at least you’re not actually fat
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
lift206: I actually pull the bar as far forward on my neck as possible to really make things suck with the bar. This tends to round my upperback something fierce. You can see an example of it here
This also makes it so that the elbows are pretty far back, which prevents the padding from being able to run into my arms. Another part of it is that I use the TDS SSB versus a higher quality one, so there is less padding to work with.
Thanks for the question man, and hope that helps.
[/quote]
The way you were doing the movement looked brutal haha. There’s no way your upper back wouldn’t get stronger.
I tried pulling the bar closer to my neck but it wasn’t much different compared to before. I think it’s because most of the load sits on my shoulders instead of my traps. I’ll try removing the padding next time to see if it makes a difference. I’m still getting more work out of my upper back so I guess that’s what matters, haha. I’ll do some rounded back good mornings if I feel like I’m not getting enough upper back work. Thanks for your help.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
All of that said, I’ve talked about this a few times, but in truth, I have no love for my training. This is actually something I’ve trained myself to do. All I care about is results; I love being strong, and I hate getting strong. Having this mentality allows me to be absolutely objective and critical with my training. I don’t have favorite lifts, pet movements, or anything else getting in the way of my progress. As soon as a movement is no longer beneficial, I get rid of it, and as soon as I need to do something, no matter how ridiculous it is, I do it. In turn, it’s one of those things where training doesn’t keep me sane, it’s more that thing I do so that I can reach my goal of being strong.[/quote]
You’ve talked about it, and I’ve read it, but I still don’t completely understand it.
I’m having a bit of trouble asking a very clear question, so I’ll see if I can get to it in a roundabout way.
What kind of metrics do you use to determine if you’re getting stronger? If you’re objective and critical, what are you using to filter what to keep and what not to keep?
So, say, something like one-arm pullups. Obviously by some measure of strong, going from being able to do zero of them, to being able to do 15 in a row, with 135lbs strapped to you, you’re stronger. But obviously you’re not doing weighted one-arm pullups. So what it is you use to filter out movements like that?
Vinny: I will always be a fat kid at heart, haha. One day, when I am long retired, I may try to enjoy being fat. My wife and I talk about the fantasy sometimes. We end up liking hit we look too much, haha.
Lift: Glad I could lend some perspective. Hopefully it sorts itself out. I had to play with my SSB positioning a bit before I was happy with it.
LoRez: That’s a great question. Using your ecample, I haven’t actually filtered out that movement yet, I simply haven’t come across a situation where I need it. As soon as it arises, I will use it, and if it never does, I never will.
It’s not that I cut movements out of my training forever; it’s only for that moment in time. For example, I pretty much have never been able to make barbell rows work for me. I understand conceptually the benefit of them, but whenever I focus on them, none of my other lifts get better. However, the movement is still an option, and, should it ever be the missing link in my training, I will use it.
As for metrics, the biggest ones I look for progress in are deadlift, axle push press for reps, and car deadlift simulator. It seems that, if those are going up, then I am getting stronger all over.
Oh yeah, meant to add, an example of a movement I have done for over a decade that I recently dropped was the barbell bench. I may still have been able to get physically stronger with it, but I knew that psychologically it was going to screw me up.
Got so excited about answering questions I forgot to log. Been walking around Disney land from 0700 to over 2100. Knee is massively swollen but holding together. Bodes well I imagine.
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
Oh yeah, meant to add, an example of a movement I have done for over a decade that I recently dropped was the barbell bench. I may still have been able to get physically stronger with it, but I knew that psychologically it was going to screw me up.
[/quote]
Really cool idea you had man to switch up the movements in order to prevent having a mental fixation. It reminds me of when I did (most of) a Waterbury program a few years back. For the first cycle you barely did any of the gym staple movements like bench, back squat, or power clean; preventing ego from hindering progression. Something along the lines of “neither you nor anyone else will care about what you can close-grip decline, so you can be honest and actually progress.”
[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:
As for metrics, the biggest ones I look for progress in are deadlift, axle push press for reps, and car deadlift simulator. It seems that, if those are going up, then I am getting stronger all over.[/quote]
So I think that hits on the question I was trying to ask.
How did you determine which lifts indicate you’re getting “stronger all over”?
And by “stronger all over”, do you really mean, “more competitive in strongman”, or is there more to it than that?
On a related note, how much time do you usually give a lift/movement in order to know if it’s helping you?
Holy cow this new format is terrible. I don’t know what they were thinking.
TX: Cool to hear about that with Waterbury. It definitely makes sense. I stole the idea from Dave Tate after he retired from powerlifting. Does a whole bunch of variants, but I don’t think he’s taken a single heavy squat, deadlift or bench since then. Really helps keep focused.
LoRez: It just took a lot of trial and error to get there. I spent 3 years not deadlifting due to an injury, and during that time really just seemed to be spinning my wheels, despite how much I was focusing on my squat. Once deadlifts re-entered my programming, I saw my strength take off. Same thing with the press: went a while without it, made minimal progress, brought it back in and things took off. Car deadlift simulator is a pretty new one, but the nature of the lift really allows me to just go full tilt without any concern for technique or safety, and being able to push that hard seems to carry over.
It’s not quite about being more competitive in strongman, because there is a speed and skill element to that. It’s more about being able to approach any other lift/implement and handling it without difficulty. When those 3 indicator lifts go up, I’m really getting on top of my game. If I actually practiced it with more regularity, I’d probably throw in the sandbag clean and press as well. I know when I focused on it last year, I was really getting somewhere with strength.
As for how much time I give something, outcome tends to be the determinant. If I make a change and immediately get weaker or pick up a small injury, I’ll scrap it. If things stay the same, I’ll keep the movement in for as long as things stay the same, but if I notice any negative trending, I’ll scrap it. If it starts trending upward, then I’ll ride it out for as long as I can. If I make a switch to a movement and immediately notice something positive, I’ll keep it for as long as I can.
In truth, time tends to get away from me, so I don’t really give myself a deadline like “I’ll give this movement 2-3 weeks and see what happens”. I tend to more just keep piling things on top of themselves until something breaks.
Grippers
DROPSET
10x#2
25x#1
50xTrainer
7x#2
40 second hold #1
Notes: That drop set was crazy. The 10 reps with the 2 were actually pretty easy, but I wanted to save up for a real stupid high rep workout at the end.
General notes: Woke up at 187.4. Happy with that after spending the weekend at Disney, doing a bunch of walking and weird eating. After getting some voodoo done at PT, I was able to straighten my leg enough to have the back of my knee touch the floor. Haven’t been able to do that since before the injury, it was a pretty weird sensation. Will be training lower body tonight.