Road to Strongman

Training Powerlifting
23

[quote]Brett Tucek wrote:
I like your attitude.

Keep at the squats. You’ll be repping 225 soon and probably 315 in the not-so-distant-future.

I’m not really sure what the decline benches are going to do for you.

Overhead work is very important, so you need to have strict pressing(maybe) and push pressing(definitely) in there somewhere. Close grip bench, dumbbell bench, or incline (db or bb) are all good as an assistance exercise.

I’ll second what Matt said: finding some strong guys will definitely help you in your quest for strength. There are probably people within an hour or two from you; even if you can only train with them once a week or once every other week, it will help.[/quote]

I second all these and the above and will add.

While strict rowing is GOOD dont ignore moving a damn load. I gaurantee the next time you try and lap a stone or keg etc. they arent going to be cheking if you have proper hamstring stretch and parallel to the ground etc. You’ll need to cheat if you want to call it that and use your whaole damn body as a unit a machine to move heavy shit.

Keep it up,

Phill

24

No, Cal Law is right. Training does not matter at all. In fact, for my next competition, I’m going to quit training altogether and “work out” at Country Buffet for the next 5 months.

These guys are way cool. Check out the Westside for Strongman articles etc. It’s good stuff (conjugate periodization with strongman specific flavor).

http://www.totalperformancesports.com/articles.htm

25

Food for Christmas Eve:

Breakfast:
4 Blueberry Waffles
2 Granola Bars
1/4 Cup Syrup
Multivitamin
4 Cups Egg Beaterz

Lunch:
1 Lb of Deli Turkey
4 Slices Whole Wheat Bread
Bowl of Baked Potato Chips
1 Apple

Snack:
4 Flameout Fish Oil Pills
Protein Shake, 2 Tablespoons of Peanut Butter, 1.5 Scoops Metabolic Drive Chocolate

Dinner:

1 Pound Fresh Ground Turkey
1/2 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Organic Wheat Bun
1 Apple
1 Granola Bar

By the way I just found out that my mom made pie and cinnamon rolls for Christmas, so I think that the strongman gods are smiling on me.

Christmas Dinner:

2 8oz pieces of skinless chicken breast with mozzarella and swiss cheese, mushrooms, broccoli, brown rice, chocolate pudding with whip cream and cinnamon rolls.

Hell Yes. It’s all going to be worth it when I squat that 315 for the first time or pull 400 off the ground.

Merry Christmas,

Eat Up

-Hawk

26

There are several strong people in north carolina. Travis Mash and Ox Mason are out there somewhere. Post on EliteFTS to find out.

You can also check out powerlifting gyms here, http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/gyms

While you want to do strongman and these are powerlifting gyms, you’ll find that this will be a more productive environment to getting strong than commercial-gym-hell.

Good luck

27

[quote]Phill wrote:
Brett Tucek wrote:
I like your attitude.

Keep at the squats. You’ll be repping 225 soon and probably 315 in the not-so-distant-future.

I’m not really sure what the decline benches are going to do for you.

Overhead work is very important, so you need to have strict pressing(maybe) and push pressing(definitely) in there somewhere. Close grip bench, dumbbell bench, or incline (db or bb) are all good as an assistance exercise.

I’ll second what Matt said: finding some strong guys will definitely help you in your quest for strength. There are probably people within an hour or two from you; even if you can only train with them once a week or once every other week, it will help.

I second all these and the above and will add.

While strict rowing is GOOD dont ignore moving a damn load. I gaurantee the next time you try and lap a stone or keg etc. they arent going to be cheking if you have proper hamstring stretch and parallel to the ground etc. You’ll need to cheat if you want to call it that and use your whaole damn body as a unit a machine to move heavy shit.

Keep it up,

Phill

[/quote]

I’ll add “third” to what Phill and Brett have said.

The biggest difference I’ve seen in everyday gym rats(strong gym rats, people that actually have improved over time) and strongman is grip strength and overhead strength. Since many people find themselves in the sport of strongman by accident, it takes time to get these two strength qualities up to par. If you are doing overheads and grip work from the start, you are already ahead of the curve.

Like was said, I don’t think you need to declines. I’ve never personally liked them. I don’t think people should hang upside down and hold a heavy weight over their faces. That being said, I see no problem with occasionally doing a lift you enjoy doing. You still need to have fun lifting, as long as it isn’t hindering your progress. But the “meat” of your workout should be squats, pulls, overhead, grip, and events.

As far as eating more, there’s a couple things you can do to get in more calories. One is the gallon a milk a day thing. I’ve done this a couple times and still drink a lot of milk daily.

Another is to really stuff yourself for your first two meals of the day. It will kick start your metabolism and make you hungrier for your later feedings.

But, if you are continually getting stronger and are comfortable at your weight, than don’t sweat the calories. You’ll eat more automatically as you move heavier weights.

Good luck to you.

28

Thanks for those last 2 posts.

I’m looking at EliteFTS right now.

Yeah I like declines but I need to focus more on my grip strength and overhead pressing.

Time for bed, gym is closed tomorrow so I’m going to just do a homemade workout,

Hammer Curls
Bent One Arm Rows
Neutral Grip Overhead Dumbell Presses
Lunges
Rotator Cuff Work
Various Pushups
Wide Grip,Mix Grip, and Underhand Pullups

-Hawk

(P.S.- Where can I find a sledgehammer, and what can it do for my grip strength, coordination and arm strength? I was at Lowe’s and Home Depot and I couldn’t find one.)

29

[quote]Hawksmoor wrote:
Thanks for those last 2 posts.

I’m looking at EliteFTS right now.

Yeah I like declines but I need to focus more on my grip strength and overhead pressing.

Time for bed, gym is closed tomorrow so I’m going to just do a homemade workout,

Hammer Curls
Bent One Arm Rows
Neutral Grip Overhead Dumbell Presses
Lunges
Rotator Cuff Work
Various Pushups
Wide Grip,Mix Grip, and Underhand Pullups

-Hawk

(P.S.- Where can I find a sledgehammer, and what can it do for my grip strength, coordination and arm strength? I was at Lowe’s and Home Depot and I couldn’t find one.)

[/quote]

If you like decines try dips bro

Sledge either of those two place have them not to be an ass but if you cant find them walking around try asking someone that works there. also any hardware store will have them.

Happy Holidays,
Phill

30

I’ll add to something Phil said in talking about “cheating.” I believe that good form is keeping your back neutral at all times and being in control of your limbs at all times control the weight, but it is important to learn to use your whole body to lift heavy shit!

Lifting heavy shit is what it is about. Train explosively and train often. If you can not get a load of weight off the floor and or over your head you are in trouble. Do as many things standing as you can. Get weight in your hands and on your back. Do a lot of 8 to 12 reps work and a lot of 1 to 3 rep work for both strength and size. You obviously need both.

If you have a goal in mind for 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years and how you need to get there that is also wise. The link I sent you earlier has the cheapest equipment I’ve seen yet. Take care and I wish you all the best.

Don’t forget to do training so stay healthy, read Mike Roberston and Eric Cressy’s stuff for that.

31

Hawks, if you want a cheap-as-hell but nonetheless effective training tool…look no furthur than heavy stones from a local park/river. Also, filling a backpack with plates, rocks, gravel, sand etc is what I do for a lot of my event-oritneted training.

I am very limited in my stuff, but I make do. I do a lot of one-arm farmer’s walks, shouldering and carrying, backward tosses, loading with a heavy backpack (I have like 120 lbs worth of weights so far), climbing stairs with weights etc. I’d love for some actual sandbags which I will look into for the future. Also, farmer’s walk handles and a steel log would be nice. But I live in an apartment so I have to make due. No powerlifting/strongman gyms that I have seen around my area. No car here either.

Best of luck and merry x-mas.

32

Thanks for the tips! Jeez I feel stupid I didn’t even think about that, I’ll go buy a back pack tomorrow and buy some weights to load it up with. Actually scratch that I’ll just use some rocks from the river near my house.
Hey Squirrel you said you were in the same boat, same weight and same goals and stuff. You wanna start a friendly competition? Like perform exercises and various strength things and post them? I think it would be something fun, just a thought let me know.

Oh yeah by the way…

This week I went from 180 to 183!

3 lbs isn’t much but at least it means I’m putting some energy in.

Hopefully this time next week I’ll be up to 185/186.

Keep the advice and knowledge coming, I’m soaking it all up!

-Hawk

33

Lol Hawks, you got it.

So far, my best gym lifts are 215x5 olympic squat (done back in mid-November), 140x4 push press from rack, 235x5 deadlift, 140x2 clean and press, 115x8 strict millitaries…135x10 with close-grips…uhh 170x4 front squats. thats all I can remember off the top of my head. I am 6’1" and 210-215 btw.

34

Good work bro and great tip have fun with finding heavy stuff and getting creative.

Oh and good job on the weight great your gaining now I will warn dont get over damn zealose keep gaining but I wouldnt keep up 3lbs a week to long. That will be pretty sloppy after a bit sure get it now but slow it down a bit after a week or two aim for a nice consistant gain. 1 lb or so is good. If you keep up the current level of intake no worries it will level out and slow in gains.

Keep it up
Phill

[quote]Hawksmoor wrote:
Thanks for the tips! Jeez I feel stupid I didn’t even think about that, I’ll go buy a back pack tomorrow and buy some weights to load it up with. Actually scratch that I’ll just use some rocks from the river near my house.
Hey Squirrel you said you were in the same boat, same weight and same goals and stuff. You wanna start a friendly competition? Like perform exercises and various strength things and post them? I think it would be something fun, just a thought let me know.

Oh yeah by the way…

This week I went from 180 to 183!

3 lbs isn’t much but at least it means I’m putting some energy in.

Hopefully this time next week I’ll be up to 185/186.

Keep the advice and knowledge coming, I’m soaking it all up!

-Hawk

[/quote]

35

[quote]t3h_Squirr3l wrote:
Lol Hawks, you got it.

So far, my best gym lifts are 215x5 olympic squat (done back in mid-November), 140x4 push press from rack, 235x5 deadlift, 140x2 clean and press, 115x8 strict millitaries…135x10 with close-grips…uhh 170x4 front squats. thats all I can remember off the top of my head. I am 6’1" and 210-215 btw. [/quote]

LOL this could be interesting to watch go for it guys,
Phill

36

Phil…I will win :wink: keep your bets placed squarely on me. Seriously though, the true competition is last week’s numbers. But…y’know…I may just have to own myself a Yankee :).

37

Hawksmoor,

Here’s a sample routine I have done with good results.

Tuesday:
Strict Shoulder Press (standing) 5-5
Push Press 5-3 to 1 (you may substitute Log for these two)
Bent Over Rows 5-5
2" Bar Curls 4-5
Standing Lockouts 5-3 to 1

Wednesday:
Speed Box Squat: 8-2 (50% of max, 30 sec rest b/t sets)
Power Cleans 6-2
COC Grippers: 5 sets reps and timed holds.
2" Wrist Curls 5-5
2" Rev. Curls 5-5

Friday:
Speed Press (strict/standing)8-2 (50 to 60% of max strict press, 30 sec rest b/t sets)
Push Jerks 5-3 to 1 (may sub for log)
Rope Chins wt added 5-5
Decline triceps extension 5-5
Shoulder complexes for prehab

Saturday:
Squat 5-5
Atlas Stone Lift (chalk only) 4 sets of reps
Farmers Carry/ Hold 4 sets
Calf raises 5-10

I also have included conditioning into my routines (didn’t post any here though).
I posted it just to give you an idea.
I’m 5’9" at 200#'s to 210#'s. Not really trying to gain wt however when I started training I was 135#'s. It took me 10 years. Just be patient. Eat a lot but healthy foods, take supplements including lots of protein, concentrate on getting stronger, the wt will follow.

38

Okay 140 x 4 on the push press?

That’s my goal for today, I’ll try for 145.

Your way, way ahead of me on most of those lifts but I’ll find something crazy to do today and I’ll post it later. I might not be able to beat most of your weight but I’ll come up with some challenging reps/ combo exercises.

-Hawk

39

:stuck_out_tongue: Bring it own Hawks. ME Lower is wednesday for me. I am gonna do front squats for sure but I am not sure what my ME movement is gonna be. I am stuck between deads and front squats.

40

Oh I’m pissed, nah not really though but…

I almost had your push press Squirrel
My best was 135 for 3 reps
And I almost cleared 145
People were looking at me like I was a moron but it felt awesome to lift shit over my head so whatever.

I hit 210 on the bench today, never hit that before

And I hit 225 for 2 reps on Olympic Squat which I’ve never done so I feel pretty good.

I don’t have anything to really challenge you at yet Squirrel but your numbers are giving me a little more motivation…I’ll 145 for 3 reps on Push Press by Mid-Jan and I’m going to try and beat that deadlift you have right now, I’m close to it so we’ll see on Thurs or Fri…later bud

-Hawk

41

[quote]t3h_Squirr3l wrote:
Phil…I will win :wink: keep your bets placed squarely on me. Seriously though, the true competition is last week’s numbers. But…y’know…I may just have to own myself a Yankee :).[/quote]

LOL Great Idea maybe we can get a betting pool going on little extra motivation for you all. :slight_smile:

Best of luck you two.

Phill

42

Don’t worry, leg day is tommorow. I promise to smash your best lifts :). lol.