T3hPwnisher's Log

Training Training Logs
221

I’ve never had a dislocation, so take that into account.

The two things that have seemed to do the most for evening things left and right is soft tissue work around the thoracic spine and joint distraction stuff.

For the first, a lacrosse ball between you and the wall, but work in the areas between the spine and the scapula, find some painful spot, and then just put as much pressure as you can tolerate against it for a count of 20-30 while swearing under your breath. Done right, you should actually notice an immediate increase in ROM on whichever side you do… being able to bring your arm further up and behind, and to the side and back. Also, along those same lines, putting a foam roller/5" pvc pipe perpendicular to the spine around the same area, arms overhead, and just relaxing and letting everything stretch out and bend backward over it. That’s a little more general rather than left/right.

For the second, timed two and one-arm hangs from a pullup bar helped somewhat, with some swinging forward and back, side to side. What really seemed to do the same thing, but better, is band distraction holds, and band distraction with movement. Hook a band around something solid and higher than your head (I have an attachment so I can hook it in a door jamb), the other around your wrist, and then walk your body away until your arm and band is stretched as much as it will go.

The most “productive” stretches there were to face away from the band with your arm behind you, and basically lunge with the same leg forward (so right arm behind, right leg in front), and rotate the arm, elbow up, elbow down, and do that and hold for awhile. And then a second one where you face the band, kneel, so that your arm is above and behind your head, and just adjust until you feel the stretch all along your lats, and then just hold that for awhile.

There’s a few videos with Donnie Thompson that shows how he uses it (“Donnie Thompson Shoulder Fix”), a blog post with pictures entitled “Unorthodox Fitness: Band Traction (Part 1 of 2)”, and a video with Omar Isuf “MOBILITY For Weightlifting: Ankle, Hip and Shoulder”.

Everything really feels to be pretty well balanced now. For whatever that’s worth.

222

Definitely something for me to consider if I end up getting really broken. Thanks for the info. Right now, the way forward is going to be simply more mindfullness in my training and to keep focus on tension. Still very happy with how this bench program has been working, and really pissed at myself for not using it earlier in my career.

223

Yep, that makes sense. The “evening out” was sort of an accidental discovery.

My shoulder and elbow pain had kept me from making progress for so long, so that’s what I was actually trying to fix. The elbow stuff was bizarre though; I’d get 80% to lockout, and then it would just give and I’d lose all tension in my right arm. Dropped the bar on the pins many times because of that. That stuff helped with both elbow and shoulders… and just so happened to even out some stuff left-to-right in the process.

The bench routine is the 2nd run of the Matt Kroc program? Why do you think it’s working so well? (at least relative to the stuff you’ve done in the past)

224

Yup yup, second run. I imagine the biggest part of the success is the fact that someone else wrote the program, so I can just turn off my brain and do the work. In terms of the program design itself, the built in deloads are helpful, as is the varying rep range. I tend to stick in the same ranges a lot, and it looks like working through a variety has been helpful. Benching for so many reps has also been helpful in teaching me how to get tight in my set-up, which has probably been the most beneficial thing for me so far.

Initially, I was turned off by the 16 week program structure, but it’s not like you take 16 weeks to get stronger. Each cycle you end up moving a previous weight for more reps, or a heavier weight for a previous rep range. You’re constantly growing stronger the whole time.

(14) Chain suspended safety squat bar squat
1x435+chains

Notes: Hamstrings are still nuked from Saturday. Can barely bend my legs, so this is pretty huge. It’s expected after 3 weeks without a decent squat workout. Impromptu deload, but outstanding bad day PR for sure.

Reverse hyper 360
2x10
1x15

Neck harness 45
1x50

Notes: Going to hit the car deadlift and yoke tomorrow. Abs maybe later today.

225

Log Clean and Press (clean each rep) 200lbs
1x6
1x4

Notes: Made today an events day, just because schedule allowed it. Numbers don’t seem like much, but goal was to do as many reps as I could without any pauses, and then cut the set. 6 in 1 go lets me know I’ll be good for about 8-9 come comp day. Hamstrings still screaming, pretty much had to brute strength the log up in all instances, clean was garbage. At least I can do that if I need to. Press was still a grinder on last rep, but technique is much smoother. All in all, happy with the progress I’ve made on the log.

Car deadlift simulator 5 plates+chains
1x13
1x11
1x10

Notes: Pretty gassed, but still making progress. Hands are beat up.

Yoke 570
2x100’ (turn at 50)

Notes: 40 seconds for both runs. Tried 660 at first, but only managed a few steps. In off season, I’ll push this a stupid weight. Still, no drops, and feet were moving pretty quick. Flat steps may be costing me some time.

226

Yoke walk looks awesome especially on the neighborhood sidewalk!!! Neighbors probably think, “There’s the crazy guy across the street up to his usual shenanigans!”

227

[quote]jblues85 wrote:
Yoke walk looks awesome especially on the neighborhood sidewalk!!! Neighbors probably think, “There’s the crazy guy across the street up to his usual shenanigans!” [/quote]

My neighbors are thankfully very cool with my antics. Most will give me a smile or a nod if they catch me mid event. A lot of folks when they meet me outside of training will go “You’re that guy who is always running with the keg/pushing the minivan/carrying the heavy weights/etc!”. It’s like being a celebrity, haha.

1 week, in between sets, some kids would ride their bikes between the uprights of the yoke. Made me feel like I was accepted into the tribe.

Yoke walks might look cool, but holy shit do they suck. The only solace I take is that this will hopefully mean things suck less on comp day.

I was also going to say, you and I have the same first name. Same spelling too.

228

[quote]T3hPwnisher wrote:

[quote]jblues85 wrote:
Yoke walk looks awesome especially on the neighborhood sidewalk!!! Neighbors probably think, “There’s the crazy guy across the street up to his usual shenanigans!” [/quote]

My neighbors are thankfully very cool with my antics. Most will give me a smile or a nod if they catch me mid event. A lot of folks when they meet me outside of training will go “You’re that guy who is always running with the keg/pushing the minivan/carrying the heavy weights/etc!”. It’s like being a celebrity, haha.

1 week, in between sets, some kids would ride their bikes between the uprights of the yoke. Made me feel like I was accepted into the tribe.

Yoke walks might look cool, but holy shit do they suck. The only solace I take is that this will hopefully mean things suck less on comp day.

I was also going to say, you and I have the same first name. Same spelling too.[/quote]

The yoke walks definitely look brutal. Can’t imagine walking with that much weight bearing down on me. The look you get from neighbors sort of reminds me of when I would carry my various kettlebells to the track doing various KB movements, carries, and then hit my sprint work. Love it when the old folks stop and ask “Hey son, why you carrying those cannon balls around?”

Re our name… what can we say… it’s a great name!! The only thing that is tough is when telling someone my name is Jared they always look at me with a confused look and say “Jerry?!?” I end up having to say no, it’s Jared, like the Subway guy!! Not sure if you have that issue or not but being from South Carolina I’m sure my accent doesn’t help much!

229

[quote]jblues85 wrote:
The yoke walks definitely look brutal. Can’t imagine walking with that much weight bearing down on me. The look you get from neighbors sort of reminds me of when I would carry my various kettlebells to the track doing various KB movements, carries, and then hit my sprint work. Love it when the old folks stop and ask “Hey son, why you carrying those cannon balls around?”

Re our name… what can we say… it’s a great name!! The only thing that is tough is when telling someone my name is Jared they always look at me with a confused look and say “Jerry?!?” I end up having to say no, it’s Jared, like the Subway guy!! Not sure if you have that issue or not but being from South Carolina I’m sure my accent doesn’t help much![/quote]

Oh my god I get that “Jerry” shit all the time. My local Taco Bell started associating orders with names and I got so fed up with it that I stopped giving them my real name. I mainly stick with “Bill” or “Rusty”.

I suppose I could just stop eating at Taco Bell so much, but I mean, that’s impossible.

230

Lunch time workout

(3) Incline dumbbell bench 105 per hand
3x10

(2) Incline dumbbell bench 105 per hand w/reactive slingshot
1x6

superset w/

GB Lat pulldown 120
5x10

superset w/

Band pull aparts
4x20

Notes: Taking care of the assistance work. Feeling pretty beat up, so cutting out events (farmers) today and just hitting the static stuff. Best DB press day I’ve had in a while, will move the incline up again next week. Getting close to overhead press level, but it’s honestly this level of incline press that gives me the most trouble as it is. Found it helpful to have weight plates to press my feet against.

GIANT SET

GB lat pulldown 120
3x10

D-ring FG chain curls
1x15
2x10

Average band pulldown
3x12

Band pull aparts
3x20

Notes: Got a really great lat pump today. MMC was really strong.

231

I feel like you would have covered this somewhere, but I’m blanking on where, if you did.

How do you actually do your bracing and breathing when you’re using straps on the mat pulls?

Today, I tried getting a breath, bracing and getting tight before descending to the bar, and I felt a bit stronger doing that from the top. It seems like that might make a difference if I were going for a 1RM.

However, that’s obviously not doable when hooking up straps. I normally wrap the straps, then stand up (with hands on the bar), get a good stretch of the back and hamstrings, breathe, brace, then drop into position.

How do you do it?

232

[quote]LoRez wrote:
However, that’s obviously not doable when hooking up straps. I normally wrap the straps, then stand up (with hands on the bar), get a good stretch of the back and hamstrings, breathe, brace, then drop into position.

How do you do it?[/quote]

I don’t tend to think about it, so I’ll try to see if I can put it into words.

-Set feet (remain standing the whole time)
-Bend at knee to reach bar
-Wrap right strap, then left strap
-Keep knees with slight bend until time to start pull
-Straighten legs, get torso parallel to floor
-Take as much air into belly as possible, press belly against belt
-Roll bar toward shins, fall backward onto heels (this action should really compress the air in the belly at this point, because we went from having a straighened out torso to a bent one. The roll backwards also helps compress more, compared to just standing straight up.)

As for breathing itself, I hold my breath for as long as possible. It’s actually one of the many types of PRs I track. The more reps I can get in one breath, the more reps I will get total. I try to hold on to right about the point that my vision goes black and I want to puke.

This is my latest deadlift video, you can sort’ve seen the stand up/roll that I talk about, and note the breathing pattern. Let me know if I can clear anything up.

233

2.6 mile run

Notes: Work function. I was up to about 202lbs this morning, and the extra weight showed. Moved slower than I was used to. No stops and cardio was just fine, but legs felt thrashed from all the training.

234

Thanks for the explanation, and the video sort of covered the gaps. Nice set, too.

I seem to get light-headed/black out when I get too much air, but I guess that’s probably trainable. I think I’ll borrow your idea and start working on holding my breath longer to see if I can push that envelope a bit.

235

[quote]LoRez wrote:
Thanks for the explanation, and the video sort of covered the gaps. Nice set, too.

I seem to get light-headed/black out when I get too much air, but I guess that’s probably trainable. I think I’ll borrow your idea and start working on holding my breath longer to see if I can push that envelope a bit.[/quote]

Yeah, it’s definitely a trainable quality. It’s probably not the safest idea, and each week I set a new PR in how many blood vessels I pop in my chest, traps, shoulders, upper back and face, but it has served me well. If nothing else, it gets you moving FAST on a set, because you know you’re on a timer.

After you exhale that one big breath of air, it’s going to create something of a vacuum, and it’ll feel like you’re breathing fire. It’s still possible to get in a few more reps after that, but once you set the bar down, prepare to feel pretty thrashed. I train out of my garage, and every once in a while I’ll set a PR on reps in 1 breath and catch myself just howling or swearing or something, only to see some sweet woman taking her baby in a stroller come by. It doesn’t make you a pleasant person, haha.

236

(5) Mat Pulls 570+chains
18 reps total

Notes: 12 in the first, 3 and then 3. Felt like crap, underfed and in a sleep deficit, so another great bad day PR. Last heavy deadlift day until comp, and after that the month of May is pretty jacked up for me, so I’m going to have to make due where I can.

Set itself was great, but left hip got a little pissed off, so I didn’t fight for many of the reps.

DOH hold 405+chains
60 seconds

Zeno Squats

8x455
4x455
2x455
1x455
4x405

Notes: Hip was done on the last set. Goal was 8. Still a killer set.

General strongman notes: Got a keg for $15 yesterday and found out about a comp in Aug in San Diego, nearby my parents. Stoked about it, they’ve always wanted to see me perform. Torn on a decision point. The 200lb class weights are incredibly light and the open weights would be more of a challenge, but since it’s my parents, I kind of want to put on a good show. Additionally, I might be able to handle the open weights just fine, but I’m already doing one contest where I’ve giving up a ton of weight, don’t know how much I want to keep doing that. Will think it over.

237

Just watched your videos from your first couple strongman comps in your thread in the strongman forum. Really cool stuff. Very admirable that you not only made the switch from powerlifting to strongman, but that you had the courage to start competing without a lot of experiences with the events! Keep up the great work, man!

238

[quote]erik_carlson wrote:
Just watched your videos from your first couple strongman comps in your thread in the strongman forum. Really cool stuff. Very admirable that you not only made the switch from powerlifting to strongman, but that you had the courage to start competing without a lot of experiences with the events! Keep up the great work, man![/quote]

Much appreciated man. I’ve always believed that strong is strong, and though specificity helps, a strong man will be strong at many things. It’s been a blast to compete in, and I encourage anyone to try out a comp, even if your first exposure to events happens on comp day, haha.

Thanks for the post.

239

Weighted chins w/50lbs
25 reps

Bench press 310
4x4

superset w/

Band pull aparts
4x20

Notes: Feeling a little torqued. Left elbow kind of beat up. Still moving along nicely, but it’s definitely getting time for my pre-comp deload.

Shoulder circuit
3 rounds

DB rows 105
8x3
1x33

240

Just read your most recent blog post.

Your approach was fundamental in helping me reframe my “I can’t bench or press because of shoulder and elbow issues” to “how do I bench and press, despite shoulder and elbow issues”. I feel like I lost a lot of time I could have been making progress by just having the wrong outlook.

Your ideas have been very helpful for getting me back on track. I’d kind of lost my way a few times. I’m glad you chose to share things and put them out there.