Vinny's Strongman Log II

Training Training Logs
1827

12/11/21 - bw 225 bit carbed up but ffelt abysmally tired today. Did not wake up till the top set, so just in time, i guess.

Back Squat
135x3,3,3
185x3,3
225x3,3,3 just could not feel good. I usually take more warm ups until the set feels “good” before gonig up.
275x2 this somehow felt okay.
330x5x5 solid sets, better than last week and heavier!

Yoke for 15 foot runs (making do with severe inclement weather, violent tornado not too far from me)
185, feeling bad already O.O
275, feeling worse
365 feels like it’s gonna snap my spine. cool. Did this for about 5-6 15 foot runs until it started feeling off and called it. Again, a super light yoke but it’s just mashing my weak baby spine. Fortunately nothing went out of position. It just challenged me.

Bulg Split Squats
x12
x12
x12
x12 feeling smooth today. Hip is feeling less aggravated as of late which is always a plus. My low back is a mixed bag it seems, though.

I am just pleased I got this session done in spite of extrinsic forces going against me today. I have to take the w.

1828

12/13/21 - bw 220 holy shit why am I not gaining weight?! I need to eat more. I had a cheat meal thiniking it would somehow suffice but good lord my body is just getting enough calories.

Today starts my final heavy week and peak to the 4 week ramp-up. Only thing I am maxing on is press. Everything else is just up in weight.

Push Press (axle)
135x3,3,3
175x3
225x2
275x1 feeling super easy
315x4x1
330xF, feels like I didn’t get any pop from my hips and triceps couldn’t press out. Planned to take the L and call it but I came back a few minutes later with a vengeance.
330x1 nice! Not bad for recent times and bodyweight being low.

CG Bench to 3 board
225x6
245x6
265x6

Low Incline Bench SS w/ Lat Pulldown
185x8/x8 x 4 rounds

Delt Ladder
x3 rounds

1829

12/14/21 - bw 225

Deadlifts off 2.15 inch deficit
135x3,3,3
185x3,3,3
225x3
275x2,2
belt on
315x2 smooth
385x5
385x5
385x5
385x5

Stones over 49"
175x3,3
250x2 +175x3
250x3+175x2 first time hitting 250 in over a year. Felt okay.

Nordics
x8
x8
x8
x8

Hyperextension
x15
x15
100x10
100x10

Leg Raises
x10
x10
x10

1830

Yea man a 150% bw push press is pretty sweet.

1 Like
1831

The body is highly adaptable to imposed demands and given enough time and the right stimuli, it will heal a great deal of things.

Oh yeah I can understand that man. I definitely believe you have still more to give and your prime is still in feont of you, not in the past.

Well that’s kind of part of what I wanted to hint at: You’re believes and fears matter. I wouldn’t advise people to deadlift that way BUT it isn’t necessarily more dangerous if the person in question has been building himself up that way - SAID (specific adaption to imposed demands). Injury has very little (more likely next to nothing) to do with the technical execution of a lift as the only factor to lead to said injury.

Hehe the rage of our youth! Although I am still triggered by “how easy” some people have it, haha.

That’s some great personal growth.

No. Strength isn’t solely reflected by our numbers in training/ comp. Although it’s very easy to believe that when you compete in strength sports, where numbers decide.

1832

@Koestrizer Appreciate it. Definitely right about the injury thing and technical execution. It’s tough being able to robotically prioritize every variable (variables that must be prio’d to avoid injury); I am so shamelessly human at times haha. I genuinely get much of my inspiration from most of you guys on T-nation. I tend to turn the cheek at those who are elite status - feels like I’m watching pro wrestling half the time with the feats they do, it just gets disheartening.

12/16/21 - bw 223

Bench Press SS w/ Bent Row
205x5/165x8 x 5 rounds. Slight right shoulder irritability. Feels like it’s hiked up and not staying drilled down. Then again first time benching 200+ since pec strain 4 weeks ago. Felt easy aside.

Neutral Grip Seated DB Press SS w/ Laterals
55x10/15x10 x 3 rounds

JM Press SS /w DB Curl
95x8/15x12 x 3 rounds

1 Like
1833

Vers true man! I’m definitely the same in that aspect. I mean you’re much closer to the level where it makes sense to watch the pros than I have ever been but for me it’s like I’m watching a whole different sport/ event/ whatever occur.

1834

12/17/21 - bw 225

Back Squat w/ 50-60lbs band tension
135x3,3,3
185x3,3
225x3
275x2
325x2 feeling…bad. Thought “no way i am hitting 5x5”
275x5 solid, higher bar position ultimately feeling most copasetic
295x5, better
305x5
325x5
345x5 look at that, ended up going over what I mentally felt I could not hit with some technical adjustments

Yoke
185x60’
275x60’
365x60’ x 3 certainly better than last weeks yokes

Bulgarians
x10
x10
40x8
40x8
40x8

Sled Drag
tire x 60’ x 3 rounds, oof, hard but managed

Deloading next week. Thank god.

1835

12/28/21 - bw 223 still not gaining weight despite cheating like a pig for 3 days. /shrug

Deload went well, albeit a little lazier than anticipated. Back on the horse and a new 8 week training block.

Log Clean and Press away
110x3,3,3
160x3,3 feeling good
200x3 suddenly feeling not so good
230x4 push press, solid set but felt heavy on the core
230x4 push jerks, miserably out of practice
230x4 split jerks, actually not horrible
230x4 bit better.
180x2x5

CG Bench to 3 board SS w/ Pull Ups
215x5/x10 x 3

Giant Set: High Incline DB Bench/Flat DB Bench/Rear Lat Raise
60x8/60x8/25x8 x 3 rounds

Ab Pulldown
x12
x12
x12

Not thrilled today. First day back from a shitty deload + lacking motivation can be a bad combination. Ultimately looking up for this training cycle even if I am forcing myself to abandon the distracting minutia of my mind.

1836

As soon as I start thinking about or analysing training I always find something to be down about. These days I am trying to just look at the template on the day and do the reps. It keeps me out of my own head :joy:

2 Likes
1837

Hope you had a good Christmas brother !!

You’d still be by far the strongest most impressive person I’ve ever seen in real life if you lifted in my gym, so don’t get too down on yourself :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like
1838

@simo74 It’s definitely something I need to do more of. I think having more things to look forward to certainly helps keep training secondary.

@Spock81 Thanks Jenn. At my best I was one strong sob, definitely inspires me to know I was capable of these lifts when I was young and not physically matured yet. Just gotta heal up and be patient. I am wishing you the best new year. Appreciate you!

2 Likes
1839

12/30/22 - bw 224. Travis wants me to start doing heavy yoke before heavy deadlifts. Not sure how I feel about it lol. Going into this first session, I was super nervous.

Yoke
185x60’
275x60’
365x60’
455x60’ actually feeling really good, wow
455x60’ felt a weird tightness in my hamstring. Dull and very widespread. I honestly almost called it here and told Travis I had to back out, but I just meditated and started warming up deads.

Deadlifts
135x3,3,3
185x3,3
225x3
275x3
315x2
365x2
405x4x4 Ultimately no issues with the hamstring at all. I think they just get a big overstimulated from yoke perhaps due to underactive glutes during running/jogging with yoke.

1/1/22 - wow, 2022. I don’t know where the time went. Happy new year to all you guys.

Back Squat
135x5,5
185x8
185x8
185x8 god these felt horrible, haha. Glad they were light though.

Stones (lap and full extension)
175x5,5
250x5
250x5 these felt insanely good. Super easy and extremely happy.

Hyperextension (glute/hamstring focused)
bw x 15
+40lbs x 12
+70lbs x 12
+70lbs x 12
+35lbs x 15 d

2 Likes
1840

1/4/22 - bw 225

Log Clean and Press (clean all rep)
110x3,3,3
160x3,3
200x2
240x3
240x3 felt something dislocate in my right knee/fibula/tibia. This must be due to adjustingmy stance closer on the clean. Because of my right impinged ankle (bone block), I think it jacked up the next bone system in line.

Did some bodyweight squats and lunging and felt the issue only on the squats but not the lunge .
Somewhere in this the issue resolved itself.

Rewarm up to:
210x3x3 these were beltless and felt great. Better than sets with 240. No idea what happened.

Incline DB Bench
55x4x8

JM Press
95x4x8

Band Pull Aparts
x4x10

Time crunch, but got some work in. Ultimately pretty pissed but life goes on.

1841

1/5/22 - bw 224

Deadlifts w/ bands
135x3,3,3
185x3,3,3
235x6x2

Nordics
x8
x8
x8
x8

Decline Sit Up
x3x12

1/6/22

Low Incline Bench SS w/ DB Row (pause at top)
135x5,5,5
185x3,3
225x7/90x6
225x7/90x6
205x7/90x6
205x7/90x6

Seated DB Shoulder Press (no back support) SS w band pull apart
55x8/x25
90x5, uhhh too heavy haha/ x25
65x8/x25
65x8/x25

Giant Set: Incline Skullcrusher/Tri Pushdown/Band Curl/IYTw
65x10/x20/x8/x10 (10 reps each arm position) x 3 rounds

1842

1/8/22 - bw 225

Back Squat
135x3,3,3
185x3,3 feeling so good already
245x3
275x1
315x3
315x3
315x3
315x3

Squats were overall pretty easy. “Heavy” by the standard of my recent training but it felt super light on my back which is an incredible thing. In the past 300+ just felt like a ton. Very demoralizing, as such my morale just tarnished each session but this was one of the first squat workouts where I actually had fun going up in weight.

I did however feel a dull ache in my right knee/upper-outer shin. Likely a side effect of whatever happened to it from log press. It didn’t get in the way of the workout though.

Farmers (figure eights, turn at 21’)
120/hand x 200’ chest slumped too much, a bit harder than needed be
120/hand x 250’ super easy, hardly breathing, chest up high, had more distance if I wanted, but shut down when legs started fatiguing.

Not a bad first session back to farmers, albeit super light.

Hypers (gluteham focus)
x15
x15
40lbs x3x12

1843

1/12/22 - bw 224. Started taking MK-677, it’s supposed to help secrete more GH (not adding supplementory like actual GH injections), by oral admin. I guess technically I’m not natty anymore but the effects are supposed to be very minor compared to actual GH or AAS, yet substantial for someone natural. Travis sort of recommended it with hupertine-a (over the counter vitamin) to help my body recover and hopefully rest better as I struggle with that. Of course I am just trialing this shit and I might fucking die from it – who knows (more than unlikely heh). Day 1, feeling pretty normal. Bw 224

Yoke (drop repick at half)
185x60’
275x60’
365x60’
455x60’ x 3 feeling really stiff today. Can feel my core start to wane a bit and the load hits my back hard. I only felt it go out once, really kept it together on the rest of the sets.

Deadlifts
135x3,3,3
225x3,3 feeling my back really bad here, granted I yanked the bar into place before the 1st rep and I overestimated how important positioning is when healing an injured spine
315x3 good reps, no issues
365x2, 1
420x3x3 program called for around 450 given my 500 theoretical max but I opted for a bit less weight (more than last week, still), just cause I have no reason to rush to satisfy an arbitrary 500lb deadlift input max.

No back issues on top set, which is tremendous considering 225 was irritating.

Hyperext (glute ham focus)
bw x 15, x 15
+55lbs x 12
+90lbs x 12
+90lbs x 12
drop set
55lbs x oiasjdsd90349534
bw x 4-945f odai

1/14/22

SOHP/DB Row SS (had to do tis instead of incline since my bench pretty much broke for incline)
215x6/55x6 (paused)
180x6/55x6 ^same
180x6/55x6^same
180x6/55x6 same^

Seated DB Shoulder Press (neutral grip no back support) SS w/ band Pullaparts
60x8/x25 x 3 rounds

Giant Set: Incline Skullcrusher, Tri Pushdown, IYTW
75x8, x20, x10 (per direction) x 3 rounds

1844

1/16/22 - bw 224

Shovel snowy driveway into Farmers (turn at 20’)
120/hand x 60’ x 3
170/hand x 40’
170/hand x 60’ pinched a nerve in my midtrap. So mad.

Squats
155x3x9

1845

1/21/22 - bw 227 I do think I am feeling effects of MK677 now. Gained some weight, mostly water, I feel like I am sleeping harder and for longer and I have had a ridiculously voracious appetite.

Log Clean and Press
110x3,3,3,3
160x3,3,2
200x1,1
250x1 smokeshow
280x1 slight gamble, but I destroyed this. Post-injury PR.
210x5 (clean and press every rep)

CG Bench
135x5
135x5
185x5
205x5
205x5
215x5

Flat Bench (wide grip)
135x3x15

Pull Ups
4x10

Rear Delt Flyes
25x4x10

Finished session with some hip prehab work.

1 Like
1846

1/22/22 - bw 227

Back Squat
135x3,3,3
185x3,2
225x2
275x2 no belt
345x3
345x3
345x3 felt good, strong
275x14, could have pushed 20 or more. I was actually supposed to stop at 12 but one simply cannot count.

Hyperextension (glute ham focus)
x15
x15
100lbs x 8
100lbs x 8
55lbs x 8
x15
x15

Hip prehab work.

1 Like