Powerlifting, My Dragonball Z fantasy and Diet Update

Good evening blog readers. Today seemed like a good day to update my scenario, so here goes. So you know the title of this blog, the whole road to strongman thing? Yeah, ignore that, we're moving onto powerlifting! 

That doesn't mean I've gone completely off the idea of strongman, I'm just not looking to compete next year as I don't think I'll be strong enough. I know novice comps will be open again next year but I think I'd rather take a year out and get stronger overall, ready for the strongman scene in proper comps the year after. Saying that, I'll still be training events every now and then with Simon and co though, it's way too fun to give up completely!

As for powerlifting, I've started training properly now that I have a focus again. A friend of mine (UK Junior AND Senior GBPF champ!) has offered me some valuable advice on my week split, and it's working marvelously I must say. It's fairly straightforward and involves three different squats, two presses, two deads per week and body building dem arms! It's both kinda weird yet oddly satisfying squatting more than once a week, but it's what I need to do to get my technique honed and perfected for the platform.

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
hi bar squat	heavy deads	speed bench	speed deads
heavy bench	front squat	the gunz	lo bar squat

On all days there's at least one assist exercise after the two main lifts. Obviously a lot more on gun day!

(On a side note here, it's amazing how much more effort I go to when there's a goal on the horizon; Just wanted to add that!)

As for how I will lift... I really want to try equipped as just looks way more fun, you lift heavier and, for example, I feel far safer squatting in wraps than simple neoprene. However, chances are I'll no doubt do a raw meet before I get my gear, but anyway, they're my aims. I'll be lifting with the GBPF as they're drug free and I also have a couple friends in the same fed. I also aim to lift in the 105kg category, which is not far off actually!

At my peak, I was 120kg and no shit, I was strong, but remember that episode of Dragonball Z where Trunks thinks he hits super saiyan 2 but actually just gets fat bulkier and that hinders his performance and speed? Well that's me! ...Sort of.

I wish my life was that interesting.

I've mentioned how I've lost a lot of size and strength over summer, and the original plan was to just eat again and get back that strength. But since my decision to leave strongman a few months back, I've tried to stay the same weight and bring my game back up to where it used to be. It's been tough measuring up to my old weight, but I'm getting there (even hitting a deadlift PB today!).

At 110kg, I feel a lot less fucking blobbish, really good all round and a lot more agile (possibly a slight exaggeration... let's just say a lot less asthmatic around stairs). Hopefully I'll drop more of the gut while I'm eating semi clean and aim for a 105kg finishing weight. Not much to ask in my opinion, and I know I could get to that now with dehydration, fasting and whatever ready for a weigh in but I don't think I could handle it haha. I aim to walk into a meet fully fed and hydrated every time, none of that pain and suffering!!!

You can see where the buckle used to be... 6 holes up!

Speaking of the semi clean diet... Well, it's pretty much the same, but smaller portions! There's no fried food, less chips, more veg and lately I've really taken a liking for maranaded chicken thighs and rice. Nothing major, but it's definitely a lot cleaner.

Oh and I've also dropped the milk. I know that's pretty much sacrilegious based on my previous blog posts, but I've been without for a good few weeks now and haven't missed it all. By all means it's bloody great for adding the weight, but it's extra calories I can do without for now. I'm on a trial and error thing here, but if i magically drop too much weight, milk will be back on the menu!

Anyway, that about wraps it up. Thanks to everyone for helping me shape my new goals, reach new levels and strength and keeping me motivated! Until next time!

My Summer

Evening all. Since my last comp I've sort of taken the piss with my training, literally getting 1 session a week at most. The thought behind this was I sometimes overtrain so was basically seeing how well I could do with as little as possible. While it may be working, it's boring as shit and slow and definitely not my type of thing. I'm working shifts which change on a weekly basis, which doesn't help to my routine organisation skills and the fact that I have a girlfriend who wants to see me also makes training a bit of a squeeze (no offence Robyn!). Basically, just looking forward to getting back to uni, having sweet fuck all to do with my day and no responsibilities with my life and just training, eating and being a total nerd (and er... my final year of uni, but erm... yeah!).

sweet, sweet lack of responsibility... soon!

So with that, I'm gonna continue taking the piss with my training because that's all i can do really. Yes, I could wake up at earlier to go gym but then I'm working til late after, and I can't be bothered with feeling grouchy and shitty the next day. Oh and also, I've lost nearly 2 stone since I've been back, and I'm still literally eating at least one deep fried meal a day. How does that work?! Well I'm only on breakfast, lunch, tea and supper. And even then, these meals are sub-1000kcal and with little to no snacks in between, I'm on 3/5 my regular diet. So there you go, kids, if you're fat, just do some deadlifts, fuck your diets, you'll still lose weight!

Final Fantasy X on a PS2 emulator with Nova's BOGOF pizza offer... and still losing weight!

Speaking of which, I'm trying out the Ortmayer/Magnusson deadlift routine (link starts an Excel spreadsheet download) and it's bloody mental. I absolutely love this program as it's lifting heavy shit a lot with no light work in sight; My sort of thing! Also, the 8+ reps at the end seem like a good way to condition myself, especially since rep deadlifts come up fairly frequently at comps. Bloody brutal!

	Projected Max (lbs)	585
	Projected Max (kg) =	250.0
	Sets	Reps		Weight (lbs)		Weight (kg)
Week 1	Warm Up
	4	4		385		175
	2	2		440		200
	1	8+		385		175
	If you hit all reps on Week 1 continue to Week 2, if not redo Week 1.
Week 2	Warm Up
	4	4		385		175
	1	2		440		200
	1	2		495		225
	1	8+		385		175
	If you hit all reps on Week 2 continue to Week 3, if not redo Week 2.

Yeah, I'm already on 2x94% of my 1RM on my second week! There's another 10 more weeks after that which allow you to reach your desired max. I chose my projected PB cos I thought my 240kg was solid enough months ago, so 250kg should be achievable within 12 weeks from now ...Or so I thought! I already failed week 2 today and not on the part where I imagined. I genuinely thought I'd cock up the 8+ reps at the end before failing a double, but I didn't realise how much a 4x4 @ 70% can take out of you and leave you drained of strength, much less test your cardio and fitness as well. 

So yeah, that's always fun. As well as that, Simon and I have been taking regular visits to The Warehouse Gym and The Junction Gym to just have a play with some kit; Cos that's what it's all about y'know? I know I'm the last person you can imagine saying this, but it's also fun as well as competition. It's why I've felt like I can piss around this summer with barely any training; Cos I'm cramming in events sessions to see what my year's training has given me. Come September, I'll be back to the big 3 lifts weekly and all sorts, but there's got to be a point for your training, and mine is to have fun moving heavy shit i see those guys on the telly doing. 

I'll leave you with a few vids from said gym sessions below. Until then, later!

Newark's First Timers Comp Report and Videos

Good morning world, yesterday was my first strongman comp and I absolutely loved it. If you read the last post, you'll know that other than a single events sesh, I had taken training very easy for the past couple of weeks to give myself time to relax and be 100% fresh for the comp. Saying that, I've had the worst ever ingrown toe nail issue for the past 15 years but it's only in the last few weeks it's sodding flared up and really made life a pain in the ass. But that's pretty much my only excuse, honest!

So anyway, the morning of the comp, Robyn and I wake up around 7am after a good 9 hour sleep (albeit with 4 mid-night toilet trips after trying to keep myself hydrated a bit too much) and leave the house around 8am to get picked up by Lewis, subwoofer blaring at this unholy hour. Casual 90mph up to stamford where we stopped off at McDonalds for breakfast and left for Newark. When we arrived, we chilled at Affordable Fitness' coffee shop until the athletes meeting began. I wasn't allowed a printed entry form, or a pen, nor was I even present on the sodding register! Just what I needed for my confidence in the morning haha. Soon I was sorted though, the comp consisted of 29 lads and the first event was under way shortly.

How every morning of lifting should start

Event 1 - 85kg log for reps 90 seconds

I was confident with my clean technique after a lot of advice from jt and the gang, and with the help of ProjectGoliath I was happy with my double dipping press technique too... before the comp that is. As my name was called, I just went blank with nerves, shaking all over the place. While my clean was solid, my footing was everywhere and I couldn't get comfortable. Not only that, I completely lost all technique and ended up mong pressing with practically just triceps. As cool as that is as a feat of strength, it sucks when it zaps my energy far quicker. I ended up with 4 reps fairly quickly but couldn't for the life of me muster up any more strength after the other cleans. Oh well, 4 reps fun. I wasn't at the bottom, and due to the way events were ordered (winner goes last), I think I came 20/21st in this event due to my running order in the next event.

Event 2 - 180kg deadlift for reps 90 seconds

Obviously my most practiced lift of the day, I was fairly confident in my ability to perform here. The week before I managed 8 in 75 seconds, so was hoping for 10+ on the day with the actual time limit in place. Not much to say here, other than the fact it was head to head and so watching your opponent grind out reps is quite the inspiration you need to give it your all too. I ended up with 11, with the 12th rep being disallowed as I went over the time limit. Never mind! Proper happy with this event, easily my favourite of the day. I believe I came 13th here (based purely on running order for event 3).

Event 3 - 250kg yoke over 20m

This was literally the third time I've used this piece of kit, but it's quite possibly becoming one of my favourite events lately. Thanks to a few wise words from Simon, I finished the course in 17 seconds which was fairly decent to be honest. Definitely not the fastest, but there were a lot of guys slower and even a handful who didn't finish it, so I was over the moon with my performance.

Event 4 - 100kg farmers walk over 40m (drop and turn)

I absolutely hate this event. I can live with aches and bruises but stingy pains in my hands are one of my biggest weaknesses, and definitely something I need to work on. Regardless, I begrudgingly grabbed the handles and proceeded to walk. I was paired with a guy who at a first glance could easily be mistaken as Big Z in his teens who just flew off the start line. I had no ambition of catching him up, but just finishing the course. At the turn, I took my time to set up and let my hands cool down, which cost me a lot of time but I was more focused on the pickup and walk without a drop. Thankfully it paid off and I finished with a new PB of 37 seconds over 40m. Mega happy with this.

Event 5 - 180kg duck walk over 20m followed by 3.5 ton van push over 20m

Similarly to farmers, my grip pain tolerance is girly and definitely something I'll be working on later with my dad's custom made handles. Anyway, basically everyone before the pair before me struggled a lot with this event. No one had made it to the van as the duck walk was proving too much of a task, naturally. That was, until, the guy before me (I don't remember your name, sorry!) pioneered a fantastic technique where he basically pulled it up, pushed it about 6-12" in front of him, set it down again and shuffled forward; Basically, turning a 20m duckwalk into a 18" deadlift over distance. It worked, took the strain from the hands (and on to the shoulders/back) but cost a lot of time. By the time I finished what has to be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, I ran (read 'limped') behind the back of the van and pushed. Overcoming the inertia of the 3.5 ton beast was the hardest part, and it was clear to most that it became a fairly simple push once this barrier was broken. Sadly, with all my time spent on the duck walk, I only managed this tough part and didn't even get to the 'easy' glide zone, managing a mere 1-1.5 meters. Still, the fact that roughly half the athletes didn't finish reach the van means that even that little distance counted for something.

Overall, 14th place (out of 29) so very happy with my day. I didn't win anything (didn't expect to) and didn't make a complete cock up on anything (expected!), so that put me slap bang in the middle of placings. At the end of the day though, i don't think it's really that important to be honest, a number isn't gonna change how I felt about how I did on the day and It was all about the fun, raising some money for charity and setting some PBs for myself. 11x 180kg dead, 40m x 180kg farmers, 4x 85kg log, 20mx 250kg yoke, pushing a sodding van (!!!), all of these things are my greatest achievements to date and that's pretty much what I intend to do each and every comp.

A massive thank you to Robyn and Lewis for coming along to support me, along with every other stranger who was shouting at me on the day. Thanks, it means a ton. Thanks to Simon for being my training partner for all things strongman, he's only been doing it as long as I have and still has a ton of wisdom to share. Well done on your placing mate, as well as winning the duckwalk/van medley, well deserved! Thanks to JT and everyone at the cauldron who has helped me get this far with my technique and confidence, thanks to anyone I've bugged online on Sugden or Facebook about tips and troubleshooting, you have no idea how much carry over that stuff has. Thanks to VikingR for providing great training gear, although it definitely wasn't the weather for upper body base layers (I was sweating like a pig after the log!). And finally, thanks to Richie Allen and Co who put on a fantastic, well organised comp and raised nearly £500 for the Headstart For Babies charity. What a day!


Well done to the Dean Evans (my farmers walk opponent) who absolutely smashed the competition and came away with first place, I expect him to go far in this sport. Well done to everyone else who competed on the day too, and thanks for making my first strongman comp a pleasant and happy one to remember!

Pre-Comp Thoughts and Thanks

Training's really hit a plateau since Newark's Novices came on the horizon. I've not really wanted to push it for the past few weeks and just take it easy, and I reckon it's done me the world of good. 

Pictured above: Taking it 'easy' lol.

Well, my first comp arrives tomorrow, and not nearly as nervous as I should be but that could be cos I just wanna enjoy it and not hate myself for lifting less than gym lifts (as expected, where I obviously only hit one lift per day). I like the lack of pressure on my shoulders and can't wait, after tomorrow we go back to regular progressive training and more PBs smashed every month (hopefully!).

Thanks for reading my blog, tomorrow marks the first step towards my ultimate goal of becoming a 'proper' strongman. I hope you've enjoyed reading my ramblings as much as I have writing them, things only get bigger from here!

60kg Clean and Press Challenge

Just a quick note to mention some funny conditioning training I've tried lately, and one of the only reasons I probably enjoy it is cos you advance through 'levels', similar to World of Warcraft. The idea is start a stop watch and clean and press 60 kg once in that first minute. Then twice in the second minute. Then three times in the third etc. 

At first I assumed this would be easy as i assumed i could strict rep every 6 seconds no problem, but what gets you is the recovery time. At level one, you have a good 50-55 seconds rest before the next level. At level 6, you're literally left with 20 seconds before you've then gotta push out 7 in the next level, with even less rest time! It's similar to CrossFit's Grace WoD, but much cooler cos I said so.

I managed a measly 6 rep level before nearly entering cardiac arrest. It's fun and beats trotting on a treadmill for half hour or so, definitely gets your heart pumping and your lungs wheezing when you're fully split jerking it to get that last rep up. Give it a go!

Obligiatory Weezing pic

Simon and I are heading down to Newark next weekend to try some of the equipment out for the comp the week after. Expect a better update and a few more videos shortly, and then of course the comp write up the week after.

VikingR and other stuff

If you read last week's update you would have noticed I reintroduced myself fairly randomly and spoke with a rather different style of writing. Well, that's because I've been hired by VikingR Strongwear to travel and report my findings on different strongman, powerlifting and weightlifting competitions around the country. It's an amazing job, and I'm truly honoured to have been given such a bitchin' opportunity to be paid to watch what I love doing, and then write about it after! So if you haven't already, get your arse over to VikingR's website and check out their goods.

Sporting the sexual compression top and gym shorts with wobbly pride.

And it's not just their clothes they're enthusiastic about. VikingR have already and still continue to back dozens of competitions, athletes and gyms around the country to spread the word of strength sports. They've got Mark Felix, Graham Hicks and Shane Jerman; all legends in their respective weight categories, backing their team along with sponsoring events with shirts, trophies and equipment. I'm no businessman, but for a relatively small and new company to sponsor and support so many events and people (including me!), it must be digging a huge chunk into their profit margins, which is incredibly generous I reckon. Basically (and genuinely unrelated to my new employment), if you're passionate about strength, support these guys cos no doubt they'll be supporting you later on down the line!

In other news, work has been a bitch and I've found very little time to train. Since coming back from Nottingham on Thursday, I've managed 2 gym seshes which is pitiful. I did manage a 90kg strict press today though so that was pretty neat. Working on dem shoulders!

I also invested in some new sleeves as the Thor range were getting very tight and a complete cunt to change in the summer. I went for the classic blue Rehbands and have never been happier. So comfy, decent support and NEOPRENE, my joints are practically cooked in them. They're 2mm thicker than the modern range they have at the moment, and a lot longer so cover more of the joint. Definitely worth the extra tenner in my opinion.

Other than that, not much to mention really. I'm gonna try and get a bit fitter this summer cos at the moment I'm just a chunky mess when it comes to moving events. Kicked off today with 25mins of cardio this morning, fuck yeah!

Please take a moment to check out VikingR-Clothing, buy some badass training gear and show your support  for the sport!

England's Strongest Man U105kg

Good evening blog readers, my name's Paul and today I was given the opportunity to report on England's Strongest Man U105. This was actually my first ever attended competition so as you can imagine I was pretty psyched to watch how these guys battled out for that prestigious title. For months, 60 men have been whittled down to just 13. Today was a battle of the best, and what a show I was in for!

 

The competition began promptly within minutes of the stated start time and first up was the circus dumbbell medley. 51, 57, 67, 78 and 105kg dumbbells were to be lifted and dropped consecutively in a controlled manner to award points. Practically everyone made short work of the first three, but it was the big 78 that caused problems for a lot of the competitors. Ben Kelsey, Darren Clarke and George Winston successfully managed the lift on their first attempt, with Sebastian Iwaniak and Damien Turner requiring further attempts. With just single seconds separating the top 3, it was already proving a close competition as Ben Kelsey took the win on time. However, with only five competitors completing just the 4^th dumbbell, ESM2012 was indeed going to test every fabric of strength within these incredible athletes.

Next up was the deceptively low big-wheel deadlift. The challenge: 300kg for reps (from what looked to be around 12 inches) within a 75 second time limit. With the majority of the competitors setting a very respectable 1-3 rep standard, Ben Kelsey stepped up to the platform and ripped out 13 huge reps. The crowd went wild, and the competition saw it's first glimpse of a potential dominating force. Many more tried, with the rep count climbing between the 5-8 range now, but still Ben looked unstoppable. As Sebastian Iwaniak approached the bar, he calmly asked what he needed for the win, and as the judge replied with 14, he confidently looked down to the bar and ripped it upwards. In very controlled and technical manner, the crowd watched as he built his way up to ten big reps but eventually ran out of time. He looked good for more, but Ben's speed snatched him the victory for a second event win.

As the tractor pull was being measured, I couldn't help but notice the giant block of concrete stuck to the back of it. So as if a 1.5 ton tractor wasn't enough, the great big pile of concrete tipped it to a whopping 2 tons. And it was pulled on grass, which I can only imagine being a real pain in the arse for trying to gain that initial intertia and continuous momentum started. Alas, every competitor completed the pull in half the time limit, suggesting that these guys really meant business. Jonathon Mills flew ahead by over two and a half seconds, robbing Ben of his third win leaving him in second place. A variety of different pulling methods were used; Some used the legs, the arms, even their back! It was a wonderful sight for someone who's got an upcoming arm-over-arm in a novice comp soon...

Next up was the sandbag loading, which definitely looked like the hardest event of the day. As James Clayton approached the sandbags, he seemed almost guaranteed to load it, but from the spectator’s view, there was a problem. As they were using the side of the stone loading platform, there was a 6” bar around 3” inwards on the platform that the competitors also had to clear. This caused so many problems, especially for the shorter athletes, and proved the downfall for over a third of the competitors. Even worse was when the athletes tried to compensate for this bar by literally flinging it over, only to have it roll off the edge! It turned out to be a very technically challenging event, but a superb performance by Darren Clarke and Daniel Cave gave them the top two spots as the only competitors to load all four. Considering these bags were 10kg over bodyweight and essentially required shouldering, the crowd definitely appreciated all of the athlete's efforts and cheered everyone on, regardless of placing.

The penultimate event of the competition was the keg toss, and once again Ben Kelsey claimed the win after a dominative run. Followed closely by Sebastian, they were the only two competitors who managed the 6^th and final keg. At 18kg and needing a height of over 14 feet, a lot of competitors found it challenging, but that didn't stop them trying! A valiant effort from Darren Clarke, Damian Turner and George Winston saw them repeatedly try it after a blisteringly fast first five, but to no such luck. Unfortunately, most athletes found themselves running 15m and back after stray kegs went under or around the bar, perhaps unexpectedly testing their cardio and stamina as well as their explosive power!

And of course, the perfect final event to any strongman competition, the atlas stones. Just a quick note to mention how cool the loading platform was, as it was 3-4 logs laid down allowing the stones to sit in between them, very intuitive! (Well, I'd never seen one before anyway...). At a starting weight of 117kg, these stones were not for the faint hearted. Still, everyone managed at least two (135kg) and over half the competitors managed three! (160kg). Once again, when the crowd noticed how tough these guys found it, they really backed every little attempt there was. With the 4^th and final stone, most competitors managed to lap it, and some even came close to loading it, but it all came down to Sebastian, Darren and Ben. Seb made the first three look easy, and loaded the 4^th with confidence too, finishing in a very fast time of 35 seconds. Next, Darren was up, and while the first three went up very quickly, the 4^th just wouldn't budge. As both Ben's and the competition's final turn came around, he rose to the occasion, the crowd screaming and shouting, and the 175kg stone was loaded with authority.

Ben Kelsey wins England's Strongest Man U105kg!

A dominative performance grants Ben a well earned victory, with Darren Clarke and Sebastian Iwaniak following closely behind in second and third, respectively. A huge congratulations to not only our top 3, but also the top 6 who've now qualified for Britain's Strongest Man U105, and of course to the rest of the roster who put on an absolute belter of a show too. And not just only them, but also the officials, organisers and volunteers who allowed for a impeccably organised and well run competition on the day. I'm afraid to admit it but I actually missed a few good photos from writing notes, only to look up and find that a new athlete had already started! (Almost TOO organised!).

Like I said, this was my first competition and these phenomenal guys have made it an awesome day out. Depending on the organisation and smoothness of other shows, they may have indefinitely ruined all future comps for me with such high standards too! A magnificent field of athletes, officials and organisational team definitely made this a day to remember.

Update

Hey again everyone, a new blog update is due I think. 

Now we're gonna start off with some bad news, in that I've had to drop from my first comp. It was a challenging novice comp  already, but with the event changes and weight increases, it's a little beyond my grasp. I'd rather not waste mine and everybody else's time by driving 110+ miles to no rep each event. It's not that I I'll suck; I knew that from the start, but going there to essentially spectate isn't exactly my ideal plan for my first comp.

The good news is I'm all paid and ready for the next one, the Newark charity comp in July. These weights are challenging yet still fun, and while I'll still probably be in the lower placings, it'll be cos the other guys are better, not from my colossal shitness. The events are as follows:

85kg log for reps 

180 deadlifts for reps (head 2 head)- staps allowed

250kg yoke over 20 metres 

80kg sand bag carry for 20m followed by a van drag for 20m

100k farmers walk 40m

Now minus the 250kg yoke, I'm fairly confident I can rep/complete the course. My placing in each event will no doubt be terrible but again it won't be from a no-contest so it'll be fun. I've moved a 220kg yoke for 40m very slowly with pauses (on my first training sesh) so we'll just see how that goes on the day. I'm completely out of event training sessions now uni is over, so I've literally just got gym training on my side. Still, overall I'm pretty psyched for this and I look forward to competing. It's only in Newark and it's all for the Headstart4Babies charity so if you're free on the day, feel free to pop along and throw a few quid in the bucket.

As far as training goes, my gym lifts have been improving a ton. I've hit a 240kg deadlift (albeit with straps) and a 200kg squat within the same week, which totally made my day with all these exams around at the moment. My bench is still pretty weak but I'm hoping to bump that up over summer with a lot of assistance work even on leg days. It's a serious weakness of mine and it crosses over to my arms which again need work so it's all good. 

Event training has gone really well lately too. I still totally suck at axles but I've had a ton of advice from friends which I'll put in to practice after the summer. Luckily there's no axle in any upcoming comps this season so I'm safe. As far as stones go, I found using tacky really bloody useful (duh), and I was loading 105kg for reps fairly easily. I didn't try the 120kg properly but I think with a bit of technique work, I've got the strength to get it up. I also had a few goes with the circus dumbbells again and got 51kg up first try to my surprise, but still failed 57kg. I've got the strength for it, but my technique is shocking. Maybe next time.

And now onto my nice new toys. I've had em a while but I thought I'd dedicate a slot in this brag about to my new stuff. Since easter holidays, I've acquired

StrengthShop resistance band set (2x No.2, 3 and 4)

Strengthshop lever belt

Rehband compression shorts

Rehband neoprene back support

Spidertack competition grade tacky

Atlasstones.co.uk custom wrist straps

Risto White Thunder weightlifting shoes

A combination of a generous student loan, having a lovely mummy and getting free stuff from jt's means this term I've had a ton of new stuff to play with and increase my performance in all areas.

Anyway, that's about it. I should probably be revising for Ionisation Radiation but I really can't be arsed. Will probably go and play Diablo for a bit. Yeah, my life has become eat, sleep, train and Diablo. Epic life.

It's been a while...

Hey everyone, it's been while I know but I've been swamped with gym training, event training, Peggle and unfortunately my second year exam period. Good news, however, is that I've finally got some decent videos up from The Cauldron and The Warehouse. I've been working really hard to perfect the technique of the events due in upcoming comps, and with the help of former 105 England's Strongest Man, I've had mountains of advice passed on to help me improve even faster.

I'll be the World's Strongest Peggle Champion too.

Now sadly, my first ever comp has had some changes since I last started yelling about it. The 100kg log is now a 100kg axle. No biggy... except for the past 4 weeks of log training. I whinge, but it obviously has a ton of cross over and last week I pretty much had it sorted, so I'm not really fussed to be honest. The annoying thing is that the already significantly heavy novice comp had it's weights bumped up by 10kg. That includes the farmers and all 5 stones, meaning the last stone is 130kg. Now considering I can barely get the 105kg up, I'm definitely buggered.

But anyway, some training videos!

The Warehouse is a bitchin' gym in Leicester with a huge array of tasty things to play around on.  One of those being a car deadlift frame. And a car.

Now I'm not too sure on the weight but I highly doubt it's the same 220kg in the handles as I have coming up in Dartford. Either way, you can see that I eventually figure out the tekkers and get it rolling by the end. I also got a little carried away and forgot about my belt, but I'm not sure if that was a bad thing or not. I could breath easily and in actual fact I ended up essentially half squatting the car rather than deadlifting it. Perhaps that's the way to go...

Next up was the log, which I've now totally changed since the technique seen in the video.

As you can see, I literally push up with my (stupidly wide stanced) legs and finally push solely through with my triceps. While that's great, a friend of mine (ProjectGoliath) mentioned that I should try 'double dipping'; That is dipping once again instantly after the initial push. This allows me to lock my arms first and then push up with my legs. After all, a 90kg squat is far easier than a 90kg strict press. Since then, I've hit a 90kg axle overhead with relative ease, so it's definitely working.

Next up was another event I was unsure of, but things turned out really well. The arm-over-arm sled pull.

No I'm not constipated, that's my incredibly gay 'war cry' for pulling along a 250kg tire, 160kg sled and a 85kg spence trying his best not to fall off. It's disgustingly difficult, but this was at the very end of the session and my hands were hurting so bad that they went numb, allowing me to pull this hunk-o-junk, albeit fairly slowly. I can't imagine the up and coming van pull will be this difficult as once the initial weight has been moved, I'll have the inertia of the car rolling to help me out (yeah physics!).

Finally (well, there's more vids but you don't need a description on all of 'em), there was the farmers walk. Now being obviously blind to anything relatively easy, all I could see laying around the gym were shitty little handles or thick axle-style handles. Seeing as I fancied keeping my palms, I opted for the thick handles and proceeded to look like a bulldog licking piss off a stinging nettle. You'll see.

 

It's not even a full 20m, I could barely get my hands round the thing initially and started like 3m past the starting line. Even then, I finished 2m before the end so all in all I managed a measly 15m. I severely disagree with thick handles, especially 100kg in each hand. Saying that though, it was obviously a wicked grip workout and although I've got 20kg more in the upcoming comp, I can't see my grip failing on regular handles.

That's pretty much it for now guys, check back in this week or the next for some Cauldron videos, I've got an early morning sesh tomorrow and hopefully another Warehouse visit in the week too. If you want more videos (and there're a few of my training partners too), obviously just browse my channel and watch us attempt strongman.

Will probably end up working for the rural RAC.

Comp Prep etc

Today was my second events session and it was a little more focused than the last. Where as last week I was just toying with the weights and getting a feel for the gear, this felt more like a proper structured workout and I had a blast. First on my list to do was to sort out my retarded log clean technique and get it to the point where I could one motion press it. After figuring out the starting position and a lovely bit of advice from jt (hug it to your chest), I reckon I've pretty much got it. Worked my way up to 77kg strict and then decided to go for pushes too. 87kg went up fine, 97kg was fairly close but wouldn't budge. The floor was a bit wet and slippery also which didn't help, I'd have quite liked to give split jerking a go on a log as it's my preferred method of pushing out a bar. Ah well. Only one other guy managed the 97kg, but failed the 99.5kg (sorry I never got your name!). Good effort from everyone though.

'That other guy' (It says 92 but I think this was only 87... he smashed 97kg though too).

Next up were the stones and I was fairly confident due to my relatively strong legs and back. Turns out it's a shit ton of bicep work too, and while I managed to rep 80kg, 105kg only went up the once. It's weird, I didn't exactly push myself to the limit with it, yet I could only get it up once. It definitely needs some working on, once it's lapped I'm all good but once again it's the starting position technique that's letting me down.

But overall a good session. 97kg log nearly went up, and I have a 100kg rep challenge in 8 weeks. A 105kg stone went up, and that's slap bang in the middle of Mazda classic stone weights (80-120kg). Things are looking good, even though I may be cutting it a little fine...

Oh yeah! Another comp lined up, coming roughly a month after Dartford and it's in Newark. It's completely for charity so no prizes/shirts/whatever but in all honesty, I'm happy to be giving another comp a go full stop. It's good competitive practice, relatively local and the weights look really tasty.

85kg log for reps
180 deadlifts for reps (head 2 head)
250kg yoke over 20 metres
80kg sand bag carry for 20m followed by a van drag for 20m
100k farmers walk 40m

Minus the sandbag/van medley, I'm definitely confident to rep these weights. Unfortunately, that means everybody else will be but at least no one will fail a lift, which is good for competition and obviously good for the audience. I'm really looking forward to this one.

Event Training

Long time no post. I've been back in Nottingham for a whole week without uni (I forgot about all the bank holidays), and so I've literally been eating, training, eating and watching tv shows for the majority of my days. Hard life. I'm still on the Wendler's 5/3/1 and have seen progress in my overhead and bench already. I've not tried a 1RM in squat or dead cos I can't stand increasing by 2.5 or 5kg, I'll wait til I feel I have another 10kg in me lol.

Anyway, I went to The Cauldron today for my first strongman events sesh. Using my epic Google Maps skills, I left my house at half 6 to travel to Leicestershire by public transport. Yeah, fuck. To be honest there was only an hour of travelling in total, but as these were desolate lands, I had hour long waits in between buses.

Finally I arrived at JT's shed and as I was the first there, decided I'd get the log out of the way first. My cleaning technique was completely blagged and terrible, but when I eventually got it up (lol) I managed 67kg in strict presses for reps. When I moved on to push presses, bizarrely I actually couldn't get any more than 10kg on there before the sheer size and awkwardness started to take effect. I managed 77kg for reps but failed miserably on 87kg. A good start, but I've got a 100kg log for reps in June. Already I have a glaring weakness, so I really need to work on my technique I think.

Next up was the yoke. Now I was pretty confident with this as it involved my legs, but when I got under it I realised I had severely underestimated how much punishment my lower back would take too. I managed 220kg for 20m and did that twice which was pretty fun, but absolutely shattering. Still, I felt this was a good weight for my experience, and with a bit of practice I reckon I can get another 40kg. Not next week though, it's comp prep only after today!

Anyway, soon after this I tried the farmer's walk; the event I was dreading due my poor grip. Surprisingly, I managed 50kg, 70kg and 100kg in each arm fairly quickly, though the turning was by far the hardest part. (I think I was worried about grip due to the revolving Olympic bars in the gym, where I can never get a decent hold under it). Anyway, the best thing about this is that my comp in June is only 10kg heavier and I essentially nailed this first try. Shockingly what I thought would be my weakest event may actually be my strongest come comp day.

Finally, we went on to the thick handled dumbbell press where we played around with 30kg and 40kg for reps, til we bust out the circus dumbbells. Now I was confident with a 51kg lift as I managed a 50kg, albeit with a thinner handle, back in Deeping around Christmas time. Sadly, I couldn't quite get the last few inches of height for what felt like a ten second lockout. A second attempt only aggravated the situation as it fell backwards tweaking my elbow and making it feel all weird. A third attempt, even sleeved, wrapped and belted still couldn't budge it. I'm gonna partially blame the farmers on this, my shoulders felt utterly destroyed by this point. What's cool was the other lads went on to do this for reps, and one even pressed a 64kg, which was pretty sick.

Unfortunately, with my arm feeling like ass, I didn't fancy taking on the stones at the risk of broken toes and so decided to call it a day. It was mad fun and I learned a lot, and spent the two hour journey home thinking about what to do next week. And speaking of which, thinking is a lot nicer when the pubs next door to the bus stops are open, a pint of London Pride really does go down well after a good 3 hour workout.

Above is a nice little vid showing some of the toys I got to play with today. Sorry, no actual pics or vids from today unfortunately. Next week, perhaps.


More event training next week, but for now, I'll be sticking to a nice light week this week so I can recover from today. Feel like death.