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.