February Update

Good evening blog readers. I was actually messaged a few days ago asking when my next blog post would be. I had another asking for a full experience of stick to strongman (sort of) in words. While I'm working on the latter, I can't help but feel honoured that people actually read this stuff. Cheers!

So, what's new? Well I've actually had (another) week off. I know right? Terrible. I literally had weekend to weekend off and started again with events at JT's. It wasn't a heavy sesh, but my shins were feeling completely healed and so I just wanted to work on my deadlift lockout. We did a bit of axle deadlift triples from height (using tires + plates) up to 210kg, strapless. These felt great, and the absence of straps was obviously doing wonders for my grip.

Ignore JT's little 'foooooong, misstaaa fongggg' lol.

After that, I just wanted to hit the upper body a bit more but didn't wanna aggravate my shins just in case, so just did a bit of light strict rep work with the axle too. 60kg for 3 sets of 10, except I failed the 3rd set. Never mind. Quite a small sesh but great to see JT and Simon and play with some different toys.

Another reason for going down to the cauldron was to collect my new single ply lifting gear. A lovely (lightly used) Titan F6 and Titan Centaurian are now mine! The suit is for 90kg and the shirt is 100kg. Challenge accepted!

105kg bodyweight, 90kg suit, eeeeeeeeeeasy.

The suit takes about 20 minutes to get on all the way with a bit of Tesco carrier bag lubricant! For anyone curious how it works, you just slip the bags over your thighs and use the slippyness of the bag to slide the 'sleeves' (for lack of better word) over your legs. Takes a bit of squirming about and little quarter squats to get it on fine but that's cool. I can't get the straps up by myself which is probably a good thing, meaning I should be able to get the most of equipped squatting.

As for the shirt, that's pretty much a perfect fit. It's for 100kg lifters but I have a relatively small upper body (work in progress!) so it slides on fairly easy by myself alone. Usually it's meant to take a bit of effort from a whole team of guys so I was quite proud to get it on first try.

I won't be trying any equipped lifting in my gym, sadly, as a) I want proper spotters b) want proper people to show me what to do and c) want to actually have plates at hand (We have like eight 20s to share between the entire gym). Hopefully should be attending properly equipped gym in the summer, and hopefully frequently before too.

The Warehouse Gym, home of British powerlifting record holders.

Anyhoo, that's about it at the moment. I'm looking forward to using knee wraps again as it's been forever since I used any form of non-raw style lifting and I've got that pair of Metal Silvers that need breaking in. 

Until next time guys, thanks for reading!

Training Update - Few Vids

So the other day I said I was feeling horrid in my shins still so I've neglected my legs for a while. That means the past week I've been benching, overhead pressing and working the guns to death. It's been fun cos there's only one thing I love more than exercising is lying down, so combining the two seems perfect. Anyhoo, lately I've been pausing my reps and feeling the benefits way more so that's my new thing at the mo. I've hit a 110kg paused double which is only a single rep from my 'bounced' PB, and I've definitely got more in the tank.  We'll see soon enough anyway.

Other than that, the only real lower body exercises I'm getting lately are deadlifts and while they're only getting hit once a week, I'm loving lifting heavy every time. Anyway, since 242.5 and 245kg fell in two weeks, the third week should have been another 2.5kg increment but I felt ambitious and it paid off.

250kg slightly hitched over the shorts but ah well

As you can see, my lockout sucks. But I really did try and not hitch the bugger and I reckon 247.5kg would have been a lot cleaner but meh. I've been instructed by friends who know what they're doing that working on deadlifts from blocks (14-18" inch) will definitely help out, and I plan on squeezing these in whenever I can. Sadly, my gym doesn't exactly have blocks and the lowest pin on the squat rack is 20", so I think I've just gotta batter my upper back with rows, lat pulldowns and other accessory lifts to fix the problem. The odd time that I can get to the cauldron or warehouse will be my block day though.

So today we went to The Warehouse Gym and did some events. Long story short, it was a terrible session for me, but I still enjoyed myself. There's no video, but basically I no-repped the car deadlift and conan's wheel, and didn't exactly blow away the axle either (with a massive 110kg single rep lol). But anyhoo, I still got in some tire flips and squats with chains. I've never used chains before but still had a blast with em and will definitely try to fit them into my warehouse sessions later.

39kg cast iron wheels, 20kg bar, 30-40kg in chains, quite light but nice to learn with.

If you're unsure on what's the purpose of metal chains clanging around at my feet, I'll explain. As I'm standing up, I have the full weight of everything on the bar. As I squat down, the chains rest on the floor, lightening the load. It essentially loads the top half of the squat with more weight than the bottom. My squats don't really have a sticking point at the moment mind you, so it's not something I really need to work on, but I imagine that once I start squatting in kit, the top half will require extra training so I'm getting that head start now. I've also mentioned it's really cool!

Speaking of which, I've since returned the Inzer Harcore deadlift suit I ordered a while back (as it hadn't even been sent yet!) and made a bargain purchase of a second hand bench shirt and squat suit from a former England's Strongest Man and GBPF record holder! (Yes that's a claim to fame). These look great, but I'll wait a bit til I train in them cos I'm a complete kit noob and will probably die training alone! So yeah, here's my new kit!

  

Only one more thing to say really and that's I finally dragged my girlfriend down to the gym the other day to try out some compound lifts. We weren't expecting anything great but she definitely blew expectations out the window whens she got the hang of most lifts straight away. We started off with a 25kg bench press, 60kg deadlift and 16kg zercher squat. We used the latter as a regular squat proved a little difficult for someone with fucking zero mobility caused by years of WoW and CoD (she is pretty good at those though), but either way, most impressive stuff.

I don't think she'll be coming back anytime soon but it's nice to see that with a little push, people get their arse in gear and give it a shot. Who knows, maybe you can too?!

Hey you! Join a gym!

I realise I do a rant every year and every time my views have drastically changed. I mean, look at last time, I was telling you to eat pizza and shit. Now I'm all like 'brown rice fuck yeah!' but whatever. This is better ...for now! (lol).

Anyhoo, I'm only posting this cos I have a few friends of mine on the fence about joining a gym and chasing some goals. From what I've seen, there are plenty of reasons why people won't join a gym, and here I'll stress why you should get off your arse and just do it!

A typical excuse that annoys the living fuck out of me is that they 'workout at home' or something. What the living shit what?! If it's an issue of confidence, fair enough. Get a little bigger, get a little stronger, but what you when you finally do step through those gym doors, you will be gobsmacked at how much time you wasted at home and how little you've improved until then.

Just no... Saying that, Just Dance 4 is hella fun lol

If you're lazy (like me!), doing the above and just training at home actually takes more effort than going to a gym, in the sense that you could literally get 1/2/3/4/5x the results at the gym then at home. That means you could probably get the same work done in whatever fraction of the time. Neat, huh?

And if you're one of those guys that wants to do all your research beforehand, that's fine too, but don't take the piss. What I mean is those guys that spend hours on forums looking for 'shortcuts' or 'the best protein' or 'the right amount of reps' or some other bullshit. Just do it! Doing something is better than procrastinating by researching all day doing nothing! Youtube a couple vids on technique, and/or better yet, find a friend and get them to support you (even physically!) and just get on with it!

This man is a total legend, very inspirational

Don't get sucked into supplements and the 'lifestyle' that comes with it (just yet), focus on getting a decent footing first and learn the basics. The basics meaning every major barbell compound lift and/or cardio and conditioning, depending on your goals. The basics also include where you wanna go with your weight. Remember,

If you wanna lose weight, you need to:

Eat a little less

Exercise a bit

Drink more water

If you wanna gain (healthy) weight, you need to:

Eat a little more

Exercise a bit

Drink more water

That's it.

Come on, don't be this guy

There are millions of calculators on Google that'll get your diet down perfect, but again, you'll be progressing so quickly in your first month or so the figures will be outdated straight away. Just remember that even if you don't wanna go anywhere with your weight, you'll still be eating a little more due to the increased activity. Nothing major, like 500kcal at most, or just a bigger breakfast or something. It really isn't that difficult.

Now let's make this about me (it's my blog lol shaddap). Let's make me out to be the unsung hero of fitness and dramatic change in lifestyle, which i blatantly am by the way...

Sexy me, weighing at 77kg

Me, single arm pressing 71kg (It would have been cooler if I could press my old bodyweight lol)

If I, the take-it-easy coasting lazy fucker, could look like that in the first picture and turn out like the guy in the second, how well could you turn out with a bit of hindsight training knowledge and a proper diet!?

C'mon guys, stop this 'tomorrow' attitude and start today (figuratively...no wait, literally!). 

The above author is a hypocrite and awful at handing out advice. However, he's learned from his mistakes and wishes to pass on some 'wisdom' to anyone who so wishes it bestowed upon them. Go lift, faggot.

Time off and other bits

About a year ago I was high-bar squatting in my brand new oly shoes and then like two days later, my calves went tight as shit and then two days after that, my shins felt like they were snapping on walking.

Yeah that's happened again. Getting a little over zealous with my russian routine made me neglect my form and wider stance and squat like a muppet again, keeping my feet narrow and collapsing over my knees. I thought I stopped this... Since switching to a wider stance low-bar position, I have never felt so stable and in control of my squats  but for some reason that all went to shit the other day and now I'm feeling it again, meaning I should probably give it a rest for a bit.

Quite literally running through the tight calves that started it all.

Now I know there's no real reason to stop benching (and even deads to an extent) but I'm sure this rest will be worth it. Coming away from 5 PBs in 5 days, my body could probably do with a break in my opinion. It'll only be for a couple more days, so a full weeks break in total.

I'm still a little unsure on resuming the russian squat routine too; I mean, if big rep sets are causing me to drop form with fatigue, I'd rather not risk an injury again. I'll think about this on my week off, but either way, I've definitely taken something productive away from the program. I am in love with the massive set number of doubles/triples and even if i do drop the routine, these will stay. Whether I quit or complete it, I still think squatting three times a week is detrimental to my recovery, so I might go back to squatting just twice a week too (back and front).

Just a quick outline of how I think my training has evolved now that strongman is 100% back on the cards (assuming not running RSR):

Not as much focus on squats as previously, but still a fair amount of leg work. The assistance exercises will be chopped and changed whenever they get stale but at the moment they are my favourites for now. This, plus event training every other week, will hopefully continue to keep getting me stronger.

  

Also, if you've got an extra minute, a good friend of mine who knows his shit has just started fitness blogging as well. Definitely one to follow if you're in to that sort of thing (Whatever that is, he's a bit fucking vague at the minute!). Link's under the image.

Lets do healthy stuff - By Igor Kharin 

Other than that, I've been cheating the diet a little bit as I think I'm losing weight to quickly. I weighed in at dead on 105kg this morning; That was a bit of a shock! I've literally lost 6kg in less than 4 weeks and hit PBs like no fucking tomorrow (Latest was a 115kg push press, woo!). Still eating brown rice, chicken and veg, but with a few more treats here and there like Wetherspoon's Steak Club Mixed Grill (with a cheeky pint!).

Anyway, yes I'm fully aware this blog post is mostly shit, boring and the title is very misleading/exaggerated, but I was killing time waiting for my Wii mod to finish updating. Til next time! 

Videos, Videos Everywhere

Two nights before my exam and this seems like the perfect opportunity to procrastinate and deliver some videos you oh so dearly care about.

I mentioned the other day that a bunch of lads were travelling up to Leicester to train in the new 'Monster Playground' at The Warehouse Gym. Basically, they removed the 'dungeon' downstairs and kitted it out similar to upstairs to suit a more commercial gym feel; Machines, free weights and other toys. However, the owner is an absolute legend and purchased another warehouse behind it, solely for the purpose of housing the strongman kit and the animals that it attracts. This place has got cars, logs and even a bloody Conan's circle frame. Anything strongman related, it's here.

So I got an early morning train and kindly got picked up at the station by Jay 'Ursus' Pateman as we headed over to the warehouse. A massive turnout of 15 people all arrived, and below is the madness that ensued. There's only one clip of me in the compilation vid cos the rest of these guys blew my little lifts away, but I did get a 110kg axle overhead PB and a new 71kg dumbbell PB in the videos below. One is a group vid with some seriously strong fellas (and my mentors!) and the other is a vid of my lifts. Watch em both IMO.

Epic HD footage from Will Sanderson and his tripod.

Woo vid finally works!

Overall, a cracking day with a whole bunch of banter, PBs and donuts! Hopefully doing another mass training sesh before Midlands 105 (which I may be entering...) so more footage to come in a few weeks!

In other news, you may remember I've been on that fucking horrible (but effective) Russian squat routine ...and it's getting tough. I'm just about to start the week I dread the most cos it's got two massive volume sessions (6x5 and 6x6) and I'm definitely not a fan of reps. You can see below how much I hate these son'bitches below by my manly grunts.

6x4 @ 160kg

6x2 @ 160kg, such a relief with 'only' doubles

But other than my girly bitching, things have gone well. I feel my form is hit and miss on days... like today (the 6x2) felt so tight but the other set (6x4) felt like i was good morning'ing all my last reps which isn't healthy nor the exercise I'm going for. Gotta fix consistency here.

Coming away from those tight as shit doubles, I felt the urge to shift some heavy ass weight so went to deadlift singles, hopefully building up to a PB. And I did, out of bloody nowhere! I surprised myself, normally I need to train to a peak to get one, but today I just felt fearless. This is on deadlifting once a week during the 6x2 squat day, so hopefully I can give another go in a few weeks with proper build up.

Pro camera angle, can't even see the sodding plates. definitely 242.5kg though lol.

That felt good. Does that little wiggle at the top count as a hitch? You decide, but FUCK YOU I'm claiming that. lol.

Powerlifting Gear and a PB

Evening all. Blogging seems far more interesting that revising anyway. What's new? 

Well my gorgeous girlfriend Robyn (who also blogs!) recently bought me an early birthday present. An Inzer Hardcore squat suit. Now some may say that there are better single ply suits out there and I've been recommended others, but this is literally £50-100 cheaper than anything out there at the moment and while second hand would be even cheaper, this is the best new one out there (and it's my birthday). Also, not that it's important, but it also happens to be my favourite looking in terms of design in that it's really simple and yet still stands out. I have absolutely no idea how to use it yet, but I'm sure I'll get to grips with it whenever I can find people to teach (and spot!) me in the near future. It'll definitely set me up for my go at equipped powerlifting next year. 

Hilarious vids to come of me even attempting to put this on.

Also, a friend of mine has also sold me a pair of Metal Silver knee wraps, the stiffest knee wrap of the lot and at a bargain price. I love good stiff ones. I can't get enough of stiff ones. Stiff ones sting to shit but make me squat harder, and I'm not sure if that last one made sense in the gay double entendre context i was going for...

Pictured above: Very non-sexual knee wraps.

Anyway, enough bragging about my new toys. Recently I got a 112.5kg push press PB after only resuming overhead training for a few weeks. I'm not really sure why I stopped to be fair, I think I got too excited with benching and playing with that but anyway, point is, PB ...with some new toys involved too - a new Titan Toro lever belt, Strengthshop single ply elbow sleeves and a slap round the nostrils from a new bottle of nose tork. Below you can see me failing a 92.5kg strict PB attempt, my push press PB and then narrowly failing the 115kg PB attempt too. Take a look.

You can see in the strict press attempt what appears to be me just giving up and being a pussy, but actually if you look closely it's all the right arm lol. While I ground out a few more inches on the right arm, the left arm quivered in fear and just sat there, and it wasn't going anywhere. Nevermind. Not much to say on the 112.5kg, it was comfortable and I was confident with the 115kg but probably tried too soon after and felt the fatigue creeping in. All in all, decent sesh.

One thing I'll say though is that I tried body weight dips for the first time in my life and they were hard, but fun. Living legends such as Glenn Ross and Jay 'Ursus' Pateman acknowledge them as their secret weapon for powerful triceps and massive pressing power, so they're going straight into press days for the time being. Will update on any significant gains in the future.

That's all for now, thanks for reading. Next post will be a summary of this weekend's Warehouse Gym picnic!

Russian Squat Routine

Last post I mentioned about a new routine I randomly decided to give a go with a days notice. It's called the Russian Squat Routine, probably cos it's Russian and it involves squatting. Yeah. Looks fookin' intense is all I can say.  Here's what it looks like:

Based on a 200kg 1RM... aiming for a 210 after 6 weeks.

Anyhoo, I smashed out the first day on Wednesday with relative ease (suprisingly) then went on to pull a PB deadlift triple. That wasn't too bad to be honest, but it's the lightest day of the entire program so I'm guessing it's expected.

Today was the second day involving 6 sets of triples. Now bare in mind I only hit a 165kg triple PB about 10 days ago, so I was really nervous. I tried to be clever and skimp on the warm up to stay as fresh as possible but that just hindered my first couple of sets so they're a bit ugly, but they got better. Here's a video of the sets below.

 Losing some of that gut as we speak!

In other news, I'm back in Nottingham and doing my own shopping again, which means I'm back on the diet that got me down to 108kg before Christmas. Lean mince, chicken breasts, a shit ton of frozen veg and brown carbs. Here's hoping that this can get me down to a leaner 105kg while still maintaining strength.

Bitchin' instagram photo of today's dinner

That's about it for today, gonna try and keep the blog shorter on words, bigger on videos and out once a week or something. If I've got people reading, I've got people on my back to stick to what I say for a change. Until next time!