Thursday, May 31, 2012

August 2011 to May 2012: 10 Months of Training Strongman, Priorities and Goals

This is something all people do. From great historians to drug-addled street urchins, our recollections of the things that have happened to us are mangled, segmented and made to fit a coherent, linear narrative from which we create our self-identity.

I mention this because I keep trying to make everything simple in this way. For instance, it at first occurred to me to separate my journey into a B.S. and A.S. (Before Sobriety and After Sobriety) dichotomy. But in terms of my progression I cannot.

Looking back on previous training logs, I can’t disregard the significant steps I took to get where I am now… but I can’t be exactly proud of myself either. For the first eighteen months – from April 2010 to around August 2011 – I took two steps forward with training and one step back with the bottle every week. My gains were slow and painful. I was not committed, not driven, not confidant in what I was doing, and far from satisfied with the meagre gains that came from my home training routine. I have no one but myself to blame for this. I may have been an asshole to a few people whose advice and support I spurned in the wake of my self-destruction. To those people I am truly sorry.

This self-destruction gave rise to a self-realisation and reinvention, of a sort. I won the battle with the demon drink. I did it with a lot of help and, in the end, the rock solid knowledge that strength was more important to me than comfort. Sloth I was, I admit it, and I recognise the depths to which it lowered me as a person.

Diet and drinking are two subjects I cannot adequately separate. I quit drinking in late August 2011. I’d quit eating crap a little while earlier (whilst still drinking a bottle of vodka some afternoons if I felt like it – and even finding justification for it in my diet choices!). An important point to make about my nutrition in general is that by removing breads, pasta, cereal, and pretty much all kinds of grains from my diet – as well as the introduction of much more dairy, fruits, berries, nuts, and many and varied sources of meat – I created for myself a great, balanced approach with a staple amount of kila-calories per day from which to monitor my weight loss and strength levels. I perfected it by completely removing nasty influences like soy, artificial sweetener, processed meats, and alcohol. I’ve adjusted as needed, and still indulged in bunless burgers and bucket loads of ice cream and other sugary treats on weekends. I’ve so far lost approximately 10 kilos since January. I lost approximately 15 kilos over the previous year and half, when diet and drinking were still out of control.

Once I had this in place, in conjunction with all the other obstacles I was overcoming with the iron (and the great support from my peers and firm friends of SMWA and the Muscle Pit) the drink was exposed for what it had always been; a destructive concentration of kila-calories in the form of refined carbohydrates, robbing me of gains and poisoning my body.

So getting back to training, again I have to fumble for a distinction. Where do I draw the line between half-assery and dedication? Well it was August again (I think) when I started training specifically for Strongman events – and getting really, truly strong as a result. At first it was only a weekend thing, though not for long. The first time I picked up a pair of 105 kilo Farmer’s picks and walked the distance, I felt the CNS rush for days after. I had DOMs in my sternum. Not that that could be DOMs… I don’t really know what it was. Other than power.

So where am I now? I’m stronger than I ever thought I’d be. I’m healthier than I ever was ever (I smoked from 16 to 30) and I’m soon to be what I hesitate to describe as an athlete. No, actually, screw that. I am an athlete. It takes guts and determination to build the strength that allows me to walk with 350 kilos on my back. The strength required to raw squat 200 kilos for reps, and deadlift 240 kilos just as raw. If that’s not athletic, then all you cheer leaders and ice dancers can form a pyramid over my middle finger.

I don’t really know where I’m going with this. Recently I was cautioned by a friend who I’d told about my CNS collapse on the weekend. She suggested to me that I take it easy and try to not have that happen again. Her concern was genuine and appreciated, but it provoked something unintended; it helped me to lock into perspective just what I’m doing here.

Only strong is strong. Only the truly devoted get truly strong. Strong is what I now am, after 16 months of half-assery and 9-10 months of walking the true path. But I’ve still got a long journey ahead of me. In a little over a week I will compete against guys who are younger, fitter, and who have been training longer than me. And I will beat at least some of them, this year, and come back to beat more of them in 2013, at 33 years of age. And earn a national ranking. 


There is no question. This I will do.

Peace out.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Wednesday Press Focus: Calm Before the Storm

OHPress strict w/thick Swiss
6 reps @ 55 kgs
5 reps @ 65 kgs
5 reps @ 75 kgs
2 reps @ 85 kgs TPR
1 reps @ 90 kgs TPR

Dips
8, 5 reps @ BW - proper depth! Must use this exercise order in future!

Bench press incline w/thick Swiss
8 reps @ 55 kgs
6 reps @ 75 kgs
3 reps @90 kgs
2 reps @ 100 - equal to best effort

Pinwheelz
10 reps @ 30 kgs
10 reps @ 30 kgs

Seated row
8 reps @ full stack
8 reps @ full stack

***10 Days Until the WA Strongman National Qualifiers***

Monday, May 28, 2012

Squat Monday: Arrival at the RAW Two-Hundy Club

Squats w/cambered bar
8 reps @ 70 kgs
6 reps @ 110 kgs
5 reps @ 150 kgs
3 reps @ 180 kgs PR
2 reps @ 200 kgs PR

Good Mornings w/cambered bar
8 reps @ 30 kgs
5 reps @ 70 kgs
5 reps @ 110 kgs
1 reps @ 150 kgs - shit depth, felt awful
5 reps @ 130 kgs

Pull-ups
7, 6, 5 reps @ BW

I worked in with a mate this evening who has lately been a real fan of the cambered bar so the Mastodon took a break. I was fired up, still (still!!) coughing up green shit and sniffling, both pissed off at my continued half-assery in the squats department and buoyed by Saturday's CNS collapse. Nothing weighing a measly 200 kilos could hurt me.

In addition to this, I did something new tonight. I saw too many people either not hitting depth - or at least being disqualified for not hitting depth - at the West Australian Powerlifting Championships held yesterday at the Pit. I'm not even a Powerlifter (right now...), but the squat is a Strongman event and I didn't want to be at a disadvantage from getting too accustomed to the box, so I removed it. What followed were some of the most comfortable squats I'd ever performed.

Now, it wasn't, in retrospect, ass to grass. People, rightly or wrongly, take ATG to mean literally ass hitting the ground. I do not think I can do that, given my present physique... not to mention complete lack of experience with performing squats to this depth. But I was sinking below where the box would stop me, and the bottom of the movement felt more comfortable and stable than it ever has before! So I went for 200. Got it twice.

Laying up tomorrow and hitting OHPress Wednesday night. Looking forward to some good ole leg DOMs in about 36 hours.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Rise & Fall: 14 Days to The W.A. Strongman National Qualifiers

24/05/12 THURSDAY'S DISAPPOINTING DEADLIFT FOCUS

Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
5 reps @ 140 kgs
5 reps @ 180 kgs - should have stopped at 3 here
3 reps @ 220 kgs
another fail @ 240 kgs

Rack pulls
3 reps @ 200 kgs
3 reps @ 240 kgs
1 reps @ 250 kgs

Kroc rows
left 4 reps @ 80 kgs TPR
right 3 reps @ 80 kgs TPR
left 7 reps @ 72 kgs
right 7 reps @ 72 kgs
left 5 reps @ 72 kgs
right 7 reps @ 72 kgs

THERE is no explanation for why I am so freaking weak compared with a fortnight ago! At first I thought it was due maybe to going too heavy on previous sets. But the occasion I pulled 240, I'd repped 230 kgs on the previous set! I'm only doing 3 of 220 and that's sapping my strength?! No... can it be the flu did me more damage than I'm prepared to accept? C'mon.

I scrapped a 2nd attempt and tried my hand at rack pulls - an exercise I've never performed before. Once I got the pin height correct, I felt like they did me some good. Not as much as pulling from the floor, but I feel my lockout will have improved for the experience and may do them more in the future.

26/05/12 EVENTS TRAINING SATURDAY

Yoke walk
15 meters @ 205 kgs
15 meters @ 285 kgs
15 meters @ 325 kgs - did it in 27 seconds, a massive new PR
15 meters @ 350 kgs PR not sure of the time though...

Yoke static holds
8.5 seconds @ 405 kgs PR
3.5 seconds @ 405 kgs - CNS collapse

Log clean-press
3 reps @ 70 kgs
1 reps @ 90 kgs - strict!

Farmers walk
25 meters @ 60 kgs p/hand
25 meters @ 100 kgs p/hand

THE SECOND go at static holds with the yoke caused me to fall to the ground. My central nervous system spat the dummy at me, and enforced a lie-down for a few moments. But all is good. I will be stronger for it next week.

The log clean-press was performed pretty much strict! I had several attempts at it push-press and was getting nowhere (strength down again compared to a fortnight ago!) but with a light tap from Dave as I pressed it, Fatboy went up and locked out. A testament to the OHPress work I've been doing with Dan, specifically using the thick-grip Swiss bar to get better accustomed to the logs.

But by the Farmer's walk I was drained and hungry, so cut it short. I had done what I came to do.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Monday Squat & Yoke, Tuesday Press

MONDAY
Yoke walk
15 meters @ 245 kgs
15 meters @ 285 kgs
15 meters @ 325 kgs TPR

Squats w/Mastodon
10 reps @ 30 kgs
6 reps @ 70 kgs
5 reps @ 110 kgs
2 reps @ 150 kgs
5 reps @ 160 kgs

Good Mornings w/Cambered
8 reps @ 30 kgs
6 reps @ 70 kgs
5 reps @ 110 kgs

***19 days from the Australian Strongman National Qualifiers***

TONIGHT'S yoke was perhaps the most comfortable 325 has ever felt, and I'm pretty sure it was my best time with the weight too.

Also tonight I used notch 2 on my new belt. I weighed in at 128 on my crappy home scales (STILL yet to be replaced!) on Sunday... even less than a week ago. Yet, barring last week's deadlift fail at 240, my strength doesn't seem to have taken much of a hit. I was buggered and needed Dan to push me to do that last set of squats. I sure as hell wasn't feeling like I had it in me. Another testament to what the right training partners can do for you.

TUESDAY
OHPress w/thick Swiss
8 reps @ 45 kgs
6 reps @ 60 kgs
5 reps @ 70 kgs
3 reps @ 80 kgs TPR
1 reps @ 85 kgs TPR


Bench press incline w/thick Swiss
8 reps @ 55 kgs
8 reps @ 65 kgs
5 reps @ 85 kgs
2 reps @ 95 kgs TPR


Dips
10, 8, 5 reps @ BW

Pull & Seated rows
5 pull-ups
10 reps @ full stack
9.5 reps @ full stack


DUNNO what happened to the regular V-handle for the row machine, but the one i used was stupidly shaped and I couldn't be bothered continuing to use it.


I just better pull that 240 from the floor AT LEAST ONCE on Thursday. Right now that's all I care about. That and it's



***18 days from the Australian Strongman National Qualifiers***



Thursday, May 17, 2012

Tuesday Press & Thursday Pull

15/05/12
Bench press incline
10 reps @ 35 kgs
10 reps @ 45 kgs
10 reps @ 55 kgs
6 reps @ 75 kgs
5 reps @ 95 kgs
2 reps @ 105 kgs

OHPress strict
8 reps @ 55 kgs
4 reps @ 75 kgs
6 reps @ 70 kgs

*BOTH of these exercises were performed with a thick-grip Swiss bar, held as wide as possible to better simulate the Fatboy

Tonight
Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
6 reps @ 140 kgs
4 reps @ 180 kgs
3 reps @ 220 kgs
0 @ 240 kgs

Kroc rows w/Brutus (72.5 kgs)
left 10 reps
right 9 reps
left 9.5 reps
right 8 reps
left 8 reps
right 4 reps

YEAH. Still not completely free of the effects of the freaking flu, and this is evidenced by 2 half sessions. All the same, feeling much much better and a little surprised I couldn't at least replicate what I did last week to be honest. That 240 just wouldn't come up tonight.

Looking forward to Events training saturday - it's being held earlier than usual, and at the same place we're staging the competition - Muscle Worx Innaloo. There may even be a crowd, as I understand it's being touted as an exhibition to hopefully grow awareness and get more people watching on the day.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Thursday and Monday Training Tid-bits

THURSDAY
Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
6 reps @ 140 kgs
5 reps @ 180 kgs
3 reps @ 230 kgs
1 reps @ 240 kgs PR

MONDAY
Squats
8 reps @ 70 kgs
6 reps @ 90 kgs
5 reps @ 140 kgs
3 reps @ 160 kgs
2 reps @ 170 kgs

A Flu-filled Weekend of Glandular Facerape

Sometimes I get things very wrong.

I'm pretty sure it was early 2010 when I was last vaccinated for the flu. A couple of months after I got the shot, I got the flu. Pretty frigging bad. Annoyed, I decided at the time to not bother with it in future. As with virtually all subjects related to medicine and sticking scores of people with sharp things, there are strong arguments made for and against vaccinating oneself. Predictably I paid more attention to the 'con' side of the debate, and let it drown out the 'pro'.

So I was pissed off - really, really pissed off - when on Friday morning (still charged from last night's 240 kgs deadlift) I woke with the sniffles, which turned into sinus pain, running eyes and sore throat etc. Dun-dun-dun!! Flu. And the Strongman national qualifiers were 4 weeks away.

As a side-note, in previous years when I did get influenza it almost always morphed into something worse thanks to my smoking and sloth; one year it was tonsillitis, the next glandular fever, and the winter of 2007 a doctor asked me if had been diagnosed with asthma yet, and whether or not I was looking forward to emphysema in the future. I remember this year in particular as I'd just recently begun a new job and, only a couple of months into it, I was put out of action for a week.

I was, in point of fact, a perpetually ill individual.

And this is why I was so angry on Friday. Historically, the flu had been a debilitating force that cost me professionally. Now it threatened to ruin my preparation for the comp. Saturday I was practically an invalid with limited powers of speech; I couldn't do more than shuffle around the house in my pyjamas never mind SM Events training. But this lasted hours instead of days, and as early as Sunday night I was feeling considerably better.

Looking for the positive in all this, I have to compare my recovery time to that of previous years, where I was messed up worser (spellcheck says it's a word, so...) for longer and was left weakened. Well, still feeling pretty ordinary today, I nonetheless went to the gym and squatted 170 a couple of times, to get back on track. I've missed 1 day of events training and winged it with half a session tonight. Tomorrow I'll be 100%, and my preparation for the Strongman national qualifiers has suffered only a minor setback.

It surprises me, sometimes, how seriously I take what I'm doing. I honestly feel like I'm not doing enough, most of the time. But that's a good thing. I don't want to get complacent and lose focus. I don't want to jeopardise what I'm working towards. I'm 32, and this is the hardest I've ever worked and the closest I've ever come to achieving something truly meaningful.

I am Abaddon, and in June I'm bringing the BOOM.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Tuesday Press Focus & Another Word on Recomposition

OHPress - strict with Swiss bar, widest grip
10 reps @ 35 kgs
8 reps @ 55 kgs
5 reps @ 75 kgs
2 reps @ 80 kgs

Pull-ups
7 reps @ BW PR
6 reps @ BW PR
5 reps @ BW PR

DB OHPress
10 reps @ 20 kgs p/hand warmup
left 5 reps @ 35 kgs
right 5 reps @ 35 kgs
left 8 reps @ 35 kgs
right 3 reps @ 35 kgs
left 5 reps @ 32.5 kgs
right 6 reps @ 32.5 kgs

Triceps pushdowns
10 reps @ ...something (8 plates)
10 reps @ ...something (10 plates)
7 reps @ ...something (10 plates)

DECENT session tonight, kinda all over the place. Very happy with the pull-ups. I am not really sure about my previous DB OHP strength having not performed it one hand at a time very often in the past. And I used the ambiguous lat pulls station for rope pushdowns since it was set up and, like, right there. I don't really care about how much I was moving... consider not knowing a reason to do less pussy machine training.

SO ABOUT THE WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM
Here's the skinny. I'd decided early April that, so long as I could maintain my current weight while building strength consistently, I'd keep myself progressing for my upcoming competition by marginally increasing my daily calories. I'm still in a calorie deficit (around 2200 - 2500 per day) most days of the week.

I'm heavier than I expected to be right now. In truth, I appear to have stopped losing weight and started gaining again. I weighed myself at home last Friday (on my unreliable, piece of shit scales) and hit 131 kgs (289 lbs). I've also checked myself at the Pit on Sunday (after a litre of milk and fruit+protein shake) and tonight, prior to training. I weighed in at pretty much exactly 134 kgs each time.

Less than two months ago I weighed 130 kgs (and I hit 129 kgs on my unreliable, piece of shit scales... there are new ones being shipped to me very soon thank jebus). I'd recently bought a new pair of pants in a size I hadn't been able to wear for years... they only just fit. And one of my new shirts (the first one I bought for motivation some two years ago) also finally fit just right... almost. A little tight around the waist when seated, but not enough to be uncomfortable.

YAWN

So anyway these boring details all for a reason. Last night I had dinner out, and wore these same pieces of clothing. The pants were looser-fitting round the waist and the shirt was actually loose while seated! Not to mention, at approximately 4 kilos heavier than I intended to be at this stage, I'm also hitting new PRs on bodyweight exercises and feeling a deal more comfortable.

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Events Training Saturday: Almost Proper Strong

Yoke walk
15 meters @ 205 kgs
15 meters @ 205 kgs
15 meters @ 285 kgs
15 meters @ 305 kgs & an estimated PR for time
30 seconds @ 365 kgs static hold, massive PR 

Log clean-press
3 reps @ 52 kgs
3 reps @ 62 kgs
3 reps @ 72 kgs
3 reps @ 77.5 kgs
2 reps (press only) 90 kgs PR with Fatboy

Farmers walk
25 meters @ 60 kgs p/hand
25 meters @ 80 kgs p/hand
20 meters @ 100 kgs p/hand

EXCELLENT training session today. Strength seems to have improved across the board, to a greater or lesser extent. The yoke walk was not the heaviest I've done, but according to Dan it was quick and looked comfortable, and I need to time future walks at this weight to prepare for the competition. Speaking of which, the requirements for the grade I am entering are as follows:


Strength Quest - H.W. C Grade. 

Yoke 300 k.g @15mtr time or Distance -60 second time limit. 

Log Lift for max – Start weight – 100 k.g. 

Deadlift Max (Raw) –Start weight 210 k.g 

Farmers walk 100 k.g.@25 meters time or distance 60 second time limit.

These numbers are all comfortably achievable for me, with the one exception being 100 kgs on Fatboy, my nemesis and still a challenge for me despite his recent alterations... I'm hoping between now and June 9th my OHPress work will get me in a better position for this event.
Everything else is going to be awesome.
Back to the Muscle Pit tomorrow to continue with the building of our Strongman facility.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Deadlift Thursday: Starting to Get Heavy

Deadlifts
10 reps @ 60 kgs
8 reps @ 100 kgs
6 reps @ 140 kgs
3 reps @ 180 kgs
4 reps @ 230 kgs PR

Lateral pulldowns
12 reps @ ...something
4.5 reps @ ...something +20 kgs
10 reps @ ...the same something

Pinwheelz (weight p/DB)
10 reps @ 20 kgs
8 reps @ 35 kgs
10 reps @ 30 kgs
8 reps @ 30 kgs

THERE'S confusion surrounding the increments of the plates on the lateral pulldown machine. I will at some point figure out if they're in kilograms or pounds, and whether they're 2.5 each or 5... or something else.

Deadlifts went well. I want 250 for a single, the day of the comp. And I will get it.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Tuesday Press Focus

Bench press incline
12 reps @ 55 kgs
8 reps @ 75 kgs
8 reps @ 85 kgs
3 reps @ 105 kgs

OHPress strict
10 reps @ 55 kgs
4 reps @ 75 kgs
8 reps @ 65 kgs

Dips
10 reps @ BW
8 reps @ BW

T-bar rows
10 reps @ 50 kgs
6 reps @ 70 kgs
6 reps @ 70 kgs

DB OHPress
10 reps @ 20 kgs
5 reps @ 30 kgs

THE sequence of exercises was mixed up a bit, and I performed the T-bar rows and dips kinda jump-set... kinda, not really. Nothing noteworthy was achieved this evening.

Operating on sparse fuel and my messed up sleeping patterns of the previous 36 hours or so combined to make it a lacklustre session.

I need to make myself sleep early (a difficult proposition; even when tired I'm seldom sleepy) and sleep longer than I have been lately. The 5 or so hours of uninterrupted sleep I usually get before my bladder or my mind wakes me up is not enough. I wouldn't say I'm not getting enough rest to keep going. But for the past few weeks at least, I've not been getting the quality sleep I used to... and I'm not sure why.

Recharge is on the agenda between now and Thursday night. I plan to load up 230 and rip it 5 times, like I did with 220 last week. Might even get a video I can use.