Squats Week 1: I Can Math, Really

NO assistance work or cardio tonight. Just squats. And amazingly, everything felt good. I did all of the stretches before getting under the bar, of course, but tonight was the first time in many months that I've done so with little to no pain, anywhere. 150 isn't heavy, so it's too soon for me to say my knees aren't going to give me hassle in the weeks to come, but tonight they felt great. Most importantly, my left shoulder is cooperating with minimal discomfort and almost full flexibility. Here's hoping I can make a similarly positive report post-benching Thursday.

I've also just now realised that I mis-loaded everything with an extra 10 kilograms! The program called for 150 for 5 sets of 5. This is actually not a bad development at all... I'll just have to tweak the template a little. Maybe even raise my predicted new 1RM.

Stretch!
Squats:
25 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
130 kgs x 3
160 kgs x 5 x 5 TPR

'Inadvisable' is a Stupid Word

DON'T get me started on what's 'inadvisable.' I'd spent enough time doing nothing this month... my ankle felt good enough to walk on and my conditioning, after all this time sitting, was in the shitter. So why not put 210 on the yoke and walk it over and over again, till I felt like puking? I'd actually intended on walking the 270 for four but I had trouble lowering my heart rate... I jumped on the assault bike for five minutes at low rpm but it didn't want to settle down so I left it there. I took solace in the fact that, as inadvisable as it may have been, my ankle handled the loading just fine. Next time it'll be 300... or more. And I'll continue belt-less for as long as I can.

I've made some changes to my program as I'm currently only able to commit to training two nights per week.  So Tuesdays and Thursdays it will be for the time being. It's probably inadvisable, but I'm also setting my sights on competing in the Perth Cup in September, so fingers crossed I can get my bench back up to the 180 mark between then and now. Squats... anything goes with squats. My best is 250. Let's see what happens if I aim for an inadvisable new 1-rep max. My deadlift will be trained Saturdays during the clinic, and I'm less concerned about programming for it at this time. I have plenty of weak points to focus on.

Events Saturday May 28th

Yoke walk:

130 kgs x 20 meters x 2

210 kgs x 20 meters x 6

270 kgs x 20 meters x 2

Cardio: bike 5 minutes @ 50 rpm

The template is a work in progress. I've not fully regained flexibility in my right ankle and I'm really hoping that this isn't too steep a gradient. I've structured the loading a little differently in the squat and deadlift but the bench is simpler, and considering how weakened I still am on my left side, pretty daunting. Which is not to say that attempting a 275 squat isn't daunting. But right now that feels more manageable than the prospect of repping a 150+ bench in two months.

Growing the Sport

The Athletes - PTC Perth's first novice Strongman competition.

PEOPLE who read my blog regularly will know I have had a few setbacks of late. My list of injuries is nowhere near as extensive as some... in fact a friend who recently earned his blue belt in BJJ has a longer and more painful to read list than I've ever seen compiled in just three years. But these last nine months of injuries have meant I've not returned to my strength levels of mid-2015, nor have I competed in either discipline during that time. So it's been heartening for me to look back at the things I've been involved with over the years which are not simply about me and the numbers I'm putting up (or not putting up, as it is), but the sport itself.

Strongman is a little known discipline. Even amongst strength sports it's something of a dark horse. Where time-honoured Olympic techniques and Powerlifting accoutrements have honed these sports to a level of precision that can only be attained with the right training and equipment, Strongman is unpolished, simpler and more vital, and for my money - whether watching or doing - a whole lot more fun! Not to mention, it's only been over the last several years in Australia that Strongman has transitioned from big sweaty blokes moving unstandardized pieces of heavy shit in backyards to dedicated gyms with more uniform training modalities and a rudimentary selection of events. The big sweaty blokes are a mainstay.

For the last two years I've coached Strongman. My clinics have introduced a new generation of lifters to the sport, which has brought me a lot of joy in the process. I must remind people that I am not a qualified personal trainer, strength coach, or exercise physiologist. Everything I know I've learned from experience; as much other people's as my own. It was a steep learning curve going from improvised backyard training in 2010 to competing at the Amateur National championships in 2012, and then on to Australia's Strongest Man in 2014. I've made my share of mistakes, and I've learned from them. It is this knowledge I pass on to my trainees.

In 2015 PTC Strongman produced winners, including a state champion in the under 90s and under 105 divisions. I have the highest of hopes for those in my current flock, and can see all of them excelling in the coming months and years. I am especially proud right now of Ryan, who was one of my first trainees at PTC and who entered his first WA Strongman competition earlier this month. It was a gruelling five events, during which he hit new personal records across the board (and I'm sorry to say I neglected to post about it at the time!), but the diet and training regimen obviously had an impact. On the day Ryan was weighing in around 7 kilograms heavier than his elected weight class (under 105), which meant his scores would not be officially counted. But I don't think that mattered to Ryan. He just wanted to have a crack.

Of course, what makes Strongman great is the people. People like Kong. A couple of months ago PTC Strongman met Kong, who clean-pressed a 105 kilo log and walked a 210 kilo yoke in his first ever session doing either. Kong is coming back in June and he's keen as mustard, which is exciting. This fella will have a stronger overhead than me in a matter of months, if he sticks with it... not that out-pressing me is any mean feat. Also coming up, with a date yet to be announced, is another PTC Strongman novice comp. The first ever held last year was an unqualified success and I am really looking forward to organising the next one. For now, though, there are even bigger things on the agenda for PTC Perth, which I'll leave the Rucci brothers to reveal in due course.

I honestly don't know how much longer it will be before I am sufficiently injury-free and competitive again, but in the mean time it's going to be an honour and a privilege to train this new blood in the sport that has changed my life.

Press Wednesday: A(nother) Reset

THREE weeks to the night of my stupid and costly mistake I stumbled back into the gym and tried to bench. I'm now out of the boot and wearing a 'sports wrap' ankle brace. This is against the doctor's advice, of course, but the last twenty days of hopping around on crutches, showering sitting down and keeping my leg elevated the rest of the time was driving me batshit crazy. Two or three more weeks of this shit? Give me a break. So I took a calculated risk.

My finger is another matter. It's now in a carbon fibre cast which usually stays on but can't be relied upon when I'm trying to do stuff. The deal with the injury is thus; the tendon was not completely severed and should heal providing I can keep it straight for two months. If the finger curls over before the two months are up, it will be back to day one and have to keep it in the cast a further two months.

Annoying. But I found a way to minimise the risk of re-injury. Now, I wouldn't tout these as great new uses for Fat Gripz, but my trusty pair of Extremes really came in handy, both while I was quadrupedal and tonight during my session; I added them to just about all of my bar and dumbbell work. If I stick with the axle for deadlifts and my Extremes for everything else, the next six weeks will be training weeks. How intense they will be is the question.




Cardio: assault bike 5 minutes HIIT
rpm's: 60/40/60/40/60
DB super-set rotators & supine curls: 4 kgs x 2 x 10
Stretch

Bench press:
DB 15 kgs x 10
60 kgs x 8
90 kgs x 5
110 kgs x 3 x 5

Pinwheels:
15 kgs x 3 x 10

DB forward raises:
10 kgs x 3 x 10

Not gonna lie; for all the time I've had off, tonight I still felt lethargic. Hoping it's just been an off day. If I train tomorrow night it'll be more upper body work. I might try some of those DB variations with my overhead press that I've not included in my routines for a long time. I need to find more movements I can perform that don't aggravate my (now, I guess, permanently) damaged left shoulder. It's been nearly nine months since I sustained the injury and, while it's getting stronger, it hurts every time I bench and every time I squat.

Next week I deadlift.