Saturday, August 27, 2016

Events Saturday: Kong's Trials

RECORDS were smashed today. I forgot to bring my camera. I took a few lacklustre pics with my iPhone. Regardless of what I take pics with, I never feel like I get close to capturing the essence of the day, and these few are not exceptions. But I was caught up in the proceedings and not thinking about what I needed to satisfy the requirements of social media. This is possibly why I still don't have an Instagram account; recording the stuff I do (or witness others do) with pictures is incidental to and in some cases detracts from the actual doing or witnessing. Like those people who spend the concert with their phone or camcorder held aloft, so they can capture the moment and, in so doing, not truly experience it. Not one of those people.



Ryan, the hightower who took on the WA Strongman under 105 division this year, hit a new personal best early in the proceedings - a 100 kilo axle clean-press - after making 95 (also a new PR) look like a warmup. Alex has yet to have his next specialist appointment, but says he's feeling well enough to tag along with Ryan and the rest of the crew, which today included Carl (king of the strict OHP) and PTC Perth's latest heavyweight strongman, Eddie 'Kong' Kania.

I tested Kong today. He has precious little time left to prepare for his first ever strongman competition, and while he has astutely picked the novice heavyweight division he still has a steep hill to climb when it comes to at least one event - the yoke walk. In most others he will be challenged, and five events over the course of however may hours the comp takes will definitely exhaust him. But he won't be destroyed by the experience. Attempting the actual heavyweight division at this stage would.

Kong performed four events in 90 minutes today: yoke walk, rising bar log clean press, rising bar axle deadlift, and farmers walk to finish. There was very little time wasted, and with Alex's help the session gave Kong a bit of a taste of what a real comp is like. Alex not only assisted with loading and strapping etc, he was training at 75% capacity where possible. The dude wants to lift more. Just like me, his body is currently not allowing him to lift like he wants to. Them feels.


Carl  joined us for farmers walk to round out the session, and showed the crew how it's done with a brisk 122 kilo per hand 20 meter run, his first in a little while I think. His best is a staggering 160 a hand for 15, which happened a couple years back at the Pit. I wasn't there but I believe him. The guy was showing me and a bunch of other people what being strong meant five years ago. Respect where it's due.

Carl wants a bigger deadlift. He's been hungering for it and training like a madman to get it. Hitting quads every second day all this week had an obvious impact on his efforts today, only managing a single of 300 where he'd intended reps, but the stiff-legged deficits I saw him doing the previous week had already convinced me he was going to pull 310 or more at Perth Cup. And he politely asked me to stay out of the under 125s so he could get that heavy new dead on the PTC record board.

I told him I 'd do my best. I'd rather be as strong as possible with another 10 kilos of room in the division than risk losing strength with a cut. Carl's work is going to pay off. I know this, and I've already made peace with it. I mean come on; I have the best dead on the board in three weight classes, and when the day is done I'll still have the best in two. I have sworn this much to myself.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Squat Thursday: Clawed Back & Forging Forward

TONIGHT I proved to myself that I have not yet become the victim of entropy. That, in spite of the year I have had, I've held to my ethos. Life sometimes can be too many shades of grey, but here under the bar is the resolute truth that I am stronger.


When I squatted 250 - my best ever squat, meagre as it is - I was a super heavyweight, competing at CAPO states in the 140+ kilogram division. Tonight I'm a bare naked 128, and moved the same weight... with not quite IPF depth, as Ando had put it earlier, but good enough. Last session I hit my best deadlift on record at under 140. And I have some time left for one last tweak of each lift before game day.


I wasn't thinking straight when I said to Ando that tonight would be my last squat before Perth Cup (gym brain in full effect, as usual), but I'm nearly there; tonight was my second last. To allow for maximum recovery and minimum chance of re-injury I have decided on a window of no earlier than Monday 5th and no later than Friday 9th September to attempt 260. If I feel shitty on the day, it may only be 255. Regardless, it's a new level of strength and a leaner me.


Only took me about a year of unsuccessfully managing two injuries and stupidly causing myself a third. But I'm there. I've clawed back, now it's time to forge ahead.


Squats:
25 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
130 kgs x 5
170 kgs x 3
210 kgs x 1
230 kgs x 1
250 kgs x 1 equal to best ever


Hammer Strength leg extensions:
40 kgs x 4 x 10


Hammer Strength seated calf raises:
65 kgs x 4 x 10

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Pull Tuesday: Full Steam Ahead



STEERING my battered vessel towards September 18, tonight's session was encouraging. I'm currently the lightest I've weighed in a couple of years - barely 128 kilograms - despite the fact I've been making a conscious effort to get my calories up, with more meals and a mass gainer instead of my usual WPI shakes each day. And even though I've had a crappier than usual prep (so probably won't be hitting a new deadlift PR this time round), I'm definitely stronger than I was while competing in this weight class early last year..


I entered the GPC state championships that February and totalled 710, with a 310 deadlift. I am pretty confident of pulling in excess of that in a little under four weeks time, and I'll definitely have a stronger squat. My bench... my bench is crap right now, to be honest. The plan when it comes to pressing is to take it easy while trying to build up just a bit more in the weeks I have. If I can grind out a super duper close grip 150 bench on the day, I'll have to be happy with that.


A revised estimate for what I might total is 270/150/320. A thirty kilo improvement. That'll do, pig.
Here's what I did tonight.


Deadlifts:
75 kgs x 8
125 kgs x 5
175 kgs x 3
225 kgs x 2
260 kgs x 1
290 kgs x 1
310 kgs x 1 equal best at under 140 kilos body weight


Hammer Strength seated rows:
100 kgs x 10
130 kgs x 10
160 kgs x 8 equal best


Hack squats:
55 kgs x 3 x 10

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Strongman Saturday: The Lion, the Mitch and the Sore Bros

TODAY was a good day. We could call this PTC Strongman's proper kick-off at the epic new facility. While most of the member base were representing PTC Perth at the health and fitness expo, my little clinic grew a little more. Today we welcomed back Carl, the Lion, who I've written fondly of in the past. Carl was orders of magnitude stronger than me when I met him five years back, and has a wealth of knowledge and experience.


Also joining us today was newcomer Mitch. Mitch is a PTC freshman who competed in the most recent PL novice comp and has a current SBD of 170/110/200 at somewhere between 80 and 90 kilos bodweight. He's looking to cut to under 82, and will be using a calorie and carb deficit to do it, while working FIFO (yep, another one) and showing up to the clinics every three weeks, he says. I can work with that. We had a bit of a chat about his approach, and what I experienced when I did it myself a few years ago. I am looking forward to seeing his plans come to fruition, and introduced him to coach and athlete Brian Cook to offer some lifting and aesthetic inspiration. I told Mitch that one day he, too, could have a moustache like Brian's.





Stephan, king of the super-set, jumped in for some pulls here and there. Dale kept his distance, possibly still feeling the chip in his tooth from his first and last log press a few months ago. And Andrew was there when I arrived, having just had his arse handed to him by a 10 x 10 set/rep program Dan had given him for shits and giggles. He's working and studying full time right now, so comes in when he can. Hopefully we will see him for more clinics in the future.

In other news, dates for the last qualifying round and the WA Strongman state finals were announced this week. No events have been listed as yet, but the qualifier is on Saturday September 26th. Kong, who has the added challenge of working FIFO and so not here to train half the time, is nonetheless keen as mustard to get involved. And I'm going to get him as prepared as possible in the bare month he has before his first ever competition.

Ryan, sufficiently injury free, was the only member to show up last weekend. But today he was joined by Alex, fresh from his recent MRI to the right hip. He's torn the labrum but he's also experiencing numbness down the front of his quad. An ECG and more money burned is called for before he can get any closer to a proper diagnosis. I'm doing what I can to prevent him from making anything any worse in the mean time (and when numbness is a symptom, you literally don't know if what you're doing is exacerbating the issue), but that didn't stop him from a 250 yoke walk on the lush new turf.

I had a proud momma hen moment when I noticed Ryan and Alex leading by assistance and example; helping with straps, checking Mitch's form under the log and providing him with some textbook clean-presses to attempt to emulate. I won't lie; Mitch struggled with the movement initially. He couldn't get the pick and press to go fluidly. But with the guys plus Carl and me all throwing pointers at him he figured it out soon enough. He said his best overhead press was 60, but by the time his first ever log session was over Mitch had clean-pressed 45 and 50 for several reps each. He finished with a single of his one rep max, meaning that wasn't his proper one rep max. And now he's even stronger that that.


 We also worked on his deadlift and introduced him to the yoke. He got the usual talk about getting out of bed tomorrow and how it was going to be hard to do. He reiterated how he'd only be showing up every few weeks and, from a recovery point of view, that suited him just fine.


Back to comp prep: while we don't know for sure what the events are, there are some you can pretty much count on being in the mix. So as from next weekend, and Kong's next session, we will be focussing on yoke and farmers walk, deadlift... and the wondrous log and axle press medley!



The medley only works when we have sufficient trainees to man the rising bar, like a pit crew. It's a sight to see when everyone's working in unison. And having newbie Mitch popping up in the future will give me the chance to introduce a new person to the sport, from scratch. It's both fun and rewarding to see that spark - that passion - in another new soul.


Back to comp prep next week for me. I'd be lying if I said everything felt great. But it's better than it was. I am either going to compete or burn out just beforehand. My last ditch effort to do a comp this year, before I face the reality of a long and pricey rehab to round out the year. But this year's been about bigger and better things than me and my next comp. This year has seen the arrival of the next level in WA strength sports.


The State of Play

THERE'S been so many incredible things happen over the last six weeks. Most of it's no secret to anyone who might be reading this humble blog; I reckon even my old faithful readers from the USA (who are all connected to me on Facebook anyway) are aware of the magnitude of PTC Perth v3. I don't need to sell it. Just look at what me and my crew have to train with now. The future of PTC Strongman is very bright. But first, the shit.


For three weeks I was on pretty much enforced couch time. While I'd been talking a strong game, I was pushing through the injuries and spending a lot of post-training nights not sleeping properly. My shoulder would feel okay, so I'd try and return to some semblance of a structured program, and soon enough would be a liability once more. Same with my right thigh. A couple of weeks won't do it, and in retrospect it was pretty foolish of me to think that the time I spent with my leg crooked and suspended in a boot while I tooled around on crutches was in any way a relaxing period for my pre-existing TFL/quad complaint.


The fourth week of sedentation I was on leave, so naturally was sick for most of it. I threw up most solid foods, most days of that week and the following Monday for good measure. But when the test results came back they showed nothing seriously out of place. Kidney and liver function were both - quote - excellent, I am STD free (naturally) and apart from my cholesterol, which is on orange alert, the only other thing of note was a slightly elevated white blood cell count, indicative of having fought off a viral infection.


By the time I was feeling 100% again I'd dropped back under 130 kilograms bodyweight and my program for the Perth Cup was, you could safely say, pretty fucked. And following on from what I've just said about a couple of weeks not being long enough for either of my current injuries to heal is the (decidedly stupid) question: is four weeks long enough?








Howboutfive?








Being as messed up as I was kept me from training, but didn't keep me away from PTC3 completely. I was there to help out where I could with the big move. But after a month, I was over being sedentary and felt like my body could take some work again. It felt good to walk into that enormous zone, regimented with precision equipment and littered with legit lifters, knowing there is truly no better place in WA to be training right now. In the first few sessions back I pulled 300 kilos, squatted 240 and benched 130.




Four weeks till Perth Cup. Do or die.




Tuesday 9th August
Super-set DB supine curls & rotators:
4 kgs x 2 x 20

Deadlifts:
75 kgs x 8
125 kgs x 5
175 kgs x 4
225 kgs x 3
250 kgs x 2
275 kgs x 1
300 kgs x 1


Hammer Strength seated rows:
80 kgs x 10
120 kgs x 10
160 kgs x 8 TPR


Hack squats:
50 kgs x 3 x 10


Wednesday 10th August
Super-set DB supine curls & rotators:
4 kgs x 2 x 20


Bench press:
15 kgs DBs x 10
60 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
90 kgs x 6
100 kgs x 4


Hammer Strength shoulder press:
60 kgs x 3 x 10


Hammer Strength chest press:
60 kgs x 3 x 10


Super-set triceps pushdowns & DB front raises:
full stack x 3 x 15
10 kgs x 3 x 10


Monday 15th August
Super-set DB supine curls & rotators:
4 kgs x 2 x 20


Squats:
25 kgs x 10
80 kgs x 8
130 kgs x 5
170 kgs x 3
200 kgs x 1
220 kgs x 1
240 kgs x 1


Hammer Strength leg extensions:
50 kgs x 3 x 10


Hammer Strength calf raises:
60 kgs x 4 x 10


Thursday 18th August
Super-set DB supine curls & rotators:
4 kgs x 2 x 20


Bench press (all paused):
15 kgs DBs x 10
50 kgs x 5
70 kgs x 5
90 kgs x 3
110 kgs x 2
120 kgs x 1
130 kgs x 1


Hammer Strength shoulder press:
65 kgs x 3 x 10 TPR


Hammer Strength chest press:
65 kgs x 3 x 10 TPR


Super-set triceps pushdowns & DB front raises:
full stack x 3 x 15
10 kgs x 3 x 10