Sunday, January 20, 2019

Events Saturday: Pop Goes the Other Bicep!


SOMETHING about this is poetic. Almost exactly two years ago I detached my left bicep tendon attempting to pick and carry a 90 kilogram 44 gallon drum. I was trying to simulate an event I'd seen in the 2016 Worlds Strongest Man heats which had confounded several veteran athletes.
"That looks hard." I thought to myself, "Let's try it." It was a new year and I was coaching a growing number of strong, committed lifters at a huge new facility. So I was bummed to suffer a pretty serious injury - and what would surely be a major setback to my plans - during one of our first training sessions for 2017. And it was... but I didn't let it stop me from getting stronger.

Yesterday the same thought went through my head while assessing a 250 kilogram truck tyre flip, moments before my right bicep tendon detached. This one was much faster; I had no time to apprehend what was about to happen. The crunching sound may have just been in my head, I'm not certain, but it was as much a noise as it was a sensation. A familiar one.

And it happened while I was, again, at a new facility, playing with new toys.

The first time, several people who had experienced the same injury advised that it would take a year or more to come back to form. I did it in eight months. Ten months after the surgery I pulled a national sub-masters record deadlift of 310 kilograms. Then I set the record again with my second pull of 330. I tried for 340 with my third lift - equal to my all time best with a standard barbell - but it wasn't to be that day.


Strict axle overhead press, cambered bar squats and one or two other movements actually became stronger than they'd ever been, about four to six months into my rehab program.

I mention all this in an effort to illustrate just how manageable the situation is. I have been here before, and I will bounce back better than ever. Shit, it's not even my preferred hand. I learned to shave and brush my teeth with my stupid hand last time.

Guess I'd better dig up that rehab template from 2017 and see what else I can add to it.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Events+ Saturday @ Legendary Lifting

SOMETHING is going to give if I keep performing this program as written currently. It may be solved by training more often but doing less hours each session, and splitting up the heavy movements over four (or even five) sessions per week.

For instance, in week six of my deadlift program I have to pull 270 kilograms for 3 sets of 5. Week six of my farmers walk program - which I have been performing concurrently - calls for 135 kilograms (per hand, of course) for 4 runs of 20 meters. I may be able to do one or the other, but not both. Not in the same session.

I also need to rethink where I'm going to schedule rest periods. I was intending to take a break after each six week block. I may need to revise that to once every five (or even four) weeks. But at least I'm adding rest periods now, as per Steve's recommendation.

The squats I did today taxed my knees pretty bad. I wasn't game to go heavier on Zercher carry, or try the tyre flip afterwards. One smart aspect of the template as currently written involves performing yoke walk and axle squats fortnightly rather than weekly. I may need to extend this approach to other events as the loadings increase.

EVENTS SATURDAY January 12th
Axle squats:
10 kg x 10
60 kg x 5
110 kg x 5
150 kg x 3
170 kg x 4 x 6
Zercher carry w/yoke:
120 kg x 2 x 15 meters
180 kg x 15 meters
180 kg x 15 meters

Friday, January 11, 2019

Pull+ Events Thursday @ Legendary Lifting

The Iron Chef, Tango & The Don
(from left) Tango, the Iron Chef, The Don, Sen & me @ Legendary Lifting
LEGENDARY LIFTING is a big, shiny new training facility in West Perth owned and operated by Donovan (henceforth known as The Don); a former engineer who chose to follow his true passion in life and is now a strength coach. A mutual friend put us in touch after The Don mentioned to them his desire to promote Strongman to his clientele. We got to chatting earlier in the week and he invited me over for a training session, so last night I performed (most of) my Pull+ Events template at Legendary Lifting while accompanied by a small crew. A small crew that included a very large man, and future WASM contender.
 
If you're a strongman (or a foodie!) in Western Australia, there's a good chance you've heard of Navarre 'the Iron Chef' Top. He arrived on the local strongman scene last year, immediately making an impact during August's rained-out qualifier at Coventry square, Morley. Standing a massive six foot seven and possessing obvious genetic gifts, the Iron Chef has more recently had to place his training on the back burner so as to accommodate a burgeoning career as owner and head chef of the Merchant in Inglewood. But he's now returned to regular training and intends to compete again this year.
 
When I first started coaching Kong, within a few weeks every big name in the local Strongman scene had contacted me to chat about him, and those conversations all followed a theme. The consensus was that he was a guaranteed contender for WA's strongest man, but his FIFO work was affecting his progress. Navarre is in a similar circumstance. If people with their genetics could devote their every waking hour to the sport, they would dominate the local scene soon enough.
 
I had a lot of fun! Though I spent too much time gasbagging and performed only two of the eight x 20 meter runs of Farmers walk I'd programmed. But the deadlifts were a solid personal record for reps at that weight, so I'm happy enough.
 
The Don has invited me back again this Saturday to do my regular events session from 1pm. All are welcome to attend.
 
PULL+ EVENTS Thursday January 10th
Deadlifts:
70 kg x 8
120 kg x 5
170 kg x 3
210 kg x 1
230 kg x 3 x 9 PR
Farmers walk (p/h):
60 kg x 3 x 20 meters
100 kg x 2 x 20 meters
115 kg x 2 x 20 meters
Meadows rows (l&r):
50 kg x 3 x 10
Face-pulls:
63 kg x 3 x 20
DB side raises (p/h):
10 kg x 4 x 10
Seated rows:
150 kg x 5
120 kg x 5
90 kg x 5


Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Press+ Events Tuesday: Logged, Week 1

AGAIN, I wrote this program so, again, I am responsible for the punishment I put myself through tonight. I am just entering the second week of training but it feels like the second month! I wanted to do more with the Zercher carries but after the weekend's yoke work I was too gassed. I still put in a good innings, though, and made another new personal record for reps of an 80 kilo log.


Thursday night I will be doing my pull-plus-events routine at a facility in West Perth called Legendary Lifting. The owner, Donovan, invited me for a session and to check out his collection of strongman equipment.


PRESS+ EVENTS Tuesday January 8th
Log clean-press (strict):
65 kg x 6
80 kg x 3
80 kg x 3 x 10 PR
Bench press (paused):
60 kg x 3
90 kg x 4 x 8
Zercher carry w/yoke:
130 kg x 2 x 10 meters
190 kg x 2 x 10 meters
210 kg x 10 meters
Chest press machine (p/h):
27.5 kg x 4 x 10
Triceps pushdowns:
114 kg x 8
100 kg x 10
86 kg x 12
Standing barbell curls:
22.5 kg x 3 x 10
DB front raises (p/h):
10 kg x 3 x 10

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Events Saturday: Yoked, Week 1

THIS WEEK has been equal measures of fun and exhaustion, and saw some new personal records set. I am certain I've never done as many runs with a 290 kilo yoke before today and, after the week of training I've had, I must admit it was pretty gruelling. I had actually programmed a third set of prowler drag but my hamstrings suggested I not do them. I must also admit that I did not program effectively today... I should have done some clean-pressing first. I didn't have the core stability to do them after the yoke et cetera. This means my press session this coming Tuesday will need to be epic. I performed about thirty-six working sets last Tuesday... I may do around that number again, though focussed entirely on press variations (and the usual biceps/triceps/deltoids isolations work I do afterwards).


I am feeling strong, healthy and sore all over. It has been a good holiday.


EVENTS Saturday January 5th
Yoke walk:
130 kg x 40 meters
210 kg x 40 meters
290 kg x 4 x 40 meters PR
Prowler drag w/harness:
+100 kg x 2 x 17 meters
+150 kg x 2 x 17 meters
Cardio:
assault bike 5 mins @ +55 rpm

Friday, January 4, 2019

High Gear New Year

THERE IS no better high you can experience in life than waking after a week of training so hard that the DOMS has worked its way through your entire body, and is just now dissipating. My regular two hour training sessions have become three hour training sessions. Heavy strongman events are just things I do - not only on Saturdays - but every session, three times a week.

The first week of the new year I began my new programs for axle squats, deadlifts, farmers walk, and bench press. Log and axle clean-press, yoke walk and zercher carry are also written up and set to follow this weekend & next week. And no, I still do not have pics/vids: I'm too busy actually training and enjoying myself to give a shit. But it will happen when I do something really, really heavy in a few weeks. If there's one thing the people at my gym know how to do, it's work an iPhone camera.



As it is, I'm feeling the effects of the holiday season and the week I spent eating, drinking and being generally merry. As merry as the damned can be, I suppose. This new DL program began with 220 kilograms for three sets of ten, which I'm not sure but I think might be a personal record for total reps at that weight. I felt like I could have done a fourth set (which would have been dumb, on week one of the program), but then I'd have had insufficient energy for the rest of the session.

And I don't think I've done as many sets of farmer's walk at 110 p/hand as I did Tuesday night, after a bunch of axle squats. I seem to be responding positively to the increase in variety and intensity. With some enforced de-loads as recommended by under 80s (and sometimes under 90s) national strongman sensation Steve Wonderboy van Steytler, I'll be stronger than ever and primed for WASM's first qualifier for 2019.


My first training logs, from late March 2010. I found them during an annual cleanup, though they were never lost.
By the end of March this year I'll have been lifting for a total of nine years - one away from Wendler's vaunted 10 year benchmark. I have no choice but to make certain 2019 is a massive year



EVENTS+ PULL Thursday January 3rd
Deadlifts:
70 kg x 10
120 kg x 5
170 kg x 3
220 kg x 3 x 10 TPR... I think. Maybe a legit PR for reps at this weight
Zercher carry:
130 kg x 20 meters
190 kg x 20 meters
230 kg x 10 meters
Meadows rows (l&r):
50 kg x 3 x 8
Seated rows:
neutral narrow 114 kg x 3 x 10
underhand wide 86 kg x 3 x 10
Face-pulls:
64 kg x 3 x 20
DB side raises (p/h):
10 kg x 3 x 10



EVENTS+ PRESS Tuesday January 1st
Axle squats:
20 kg x 10
70 kg x 8
120 kg x 5
160 kg x 4 x 6
Farmers walk (p/h):
70 kg x 2 x 20 meters
110 kg x 8 x 20 meters PR
Bench press (paused):
20 kg x 5
60 kg x 5
90 kg x 8,7,6,5
Triceps pushdowns:
114 kg x 15,12,5
Chest press (p/h):
25 kg x 4 x 10
Standing BB curls:
22.5 kg x 3 x 10
DB front raises (p/h):
10 kg x 3 x 10