Week 2 in Review

I WAS stopped in the car park on my way in to training last night by someone hailing me from the window of a Hilux. "Hey Abs" he said, "I'm mates with Jay. How's training going?" The fella's name was Clint. Clint had just finished an MMA class upstairs (for those who didn't know: yes, PTC now offers MMA classes!) and knew how disappointing last year had been for me, competition-wise.

We had a brief chat about goals and injuries. Clint had messed up his shoulder real, real good in a motorbike accident about a year previous, and he'd had a steel plate removed a few months ago and was slowly returning to training. He and I weigh the same amount, but Clint wants his 125 kilos (which he'd built while sitting on the couch, rehabilitating) to look more like my 125 kilos. I of course recommended that he get amongst the PTC Strongman clinics to recompose his physique. While the crew now boasts more than a handful of strong, dedicated trainees, there's always room for more.

Before he left I told Clint to pass on to Jay that I'm competing in strongman this year. He'll be pleased to know this. Like I did in previous years, Jay has diligently competed and always ended up coming second or third while the trophy went to heavy hitters like Daniel Macri and Rongo Keene.

He and I chased one another very closely in 2013, 2014 and 2015. We were neck and neck during our last WASM qualifier together and it was only one point that separated us in the end. I took the win - my first win in any strongman comp, ever - but it was a hollow victory. I still feel that Jay was the better athlete on the day. This year it's got to be his turn.

My training this week has been on track. Not amazing, but I'm slowly adjusting back to the demands of comp prep. And I'm not missing squatting one bit. But I will need some serious needling done soon if I expect things to keep working properly... time for a trip to my physio, I reckon.

Deadlift Tuesday
warmup: stretch & foam roller quads & hamstrings

Deadlifts:
75 kg x 8
125 kg x 3
175 kg x 3
205 kg x 1
230 kg x 5s x 5r

Press Thursday
warmup: stretch w/band, DB shoulder mobility work

Bench press (paused):
60 kg x 5
90 kg x 2
105 kg x 6s x 5r

Hack squat machine:
40 kg p/h x 10
50 kg p/h x 10
55 kg p/h x 7

Seated DB OHP super-set w/DB front raises:
12.5 kg p/h x 3s x 10r of each

Cable curls:
Full stack x 2s x 8r

Current bodyweight: 126.5 kg. The lightest I've been in over a decade was on Saturday, where I dried out to just 123.