Iron Weekend: the Tshirts Have Landed

PTC Perth Strongman

THIS WEEKEND, again, was when I got most of the week's training done. Saturday was the first time I have squatted with a straight bar since early January. It felt a little strange, to be honest, and I wasn't confident of going for the three triples of 230 kilos that are my next target. But after a few reps of 200, my left knee made the decision for me and further squats were canned for the day. This also made deficits on Sunday pretty fucking uncomfortable, but I got them done.



The big news for the week is that the PTC Strongman T-shirts have arrived! I didn't think it was possible but the crew are looking even more fabulous now. They will all be representing strong at next weekend's WASM qualifier at Coventry square, Morley.

Sunday's pulling session was the first time I've had to swap from double overhand to alternate grip on deadlifts. The last rep of the second set is when I swapped over. A little disappointing; this means I won't be doing sets of 200 kilos double overhand... one full set, perhaps.

I needed to work underhand rows back into the program and found the seated cable row machine was less taxing on my left wrist, so I added a few sets in, but dropped a set of Hammer Strength rows and one of Meadows rows. The Meadows rows are really taxing me now. I am glad they drop to 6 rep sets from next week.

On another subject: this is what I'd planned before the tendon detachment. I wanted to have done this by mid-April (LOL):

Deadlift: 340 kg

Bench press: 175 kg

Farmers walk: 150 kg p/h x 20 meters

Log clean-press: 110 kg x 5

Yoke walk: 430 kg x 15 meters



My bench is on target, and I guess I have a plan for after Perth Cup already sorted. I'll also need to throw in heavy sled/prowler drags if I want to pull a truck (or two) come late October... ah yeah, I think I still need to write about my plans for the 2017 Static Monsters. If it all comes to fruition it's gonna be a huge event. More on that later.

PULL+ Sunday July 30th

Stretch

Deficit deadlifts:

70 kgs x 5

120 kgs x 5

160 kgs x 4 x 8 PR

Bent-over BB rows (overhand):

112.5 kgs x 3 x 8

HS seated rows (neutral):

60 kgs x 3 x 10

Seated rows (underhand):

full stack x 3 x 8

Meadows rows (l&r):

50 kgs x 3 x 8

super-set w/Face pulls:

plate 10 x 4 x 20

SQUAT Saturday July 29th

Stretch w/foam roller

Squats w/comp bar:

30 kgs x 10, 5

80 kgs x 5

130 kgs x 5

170 kgs x 5

200 kgs x 3



PRESS+ Tuesday: MOOAARR!!

TALKING to Paul tonight about programming. Paul has written programs for many people over the years, with varying degrees of success but success nonetheless. The programs were performed to completion and the subjects were stronger by the end of them. Only, when it comes to his own programming, he has never had a positive outcome. He said he literally cannot program for himself.


This I found pretty interesting, and I wondered how many other coaches might attest to having the same issue. My own templates have brought me some successes, but plenty have been failures too. I still attribute most of my gains to the training advice I've gotten from other people, but I am pretty trite in saying this as nobody lives in a vacuum and all gained knowledge came from someone else. But I've never actually followed templates written by people I don't know. Nothing from established strength trainers past or present - not unless I've actually met them in person. Weird, I know. But then I've never been accused of being normal. I like to do things my own way, wherever possible.


The work I am doing now is some of the most intensive I've done outside of strongman events. In previous years, when strongman was my primary - if not only - focus, I would invest the majority of my time and energy into events training on weekends, and the squatting, pressing and pulling I did midweek were of secondary consideration. A session would last 90 minutes to two hours at most, and in that time I would be coaching others also.


Nowadays, things have reversed. The more injuries I have sustained, the more I have focussed on coaching, which since PTC Strongman became a thing has only been on Saturdays while at Genesis I coached every session. Then the most recent injury forced me to abandon a whole bunch of strongman events because of the direct strain they placed on the bicep. So my non-events training became the focus. Now I'm doing 35 set press routines and spending 2-3 hours per session. Feeling stronger than I have in a long time.


PROS: When I finished my last program I topped out benching 140 kilograms for a triple, and strict pressing three triples of a 100 kilo axle... far from my best work. This program finishes at the end of August, and tonight I benched 130 for four sets of 5 and overhead pressed a 90 kilo axle for three sets of six. More, actually - I hit seven reps on the first set. So I'm still not there yet, but I'm not too far away. And a hell of a lot stronger than I was a mere five weeks ago.


CONS: rushing bench press! Bouncing and sloppy, no pause. For shame. What the fuck am I training for again, exactly.


On a side note: this week I also need to get squatting again, and it's high time I switched to a straight bar.


More good news on the re-composition front. Progress has slowed, but I continue to get heavier and leaner at the same time. Now sitting on 139 kilos bodyweight and 26% body fat. But, to be more certain, I need to go get a proper dexa scan and see what variance there is between the two assessments.

PRESS+ Tuesday July 25th
Stretch
Bench press:
bar x 10
60 kgs x 5
100 kgs x 3
130 kgs x 4 x 5 TPR
Axle OHP (strict):
50 kgs x 5
70 kgs x 3
90 kgs x 7, 6, 6 TPR
45 incline BB press:
60 kgs x 4 x 8
DB front raises (p/h):
7.5 kgs x 10
10 kgs x 10
12.5 kgs x 10
Seated French press:
25 kgs x 4 x 10 - failed last rep!
super-set w/Triceps pushdowns:
full stack x 2 x 20, 2 x 15
HS chest press (p/h):
40 kgs x 4 x 8
super-set w/HS bicep curls (l&r):
15 kgs x 4 x 10

PULL+ Saturday: 2 Weeks till Comp Day

AUGUST FIFTH is the date of the WASM qualifier. Two weeks from now, a small, dedicated team of PTC Perth Strongman members will be entering the field with the hopes of making it to the state finals this year.

The day was momentous enough for me to put together a video of some of the work we did. As for me; training-wise I'm still playing catchup on what I missed (again) this week. But the added down time has done my body good. I'm feeling strong again. The hip is feeling better, which obviously means it's time to squat some more.


PULL PLUS Saturday July 22nd
stretch
Deficit deadlifts:
70 kgs x 5
120 kgs x 5
150 kgs x 4 x 8 PR
Bent-over barbell rows:
110 kgs x 4 x 8
HS seated rows (p/h):
57.5 kgs x 4 x 10
Meadows rows (l&r):
47.5 kgs x 4 x 8
super-set w/Face-pulls:
plate 10 x 4 x 20

Press+ Wednesday: Ugh

I PROGRAMMED three money sets on bench for this session. I did a fourth coz it felt like I could. Now I have to re-do the rest of the template, again. But that's ok.


PRESS PLUS Wednesday July 19th
Stretch
Bench press:
bar x 10
60 kgs x 5
100 kgs x 3
122.5 kgs x 4 x 6 PR
Axle OHP (strict):
50 kgs x 6
80 kgs x 3 x 7, 6 - failed last rep
Incline bench press:
60 kgs x 3
72.5 kgs x 8
DB front raises (p/h):
7.5 kgs x 10
10 kgs x 10
12.5 kgs x 2 x 10
French press:
25 kgs x 10, 6
20 kgs x 2 x 10
super-set w/Triceps pushdowns:
full stack x 2 x 20
full stack 2 x 15
HS chest press (p/h):
40 kgs x 2 x 8, 7, 6
super-set w/HS bicep curls (l&r):
15 kgs x 3 x 10

Musings: on Purpose & Commitment

THE SURGERY to my bicep caused some nerve damage. There's numbness in the forearm which hasn't gone away. I thought it was the anaesthetic just taking it's time to dissipate, but the surgery was February 1st, so I guess not.

That was my second operation. The first was to my right shoulder. The cartilage tore at the 2012 amateur national championships, in Queensland. Early the next year a surgeon shaved down the torn cartilage and put a Kevlar screw in the humeral ball. I like that shoulder better than my left shoulder. Late 2015 I sustained partial tears to the rotator cuff tendons in that one, and the bursitis was discovered when the tears were diagnosed. I am guessing the tears healed and it's just the bursitis that bothers me now, when I press. Also when I sleep. I have a special pillow I put under my shoulder.

It was during the rehab of the rotator cuff tears that I noticed a protrusion in my abdomen when I would engage my midsection. This was diagnosed a diastasis recti; basically a precursor to a hernia. I call it Quaid. Quaid doesn't bother me because I don't pay him much attention. But I wear my lever belt a little higher when I squat now, to keep him in.

September 2016 I tore both my quadriceps at the GPC Perth cup. Not major tears, fortunately. I got pretty good at stiff-legged deadlifts while I was rehabbing those.

Through 2012 through '15, my knees used to sometimes fill with fluid when I'd squat heavy. They don't do that anymore, I'm happy to say. But they are arthritic now. I've found that squatting fortnightly instead of weekly allows enough time for them to recover. I need to sleep with a pillow under my knees too.

Now I have three labrum tears; one in the right shoulder, and one in each hip. The right hip I tore a little bit back in early 2013 while squatting a cambered bar with my arm in a sling (ten days after surgery, in fact), and the left one I did a few weeks ago, in late June. Also while doing squats. Also using a cambered bar. Go figure.

I fractured my right ankle in two places and severed a tendon in one of my fingers while moving a loaded bar from one bench to another, in April 2016. 'It's only 120-something kilos,' I thought to myself, 'I've picked and carried heaver things than that.' I didn't consider the step.

There are other injuries and ailments I can list which aren't related to strength training. As a kid I broke my arm skateboarding and got a lump on my head from stacking it on a water slide. Both incidents required surgery. I also have sleep apnoea; a condition that went undiagnosed for many years and that I would have now, to some extent, regardless of what I do. But the vast majority of the injuries I have sustained in my life have occurred since I committed to getting strong.

So, taking stock of all this, do I regret making this commitment? Hell, no. I wish I'd started sooner. I wish I'd been doing this in my teens, my twenties. I wish I hadn't started at thirtyish, as a morbidly obese alcoholic and smoker. I wish I'd had what I have now, then. But I cannot reverse time, I can only fill it with purpose.

PULL+ Saturday: A Week Down

WHEN I arrived that Saturday Kong already had the platform and axle setup and was diligently working his clean-press alone. The rest of the crew were no-shows today, but that doesn't mean they've been slacking. Half of them are committed to competing in the WA Strongman qualifier, August 5th: 'Wonderboy' Steve did his training earlier in the day due to family stuff, and Alec 'The Technician' has been hitting it really hard lately (following a rigorous template made for him by Carl 'The Lion'), so I was not surprised to note his absence. Same went for Mick, who put in some awesome work the weekend before. At his current rate of development, I've told him, it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to enter the competition as a novice heavyweight.

As for me, I've fallen a week behind. As I write this it's Monday evening, and I've not so long ago had a late therapy session at Body Genius. It was my first visit since January 2015! Since my (sorely missed) physiotherapist, Dominique, left for New Zealand I've not had any regular treatment, and as I'm planning on competing again soon, this session has been long overdue.

To complicate matters, I'm fairly sure I've torn the labrum in my left hip... I don't even know when it happened. I would guess it was while squatting, but the pain and loss of mobility didn't really register until the start of last week. As the week progressed, it became more of an issue. Getting in and out of my car became painful - a familiar pain. I tore the labrum in my right hip early 2013. On that occasion I was squatting with a cambered bar, my right arm in a sling. It tore a little bit due to the awkward position I was in, accommodating the sling while trying to squat to depth.

I was supposed to squat again last week. That did not happen, for obviously. Actually nothing got done through the week, so I used the Saturday to catch up on my pulling (thankfully the injury does not affect my deadlift!). Tomorrow it's time to press again. I've missed a week, but to be honest I think it was worth taking the extra down time to let what can, heal.

PULL+ Saturday July 15th
stretch
Deficit deadlifts:
70 kgs x 8
110 kgs x 5
140 kgs x 4 x 8
Bent-over barbell rows:
*left wrist still fucked, o/hand again
100 kgs x 5
100 kgs x 3 x 8
HS seated rows (p/h):
55 kgs x 4 x 10
Meadows rows (l&r):
45 kgs x 4 x 8
super-set w/Face-pulls:
plate 10 x 4 x 20

Press+ Friday: Almost Comp Ready, Already

ANOTHER punishing press routine, done.

I was so low on energy, after my first money set on bench I sat down and ate two chocolate bars. I felt better. I did anther set, and then ate a third chocolate bar, which made me feel better still. If I carried cash with me more often, this might become a problem.

Highlights of the session: 1. I finally got a reasonable base point for my incline bench press, so I can write a more intelligent scheme for that going forward, although it's always going to be difficult to assess my ability in this movement when performing it after near-max work on bench and overhead. Truthfully I just want to incline press 140 for reps, like I was doing in 2015. And 2. I finally completed all prescribed reps on french press.

Lowlights: my left shoulder was bugging me throughout. Not just bursitis... I messed something up during last weekend's clinic when I was axle clean-pressing. Nothing major, but the front raises were a bitch to perform so I kept the weight low and dropped the final set.

But, of course, the biggest highlight is this: I detached a goddamn bicep tendon in January. It's now July, and I'm already on track to compete again come September. Maybe even earlier. I'm heavier than I've ever been, as a strength athlete, and by the time this epic three month program is over I will be squatting, benching and deadlifting on form once more.

PRESS+ Friday July 7th
Stretch
Bench press:
bar x 10
60 kgs x 5
95 kgs x 3
115 kgs x 3 x 8
Axle OHP (strict):
40 kgs x 8
70 kgs x 4 x 8
45 Incline BB press:
60 kgs x 3
70 kgs x ME 10
DB front raises (p/h):
7.5 kgs x 10
10 kgs x 2 x 10 - left shoulder issue, scrapped 4th set
Seated french press:
25 kgs x 4 x 10
superset w/Triceps pushdowns:
full stack x 4 x 20
HS chest press (p/h):
40 kgs x 3 x 8
40 kgs x 7 - so close!
superset w/HS bicep curls (l&r):
12.5 kgs x 4 x 10

Pull+ Wednesday: Psycho

I STILL have Saturday's clinic to catch up on, which was ho-hum for me, training-wise, but awesome with regard to the crazy rate of improvement and insane dedication demonstrated by my crew. But tonight's pulling session was recorded for some professional scrutiny and I need to get this sorted first. For now,  I'll just leave you with this video of Alec and Carl doing farmers walk in torrential rain.

It was a debilitating session. But good. I had programmed 7 rep sets for deficits this month, but decided I might as well make them 8s, for this session at least. I'm just weird about programming odd numbers for reps. The down side was the bent-over rows (again): on the warmup set my left wrist was not cooperating, so I swapped to overhand. But I'm still not feeling like I'm performing them properly, and dropped the weight back to 110 for the remaining sets.

I'm not big on recording myself training unless there's a purpose behind it. A couple of weeks ago I read an article on the deficit deadlift by Scott Wasson,. I've not performed them before and his piece gave me pause to consider having my own form critiqued. So I broke out the camera and recorded the following:

PULL+ Wednesday July 5th
Stretch
Deficit deadlifts:
70 kgs x 8
110 kgs x 5
130 kgs x 4 x 8 - 7 rep sets programmed
Bent-over BB rows:
100 kgs x 5 - Left wrist screwed, switched to overhand after this set
130 kgs x 5 - shit form, weight dropped
110 kgs x 3 x 5
HS seated rows (p/h):
55 kgs x 4 x 10
Meadows rows (l&r):
42.5 kgs x 4 x 8
super-set w/Face-pulls:
plate 10 x 4 x 20