I’m sad that more people aren’t going to see this post. Well said and these are a few things that I’ve wanted to start doing more consistently. I currently drink apple cider vinegar (3-4 days a week), finishing off showers with cold water (1-2 days per week) and have actually bought/drank decaf coffee a few times recently.
I can’t directly comment on how it has helped me, but I am still planning to start doing these more consistently. Like you said, and I agree, these are “pretty affordable investments” if they can help at all.
It’s promising to hear that these simple adjustments are working for some people.
Warm up - 20 walking lunges, 45ft bear crawl, 45ft reverse bear crawl x 2 rounds.
24” depth jumps - 5x3
12” box step ups - 185 3x10 ea leg
Ab wheel planks - 3x45 sec holds
Aerobic work - 40 min on an elliptical…145 avg BPM
9 November
Warm up - 10 DB RDLs, 10 DB rows, 10 overhead plate raises x 2 rounds.
15” Trap Bar DL - worked up to 713 for 3x5 (RPE 9 avg), then a 60 sec AMRAP hitting 713x7.
Stiff leg Deads - 405 for 3x6
Carry medley - 300 farmers/240 sandbag 75ft ea. Got through one set, then tore a callous on my second set. Scratched the medley work and just hit some front carries with the sandbag to haze myself for trimming my callouses the day before deadlifts and farmers work.
Sandbag carries - 240 for a set of 40 sec, a set of 60 sec, and a set of 120 set. Brutal on the lungs and glutes.
Warm up - 15 min stroller push while the wife changed clothes to lift. Haha. 3x15 squats
Jump from a seated position - 5x3
Reverse lunge - 135 3x10 ea
Side plank - 2x60 sec ea side
Assault bike - 1min work, 3 min rest for 6 rounds.
11 November
Warm up - 65 military press x10, 115 squat x10, ext rotation wall slides x10 for 2 rounds.
Push press - worked up to 285 for 4x3.
Truck pull simulator - 3 work sets of 250lb tension for 45ft. These were awful today. Just awful. I had to sweep the floor we were pulling on twice because chalk and dust kept messing with the traction. If I ever figure out how to have a smooth pull with this damn thing, I’ll be a truck pulling machine! (Going to stay positive and fake it until I make it I guess)
Stone over bar - worked up to 330 for 3x4 at 51”, using tape and heavy spider tack. Almost blacked out on my first rep, so I waited two minutes and got back after it for the first set of 4 reps. I’ve only ever had that happen one other time loading stones, so it kind of shook my confidence a little. Very happy with how the heavy spider tack worked, though! My goodness. I only re-tacked once, and that was just to put a little more on the palms.
Second peak week is in the books. A few highs (big DL jump and smooth log pressing) and lows (callous tear on farmers and the continued dog fight between me and the truck pull sim), but overall, the train is moving in the right direction and I’m healthy. I can’t really beat that. Thanks for reading!
Warm up - 20lb lateral raise x10, 40lb neutral grip military press x10, alternating bwt lunge x10 ea, 6 box jumps x 2 rounds.
Broad jumps - 5x3
Walking lunges - 135 3x10 ea
Plank - 3x60 sec
Anaerobic Work - 160lb prowler push x50ft EMOM for 20 min. Comes out to about 15 sec work, 45 sec rest each minute. Added 25lbs to last week’s sled and I felt every pound.
Warm up - Log RDLs x10, Log strict press x10, banded shoulder dislocated x10 for 2 rounds.
Log clean and press - worked up to 290 for 6 singles. The first few felt like dog shit. Definitely an RPE 9.5-10 for the first two or three singles. Four through six felt much better, after playing with my belt tightness and timing my leg drive a little better. Last single was RPE 9. Definitely didn’t earn the right to bump up weight next week. I’ll stick with 290 again and clean them up.
Yoke Walk - worked up to 770 for 3x55ish ft. Still not fast enough with this weight, but definitely feeling more stable and comfortable under 750+ Fastest set was 14.5 sec. I’ve got to get these feet turning over faster!
Zerchers - 365x7, 375x7, and 385x6. Using elbow sleeves on these was a game changer. I can’t believe I haven’t been doing this. Stupid idiot.
Warm up - 24" box jumps 3x5
Box Jumps - 5x3 to a 39" box
Alternating Lunges - 135 3x10 ea leg
Ab Wheel Hold - 3x50 sec.
Aerobic Work - 40 min on an elliptical at 142 avg BPM
16 November
Warm up - 275x10 trap bar dead 15", pull downs x 10 for 2 rounds
15" Trap Bar Deadlift - worked up to 715 for 3x5, and an AMRAP set of 8 in 60 sec (one rep PR).
Yoke and Sandbag Medley - 680 yoke for 94ft, 240 sandbag for 94ft. Three sets at about 40-45 sec ea set. I was planning to do the WSM U90kg carry medley tonight, but after deadlifts my grip was feeling very fatigued. I will give my hand a little longer to let the callous tear heal up before hitting farmers again. This medley isn’t as specific as I would like to prep for the contest, but working for 40+ seconds, the distance covered, and finishing with a front carry is about as good as I could come up with.
Stiff Leg Deads - worked up to 425 for 2x6, and 445x6.
Warm up - military press x 15, reverse lunge x 10 ea leg, row x 15 for 2 rounds.
Paused box jumps - 5x3 at 34”. I basically go down to a position similar to the bottom of a Deadlift, pause for 2-3ct, then jump onto the box.
12” box step up - 185 3x10 ea leg
Side plank - 2x60 sec ea side
Assault bike - 1 min of work, 3 min of rest for 6 rounds. Avg Watts were 517-536.
Warm up - 65 military press x 10, 155 squat x 10 for 3 rounds.
Push press - worked up to 275 for 4x4.
Stone of Steel - I finally tried the new SoS out today that my gym recently bought. My original thought was to just keep working up until I couldn’t grip the stone, using a tacky rag and some loctite sprayed onto athletic tape (I bought some gloves but they were a total bust and I’m going to return them). Well, I ended up hitting “the wall” with my grip at a measly 325, so I called an audible and hit some higher volume work to practice technique. If you can’t train stones heavy, you might as well work on the next best thing: lungs and technique. I hit 275 for 10 at 47”, 51”, and 53”. Considering I went a little heavier with tacky and concrete on stones last week, I can’t be too mad about today’s work.
Truck pull sim - I don’t even know where to begin with the huge ordeal I had with this damn thing. I can’t figure out what setting I have it on (220lb or 490lb), but I can barely move it the full distance of 45ft in a minute. Absolutely brutal on the arms and legs. I did three sets with whatever tension the damn simulator is set at and then left.
Week 3 is all wrapped up. I’ll have to change up the order of events this next week, due to Thanksgiving. I’m going to hit the log, carry medley, and yoke on Tuesday because the post gyms will be cloesd on Thursday. I won’t be able to pull on a trap bar this week, as I won’t have access to one and I don’t want to push deads forward or backward a day…so I will probably just end up pulling with a bar from the floor. It could be a nice break from the Car DL practice, or it could be a total bust. I’ll find out on Thursday. Thanks for reading!
Warm up - 24” box jump 2x5, 30” box jump x5, 36” box jump x3
Box jumps - 39” 5x3
Unilateral leg press - 90 per side for 3x10 ea leg. I was feeling beat up from Saturday still, so I decided to keep the load lighter for unilateral work tonight.
Planks - 3x60 sec
Aerobic/Glycolytic work - 30:30 work:rest on the Rower for 20 min. Avg around 147m per 30 sec interval.
90 min deep tissue massage post workout.
21 November
Warm up - log strict press x 10, GHR back extension x12, band pull apart x15 for 2 rounds.
Log press - worked up to a single at 295 RPE9.5. I was thinking about going up to 305-310 to tie my contest PR, but based on how hard 295 felt, I decided against it. I’d rather leave some in the tank than destroy my confidence in 300+ lb log pressing. I went back down to 265 for 4x4 with a rep in the tank on each set but the last. Good work, though it wasn’t what I had in mind going into the session…but that is the beauty of Strongman. There is always something to work on!
Yoke Walk - 680 for 3x55ish ft in 11.5-11.2 sec. Speed is getting better, but it’s still not fast enough.
Carry Medley - 300 farmers/ 345 axle zercher/ 240 sand bag for 65ft ea, for 3 sets. 52, 49, and 47 sec the sets. My grip confidence is back now that I can carry 300 farmers again without tearing a stupid callous. This medley is a smoker, but my cardio felt better and better each set. Glad to have a good baseline performance with roughly contest weights at slightly further distance.
Active Recovery work - 50 min walk on an incline treadmill. Avg HR around 110.
Paused box jumps - 5x3 to a 36” box
Alternating lunges - 135 3x10 ea
Side planks - 2x60 sec ea side
23 November
Warm up - tiger balm, some toe touches, and a few extra sets of light deadlifts to expedite the session.
Deadlift - worked up to 550x8, 585x5, and 605x5. All three sets were the heaviest I’ve been able to pull from the floor in almost a year, due to the hip pain issues I had been dealing with. Feels good to know my pull from the floor is around 90-95% of my all time PRs. Front Squat - worked up to 405 for 3x5 (with a belt).
Stiff leg deads - 455 for 4x5 with controlled eccentrics.
Great Deadlift training session today. I had a few people from the gym come out and train with me in my garage because the gyms are all closed for Thanksgiving. It never ceases to amaze me how much an atmosphere with positive vibes can make great training session. Everyone hit PRs and still left some in the tank. Happy thanksgiving!
Thanks for reading! Come on out, if you want to watch the contest in person. Most people will have to stream it.
24 November
Warm up - 10-12 minutes of messing around at different paces on the assault bike.
Anaerobic work - 1 min on the assault bike, 3 min rest for 6 rounds. Avg Watts were 517-536. Ignorant quad pump.
Planks - 3x60 sec
Broad jumps - 5x3
Alternating reverse lunge - 135 3x10 ea
Warm up - 95 strict press x8, one leg box jumps to 18” box x3 ea leg for 2 rounds.
Push press - worked up to 305x1, then hit 315 for 3x1.
Strict press - 225 for 3x4 (no sleeves). I was wanting sets of 5, but considering I haven’t strict pressed in over a month, I am not mad at how 225 moved.
Stone over bar - worked up to 330 for 3x5 over a 48” Bar, using athletic tape and heavy spider tack. I kept the bar lower today to get some work in and not have to extend my back as much. My erectors and hamstrings were still pretty sore from deadlifting on Thursday.
Truck pull work - I anchored the truck pull sim and pulled a tank sled toward me, arm over arm style to work the upper body and give the legs a rest. One moderate set and two hard sets (around 60-65sec of work on the hard sets). My legs were pretty useless after stones and the DOMS from Thursday. This variation allowed me to at least work on a portion of the truck pull (specifically the start where pulling hard with the upper body helps gain momentum) without further taxing my hips and legs.
Great week of training in the books considering I mixed things up a little to accommodate the Holiday. One more week of hard training before starting the taper for WSM U90kg. Thanks for reading!
Warm up - pretty much skipped a good warm up due to time constraints. 2x5 24” box jumps.
Box jumps - 5x3 at 39”
12” box step ups, alternating - 185 3x10 ea
Planks - 3x60 sec
Aerobic work - 22 min on a stair stepper. Avg HR 143.
I decided it’s time to taper the conditioning work. I’ll basically be doing light aerobic work for conditioning/active recovery from here on out to facilitate recovery before the last few heavy strength sessions.
Warm up - Log RDL x10, log strict press x10 for 3 rounds.
Log press - worked up to 280 for 4x3 push press, then dropped the weight down to 200 and hit it for a set of 7 as strict as catholic school. Log went smooth tonight. I’ll either do heavy singles or doubles next week and then shut it down for the contest.
Yoke walk - worked up to 810 for 3x65ft. First set was rough, and it was my slowest (22ish sec). The second set was a little better and faster (18.3 sec). The third set was back to crap and slow again (19.8 sec). Not anywhere near as fast as I need to be, but I had no drops and the weight was stable. Trying to stay positive and hope my taper yields some faster wheels for the contest. Hahah…positive thoughts. Positive thoughts.
Zercher Squat - worked up to 385 for 3x5. These were rough tonight after the yoke. My back was pretty fatigued at this point so I went a little lighter than I had planned. It’s never a bad idea to lighten up the load on assistance work, if the main work went well. No reason to be an assistance lift hero.
Warm up - agility work and some slides for shoulder and upper back mobility. About 10 min total.
Broad jumps - 5x3
Aerobic work - 22 min run on a flat track, easy pace. Maybe 8:45 to 9 min pace.
Planks - 2x60 sec side planks ea side.
Warm up - worked up to 225 rdl x 8 and 225 shrugs for 8 for 2 rounds.
Deadlift - warmed up from floor with some goals in mind…and abandoned them after pulling 405 for 2x 3-4. My legs just didn’t show up to work today.
13” Deadlift - worked up to 585 for 3x5, then an AMRAP set of 9 in 60 sec. Happy to make a compromise with these tonight. I knew warming up at 405 that my legs were just not going to give the push I’d need off the floor to get any decent weight moving on deads today…so I moved the bar up 4” and took the leg drive almost entirely out of the lift. This height is tough for me because it’s all hips and back. Today wasn’t what I had in mind, but I was still able to pull 585 for a total of 24 reps from below the knee. I can’t be mad at that.
Truck pull sim - I’m fed up with this stupid simulator. Today I rigged it to a tank sled and two training partners held back on the sled while we took turns pulling it about 45ft. I did three work sets ranging from 40-60 sec with more push back from the training partners on last two sets. This set up was much smoother that using the simulator by itself. It has been getting choppier and more difficult each week. Not 100% thrilled with the product overall to be honest. It worked great at first, but it’s quickly diminished in its ability to provide a smooth, even pull. At this point, I’d rather go to the DMV than try to pull this damn simulator.
Stiff leg deads - worked up to 455 for 3x5.
Warm up - agility work and shoulder mobility work against the wall for about 10 min.
Paused box jumps - 5x3 to a 36” box
Reverse lunges, alternating - 135 for 3x10 ea
Planks - 3x60 sec
Aerobic work - 22 min on an elliptical. Avg HR 147.
Warm up - Walking lunges x 45ft, wall slides for shoulder mobility x10-12 for 2 rounds.
Axle Push Press - worked up to 275x4, 285x3, 295x2, 285x3, and 275x4. I originally wanted to get around 15-20 total reps with 270-280, but had planned on doing more traditional straight sets (4x4, 5x3 etc). I ended up doing a pyramid up and back down to get 16 total reps with an avg weight of 281. Not how I planned it in my head, but it was the same volume/intensity destination.
Stone over bar - Today was my last opportunity to work up to a heavy load…and my body just wasn’t up to the task. I scratched my plans to go heavy after warming up. I pushed the bar up to 62" for 4x3 with a 240-250 stone of steel (used a tacky towel), and 64" for 1x3 with the same stone. If I couldn’t handle going heavy, at least I could keep my confidence up with loading to a high platform/bar. The first three stones at WSM U90kg are 250/275/300 to 60"/58"/56", respectively.
Carry Medley - worked up to 300 farmers, 410 yoke zercher carry, and 240 sandbag for 65ft ea. I did three working sets in 55 sec, 47 sec, and 46 sec, respectively. I am feeling good with where my overall conditioning and athleticism is on this event.
Last week of heavy training for WSM U90kg is in the books. It is bittersweet with having to end this cycle with a bad day on stones, but I was able to haze myself proper with the medley work, so I will be able to sleep at night. I will taper things down to around 80% on Tuesday and Thursday, then go into full blown reload mode until the contest. The last little hurdle at this point is the water cut to 198.4lbs. I’ve been waking up around 217-218 most days, so cutting back on the carbs now that training is over will bring me down just a hair before the water cut. Good vibes going into the homestretch!
Warm up - lunges, wall slides, agility drills, laterals for about 8 minutes.
Deadlifts, no belt - worked up to 495 for 5x5. I used a slightly different technique today. I dipped way down before pulling to kind of wind up the spring like a lot of the HWs are using lately (Eddie Hall and Graham Hicks come to mind). After doing these, the advice Hall gives about “leg pressing the world away from you” makes waaayyy more sense. I’m traditionally very slow/weak off the floor with my deads and this technique helped a TON! Very excited to experiment more with it during my off season after WSM U90kg.
Speed yoke - 650 for 5x65ft between 11-12 sec each set. These felt very good today. I got some advice from another U90kg competitor who is a monster at yoke (Mike Tumminello). He noticed I was yoke walking in chucks and told me to switch to a more cushioned soled shoe. I tried it once for the carry medley this past weekend and today with the speed yoke. The walk feels way more fluid and not nearly as jarring on the shins or hips.
The fact that another competitor in WSM U90kg was kind enough to give me some much needed advice just goes to show the high class of people competing in this sport. No one wants to see another guy under perform or get injured. No one in this sport wants to win because the best guys didn’t show up. This sport has a community of high achievers who want others they’re competing against to have their best day on the day of the contest. I guess powerlifting has this phenomenon too, but I’ve always felt a more positive vibe while competing in Strongman. To each his own, I suppose. Anyway, the taper has started and my body feels great. One more 80% session, a few aerobic sessions here and there, and some very light work at the beginning of next week. I can’t wait to compete!
Stupid idiot.
