Never Go Full Strongman (or Bikini)

Today

Me
Max Effort Lower

1)Squats
Bar x 5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x3, 285x3

2)Tire deadlift apparatus
5x20 with a *big tire on it

*for reference, it’s probably the third biggest tire out there. Ican nudge the second biggest off the ground, but this one i can flip a few good times.

3)hamstring curls
3x15

  1. hanging leg raises
    3x8

  2. machine calf raises
    2x20

Her
Lower Body

(EDIT)
Squats
Ramped sets of 5 @115

Notes (me): i already love the tire deadlift apparatus. Hits everything right, and i feel like my muscles give before technique (as there isn’t much technique to it at all).

I’ve been over-thinking everything way too much in terms of programming. Add in full swing with a hint of ocd i guess. Just going with the conjugate route, and having the most relevant enents on their given days. Found a good article from etitefs that fits with what I’m going for.

Cranking up the diet for the size.

EDIT
Notes (her): She’s reduced the weight a bit on these from the last time going about this, but her form & control of the weight is pretty solid. It did deteriorate a bit as the sets went on though.

I decided to edit her portion of the log. I forgot that she’s doing a routine given to her by a coach, and as such I don’t feel it’s appropriate to post exactly what she’s doing. Rather I’ll be logging her progress on the big lifts (weight, form, control, speed, etc.), as well as her general progress toward her competition. To reiterate, her competition takes places simultaneously as mine.

2-18-16

ME
Max Effort Upper

  1. Orange log clean: +50lbs*, 10x3

*tried to get a rep +100lbs. Cleared my hips but wouldn;t roll up.

  1. Orange log press: +0lbs, 20 reps (rest-pause)

  2. Orange log row: +0lbs, 20 reps (each rep was pulled hard against the sternum)

HER
low intensity shoulders/arms

notes: some guy at the gym said that the orange log was a hundred pounds. Not exactly scientific, but will at least serve as decent gauge for now.

2-22-16

ME
Dynamic Effort Lower

A) Back squats: 4 rounds of 3 x 2 @ 155lbs
*using elitefs’ dynamic squat cycle

B) Atlas stone Practice: managed to lift the smallest stone about 6" off the ground. Sans tacky or even a long sleeve shirt.

C) Circular Zercher walk contraption: loaded it w/ an additional 140lbs and went around in a 20’ diameter circle four times (one circle each carry)

HER
Low Intensity Lower

Notes:
We recently had a death in the family. Training or even eating was pretty far down on the list of priorities. Getting back in, going through the motions.

As for training notes. I think I’ll be able to get the stones with more practice, though getting it off of the ground certainly highlighted some weak areas. Namely my upper back & biceps. Also my middle back (low lats/upper erectors) are feelin’ pretty sore.

I think you’re talking about a conan’s wheel there.

Technique is pretty big with breaking the stone off the floor, especially with no tacky. You gotta really get your hands under the stone at the start and make sure it’s under your body, not out in front of you.

My condolences for your loss.

Thanks man, it’s been a rough one.

Ah okay, thanks for that clarification. The guy (owner) told me it was an event at a lot of contests. It was the only piece of equipment out there that I honestly had no idea what the hell it was. I probably looked like a monkey with a smartphone the first time I messed with it.

Thanks for that tip, I’ll try to focus on that more the next time I attempt them… I see a few bruised fingertips in my future. Speaking of which, with all of the talk of front squat having carryover, I’ve been approaching the lift with a more vertical torso. However, I noticed that I had more leverage with higher hips, using more of a deadlift/gm motion. As leverages can dictate the nuances of technique in gym lifts, does the same thing apply to stones or is there more of a universal technique?

I will clarify that I have minimal stone experience and just wing it everytime, but I tend to have a more horizontal torso on the pick versus vertical. However, I generally try to one motion the stone whenever possible.

Glad to hear you say that. I’ll keep with what feels more natural. I’ll practice one-motioning as I progress.

Yesterday:
DE upper

Bench
10x2 @ 135

Krocish rows
3x15 @ 80

Incline db press
30 reps @ 65

Chins
20 reps

Kb swings
3x15 @ 100

Today
45 lbs weight vest walk: 1 mile

2-29-16 (today)

ME Lower

A1) Semi Sumo 4" deficit deadlifts:
3x95, 3x185, 3x235, 3x275, 3x345, 1x365

RE Upper
A2) Axle muscle snatch:
8xAxle, 8x95, 8x95, 8x95, 8x95, 8x95

Notes: Wanted to get in a short & sweet session during lunch. First time of having a lunch to myself in a while so decided to use it.

I love full body workouts, and have been finding myself short on time lately, so this felt nice.

3-1-16
CONDITIONING

2 mile weight vest walk (45 lbs)

Notes: 176.5 this morning. It’s a new scale, but the number is pretty low either way. I’m not too worried, as whatever I’ve been doing, my beer belly that I’ve grown over the past couple of months has all but disappeared. Getting lean has always come easy to me. I have 4 months, and that’ll be plenty of time to move the scale up.

3-2-16

A1. (Max effort upper)
Floor Press: 45x3, 95x3, 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 245x1, 265x1

A2.
5 pull-ups of various grips

B. (Repetition effort lower)
Squats: 225x20

Notes: Awesome session; really pushed in different ways. The 265 floor press was a total grinder, I fought for every millimeter of it. 225 was the highest I’ve ever used for a set of twenty by probably 40lbs; I’m sure it was as much a physical PR as it was mental PR. Rep 10 was tough, and each rep got tougher & tougher. Got progressively more dizzy around rep 15, was barely there for 20 haha. Though my goal was 20, i just kept saying “just one more rep.” Felt great/terrible.

Good shit on the 20 rep squats man. Definitely good to keep those around for gut checks.

Appreciate it partner. There’s a max reps in the competition, so i figure i better get used to the suck haha.

3-5-16

DE lower-
A. 20 jumps of various kinds

RE upper-
B1. Front levers: 5x5
B2. Push-ups: 5x10

Notes: runnin’ on 3 hours of sleep last night, so i cut the sets once technique got too sloppy.

3-6-16
Conditioning

2+ mile weight vest walk (45lbs)

Need a slight mental reprieve from work so just some musings.

I really like what i’m doing now. I’ve sort of allowed my natural inclinations/tendencies take over… feeling very enthusiastic about training, and I think it really has the potential to produce results.

I think I’m going to stick with the set-up I’ve been following, which essentially is.

A) ME Lower (rotate stones and deadlift variation), RE upper (opposite pattern of next ME)
B) ME Upper (rotate Horizontal & vertical push/pull), RE lower (squats)
C) DE Lower (whatever i choose, just light & fast), RE upper
D) DE upper (again, whatever I want as long as it’s DE), RE lower (sled/hills)

basically, two harder days followed by 2 easier days (though I’m not confining myself to a 7-day week, but a “training week.” The ME & DE are turning out to be lower volume, so the RE work fits in well I think. looking like it may be beneficial to throw the 1x/week 20 rep squat program into the mix until i stall or it screws up my ME work, but they shouldn’t interfere with each other much. I put stones in rotation the ME category, b/c they fried my joints and were anything BUT dynamic work.

The way I see it, I’ve always done well with full body stuff, and it keeps me mentally fresh. With this set-up, I can train a range of days a week, can train days back to back due to the structure.

Have lots of Ideas, but I’ve realized that creating a rigid plan locks me down, and sort of fucks me up mentally. I’ve never seen many (or any) full-body conjugate set-ups (maybe for good reason, haha), but I’ve got high hopes.

3-9-16

10 rounds:

A1) DE Upper
Plyo push-up

A2) RE Lower
10 3rd world squats

Notes: Wasn’t a squat thrust, rather I tried to generate as much force as possible with the push-ups as to give myself clearance to swoop my legs under and land in a rock-bottom squat.


3-10-16
A) ME Lower
Small stone attempt 1: cleared knees (PR!)
Attempt 2: cleared knees
Attempt 3: cleared knees

RE Upper
5 rounds:
B1) 1 loop with Conan’s wheel +115lbs
B2) 5 orange log presses

Notes: I cursed at the stone a bit before each attempt. I’m pretty stoked with clearing my knees, as this denotes that my training is working. I assume that if I’m getting better at stones, I’m probably getting better at a bunch of stuff. Hopefully the 20 rep squats and ME deadlifts will assist with the lockout in the future. Also, it’s been raining a bunch here, so I sort of enjoyed being the only person at the gym not training in comfort.

Yesterday
A) ME Upper
Worried up to 195x1 on bb incline

B1) 3x5 ohp/push press @135
B2) 3x5 high pulls from above the knees @135

Today
Conditioning

2+mile weight vest walk w/ 55lbs

3-14-16

A)DE Lower
10 Box jumps

B) RE Lower
Squats: 230x20

RE Upper
C1) muscle snatch > btn press > bradford press > militrary press (all seated w/ wide grip)
C2) Front levers

Notes: I pulled my back a bit on jumps of all things.The box was mid thigh, a jump I can typically do in my sleep. Just wasn’t explosive today and went in too cold I guess.

the 230 for 20 was actually easier than the 225. It could be attributed to using my mental tactic of counting to 5 over and over again. But even then, I wasn’t quite as incapacitated at the end of the set. Looking forward to 235 (not really but sort of).

The front leavers were really clean I think.

Yeah, the 5 counting tactics help immensely. To be fair though, no matter how you try to prepare for 20-rep squats, they’re pretty overwhelming. Just kinda gotta take each rep as they come. Good progress btw.