Naaaaaationals. Grats man. Happy to say I witnessed such a 180 with your disposition in the last 3 years. Rebirth is fucking right lol.
I ought to compete soon too, but I’m a bit off emotionally/mentally. Strong physically, but everything else is duller than ever. Weird, I guess?
@biker Thank you. It really means a lot coming from you. You’ve been commenting for a long while and it’s been greatly appreciated.
@Koestrizer Kalle was there too. He actually found me, as I was still sweating from carrying that damn cooler, haha. We go back a ways as CA strongman. The log diameter was 10", which is small for mens, but only the lightweights used it. Middle and heavies used 12" metal logs. I tried not to take offense to using the women’s log, haha. Appreciate the support.
@strongmanvinny2 Thanks dude! I’m definitely back to top form. The humility from my injury was necessary, but it’s good to be back. You’ll get the mentality back no sweat. You got plenty of crazy left in you.
It looks like you’ve added a ludicrous amount of muscle since the last sword pic which is very impressive at your training age and weight. Jawline is looking a little suspect there…
Well done, man. Watched an interview with Kaz on one of the Insta-famous pages, guess who was wandering the background looking like the terminator…that’s right haha points for spotting pwn?
Is that the standard in your competitions? I personally use a 13" log and have been using nothing but 13" in competition. My girlfriend had to use a 13 inch log as well at her last comp, I think.
@mattjp All just lighting and angles, haha. I did make sure to select the photo my wife took that made me look the most jacked.
@Despade Hah! Pretty funny. One of my co-workers used to call me “T-1000”. Do you have a link to the video?
@Koestrizer It’s just a pretty standard pipe size in the states, so it’s what metal logs end up totaling at. My Titan log is more like 12.75", because it’s made out of rolled sheet metal instead.
Massive congratulations man, you deserve all of your success and more!
It was in a story and I’m not technologically savvy enough to link that, but I’ve got the clip ha
@furo Thanks man! I’ll always be able to appreciate our kinship in overcoming our injuries.
@Despade Good eyes, haha. And I have no idea how instagram works, so you’re doing better than I am.
I hate that it works. I’ve been more involved in striking type martial arts lately, and I definitely hit harder with a “eeyyaahh” grunt thing that seems to work it’s way out. Also works with explosive type weight movements like cleans, jerks, and trying to load something heavy to a platform after its lapped.
A few hundred years of martial arts can’t be wrong, haha. When I trained boxing, I did more just the hiss through the teeth, but the kiai seems to really have a different effect.
Congratulations for your victory, mate! You are great!
@raoh1990 Thanks man!
Back from vacation, will resume training either tonight or tomorrow morning. Woke up at 193.4. Will give weight a few days to stabilize.
PM WORKOUT
GIANT SETS
Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x146
5x165
6x190
12x146
GB lat pulldowns 140
6x12
Band pull aparts
6x20
Dip Stripset
5x105lbs
10x80
12x50
13x25
14xBW
Poundstone curls
1x100
Lateral raise dropset w/weight plates
12x10
12x5
12x2.5
Notes: Mrs and I were going batty after not training for 10 days, so we squeeze in a quick workout. No time between sets, just knocking it out in a circuit. Still feeling pretty drained from the comp, but given I only have 3 weeks before my cruise and then work is taking me out for another week some time in Sep, I just gotta get it in.
Pressing an axle feels alien after so much time with the log. Time to get good at it again.
Palms and wrists feel a little pissed off.
PM WORKOUT
Buffalo Bar squats 280
3x10
1x5
1x1
Notes: Kept the rest periods short, but my CNS is fried. Left knee was achy, and the bar felt stuck to the j-hooks on the latter sets. Just gotta get back into the groove of things here.
Woke up at 192.4.
AM WORKOUT
GIANT SETS
Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x136
5x186
5x216
5x256
13x281
20x216
DB rows 105
7x10
Band pull aparts
7x20
GIANT SETS
Axle incline press
9x186
7x186
3x8x156
DB rows 105
5x8
DB lateral raise 25
5x8
Notes: This felt MUCH better than the past 2 sessions. Body is getting back to adjusted. It’s also been nice to stay away from events and just stick with the basics. Less set-up time and quicker training sessions.
I am absolute garbage at incline pressing. Always have been. I’m gonna do my best the keep doing it for a while to see if I unlock some hidden strength by making it better. Left shoulder really didn’t like this today though. If it gets bad, I’ll bring out the swiss bar or the 9" log.
Woke up at 194.2.
AM WORKOUT
(6) Texas deadlift bar mat pulls
5x135+chains
5x225+chains
3x315+chains
1x405+chains
REST PAUSE/STRIPSET
10+4+4x495+chains
9+4x405+chains
Standing ab wheel
4x8
95lb Front squat to 135lb SSB squat circuit (no rest between sets)
1x9/1
1x8/2
1x7/3
1x6/4
1x5/5
1x4/6
1x3/7
1x2/8
1x1/9
PM Workout
80 second double underhand hang from a slick steel pull-up bar on a rotating ball bearing base
Notes: Warm ups were heavy today, I kept the weight lower and focused on effort as my post comp training. Should be back to 100% by Monday.
That front squat/SSB thing requires explaining. I took video and will upload it later, but the way it worked was I set up my yoke as a squat rack for front squats and then put the SSB in my power rack. I’d hit a set of front squats, rack it, walk to the power rack, hit a set of SSB squats, rack it, walk back to the yoke, and repeat. I’m hitting 10 reps each set, just balanced between front squats and SSB squats. It works well, because as fatigue sets in and my technique falters, I got from a more technique squat for more reps (front squat) to a less technical squat for more reps (SSB), and I can spend more time recovering from the misery.
The weights were JUST about right on this. I think I needed to go just a little heavier. This sucked, and I’ll be sore for days, but it wasn’t quite something I needed to “survive”. Still, decent challenge for anyone up for it.
For that PM workout, went to the fair and there was a booth with a pull-up bar. Game was 100 second hold won you $100. I figured I had a shot. I think if I had prepped for it, I woulda had it, but approaching it cold the afternoon after deadlifts with no real gameplan meant I was just gutting it out. The bar was like a slim diameter rolling thunder, as once my grip started to slip, the bar started to roll and it was really game over.
Had my cheat meal yesterday at Panda Express. Woke up at 195.4.
Here is the video
I’m still very impressed Pwn that DL session rest pause with 495 + chains is awesome and then followed up right after with 405 absolutely insane.
The front squat to SSB looked as hard as it sounded in the description.
This spring I went to a fair too with the exact same setup, tried it too,
but had deadlifted hard the day before.
And wasn’t expecting the bar to roll.
Put in some other excuses as well 
Next year I’ll go, set up properly, maybe with a hook grip. Did manage as you did 80 seconds so there you go, I’m as strong as you
I just want to say that I understood this 100% without the explanation. And I’ll never do it. I could manage a squat/deadlift version assuming I’ll be able to squat pain free again someday.