Rebirth of the Juggernaut: Brute Force and Ignorance (Part 1)

I just use an elitefts miniband.

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I believe Jim has said a few times that going over the prescribed limit on pulling exercises was alright.


BTW I was wondering how, in theory (as I have an idea of what you are doing via log entries), you balance some of the demands of strongman with 531 which exceed the basic ā€œget stronger at the bench, back squat, conventional deadlift, and strict press?ā€

I have my own methods, namely just swapping out things I see as more beneficial, such as push press instead of press, front squat instead of back squat. But Iā€™m always curious as to how others view this.

Iā€™m really tempted to run things like 1000%, Black army jacket, God is a beast, etc, with the prescribed set-up, but am always thinking things like ā€œwell why would I potentially waste my time on X, or lose practice in Y.ā€

Itā€™s possible Jim was good with exceeding the pulling, but my pushing and lower body work is also running in the read. Definitely ā€œtraining like an assholeā€, haha.

Regarding the balance: Right now, Iā€™m in an extended off season. Iā€™ve got a lot of vacations coming up that are right when contests would be, so there is nothing on the horizon. As a result, Iā€™m using this as a time to just build up some basic strength. Part of it is, Iā€™m such an untechnical lifter that I donā€™t really lose much from lack of practice. Iā€™m only getting 20-40lbs out of leg drive on a push press, so if I just keep building up my strict press, Iā€™ll get stronger. If I squat and build up strong legs, my legs are strong for other stuff. Etc. I still keep in events work for conditioning, but donā€™t really do a lot of practice. Iā€™m also using implements in my training where possible (axles, logs, circus dumbbells, etc) to keep skill on them.

Once a competition roles around, I abandon the program proper and start training the specific implements I need for about 8 weeks. I still stick with the core principles, but, while the offseason is about getting stronger, the in season is about getting better.

Thanks for the elaboration man. Iā€™m explosive, but not statically strong, so the ancy is ever present. But I just need to keep in mind:

(This is an awesome quote, Iā€™ll be stealing it.)

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Elite fts mini or lifeline 50 or 70 pound bands for ā€œwork sets,ā€ and just a golds gym walmart band or the mini for warm ups.

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EMOM Stone of Steel over bar (23)
Triples for 10 minutes

Notes: I realize I log this workout differently every time. Height is getting pretty crazy, which means technique is getting solid. Need to start adding weight.

Woke up at 194.8.

GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUT 10

AM WORKOUT

Buffalo bar Squat
5xBar
5x100
5x140
3x190
1x230
5x275
5x315
5x355
5x295
5x335
5x380

Viking Squats 135
1x20

GHR sit-ups w/25lb plate behind head
3x6
1x4

Dips
5x20

Band pull aparts
5x20

Notes: Did all the assistance work between sets of squats. Cut that final set of sit-ups short because it was placing stress on the surgical site of my knee. Everything else was pretty smooth. Only rested long enough to change plates for the squats.

Woke up at 194.2 this morning.

GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUT 11

AM WORKOUT

Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x10x241

GHR
4x10

Grenade ball pulldown 90
5x16

DB lateral raise 15
5x10

Kroc row 105
1x25

Axle curls
1x100

Notes: GHRs superset the bench warm-ups, then an unbroken circuit of bench-pulldown-bench-raise repeat until finished. Not terribly tough. Starting to find my groove in the program. Still exceeding the assistance work, but thatā€™s just who I am I guess.

Woke up at 193.8, possibly less. Worked a 14 hour day yesterday and ate a few lighter meals.

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GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUT 12

AM WORKOUT

Texas Deadlift Bar Deadlift (touch and go)
5x135
5x225
1x315
5x365 (straps from here out)
5x420
5x475
5x390
5x450
5x505

Standing ab wheel
4x8

Band pull aparts
5x20

Dips
6x20

Notes: All assistance work between sets of deads. Short on time again, so now squatting variation. Solid workout, nothing too noteworthy.

Woke up at 195.8 after yesterdayā€™s cheat meal of 5 slices of stuffed crust pizza.

1.5 mile track run

11:07

Notes: Ran 1:36 for the first lap and 7:05 for the mile. Something Iā€™m doing outside of running is making me a better runner, because Iā€™m doing better than I was for that 6 week stint while I was focusing on Murph.

Woke up at 196.2. Work has been playing with nutrition.

GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUTS 13-14

AM WORKOUT

Buffalo bar Squat
5xBar
5x140
1x230
10x5x295

Axle strict press
5xAxle
5x66
5x136
5x151
5x171
5x196
5x161
5x186
4+1x206

NG chins (various widths)
1x20
10x5

Band pull aparts
5x20

(4) DB Incline 50
50 reps

Notes: Iā€™ve got vacation coming up and donā€™t want to spend a lot of it in the gym, so I combined workouts today so I could run a full week of training in 3 consecutive days. Not a smart idea, but definitely AN idea. Ran an unbroken giant set circuit of Squats, chins and presses, stopping only long enough to change plates. Had to push press the final rep of presses. I need to swallow my pride and drop my TM a ton next training cycle or so. I can get by, but itā€™s not productive.

Woke up at 194.4. I imagine weight dropping is playing on some difficulty in the press strength, but Iā€™m getting leaner, which is the goal.

Unexpected results are always great. Do you have any idea what making you run faster?

Dense training, or Prowler work? Or something different?

I honestly could not tell you. Iā€™m actually thinking itā€™s because Iā€™m not hammering my legs as much as usual that theyā€™re just better recovered, but maybe itā€™s from the density of training my cardiovascular conditioning is just carrying over.

GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUT 15

AM WORKOUT

Axle Deadlifts (deadstop)
5x136
5x226
1x276
10x4x391 (straps)

Standing ab wheel
4x8

Dips
10x20

Band pull aparts
5x20

Notes: Did the deadlifts and dips as an unbroken circuit. This was a tough workout for sure, especially after squatting yesterday. Still getting through my plan to get this all knocked out before my vacation.

Woke up at 194.2.

GOD IS A BEAST WORKOUT 16

PM WORKOUT

Axle bench press
5xAxle
5x136
5x226
5x261
5x296
5x241
5x276
5x311

Pull-ups
50 reps

Kroc rows 105
1x21

Notes: Got 3 hours of sleep on shift and waking up at 0400 tomorrow to start driving, so wanted to get this done quick. Knocked out the bench sets all in a row, only resting long enough to change plates. All 6 work sets took 10 minutes total. Then I did the 50 pull-ups in as little time as possible and finished with the kroc rows. Whole workout took about 25 minutes, to include setting up and tearing down. Effective for such a short amount of time.

Got my whole weekā€™s worth of work done in 3 consecutive days. Iā€™m also sore as hell. Connection? Who knows.

No weigh in this morning due to sleeping over at the job site.

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Where did you get the axel from, is it an official axel or something you rigged from Home Depot?
Also, good on reddit.

I had a Home Depot axle, but the axle I used these days is the Ironmind Apollonā€™s axle. Completely worth the cost. Beautiful peace of equipment.

Iā€™m not quite sure what you mean by good on reddit. I do post there a bit though.


PM WORKOUT

1/4 Murph

1/4 mile run
25 pull ups
50 push ups
75 bodyweight squats
1/4 mile run

Total time: 7:36

Notes: Back in Denver, and the altitude totally kicked my ass on the final lap. Ran the first lap in 1:24 and the final in about 1:56. That first lap wasnā€™t as fast as humanly possible, but it was a solid effort. I saw that a 71 second 400 was apparently pretty decent, so I might see if I can knock that out sometime.

Pull-ups were all in one set; minor kipping on the final 3 reps. Push ups were unbroken. Squats were a crap show.

Still on vacation. No scale. Eating well, but not too big.

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This is a great on-the-road session. Never though about doing it before, but definitely will in the future. Good stuff

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I meant good review if the 5/3/1 book, sorry itā€™s late in the east coast

@oldbeancam Thanks man. The idea came to me as I was driving by a high school track, which is consequently where I ended up running it. Had to use the field goal posts for the pull ups. I could just BARELY jump high enough to manage it.

@strong_runner Ah, no worries. Glad you enjoyed it. It was fun to write. Really glad I pulled the trigger on that book.