[quote]Benanything wrote:
Yo punisher, I just read your article “YOUR GYM IS MAKING YOU WEAK” and it’s a damn fine piece of writing if you ask me. Anyways, I was wondering about your last sentence, "Unless you do strongman, in which case, none of the equipment is regulated, nothing is standard, everything is broken, and you just need to get stronger. ". Is that why strongman attracts you more than the other strength sports (powerlifting/weightlifting/etc)? Just wanted to understand your perspective on things.[/quote]
Thanks for reading man. That last line was a bit of a throw away joke, but a lot of truth is said in jest. One of my favorite strongman stories is from my second contest. We had a press medley with a dumbbell press in it. The guy ahead of me kept dropping the bell before lockout, and eventually he bent it so that the handle was a big “U”. The promoter looked at the bell, looked at me and said “Good luck: welcome to strongman”. It’s pretty much how it is, haha.
In terms of what attracts me to strongman, there are a few factors at play.
-I came from powerlifting originally. Before moving to California in 2013, I had spent the previous 5 years in North Dakota. Powerlifting is a great sport in North Dakota, because it’s an indoor sport you can do year round (and we had an AWESOME group of guys), but once I got out of there I wanted to be outside as much as possible, and strongman afforded me that avenue.
-I enjoy competing against people rather than numbers. Back in the day, powerlifting meets were where the best competed against the best, and whoever had the best total/coefficient wins. These days, with so many federations and the internet, it’s rare that’s the case. I was lucky in North Dakota that there was 1 guy that was really strong in my weight class, but you can often show up to a meet and be the only person in your weight class/division, instead just competing against a set of numbers someone set halfway across the country a few months ago. At a strongman contest, I regularly compete against anywhere from 7-30 people, and it really pushes me to give it my all.
-I like the various types of strength that strongman requires. I came into my first show with some strong powerlifting numbers for a 181er, and took 4th out of 9. I was most likely the strongest person in my weight class statically, but couldn’t keep up with the speed and strength of those that had bested me. The sport pushes me in directions that I wouldn’t go in on my own accord, and makes me stronger overall.
-I really dig how strongman is very results oriented. As long as you get the weight from A to B, you get points. The idea of being judged by HOW I lifted the weight just seems off to me.
-I’m just a brute. I’ve got no finesse whatsoever, so weightlifting just plain ain’t happening without years of coaching, and I’m too damn old for that. It also just never really appealed to me.
Now, I will say that I enjoyed TRAINING for powerlifting more than strongman. It’s cool only focusing on 3 lifts and then basically doing a bunch of bodybuilding afterwards. But the competition of strongman pushes me to train harder than powerlifting did.
Long reply, haha, but hopefully that shines some light on the issue.
AM WORKOUT
Reverse hyper 50lbs
3:00
Gigantic DB overhead press/lat pulldown circuit
DB press
10x10
10x20
10x25
10x30
10x35
10x40
10x45
10x50
10x45
10x40
10x35
10x30
10x25
10x20
10x15
10x10
40x10
In between all sets
D-ring lat pulldown 90lbs
1x10
Notes: No rest for the whole thing, just one big circuit. Took about 20 minutes total. Got a pretty decent shoulder pump, 200 reps total, but not quite as challenging as I thought it would be. If I ever do it again, I’ll throw on some fat gripz, and maybe hit reps in the 15-20 range.
Axle Poundstone Curls
1x100
Notes: Always wanted to try these. Good challenge, got a decent pump in the arms. May throw some weight on it and work these into my OHP day.
Band pull aparts
1x50
PM Workout
Reverse hyper 50
3:00
Notes: Feeling more limber, rehab is working, but still too broken to squat. Worked up to 320 for a single in warm-ups, but could only walk out 410. Slowly but surely.
General notes: Woke up at 191.2 this morning. Cheat meal was moved to dinner instead of lunch due to wife running half marathon in the morning. Went to Carl’s Jr and had a double western bacon cheeseburger, a lettuce wrapped 1/3lb thickburger, and an order of criss cut fries.