The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope

[El Exorcisto]

I clean once and press away. When I started treating my continental more like a clean and less like a deadlift, suddenly I don't miss them any more. My press needs more work so that's what I focus on.

[El Exorcisto]

Heavy lower

High bar squat: quarter-plate doubles up to 275, singles at 295, 315, 335

Suspended SSB good morning: doubles at 225, 245, 265, 275; singles at 285, 295

Roman chair sit-ups: 3x20

 

My back was a little shitty when I woke up this morning but it got halfway ironed out through the day. The plan was to work up with doubles until I started hurting then do some back-off sets. Well, the pain all went away so I figured "fuck it, might as well do this." 335 was my old PR at 10 pounds heavier so I can't complain about tonight's performance when I figure that I'm coming in off an injury and I haven't squatted deep or with a barbell in a long time.

 

Good mornings somehow keep me healthier. When they fall away from my training in favor of more pulling I end up getting hurt. I really like heavy suspended GMs and can see why Louie liked them so much and why Clint Darden still swears they are the best movement under the sun behind the box squat. When there is close to PR weight on the bar it is a fight just keeping from falling over; standing it up just feels like luck. I hit 250 for 5 a few weeks ago and my old PR from over a year ago was 265. I pretty well crushed those into the dirt.

[matty_mcfly]

I tried being a dick the other day and hit a single at 192.5 on the axle, but after not doing it in forever, my clean form has only gotten worse.

[El Exorcisto]

Volume press

Strict press: doubles at 115, 125, 130; 5x2 at 135

Close grip floor press: 5s at 155, 160, 165; 2x5 at 170

DB bench: 3x10 at 50

Dips: 10 at BW, 9 +20lb

 

I bumped the weight up on strict press and CGFP without any real problem except needing to rest a bit longer between doubles on strict press. Dips felt like dogshit with my triceps already trashed. The extra weight on the belt was a terrible idea. Oh well.

 

It looks like that's going to be the record between the two of us for a while. I doubt I'll be touching the axle for ME work any time before August since my July contest only has a max log and my axle doesn't seem to give shit for carry over.

[matty_mcfly]

I'll let you go first on the log and I'll try to take that back next week

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[El Exorcisto]

I just read that weigh-in is at 5pm the night before the contest. That's going to really, really suck balls.

[El Exorcisto]

Cardio

SSB squat: 20 at 190 - rep PR

RDL: 10s at 175, 195, 205

Roll-out: 3x20

 

Nothing special. I put a pair of chips on my last widowmaker from a couple weeks ago but otherwise unremarkable.

[El Exorcisto]

Heavy upper

Log press: Singles at 155, 165, 175 - PR

   superset with

Weighted ring chins: bodyweight x5, 4x5 +25

 

Bench press: 5s at 155, 175, 185

   superset with

DB row: 10 at 80, 2x10 at 100

 

EZ bar skullcrusher: 3x10 at 65

   superset with

Hammer curl: 3x10 at 30

 

I took my PR and called it there. I had another grindy 10 pounds in me to match matty but now isn't the time to miss reps or get greedy. I've got the press at my contest sewn up which is all I needed tonight. I dropped the viper press and went back to clean and press. I'm more explosive with it and much moreso than I used to be with it. Everything else was unremarkable except for a little elbow pain with skullcrushers. I'll drop the weight back next week and find something better for triceps assistance for my next training cycle.

[El Exorcisto]

Morning weigh-in: 173.6

Volume push

Strict press: 115x2, 3x2 at 135, 4x2 at 140

CGFP: 5s at 135, 150, 155, 160, 165

DB bench: 3x10 at 50

 

I'm happy about my strict press moving in the right direction. The last couple doubles were slower than I'd like but they locked out all the same. I switched to suicide grip on floor press and it was a total game changer. The bar path was perfect and it felt so much stronger.

 

The cut is moving along at about the right pace. I should be coming in around 170 by the end of next week. I have the week of my contest off from work so keeping my diet in check and being able to water load shouldn't be a problem. I'm hoping to come in around 163ish on Friday morning so I'll at least be able to drink a little on the trip down. We'll see.

 

I'm sort of looking forward to next week but dreading it at the same time. I've got a couple of pretty nasty event days planned and weather permitting I should be just this side of dead by next weekend.

[El Exorcisto]

So much water... So much fucking water.

[matty_mcfly]

Haha yeah, you really don't realize how awful it is to drink 3 gallons of water until you actually do it

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[El Exorcisto]

I'm going to bed at 169, hoping for high 167s when I wake up in the AM. I'll sweat the rest off in the tub and then it'll be time for a very thirsty 3ish hour ride down to weigh-ins. I'm almost looking forward to the refeed at IHOP than the contest... almost.

 

I've watched about a thousand contest videos on the YouTubes over the last couple days. I'm getting stoked.  Some shit is getting FUCKED UP on Saturday.

 

On a more reserved note, I saw my July contest is a record breaker contest for max log and rep deadlift. I thought about not sweating my weight and just competing in the 181 since the weights are the same for both the LWM weight classes. Then I saw that the record on max log in the 165 is sitting at 190. I hit 185 on my wooden octagon log, in the gym. I probably have 200 on a proper log at a contest. There's no record for 450 for reps in USS at 165 and I'm hoping to have a triple in me by then.

 

I'm going camping during my deload going into it so I'll have to be coming in at a pretty honest 169 or so going into that week. I'll have two days to cut carbs but water loading won't be happening. My dream of spending the next six weeks stuffing my face and putting on a bunch of meat is likely going out the window. I always did want to be ripped...

[El Exorcisto]

I took 6 out of 9. I'll get video edited and a proper write-up done when I'm home. It was another awesome contest.

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

[El Exorcisto]

Report's up. I'll have video when I get around to it.

 

 

[El Exorcisto]

I got a couple tires today. My wife's tire comes in somewhere between 180 and 200 pounds. It's a little narrow for her to get her shoulders dug into it so she'll be flipping it sumo until she can handle mine. My tire comes in around 300 assuming 50 pounds missing due to tread wear. It's nowhere near contest weight but I can spend some time getting quality technique work without getting too beat up. When I need more weight I'll either hunt down something closer to contest weight or tie some sand bags into it.

 

Tomorrow I'm taking the angle grinder to my farmer's handles so I don't end up bleeding when they tip over again and then shooting another coat of paint on them. I need to drag my sandbag out and get it set up around 150 pounds to work technique on the carry and load event. I have a harness coming sometime early next week so I can train for the truck pull. I'll probably just start by dragging my bigger tire around to start off with and maybe move up to my wife's car with the e-brake barely touching.

 

It looks like by the end of the week I'll have all my implements together to start my training cycle for NY Strong-est.

[El Exorcisto]

Morning weigh-in: 174.6

Fuckaround day

Deadlift up to a single at 365

Strict press up to a single at 155 - PR at bodyweight

CG Slingshot bench: 10@135, 10@155

Ring chins: 10,8

Tire flip: 2x10 at 300ish

 

I transplanted a wild raspberry patch last week before my contest and got a pair of cherry and a pair of pear trees in the ground yesterday. I finally got around to shovelling out the chicken coop so their shit can compost out by May when I'll need it for the gardens and starting to make a dent in the metric fuckton of wood chips I got from a local tree guy. It's been a busy and pretty exhausting week to say the least. My upper back still hasn't really had a chance to recover from my contest and I really felt it in the gym today.

 

I wanted to stretch my legs and see where my deadlift is sitting but 365 felt a lot heavier than it should have. I went for a 5 pound PR on strict press but missed it but 155 is a PR at this bodyweight. Slingshot bench felt nice on the triceps and ring chins were savage with my upper back being this rekt.

 

Tire flips... Jesus tapdancing Christ. Wendler talks about the Prowler making it feel like you're drowning in napalm and I have to imagine that this is pretty close to the same sensation. My conditioning needs a ton of work.

[Rooks]

Good stuff as always EE.  As a person that is just starting to get into growing his own food (putting in 2 raise beds in our back yard right now), curious what you grow on your property?

[El Exorcisto]

Speed press

Log press: a bunch of doubles and triples at 135 and 145... I lost count but between 7 and 10

   superset with

Weighted chins: 5x5 +25 - rep PR

 

Strict press: 13,4,3 rest-pause at 95

Yates row: 3x12 at 135

 

Close grip floor press: 3x10 at 135

   superset with

Hammer curl: 15,12,12 at 20

 

The log felt pretty good at 135 but started getting slow at 145 after a few doubles. I dropped back to 135 for a few and they were back to being fast enough to catch instead of press. I hit a rep PR on weighted chins with a total of 25 with an added quarter. Rest-pause strict press was really fucking savage. I was just going to feel out 95 and bump up to 105 for the big set but I'm glad I didn't. Everything else was pretty unremarkable.

 

 

Good stuff as always EE.  As a person that is just starting to get into growing his own food (putting in 2 raise beds in our back yard right now), curious what you grow on your property?

 

I have all kinds of crap growing around here. I've put in a garden the last seven or so years growing everything from tomatoes and squash to potatoes and beans. This year we're planting 5 different winter squashes, a few varieties of heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, a couple types of chiles, potatoes, and pole beans. This fall we'll be putting in a garlic and shallot bed which will be a new endeavor for us. The raspberries were growing wild on the edge of my yard so I just transplanted them into a bed I tilled so I can fertilize, prune, and mulch them so I can get a decent yield off them. I planted a couple pear trees and a couple sour cherry trees, too. I have a few wild apple trees in the woods and my neighbor across the street has an orchard that was planted sometime before or around the American Revolution. I want to learn how to graft so I can graft some of these really old apple varieties onto modern dwarf rootstock and manage them. We also have chickens, a dozen at laying age and 30ish chicks. The hens will replace my laying flock and the roosters I don't keep for breeding will be getting caponized and put in the freezer. My dad and I got into bees last year too. We trapped three swarms from local feral stock and hived them, he kept two and I kept one. Hopefully that will be getting expanded out to five or so hives each by the end of the season.

[El Exorcisto]

Volume squat

Squat: 10 at 185, 10 at 190

Front squat: 20 at 95

Suspended SSB good morning: 2x5 at 225, 5 at 245

Kneeling band crunch: 20 with EFS light, 20 with EFS average, 12 with average and light

 SS with

GHR: 7,6,5; hands behind back

Weighted RC sit-ups: 2x10 +10

 

With my deload before and after my contest I haven't squatted in a couple weeks and it just felt awful and foreign. I could have moved more weight but I didn't want to risk fucking myself up this early in my training cycle with everything feeling so unstable. I'm going to be hammering 20 rep front squats weekly for the next six weeks trying to bring my quads and upper back up since they felt like a big weakness. I'll be bumping the weight up quite a bit next week.

 

GMs felt great and I could have moved more but I'm easing back in. It was still 5 pounds of my 5 rep PR from a few weeks ago so I'm not too concerned.

 

Band crunches are going to take some getting used to. The light and average bands were too light and the two of them together were to heavy to get a full range of motion. I'll try with an average and mini next week and see how that feels.

 

My GHR has been collecting dust for a while and needed some love. I was surprised I hit a single rep with my hams already pretty wrecked from GMs and not having done them in so long. I didn't see a lot of carry over from them before but it seems like a pretty big theme of strongmen and powerlifters making them a staple because of what they can do. I'll give them six weeks and see where I am at with my pull.

 

Weighted abs were rough. I'll be sticking with a dime for a while until they start feeling comfortable.

[El Exorcisto]

Bro day

Axle bench: 10s at 70, 110, 130; 2x8 at 155

Bar chin: 8,8,6

Slingshot CGBP: 12 at 135; 8,8,5 at 155

3-way raise with fat axle DBs: 3x10 at 10

   superset with

Barbell curl: 15,15,12 at 45

 

I forgot what a good pump felt like having been depleted for so long. Axle bench felt totally different than benching with a barbell and I really like it. I could feel everything contracting so much better and it took more focus to keep the bar in the groove and not let it fall out ahead. My arms were so pumped up after axle bench and chins that I needed help getting my slingshot on. Slingshot CGBP felt good but it really showed how fucking awful my work capacity has gotten. Using my extra fat DBs on 3-ways did the same thing as my axle on bench. I could focus on hammering my delts and even using 5 less pounds they were completely fried.

 

I'm hoping my work capacity and conditioning come up to respectable levels quickly. I'm really kind of pissed at how shitty my endurance is both under the bar and fucking around with flipping my tire. Tomorrow is my first events day of the training cycle and I'm really looking forward to it.

[El Exorcisto]

ME Deadlift/Events

Deficit deadlift from yellow 15kg bumper plate: triples up to 365, singles at 385 and 405 - PR

Farmer's walk at 125 per hand, 75': 4 runs, 13.42-10.26 seconds

Sandbag carry 150 pounds, 75': 2 runs, untimed

Tire flip: 4x6 at 300ish

 

Kalle Beck does deadlifts on events day in his beginner program so I thought I'd pull that from it and use it. I need a second day of working on my press and the deadlift makes a lot of sense on an event day for me vs. only pressing once. I haven't pulled from a yellow bumper before but when I pulled from a 4" block my best was 365. 4 plates was really slow but not in a "shit I might not make it" way. It was weird. I didn't like the movement but I think it'll have good carry over to my conventional pull from the floor.

 

Farmers started really fucking slow with a shitty pick. I got my shit together through the four runs and cut 3 seconds off my time by focussing and not just going through the motions. Intent seems to be everything. When I can consistently hit sub-10 seconds I'll add some weight.

 

The sandbag is a total dick and I was fried by the time I got around to it. I ended up having to relap and grip again midway through my first lap and decided I need to spend some time getting more familiar with a front loaded carry before trying to go for speed. I'm on the fence whether I want to do switch the sandbag and farmers.

 

My yard has a slight uphill grade so my first two sets sucked a lot worse than the last two on the tire flip. The tire had about 2" of water in it, too. By the last set the tread was soaked so getting my hands on it was becoming a problem.

[ORazor]

Just went through and got caught up a bit.  Congrats on the meet - strongman seems savage.  

[El Exorcisto]

It's been a rough, dark couple months ladies and gents. I'll spare everyone the details. Suffice to say that I am yet again waiting with baited breath on a new job, and I dropped out of NY Strongest due to not training for a couple months. I have however been spending a lot of time out in my kayak fishing and having a blast enjoying the summer with the family. And so it goes, I found myself in the gym on Monday night and again today.

 

Monday I did bench, chins, strict press, DB rows, rolling extensions and incline curls. I've been feeling it for a couple days. In fact I don't think I've ever felt this ripped up after an upper body day. Today I worked up to 5 at 225 on SSB squats and then pulled 5 plates for an 18" deadlift followed by a few 5s of axle C&P. I'm spending the next three months at least just fucking around in the gym. I don't have any contest to prep for and no real goals in mind until around February. I'm going to be spending a few weeks fishing in Florida and I'll be damned if I don't have a fucking six pack.

 

So that's my story. I'm still alive.

[Rooks]

Welcome back.  Alive is a good place to be.  

[El Exorcisto]

Yea, alive is very good. I got an interview and offer for the new job today, I start mid-August. My boss isn't going to be happy when I drop notice tomorrow but so it goes.