Jas's Strongman Training log

[jas123]

Holy sh!t! That's some Deliverance type stuff. Man, I didn't realize there was this level of redneckery anywhere near DC. That might top any story that I can think of, and I'm from the midwest.

Maybe some gyms around your area have some strongman stuff. I live part time in Chicago, and there are a few hardcore gyms up there that have some strongman equip. It seems possible that someone would have something in your area.

 

[Alexander]

I'm definitely gonna find somewhere decent to train around here, can't be that hard. The deliverance training center is about 30 miles west of DC. It just all of the sudden gets real redneckery out their. I didn't mind driving half an hour each way to train, but I do mind squealing like a pig after training sessions. I've got a while to figure it out. Soon I'll start a 10 week powerlifting routine that I've been devising. Hoping this will take me to a 655 deadlift, and a 405 incline press. Currently I would guess I can dead 605 and incline 375.

 

[jas123]

I think those last 50 pounds, ie 280-330 really separate the men from the boys. It also depends on whether or not you are allowed to use a loop in your belt to help you clean the log. With the loop, placed under the log on the clean to help lift it, 265 was easy for me (I mean surprisingly easy). Without the loop, I couldn't do 260 (that was also 2 months ago, though).

I'd like to get up to 300 by the contest but it may not be realistic.

 

[Alexander]

By a loop, do you mean the excess part of the belt is kind of folded into a loop? I hate belts, or the one I have at least. It's real stiff, and a few years back I was squatting and my back hunched over sending me into the safety pins, but before the bar reached the pins I was folded up and the belt busted up my ribs. Belt never seemed to help me either. Guess I need to work on that. I haven't used a belt in years.

 

[jas123]

Yeah, I mean the excess folded into a loop that sticks out about 2 inches at the belly button. When you go to clean a log you really sort of roll it up your chest. So when you lean forward to start the roll the loop slips under the log and it helps you lift it. You can't really power clean or hang clean a log since the center of gravity is out a few inches further away from the body. You won't be able to do much at least.

WTF? You deadlift 600+ sans belt. That's crazy. My belt really protects my f-ed up back. I put the ****er on ridiculously tight, it takes like 20 seconds to get it on.

What sort of squat numbers do you have?

 

[Alexander]

Gotcha. I really want to try log presses. I bet its awkward as hell at first.

Yeah, no belt. I never felt the need for it really. I think I have really good genetics for deadlifting. I think I deadlifted 405 at 160 or so after only a few workouts. I'm a spinal erector specialist. My torso is probably the same height as Danny Devito's.

Squat is decent. I should probably be working on that more than the deadlift. My last memorable squat session was 455x10, nothing super deep, just to parallel.

 

[Alexander]

I'm gonna take my insomniatic self to bed. I'm a freak show. I'll sleep for like 12 hours a night for a few days, and then a few days of an hour or two. Don't try this, as I am almost always tired.

 

[jas123]

You sound like my training partner with your good deadlifting genetics. I light him up in everything, which I should since I've been at it much longer and am a number of years older, except on deadlift. He's probably doing 585 now at 205-210. His dad did 800 at one time so the genes are there.

The log is awkward as hell. I still lose balance and have to take a step forward or back with 125 every once and a while. You catch on quick.

I gave up on squat and deadlift at 20 because of my disc issues and only started doing them again no more than 1.5 years ago so I'm hoping to get them up more. I should mention that I do all my 400+ squat sets with knee wraps as well.

 

[jas123]

Wed.

BW : 219.7

standing military:
215-2
215-3
215-3

incline:
295-5

dips
BW - 35
BW+70 - 10 (first set really fried the triceps)

shoulder assist

 

[jas123]

Thurs.

BW: 220.8

power snatch (never done any snatching before):
45-8
75-8
95-8
95-5
115-5
135-3
135-3
155-3
155-3

partial power snatch (just explode up like a power snatch but don't turn your wrists over - for upper back)
185-5
185-5
185-5

gripfest 07:
double overhand BB hold:
315-32.7 s
365-24.4s
405-20.2s

one hand hold on fat part of barbell:
90-right-28.3s
90-left-28.3s

115-right-20.4s
115-left-16.4s

500# hexbar hold: 15.7s
550# hexbar hold: 11.4s

core work

My hands were done by these hexbar sets. I've done around 42s with 500# before.

 

[jas123]

Sunday:

log clean and press
255 x 3 :head:

235 atlas stone load over 51'' bar in 60 seconds:
4

465# yoke carry- ~45ft+turn around+back 45ft
run 1 - 27.7
run 2 - 22.33

empty keg toss for height: (eyeballing the heights next to a building)
toss 1 - ~16ft
toss 2 - ~18ft

12 tire flips:
34 seconds (previous group record - 38.73s) :head:


Drive-by deer stonings - 0 failed attempt (record - Alexander with a set of 3) :twisted: .......inside joke


Overall, a good day of strongman. The log is still feeling good. One concern is that I'm using a loop in my belt to help the clean. I believe this will be allowed at the contest, but the wording is ambiguous. I'll have to contact the guy.

The stone preformance wasn't really too great. By the time I was up, there were deep holes next the bar where the stone always settled in. I either had to lift it from an extra 2-3" deeper or roll it out of the hole and be slightly out of position. Oh well.

My first run on the yoke was pretty poor with the damn thing swinging everywhere. The second run was the best that I've ever done with it. 465# is fairly light so we'll up it next time.

Taking last week off from deadlifting was probably the difference maker on the tire. Every flip was explosive, and I caught a few of them on the small bounce after the tire had flipped over.

 

[jas123]

Tues.
BW: 220.3

squat to 14.5'' box:
405-6

front squat as fast as possible:
185-5
185-3
205-3

upper back machine work
core work

My legs were still a little sore from Sunday, but my 405 set felt good. I took my time and took deep breaths between reps. I think 7 will go up easy next week.

With the front squats, I'm hoping to get more leg drive for my log presses. We'll see if it helps. I wish I could these properly in the rack position, but my triceps are just too tight.

 

[jas123]

Wed.

BW: 220.5

standing military-
195-5
215-3
-meant to try 225 but my shoulder wasn't feeling great.

incline-
315-3 (raised butt off bench a little, though)

dips-
BW-35
BW-20

shoulder assist

 

[jas123]

Thurs.

BW: 219.5

deadlift- reps in 60 seconds
425-11 in under 40 seconds
-nothing left for anymore after 40s

snatch-
135-3
155-3
165-1
175-1

grip stuff:
2.5'' Crusher hold
75#
-right 43.5 s
-left 37.8 s

85#
-right 22.7 s
-left 21.3 s

max lift with crusher (one hand deadlift it and hold it for a second)
right- 115 -failed -got it off the ground but lost it before I locked it out
left-115-1

left-120-failed
right-120-failed

core work

 

[brass monkey]

good stuff, looking strong as hell Jas
Nice lifts
BTW did you get you a deer yet

 

[jas123]

Thanks, Brass. I'm starting to figure out what volume of training works for me. LOL, no deer yet, but I'm working on my technique.

 

[jas123]

Sunday- Strongman day

log press -
265 - 2* - on the 2nd rep, I locked it out but I walked half marathon under it and never got my feet set before dropping it.
275 - 1 - PR

Atlas Stone load and unload to 48'' in 60 seconds:
235-6

Tire Flip highjinks (we stacked tires on top of each other to get these weights)
750-1
900-1
1100-1

4000# car pull for about 70 yards:
1 min. 6 seconds:rasp:

The log is still feeling good, and I'll try 285 and maybe 295 next week. I've started doing sort of a push jerk where I adjust my body postion under the push to get it locked out quickly. It's working great and just sort of started happening without any special training.

The stones felt great as well. I did 4 in about 27 s and "single-motioned" the 4th one and probably could have with all of the first 4 (stone loads often involve 2 motions where you lift it up and set it on your thighs in the sitting position, regrip the stone, and then roll it up your chest to the platform). I ran out of gas around 35 s or so, but I think there's a lot of room for improvement on these.

The tire flips were fun, but it should be noted that the 750# flip with two tires is easier than flipping an actual 750# tire because the top tire falls off as it starts to flip (same with the 900 and 1100). It's the same off the ground, I think.

The car drag is misery after about 35s. I tried a medium but steady pace, and it did not work at all. Last time I did this, it took 54s going at max. speed. Building up momentum is the way to go. Ya live and learn. :whiner:

 

[kabuki]

good log. i'm going to keep an eye on it. strongman stuff interest me.

 

[jas123]

Thanks. Are you interested in trying it or just following it? I'm sure you'd be quite a force at it given your powerlifting numbers. One of my training partners was a fairly successful powerlifter who started strongman about 1.5 years ago and has done very well.

 

[kabuki]

Both. I’m thinking of doing an event next year. A guy I used to lift with is a SM competitor and has all the implements to train with…tires, stones, ect. After catching up on your log I emailed him to see what events he is doing next year and see if I can do a 6 week training cycle with him prior to a meet. Not set in stone.

But catching up on your log inspired to take that first little step anyway.

 

[jas123]

Awesome. 6 weeks will probably make for a solid training session. Finding an "in" to the scene is sort of key since the equipment is hard to come by.

We have a group of usually around 7 guys training on Sundays, and it's fun as hell. Every Sunday is like a mini-contest, and one of the guys keeps track of all the records for top performance. After my first training session in June, I was hooked. I figure that I'm not getting any younger, and SM or powerlifting is a great sport to pick up in my upper 20s.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll be keeping a close eye on your log (as I have been). And I may try those pause squats this week as my deadlift can use any sort of help that I can give it.

 

[jas123]

Monday:

BW: 219.4

squat to 14.5-14.75'' box (apparently the surface isn't completely flat):
405 - 4
315 - 12

front squats - as fast as possible especially at the top
185-3
205-3
225-3

2.5'' Crusher holds:
75#
right - 43 seconds
left - 48 seconds

100#
right - 2.51 s
left - 13.5 s

retry right - 1.03 s
retry right again - 4.97 s :yawn:

This was my first time doing squats to the box without the mirror in front of me, and I was way off on my form. Monday squats just aren't working with the Strongman stuff on Sunday. I'll have to move them to Tuesday permanently.

 

[jas123]

The crusher holds seemed to have really bothered my elbows. Maybe I should only do them every couple weeks.

Also I guess the handle width on them is 2.5''.

 

[jas123]

Wed.

BW: 219.5

standing military:
225 - 2.9 (spotter touched me briefly at the elbows on third rep but I might have had it by myself)

incline:
325 - 2 + 1 forced rep

dips:
BW+135 - 7
BW - 20

shoulder assist

A friend deadlifted 585 and almost got 605 raw today. It kind of pumped me up for DL tomorrow. Maybe I'll try to max out.

 

[jas123]

Thurs.

BW: 220.4

deads:
425-1
455-1
475-1
495-1
515-0

snatch (sloppy form required):
135-3
155-3x2
175-2
185-1

550# hexbar hold:
round 1 - 40s
round 2 - 27s

upper back machine work

core work

 

[jas123]

Sunday:

log press:
255-1
285-0
285-0

235# atlas stone load and unloads to ~50'' in 60s:
6 + 1 load (time expired as I lowered it back to the ground)

8 tire flips:
21.97 s - PR by 3.1 s (beat the previous group record but a training partner got 20.63s)

460# yoke carry-width of a football field
34.5s

Thoughts:
My attempts at 285 were both very close. I locked one out with my arms but hadn't straightened out my knees from the push jerk. Both fell backwards behind the head. The cleans were much harder this time. I'll try lighter stuff for the next couple weeks and build back up to a max later.

The stones felt good again. I "single-motioned" the first two and my endurance seems a little better as I got the first 4 in 27s (same as last time) and then almost 3 more in the remaining time. Our platform is definitely higher than 48'' too. One issue is that our stone is slick as hell, but has a rougher flat spot on the bottom. I've been using this to get a better grip since it's so slick. I don't want to build a dependence on this, though.

The yoke carry was on a field of grass today which is much worse than the concrete that we've been doing it on. I still move slow, but my stability is getting better. Guys with wider frames seem to do much better. I don't have the widest frame by any means.

 

[UNCfan1]

Really nice workouts Jas! Nice deads bro. I haven't done box squats since high school. I loved them, but I could image them being awkard without a mirror.

 

[Polynomial]

For doing some kind of a non-split jerk movement on the log press, check out what this crazy guy Pyrros Dimas does:
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

 

[UNCfan1]

For doing some kind of a non-split jerk movement on the log press, check out what this crazy guy Pyrros Dimas does:
Dimmas 213kg C&M

Dang!! dude has some sick quads too.

 

[jas123]

Thanks, Poly. That's kind of what I do, I just don't dip as extremely in the hips while locking out the arms. I should try to dip more, but it may not be possible to dip as much with a log because it is tougher to balance.

Thanks, UNC. I'm not real happy with my max on deads though, bro.

Tuesday:

BW : 220.0

Squat to 14.75'' box (mirror today):
405 - 7 PR

rows:
185-8
225-8
275-4

front squats:
185-3
225-3
235-3

2.5'' crusher holds:
75#
right hand - 34 s
left hand - 35 s
100#
right - 11 s
left - 12s

max pick up attempt with 125#:
right - fail, got it off the ground but couldn't stand up completely before it slipped
left - maybe, it fell right as I was standing up.

My 75# holds were pretty bad today, but my 100# holds were better. Weird.

10 is looking doable on squats, but, man, 7 was intense. I nearly passed out at the end.

 

[jas123]

Wed.
BW: 220.4

standing military:
225 - 2

standing overhead lockouts (about 8'' of pressing):
255 - 5
285 - 2
315 - fail

dips:
BW+90 - 8
BW+135 - 5
BW+180 - 5

incline - pause for 1 second on chest:
275 - 3

shoulder assist

 

[jas123]

Thurs.
BW: 220.0

stiff-legged overhand deadlift from about a 7'' box:
21 reps of 225 in 60 s

snatch:
155-3
175-2
185-1
195-1

550# hexbar hold:
round 1 - 30s
round 2 - 30s

core work

This week was an off week from heavy deads so I tried the stiffys to build up endurance for my stone loads. I had planned on a set of hang cleans or power cleans for 60 s, but ran out of time.

 

[Westerner]

Hi,i read your log today,you are doing very good.

There is many things that interesting me about your workout,especially dips,i saw that you are doing them with weight...180 pounds is amazing in this exercise,you also said that you didnt train them for a while.

Can you tell me how did you train them,how much reps and sets,because it is not easy to achive this level of strength in dip station,and im very interest in dip workout...

 

[jas123]

Hi,i read your log today,you are doing very good.

There is many things that interesting me about your workout,especially dips,i saw that you are doing them with weight...180 pounds is amazing in this exercise,you also said that you didnt train them for a while.

Can you tell me how did you train them,how much reps and sets,because it is not easy to achive this level of strength in dip station,and im very interest in dip workout...

Thanks, Westerner. I built up to about a set of 2 at 200 + bodyweight about 5 or 6 years. I stopped doing them, though, about 5 years ago when I re-evaluated my workout routine. I just started getting back into dips as something to hit the triceps. I feel like just doing some sort of benching and pressing exercises keeps me fairly strong in my dips.

I mix it up as far as how I train them. If I'm feeling fairly beat up, I'll just do them with my bodyweight for high reps. If I go heavy, I'll do something like

BW-10
BW+45 - 10
BW+90 - 5
BW+135 - 5
BW+180 - 5 (or whatever I can get here)

 

[jas123]

Sunday:

log clean n press:
225 -4 + 1 clean
225 -4 + 1 clean

farmers hold with 280 per hand:
28 s

farmers walk with 230 per hand:
8 yards

tire flips in 1 minute:
16 (17th fell at 1:01)
splits:
4 in <10s
8 in 24s
10 <30s
16 in 56s

235# stone loads and unloads in 60s:
4

The stone loading event is last in the contest so we tried it after some fatiguing events and it sucked. I had weird forearm pains. I tried to not use the flat bottom for grip as much as well.

It seems like after 4 clean n presses on the log regardless of the weight, I'm out of gas. I felt like I was at the top of Everest after the fifth clean, no oxygen.

The farmer's handles are new but the handles are slick and unknurled. They'll take some getting used to. I actually deadlifted them easily which was a concern for me.

The tire will be for conditioning on the stone, and I hope to keep doing this one as it's a good whole body workout for 60 s.

 

[jas123]

Tues.

BW: 219.7

Power Cleans:
225-3
245-3
265-1

BO rows:
225-8
275-4
300-3

leg extensions
legcurls
calves
core work

I skipped squats this week to give my legs a break. I may have rushed in to the low box height a little too quickly so I felt like I needed a week off. The power cleans felt fairly good, but my form is terrible. I wanted to go heavier but the catches were killing my wrists and elbows. I need to find someone to help me with my form.

 

[jas123]

What up, Polynomial. I can't seem to stop pulling with my arms on those power cleans.

By the way, you can embed youtube videos like this

[y t]12bczFB2X-4[/yt] (except delete the space between the first "y" and "t")

 

[Polynomial]

What up, Polynomial. I can't seem to stop pulling with my arms on those power cleans.

What helped me was to continually think about not bending my arms during the pull.

I tried thinking a bit about the physics of the movement and I think that it helps in understanding of what's going on. So for now, forget about the power clean and consider a vertical jump: the force that propels you upward is generated by your legs at the floor. Once you're in the air, you have no other force acting on you except for gravity.

The power clean is similar in that the force that acts on the bar that sends it traveling up is transferred from your legs, through your trunk, and then through your straight arms to the bar. Once the bar is initially propelled upward, the only force acting on it should be gravity. As the bar is flying up, you can relax your grip and easily rotate your arms and catch the bar on its way down.

I guess that what you could theoretically do is at the top of the second pull (when you jump), just let go of the bar. It should fly up, then you can try to catch it, but I suppose that people prefer to keep their hands around the bar for some control

At least this is my current understanding, and it might be totally wrong.

Edit: Oh yeah, and also, pulling up with your arms is essentially trying to do an upright row as the bar is traveling up. Well, even though it's traveling up, the only force acting down is gravity, so you're basically trying to do a 265lb upright row. My guess is that people can power clean a lot more than they can upright row, and my point is that after "jumping" the bar up in the air, any sort of arm pulling isn't really adding much to the distance that the bar travels up.

 

[jas123]

Cool, I'll keep at it.

Wed.

BW: 219.3

standing military:
225-3 PR

incline:
325-3 PR
345-1 PR
355-0

dips:
BW - 35
BW+45 - 12

shoulder assist

A good day of lifting, overall. 345 may have the most efficient heavy incline rep that I've ever done although I probably got a decent bounce off the chest. I was hoping that 355 would go the same way, but oh well.

 

[Alexander]

Nice workout. Did I tell you about the time I beat up all of Chute Boxe at the same time?

 

[jas123]

Yeah, but that's not saying that much these days.....

Oh, and look out on incline, GG, I'm coming for you.:numbered: :twisted:

 

[jas123]

Thursday

BW: 219.7

deadlift - touch n go reps in 60s (belt, no straps)
435-11

rack pull medley - do a rep and add 25# on each side, then do another ... (belt+straps and the bar started in front of the knee cap ~19-20'')
round 1 -
405
455
505
555
605 - fail

round 2-
495
545
595
615-fail (just added 10's this time)

wide grip overhand pullups-15
close grip with hands perpendicular to shoulder line-14

pinch grip - take 2 25's and put them together with the flat side out and hold
right-21s
left-17s

2 35's - pretty much failed from the start

My training partner said he had never seen anyone bounce the bar as hard as I did. There are no restrictions on bouncing so I plan to get the most mileage out of the bounce as possible. Cheap, maybe, but I'll take it. I got the 11 in about 45s before I set it down. I seem to have nothing left for any more reps after the set down. As I've said before, the first few inches are my weak area so this makes sense.

 

[Polynomial]

Thursday
My training partner said he had never seen anyone bounce the bar as hard as I did. There are no restrictions on bouncing so I plan to get the most mileage out of the bounce as possible. Cheap, maybe, but I'll take it. I got the 11 in about 45s before I set it down. I seem to have nothing left for any more reps after the set down. As I've said before, the first few inches are my weak area so this makes sense.

I didn't know that bouncing deads was even possible. How's your lower back position when you don't stop to reset after every rep?

Also, I only have a ****ty picture camera and not a phone camera, but I can lend it to you if you wanna take some movies to analyze your technique.

 

[jas123]

Oh, it's possible.

Form : Hard to say on the later reps, but it's pretty good on the earlier ones as far as back position. To do them fast and get a bounce, I use hardly any legs. Basically, I lower it stiff legged to get as much speed as possible. Others in the contest agree with me on the "use just a little leg" philosophy.

 

[jas123]

Strongman Sunday :

log press (1 clean and then pressing reps):
245-5
255-2

farmers walk
190 per hand - ~67 yards
280 per hand - ~2 yards:lol: (training partner wanted to try it - this weight is above my DL max.)

tire flips in 60s (wet grass and water in tire):
12 :sad:

stone loads over bar in 60 s
230# stone - 4 (bar height 50'')
160# - 10 (bar height 57'')

Thoughts:
Very happy with 245-5 on the log. I mentally focused on really getting a good quick burst at the bottom and it helped. I think that I'll stop the clean and press reps since the press is the limiting factor these days. 255 was tougher and maybe I was worn out but I did a good job of getting under it to sort of push jerk it up.

I've always been fairly poor at farmer's so I was rather pleased with my performance. One of my training partners has won a number of farmer's hold events and thinks that farmers walk is actually better at improving your holds than practicing the hold itself. Interesting.

I had 4 flips in 9s on the tire and then I just couldn't grip the thing any more. It kept sliding out of my hands as I tried to flip it. A guy in his upper 40's who recently had a hip replacement tied me, and a 170 #er beat me by one. Haha. (They are both great competitors, though. I just usually beat them at this event.)

The 230# stone rolled around in the wet grass making it slick as hell so 4 was pretty good IMO. I decided playing around with the 160# (which has a plastidip coating so it is easy to grip) would be a good conditioning event to close and fun too.

 

[UNCfan1]

Nice Racks Jas! :clap2:

 

[jas123]

:cheers:

Monday - shifted days for my training partner who had some personal stuff going on this week.

BW: 219.3

squat to 14.5'' box(belt + knee wraps):
405-6
445-1
465-1

front squats (high-speed triples for explosive leg drive on the log):
225-3
245-3

BO rows:
275-5
315-3

hypers

I wasn't quite in the "groove" on the 405 set. As far as supplements go, I've been taking some RPM pre-WO and it's just OK. I feel like it lost it's effect for me, or at least it's just not very strong. I think the reverse tolerance claim is BS (which isn't surprising). I've never tried more than 4, though, so maybe I'll give 5 a try on Thurs.

I've got some Clout on the way, which always seems to add a few pounds on me. Maybe I can get up to 223 or so by Dec. 15th.

 

[UNCfan1]

:cheers:

Monday - shifted days for my training partner who had some personal stuff going on this week.

BW: 219.3

squat to 14.5'' box(belt + knee wraps):
405-6
445-1
465-1

front squats (high-speed triples for explosive leg drive on the log):
225-3
245-3

BO rows:
275-5
315-3

reverse hypers

I wasn't quite in the "groove" on the 405 set. As far as supplements go, I've been taking some RPM pre-WO and it's just OK. I feel like it lost it's effect for me, or at least it's just not very strong. I think the reverse tolerance claim is BS (which isn't surprising). I've never tried more than 4, though, so maybe I'll give 5 a try on Thurs.

I've got some Clout on the way, which always seems to add a few pounds on me. Maybe I can get up to 223 or so by Dec. 15th.

Nice workout Jas! Very impressive numbers. Got to love Clout!

 

[jas123]

Wed.

BW: 219.5

standing military
235-fail
235-1
240-failed miserably

standing military with dumbells
65s-10
80s-6
90s-3

incline with 2 s pause on chest
225-8

dips
BW - 25

shoulder assist

My 235 success was a long 2-3 s rep, not sure why I tried 240 after. Standing military is definitely a game of inches. 5 extra pounds can feel like a ton. I liked using the dumbells a lot too and may start including them more often. It's gotta be good for the stabilizers.

 

[Alexander]

What is your posture like on those standing military presses? Are you leaning back like a mofo, or staying straight up and down? Workouts are lookin good. I'm off to go hit my day late max effort bench day, later.