Hyde’s Strength Odyssey

Well damn it man. That sucks to hear. Have any bpc & tb laying around? Howd the hypers feel after the fact?

Congrats on that push press PR yesterday, too.

I don’t; wish I had tb500 but it’s just so expensive - of course Labor Day sales were Monday so missed any deals.

I could feel the hamstring tugging on the RH if I used my right leg, so I basically did single-leg hypers with the left and just had the right leg follow along passively to flush it. Going to do this some more and try to do some short walks through the day to move blood through it.

I do have one bottle of Aggressive Mk677 still so I dug that out and took 15mg before bed. The elevated IGF1 should help healing some. RIP my blood sugar.

Injuries suck. Heal up my man.

Especially frustrating when you feel you did everything you could proactively to prevent it. Just my body saying “Nope, not today.”
 
Went ahead and ordered a 10mg vial of TB500. Even if it takes a while to get here, it will have me more healed by the comp and less likely to re-tear there as well, and get back to normal training sooner.
 
Great question: different tools for different jobs. The Ohio Deadlift Bar is specifically for just that - it’s slightly smaller diameter makes it easier to hookgrip and hang onto in general, as well as letting you start from a stronger position to lift slightly more weight. Many powerlifting federations & strongman shows I compete in feature them, so this lets me practice how I play.

The thick one is an Axle Bar. It’s 2” diameter and would be the antithesis of the deadlift bar - the axle has zero whip, no collars or bearings to rotate (this makes cleans much harder), & challenges the grip heavily. It is common in strongman shows for both the clean & press event as well as the deadlift, and can serve as a great tool to build grip by doing timed holds with it or using it for accessories like curls. They are cheap and durable.

Lastly, the silver one is a cheap chrome all-purpose bar. I use it for pressing, squatting, most of my barbell work. This is the important one; if you only have one barbell it needs to be what you want to use for everything. Something like a Power Bar if you want center knurling for heavier squats, or a weightlifting bar with a smooth center section if doing more cleans/snatches or CrossFit training.

There are others out there like the Squat Safety Bar that allow you to keep your elbows much lower on squats to unload the shoulder joint and train your upper back more, Swiss/Football Bar for neutral grip pressing, the Squat Bar which is extra thick and long to support heavier squat weights without the bar oscillating the way a Powerbar will above 400, the Log which is the most common pressing implement in Strongman, and so on.

Whoa! Thanks for the detailed response! Great info and much appreciated
 
09/13/20 - Wk4, Day7
BW 254.0

Band Facepulls, Tris, Lats, stretches

Bench
45,95,135x10
185,225x5
250,275,300x3
315x2 RPE9
+Invictus Phoenix
335x3
355x1
375xMISS

MK and some eating with family yesterday had me jump 5lbs of water overnight! Successfully mowed the yard today without hamstring issues. Not ready to do Strongman stuff, so I benched for fun and tried out the slingshot-type product I bought at my last meet finally. Doesn’t assist quite as much as a slingshot, but feels really good. 355 flew but 375 was just too much - the bar died as soon as it came off the shirt, so to speak.

Then, people showed up I wasn’t expecting and that killed that session
 
I don’t; wish I had tb500 but it’s just so expensive - of course Labor Day sales were Monday so missed any deals.

I could feel the hamstring tugging on the RH if I used my right leg, so I basically did single-leg hypers with the left and just had the right leg follow along passively to flush it. Going to do this some more and try to do some short walks through the day to move blood through it.

I do have one bottle of Aggressive Mk677 still so I dug that out and took 15mg before bed. The elevated IGF1 should help healing some. RIP my blood sugar.



Especially frustrating when you feel you did everything you could proactively to prevent it. Just my body saying “Nope, not today.”

Personally, mk 677 was great for my pec strains and interestingly improved my shoulder in which I’ve had 3 surgeries on.

I’d recommend you stick with the mk677 until you get the TB500. Anywhere from 15mg - 30mg.
 
Personally, mk 677 was great for my pec strains and interestingly improved my shoulder in which I’ve had 3 surgeries on.

I’d recommend you stick with the mk677 until you get the TB500. Anywhere from 15mg - 30mg.

Mk absolutely helps everything. I would say I am pain free today. I did a full bodyweight squat without mobility limitation and a set of light reverse hypers already without issue. I will probably run the Mk 8 on/4 off and then decide if I want to run another wave. I would run it to the show for sure except it always noticeably elevates my prolactin to the point of bothering existing gyno.
 
Mk absolutely helps everything. I would say I am pain free today. I did a full bodyweight squat without mobility limitation and a set of light reverse hypers already without issue. I will probably run the Mk 8 on/4 off and then decide if I want to run another wave. I would run it to the show for sure except it always noticeably elevates my prolactin to the point of bothering existing gyno.

Yeah that happens to my would be minor gyno too. It’s also probably good to drop off a week before the show if you have to make a certain weight class. For me it adds 6-7lbs of water weight in 2-3 days.
 
I know you know your limits better than I do, but I would strongly recommend just pulling out of this comp. Hamstring issues can be especially tricky with recovery, and you're 100% better off skipping a comp. now and being able to progress throughout the rest of the year than you are going in hobbled and risking spending the rest of the year recovering from a full tear.
 
I know you know your limits better than I do, but I would strongly recommend just pulling out of this comp. Hamstring issues can be especially tricky with recovery, and you're 100% better off skipping a comp. now and being able to progress throughout the rest of the year than you are going in hobbled and risking spending the rest of the year recovering from a full tear.

I still plan on doing it, because I can just show up and do the weights without training and we are 100% going already (wife is judging women). But I really appreciate you saying this just the same because your perspective is dead on.

I need to continue to nurture the recovery and not worry about training for this show. 3 weeks is the medical recommendation to return to sport for a grade 1 strain, so if I just rest it now I will be much safer then.
 
9/15/20 - Wk5, Day2
BW 249.8

Reverse Hyper
90 3x15

Squats
BW x15,10

Boxsquat w/ Med Ball
30 3x10

“Atlas Stone” GMs
Med ball pinned w/ barbell to chest
75 3x8

Seated Leg Curls
Micro x25
Doubled Micro 2x12

Band Pulldowns
Avg/arm 3x12

Yoke Pull-ups
4x6

Band Side Bends
Short Light 2x15

BB Calf Raises
95 3x25

DB Rows
52.5 3x20/arm

BB Shrugs
225,250x15

Great session in the garage tonight with perfect weather. Did a lot of gentle feeler movements for the hamstring and had zero issues, which was terrific - even carefully deadlift my 100lb plates to load onto the yoke without issue.

Also finally felt great to do some pain-free pull-ups! I had been having pain with them previously since my elbow had popped on that 600 deadlift back at the end of June.
 
09/16/20 - Wk5, Day3
BW 250.6

DB, PVC, Club, Band shoulder warmup/mobility/stretches

Axle Pushjerk out of rack
25x10
75x5
115x3
135,155,175 2x3 each
195,205,215x3

Axle Incline Bench
75,115,165,205x6
215x6,6,7

Cable Overhead Tri Extension
70x10
120 3x12,12,10

No issues pushing the axle today but I avoided cleans to keep the hammy safe. Could have continued to go up, but wife advised I shut it down while the jerks were still easy to keep my shoulder happy. Good looking out from her!
 
TB500 came a day early - 2mg into the lower outside of the right hamstring. Will run 2mg every 5-6 days locally for 5 injections.

Tonight is night 8 of Mk, so that will be cycles off for 4 days then likely another 8 day wave.
 
09/19/20 - Wk5, Day6

Reverse Hyper
90 2x15

Average Band Pulldowns
3x12

Farmer’s Deadlift from 4” blocks
20/hand x10
110x5
160x5
200x1 hold for ~60 seconds

Yoke Pull-ups
9,8,8,6 (big improvement from Tuesday)

BB Cheat Curls
45x12
55,65x8
75,85,95,100,105x5

Axle Reverse Curls
45x8
70 2x8

Small session, but it was progress on everything: grip, pull-up, bicep & forearm strength! Plus (& most importantly) I had no issues deadlifting the farmers from blocks, even 400.
 
09/19/20 - Wk5, Day6

Reverse Hyper
90 2x15

Average Band Pulldowns
3x12

Farmer’s Deadlift from 4” blocks
20/hand x10
110x5
160x5
200x1 hold for ~60 seconds

Yoke Pull-ups
9,8,8,6 (big improvement from Tuesday)

BB Cheat Curls
45x12
55,65x8
75,85,95,100,105x5

Axle Reverse Curls
45x8
70 2x8

Small session, but it was progress on everything: grip, pull-up, bicep & forearm strength! Plus (& most importantly) I had no issues deadlifting the farmers from blocks, even 400.

How is the hamstring coming along?
 
Well I basically warmed up to do one max hold with light weights, did 4 sets of pull-ups and some curls



Really good I believe. Did not feel it all at any point today, and it did great with the light elevated deadlifts. Will try some VERY light squats and pulls Monday I think.

That’s good to hear man! Keep grinding away.
 
9/20/20 - Wk5, Day7

Band Facepull, Overhead Tri Ext, Row Circuit
3x25 each

Dynamic Bench
45x10
95,135x6
+70 chain
45x6
135 3x6 comp grip
135 3x6 close grip
+Phoenix
185,205,225x6 comp grip

DB Rear Delt Flyes
20 2x20

60* Incline Closegrip
115x15
135x12
155x10

Just had some fun in the garage before a family event. Got some bench technique work in, made my tricep/lockout strength the priority to build my axle pushjerk at the show, and kept my shoulder girdle from taking much load so it stays happy for Wednesday’s pressing.
 
What do you like/recommend the most for lockout strength? I have issues with the last part of both bench and OHP, I feel like I could lift more in the first part but run out of power in the lockout.
 
What do you like/recommend the most for lockout strength? I have issues with the last part of both bench and OHP, I feel like I could lift more in the first part but run out of power in the lockout.

Getting faster can help you get through a sticky top end, so if coming up on a peak then I really have found a 3-4 week wave of speed work on a secondary pressing day to be beneficial temporarily.

But at a fundamental strength level, I would use 3board work as a heavy secondary movement. Board work is how I finally benched 300 years ago, and it’s what Clint Darden (who wrote said program) recommends for his strongman clients to build lockout strength for their jerks. You can use a slingshot, but it rewards being fast so you can kinda cheat it. If you put 90% to a 3bd and pause it, you just kind of have to deal with the weight.
 
Getting faster can help you get through a sticky top end, so if coming up on a peak then I really have found a 3-4 week wave of speed work on a secondary pressing day to be beneficial temporarily.

But at a fundamental strength level, I would use 3board work as a heavy secondary movement. Board work is how I finally benched 300 years ago, and it’s what Clint Darden (who wrote said program) recommends for his strongman clients to build lockout strength for their jerks. You can use a slingshot, but it rewards being fast so you can kinda cheat it. If you put 90% to a 3bd and pause it, you just kind of have to deal with the weight.

That’s exactly how I feel with the speed work, that if I have enough speed I can make it and not necessarily because I’m stronger. I do have a slingshot, it’s a fun way to use to get used to heavier weights but not really the same. I have to get some boards, I done pin presses but that’s not really the same thing huh? I like spoto presses, what do you think of those?
 
For that specifically id recommend spoto presses. Im a big believer in spotos where you pause ~0.5” below your usual fail point. But if you really just want to hammer your lockout purely then 2.5-3bd press & floor press would work, in order of what I’d recommend. The bench blockz 2-5 board is a good purchase.
 
For that specifically id recommend spoto presses. Im a big believer in spotos where you pause ~0.5” below your usual fail point. But if you really just want to hammer your lockout purely then 2.5-3bd press & floor press would work, in order of what I’d recommend. The bench blockz 2-5 board is a good purchase.

I tagged both of you guys in my thread I started about this so I don’t ruin Hyde’s log with my silly questions.
 
09/21/20 - Wk6, Day1
BW 248.0

Agile 8

Reverse Hyper
90 3x15 (1 set was post squats(

Squat
BW, 45, 95,135,165,195,225x5
255,265x10
275x15

No belt or sleeves - just feeling everything out. No issues with the Agile 8, but not trying any jumping yet. Kept it light & focused on rebuilding some conditioning and getting a little hypertrophy in.
 
09/23/20 - Wk6, Day3

Jumping Jacks x50
Agile 8
Squat Jumps
PVC and Band Shoulder Mobility

Dynamic Axle Pushjerk
25,75,115x3
155 6x3
175 2x5

Axle Incline Bench
75,115,165,205x6
225x6,8 PR

One-Arm Tri Pressdown w/ 2 sec holds
Avg band 4x10/arm

Very happy to clean 175 explosively without hamstring issues. Pushjerks continued to vibe, and a random incline bench PR is never a bad thing - let alone on an axle!

Mk677 began again last night after 4 days off. Today is another 2mg of TB500.

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Thanks, John Meadows
 
09/24/20 - Wk6, Day4
BW 250.8

Jumping Jacks
Agile 8

Reverse Hyper
90 2x20

Seated Band Pulldowns
Avg 2x15

Deadlift, stiffbar
135,185,225,275,325x5

Yoke Pull-ups
10,8,8,7

alt w/ Side Bends
Short Light Band 2x15/side

Rear Delt Flyes
25lb plates 2x15

Hammer Curls
25lb plates 2x15

BB Circuit - Rows, Shrugs, Hip Thrusters
185x10 each, 3 rounds

Dead. Hamstring felt fine pulling 325. Only been 2 weeks so I didn’t get greedy. Pull-ups might be a PR at this bodyweight. BB complex was light, but each round was 90+ seconds of constant work with only as much rest.
 
Productive session there man. Glad you were able to get in some pain free pulls. Comp is next weekend?
 
I dont really see what there is to gain pulling again with 8 days to go, especially with a hammy that isn’t fully 100%. You know you can handle the weight at the comp, just let that thing heal up as best it can.
 
Yoke pull ups? Is that from a thicker bar? Either way, that's pretty epic dude.

Yea, it is. It’s 3” thick and theyre far more difficult than pull-ups on a standard bar.

Hyde, do you so them knees flexed behind you?
 
Yea, it is. It’s 3” thick and theyre far more difficult than pull-ups on a standard bar.

Hyde, do you so them knees flexed behind you?

Yeah, but with the crossbar basically as high as it can go it’s not bad. The hundo plates on the pegs of the yoke make it really stable.
 
09/26/20 - Wk6, Day6

Jumping Jacks x60
Agile 8

Reverse Hyper
90 2x15

Miniband Pullaparts, Ovhd Tri Ext, Rows, Pec Flyes

Axle Clean once & Pushjerk
45 2x5
95,135,165x5
185x12 PR

Farmer’s, ~60ft down & back
110,160,190

Yoke, ~60ft down & back
165,255,345,395,445

Sandbag to 54” wall
137x3
175x3
175x9-10 in 60 seconds

Took about 4 hours with warmup, setup, teardown. Practiced everything but deadlift, & at 88-95% show weights, except press - that was 100% and a lifetime rep PR.

Yesterday was 45 min on the cycle, and will keep up the cardio this week on off days. Just a couple light sessions of speed squat & pushjerk left before the show Saturday - feeling ready & excited!
 
09/28/20 - Wk7, Day1

Jumping Jacks x60
Agile 8
Jigsaw on thighs, calves, ankles

Reverse Hyper
90 2x15

LISS x50 min

Was going to do some dynamic squat but could not get my left knee (right leg is the one the hammy pulled in) to stop clicking/yanking at full depth on squat with any amount of warmup. Think I’m still a little jacked from events Saturday. Bagged it and put some time on the cycle.

It’s not always the strongest who win - gotta show up healthy enough to get through the show!
 
09/30/20 - Wk7, Day3
BW 252.2

Reverse Hyper
90 2x20
Heel-Toe walks
Jumping Jacks x60
Agile 8
Band & PVC Shoulder mobility
Band Ankle mobility

Squat
45 2x5
95,135,185x5
225 3x5

Axle Pushjerk
25,75x5
115 6x3

Backwards Sled Drags
140 5 trips down & back, ~60ft each way

Cable Facepulls/Tri Pressdown
50 3x25/each

Deload session went well. Just getting some movement in and final technical practice with overhead.

Yesterday was 45 min LISS on the cycle, and will do some more tomorrow. Friday will be heavy eating and Saturday is the comp!
 
45 min on bike done. Bought loading food for tomorrow, and bags are packed for the show Saturday!

Eat up and go put on a show brother! Let us know how it goes...feel free to go the extra mile and upload a video or two .

Hammy feeling ready to go? Whats the order of the events?
 
Eat up and go put on a show brother! Let us know how it goes...feel free to go the extra mile and upload a video or two .

Hammy feeling ready to go? Whats the order of the events?

7,000 calories and I feel good about it. Typical loading food choices for me, nothing new or risky.

Hammy hasn’t made a peep so I am feeling good about it. I don’t know the event order for sure or if they will run two at once, but the events listed are:

365 Deadlift for reps, up & down commands

185 Axle Clean once & Press away, down commands

500 Yoke 50ft down & back

205 Farmer’s 50ft down & back

200 Sandbag Load over 54” Bar

I think it’s going to be a great day!!!
 
Hope things went well today brother. Events & weights look like it should’ve been a fun comp.
 
~How the show actually went down (all events 60 sec time limit)~

365 Deadlift for reps, strap in on the clock, up & down commands:
-20 reps, tied for 3rd (2 guys pulled 21)

180 Sandbag over 54” Bar, ducking under bar to load from the other side every rep:
-8 reps, 4-way tie for 5th (picked the 9th rep but timed out just before loading it)

185 Axle Clean once, press away, down commands:
-11 reps in 55 sec, 9th in this event (nearly blacked out after the clean but I just kept breathing and zoned in)

500 Yoke, 50ft down & back, no drops allowed except the turnaround, no warmups
-26.31 seconds, took 8th

205 Farmer’s Walk, 60ft down & back, unlimited drops, no warmups
-21.60 seconds, took 6th

Final Placing: 7th out of 16 with 52 points in Novice Men

Great day. Hamstring stayed together without issue and no injuries, and I came in top half of the pack. Lots of great people, nobody hurt seriously, show ran very well in about 4.5 hours from start of first event. The points were very tight between 4th-7th. If I had moved ~1.5 seconds faster on yoke OR had 1.5 seconds more to load the 9th sandbag, I would have been 5th, and doing both I would have been 4th. First place had a clear victory though with 75.5 points, and if I had been just a bit better conditioned for every single event there’s still no way I could have placed higher than 2nd based on everyone’s numbers, so I am happy.

I am honestly proud of the strides I made in such a small time and with the hammy setback. I had PR deadlift & every single event I did as good or better than my best in training. I have never really been able to work for a full minute like this, so I would say I definitely broke a conditioning PR as well.

Wife had a great time judging the women. With her busy with that all day, I didn’t get any pics or videos, but if I can get some from the photographer or other people I will share them!
 
Good work man. Im especially glad you got out injury free.

365x20 and 185x11 aint no joke. Thats yak city for me.

Theres a ton of room for time leaks when loading bags in that manner...were you training them like that leading up to the show?
 
Good work man. Im especially glad you got out injury free.

365x20 and 185x11 aint no joke. Thats yak city for me.

Theres a ton of room for time leaks when loading bags in that manner...were you training them like that leading up to the show?

I trained it like that a couple times & a couple times to the loading wall. I had very quick stable transitions under the yoke at the show - I have found I do well keeping one hand on the crossbar while I pull myself under and pivot on my foot around the bag on the other side. And I don’t have to lap the bag at this weight: I quickly row it, catch it on my chest, and continue triple-extending to release.

Where the time would have been made was being more conditioned - if I had just a bit more gas, I would not have slowed down the last few reps. That’s the difference in finishing that last rep. 1-2 guys got 10, and a couple got 9. 4 of us got 8, so you can see the difference that extra endurance would have offered. It also didn’t help that we began these right after the deadlift. That was the only event I didn’t feel recovered going into, sandbag.

The hamstring pull definitely cost me a lot the way it derailed my training. I had to stop training and cardio largely for almost a week, and could not longer do any HIIT. Plus only one 90% event session a week out. But it is what it is.
 
Yesterday would have been squats/legs but just didn’t really have the motivation to lift yet only 2nd day after the show, so I rested. Same today, other than a couple sets of reverse hyper.

Laid out the foundation for upcoming training block and I am pretty excited for it:

Mon - Squat/legs

Wed - Bench/push

Thurs - Deadlift/pull

Sat - Press/grip/events

The squat, bench, & deadlift will have waved programming (Cube, 5/3/1, & a scheme from Clint Darden, respectively) while pressing will be either a linear or step-wave progression. Looking to get back to some logpressing, and will be doing some farmers walks or any other event work I like that day as well. This will also let me train with my wife some during the work week at the commercial gym she rejoined (machines are getting better and better for now the more pregnant she gets).
 
Some great work and sounds like a good comp, and lots of fun for you. Good to see you still killing it.
 
Layout of the block looks good & fun. For the last few workouts I’ve been staring at my log that’s sitting in the corner of my garage...I’m wanting to get back to using that baby too. Need to get some bumper plates or crash pads first unless I just do rack presses again. Just something fun about log pressing...

Anyway, looking forward to seeing where this block takes you my guy.
 
Layout of the block looks good & fun. For the last few workouts I’ve been staring at my log that’s sitting in the corner of my garage...I’m wanting to get back to using that baby too. Need to get some bumper plates or crash pads first unless I just do rack presses again. Just something fun about log pressing...

Anyway, looking forward to seeing where this block takes you my guy.

If you can get an old tire or two to drop onto that works great as well. The Titan red drop pads are great, but like $140.
 
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