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BobW


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Posts: 327
Date:
BobW's Log
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Greetings.  I'm relatively new to RTS, having read the manual just recently, but was using at least some of it's principles prior to this through stupid luck. 

Mike has agreed to work on programming for me, and we'll be starting sometime in the next couple weeks.

I'm 47 years old, and restarted lifting seriously in the fall of 2005.  I participated in my first strongman comp in July 2008, winning the master's class.  I also did an invitational competition in August '08, not as a formal competitor, just for fun.  I participated in the open class, and basically learned that I have a lot of weaknesses.  But I decided that I want to compete in the open class, and have set my sights on doing Nationals in 2010 and taking my best shot at getting my pro card.

I'm keeping my weight between 260 - 280 for now, as we get closer to qualifying competitions I'll decide on weight class.

My best lifts to date are a frame DL of 750; conventional DL of 545; 18" DL of 605; front squat of 2x365; high bar back squat of 3x405; and a log press of 225.

I'm just wrapping up a lighter, work-capacity-oriented training block, and will be spending a couple weeks in transition before getting back to strength-oriented training.

If anybody wants to view my old logs / waste some time, they're at http://rldubbya.blogspot.com. 

My training to date has been rehab-oriented, fixing stuff that is the result of some spinal issues I have.  I'm finally ready to start getting strong.  I'm really excited about working with Mike and being a part of this, I know I have a lot to learn.



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BobW


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Posts: 327
Date:
Wed 12/31: Last Session of '08 - Lower ME
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Finally caught the gut bug that's been going around.  Haven't been able to tolerate solid food or even protein drinks for the past couple days. 

Skipped training on Tues, make up today.  I knew I'd tank quickly, so:

PL Stance Back Squats: 3x3x135;225,275;1x2x315;365;0x0x405
PE: 8
Actually felt remarkably good, all things considered. 
Form was solid.  365 was pretty easy, could easily have gotten a couple more reps.  405 was clearly a no go; the moment I unracked it, I knew that my upper back had lost it.


Front Squats: 1x3x135,185,225
PE: 7
By this time, I was lightheaded and dizzy, not having eaten in a couple days.

Standing Ab work

Called it a night.

Total training time: 60 minutes.

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BobW


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Date:
BobW's Log
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Looks like this will be the last "improv" week, Mike sent me a program for next week.  To say I'm fired up is an understatement!

SSB Paused Box Squat: 3x5x215+2c
PE: 8-9
Spent more time warming here than on subsequent stuff.

Log Press: 1x2x230
PE: 10
This ties a previous PR.

18" DL: 1x1x135,225,315,405; 1x1x495,585;1x0x605 (Fail)
PE: 9-10
I hate this exercise.  I can't figure out how to get a solid setup for the life of me.  585 was pretty hard, but came up smoothly.  605 just felt wrong, I really didn't even try it.

All things considered, a solid session.  I ate 3 meals yesterday for the first day this week, and was able to keep the food in me.  Training partner noticed I've lost weight, probably dropped an inch from the waistline.

I felt fairly strong, but no stamina.  Tried to work up to max weight more quickly on stuff with this in mind.


-- Edited by BobW at 19:31, 2009-01-03

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BobW


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Date:
Tu 1/6
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Half-squats (+200c): 1x6x75,165,215/9,195/8-9

-chain swings freely even at bottom of rep range

-sciatica in left leg upon unracking, goes away after standing for a few seconds


Axle Jerk (+50c): 1x6x75,125/9,115/8;2x120/9

-actually felt half decent, best I've done with the jerk


Lunges: 1x15xbw,+25db, +35db/10

-leading with right leg extremely awkward - left leg not very mobile

-pretty spent by this time, called it done


Log Row: 1x15xlog/8

-sciatica was too much at this point in left lumbar / glute / leg as soon as I bent over under even light load


Total Training Time: 149 minutes


Spent a lot of time dicking around with setup.


Gut bug has not completely left me.



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BobW


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Date:
1/7: Recovery
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Cardio

35 minute brisk paced hike with the puppies.  A gorgeous evening; fresh snowfall, lightly coming down, didn't even need a light.

Prehab/Rehab

Side Lying External Rotation: 3x10x10lb

Swiss Ball Spinal Traction

Ab wheel: 2x10

Landmine: 2x10xbar

Band Leg Curls: 2x50xmini band


The landmines showed me where I was sore.  I wasn't even aware of it until then...


Stretching

Spent some time stretching, emphasis on lower body and shoulders.


Passive Recovery

Stick self-massage: calves, hammies, ITB, quad

Answer self-massage: hips, spinal erectors




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BobW


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Date:
Thu 1/8: Session 2
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Warmed up with bar complex.

Log Clean and Press +50c:1x6xlog, +20,1x1x+50;1x3x+40;1x6+30;2x6x+25/8

  • full clean & press each rep
  • failure point the same, mid-way up transition to tris - plenty of power up till that 1 spot in the ROM
  • there might be hope for me with figuring out RPE, even on the heavy breating exercises - I could easily feel the drop from log+40lb to log +30
  • these felt pretty solid, decent form on the clean

Deficit Deadlift, 4" platform, +100c: 135,225,275
  • Not sure how many reps/sets I did
  • chains kept either ending up under plates or falling off the bar. 
  • Got a 1x6x275/8-9RRPE. By then I was so frustrated that I thought I'd just do another set at that weight, forget about dropping the weight by 8lbs; of course, I got 2 or 3 reps completed, and a chain fell off the right side at the top of the movement. 
 
Trap Bar Deadlift: 1x15x135,225,275,2x15x265/8-9
  • Able to clearly identify the RPE difference from 275 to 265 even thru the high rep fatigue
  • These went much better than the previous exercise; no chains to worry about.  Sharon watched these, and said form was perfectly and exactly the same on all reps, like a machine baby.
  • Left leg: some sciatica, also something like a tight spot in the left glute - very noticeable on this movement, and I wonder if the glute tightness is causing the sciatica.

DB Flies 3s hold @top, red bands: 1x10x25;1x15x25/9
  • The good news:  right shoulder/coracobrachialis presented no pain.  Prehab works.
  • Dropped these from the rotation about 3 months ago IIRC
  • Weight should move up fairly quickly
  • 3s hold at top is just brutal

Total Training Time: 2h15m
Overall, a tough but solid session.  Had I been able to figure out chains on the DL, I would've been much happier.
Going to be interesting to see how I respond to this volume.  A bit different than anything I've done before, keeping focus on core exercises and upping the volume of those rather than hitting a bunch of accessory work.  So far, I'm liking it and how it feels.  I like the toughness of doing 15 rep deadlifts.

Changed out of clothes which were dripping wet, stuffed a quick snack in my piehole, and got out for an additional 40 minute walk with the puppies, slow-moderate pace.  Another gorgeous night.

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BobW


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Date:
BobW's Log
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The typical double session with Doc Zak today.  Started with the core group (hammies, adductors, hips, rectus femoris, low back), getting some seriously good stretches.  Then it was onto spinal erectors in the thoracic region; finished up with neck streching and a quick neck adjustment before hitting spinal decompression on the flexion/distraction table.

Today was a day full of pops as each vertebral joint moved.

Wrapped up with quick hits on the forearms and wrists, focusing most on the left brachialis.


Cardio

35 minute brisk paced hike with the puppies.  A gorgeous evening; fresh snowfall, lightly coming down, didn't even need a light.

Prehab/Rehab

Side Lying External Rotation: 3x10x10lb

Swiss Ball Spinal Traction

Ab wheel: 2x10

Landmine: 2x10xbar

Band Leg Curls: 2x50xmini band


Stretching

Spent some time stretching, emphasis on lower body and shoulders.


Passive Recovery

Stick self-massage: calves




-- Edited by BobW at 01:01, 2009-01-10

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BobW


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Date:
Sat 1/10: Session 3
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Warmed up with dynamic stretching and bar complex stuff.  The dynamic stretching felt better than ever; for whatever reason, a little more flexibility / better balance today.  Bar complex was plenty snappy, good drive, overall form was ok.  Power cleans were a little curl-ish.


Seated Military Press: 1x15xbar;x8x135;x15x115/9;x8x110/10;x8x110/10


As much as I liked this, I clearly either didn't get it or I fatigued really hard really quickly.  135 was clearly too much, got to 8 reps and knew I'd never hit the 15 targeted.  So, dropped to 115, and that felt about right at 15 reps.  Calculated my drop weight and rounding, that put me at 110 - and I couldn't even complete a set at this weight; after failing at 8 reps on the first set, I thought I just needed more of a rest - so I took 5 minutes.  That didn't help.


Grrrrrr.


Back Raises: 1x15xbw;x25,45,60/8; 2x15x58/9

  • These at least made sense
  • Far enough back on the hip pad to minimize hip / hammie activation

Farmer's DL: 1x6x225/9;2x6x215/9

  • Unilateral
  • Left side weaker than right

Stones to 49-1/2:": 1x6x220/9 (PR)

  • 1st 5 reps up and over easily
  • Last rep up, didn't quite make it over - nice crack in garage floor
  • Left brachialis didn't bother me during the exercise at all, little tender post-training

Extremely pleased with this.  I'm getting technique dialed in nicely, and hip drive has really come around nicely enabling me to pop the stone up well.  I've got a feel for exactly where I have to get the stone on my breastbone to achieve this height.


Total Training Time: 2h1m


The Week


Well, it's been a mixed bag.  I think I'm pretty much over the gut bug (or whatever it was / is) my appetite is through the roof.  Started off with very poor sleep on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday - a lot of bowel distress (think planting ass on the toilet about 12 times on Tuesday night), but got better W, Th, Fr.


That makes nearly 2 weeks of the gut bug, featuring no appetite, a gargantuan volume of output from my ass, and weight is up 7 pounds.  Ha.


The training sessions have been good overall: some frustration, I think they're a little long, but also think that's due to me finding the RPE at a given rep range for exercises that I either haven't done in ages if at all, or never done for that rep range.  So, hopefully, this gives me something to build from, and I'll spend less time figuring things out next week.


Given all this, and the fact that I generally felt like ****, I'm ok with the performance I've turned in this week.



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BobW


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Posts: 327
Date:
Tu 1/13: Session 4
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Warmed up with some dynamic stretching (lunges, walking ham stretch) which felt fine, and bar complex work, which was good.

Half-squats (+200c): 1x4x75,165/7;1x0x215/10;1x5x165/8-9;2x5x155/9

  • cambered bar has not arrived, SSB still in play
  • chain swings freely even at bottom of rep range
  • back feels "crushed" while unracking, like weight is stapled to hooks
  • extremely difficult to control swinging chains today, feel very unstable
 Axle Jerk (+50c): 1x2x75,125/9,1x2x120/9
  • Get the initial drive, get the lift
  • Just hit a brick wall in terms of adding weight
 Lunges: 1x15xbw,+25db/10
  • leading with right leg extremely awkward - left leg not very mobile
  • left leg lead fairly awkward as well - balance is way off
  • dynamic warmup felt much better - did lunges there, felt OK

Pulldowns: 1x15x115;160/9;150/10

  • 15 reps is killer on the forearms

Total Training Time: 1hr50 minutes (not including later dog walk)


So, I felt...weak, tired, stressed, and beat up.  Clearly not recovered.  Back/hips extremely tight, and mobility is limited.  I guess I'm getting an answer to my question on how I'm going to respond to volume on the primary exercises...but in all fairness, I didn't get a good recovery break on Sunday.  Shoveling heavy snow for 5 hours probably impacted recovery a bit.


Then, shoveled some more snow (at least this time it was powdery), and out for a walk with the dogs.  The walk was brutal, trails are difficult to navigate with all the snow down.


Extremely crabby, ill-tempered, feeling like I'm going to fly off the handle in a not-so-pretty way any moment while dealing with correcting the dogs who are having a blast checking stuff out in the snow.





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Mike Tuchscherer


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RE: BobW's Log
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Hey Bob, here are some of my thoughts:

Last weeks stuff looks like it should. You fatigue quickly for right now, but well be building your work capacity, so you should see that change.

Yesterday
Dont sweat it man. Im sure youre not recovering well yet, but thats why we do this kind of training to push your body to recover better/faster.
Thats just what were looking for with the SSB work. I dont know what options you have with chain setup, but maybe you could leave 1 chain so it drags on the ground. The weight will swing, but the drag chain will dampen the swinging. That would probably be a good compromise.

Get the initial drive, get the lift
Sounds like youre understanding the Jerk! Nice work. Its a difficult exercise to add weight since it tends to be so all or nothing, but be patient. A 1-2 pound increase each week will lead to major PRs over time (and most weeks will probably be better than 1-2 pounds).

Lunges thats why we do em! Keep you balanced, healthy, and athletic. I feel that exercises like this are very important for a strongman.

If the pulldowns work the grip hard good! Definitely a plus for a strongman. Granted, you need some back work as well, but that will come in due time. The grip work will be valuable.

I know youre good about conditioning just make sure youre doing your conditioning work. Get in the right mindset before the workout (a mindset of dominating the workout). Another thing that will help is to *will* your recovery. Sounds jedi-ish, but its legit and it works.

Overall, I think youre starting at a good spot and you should improve dramatically as the weeks progress. I might see if I can come up with a training log for you. Even if it doesnt work precisely, it would be good for you to see your improvement. Ill be sending you an email.

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BobW


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Posts: 327
Date:
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Mike Tuchscherer wrote:

Hey Bob, here are some of my thoughts:

Last weeks stuff looks like it should. You fatigue quickly for right now, but well be building your work capacity, so you should see that change.

Yesterday
Dont sweat it man. Im sure youre not recovering well yet, but thats why we do this kind of training to push your body to recover better/faster.

----------------------------

No worries.  The routines make a lot of sense.

______________________________________
Thats just what were looking for with the SSB work. I dont know what options you have with chain setup, but maybe you could leave 1 chain so it drags on the ground. The weight will swing, but the drag chain will dampen the swinging. That would probably be a good compromise.

-------------------------------------------

It was a startling difference from last week to this week.  I think a number of factors entered in:  the back rises, which I've never done hard before; the entire week; and then dealing with the snow on Sunday.  I think my low back / core just wasn't there.



__________________________________

Get the initial drive, get the lift
Sounds like youre understanding the Jerk! Nice work. Its a difficult exercise to add weight since it tends to be so all or nothing, but be patient. A 1-2 pound increase each week will lead to major PRs over time (and most weeks will probably be better than 1-2 pounds).
------------------------------------------

Gotcha.


_______________________________
Lunges thats why we do em! Keep you balanced, healthy, and athletic. I feel that exercises like this are very important for a strongman.
-----------------------------------------

Yeah, like I said: the programming makes a lot of sense, in all respects, including overall athleticism.  I'm more struck by how easy lunges were during the warmup compared to after the 1/2 squats.  Don't know if that tells us anything.

____________________________________
If the pulldowns work the grip hard good! Definitely a plus for a strongman. Granted, you need some back work as well, but that will come in due time. The grip work will be valuable.
----------------------------------------

I'll disagree on the value of this type of grip for strongman; in my (admittedly limited) experience, I need heavy grip training which simulates the events more closely (think heavy farmers holds).


____________________________
I know youre good about conditioning just make sure youre doing your conditioning work.
------------------------------------

Absolutely. 


___________________________________
Get in the right mindset before the workout (a mindset of dominating the workout). Another thing that will help is to *will* your recovery. Sounds jedi-ish, but its legit and it works.
-----------------------------------------------

Makes sense.  I'm a little overwhelmed right now, figuring out the new groove, and I think that uncertainty (ranging from "how do I setup the chains so they swing properly?" to "how do I calculate the weight for the working set?") is opposing that "domination".  Time will fix that.


_____________________________
Overall, I think youre starting at a good spot and you should improve dramatically as the weeks progress. I might see if I can come up with a training log for you. Even if it doesnt work precisely, it would be good for you to see your improvement. Ill be sending you an email.



Thanks Mike.  Again - no worries, even on the logging.  I can sense my progress OK.  Once I get into the new groove, I'll be fine.



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BobW


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Date:
Wed 1/14: Recovery & Conditioning
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Prehab/Rehab
Side Lying External Rotation- 3x10x10
Spinal Traction
Band Leg Curls- 2x50xmini
Calf Raises 2x50
Single Leg RDL's- 1x25 each
 
Neglected Muscles
Ab work- 1x10x90;1x10x115

Conditioning
Combo of 2 handed KB swing (24kg KB) and Sandbag squats for 3 minutes to hit target HR of 149.
Recovered to 132 in 50 second; so 53 second is the longest recovery period allowed.
Took 2 more sets - approximately 14 KB swings each - to get there.
FlexabilityStretching/Mobility
Lower: calves, hammies, adductors, quads, rectus femoris, hip flexors. 
Upper:  subscap, pecs, internal rotators

Passive Recovery
The Stick: calves, hammies, ITB
Answer Self-Massage: hip rotators
40 minute hike with the puppies.  1st part was brutally hard, deep snow, breaking trail.  Glasses were so iced up that I just took 'em off, which is bad, b/c  I'm blind. This made for the perfect setting to drift off and think through some training issues; the dogs settled in, I didn't have to check them, so I got to think through a couple things.

Made it to the main path, saw a person with a dog, and a headlight, and hustled to get my puppies off the trail.  As I'm standing there, wondering why this person won't pass, I hear my wife:  turns out it's her and the sibe, I couldn't even tell that at 4 feet.  That's how blind I am.
Then things got interesting when a lady walking a terrier off lead basically let her dog attack my malamutes.  I still couldn't see anything; the malamutes were struggling to pull and say "What up, fool" to this little terrier (think 10lbs of terrier) being ultra-aggressive.  Finally the owner comes over, picks up the dog, the dog is choking it's so upset, I'm doing all I can to control the mals...
That bitch (the owner) needs to be sterilized before she breeds.


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BobW


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Date:
BobW's Log
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Came into this session tired, sore, and stiff - especially in the hips, hammies, low back.  Warmed up with some dynamic stretching which felt pretty good.
Log Clean and Press +50c:  1x5xlog,x7xlog,x10xlog/9
  • Spent some time warming up with the log sans chains
  • Hams really sore, definitely compromised leg drive
Deficit Deadlift, 3" platform +100c: 1x10x135,225/9;1x10x205/9
  • chains over the middle of the bar worked ok
  • used big bumper plates for platform
  • low back just wrecked
  • little bit of a struggle to lockout last rep - that's the first time ever I've had to really think about pulling through to lock out.  I guess the chains work.
High Bar Olympic Squat: 1x15x135;225/8;205/8-9 (2 inch board under heels)
  • form was spot on, felt very, very good - everything moved nicely, great depth
  • low back was quite sore, ended up taking a couple painkillers after the initial set
  • difficult to be honest about RPE's with high rep squats - hard to feel the difference between "1 rep in the tank" &  "3 reps in the tank"
  • This was the highlight of the session - it was awesome to feel so mobile on this exercise
Cable Flies (+3s hold @top, red bands): 1x15x25/9;1x9x22.5/10 - fail
  • OMG the band tension killed me with the 3s hold
  • I strained with everything I had to get another rep, probably pushed for 5 seconds, and just couldn't close the final few inches
  • I predict sore pecs for Bobby tomorrow

Total Training Time: 1hr50min

I think the volume is taking its toll; whether that's good, bad, or indifferent in the big picture I'm not sure.  Very difficult to motivate for this session; the thought of doing 15 rep squats was very off-putting.   Log was a discouraging opener; I wonder if I just couldn't get CNS activated well, missed the explosive element, and that did me in?


Update:  Got the dogs out for a 40 minute hike.  It was cold (0F), the snow was deep / hard to walk in, and I was tired and cranky.  The one malamute who is currently pushing to be pack leader is very attuned to my behavior (to everybody's behavior, she's trying to put it all together in her head and figure out global domination), and she was very sedate - she walked in a straight line, stayed on the trail in front of me, didn't pull, didn't fuss.  Did really good overall.  She must have sensed that I would snap at the slightest provocation.

-- Edited by BobW at 11:26, 2009-01-16

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BobW


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Apparently I'd rather throw myself down a flight of stairs than train today.

Left arm took a bad hit, back doesn't feel really great either.

Hopefully I can get into the chiropractor early next week.

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Mike Tuchscherer


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I feel for you being wrecked and soforth. Ill look into next week I want to make sure that your stress levels are within the programmed range. If not (which it sounds like they probably arent), Ill adjust the programming. It might take a couple of weeks to get used to the whole body thing, but Im sure itll come along.
I understand its tough judging RPEs for the higher rep stuff. Just keep doing the best you can and youll be fine. And working those flies will really help your stone work (trust me!).
One way or another, gut out this week knowing that next week will bring some relief.

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