Those log presses are very impressive Bob. It looks like you were focusing mostly on upper body in those presses, nice!
Thanks. Can you explain what you mean a little more? I was actually just focusing on getting the #$#@#@ up and locked out, not trying to focus on any particular body motion. I'm looking for any feedback, my overhead work is a weak point, and I really want to improve - don't worry about being too critical.
Trained with Big Ed today. Spent some time warming up, getting forearms good and loose, some dynamic stretching, stretching for the shoulder (which is improving bit by bit).
Tire Flip, Little Tire: 2x3 flips; 1x18 flips/9; 1x17 flips/9
About as close to puking as I want to cut it. Really moved fast, staying on top of the tire the entire time.
Those log presses are very impressive Bob. It looks like you were focusing mostly on upper body in those presses, nice!
Thanks. Can you explain what you mean a little more? I was actually just focusing on getting the #$#@#@ up and locked out, not trying to focus on any particular body motion. I'm looking for any feedback, my overhead work is a weak point, and I really want to improve - don't worry about being too critical.
Hey Bob Really sorry there - I didn't quite word what I wanted to say properly. What I was really trying to say was that it looked like you did not have to use a lot of leg drive to get the weight up. Which to me looked impressive. I am not very knowledgable regarding log presses that is for sure! But it looked pretty damn strong to me.
Chris, thanks - no need to apologize. You saw something. That's why I post the vids, I'm looking for help b/c I train by myself in my garage, and have zero feedback.
Note to self: work on leg drive. That might be key to moving bigger weight.
Warmed up with some dynamic stretching and short, light waddles.
Farmers Waddles (110'): 2x135;1x205*/9;4x185*
This was tough; from the first pick to the last drop, nothing fun about this tonight. I clearly am not recovered from Saturday; my forearm / grip strength is way down, my hips and low back are weak and tight.
*I broke the first run in each set up at about the 50' mark with a setdown, release, and re-pick to simulate contest conditions. That was hard. On the set at 205, I had 2 more drops on the second leg. 185 was better, but I was barely hanging on at the end of the long runs.
Seated Military Off Low Pins: 1xnxbar;1x8x65,95,137,142/8.5
A little improvement over last week. I only wrapped wrists for the final working set, that's a good sign. The right shoulder held up well, another good sign. Got great pop off the pins on each rep, really good bar speed and path.
RDL: 1x10x135,225,275/8.5
Oh, if my low back and hips weren't shot, they are now.
Atlas Stones over 50" rail: 1x5x185,1x4x220,1x2x250/9/fail,1x1x220,1x1x185
185 and 220 were good. 250, not so good: couldn't quite clear the rail, but came within an inch or so. This reminds me of where I was with 220 this winter. I'm definitely behind where I wanted to be, but all I can do is work hard and smart.
Total Training Time: 135 minutes
Clearly not recovered from Saturday; I knew my left forearm wasn't up to speed, it's been a little sore off and on all day. I didn't realize how bad it was until the first pick with farmer's.
Given that, not a bad session. No real PR's to record, but some steady progress. A little frustrated with stones, but I have to keep in mind that I really haven't been able to train them with the left forearm, so yeah, I'm going to be making up lost ground. The bright side is that I guess I haven't lost that much ground, 220 is still going over the 50" mark easily, maybe not quite as easily as Feb/March, but way better than last fall. I've never tried 250 to 50", so I shouldn't be too upset with my performance there, but...
I shot some video of the stonework. I might post it, might not - I'm not really happy with how I did. But at least I'll have something to look at and see where I can tweak my technique / form.
Hey Bob. Good workout today, brother. If you get a chance please do post the video of the stonework. Nothing to be ashamed of. I know I couldnt do that. Dont beat yourself up. You cant set a PR everyday. Take it easy. Keep up the heavy lifting! Your logs are always interesting and a good read.
Wooh, boy: beat doesn't even come close to the way I've felt today.
Out for a fast-paced, 20 minute walk with the puppies; kept moving pretty well, and felt much better / looser / mobile by the 10 minute mark. Calf stretching, hammie stretching in the parking lot, then back home to...
Standing Ab, 2x10 Peterson Step-Ups, 2x15 Squat Bar Stretching Side Lying External Rotation, 3x10 Shoulder Horn, 1x20 Hip Flexor, Ham, Adductor stretching Tricep Stretches Hang from chin bar
Apparently, somebody opened a can of whoop-ass on me right at the start of training. Warmed up with a bunch of log complex work, RDLs, cleans, etc at a light weight.
235 wasn't even close; the clean was really ugly, in fact, I had to try the clean twice. Should've stopped there. 230 cleaned nicely, went up one time, but that was really all I had in me - the second rep I got zero drive, and it went to my sticking point and back down, same with 220.
I noticed from the start that my right shoulder /arm wasn't 100%, and I was having problems locking out due to the pain. On the final set, I realized that I was also favoring the right arm on lowering the log during the press portion, so I called it done at that point.
Mock Car DL: 1xnx2p;1x2x2,4,6,8,10,12p/8;1x1x12p*;1x2x11p/9
Numbers are down, I know why. *I changed foot position slightly, wanted to see what changed in the pull with it.
Barbell Lunges: 1x8x45, 1x8x97/8
Short, sweet, and to the point. One big thing: balance/mobility was oddly quite good given how sore and tight I was.
Band Flyes, w/ red bands + 3 sec hold at top: 1x10x10,15,20/8
Not much weight, grrr: the right upper arm was not cooperating well, had to work through a bit of pain / pulling, and didn't want to overstretch and pull something. This was still pretty hard, the 3 sec hold against bands at the top is deceptively difficult.
Total Training Time: 110 min
Weellll. Not a great session in terms of weight moved. But I knew it wouldn't be going into it, I was just too sore and not recovered. Hips / low back are especially sore, tight, and have me limping.
The bright side of that is that I limped into a final client meeting this afternoon, and the credit officer asked me why I was limping. I said "Training." He asked "Training? For what?" and I said "Strongman." On cue, one of the other people in the meeting cued up the YouTube video I posted of stones a couple days ago, and said "This kinda takes the glory out of your bags of mulch story, doesn't it?"
So the first part of the meeting was spent watching the video, and discussing strongman stuff.
It was good to train through the fatigue and soreness that have accumulated. It's nice to learn how I can perform under duress; even a less-than-stellar performance today is better than I was doing at my absolutely zenith last year, so...progress is detected, acknowledged, and that's a good thing.
Great session with Doc Zak; spent some time on the right shoulder issue, working through bicep, delts, shoulder capsule, subscap and getting things freed up and moving OK. Quick wrist adjustments; hip rotators, flexors, a neck adjustment. Then hammies, adductors and it was onto the flexion/distraction table. Got good motion out of vertebral joints today.
Warmed up with some forearm stuff, some bodyweight squats, then hit the tire
Tire Flips: 2x5 flips;1x20 flips/9;1x18 flips/8.5
I've never moved faster or more efficiently than the first work set. For the most part, gripped wider, taking more strain off the arms, got great hip pop, and really stayed on top of the tire the entire time. Good solid improvement here.
Didn't belt up until 180, trying to get some core strength. I'm really happy with how this went; good solid progress over last week. Slowly but surely I'm bringing this around.
First rep of each set wasn't as good as the following reps. Need to focus on bringing it to the table out of the gate, dropping any hesitation I might have, and putting it all on the line immediately.
Haven't done these in forever; hitting 365 with good depth was nice, but definitely at my limits in terms of back. 350 wasn't so pretty, depth sucked, back was just caving and I was getting too much sciatic pain. But I'm happy with this: not having done them in a long, long time, I'm close to where I left off in terms of max work.
I need to work on setup and unracking; I'm having a tendency to stand too the left of center, and I'm not efficient walking the weight out, wasting too much energy.
Really need to work on my arch, and my shoulder rotation, and get "under" the bar better and staying more upright. A lot of that is limited by my thoracic spine problems, but I can do better.
Back extensions: 1x8xbw, +45, +100
Total Training Time: 90 minutes
A fast-paced, solid session. Good stuff. I surprised myself, feeling more than a little sluggish going into the session, I didn't have great expectations - goes to show that you never know, I guess.
The log work especially surprised me: taking 3 sets at a drop weight which was my max-rep weight last week is huge. I'm willing to bet this has something to do with getting Doc Zak to work on my right shoulder yesterday.
In line with that theory, it was much easier to get under the bar to squat today than it has been. I'm also glad that I did a light set last night to "grease the groove".