Road to Nationals

The literal road to nationals begins

2011-11-01T06:15:00.001-07:00

Leaving tuesday at 8am, planning on making it to knoxville, tn tonight.

Log PR, last training post before Nationals 2011

2011-10-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

So, the time is finally here. I'm one week out from the last contest I'll be doing in what has been my busiest year for competing.

It's been a year of ups and downs, but ultimately I've seen the largest gains since I was a beginner, putting another 200# on my yoke, 25# on my log, and just recently, getting comfortable getting a 20" stone out of my lap. I also bombed two unsanctioned contests earlier in the year, and got my first first place finish.

In the context of the past 3-4 years since I began strongman (first touched the implements Nov/Dec 2007), this year has been significant. My first couple years, I went to contests expecting to scratch (miss) the overhead event. I also went knowing that my strength levels weren't up to par with any of the guys (even smaller local shows), and that my only saving grace was a little bit of speed, conditioning, and a knack for doing light-ish stones to high platforms kind of fast. All of the above actually helped me to a few respectable finishes. I came to appreciate strongman's way testing strength, power, speed, and conditioning, not to mention preparation and skill, in a variety of ways. But, I never felt quite like a competitor - I was more the perpetual underdog.

As fun as being the underdog is, and getting all of the comments about how my looks don't match my capacity, this was the year I was able to go to contests knowing that I could hang with some solid competitors on all fronts. I scratched the overhead event ~5 contests in a row. And that was back when the log was typically at 200# - not the 220+ we see now at local events, or the 250 that will be at Nationals. I haven't scratched an overhead event this year, and that's included two circus dumbbells (115-120), and 220 log. In some contests, I actually wasn't last either on the press event (gasp).

Whatever happens at Nationals, this has been a great year. Preparation has paid off, and I'm looking forward to 2012.

Delaware's Strongest Wrap-Up, pre-Nationals

2011-10-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Delaware's Strongest didn't go too poorly, and went pretty close to plan.

Truck Pull: 1st, only 200 to finish it.
Circus Dumbbell Press: Underestimated the other 200's here. Saw some great pressing. Got 5 reps, one more would have tied me with the middle of the pack. Instead, wound up with next to last.
Keg Carry: 2nd. !st place guy smoked it.
Car Deadlift: My nemesis strikes again. No bueno, bought it and took the apparatus home.
Stone Over Bar: 12 Reps. Closest to my score was 8 or 9. I'll take it. They dropped the weight for 200's down to 230, and a light stone over bar is my jam.

Recently, I've had a solid run with the Hussafel stone, getting more comfortable there. Suited up, and was able to pull a relatively heavy car deadlift. Knocked out some PRs for weight on the yoke, and it hasn't been a bad few weeks.

Nationals is coming up shortly. I have four training sessions left before hitting the road. Did a little research on my competitors based on the posted list (via youtube and google), and I'm extremely impressed with the capabilities of my fellow 200's.

Next stop, Nats.

Training Update: Pre-Delaware's Strongest

2011-09-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

Next two contests will be Delaware's Strongest Man 2011, and then Nationals.

I haven't put much thought into Delaware 2011, mainly because I know Nationals is around the corner. There will be:

Truck Pull: I haven't put in much specific training at all here. I usually get through these decently.
Circus DB: I'm hoping for good things. I know I can get this weight (123), and I know others may not be able to. It's a technical enough movement that I can make up for a lack of pressing strength.
Keg Carry: Done well on carries in the past, but these are pretty heavy kegs.
Car DL: All depends on the setup/handle height, etc.. Could be great, or terrible.
Stone Over Bar: This will be good testing for nats. 300 to 46".

General training:

Recently pulled 600 FW deadlift. I've picked it before with a slightly higher setup, so we can call it a PR.

Got 235 overhead on the log. Puts me a little closer to the 250 I need for nationals.

Brute Strength Star-Spangled Classic

2011-07-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

The past two contests - The Capital Classic in Reston and the the JF Hurley YMCA in Salisbury, NC, weren't my best showing. I made too many mistakes at Reston, hurt myself, and just wasn't recovered enough 2 weeks later in NC.

My training since then has been consistent, but not necessarily my best. I've been busy moving into a new house, and moving the gym as well, and all the related stress from that. I did hit a few small PRs - 520 Deadlift, and a nice climb on the yoke. Pressing has been solid and consistent, getting my log rep work up around 190 for triples.

At the Star-Spangled classic, the group of competitors was small - only three of us in the 200's. I was hoping to see a particular competitor who is around my ability level, and always gives me something good to shoot for, but no dice.

Event 1 - Yoke, 660# for 75'. Slow, but steady. Not dropping it was my goal, and I didn't. Speed will have to come later. First place.

Event 2 - Keg Press. 180-200-240. The 180 keg was definitely harder than I thought it would be. The clean was more challenging than I was anticipating, and leaning back more than usual, had a hard time keeping back to my heels. First clean, I couldn't press it, didn't even really try. Second attempt, I went for a split jerk and got it. Went on to the 200, an easier clean, but no dice on the press. I noticed from the video that the elbow position looks awkward, I'll play around with dropping the elbow some. 2nd Place.

Event 3 - Car Deadlift hold. The Car thankfully went up easy enough, but the hold was a challenge. My straps slipped pretty quickly, and my biceps were hurting within the first 10 seconds. I dropped when they started to hurt a little too bad. I like to call this the Rich City Revenge. Myself, Danny, and Joey all scratched the car deadlift at the Capital Classic, and managed to get it this time. I managed to hold on long enough to land first. The stress here seemed pretty unique, and seemed mostly a test of hip stability for most, and just general tolerance to pain. i'd like to build one of these, but they take up a lot of room for such limited function, The farmers DL hold in training seemed to replicate the grip/pain of the car dl, but the hips seemed more stable.

Event 4 - Immovable Truck Pull. The title says it all. No one budged it.

Event 5 - Tire Flip. 500-625-700, 3 flips each. After Reston, and the botched tire there, and being relatively slow on other tires, I was nervous. Also hadn't had good opportunities to train the tire lately. Thankfully, everything went smoothly, no big snags on the flips. 500 was easy, the 625 had some difficult hand holds, and the 700 had awesome hand holds. I believe this would be the heaviest tire I've flipped. I noticed a lot of folks slowing down on the 625, especially the sumo flippers. First.

I was happy to get my first win here. Looking forward to Delaware's Strongest 10/1.

Training Update

2011-05-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to get back into the swing of things in training. First deadlift workout in awhile recently, pulled up to 425+2 sets of chains from 1.5in deficit, as well as 6 singles at 425 from the floor after.

Pressing work is back on track. Felt a bad the first couple of workouts coming back after my back injury (which sent me to the doctor's office for the first time in a long time). But, things are feeling better now, with my work weights being at 190 for the log and 210 for the axle.

Worked up to a 600# yoke for 40' a few times, and it went well:

http://www.vimeo.com/23206234

I'm stacked trying to buy a house, move the gym, and everything else. Training is happening, but certainly not at the forefront. I'll be chugging along. Two months until Brute!

Strongest Man at the JF Hurley YMCA

2011-04-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

I spent the past two weeks since the Capital Classic trying to recover. Back has been wrecked, to the point that I went to the doctor for xrays. It stopped hurting enough Wednesday before the contest to do some light dumbbell work and sled dragging, and given it was a short/light contest, I gave it a shot. It was also my brother's first contest, so I wanted to be there anyway.

Stones (175, 205, 240): Light and few, these went fast. They were also head to head, which was honestly a little disconcerting. Not sure of my placing, but not great - about 8 seconds. Fastest times I think were high 6s.

Dumbbell (65, 90, 120): Not circus DBs as we thought. Just those three, for time. Snatched the first two easily, but could manage any form of clean and jerk on the last. Tweaked my neck attempting the 120.

Fingers. Two weights, 2 flips on each: Found that I was pretty decent here, being taller. Got a good clean, a good cycle time, and didn't slow down until the last one.

Prowler push (180, in grass): never touched one before. Somewhere in the middle of the pack, was only 50' for time. 6 seconds or so.

Bus Pull: Just wanted to stay consistent. Did well I thought, but didn't give it enough juice after I got it moving.

Not a lot of lessons here. Coming off an injury, with little training over the past month. Had a good time.

Capitol Classic Strongman: Wrap-Up

2011-03-27T08:05:00.001-07:00

Well, I've certainly had better days. I won't complain excessively, because it's just one day, and one contest. I've had bad training days, and come back to hit huge PRs days later. It happens.

Log: Got my first rep at 220 easily. Very close on a second and third attempt. Even with a rep, I was last place here. Other guys got 4-5 reps.

Conan's (550) : As soon as I picked it up, I felt terrible. Thought I was going to pass out, and felt like I couldn't breathe. I was just shy of two full times around, but some of the better guys had a little over 2 full laps. I was 4th here.

Car Deadlift: I should mention, I was the first LW for each event. Can't say it hurt me much, but it's an awesome feeling going out there and being first on the heavier weights. I scratched the car deadlift. I'm sure being a stronger puller would help, but being shorter would have probably helped also.

After 4 big pull attempts, my back was trashed. Its really never felt that way before. I had to lay down, roll out, had a hard time sitting up, stuff like that. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to finish.

Frame Carry(575): The frame was heavier than anything I'd touched before. The picks actually felt good, but my back was too shot to hold it for very long. I think I dropped it 3 times. I believe another 4th place finish.

Chain Drag/Tire(?/700): The chain drag felt easier than a lot of sled dragging I do in training, but the floor was really dusty. Slipped once on the dust, but got it moving again to finish it up. The tire didn't feel heavy, but after one flip, I just didn't' have the strength to flip it any more. I could get it off the floor several inches, but not enough to get it on my knee.

Stones: I tried to use my belt, because I felt like I couldn't bend down to tie my shoe. It ended up screwing with the stones pretty bad. First and second felt good enough, but I started seeing stars pulling the third, and had to take two shots at it. Took off the belt, and got the 4th on on the buzzer. Won't be using a belt on stones again. Got 2nd here I think.

So, that's it. Another contest in two weeks - time to rest up and hope that one goes better. Getting last place on three events, 4th place on two, and second on one is an awesome way to get last place.

Capital Strongman Classic - Prelim

2011-03-25T10:43:00.000-07:00

Since my last posting, a couple years ago, I've done several strongman contests, 3-4 a year. The last few have gone well.

Brute (Gold) - January '11 - 2nd Place 200's: http://nastrongman.com/bruteres2011.pdf
Sports Fest II (Gold) - July 2010 - 2nd Place 200's: http://nastrongman.com/SportsfestIIres.pdf
Kumite Classic V (Gold) - 2nd Place 200's: http://nastrongman.com/kumiteVres.pdf

I've seen decent progress in my lifts. A few of the big ones:

Back Squat - 405
Deadlift - 515
Press - 190
Clean - 295
Log C&J - 225
Axle Rack Jerk - 255
Farmers - 290 each hand for 50#

Long term, I still need to keep making progress on the overhead, some of the heavier stones are giving me issues, and I'm fairly slow with the heavy farmers and yoke.

The next one (tomorrow!) is the Capital Classic. Events are:

Events:
1) Log (Slater Log) press for reps Clean and Press - HW 260, LW 220, Novice 190, Women's -Circus dumbell 60 lbs
2) Conan’s Wheel - HW 650, LW 550, Novice 400, Women's 300
3) Frame Carry - HW 650, LW 500, Novice 375, women's farmers walk 160
4) Car Deadlift - HW, LW, Novice - mini cooper, women's 500lbs tire on rig
5) Tire flip/chain drag - HW 1000lbs/450 chain, LW 700/450, Novice 500/chain, women's 400/ 300sled
6) Stones - 52" Platform, HW 255, 280, 300, 330, 350, LW 216, 225, 255, 280, 300, Novice 175,200, 216, 225, 255, Women's 100, 120, 150, 180, 200

My thoughts:

Log: I can consistently do 220#. Still happy as long as I don't scratch a press. 2 reps would be awesome.

Conan's: I've only done the Conan's wheel a few times at Brute. I got some practice on the pick in via Zerchers, but that's about it. I know the weight will be doable, it's just a matter of how far.

Frame: If it stays close to 500#, it'll be workable. If it goes much heavier, it might give me some problems, but I I'll get through it.

Car Deadlift: I'm comfortable at the higher deadlifts, but have never done a car deadlift. I hear it's a bit different.

We'll see how things go tomorrow! There may or may not be a 200# weight class. The competitor list shows 4 total 200#'s, so I'll have my eye set on them either way. If I beat any 231's, awesome.

A Lesson Learned

2008-07-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

The title is a bit melodramatic, but this is the morning after my second strongman contest, and I've got some things on my mind.

RCSC 2008 was a great contest in many ways. A great venue, challenging events, and a decent number of competitors. I competed in the 200# weight class, bumping up from the 175# class at Pittsburgh.

First, a bit on my preparation leading into the contest. In all honesty, I think I prepared myself incredibly well for the contest. I cut CrossFit down to 1-2 times a week so I could lift more. And lift I did. I pushed my back squat up another 15 pounds to 350 (a big milestone for me). I trained the events continuously, getting PR's on farmers and stones going in (240 each hand for 100', and lapped a 315 stone with tacky). I figured out how to get the axle from the floor to the rack position without cleaning it, a combination of a sumo deadlift, zercher, and a little magic. I got my rack jerks with the bar up to 220, a decent PR, and worked the olympic lifts.

The first 3 events of the contest went decently well, considering they were all essentially PRs or tying PRs. For the axle clean and press, I got it up to my shoulders twice, though I couldn't make the jerk. For the axle deadlift, I pulled 460, a 10# PR, but I missed 480. On the Farmer's, it was my first time with 250 each hand, and I got somewhere around 70' on my seond drop.

Despite all of this, my standing was terrible. Last place on points. Simply put, my strongest, my PRs, weren't strong enough. On top of that, my contest ended early. The tire was monstrously heavy, after trying to pull it with a narrow stance a few times, I went for sumo. Missed once, missed twice - oops, my left leg was still under the tire when I dropped it! I got pulled under a 787# tired, with an audible pop in my left foot. After getting pulled out from under the tire, moaning a bit, and limping off the field like a soccer player faking an injury, I got the hell out of there. There was visible swelling in my knee and ankle, and I couldn't put much weight on it. No stones for me.

It's an interesting feeling when your best isn't good enough. I'm not down on myself, but reveals clearly your weak points.

-I can't press. My overhead sucks worse than anything. As long as I'm scratching events, I won't be able to get far.

-Event though I can pull decently, it's not enough to be competitive in a 200# weight class.

-My grip isn't that hot. This was a surprise, but it made me goof not only the axle dead but the farmers.

There's much more, but in general, I wasn't strong enough, and there were no lightweight events where my speed and conditioning should shine through. Did I mention I weighed in at 183# in a 200# weight class?

My plan:

Get stronger and bigger. hah! But really, first and foremost, I need to take putting on weight more seriously. I've done it before, I can do it again. It sucks, but whatever. I'd much rather be training hard.

For my training, I'll be following the newest PMenu mass gain program. Essentially I'll be doing push-presses,snatches, clean and jerks, and back and front squats. Mostly 10 sets of 3, with a heavy single on the o-lifts once a week. Percentages start low but increase each week, deload on the 5th week, and finish off strong the last few weeks.

That's 2 months down. October, November, and December I'll spend trying to get my deadlift to 500#, while working on my olympic lifts and pressing. Maybe some event work. After that, I'd be wise to continue pressing like a madman, working on my olumpic lifts, and getting some squat work in. A 400# back squat would be helpful, maybe I'll try the famed Smolov cycle.

March and April - Event work, strength maintenance, and CrossFit. Then I'll try strongman again. And I won't be the skinny guy who looked like an asshat this time.

First Strongman Contest

2008-06-01T15:51:00.000-07:00

It's about a week out from my first contest up in Pittsburgh. Simply put, I had a great time. I exceeded my expectations on some events, and didn't quite get there on others. A quick breakdown of how things went:

Log - Scratched as planned. Not enough experience, not enough strength.

Stone/Keg Medly: 2nd place here (out of 9). I was quick on the pick, and got good speed on the stone. No complaints here.

Axle DL: Only 5 reps. What gives? 7th place here. I though the rack jerks would have been enough to help me out, but I still was missing the lockout. Could have been 7 or 8 if I has a little stronger. Thought this would have gone better.

Tire Flip: 4th Place here. Took me a minute to get into my groove, but ti felt good once I did. Slightly chipped a tooth after the tire bounced and I already had setup on it.

Stones: Best event. 2nd place (only 2 people finished them). All five stones went up, the 5th was the only troublesome one, but that was a huge PR (310 stone)

That puts me at 5th overall.

I realized my strength level isn't what it needs to be. I already knew this, but it was soundly confirmed. First goal is to work on pressing strength and jerk technique, neither of which is good. At River City there's an axle clean and press at 220, I would be extremely happy to get a rep there. I thought my deadlift was a little better than it really is, but I've been working that pretty hard. Time to ease off on it, and maybe hit a ME lift every other week.

I will however be working back in some squats. I'm taking a shot at a little 7 week periodized program I picked up. So far it's been tough getting back into squats. I'm going off numbers that are a couple of months old. There's some technique flaws, and it just doesn't seem to sit on my back right. i'd rather be front squatting!

Other than that, I'll be working the O-Lifts in preparation for an August 10th meet. I'm hoping to hit 70kg for the snatch at 100kg for the C&J. I've hit 70 before, but my snatches aren't too consistent. My jerk is holding me back on the C&J, but I hit 210, a 3 lbs PR just yesterday.

Of course, I'll be training the events for River City Strongman, mostly the stones, farmer's, and the axle clean. Should be an ok contest for me, I'll be moving up to the 200's, but I'm sure I won't weigh close to that!

Strongman Progress

2008-03-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

The class at TWR is all said an done. My progress has been pretty good so far, both in terms of strength and technique.

Here's an overview:

Log Press: I'm not even training it. Why? I'm a wimp. But seriously, the chances of me doing remotely well at my current state are slim. I'll scratch here, and start training my pressing strength soon after the contest.

Stone and Keg Carry: Just tried this out for the first time at Brute Strength. Seems easy. Gotta be quick to lap the stone, but the kegs weren't difficult. I pretty much ran with a 180# keg. So, I know I can complete this, and I should have enough gas to do well. I'll continue to train this occasionally, but I don't really have a set time standard, so measuring progress is difficult. At least I know I won't make an ass out of myself.

Axle Deadlift: I did what I believe was a single at 405# my first time. I've been training my deadlift like crazy lately. I just hit 370x5 this morning, working on a 2 month long linear progression, hit a heavy set of 5 once a week. Yes, once a week deadlifting is a lot for me. But hey, I'm still progressing, so why do more? I may or may not be able to hit 380x5 next week, so at that point I'll move into a ME cycle, working up to a (hopefully) pr 3RM next week or the following, and again hopefully a new 1RM in two weeks or so. I'm shooting for 470, a little ambitious, but I'm feeling strong. What this all adds up to, is that I plan on doing halfway decent on the axle deadlifting, given that the range of motion is limited, and I have decent grip strength.

Tire Flip/Sled Drag: Just hit this last weekend at BS gym (haha). Their 550# tire felt significantly lighter than the one at TWR. Also, I can see how much the implement and the surface matters when it comes to the sled. 300# on their sled felt like 180 on mine. I need to work on my tire speed, and anticipating the bounce. I'm over the whole losing my cool by the 6th or 7th flip, so that's a good sign.

Stones: Man, I don't even know right now. I've lapped the 285, and gotten the 250 up on Chris's platform. I've shouldered up to 217#. The thing is, lifting the lighter stones is still extremely taxing, so while I may be able to get the 4th stone if I was fresh, I might not be able to get the 3rd if I've already picked up a few. I need to start working the stones in series, and get comfortable lifting the 250 and 285.

Generally speaking, I've hit several PR's on my lifts lately, including a 220# Clean, 205# OHS, 335# Back Squat. Nothing monumental, but all PR's all the same.

That's it for now.

A new goal?

2008-01-24T06:30:00.000-08:00

As an update on my training progress, I've stopped the Phillipi deadlift program. One, I hurt my back on a jerk. A PR Jerk of 190 lbs., but certainly not worth the pain I've been in for the past two weeks. After a good drive and getting under the bar, my position wasn't quite stable overhead, and the bar began to fall backwards, I successfully attempted to recover, but not without hyperextending my lower back. More isometric abs work anyone?

I'm continuing to jerk, and add in more abs/back work. I'm working on some Push Jerks right now, they seem to be a bit kinder to my back. Last time I ended up with a max set of 5 at 155 lbs. Not sure if that's a PR for my 5RM, but I'm looking to break that 190 lbs. 1rm foolishness in the next few weeks.

The "big" news is that I've decided to enter into a strongman contest that's going to be up in PA in May. The events are...
1. Log Press @ 210 lbs.
2. Stone and Keg carry @ 200 lbs.
3. Axle Deadlift for reps @ 400 lbs.
4. Tire Flip/Sled Drag. Tire @ 550 lbs., sled
5. Atlas Stones, 200-310 lbs.

I'm taking a 6 week seminar at The Weight Room on Strongman training. Great stuff, and the crossover between CrossFit and strongman is huge, especially concerning the elements of compound movements/odd object lifting and even strength endurance.

My goals are as follows for the contest:
1. Log press - I just want to get the damn thing up. once. Just once! I was playing with a 12" log recently, at just under 150 lbs., and it was tough. Having that log in your face forces you to lean back a good bit, limiting your hip extension. My plan is to get my Jerk/Press/Push Press up substantially, as well as working on handstands/handstand push-ups. I figure, all the overhead work I do can't hurt, as long as I'm not overtraining. of course I'll train with the implement as well.

2. Stone and keg carry. Haven't thought much about this one, I assume it's going to be a medley, in which case I'm hoping my CrossFit conditioning will help me out. I'll be working with stones, heavy sandbags, and hopefully a keg if I can find one.

3. Axle Deadlift. I've got no idea what to expect here. I'll be working on my deadlifts more as soon as I'm able. I'm shooting for 465 before the contest, maybe more, in a standard deadlift with the bar. The axle will be raised higher than normal(14-16"), but grip will be a factor. Thick rope climps, and working with loose sandbags that I can grip the fabric will be most of my "grip" work. Again, I'll try out some axle deadlifts before I go.

4. Tire Flip/Sled drag. I'm hoping to shine here, as much as I can for my first time at least. My tire flips feel solid, though my form breaks down under duress. Sled drags don't feel too bad either. I'm looking at getting a tire of my own to help prepare for the contest.

5. Atlas Stones. God help me. My goal is to get the first 2, maybe three. I've played around with them twice now, and their just about the most frustrating piece of equipment I have ever encountered. I've gotten halfway decent at picking the 175. There isn't a 200 at TWR. The 230 I can lap and get up to about 50"(maybe) at the moment. I'm sure I'll be able to lap the 250 by contest time, but my problem is extending my back far enough to get the stone up my body and onto the platform. Again, I feel like sandbag work will help me here... can you guess what I just got a few of?

I'll update my progress a few times before the contest. Other than working the implements and training as I've already stated, I'll be doing CrossFit regularly, as well as working in some ME work on Front Squats, Press/Push Press/Push jerk, and deadlifts once I heal up.

Until next time.

Getting back into the swing of things

2007-12-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been awhile since I have updated this. Turns out, that when you start a gym, you train less. Who would have figured?

I had the CrossFit Level 1 cert a couple weeks ago. It was a great time. Heard a lot that I was already familiar with, but seeing qualified coaches teach movements as well as Greg Glassman explaining CrossFit was very informative. I took some time off from regular lifting to prepare for the cert, didn't want to go in terrible condition.

I'm about to start a new cycle. I'll be doing CrossFit, with one out of every 3 training days being a lifting day. This is a little less than what I have been doing, but I'm trying to balance things out a little better; my metcon and muscle endurance have been suffering lately. First 8-10 weeks I will be working on the Deadlift and Jerk. The deadlift program will be following Mark Phillipi's deadlift cycle, Jerks will be a simple periodization. I'll be including a lot more supplementary work to help improve muscle endurance in the bodyweight movements. That's all for now, more details later!

Post-Black Box

2007-10-07T17:02:00.000-07:00

I just finished my last lift of my first 3 weeks of the ME Black box accompanied by the "heavy" CrossFit workouts. I'll go ahead and restate my program for the first 3 weeks.

Day 1: ME Front Squat
Day 2:XF
Day 3:ME Deadlift
Day 4:XF
Day 5:ME Press
Day 6:XF

Myrecovery has been excellent, even with school and not the best eating. Doing one lift on the BB days is hardly a stress. The CrossFit takes a little more to recover from, but given that I have hit PR's in all the lifts this month, it looks like it wasn't too much to recover from in a day or two.

It looks like my goal of continuing to increase in absolute strength while CrossFitting is working very well. I hit 430# on the deadlift, an increase in 25 lbs over my last PR, a 270# (15# increase) Front Squat, and a 150#(5# increase) Press. I don't know if this says my program wasn't good before, or if the ME Black Box is just a really good program. My thoughts are that I was overtraining before, looking back I realize I was working around 85-90% most of the time, and at high volumes. I once did a 295# backsquat for five reps. My 1RM is 305#, so there's a problem there somewhere. I'm also hoping that by constantly working with the XF workouts using heavier weights, I'm contributing to my absolute strength, even if the intensity is fairly low compared to my 1RM.

For now, I'm going to take a week for some lighter work, incorporating some abs/back and push/pull circuits. I'll lay off the lifting for one week, and then onto another 3 week BB cycle, repeating Fran, Diane, and Elizabeth during that time, while trying some other strength-oriented CrossFit workouts. My lifts for next time will be:

-Clean
-Push-Press
-Back Squat

My overhead strength is a major concern, so I will be using the push-press this time, even if it means I will have two "total body" movements on this cycle. I'll also be slipping in some weighted pull-up work, but it will be irregular.

The experiment continues.

Nobody said this was going to be easy

2007-10-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

I've gotten a few weeks of CrossFit under my belt, and it's still tough. Really tough. My metabolic conditioning is still so sad that the strength I have gained can even be put to use. Nothing ever feels "heavy", even loads of 225# deadlifts or 135# cleans. I just run out of energy and my muscles burn like the fire of 1,000 suns. Here's some scores I've racked up lately:

Diane: 5:23
Elizabeth: 14:50

The difference right there is pretty telling. While a Diane should be shorter for just about anyone, my Diane time is semi-respectable. With a little HSPU work, I'll be doing pretty well. But when faced with a movement like the full squat clean, requiring a much greater range of motion and a higher work capacity, I was quickly incapacitated. I got through the first 8 or 9 reps ok, but after that it was a struggle. Each rep turned me into a wheezing, coughing, shell of a man. Maybe it wasn't quite that bad, but it will be a long ways coming before I can manage a workout like "Elizabeth" in any sort of decent time.

I'll be updating shortly; within 3-4 weeks I will have repeated the workouts, and if I'm doing anything right, my times should be much-improved. Like I did with the Fran, I'll take a guess at scores to be. Diane: 4:30. Elizabeth: 12:00.

Nothing's wrong with having some goals. (Except when you don't get anywhere near them!)

Back in the saddle again.

2007-09-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is the first day of my new cycle. As I alluded to in my last post, I'm doing a combination of the "heaviest", most strength-oriented CrossFit WODs in addition to the ME Blackbox. The schedule will be a 6-on-1, alternating blackbox lifting days (generally one lift per day, 5x5 first week, 5x3 second, 5x1 third, repeat; weights increased each set) with CrossFit. The lifts I chose were the front squat, the overhead squat, and the press, in addition to a little deadlift work. I went with the front squat because it really hasn't gone up any, even since all of my strength work over the past 6 months or so. I did primarily back squats, but I thought I would see a little improvement for the fronts! I will be doing deadlifts and OHS on the same day. I'm so close to my deadlift goal, so there's not reason not to lock down on it, and the OHS will help with my midline stabilization (here is a short blurb from CrossFit Oakland on midline stabilization), which will in turn help my CrossFit and hopefully my other lifts. Lastly, my press still sucks, so I will blackbox it until I'm where I want to be!

As I said, today was my first day of the new cycle. Last week, I messed around and did "JT" @ 19:07 (suck!) and another workout, not of importance. I just got done doing "Fran". Literally, I'm sitting in a broken down sweaty heap trying to type this out. My time was 6:17, which is actually 1:13 faster than my last Fran, which was during my 100% CrossFit phase. Very interesting, eh? The issue this time was clearly metcon and muscle endurance, but sheer strength was never a problem. While workouts like Fran play to my strengths after my long lifting cycle, it's pretty clear that strength is a huge factor in CrossFit workouts. If you don't come from some sort of strength training background, or make strength work a part of your routine, you'll find yourself wanting one day. So, I'll go ahead and make myself a little bet, and experiment, a goal of sorts. I'm going to have a 5:00 Fran in one month, and a 4:00 Fran in 3 months.

I'll let you know how it goes.

A minor update; thoughts about the next cycle

2007-08-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

I went to The Weight Room yesterday, and worked on my jerk and deadlift 1Rm. The Jerk was weak. Even though my press has gone up, my jerk is at 170. I thought it would be a lot higher, but I couldn't seem to keep my elbows locked. Next time, I think a lot of the problem is in the technique.

My deadlift was another story, I pulled 405, my first time at 4 plates. Thought I had some problems with rounding my back a little, and I raised my hips early out of the hole, it felt like I had a lot left in me. I think my goal of 450+ will be coming sooner than I thought.

Other than that, I've been going over some ideas I have on future training cycles. I still want to get my powerlifting goals, but I've been itching to get back into CrossFit. I wonder if I can get where I want while CrossFitting? The deadlift and press are a given in time, especially if I were to do something along the lines of the ME Black box by Coach Rutherford. I think there's still some juice left in those lifts without having to do anything too complex. Beginning my work back into CrossFit doing workouts like Fran (21-15-9 95# thrusters and pull-ups), Diane(21-15-9 225# deadlifts and handstand push-ups), and Elizabeth(21-15-9 135# cleans and ring dips) would certainly boost my pulling and overhead strength. But like I have said before, nothing quite compares with putting a lot of weight on your back and squatting it.

Anyways, I've got 3 weeks left of the Performance Menu Mass Gain cycle. I'm on the strength portion of it, lets see how it goes.

Some Progress

2007-08-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm about 2/3 of the way done with the PM mass gain cycle. I've gained a decent amount of weight, about 10lbs. What's more exciting, is that for every exercise I have gone for a 1RM in, I have set a new PR.

Here's my new PRs: (all weights in #'s)

Press= 145 (from 140)
Clean = 193 (from 185)
Snatch = 135 (from 115)
Weighted pull-up = 135 (from 115)

I'm still going to attempt 1Rm's on deadlift and back squat. I'm a little nervous about getting under the bar again - nothing else compares to putting heavy weight on your back. But I'm pretty confident I can set a new PR in the deadlift.

The next 3 weeks in is the strength cycle portion of the program. I've made some PRs without doing any low rep work the pass month. Some of that is probably the additional mass, some is probably getting some much needed rest. I'm looking forward to some higher numbers after I do some serious strength work and can use this added muscle to the fullest.

A new tactic

2007-08-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m glad that I wrote down my goals last post. Honestly, I forgot what they were. No worries, I’m nowhere near them!

My powerlifting kick quickly went from general-strength-leaning-towards-straight-up-powerlifting to just powerlifting. I can’t remember the last time I did a CrossFit workout. I found that once things started to get hard, and really wanted that weight, I couldn’t risk being beat from a CrossFit workout that I had done in the few days leading up to my lift. I went from the Starting Strength program (3x5 on the major lifts, linear increase in weights) to the Texas method (weight increased on a weekly basis, high volume, low intensity on Monday, low volume high intensity, hopefully PR on Friday).It worked, to a degree. I’m stronger. I’ve pulled a 305 Squat with good form, done 295 for 5. Deadlift is up to 400, which came up with ease. I believe my Press is at 145 now. Not bad right? Squat got a little better, and I put 60 pounds on my deadlift, and 30 on the press.

Except…. It’s taken months. Looking back over the past 2, my progress has stalled. Some days, I would have “good days” the weight would go up easy, and I felt like I could do a ton more. Other days, I had to fight for the same weight, or possibly less! But, I’m going to stay true to my goals. I’m not going to stop till I get my lifts. But perhaps, I’m in need of a change of tactics. So, for the past 3 weeks, I’ve been on the Performance Menu “Mass Gain” program. It’s a 7 week cycle, 3 weeks for hypertrophy, one week for unloading, and another 3 weeks on a strength oriented program. Honestly, I don’t really care about the lifting right now. My daily workout is consuming 6000+ calories (hopefully) a day. Here’s a sample of my daily menu

2 cans of coconut milk

Half pound of peanuts

One pound of meat

A dozen eggs

….plus some regular food in there.

I figure this will give my body some time to recover, grow, and hopefully put on some pounds to make my upcoming powerlifting cycle a little more fruitful. I’ve put on about 10 pounds so far, I’ll be making updates on how it goes.

Reevaluations

2007-05-14T13:27:00.000-07:00

By some standards, this was a disappointing month. But first, let me explain what I've been doing for the past week, and a little spiel on Rippetoe's books.

As I said in my first post, I'm taking some time to do powerlifting and eventually weightlifting (olympic). Why? They interest me, and I would also like to build strength and explosive power. I feel it's something that I lack. I'm going by a modified version of Rippetoe's novice program highlighted in both Starting Strength and more in-depth in Practical Programming. Both are very good books. Starting Strength provides a concise analysis of the major lifts: the back squat, press, bench press, deadlift and power clean. Now, the book is geared towards teaching others the lifts, but this is not to say that you cannot learn the lifts yourself if you are a beginner. They can be somewhat technical in nature; if you're used to say, Dan John's writings, which might say "do this", Rippetoe's books will say "tell your trainees to 'do this', but this is why you are really telling them to do it". Pick it up though, you won't be disappointed.

So, I wanted to get into the lifts, and still do a little CrossFit. We have a Saturday park WOD, and I'd like to work in a "girl" once a week. Rippetoe's novice program (it feels a little weird being a novice) involves 3 workouts a week, back squats every workout, and cycling through bench press, deadlift, and overhead press. You wind up doing 3 exercises per workout, with some sort of pull-up or chin-up supplement added on for good measure. For squats and presses, it's 5x5, for deadlifts, 1x5. That's not his only program, but that's the general idea for his beginner program. Progress for the novice is linear, the stress is so large that adaptation happens quickly. Weight will go up every workout, 5 or 10 lbs depending on the exercise.

In order to accommodate CrossFit into the program, I took the powerlifting down to two lifts per workouts, and I took the bench press out of the equation. Rippetoe, Rutherford, and many others will say that the bench press doesn't transfer well into overall fitness or athletics. And really, I don't like the bench. I worked in pushing supplement instead. So here's what 2 weeks of my program might look like:

Week 1
M: Squats, Press, pull-up ladder
T: "Fran"
W: Squats, Deadlift, ring push-up burnouts
R: Rest
F: Squats, Press, 3 efforts of max pull-ups
Sa: Byrd Park WOD
Su: Rest

Week 2:
M: Squats, Deadlift, ring dip ladder
T: "Helen"
W: Squats, Press, weighted pull-ups
R: Rest
F: Squats, Deadlift, plyo push-ups
Sa: Byrd Park WOD
Su: Rest

I started out with fairly low weight on everything, moving up 5 pounds on the press, 10 pounds on the squat, and 15 pounds on the deadlift per workout.

Here's my previous max efforts:

Press: 115
Squat: 305 (poor form, more of a quarter or half squat)
Deadlift: 340 (rounded back, again not great form)

So, I recently went for my max effort on squats after a month into the program. I expected a new PR. I warmed up, working up to 185. Easy. 235. A Joke. 275. More weight!
305. Oh shit. Coming out of a deep squat, I hit a wall somewhere around parallel. After being helped up, I went for 300. Again, no dice. So what's the deal? I've been at this for a month!

It seems that it's time to reevaluate things. Not necessarily my goals. But maybe they need to be refined, so I'll state them here:

Press: 160
Back Squat: 355
Deadlift: 425

I'm a long way off, so my little weightlifting experiment will take a little longer than expected. 16 weeks? Can I even put a time frame on this. not really. So I have to keep plugging along. Sometime you don't reach your goals as quickly as you would like. Some days you'll be sick, tired, stressed, or over trained. But with good programming coming from research and experience, you'll improve. Today, I'll pick the bar back up and once again start working towards my goals.

A Step in the Right Direction

2007-05-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

I went to a USA Weightlifting certification this past weekend. My muscles are a little tight from two nights on cheap motel beds, and I'm surprisingly sore from the lifting we did (it was all at low intensity). But I'm coming back a little wiser, hopefully.

You can read all you want online. You can actually learn a lot in the process. That's all I have done to learn so far in my journey to first become fit and then instruct others properly. I read all of the CrossFit journals, we just got a subscription to performance menu, and I browse through everything from weightlifting message boards to NSCA journals. I've bought and read a couple of books, Rippetoe's have been really helpful in learning how to correctly perform the power lifts.

But there's something to be said for hands on instruction, and for learning directly from someone who has had years of experience. Not only do you get the benefit of their knowledge, having that person teach you. You get to see how that person teaches, their little tricks, their demeanor. The interaction between teacher and student is not something that can be read about. It is something that must be learned first-hand, both through seeing someone else teach, and through teaching yourself. No one can be expected to be a great instructor because they keep up with all the latest fitness crazes, what all of the big names are saying at this moment. You can tell clients "well, so-an-so says you should do a power clean like this, and that's why you should do it this way". Anyone can gain that type of knowledge. Any mildly determined person can find that out. You have to be able to effectively instruct based on your own experience, and your teaching style, also in a way that others can understand. It's something that takes time, research, and practice. It's something I'm working on, and this weekend felt like a step in the right direction.

Goals

2007-05-03T10:07:00.000-07:00

For the past year or so, I've done CrossFit. It was a pretty natural progression from typical bodybuilding, being informed by one book from Barnes & Noble, onto "SEAL" training, until Matt and I wound up in a local park semi-nauseous and dripping sweat after an attempt at 2/3 of a Chelsea.

I was never very large or athletic. 2 years ago I was 150#, which isn't much at 6'2". Playing rec basketball, I only had one shot on the hoop. All air. Soccer wasn't much better. Through CrossFit, I realized that while some were born with a high level of athletic ability and fitness, real fitness could be created. I was never going to be much of a body builder, putting on mass for me is hell. Plus, it wasn't really that fun. But after a couple of months of CrossFit, I saw significant improvements. Times dropped by minutes, workouts didn't need to be scaled. I could lift more, run faster and go harder. Above all, I liked it. I looked forward to the workouts, even as the nervousness crept in when I realized it was time to do a "Fight Gone Bad" or a "Filthy Fifty".

Some people come to CrossFit because they need it. Cops, Firefighters, military. I came to CrossFit because I liked the workouts, and even more I liked the kind of fitness I was able to attain. There's many arguments about CrossFit, some say it isn't good for you. Some say it doesn't work. After a year, I feel like I can disprove both. But some disagree with it's definition of fitness. Maybe some aren't impressed with the work capacity of a 30 round Cindy or a 3 minute Fran? (no, I can't do either) But I am. The point is, I like CrossFit. But I don't need CrossFit to survive.

That's why I'm stepping back a little.

I'm taking some time to get into power lifting and Olympic weightlifting. Why? I like 'em. My new cycle involves 2 days of CrossFit, one a "girl" day and one is our regular workout in Byrd Park. The bulk of it however is power lifting at the moment, following plenty of advice from Rippetoe's Starting Strength and Practical Programming for Strength Training. I want to be able to back squat 400, and deadlift even more. A bodyweight shoulder press wouldn't be bad either. All pretty ambitious considering my starting point, but why not be ambitious?

Will my Cindy score suffer from a little CrossFit downtime? Of course. Will my Fight Gone Bad score be respectable after a couple months of power lifting? Maybe not. And while I'm enjoying power lifting right now, I'll be back to routine CrossFit soon enough. Hopefully, I'll come back the strongest I've ever been.