U105kg Strongman Log

[LifterOfThings]

Hello everyone, I've entered a couple of novice strongman competitions in the past year (5th in the first one, 2nd in the next) and decided to step my game up and enter some bigger comps. My next comp is in just under 2 weeks, it's an U105 at regional level. The weights are very heavy for me, I'll be happy as long as I don't fail any events.

Bodyweight is currently around 93kg, so can spend the next year or so slowly bulking up around 10-15kg. Big goal is to enter the qualifiers for England's strongest man U105 next year and challenge for places, but to do that I'll need to build a lot of strength. Current best lifts:

Squat 190kg (418lbs)
Overhead press 105kg (231lbs)
Deadlift 220kg (484lbs)
Bench press 130kg (286lbs)

[LifterOfThings]

Today - legs

Squat (belt & knee sleeves)
60kg x 9
100kg x 6
120kg x 5
140kg x 5
160kg x 4
170kg x 3
170kg x 2

Lunges (knee sleeves only)
60kg x 8
70kg x 6
80kg x 5
85kg x 5

Trapbar deadlift (belt & liquid chalk)
80kg x 8
120kg x 8
160kg x 6
200kg x 5

Calf raises (standing with barbell)
60kg x 12
90kg x 12
120kg x 10
140kg x 8
150kg x 8

Decent little session, not done back squats for a couple of weeks so they felt a little off. Assistance work went well, wanted to train some yoke runs but it was raining / hailing outside

[LifterOfThings]

Shoulders!! Wore belt, elbow sleeves & wrist wraps

Strict press
Bar x a couple of sets
40kg x 6
50kg x 6
60kg x 5
70kg x 4
70kg x 4
75kg x 3
75kg x 3
80kg x 2
82.5kg x 2

Push press
70kg x 6
80kg x 5
90kg x 3
95kg x 3
100kg x 2

Circus DB press
30kg x 5 each arm
40kg x 4 each arm
45kg x 4 each arm
50kg x 2 each arm

Lateral raises
20kg's x 8
20kg's x 8
20kg's x 8

Rear delt DB flies
20kg's x 6
20kg's x 6
20kg's x 6
20kg's x 6

Really enjoyed today. Because of my long arms I'm not naturally the greatest presser, so have to work hard on it. Stricties felt good, 82.5kg is the heaviest I've ever gone so was please to hit it for a double. At my next comp I've got a 60kg dumbbell for reps, which I'm slightly nervy about. The DB pressing today felt hard with the left hand but pretty comfy with the right, I hope to get at least 1 rep with 60kg on the day.

[LifterOfThings]

^ top set of strict press from today

[LifterOfThings]

Today - arms

Close grip pause bench (wrist wraps & elbow sleeves)
Bar x a couple of sets
60kg x 8
80kg x 6
95kg x 5
105kg x 5
105kg x 5
105kg x 5

Incline EZ bar skullcrushers (dunno what the bar weighs)
10kg per side x 10
15kg per side x 10
17.5kg per side x 8
20kg per side x 5

Straight bar pushdowns
140lbs x 12
160lbs x 10
180lbs x 10
Getting close to repping the stack on this B)

DB curls
16kg's x 10
20kg's x 8
22kg's x 6
24kg's x 6
26kg's x 5
28kg's x 5

EZ bar preacher curls
7.5kg per side x 10
10kg per side x 8
12.5kg per side x 5
13.75kg per side x 4

Machine preacher curls
80lbs x 8
90lbs x 7
95lbs x 6

Another good workout, didn't want to go too heavy on close grips today because shoulders were still dead from yesterday. 105kg still felt pretty light though, everything else felt good also.

[LifterOfThings]

Back - wore belt & straps

Deadlift
60kg x 6
90kg x 5
120kg x 4
140kg x 3
160kg x 3
180kg x 2
190kg x 2
190kg x 2
190kg x 2

Rack pull (6th slot, just above knees)
140kg x 6
180kg x 5
210kg x 5
240kg x 4

Bent over rows
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
110kg x 5
120kg x 5
130kg x 5
130kg x 5

Pull-ups
BW x 8
+2.5kg x 8
+5kg x 8
+5kg x 8

It had stopped raining by this point so decided to squeeze some farmers walk in

Farmers walk
57.5kg's x 20m
77.5kg's x 20m
97.5kg's x 10m
110kg's x 10m - this was very tough after everything else

Come away from today bit dissapointed. Even though didn't plan on pulling anything heavy off the floor today was annoyed with how heavy 190kg felt. Technique feels really off, need to sort it out before England's in six weeks as one of the events is max deadlift. Rack pulls felt okay, threw them in as next week I've got 300kg for reps from 21". No idea how that's going to go but I'd like at least one rep.

[hamzatm]

Strong numbers man, exciting competition coming up too! So whereabouts are you in the UK?

[LifterOfThings]

Strong numbers man, exciting competition coming up too! So whereabouts are you in the UK?

Thanks man, but I feel really weak atm haha! Need to improve lots over the coming year if I want to be competitive. Currently based in Leeds

[LifterOfThings]

On Saturday did some pressing:

Seated shoulder press
Bar x a few
40kg
50kg
60kg
70kg
80kg
85kg 2 sets of 3
70kg x 9

Bench press (touch & go)
60kg x 6
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
110kg x 5
115kg x 5

Circus DB press
35kg x a couple of sets
48kg x fail with left
48kg x 2 with right
48kg x 1 with left
48kg x 4 with right
48kg x 2 with left
Used a proper circus dumbbell for this and it's a lot harder than with an Olympic DB. The handle being so thick makes it harder to control

Dips
BW x a few
+20kg 3 sets of 10 - very easy

Lateral raises
15kg's 3 sets of 10

[LifterOfThings]

Then today did

Squat (no belt)
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
140kg x 5
150kg 3 sets of 5
^ too easy! Had to hold back, don't want to do anything too heavy this week.

Trapbar deadlift
80kg x 5
120kg x 5
160kg x 5
200kg x 5
215kg x 5
Left it there, felt pretty comfy still tbh

Calf raises (every weight for a set of 10)
100kg
120kg
135kg
145kg
155kg

Trapbar rows
80kg x 8
80kg x 8
90kg x 8
95kg x 8
Never done these before, really liked them

Pull-ups
BW x a few
+10kg 3 sets of 6

Again wanted to train some yoke today but rain stopped me looks like I'll have to go into this comp without having trained yoke for 3-4 weeks, not ideal tbh

[LifterOfThings]

Couple videos from last two days of training

[LifterOfThings]

Really good pressing session today

Push press
Did a few strict warmup sets with the bar & 40kg
60kg x 4
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 2
100kg 3 sets of 3
First two sets were comfy, last one was tough but still really pleased

Incline pause bench
60kg x 7
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
100kg x 5
100kg x 4 - head wasn't in this set
100kg x 5 - better

Floor press
60kg x 12
80kg x 10
95kg 2 sets of 8

Circus DB press
35kg x 2 each arm
45kg x 1 each arm
50kg x 1 each arm
55kg x 1 each arm - new PB left handed!
60kg x 2 fails with right
60kg x 1 with right - yes!!
Really happy, the first two fails with 60kg were because I messed the clean up. Didn't get it set right on my shoulder so didn't even attempt the press. The third one went up easy, plus I'm not even counting the collars which are about 0.8kg each

Did a few sets of forward hold with 15kg & 20kg, felt better than expected given I never train this movement

Bent over rear delt flies
20kg's 3 sets of 8

Probably got a little carried away today, didn't plan on doing this much. Still should be recovered by Sunday though so it's all good videos to follow

[LifterOfThings]

Second set of 3x3 with 100kg & 60kg DB press




First set of 5 with 100kg on incline bench

[LifterOfThings]

Bent over rows
Bar x a few
60kg x 7
80kg x 5
Add straps
100kg x 5
110kg x 5
120kg x 5
130kg x 5
135kg x 5
Felt strong today, thats the heaviest I've ever gone on rows. Did 1 deadlift per set to get the bar in place. Made some technical changes over last week and, even though the weight was light, it felt 10x better.

T-bar rows
50kg x 10
70kg x 8
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
110kg x 5 - new PB on this as well

Reverse pec dec
160lbs 3 sets of 12

Hammer curls
32kg's 2 sets of 8

DB curls
22kg's 4 sets of 8

Lying leg curls
100lbs x 10
120lbs 4 sets of 12

[LifterOfThings]

Wanted to get one more pressing session in this week, decided to squeeze it in tonight so I could have two days rest before Sunday.

Close grip bench press (paused)
Bar x a couple of sets
60kg x 10
80kg x 8
90kg x 6
100kg x 5
110kg x 4 PB
115kg x 2
120kg x 2 PB
Didn't plan on going this heavy, felt very strong today

Seated shoulder press
40kg x 7
60kg x 6
70kg x 6
80kg x 5 PB
Starting to enjoy these, think they'll be good for building pure shoulder power

Incline DB skullcrushers
15kg's 3 sets of 12

Lateral raises
15kg's 2 sets of 12
20kg's 2 sets of 12

[LifterOfThings]

Comp day! This was the first comp I've done that wasn't novice level, was a big step up in weight so all I wanted was to complete every event, anything else was a bonus.

Yoke walk - 280kg x 30m
Heaviest I've ever gone in training was 265kg, and haven't been able to train this event in several weeks, so was a little nervous going in. Wasn't the speediest of runs but managed it with no drops in 25 seconds. Winner got 22 seconds, this got me 6th place

Deadlift - 300kg from 20" reps in 60 seconds
No idea how this was going to go, didn't know if I'd even manage a single rep! Ended up getting in the zone and pulled it for 13 reps for 4th place. Over the moon with this

Monster dumbbell press - 60kg for reps in 60 seconds
This dumbbell was massive and very awkward to control (handle was the thickness of a coke can), so ended up failing the first three attempts. Then, with 10 seconds to go, I finally managed the press. Think if I'd have practiced with the DB a bit more I would have been good with 3-5 reps, still happy to get 1 though. Didn't get good points, managed to beat three guys who no repped it tho

Forward hold - 22kg for max time
Got 18 seconds on this, no one managed it for much longer it was a pretty heavy forward hold. Think it got me 8th place

Atlas stone over yoke - 120kg over 48" for reps in 60 seconds
Hadn't trained stones in a while, mostly because dealing with tacky is such a ball ache! Best I've done is 105kg x 3, came out and absolutely smashed 120kg x 8 reps for joint 3rd!

Really, really happy with today. New personal bests on every event and took 7th overall, a really nice mid table finish. Onwards to bigger and better things!

[LifterOfThings]

Didn't manage to get the yoke on film unfortunately

[hamzatm]

Looking great, amazing work man! Congrats on those hefty PRs too, crazy.

I've started training at a strongman gym, it's just as awesome as I imagined

[LifterOfThings]

Looking great, amazing work man! Congrats on those hefty PRs too, crazy.

I've started training at a strongman gym, it's just as awesome as I imagined

Thanks man! Yeah, strongman is such a fun sport to train for / compete in. Love it!

[LifterOfThings]

Next comp is less than 5 weeks away so had one day off then straight back in the gym!

Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
Add belt
140kg x 5
155kg 3 sets of 8

Lunges
60kg x 10
70kg x 8
80kg x 8

Lying leg curl
110lbs x 12
130lbs x 10
150lbs x 8
150lbs x 7
150lbs x 7

Calf raises on leg press machine
100kg 2 sets of 10
120kg x 10
140kg x 8
160kg x 6
175kg x 5

Back was still a little sore today so didnt want to do anything too heavy. Plan was to work up to 155 on squats for sets of 5, but it just felt too easy so did sets of 8 instead. Still left loads in the tank, really wanted to add some more weight today but i think i took the more sensible option.

[LifterOfThings]

Strict press
Bar x a couple of sets
40kg x 5
50kg x 5
60kg x 4
70kg x 3
75kg x 3
80kg x 3
85kg x 2 PB
70kg x 7 PB

Seated shoulder press
50kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5
80kg x 5

4 sets of lateral raises & rear delt flies

Felt like doing some grip work to finish off

Rolling thunder deadlift (no chalk)
20kg x 5 each arm
40kg x 3 each arm
50kg x 2 each arm
60kg 3 sets of 2 each arm
Never really done reps on this so some default PBs

2 handed plate pinch (again no chalk)
2 20kg plates x fail
2 15kg plates x 43 second hold
2 15kg plates x 45 second hold

Still don't quite feel back to 100% yet, think a rest day tomorrow is needed.

[LifterOfThings]

Deadlift
70kg x 5, x 5
100kg x 3
130kg x 3
150kg x 3
170kg x 3
190kg x 3
200kg x 3
210kg x 3 PB
^ last rep was really slow/ugly, very very tough

Bent over rows
70kg x 8
90kg x 8
110kg x 8
120kg x 6
130kg x 6 PB
Cheating quite a lot by the last set, still felt it nicely in lats tho. Think heavy rows are what's made my lockout so much stronger

T-bar rows
60kg
80kg
100kg 3 sets of 8

Lat pulldowns
145lbs x 12
160lbs x 10
170lbs x 9
180lbs x 8

DB curls
20kg's x 12
20kg's x 11
20kg's x 11

4 sets on preacher curl machine to finish

[LifterOfThings]

Feeling a little worn out after deadlifts yesterday so just a light bench session today to end the week

Pause bench
Bar x a lot
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
95kg x 3
105kg 3 sets of 5
Add wrist wraps & elbow sleeves
105kg x 7

Pause incline bench
60kg x 10
80kg x 8
90kg x 6
95kg x 5

Floor press
60kg x 12
80kg x 10
90kg x 6
100kg x 4
100kg x 4

Incline DB flies
15kg's x 12
15kg's x 12
20kg's x 8
20kg's x 8

DB overhead extension
35kg x 8
35kg x 7
35kg x 7
35kg x 7

Felt so weak today, think I've tried to go too heavy too soon after competing. Need some rest

[LifterOfThings]

Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 5
120kg x 5
140kg x 5
160kg 3 sets of 8 PB



Lunges
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5 PB

Calf raises (standing with barbell)
120kg x 6
140kg x 6
160kg x 6
170kg x 6
180kg x 6
185kg x 5

Farmers walk
57.5kg's x 20m
77.5kg's x 20m
97.5kg's x 20m
Felt something in my lower back go in the pickup on the last set. It's from an injury from a couple years back, should have seen it coming really, it's been fairly sore the last few days.

Chin-ups
BW x 6
+12.5kg 3 sets of 8 PB?

2 handed plate pinch
2 15kg plates x 62 seconds PB

Hit some good numbers today but lower back is a little worrying. I don't feel it's a major injury, just a slight tweak. Need to be a bit smarter and rest up some more, probably should leave deadlifts out this week as well.

[LifterOfThings]

Lower back is a bit worse than I'd initially thought, will have to be careful :/ decided to focus on seated pressing today to protect it

Seated shoulder press
Bar x a few
40kg x 6
50kg x 6
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
80kg x 4
85kg x 4 PB
90kg 3 sets of 2 PB

Strict DB press (standing)
25kg's x 8
25kg's x 8
30kg's x 5
30kg's x 5
Super super strict on these, trying to be careful

Lateral raises
20kg's 3 sets of 8

Almost called it a day there but decided to finish off with some triceps

Close grip bench press (some paused, some T&G)
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
110kg x 5 PB
110kg x 4
110kg x 4

Skullcrushers
20kg x 10
30kg x 10
40kg x 10
45kg x 10
50kg x 7

Done. Feeling a little depressed atm, hopefully my back recovers soon otherwise I might not be able to compete at England's juniors

[LifterOfThings]

Bathroom is getting redone at home so had to go to gym anyway for a shower, decided to sneak a workout in as well

Pause bench
Bar x a couple of sets
60kg x 6
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
110kg x 3
120kg 3x3 PB
Not bad after shoulders & tris yesterday

Incline hammer strength (seat height 2)
50kg x 10
70kg x 8
90kg x 6
100kg x 6
115kg x 6 PB
125kg x 6 PB - very easy
im a good 20kg stronger on this over the last time i used it, happy days

DB bench press
44kg's x 10 PB
44kg's x 9
44kg's x 8

DB flies
20kg's x 10
20kg's x 10
20kg's x 10

Neutral grip pullups
BW x 6
+10kg x 6
+20kg x 5
+20kg x 5
+20kg x 5

T-bar rows
20kg x 15
40kg x 12
55kg x 12
65kg x 10
Had to be really careful with these

Facepulls
4x12

Reverse pec dec
175lbs 3x8

Resting tomorrow then I'll see if i can manage some light squats / leg training friday

[LifterOfThings]

Squat
50kg x 4, x 4
80kg x 4
100kg x 4
110kg x 4
120kg x 4
130kg x 4
140kg x 4
150kg x 4
160kg x 4
170kg x 4
Didn't plan on going anywhere near this heavy, felt really good actually. Back was bothering me a little, had to focus on a slow descent and staying really upright. Feel like 200+ is there anytime I want it

Deadlift (just to keep the feeling)
70kg x 4
80kg x 4
90kg x 4
100kg x 3
110kg x 3
Felt good but could tell going any heavier would be dangerous

Lying leg curls
110lbs x 15
130lbs x 12
150lbs 3 sets of 6

Calf raises
205lbs x 8
235lbs x 8
265lbs x 6
265lbs x 5

Today was encouraging, think if I don't push it I should still be alright to compete in 3 weeks

[LifterOfThings]

Close grip pause bench
Bar x a lot
60kg x 8
80kg x 5
90kg x 5
100kg x 5
110kg x 5 PB
115kg x 3 PB
120kg x 2
120kg x 2 - better, attacked this set more

Incline EZ bar skullcrushers
10kg per side x 10
15kg per side x 10
20kg per side x 6
20kg per side x 6

V-bar pushdowns
160lbs x 10
180lbs x 10
200lbs x 8 - this was the stack

BB curls (cheating a bit as the weights got heavier)
30kg x 8
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
55kg x 8
60kg x 6

EZ bar preacher curls
7.5kg per side x 8
10kg per side x 8
12.5kg per side x 5

Cable curls
50lbs x 10
70lbs x 10
90lbs x 10
110lbs x 7

Enjoyable arm day to end the week

[LifterOfThings]

Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
160kg x 3
170kg x 3
180kg x 3
180kg x 3
180kg x 3
Very happy with this, 180 is still my best triple so to do it for three sets with a dodgy back & 1-2 reps in the tank is very pleasing. Plus last time I tripled this it was in double ply sleeves, was only wearing neoprenes today

Leg press
190kg x 10
230kg x 10
270kg x 10
300kg x 10 PB
320kg x 7 PB

Lying leg curls
120lbs x 10
150lbs 3 sets of 8 PB

Calf press (on leg press machine)
100kg x 8
120kg x 8
140kg x 8
160kg x 6
175kg x 5

Decline sit-ups
BW x 15
+10kg x 10
+10kg x 10

Then a nice uphill mile & a half walk home in the pouring rain

Really enjoyed today, been doing a lot of recovery work and the back seems to be on the mend. Might do some deadlifts on the Trapbar later this week if I still feel good

[LifterOfThings]

Shoulders!

Strict press
Bar x a few
40kg x 6
50kg x 5
60kg x 5
70kg x 5
70kg x 5
Plan going in to today was to work up to a few sets of 4-5 reps with 75-80kg, could tell it wasn't going to happen, felt very weak today

Push press
60kg x 10
75kg x 8
85kg x 5-6 (lost count)
95kg x 2 - terrible, wanted 4-5
95kg x 3 - better, still crap tho

Hammer strength shoulder press
30kg x 10
40kg x 10
50kg x 10
60kg x 8
70kg x 8
80kg x 6
90kg x 5

Lateral raises
20kg's x 12, x 12, x 12

Facepulls
4 sets of 12, can't remember weights

Reverse pec dec
145lbs x 12
160lbs x 12
175lbs x 9

Think I was expecting a bit too much of myself today, can't be too dissapointed as I'm still feeling strong on anything where my lower back isn't involved. A bit worrying as the log press at England's is 110kg for reps, I think if I hadn't had this setback it would have been achievable (current PB is still 105kg x 1). As it is I'll be happy to just not zero it :/