Becoming a HW Strongman

[thom2355]

I have been lurking and randomly posting in this section for a few months now, but have been around BB.com for a while. In the past I have competed in powerlifting (one USAPL meet with ~1100 total a few years ago), but that changed when I blew out my knee and switched to bodybuilding for a while. I competed in three NPC shows with varying degrees of success. Around June of this year, I was encouraged to try strongman after I commented how the conditioning and training seemed more fun than my typical weight train, then walk on a treadmill routine. I competed in the Novice class in the 2011 NAS Circle City's Strongest Man in Indianapolis in early August of this year (video and score sheet embedded/attached). I finally found a discipline in the strength community that my height is not a disadvantage in most aspects and I really enjoyed myself at the contest and met a lot of good people. As you can see in the video and on the score sheet (finished 6th in Novice), I have a lot of room to improve. Not only on strength, but on technique and speed.

My short term training goals are to get a lot....LOT stronger my early spring of next year. My overhead needs the most work, but honestly, I am not up to par with where I need to be at across the board as I intend to compete in the 265 class. I will be moving for work around the beginning of December and I will hook up with a training group in that location as soon as I get settled down. At that point, I will take training pointers from the group members and modify my training as required. As for now, I just started the 3's wave of The Juggernaut Method today. My split is as follows:

Sun - TJM Squats
Mon - TJM Strict Press
Wed - TJM Deadlift
Fri - "Event" Day/Heavy Clean & Press

I don't necessarily track macros, but I have target macros that are around 300P/3-500C/60F per day and will be adjusted accordingly as training dictates. I am not too concerned with weight at the time, but as show time nears I will keep a closer eye on it.

Contest video:



Score sheet:
circleres.pdf

My goal with this training log is to use it as an aid for myself to evaluate my training as I progress as well as receiving input from others. Please feel free to comment/criticize as need be.

Here is a link to my old training journal if interested http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=132628703

[thom2355]

Juggernaut Method
Week 13 - 3's Wave Accumulation Phase
Day 1 - Squats

Box Jumps
3 sets of 6 to 32" box

Squats
325 (75%) x 3 for 7 Sets

Dead Squats
225 + Doubled Mini x 1
245 + Doubled Mini x 1
245 + Doubled Mini x 1,1,1,1

Speed Squats
225 + Doubled Mini x 3,3,3,3

Good Mornings
225 x 8,8,8

Conditioning
Sled Sprints
250 lbs x 80' x 6 sprints
*45 seconds between sprints

PWO Stretching
15 min static stretching

Not a terrible day today. I took a while to warm up, but eventually squats felt pretty good. My cold is still lingering, so my rest between sets was sitting around 3 minutes to regain my wind. From set 5 on I felt pretty damn explosive and my last set could have went to ~5 with 2-3 in the tank, but I have a slight tingle/pain in my hamstrings, so I stuck to the prescribed reps and moved on. I played with some bands on the dead squats and speed squats and really like the added dynamic. I have a few more bands on my list to purchase pretty soon here so I can use a little more than just minis. Also, I found another use for Fat Gripz....I used 125 lb DB's to hold the bands at the bottom and the knurling is pretty sharp. To prevent the knurling from starting to shred the bands, I put the Fat Gripz on the handles. Maybe I am too concerned with the knurling, but I suppose it cannot hurt.

[B1GinNY82307]

Once I'm off the phone, ima sub

I didn't know ur history if going from PL to BB to now Strongman...although unfortunate of how or why (the knee), that is awesome that you have the all-around experience.

[thom2355]

Once I'm off the phone, ima sub

I didn't know ur history if going from PL to BB to now Strongman...although unfortunate of how or why (the knee), that is awesome that you have the all-around experience.

It sure does make me appreciate strongman a lot more! I would like to powerlift again, but it will be a while (if ever) before I step on a bodybuilding stage again. The worst part is dieting, but being limited in how many shows you can compete in by legitimate health concerns is not something I am really interested in. I can feasibly compete in 5+ strongman contests a year, but I can't see doing that in bodybuilding.

[NC_Tarheel]

Look what I stumbled on....

[thom2355]

Look what I stumbled on....

Weak squats????

[thom2355]

Juggernaut Method
Week 13 - 3's Wave Accumulation Phase
Day 2 - Strict Press

Overhead Medicine Ball Throws
3 sets of 6 with 14 lb ball

Strict Press
140 (75%) x 3 (6 Sets)
140 (75%) x 5* (1 Set)
~2 reps left in the tank.

Speed Strict Press
105 + Mini Band x 3,3,3,3,3

Incline BB Press SS with Neutral Grip Pullups
185 x 6/BW x 8
195 x 6/BW x 8
205 x 6/BW x 8

Dips SS with Chest Supported Rows
BW + 45 x 12/135 x 12
BW + 45 x 9/135 x 12
BW + 45 x 8/135 x 10

Conditioning
~350 lb Tire flips for 40 flips

PWO Stretching
15 min static stretching

Overall I felt great this morning. After squats yesterday, I tweaked my back while washing my feet in the damn shower. Not cool....but it was fine this morning, until I tweaked it again doing the same thing this morning. Time to start working on the low back again.

The presses felt great and I am feel as though the overall RPE on my main movement today was around a 7. I am really excited for the Realization Phase on this lift. Speed presses felt great and my first time using bands to resist an overhead press felt really good as well. The rest were pretty typical, but I was able to get a few more reps out of the dips today.

I am expecting a package today with contents that should help with recovery. We shall see how that goes!

[NC_Tarheel]

Sucks about the back. No time for injuries now!!!

Where were you at with your strict press when you started juggernaut and how much progress have you made??

[B1GinNY82307]

Juggernaut Method
Week 13 - 3's Wave Realization Phase
Day 2 - Strict Press

The presses felt great and I am feel as though the overall RPE on my main movement today was around a 7. I am really excited for the Realization Phase on this lift. Speed presses felt great and my first time using bands to resist an overhead press felt really good as well. The rest were pretty typical, but I was able to get a few more reps out of the dips today.

I am expecting a package today with contents that should help with recovery. We shall see how that goes!

...wasn't this the Realization phase? Or am I missing something?


And heal up that back!!!

[thom2355]

Sucks about the back. No time for injuries now!!!

Where were you at with your strict press when you started juggernaut and how much progress have you made??

Yeah....nothing too bad I hope. It is cool now, just kinda had a spasm. Gonna head to the chiro me thinks

Well, I hit 165 x 3 when testing my 1RM, which calculates to 181. Those presses were probably a little loose though. I am at a calculated 185 now and I get to toss around 170 in the realization phase. Every rep there is a 2.5 lb adjustment. I am aiming for 5, so that will put me at 190 at the end of TJM, so I am aiming for a 9 lb increase and 10x better (more strict) form.

...wasn't this the Realization phase? Or am I missing something?


And heal up that back!!!

My bad. Copy and paste error. I am in the accumulation phase. Just a wrong title. The realization phase is in two weeks.

Will do!

[thom2355]

I drove by a chiro/massage/alternative medicine place during lunch today and stopped in and made an appointment for this afternoon. I just got back from seeing the chiro and I am very, very impressed with their operation. They started me off with X-rays, then deep tissue massage to help with myofascial release in my mid/upper back (wonder why that was tight????), then a non-contorting comfortable adjustment. It took about 3 hours, but well worth it in my mind. That is the good news....

The bad news is that I have to follow up with a CT scan. I may have a condition called Spondylo-something, which is not good, but it is not necessarily terrible either. The X-rays say yes as my L5 vertebrae is displaced anteriorly pretty severely, but a CT scan is being scheduled for me as I type to determine if it is stable, or if it has the probability to shift.

The doctor recommended, of course, that I quit lifting heavy....but he quickly followed that up with "and my wife wants me to quit watching 12 hours of football every Saturday, I think we both know neither is going to happen anytime soon."

So the bottom line is I have a condition that I most likely received as a youngster (a brutal hit in 8th grade football rings a bell) and he has concern. I am not worried, but I will give the CT scan time to diagnose me prior to lifting heavy again....provided that the results are received before my scheduled deadlifts on Wednesday morning . I have gathered my lower back mobility movements onto a document that I will take with me for his review and we will add/revise as necessary. I don't really have any plans to let this slow me down.

[NC_Tarheel]

Well that blows. You're young man, you can handle it

I had disc repair surgery on L5 when I was 25 and my L4 is bulging. My doc told me not to lift heavy or ever put anything heavy on my upper back. I listened to him for a little while at least!!

[thom2355]

Well that blows. You're young man, you can handle it

I had disc repair surgery on L5 when I was 25 and my L4 is bulging. My doc told me not to lift heavy or ever put anything heavy on my upper back. I listened to him for a little while at least!!

The more I think about it, the more I think this happened when I was in 8th grade. I am not too concerned about it, but I did take today off at least to appease him....tomorrow I shall deadlift.

[bmontgomery87]

The doctor recommended, of course, that I quit lifting heavy....but he quickly followed that up with "and my wife wants me to quit watching 12 hours of football every Saturday, I think we both know neither is going to happen anytime soon."

had to chuckle at that one. at least he's a reasonable guy and realizes that you aren't gonna give up your passion.
Hope everything goes well. I'll be following!

[thom2355]

Juggernaut Method
Week 13 - 3's Wave Accumulation Phase
Day 4 - Deadlift

Warmup
5 minutes on bike
Hip Mobility Circuit (10 minutes)
Lower Back Mobility Circuit (5 minutes)
Bodyweight Movements
135 lb Oly squats/135 Sumo Deads/135 Oly Squat/135 Conventional Dead x 3 circuits

Underhand Medicine Ball Throws
3 sets of 6 with 14 lb ball

Deadlift
370 (75%) x 3 (7 Sets)
*At least 4-5 reps in the tank on the last set. Didn't want to push the back too much.

Speed Deads
225 + Doubled Mini x 3,3,3,3,3
*Light and really fast. Gonna have to play around to find the right band tension here. I will go with much heavier bar weight next week as well.

Front Squats
185 x 6
225 x 6,6,6,6

Conditioning
100 lb Sandbag carry x 80'
*Repeated 10 times with 30 seconds rest. Very light, but again didn't want to push the back too much.

PWO Stretching
15 min static stretching


Well this session ran a little long, but I feel the extended warmup is going to be required from now on. As I become more proficient with the mobility drills, I will greatly reduce my time required to perform them. The deadlifts went fine. I used today to really focus on leg drive and made sure that I was driving through my heels hard. They really felt good and were lightning fast as well. I think that my problem with my last deadlift session (two weeks ago) was that I did not warm up enough and my hamstrings were very, very tight. I was able to drop my hips into position very well today with no hamstring issues. Again, I think the warmup is going to be necessary, especially considering I am at the gym no more than 30 minutes after I wake up. Speed squats were interesting. I doubled the mini bands and they have zero tension from the bottom to the knee and tension at the top is not too much. I quaded up the minis, but it was too much band under my feet to be comfortable. I do have a full set of bands on my wish list and I should be able to place the order pretty quickly here. Until then, I may stick with deficit speed deads.

Also, I picked up one of these http://www.flexcart.com/members/elit...d=143&pid=4019 and it came in two days ago. I used it a little during my warmup and will use it more to try and keep my hamstrings and hips more mobile. This thing seems to be pretty cool so far.

[NC_Tarheel]

I'm definitely a fan of beltless squatting to get warmed up for deads. My training partner has a rev hyper so I use that when I lift with him or if I'm at my house I use my 45 degree hyper to get warmed up as well.

That's the one thing I don't like about deadlifting in the garage is when the weather gets cold, I never really feel warmed up to pull. It seems like I need to be in a 90 degree garage and dripping with sweat to feel really good about pulling.

I have the ghetto version of that roller. Here's how I made it. Cut an old broom handle into about a 2 ft section (can't remember the exact length). Take an old piece of rope and coil it around the broomstick handle. Take duct tape and form it around the rope so it sticks flush around the rope and the broomstick.

It's kinda hard to explain but I'll take a pic and post it, if I remember to, tonight when I get home.

[thom2355]

had to chuckle at that one. at least he's a reasonable guy and realizes that you aren't gonna give up your passion.
Hope everything goes well. I'll be following!

I go for another appointment in 15 minutes. More deep tissue work right after deadlifting! This should be good.

I have found a couple doctors that will work with me. If they are smart, they will try and keep me healthy and have me come in every couple weeks or so. That will make a lot more money than telling me I cannot do something.

I'm definitely a fan of beltless squatting to get warmed up for deads. My training partner has a rev hyper so I use that when I lift with him or if I'm at my house I use my 45 degree hyper to get warmed up as well.

That's the one thing I don't like about deadlifting in the garage is when the weather gets cold, I never really feel warmed up to pull. It seems like I need to be in a 90 degree garage and dripping with sweat to feel really good about pulling.

I have the ghetto version of that roller. Here's how I made it. Cut an old broom handle into about a 2 ft section (can't remember the exact length). Take an old piece of rope and coil it around the broomstick handle. Take duct tape and form it around the rope so it sticks flush around the rope and the broomstick.

It's kinda hard to explain but I'll take a pic and post it, if I remember to, tonight when I get home.

Where do you think I got the idea for the warmup????
It works pretty well.

One of the old gyms I went to was always very cold in the winter. I was training in long johns, sweat pants and a flannel shirt (before under armour was popular). It took forever to get loose and I was 16.

I think I see what you did. The only reason I got it was they had a 20% off your most expensive item and then a 10% off your order for taking a survey, so it came out to like $38 or so. Never would have paid $54 for it though.

I tried to make one out of a rolling pin that I bought at the Salvation Army. I took it apart and cut the roller up to resemble the Stick, but it was a fail. The pieces ended up pinching me and I threw it away.

[NC_Tarheel]

I go for another appointment in 15 minutes. More deep tissue work right after deadlifting! This should be good.

I have found a couple doctors that will work with me. If they are smart, they will try and keep me healthy and have me come in every couple weeks or so. That will make a lot more money than telling me I cannot do something.



Where do you think I got the idea for the warmup????
It works pretty well.

One of the old gyms I went to was always very cold in the winter. I was training in long johns, sweat pants and a flannel shirt (before under armour was popular). It took forever to get loose and I was 16.

I think I see what you did. The only reason I got it was they had a 20% off your most expensive item and then a 10% off your order for taking a survey, so it came out to like $38 or so. Never would have paid $54 for it though.

I tried to make one out of a rolling pin that I bought at the Salvation Army. I took it apart and cut the roller up to resemble the Stick, but it was a fail. The pieces ended up pinching me and I threw it away.

Glad I could help....unless you beat me in a comp one day

[B1GinNY82307]

glad that you aren't letting the back slow you down...but (I'm sure you don't need me to tell you) take every precaution you can.

And Thad - post up date dere pic!!! MR. DIY!!!

[NC_Tarheel]

glad that you aren't letting the back slow you down...but (I'm sure you don't need me to tell you) take every precaution you can.

And Thad - post up date dere pic!!! MR. DIY!!!

I'll upload one tonight if I can remember...you know...being almost 40 and all.....

[thom2355]

Glad I could help....unless you beat me in a comp one day

Well, since you say 40 below, I will say this....For me to beat you in a competition, I will have to do it in the next 3-4 years. Otherwise, I would feel bad stomping a 50 year old in the Masters division. You should be safe providing tips

glad that you aren't letting the back slow you down...but (I'm sure you don't need me to tell you) take every precaution you can.

And Thad - post up date dere pic!!! MR. DIY!!!

I am pretty much convinced that it happened a long time ago and I have been training heavy for years now, so with the proper precautions, I think it should be ok.

I did have my follow up visit today and the chiropractor is going to be bringing me in 3 times a week because my back is "extremely tight and stressed" and it needs lots of deep tissue massage work. He also is giving me a routine of drills to perform to "bulletproof" my back as much as possible. I gave him what I do now and he is adding/revising as he sees fit. If it were a normal prick of a doctor, I would not have even gone back. Glad I found one that is going to help me. He did lecture me, but he says that he will help me all he can because if he doesn't, I will do what I want anyways and be at a higher risk.

I will be emphasizing pulling with the legs though

I'll upload one tonight if I can remember...you know...being almost 40 and all.....

Don't punk out and have a senior moment on us now!

[NC_Tarheel]

Well, since you say 40 below, I will say this....For me to beat you in a competition, I will have to do it in the next 3-4 years. Otherwise, I would feel bad stomping a 50 year old in the Masters division. You should be safe providing tips

3 words for you......


Odd


Motherbleepin


Haugen

[thom2355]

3 words for you......
Odd
Motherbleepin
Haugen

Three words for you:

Snowmobile

Viking

Press



(I do believe viking presses are on your agenda tonight. Try them this way!

[NC_Tarheel]

See I didn't forget...

Don't let the looks fool you, it will bring tears to your eyes

[thom2355]

See I didn't forget...

Don't let the looks fool you, it will bring tears to your eyes

I bet it would! Many that would be pretty much perfect if you could figure out a way to make the handles rotate. I have a couple ideas and will try them out sooner or later.

[thom2355]

I don't know if it was the deadlifts or the deep tissue work/electrotherapy/adjustment I had yesterday, but my back is SORE!!!!

I went through about 2.5-3 gallons of water yesterday to try and flush out all the toxins that I know were release during the massage and I am still sore to the touch. I seem to have much more mobility though, which is always a good thing

[thom2355]

Juggernaut Method
Week 13 - 3's Wave Accumulation Phase
Day 4 - Clean & Press

Warmup
5 minutes on bike
Hip Mobility Circuit
Lower Back Mobility Circuit
Bodyweight Movements
135 lb Oly squats/135 Sumo Deads/135 Oly Squat/135 Conventional Dead x 3 circuits

Medicine Ball Throws
3 sets of 6 with 14 lb ball

Clean & Press
135 x 5
165 x 3
195 x 2
215 x 6 singles

Reverse Band Z Press
225 x 3
245 x 2
255 x 2
265 x 1
275 x miss
225 x 7

High Pulls/Hang Clean
3 sets of 185:
High Pull to failure (4,3,3)
then Hang Clean triples

Tricep Pressdowns
Stack + 45 x 10,10,10

Conditioning
None
*Still feeling kinda sick, so I cut out conditioning today.

PWO Stretching
15 min static stretching

Pretty solid today. The c&p singles went well. I will up the weight to 220 next week. I changed my grip up a bit by bringing my hands closer in. This made the clean easier and the transition to pressing was easier. The Z press absolutely kicked my a**. I think I will start working these to a heavy single, then perform 3-5 singles when it gets tough (like 265 was today), then hit a backdown set of 5-10 (225). Almost took a bar to the jaw when unloading the bar/bands. That would have sucked. I kinda stole the high pull/hang clean idea from Steve P. Felt pretty solid. Next week I will add in a set or two of heavy shrugs after that movement. The tricep pressdowns were pretty much token assistance work. Burned pretty bad though.

[NC_Tarheel]

I'm thinking about switching my C & P away from the axle for a while. I think I'll be able to utilize my leg drive better and get some confidence with heavy (to me) weight. Thoughts??

[thom2355]

I'm thinking about switching my C & P away from the axle for a while. I think I'll be able to utilize my leg drive better and get some confidence with heavy (to me) weight. Thoughts??

That is exactly what I did today. I usually have to continental over 205 and I wanted to get that leg/hip drive for some explosive work. The press portion isn't too much more difficult for me with an axle, so I am not worried about a drop in pressing strength when switching back to an axle, not to mention I will still use the axle for strict pressing. From reading some Marunde logs, it seems a lot of the big boys switch between an oly bar, axle and log pretty regularly. Makes sense to me.

[NC_Tarheel]

That is exactly what I did today. I usually have to continental over 205 and I wanted to get that leg/hip drive for some explosive work. The press portion isn't too much more difficult for me with an axle, so I am not worried about a drop in pressing strength when switching back to an axle, not to mention I will still use the axle for strict pressing. From reading some Marunde logs, it seems a lot of the big boys switch between an oly bar, axle and log pretty regularly. Makes sense to me.

Yeah...it's like you do your linear progression with one until you stall or get bored and switch to something else, repeat. Or I guess you could just keep them in a set rotation.