The Road to 231lb Strongman Nationals

[Foxr32]

in for dem squats!
it would be sweet if we had a strongman gym around

[BRUTUSPLAC]

I make my own equipment since i never learned to weld and tired of waiting on my neighbor to build me stuff . NO i offered himn money he said no, and i gave him plenty of materials over the last 5 years .

http://www.lowes.com/pd_234137-286-1...3D2&facetInfo=

Concrete , 80 lb bags, Quikrete pro strength anti crack with fibers - i love the best
lowes $5 for 80lbs get a plastic mixing tub large $8 , and use a gravel rake.
1 to 1-1/4 gallons of water per 80 lb bag, TONS of video on yuotube.

slaters has a great video series for those who want to make there own .

i had 14 stones so far from 150-240 lbs with 2 molds,
making a 260 lb or so stone on weds if it rains , it not thurs .
hit me up anytime for help ,

before yuo start making 1 ,



I weighed in at 262 this morning. First week of successful cutting was successful. Now that the water and bloat is out, the true dieting begins. I was unable to get my run in this afternoon due to thunderstorms, it supposed to clear up this afternoon, so I will try to get it in after my gym session. Todays workout: Squats![/QUOTE]

im 290lb today , id love tocut down to 250 lbs, YEAHH>>> with my appetite, LOLOL

[austin.j.taylor]

Squat:
Bar by a bunch
55X5
65X5
75X5
95X5
100X3
105X>5 (got 20)

Tried GHR, but cant quite do them yet. Foam rolled alot, stretched, and boogied out. There really isnt anything at the gym I used today for leg accessories that I can do yet, so I made it a boring but big day.

[austin.j.taylor]

Push Press:
45X12
55X5
65X5
95X5
115X5
135X5
155X5
185X3
205x>3(got 8)

Seated Hammer Curls:
30X12
35X10
40X8

Notes: Quit after lack of motivation. I want to save tri's for my bench day and my shoulders got real sore after my work sets so I didnt do any more push press/strict press.

[BRUTUSPLAC]

untill you get some stones.

do u have a keg ? fill it with water .

or take a bucket , or a 5 gallon jug and fill it with sand and duck tape over it .

if yuo get the molds, let me know, ill help you build them, enjoy the weekend !

[BobisMighty]

Squat:
Bar by a bunch
55X5
65X5
75X5
95X5
100X3
105X>5 (got 20)

Tried GHR, but cant quite do them yet. Foam rolled alot, stretched, and boogied out. There really isnt anything at the gym I used today for leg accessories that I can do yet, so I made it a boring but big day.

hey it's still progress. good job.

Push Press:
45X12
55X5
65X5
95X5
115X5
135X5
155X5
185X3
205x>3(got 8)

Seated Hammer Curls:
30X12
35X10
40X8

Notes: Quit after lack of motivation. I want to save tri's for my bench day and my shoulders got real sore after my work sets so I didnt do any more push press/strict press.

nice push presses. push presses tend to take a lot out of my upperbody as well.

[austin.j.taylor]

I leave for a mini vacation tomorrow so I am going to Bench and Deads later today in the BBB style. I am going to northern Wisconsin to do some camping and fishing. I will be hiking, trail running, drinking beer, and hopefully be catching and eating some fish. I will be taking the long drive to lake namakogen tomorrow morning. I am hoping it warms up a little, from what I see it looks to be fairly cold up there still. Hoping for no rain or severe weather, that could make the tent with the family a little crazy. This will be my 19 month old daughters first trip up north, we didnt go last year or the year before because she was too young and the year before because my wife was preggers. My 5 year old has been bugging me for almost 2 years to take him back so I am hoping he isnt going to be a brat the whole time. I am hoping to find some stones or logs to lift while I am up there. I still want to attempt to do an events day on Saturday, it will just be caveman style!

[austin.j.taylor]

Bench:
100X5
125X5
150X3
200X3
210X3
225X>3 (GOT 8)

Deadlift:
125X5
155X5
185X5
245X3
255X3
270X>3 (GOT 8)

Notes: I stopped at least 2 reps short of fail on both exercises. I did it on bench because its not a priority to me and when I fail on bench it seems to be more sudden of a fail than other lifts. I stopped short on deads because I have an 8 hour car ride tomorrow. I probably could have honestly got 12-15 on deads, but I dont want a bunch of knee/back pain on vacation. Peace out see everyone following on Wednesday for an epic squat/ohp workout. I will attempt to find some natural training aids while on vacation to toy with, but I am at the mercy of what I can find.

[BobisMighty]

Have a great vacation man!!

[csday924]

Have a great vacation and thanks for the advice. Also thanks for saving me from the 225lb clean of death

[austin.j.taylor]

Have a great vacation and thanks for the advice. Also thanks for saving me from the 225lb clean of death

I had a great vacation. Other than the black bear eating my food/cooler on Sunday evening and the rain Monday night, it was a great time.

I am glad you got out from under that clean. I knew you where going down, I was just hoping to get the bar away from you.

This afternoons workouts are OHP and Squats!

[csday924]

Yea 5/3/1. That is all.

[UHCougar05]

In to see another HW cut to the LW.

[austin.j.taylor]

Did another BBB workout due to time and energy constraints.

Strict Press:
90X5
115X5
135X3

Push Press:
170X5
195X3
215X>1 (GOT 5) PR

Squat:
barX5
60X5
70X3
95X5
100X3
110X>1 (GOT 20)

NOTES: This is my last work week in wave 1. After my deload I will add 10 pounds to Push Press and 45 to squat. My knee is feeling really good and I want to keep it that way. I am really tempted to add 100 to squats, but I am going to hold off for another month. I am really happy with my push press progress. I am hoping to get my OH better than my bench . I am going to add in log press again as my main accessory to OH in the next wave and continue to use leg press to strengthen my VMO so my knee issues stay away and continue to foam roll my IT bands like I have been.

[csday924]

Why not just switch OHP for log press and run 531 for log press instead, thats what I'm going to do.

[austin.j.taylor]

Why not just switch OHP for log press and run 531 for log press instead, thats what I'm going to do.

My elbows get a little crispy when doing log too heavy. I am going to attempt to do the log viper style. I like using log as an accessory better right now. I want to get an axle and run the axle as my primary. I need as much work cleaning the axle as I can.

[BobisMighty]

Did another BBB workout due to time and energy constraints.

Strict Press:
90X5
115X5
135X3

Push Press:
170X5
195X3
215X>1 (GOT 5) PR

Squat:
barX5
60X5
70X3
95X5
100X3
110X>1 (GOT 20)

NOTES: This is my last work week in wave 1. After my deload I will add 10 pounds to Push Press and 45 to squat. My knee is feeling really good and I want to keep it that way. I am really tempted to add 100 to squats, but I am going to hold off for another month. I am really happy with my push press progress. I am hoping to get my OH better than my bench . I am going to add in log press again as my main accessory to OH in the next wave and continue to use leg press to strengthen my VMO so my knee issues stay away and continue to foam roll my IT bands like I have been.

Great job. Glad to see your knee is feeling better.

[austin.j.taylor]

Deadlift:
135X5
155X5
185X3
225X5
255X3
285X>1 (GOT 8)

NOTES: My hamstrings are kinda sore from squats so I decided to take accessory work off today. Knee felt good while deadlifting, I am happy for that. Next wave I plan on adding at least 20 to my deadlift, maybe 30. I will make a better guess after my deload.

[RyouBakua]

looks like your training is going well


ever do stiff legs?

[austin.j.taylor]

looks like your training is going well


ever do stiff legs?

I do on occasion. I prefer Romanians for my accessory but they still dont feel right.

[BRUTUSPLAC]

I had a great vacation. Other than the black bear eating my food/cooler on Sunday evening and the rain Monday night, it was a great time.

I am glad you got out from under that clean. I knew you where going down, I was just hoping to get the bar away from you.

This afternoons workouts are OHP and Squats!

Dam bears , WHY CANT THEY LEARN HOW TO USE A MICRO WAVE, lolol

[austin.j.taylor]

Dam bears , WHY CANT THEY LEARN HOW TO USE A MICRO WAVE, lolol

lol



Bench Press:
barX bunch
135X5
135X5
155X3
185X5
210X3
235X>1 (GOT 5)

NOTES: It was really hot and I forgot my chalk so my hands kept walking down the bar. I decided that after 5 I was done but I had at least 3 more reps in me. Note to self: quit forgetting your chalk, you retart.

[BobisMighty]

lol



Bench Press:
barX bunch
135X5
135X5
155X3
185X5
210X3
235X>1 (GOT 5)

NOTES: It was really hot and I forgot my chalk so my hands kept walking down the bar. I decided that after 5 I was done but I had at least 3 more reps in me. Note to self: quit forgetting your chalk, you retart.

nice benching. yeah i hate when i forget my chalk. i have liquid chalk in my bag as backup in case that happens.

[austin.j.taylor]

I was actually able to schedule my delaod week for when I was going to be out of town for work. Hooray! Today is the last day of Wave 1. I had numbers turned down a touch and did really well.

My Calculated maxes:
Push Press: 250
Deadlift: 360
Bench: 274
Squat: 183

Numbers I am using for Wave 2:
Push Press: 230
Deadlift: 325
Bench: 250
Squat: 185

I plan on the following assistant exercises like this:
Push Press: Face Pulls, db hammer curls, tricep pushdowns
Deadlift: SLDL, calf raises with powercleans as a warm up
Bench: BB Rows, BB curls, and cgbp if my wrists and elbows feel ok
Squat: Leg press and one legged rehab stuff i learned from therapy.

I plan on doing cardio 3 days a week using the couch to 5k approach, most likely on mondays wednesdays and fridays in the morning before work.

I need to get better with my dieting, I plan to start carb cycling next week. The past few weeks of vacation and travel has put on all the weight I lost plus a few pounds. I plan on eating less this weekend and weighing in on Tuesday morning for my next baseline. I will then start carb cycling and get to either 230-240 or visible abs, whichever comes first (220 should come before abs judging by the mirror)

[austin.j.taylor]

So I ended up taking an extra deload week due to a nasty thunderstorm taking out the power at my house for 5 days. I did press last week but I had a really bad session due to lack of sleep and working hard to get 3 trees cleaned up and cut apart. Anyways enough with excuses and onto my workout.

Strict Press:
95X5
115X5
135x5
170X3

Push Press:
170X2
185X5
195X3
200X>5(GOT 6)

Facepulls:
100X3X10

Hammer Curls:
20X14
25X12
30X10

10 minutes HIIT on the Stepmill of death

Notes: I didnt have my gym bag so I couldnt wrap up my wrists. I had a rep or two left in me, but my wrists where killing me. Also the stepmill is a miserable piece of equipment.

[austin.j.taylor]

3 minutes on treadmill warm up
Foam roll, stretch and rotations

Squat:
Bar X a bunch
95X5
115X5
135X5
165X5
175X5
185X>5 (GOT 12) YEAH!!!!!

Leg Press:
2 plates X12
3 plates X12
4 platesX12
5 plates X12


Foam Roll, stretch and boogie out.

Notes: Got to gym about 4 hours later than normal. I was really happy with 185X12. More proof that I may be ready to take the rehab wheel completely off with my next wave. Diet wasnt optimal today but I think I made it in under maint. At 8:30 I weighed in at 270. I will recheck in the morning but I think I have overcome my week of no power and eating out every meal.

[BobisMighty]

good stuff! looks like your knee is doing fine! you must be aching to start squatting heavy.

[austin.j.taylor]

good stuff! looks like your knee is doing fine! you must be aching to start squatting heavy.

The urge is getting strong. My common sense will hold me back for another month or two yet. Since I never did reps before, every week is like a rep PR to me, even if they weights are low, lol. I will have to be satisfied with rep PR's for now.

[austin.j.taylor]

I decided I needed a more organized approach to my running. I have started the Couch 2 5K program that I found for Android.

Todays Run:
5 minute walk to warm up
60 secnds running
90 seconds walking
Repeat for 15 minutes
5 minute walk to cool down.

Stats according to my new fangled chest strap and watch:
Total time: 28:02 (forgot to start the damn thing right away)
Average HR 144 bpm
Peak HR 169 bpm
Calories 64.5(this seems really low but whatever)
Distance was around 3 miles

Notes: It was really hot out today, so what I thought was going to be very easy, ended up being much harder than expected. I will attempt to hit up Day 2 on Friday.

[austin.j.taylor]

Hang Cleans:
BarX5
135X5
165X5

Deadlifts:
195x5
245x5
260x5
280X>5(GOT 7)

Assisted Chins
100 pound assist 3X10

Smith Machine Shrugs:
Plate on each side 2X10 with underhand wide grip

Notes: I was fairly sore and tired from the last few workouts but pushed through anyway. Fairly happy with results even though I got a massive exertion headache afterwards.