7/27/11 - squats

training

front squats- up to 415x1, 365x1, 335x3x3
back box squats for speed + avg bands- 225x2x8
pullups- BWx5x2, +25x5x6
GMs- 225x8x, 275x6x, 315x6 supersetted with explosive avg band pull throughs x10x3

+hanging leg raises
cable twists

blegh, another crappy squat session. 415 is the best front squat I've done since 2005, so I should be happy with that. Front squats overall went well, even with 335 feeling pretty heavy. Box squats were slow, REAL slow.. by the last couple sets they had sped up. Combine not using bands for a long time with not doing box squats for a long time with a pathetic 90g carbs preWO in the kind of calorie deficit I'm running in, the result was just terrible. Need less carbs with breakfast and more with lunch/preWO, I'm thinking 175-200g might work well. Seeing how squat day is the last calorie deficit day before my refeed, I'm the most depleted and my energy levels are affected this day more than any other day, therefore mixing that with squtas is teh suckz0rz. Pullups getting very easy these days and the GM/pull through superset was solid, got some nice hamstring action in there. Looking forward to throwing on sunday.

macros = 71f / 181c / 281p = 2518cals

7/27/11 - throws

training

• 30# wfd- standing x5, single spin x10, double spin x10
• 16# hammer- 3 throws w/1 blade, 3 throws w/2 blades

another great throwing session. worked on getting that right knee in on the delivery/release as well as the drive from 1 to 2. Definitely felt the difference when it clicked. I feel this is what's going to get me to 80+ and 40+ consistently with the weights. Time to get in the reps! Hammer also felt gret. Was off with just one blade as my left was flinging around but once I put the other on, the positions felt perfect and hips got nice and loose. With the exception of tacky, this session couldn't have gone better. Looking forward to gettign in the reps and making that ball move fast.

macros = 62f / 279c / 263p = 2849 cals

On a side note, we went to Sports Authority yesterday and I got a SWEET pic of my 7 month old rocking out some football gear, haha.. I also got my prowler today. Hellz to the yes.

7/26/11 - presses

am weight=279.8

training

incline bb bench- up to 335x1, 295x3x4
flat bb bench + double mini bands- 225x3x8
push press- up to 275x3x3
fat db rows- up to 155x3x3, 105x10x2
+lying leg raises against bands

everything felt pretty heavy, especially the push presses. all in all I suppose it was a good session. db rows felt good, got to use my new fat db that I made which added a killer grip training aspect. I'll probably cycle in straps every other week to ensure I'm getting a good upper back workout.

macros = 68f / 220c / 259p = 2586 cals

7/25/11 - throws + deads

throws

• 16# stone- 10 standing, 20 south african
• 16# hammer- 5 winds, 10 full throws

training

2" deficit deads- up to 635x1 = all time PR
sumo pulls for speed- 315x1x8
hang snatches- 195x3x3
hang cleans- 285x3x2

hell to the yeah.. I've never even pulled 635 from the floor, let alone from a deficit. Felt very strong and wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. I'm confident I can nail 650 from the floor. One step closer to 7 bills.. I was supposed to drop to 550-570 for 4 triples after figuring out my training max, but I didn't care at that point, haha. I'm satisfied with the single. The speed sumo pulls felt easy. Every elite PLer I've talked to says to train your opposite stance for a huge DL, so I need to do so. Next week I'll go heavy with sumo and work speed conventional.

Throws went great, worked on pushing that right knee in during my drive to the trig and then delivering high. Same with the south african throws. Focused on getting that left around quick then pushing my right knee into double post and delivering high. Definitely feeling better, still need to get the reps in. Hammer felt great, getting nice extension and keeping the ball to my right. Looking forward to throws on wednesday.

macros= 65f / 324c / 254p = 2931cals

7/23/11 - throws

training

• 16# stone- standing & spins 6-8 of each, somewhere around 45' on spins
• 28# wfd- 6-8 throws, best of 79'4"
• 16# hammer- 6-8 throws, best of 111'4"
• 56# wob- 6-8 throws

great session once the WFD came around. Legs were still trashed from saturday so I definitely felt it on the stones. overall the stones weren't bad, I hit positions and things felt good, just didn't have that pop. WFD felt great, hit positions perfectly and had a few really good throws, at least 5 throws over 75 feet. Felt that heavy left foot and right hand.. need to work on drive and speed to really get it going. Hammer felt great, need to work on popping it up instead of following through around me which causes me to pull it in. WOB was ok, took a bunch of throws at 15-16' and missed every one, but I still got the reps in regardless.. Was just beat by the time we got to WOB.

macros = ??
went to jumpstreet with the mrs for some cardio action, fun stuff..

7/21/11 - squats

training

squats- up to 515x1, 465x1, 405x2x2, 405x3
front squats for speed- 225x2x8
pullups- BWx5x8
GMs- 225x8x2, 275x6x2

terrible session, worst squat session in a long time and I mainly blame this on my lack of heavy squatting. Yes, I've been doing speed squats and heavy front squats, but I don't think there is any replacement for a good heavy back squat. Everything felt heavy, even the last set of 405. My lower back felt weak, my legs felt weak, my stance felt off,, nothing went right. On the upside, the 225 front squats and pullups were probably the fastest they have ever been. You win some you lose some right?
macros = 64f / 238c / 267p = 2627cals

MAC: Breakfast of Champions

7/20/11 - throws

training

• 16# stone- standing & spins
• 30# wfd
• 16# hammer

worked on a few different things. on the braemar worked on pushing my right knee in as I'm driving toward the trig. got a bit more lift doing this though it's hard to see where it put me as my legs and chest are pretty trashed from deads and pressing the last couple days. with open stone I tried to get my left around before my right landed, wrapping a little faster which seemed to have a positive affect as well. Will keep practicing this way. The weights felt really good, focused on staying nice and low and got a great pop at the end. Kept everything really light, probably 60-70% effort. Finished up with hammer and this was the highlight. I started with the hammer ball at an angle behind me and instead of pulling it all the way across me I tried to keep the orbit diagonal behind me and in front of me, then as my winds progressed pulled across for my release. It was much easier to keep balance as well as keep the ball off to my right while at the same time keeping hips very active and get a nice high release (something I've been lacking lately). Going to keep working this for 2 more weeks then put my blades back on.

macros = ?? wifey made some aweseome peach cobbler and brown cupcakes with peanut butter morsels in them so I nom nom nom'ed them when I got home. shake & bake chops for dinner..

**********new training EFFECTIVE/ENJOYABLE

Monday - oly movements/deads/throws

• stones/hammer/wob

 then

• hip/hang snatches: 3 sets
• weighted plyo jumps- 5 sets
• hang cleans: 3 sets
• conventional deficit, box or floor pulls: work up to training max, drop to 4 sets of 3 @ 90% (every other week)
• sumo deadlift: 8 singles for speed, 60% of prior weeks training max + bands (swap weekly between conventional)

Tuesday - pressing

• flat bench: work up to training max, drop to 4 sets of 3 @ 90% (every other week)
• incline bench: 8 triples for speed, 60% of prior weeks training max + bands (swap weekly between flat bench)
• push presses: 3 sets
• some form of rows: 3 sets of 3-6 reps

Wednesday - throwing

• wfd/hammer/wob

Thursday - squat

• back squats: work up to training max, drop to 4 sets of 3 @ 90% (every other week)
• front squats: 8 doubles for speed, 60% of prior weeks training max + bands (swap weekly between back squats)
• RDL (or GM): 3 sets 3-5 reps
• GHR: 3 sets 6-8 reps
• weighted pullups - 10 sets of 3-5 reps

Friday - off

Saturday - throwing

• stones/wfd/wob/caber/sheaf/hammer (whatever's available)

Sunday - off

*core every weight training day, pick 2-3 exercises and do 2-3 sets each

7/19/11 - presses

am weight=281.8

training

flat bb bench- up to 385x1 then 345x3x4
push press- up to 275x3x3

+lying leg raises
ab wheel
cable twists
cable triceps
one arm bent over row using the T bar end

good session fsho. 385 felt heavy as did the triples with 345. By the 4th set I was trashed, barely got that last rep. push press felt pretty good as well.. looking to get a prowler relatively soon, finally going to get some cardio/conditioning work back in

macros = 69f / 242c / 261p = 2666 cals

7/18/11 - deads

am weight= 284.8

training

hip snatches - up to 185x3x3
18" single leg box jumps - BWx8x3
hang cleans - up to 275x3x3
1.5" deficit deads + short gray bands - 405x1x4, 455x1x4

+hanging leg raises & side bends

felt very sluggish on the snatches but surprisingly the hang cleans and deads were pretty easy.

macros= 59f / 228c / 273p = 2566 cals (back on my diet cycle)

a dieting note.. I'm very pleased to have maintained 285 for 4 weeks without any issue. Time to drop another 10 and then maintain that. Hoping to be 265 by the end of this 4 week diet cycle, then refeed back up to 275 and maintain there.

7/16/11 - Flagstaff games

2011 Flagstaff Highland Games- 1st place overall in A group

• 24.5# braemar - 1st - 34'10
• 16# open - 1st - 46+
• HWFD - 1st - 36+
• LWFD - 1st - 79+
• WOB - 2nd @ 15'
• HH - 2nd - 87+
• LH - 2nd - 108+
• Caber - 3rd - 11:00 

Very fun games. Thanks to Erin Huzingh for setting up a great games with the help of Brent Abbott. Always a good time meeting up with fellow throwers and meeting new ones.

a few things to work on:

need to push that right knee in just before driving up on both braemar and open, also need to work on wrapping my body more on the open..

weights went great actually.. need to remember to stay loose. side fouled a huge WFD throw and wasn't able to recover from it.. thats what you get for not hitting hwfd in a month. was able to stay loose and hit points well on lwfd and had a couple huge throws. so close to 80' I can taste it. Every time I got an insane drive from 1 to 2, I didn't sink and lift.. the couple times I did sink and lift, my drive wasn't quite as hard. I need more reps to get more comfortable... regardless, very happy with lwfd.. first time hitting 78 and 79' on flat ground.

16' wob is so close, i'm hitting the bar nearly every time.. I damn near had it once but didn't get behind it, I need to step up the wob training, something like 5 throws @ 15' every other day.. just repetition repetition repetition..

hammers went ok considering no blades combined with my recent hammer issues. they are coming along, although, I'm blowing past my low point on my release.. pulling way too late.. going to work on starting with the hammer at an angle behind me to try to remind me to really turn to my right and reach up to catch it.

caber went well.. i haven't touched a caber since the albuquerque games and every pick went very well. Had no issues with balance or drive. Our qualifier was an easy 18' 80# caber. 3 of us decided to braemar it for fun. I planted my feet, picked it, allowd it to come off my shoulder a little and pulled, nailed an easy 11:30 or so. Almost didn't count because I didn't take any steps at all. I littlerally picked and pulled form without budging my feet. Because it was a qual caber he gave it to me, lol.. Afterwards we went to the 18' 100# stick which really isn't a touch stick. I let the first one get away from me and didn't turn it, second was 11:00, and on the third I didn't get into a double post before pulling, lol.. I almost turned it with a one legged pull.. after that we went to a beastly 19' 130# log and this thing was brutal. Its center of gravity was very low and there was next to no taper. My best pull was 55 degrees. It was very hard to get a good drive, felt like it was going to crack my collar bone, lol. Eveytime I got my feet planted like I needed for a good pull, it was already off my shoulder and I was late. Adam had a really good pull and nailed 65 degrees.. Tough stick f-sho.

Thanks go out to my sponsor Stewart & Torgerson for travel & entry into the games. Tod Stewart is a good guy and knows his stuff. If you're ever injured in a car accident and need some help, check out http://www.1800ourlawyer.com/

7/13/11 - throws

training

• 16# stone- 5-7 standing, 5-7 south african
• 30# wfd- 8-10 double spins
• 16# hammer- 12-15 throws

very happy with this workout.. just threw really light, going through the motions really. focused on staying really loose and got good pop on everything. hammer is coming together nicely as is everything else. a couple of the WFD felt pretty weird, it felt like my right hand was super heavy and i was pulling forever, then all of a sudden it sling shotted out of my hand.. at only 60-70% effort, it went pretty far and felt really good.. looking forward to flagstaff this weekend

macros = 63f / 503c / 301p = 3795 cals

7/12/11 - full body recovery workout

am wt = 285.8lbs

training

135x20 for 1 set on everything

incline press
push press
front squat
bb row
RDL
back squat
pullups - BWx12, x8

+lying leg raises

+1.5 mile walk with my mrs & kiddo

good workout, a good bit more cardio than I'm used to as this made me a bit nauseous with little rest periods between sets. Also hit the elliptical for about 10 mins to loosen up. Great recovery session, just a short easy throwing session tomorrow and rest until flag.

macros = 86f / 429c / 302p = 3790 cals

fats a bit high, no bueno

7/9/11 - throws + squats

throws

• 28# WFD-  7-10throws, best of 73'
• 56# WOB- up to 14'6" for a couple easy tosses
• 15# stone- 3-5 standing, best of 465'.. 5-7 south african, best of 49'

training

front squats for speed- 275x2x5, 315x2x2, 225x2x2
pullups- BWx3x2, +45x3x4
36" box jumps- BWx3x6

+seated leg curls
happy with this session, pissed about WOB.. humidity is high here in AZ and that's not something we're used to. my hands are swollen and my hands are hella stiff. just gripping that WOB hurt, I hit 2 easy @ 14'6 and missed a few because the pull was just killing my fingers. I need to take that tampon out of my vagina before flagstaff next weekend. WFD felt solid with the hook grip and the stones are really starting to dial in. Front squats were cake, though 315 felt decently heavy and slowed down a bit. Finished off things with a brutal drop set on the seated leg curls, felt a burn in my hamstrings that I haven't felt in a long time... now it's time for an active deload with 1 more easy throwing session before the games next weekend. Abdominals are feeling good, going to keep icing to make sure they heal up alright.

macros = ??

7/7/11 - throws

training

• 30# WFD
• 16# hammer

very good session, things are really coming together. getting that sink down after the 2nd spin for wfd and felt a like my left was plastered to the ground and the weight was incredibly heavy, had a couple really good throws @ 80% ish, didn't measure.

hammer is coming together as well, getting a good counter when the ball is on my left by pushing my knees down and to my right which is really stretching me out. so much so that it tweaked my lower right abs just a tiny bit. I didn't feel it all during training, but a couple hours later I felt it as I was leaning backwards.. ice + iboprofin is my friend. I won't throw hammer on saturday, and I'll play it by ear if I do any work on hammer tuesday..
macros = 73f / 456c / 317p = 3893 cals

7/6/11 - deads

training

hip snatches - up to 215x2 *ugly
36" box jumps - BWx5x3, +20x5, +40x5, +60x5
hang cleans - up to 305x2
3" deficit deads + short gray bands for speed - up to 405x1x5

+hanging leg raises

dragging this whole session, can't wait till next week as I need a deload hardcore. I'm feeling very overtrained right now, just a couple more sessions then a nice deload with a very small recovery workout and then the flagstaff games. box sumps sapped my energy, the snatches were ugly and the cleans were brutal, even the deads felt heavier than usual despite being fairly quick.
macros = ?? spaghetti for dinner

 

here is a video from the show we did on the 4th

 

 

7/3/11 - throws

training

• 16# braemar
• 30# WFD
• 16# hammer

decent session.. was too tired to do open.. working on really getting on my left before opening up on the braemar, also trying to keep my left arm swing wide as to really open up my chest.

for WFD, trying to really drive forward with chest up from 1 to 2 and then sink into 2 so I can explode up and over the trig..

same thing as usual on the hammer, trying to get long and wide to my left with a good counter on my hips.. need more reps with everything..

macros = 73f / 521c / 294p = 3932 cals

7/1/11 - squats

training

front squats- up to 365x3
pullups- BWx10, 8, 6, 4, 2 
band assist GHR- BW+minis x8x4

+band resisted lying leg raises

good session, hams definitely feeling the GHRs and front squats were good.. did a little pyrotechnics today for the 4th, despite it only being the 1st.. make sure you turn the volume down on your computer as the fireworks seem to destroy the mic, haha..

6/30/11 - throws

training

• 16# hammer

still working on getting hammers right, trying to stay long and off to my left for a complete orbit
macros = 54f / 457c / 292p = 3485 cals