3/29/13 - ostone

Training @ 1230p

15.5# stone
*glide footwork
*glide throws x18-20, last 4/5 were 50+

This was supposed to be a hammer practice, however, considering my stones are still down the shithole I decided to do stones and hammers. That morphed into a stone-only session. I know I'm not tall and glide isn't ideal for me, but it just seems like a simpler movement with less to mess up on. I'm too inconsistent with the spin and while when I'm hitting it I have good results, I've yet to hit it in competition. I need to take my stone to the next level AND be consistent. Will the glide do it? I don't know yet but after a decent practice today I'm going to give it a shot. I'll practice 2-4 times working the glide only and see if I'm coming close to my spin numbers and how consistent they are before making a final decision for a complete switch or not.

So, here are my notes from this session. I'm hopping through the trig. Spoke with Kaste and I need to work on unseating. Allowing my hips to drop and move backwards before actually pushing and will keep my torso in better position. Makes sense. Watched a lot of videos the last couple days and Tomasz Majewski really stands out to me, as well as Ulf Timmerman. Looking closely at their throws here is what I notice:

1) left leg needs to land open
2) right foot has to land under the knee, not too close to the body or else cant push it through
3) push right knee in and down. This loads the shit out of the left leg and drives the right hip hard.
4) once in the power position, there is very little additional linear movement. It almost looks as if once they hit the power position it's all about getting as separated as possible and throwing it as high as possible with as little linear movement as possible.. lots of "possible"s there, sheesh..

Both of them have a relatively short glide due to their height and very wide power position stance. I'll have to make up for this as I'm not 6'8ish so my glide will have to be longer. Everything else I'm going to try to emulate for now and see how I fare. Biggest thing I need to do is get comfortable with the power position similar to how he throws then really strive to feel that position with the glide. I'm excited to move this forward and see what it gets. If it gets me a whole bunch of nothing then I'll just head back to the spin and call it a lesson learned.

Some videos I found useful:

http://youtu.be/tT8_AiPVMG8
http://youtu.be/9dltK64jwlk
http://youtu.be/rfeD7kDOMWo
http://youtu.be/c5K239qXM40
http://youtu.be/IN4obmHimgA
http://youtu.be/SUvRdUY6Hic

Jeff mentioned to watch some videos of Al Fuerbach as we have a similar build. Looking at the video and it looks (with the exception of the start) extremely similar to Majewski's puts. I'll have to watch more.

http://youtu.be/MW_vlolbQPE
http://youtu.be/AmDvRLrhLbk
http://youtu.be/1PwPwFI5e3U
http://youtu.be/v2g_UybGN2o

3/28/13 - de squat/dead + BRO

Training @ 430a

Front squat w/power factor 225x2x10, avg 2.96-3.09f/s, couple at 3.21 & 3.33
Deads w/power factor 275x1x10, avg 2.89, couple at 3.09 & 3.21
Dimel deads 225x15x3
BB rows 225x10x3

and then the fun began........

BB shrugs 225x20x3
Wide grip cable pushdowns 3x20
Hammerstrength preacher curls 3x20

and then the fun ended..
Pullups 6/5/5/5 (these were miserable)

Speed was decent on the fsquats and pulls but def could be better. Going to stick with this weight for a couple weeks before moving up. Dimel deads were a nice change, forgot how much I liked them. Lots of glute activation. BB rows were solid, not hard but solid ROM. Probably should have thrown some heavy db rows in there for good measure but I bro'd it up so hard I was walking around like Jay Cutler in there. Looked like I got stung by a swarm of bees I was so swollen. Pullups were a bitch. Chest still sore from tuesday and with the MADDOGG PUMP I had they were near impossible. Whatevs. Pretty sure Roslick would be proud of this one. Skipped the plyo jumps, meh.

No time to throw today so I'll hit it tomorrow. Gonna try to hit some spin bike for 20-30 mins tonight then some Walking Dead action to catch up last weeks episode.

3/27/13 - wfd

am weight = 279

early morning active recovery work::

15mins on spin bike
stretch/foam roll/shoulder mobility work

Training @ 1215p

49# wfd
*1 turn x10, avg 44
*full x10-12, avg 45, best 50

Was just going through the motions for half of this session. Kind of bums me out looking back. Finally turned my brain on about 3-4 throws in on the full throws and started working on things. Worked on catching the weight early after the 2nd turn. Also worked on replacing feet/tighter first turn. This was an issue for me at the games and ended up messing up my finish. Can't let that happen, missed out on some big throws because of it. The other thing I need to work on is to really reach for the weight. I've got to drive to down but also reach for it. That's the mental cue. That cue tells me to sink my hips more and get a longer pull/push for the finish. This is how I was averaging 45ft a couple months ago and this is something I've lost. I'm not really reaching down and getting low. Now that I've got a plan for my weights session next week I know what to do.

3/26/13 - me bench / speed ohp & stones

Training#1 @ 430a

Flat bench up to 275x2, add Inzer Rage shirt, 315x2, 365x2, 405x1x2, remove shirt 315x2, 335x2
Incline db press 110x8, 120x8, 130x5
Strict ohp for speed 135x3x8
Seated db ohp 80x8x3
Bw dips 12/8/8/7/7

Db side raises 3x10
Cable face pulls 3x12
Wide pushdowns 3x12

Training partner brought in the shirt as I've been contemplating some overload work and thinking about buying a slingshot the last few weeks. The shirt was a pain in the ass to get on and I never did get it on all the way right but 405 flew up until my triceps went to lock it out. Still managed both singles at 405 but triceps are weak. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a slingshot to work in after my work sets similar to how Mat$o is doing it. Incline felt great, and ohp was a sinch. Getting some good speed. Seated db presses felt weird. The 80s were light but I had a weird achy pinch at the trap insertion point of my right shoulder so I kept it light. Been stretching all day and feels better. Some BBing stuff to finish off the day. Speed work Thursday.

Training#2 @ 1245p

15.5# stone
*standing x10
*full spin x6-8

Both of these felt great. Worked on twisting my hips and holding my torso back as well as keeping my right shoulder back and loading my left leg for the block. Hard to explain but its starting to feel much smoother. No reverses yet, just keeping it slow. Will throw stones again Thursday. Full spin felt ok. Focused on keeping my left arm inside my left hip for the duration of the throw. This snapped my right around and kept me moderately separated. Then I focused on waiting until my right leg starts pushing before opening my left arm. Wasn't as good with that but still managed some decent separation. 2nd spin video in the thread looks pretty good imo. Going to try to keep this up. I've GOT to bring up my stones if I want to be a player.

3/25/13 - me squat

Training @ 440a

Back squat doubles up to 545x2
Front squat 315x5, 365x5, 405x5
Gms 225x8, 275x5x3
Sumo deads 315x5, 365x5, 415x5

Skipped pullups and step-ups. Not gonna lie, just forgot to do them. Legs are wrecked, that 545 double was tough.

3/23/13 - Phoenix Highland Games

Phoenix Highland Games - Pro Debut

22# bs - 36'1.5" / 35+ / foul (38ish I think)
16# os - 49'2" / less / less
56# hwd - foul / 41+ / 42+ / 43'2" in extras
28# lwd - 86' / foul / 86'8" / ? blew thumb to pieces
22# hammer - 79' lol / 110'8" / 107+ / extras were 101-104ish
16# hammer - 116' lol / 135'2" / 132ish / extras were less
20# sheaf - 30ft
20'/100# caber (hardly any taper) - 9:00 / 11:00 / 1:00 (I think)
56# wob - 16' standing

Stones were a freaking joke. I was actually feeling semi-confident going in about them but that was very quickly shattered. Was really looking for 40/53ish on the stones. I've taken that same braemar stone 40+ several times in training. Very frustrating. SMH. Ostone was even worse, no linear drive, no separation, no finish out over the trig. Awful. Ughh. Side note: Jon O'Neil went 47ft with this stone for a new American (WR?) Record. Not sure when they'll oficially weigh the stone but it weighed in on the field and was pulled with a steel tape. I feel like a douche with my camera and everything setup, but didn't get it on film. It was truly amazing. That was a huge huge toss.

Gathered my thoughts and prepped for some big hwd numbers. Needless to say a foul out of the gate had me all garbled up in my head. Got it together, figured out the problem and fixed it with an easy 41+ . Pushed a tiny bit harder on the next one and took the win in that event. The first extra felt great, but the 2nd two I was jumping forward out of the back on my first turn and eating up too much trig to get a big sprint. Kept coming down with my left on top of the trig. Weights were moving, just no finish as I was too crowded. Easy fix, next time. Took 2 warmups with the lwd and felt good, though nowhere near as good as what was to come. First throw was 86' even which would be nearly a 4' games PR. Fouled the second as I rushed out of the back and drove to the left side. Third was just as big with 86'8". There was a good sized hump they had to measure the tape over so it might have even been 87+ if it weren't for that... no worries though. First extra with the 28 and I tore my thumb to pieces so I called it there. Happy with hwd, extremely happy with lwd.

Hammers up. Warmups felt ok, ground was extremely hard, and I'm used to the ground here. Very weird. The 22 didn't feel too bad, much better than in practice. I've only practiced with it once or twice since November and was having trouble holding onto it so I was kind of worried about that. First throw I killed the ground on the release and it fell short at 79ft. That was a lol throw. Oh well. Second throw, got nice and loose, whippy and dropped it at 110+. That would be a 6+ ft games PR. Was pretty surprised, figured she marked the wrong spot. Everyone said it was crazy flat. I was overcompensating from hitting the ground by getting flat. I'll come back to this in a minute. Went high 107 afterwards so I guess it was right. Then kept missing the finish really late and was only 101-103ish in extras. Same thing happened with the first toss on the light hammer. Hit the ground while hitting the finish and went about 116'. Ugh. Then overcompensated on height and dropped an extremely flat 135+. In fact, I was pissed about the throw and even yelled my disappointment (didn't cuss, lol). The throw flew WAAAY out to the right side of the field. I didn't even get to finish it, it just slipped out of my hands. I knew it looked far but was expecting 123ish. Then 135? Bittersweet. Sweet because it's a 6' games PR, bitter because if I would have it the finish right and held on it could have gone 140+. You don't think so? Ask Duncan. I actually broke my right blade bolt and it was jabbing the crap out of my foot on the 3rd toss which was low 130s. I took it out and took 2 more low 130s before scraping the ground again on my last extra which only yielded mid 120s. Delighted with the two PRs. Watching the video now I can see my issue with hitting the ground was a result of dropping my eyes for the finish. Need to keep eyes up, drop hips and finish strong into the field.

Sheaf after lunch. Haven't practiced this once since november so was pretty timid here. I know that when I get after it I tense up and end up losing a lot, especially at 30ft. 30ft ended up SOARING over with ease. Got after it with 32 and just couldn't hit it. Was talking with spencer and he was talking about how he would drive it down to the ground and then just keep pushing all the way through with that same hand. Tried this out on my last attempt at 32ft and cleared it, however, it changed the angle of the toss and came down in front of the bar. Oh well, something to work on. 32+ is definitely in the tank though.

Caber. This is actually my training stick we used, though I was surprised the judge chose it as it's not the traditional pro stick. Not to say it isn't equally as hard, it is an incredibly deceiving stick. At only 100bs and 20ft long it would seem easy. Though there is very little taper. A fifer (which was called as a 9:00) for first round, then a 11:00 then a 1:00. Dickens snuck in there with a sweet 12:00 which ended up putting me at 2nd and Jon at 3rd.

Finished off with WOB. Everyone opened at 14 with a bunch of easy pulls. I cleared 16' easy on my first shot standing. It was me and Jon squaring off at 17'. I knew there was no way I was going to pull 17 standing so I decided to spin. Considering my thumb was destroyed from that last lwd toss, this probably wasn't the best decision. Ended up missing all 3 attempts and hurting it even worse. Oh well. Jon crushed 17 on his first toss then missed 18, hitting the bar on the way up like 4 times. Pretty sweet to watch.

Hit up the challenge caber afterwards. 19ft and about 30,000lbs. Jesus this things enormous. I picked it twice and dumped it as by the time I had control of it I was too exhausted to do anything with it. I swear this thing is unturnable. Everyone else had the same problem, lol.

I'll have video up in a few days, waiting to get some of the footage from my mother-in-law as my phone died during the 110+ heavy hammer (suckkkksss).

Had a blast competing against Spencer, Jon, Dickens and Beau. It's not everyday I'm put next to people that make me look small. While I wasn't expecting it, I was hoping for a win and I was extremely happy to pull it off against these guys. I've put a lot of work in this off-season and I'm hoping it comes out in the next few games. I've still got a lot of big throws in there and I feel these PRs will be falling within just a few games. Really looking forward to continue pushing and competing against these guys throughout the season. Big thanks to Duncan for his encouragement on and off the field. A great guy to have in your corner, I'm grateful for his friendship. Also, I'm amazed at how Spencer side-arms his hwd... how the F does he nail 45+ that way. It's just incredible, and no, I'm not being sarcastic.

Thanks to my ever loving beautiful wife Kristina Sullivan and two sons, Ezekiel and Xander for being there to support me, as well as my in-laws and all of her family. I'm so blessed to have a family that pushes me and makes me want to be a better person, athlete, husband and father.

Thanks to Sport Kilt for the awesome Kilt. I also picked up matching kilts for my 2 boys and Mrs. We go out in style.. how we do.

Thanks to Tod Stewart of Stewart and Torgerson Injury Law for giving me the opportunity over the last 3 years to continuously increase my game and push me to get to the next level. Check them out at 1800ourlawyer.com, you never know when you're going to need someone to have your back. Tod and is crew are stand-up attorneys and I would vouch for them any day.


Next stop: Las Vegas on 4/20 against a great lineup. Time to do work.

3/19/13 - full body comp prep & stones

Training#1 @ 415a

Flat BB bench for speed 135x3x8, avg 3.19f/s, best 3.79f/s
Narrow grip incline bench 225x8, 275x6, 315x2, 225x6
Push press up to 275x2
Strict ohp 185x8
Dips bwx8, +45x8x2
16" narrow stance box squat 225x2x8, avg 2.86f/s, best 3.33f/s
Pullups bwx10x3
Db rows 125x5, 150x5x2

Broke out the PF today and had a little fun. Speed wasn't too bad but not where I need it to be. Going to be pulling this thing out on speed days more often. Was focusing on a slow and controled eccentric portion with a powerful concentric. Speeds were down as I wasn't really utilizing the stretch reflex. I like this though, felt good. Knees finally started cooperating after the 3rdish set on squats. Not that they were hurting, just stiff and didn't want to be explosive. Afterwards though they felt great. Bar was getting some serious hang time off my shoulders, lol. Didn't intend to go so heavy on incline but it felt good to hold something that heavy, it's been a while. Push presses felt solid and easy. Thought about going to 315 but didn't bring my belt so I just called it there. Dips felt good once my left shoulder got warmed up. It still gets pretty stiff from that log debacle a few weeks ago and then getting under the squat bar was pissing it off some. A few sets in and it was good. db rows were easy. Probably should have done 10s but I don't give a fuck. It would be nice if the dbs went up to 200, but oh well. Skipped speed deads and GMs as didn't have time, oh well. Pullups feeling easier. Strapped up, like a boss. O_o

Training#2 @ 12p

15.5# stone
*standing x10, best 45, avg 43ish
*full spin x8-10, best 51, avg 48ish

Working on pivoting my right and pushing hips forward while keeping the torso back as well as shoulders turned back longer. Making progress, though still drifting my torso forward. Need to push hips forward and hard onto the left leg. I'm liking this. Full spin is feeling great. Patient out of the back, driving forward off my left, getting my right down and separating. Just need to be more patient with the finish. As soon as my left hits the ground I'm all go. Need to wait just a hair longer to push my right hip through before exploding. Big throws on the horizon.

3/18/13 - wfd/stones

Training @ 11a

56# wfd
*one turn x 6, best 39, avg 38
*full x8-10, best high 43, avg 43

28# wfd x8-10, best 83.5, avg 81

Wanted to do some stone too but got stuck on wfd. Trying to drive my right knee/hip as I catch the weight for the finish. Not sure why, but just can't get that feeling with the 56 that I am with my big 28s. The big stretch, very heavy hand and huge slingshot out. I'm suspecting I'm taking too long to get comfortable enough to apply force to the 56 at the finish and I'm missing the early catch. Need more work on this. Need to sprint, catch, push right knee and hip to accellerate, then huge final push. I was averaging 44-45 3 months ago on this. Kind of annoying. It seems like I just have SO MUCH to work on that I'll never get them all where I want them to be. Ugh.

Stones tomorrow, probably will skip hammers before saturday but that's ok since I had a good hammer sesh last weekend. Probably some sheaf tomorrow as well and some wob either tonight or tomorrow night. Speed work in the morning at the gym. Done-zo after tomorrow.

3/16/13 - stone/wfd/hammer

Training @ 11am

21.5# braemar x6, best 39, avg 38
15.5# ostone x6-8, best 52, avg 48
56# wfd x6-8, best 43, avg 41
28# wfd x6-8, best 83, avg 81
16# hammer x6-8, best 132, avg 131

Threw with Adam over on the west side today. Good session. Working on pushing my right hip through on the stone before a big block. It's getting there, can definitely see how this will pay off. The weights sucked. Was pretty disappointed here. Just wasn't catching and really driving any of them. Thumb started killing me. Putting too much pressure on my thumbnail, need to even it out some. I need to start hooking more often so that I can remember exactly how to place my hand so it doesn't hurt after 3 throws. Ugh. Hammer felt solid, though the last 2-3 that were 130+ I was either too early or too late on the finish. Need to get this down.

Overall a good practice. Knee held up wonderfully and no pain at all which was very pleasant. Couple of easy training days then relax and get ready for Phx.

3/14/13 - full body deload training & diet review

Training @ 515a

5 mins on spin bike to warmup

Back squat 135x10x3
Front squat 135x10x3
GMs 135x10x3
Strict ohp 135x10x3

Band pull aparts 3x12
Band one arm curls 3x12

Plyo pushups (onto 6" boxes) 3x10
Pullups 3x10
Ring dips 6x5
Ring rows 3x10

Good session. Kiddo woke up about an hour into it so the last 6 exercises dragged out time-wise since I was playing cars and choo-choos with him between sets. Fun times.

Knee feels awesome today. I really wanted to put 225 on the bar but wasn't going to push it. All the squats felt very east and light, no knee pain. The plyo pushups aggravated my left shoulder some but held up fine for the dips. Dips are feeling awesome, getting much more comfortable, stability muscles are getting stronger. Going to start pushing these harder now. One I get to 10 reps I'll start adding weight. Need to work on my pullups more. 10s are tough and they should be easy. Need to get them more explosive too. Felt nauseous during the squats and GMs, protein shake wasn't sitting right. meh..



Side note: today is Steak and BJ day (http://www.steakandbj.org). Very excited about this. TMI? Whatevs. Don't act like you wouldn't be excited either. This is a judgement free zone, get off my lawn.


***** Dietary review


While I'm satisfied that I've spent the last 5 months eating whatever I want and not tracking calories and have not gained any weight, I look fucking disgusting. I'm glad I didn't take a lot of photos at 300+lbs because I look absurd at 278-283ish, where I'm at now. I found some old pictures and I used to look pretty good. I have no desire to be 8% bodyfat anymore (like I used to want to be) and while I'm not saying that would be totally cool, I don't want to put forth the effort to get that low or risk the performance loss.

http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16373&d=1114301414
http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16377&d=1114301453
http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16388&d=1114307941
http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16378&d=1114301577

I'm sitting at 230-233lbs in those photos and these were from back in 2005. I'm much bigger than that now, so if I can have that bodyfat level at 260ish, I'll be very happy. Currently sitting probably 20-23% bodyfat and those were, maybe 15ish %. What does that say about my progress over the last 8 years....... yeah, pretty terrible.

With that said, it's time to start tracking calories again. Not going to bust a huge deficit like before and burn myself out within 2 months. Been speaking with an extremely intelligent friend of mine, Alex Viada, that runs www.completehumanperformance.com and went over a strategy. Plan is to be in a low deficit, think 500-800/day. Carbs are carbs, this will let me get my junkfood fix when I need it to keep me from falling off of the wagon. The maco breakdown will be as follows:

225-250g protein
325-350g carbs
65-75g fat (including 10g fish oil/day, so that really limits dietary fat to 55-65g)

That puts the calorie range at 2785-3075 which is a 500-700 deficit and should be easily manageable. My meal plan breakdown is as follows:

meal1 @ 4am = 50g protein, 50g carbs
*train @ 430am*
meal2 @ 630-7am = 24-32oz choco milk
meal3 @ 11am = protein/carb dominant with some fat, thinking like 50/100-125/15 p/c/f breakdown
*train @ 12pm*
meal4 @ 130pm = 50-75g carbs
meal5 @ 430pm = 50g protein
meal6 @ 6-7pm = 50g protein and leaves me approx 30-40g fat for dinner

Cardio = spin bike and jogging. I'd like to get into good respiratory conditioning shape. I've spent some time learning running "technique" and it's completely pain free in my knees. I'm not going to go out running marathon's. Just going to strap on the heartrate monitor for 20-30 minutes and keep my heartrate at about 135ish, making sure to stay aerobic and not anaeroibic. Same thing goes with the spin bike. Nothing big, just getting blood flowing, fatty acids moving and working the respiratory system.

After throwing I'm going to do some short sprints. Something like ten 10m sprint repeats (with little rest) with a couple 30m sprints towards the end. This should simulate a speed squat type workout, metabolically that is. It also doubles as sport specific training as it'll increase my drive phase throughout everything and that's winning across the board.

Going to add a couple met-con type sessions at the end of my weight training workouts. I've already discussed these. Simple bodyweight type stuff, jump rope + toes2bar + plyo pushpus.. Stuff like that that will carry over.

On days I only train once I'll drop carbs down maybe 25-50g or so and on 100% off days I'll do the same and just hit a cardio session to zing the metabo for the day.

This minor deficit over time and centralized carbs around training should yield a nice, slow recomp that will allow me to continue to gain strength over the course. It's time to stop dicking around and talking about getting lean like I do year after year and just get 'er done already. I don't really care about bodyweight, I'd just like to get down to 14-15% bodyfat like in those photos and move forward from there.

Will implement this plan after the Phoenix games. The extra week of not worry about calories will be good to help me finish healing up the last bit of injuries I have. I'm starting to feel more confident about the games and am really looking forward to throwing with Adam on saturday to see guage where I'm at for the games. Plan of action is to throw on monday, then do a speed workout on tuesday and throw tuesday at lunch and shut it down.

3/12/13 - bstone

20 mins on spin bike in the am, roughly 90ish rpm, keeping heartrate at 135-140bpm

Training @ 1230p

15.5# standing stone x8-10

Very low effort on these. Trying something new. Working on really driving my right knee and simultaneously shifting weight onto my left. Felt pretty good. Most tosses about 36-38 with one or two at 40. Nothing big here, very little knee bend as trying to protect the mcl so it continues to heal.

Been doing lots of ibuprofin, ice, tkes and 1/8 squats. Knee feeling better but can still feel it sometimes when I walk. Left should still achy too, but overall I'm feeling better. Deload is suiting me well. Will do a very light lifting session on Thursday then throw on Saturday.

3/7/13 - de pulls & hammer

Training @ 530a

Deadlifts (EMOM) 315x5 singles, 365x5 singles - 3 minute break - 405x10 singles
More deads 495x1x2, 545x1, 595x1, 615x1 all beltless

Pullups 5x6

Alright, finally a good day for pulls. 615 didn't empty the tank either. Engaging my lats and leaning back more definately made a difference. I wasn't going to pull heavy but the 405 singles felt great and  I wanted to test it. 615 was slow but it's progress from recently so I'll take it. I think I could've belted up and gone 635+ if I wanted to. Skipped rows and step ups, curls, shrugs, blah blah. Focus today was fixing my deadlift form and mission accomplished.

Spandex ftmfw

Training#2 @ 1230p

20# hammer x5, best 114
16# hammer x10, best 131+ lots of 128-129

Meh. Reeeaalllyyy worn down right now. Went to bed late, got up early and trained. Not only did I train this morning but I deadlifted the effing house. Into work and about 11ish I started fading. Just got back and I'm crushed. Ready for bed. Was going to try to do some caber tonight but that ain't gonna happen.

Now, onto the workout itself. Hammers felt good. Getting long and staying loose. Getting accustomed to faster speeds. I NEED to focus on making the hammer faster though. It feels like it's moving at 1000mph and when I watch the video it barely looks speedy at all, ugh. Also, my knee/mcl issue thinks it can dictate my training for me. Well fuck you knee, I'll do what I want...........................in pain. Going to start eating ibuprofin like candy and rehabbing the fuck out of this thing 2-3x/day. Also ice. Ugh. Joint feels stable as I mentioned before. Now, when I push my knee in and bend down with any kind of weight on that leg, the inside (medial side) of the knee gets a nice shooting pain. FML.

3/6/13 - stone

am weight = 278lbs

Training @ 1215p

17# stone
*standing x8ish, best 41, ugh
*full spin x8-10, best 47

I'm going to get raped in phx on braemar stone unless I figure something out fast. I just CANNOT get my hips forward. The only thing I can think of is possibly slamming my left foot down and back to shoot my hips forward/around while holding my upper. I'm going to give this a shot on Saturday as a last resort. Outside of that, I've got no idea how to get this moving in a better direction.

Ostone felt ok. That mcl issue is being a dickhead. My joint feels nice and stable, but now I'm getting sharp pains every now and then so it's sitting in the back of the head. It's not when I'm pushing, moreso when I'm walking and my leg straightens out just before I put my foot on the ground. Ugh. If it continues I'm going to have to get it looked at. Anyways, ostone went ok. Focus on slow out of the back, deliberate right foot, fast left and hold the upper. Everything was going well except holding my upper. Still getting excited and popping too soon. This is just going to come with reps. Regardless, 47ft with the 17# isn't bad. If I can get this 17stone to 51-53, I should be sitting pretty with the 16 stone. More reps.

Tomorrow is lower speed day. I've already done speed squats on monday so I'm just going to do speed pulls and everything else on the list I posted yesterday. With that said, I'm going to do 20 singles with the deads. I'm going to single 315 for 10, then 405 for 10 and use an EMOM (every minute on the minute) strategy so I get a little conditioning in at the same time. Biggest purpose of the 20 sets is to dial back in my technique. It's light enough so it shouldn't tax me too bad. I'm anxious to start the new program on monday, but this knee needs to shape the fuck up before I cut it off.

3/5/13 - me deadlift/de ohp & new training schedule

Training @ 4a

Deadlift doubles up to 545x2, miss @ 605, 585x1
RDL 315x8x2, 365x6, 405x4, 455x4
Strict ohp against choked efs mini bands 135x3x10

DB side raises 35x10x2
DB bent over raises 35x10x2

Speed ohp's felt pretty good. Shoulder is still stiff but getting better. Was supposed to do some other stuff too but I was pretty pissed about the deadlift. Seems it has been on a downward spriral for the last 6 months and I just can't figure out why. Everything else is increasing but deads keep getting harder and my low back seems to pick up more and more of the load. Ugh. I haven't videotaped any pull slately but I should have taped the 585 to see how it looked. I've got a big feeling I'm leaving the bar way out front which is what's stressing my lower back so much when the bar is at my knees. I watched a few videos of me pulling before and I notice two things that I used to do that I don't now:

1) I used to sit back before pulling
2) I used to lock my lats in tight before pulling.

My mental cues used to be: set feet, place hands, sink hips, chest up, contract lats, explode.

Lately the motions I go through are: set feet, place hands, sink hips, chest up, explode. By contracting my lats I think that's what's keeping the bar in close and keeping my chest/shoulders up. I have no idea why I've gotten away from it, but I think this is the reason. If I had some video of recent heavy pulling, I'd ask for opinions but its useless to get a critique if you guys don't know what I'm talking about. Here's a few of my older videos for reference.

http://youtu.be/ItpHM7EpX3E

http://youtu.be/YAgcH_AO3Cc

http://youtu.be/NVlh6Yafcws

http://youtu.be/1VntXQDytXw

Going to be changing my training around. I don't really feel a huge "explosiveness" carryover from the olympic lifts and while I think they're fun I just don't see how they'r helping me at this time. My speed work and throwing volume gives me the explosive training I need. With that said, I have a long term goal I want to hit in the gym and I need the extra recovery time. I want to squat 700 and pull 800 raw (belt/wraps). It's a long term goal (3-5 years) but I think it's doable. I just need to factor in recovery. I'm still going to throw but I'll be dialing back the throwing volume very shortly and I'm never going to be a 20+ games/year pro HG athlete so losing strength during season due to 3-4 weekends in a row of throwing isn't forseeable for me. I was making great progress in early 2012 with the program I was using, which was a 3day/week Westside protocol. I'm going to modify it a little bit so it's not so confusing and the layout is as follows. I've been paying attention to my body with regards to nutrition and while I may be "restricting" calories, I'm not counting them. I'm merely eating when I'm hungry and not eating when I'm not hungry. I don't do physical activities after 1pm so after 3pm I don't have any carbs unless I do some form of cardio in the evening, upon which I'll have some gatorade or something for recovery's sake. I'm also going to really start working my active recovery. Foam rolling, stretching, etc. It's time to get serious. I've got work to do.
New training schedule:

WEEK1 Monday = ME lower max effort back squat front squat 3-5s gms 3-5s sumo pulls 3-5s step ups pullups band leg extensions Tuesday = ME/DE upper max effort bench incline bench 3-5s speed overhead 8-10 triples ohp 3-5s ring dips band pull aparts band face pulls band push downs Thursday = DE lower speed front squat 10-12 doubles speed conventional pulls 8-10 singles          dimel deads 15-20 fast rows shrugs curls band leg extensions

WEEK2 Monday = ME lower max effort conventional pulls back squat 3-5s front squat 3-5s gms 3-5s step ups pullups band leg extensions Tuesday = ME/DE upper max effort overhead ohp 3-5s speed bench 8-10 triples incline bench 3-5s ring dips band pull aparts band face pulls band push downs Thursday = DE lower speed back squat 10-12 doubles speed sumo pulls 8-10 singles dimel deads 15-20 fast rows shrugs curls band leg extensions

3/4/13 - me bench/de squat & wfd

Training#1 @ 515a

3board press up to 385x2
Incline bench 225x8, 245x8, 245x4
Ring dips 3x5
Band pushdowns 3x20

16" box squat with heels up- 225x2x3, 275x2x3, add choked jumpstretch avg bands 225x2x4
Front squat 225x8, 315x3, 405x3


Had to skip out on the GMs and jump rope. My boy woke up about an hour early so the squats dragged longer since I was playing with him between sets. Board presses felt ok. Incline bench was miserable and the ring dips were tough. I will overcome these shotty triceps. Feeling a little run down after Saturday but it's not time to deload yet. Game face is on, Phx games are 18 days away. I can begin my deload in 15 days.

Training#2 @ 12p

56# wfd
*1 turn x6, best 40, avg 38
*full x8, best 42, avg 41

28# wfd x12, best 79, avg 77

Same as this morning, feeling run down. Felt strong on the full throws with the 56 and hit good positions. On the 28, my body was moving too slow. I couldn't stay ahead of the weight and couldn't muster up a good finish. Oh well, next time.

Heavy pulls tomorrow, goal is 605 for a double with my new pulling style. Excited.

3/2/13 - AZ Wildcat Strongman Challenge

skipped training 3/1 as I was feeling pretty beat up and knew the strongman was going to require some energy.. Instead went to Jack in the Box and downed some ultimate cheeseburgers and tacos. Solid recovery meal. Firehouse subs for dinner. Nom nom nom..


onto the writeup for the Strongman challenge:


last man standing 12" log press- hit 300 pretty easy then missed 320 at lockout. The clean wasn't bad at all. I don't think I took a big enough breath before dipping down for my leg drive. It stopped about 2" above my head. I brought it back down and went for it again but my elbows had slipped down and I knew it was over. I think I tied for 5th in this event. Winner hit 340.

620 yoke / 250 farmers x50 ft medley - pass. Was good for 15th place in this event, lol.

32# crucifix hold - 47 seconds. I think I was 6th or 7th here. Very inconsistent judging. Lots of guys with bent arms. Hands above eye level, chains touching the floor, etc. Pretty annoying.

frame car deadlift (chevy cavalier at highest fulcrum point) - 21 reps. I think this was good for 8th? ugh. While I was starting to burn out, muscular endurance wasn't a big issue here. My respiratory endurance is shot. After 15 reps I was so gassed. Squeezed out another 5 then with 3 seconds left pulled one final rep. The weight wasn't really that heavy. Winner took 40 reps, then a couple guys at 36 reps and lots in the high 20s. IMO this is too much. This is a strongman, why are we doing this for 40 reps? Put a suburban on the frame next time. I'm not saying this thinking I would win. I'm saying this because 40 reps in a strongman is absurd.

110# bigg dogg strongg monster db press - 8 reps. I give mad props to the guys that control it on the descent and then just tap one edge off the floor before picking it back up. After about the 3rd rep I found the "sweet spot" on my shoulder and the reps got much easier to get leg drive and drop under. This is the 2nd time ever touching a monster db so it still feels very unnatural to me. I think this was good for 7th or 8th. Big winner went 15 reps with it. Lots in the 9-10 rep range.


OVERALL - 10th out of 15. Meh, I'm fine with that. I placed in the middle third while passing an event. Had a lot of fun and hung out with a lot of friends. No injuries and nothing to make my current injuries worse. I think skipping the yoke was a good idea as my knee is still tender (which is weird btw. It feels very stable now, but its just a little tender at certain times when I put weight on it). Looking forward to the next one. I've said this before and I'll say this again, I really need to dedicate some training time to one of these sometime and see how I fare.

2/28/13 - snatch/assistance & stones

Training#1 @ 515a

Power snatch singles up to 185x6sets
Step ups 185x8x3
strict BB rows 275x8x2
a few pullups

*yawn* Not a big day here. Was focusing on tech on the snatches and time got away from me. Feeling run down. Two more training weeks and deload for Phx games. For the snatch I was told that I've got too much knee extension/quad activation from the floor to my knees. I need to have my shoulders farther out in front of the bar when it's at knee level. From there I keep my lats flexed and pull it into my hips for the bump. So, I need to allow my hips to come up a little faster and push my knees back instead of pushing them out. Snatch is a very fun lift for me so I'll be excited when it starts coming together.

Training#2 @ 1230p

17# ostone x10-12

Unknown distance. Did probably 100+ spins with no stone, just working on timing and footwork. I've always felt like I was "reaching" with my right leg and I think I've gotten that fixed. I didn't know the entry was that huge of a part of the throw but after today I can see how it is. Out of the back I pivoted my left foot and shifted weight over. I tried to keep my right leg nice and long and relaxed and allowed my bodyweight to shift forward JUST a tad (as if I was shifting it back onto my heel with the glide). From there I kicked my right leg around for the rotation and pushed off of my left for the linear drive. Worked on getting my right down fast and it started coming together. Left leg would pull right leg into position and all I had to do was hold my upper body back. Didn't take many actual throws here but they were quality throws. Happy with this stone session and wish I had a tape as I know some of them were pretty darn good tosses. Throwing stones 3x next week so I'll work some more on these then. Need to get some Braemar work in as well. Blegh..