3/29/12 - in season training

Took the last 3 days off to try to recover, but still feeling very stiff and sluggish. Needed to get some work in regardless..

training

deads up to 675x1
ghr- BWx8x3
pullups- BWx5x4
flat db bench up to 155x5
T bar up to 185x5x2
dips up to +27x8

good session, that deadlift is a gym PR for me as I've only ever pulled it in competition before. Felt very heavy but I think there's a little more in the tank. Felt good to pull something heavy. Haven't done any db benching in a long time so I figured what the hell. Strongman training on saturday, will hit some yoke, axle c&p and keg carry.

throws

16# stone
*stand x6-8, best of 43
*MSA x6-8, best of 45

56# wfd
*one turn x 4-6, best of 36
*full x 4-6, best of 38

28# wfd
*full x4-6, best of 75

need to work the left harder on the stones. stomp the left down and get that right hip moving. Got behind a couple of them and felt solid, also need to remember to finish chest high. on the weights, need to not allow myself to get rotational. Drive the weight linear to the front and explode high. The 75' light weight toss was solid, never taken an old celt that far before, only bobby dodds.

Gonna relax and recover the rest of this week (friday/saturday), then hit some strongman stuff sunday and full bore until next sunday before taking a rest day, then 3 more training days and deload until the Vegas games. onward ho!

3/25/12 - Phx Games

Phoenix Highland Games

Started off the weekend marking for the Pros on saturday. Had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs. Great guys and huge throws. Awesome to see them all this early in the season. I threw the following day and boy was I fatigued, but it was crazy fun nonetheless and I hit a couple PRs. Throws went as follows:

bs 35+
os 47+
hwfd 40+ PR
lwfd 74+
hh 97+ PR
lh 117+
15 wob
12:30 caber (18' 100lbs)

Not the overall performance I was looking for, but I'll take the PRs. Energy was definitely drained but excuses are excuses.. Time to get back into training and come strong for my next games.

Big thanks to my sponsor Stewart & Torgerson Injury Law (1800ourlawyer.com) for supporting me and pushing me to succeed. As a claims adjuster I know how injuries work and I 100% recommend them if you are unfortunate enough to get into an auto accident. They know what they're doing, they're down to earth and they'll go to bat for you to get you what you deserve.

3/22/12 - throws

training

56# wfd
*stand x3, best of 27
*one turn x8-10, best of 40
*full x8-10, best of 41, avg @ 40

16# stone
*stand x3, best of 43
*MSA x4, best of 45

weights finally dialing in. groin feels good, no issues but still hesitant to push it on the stone. switching back to MSA indefinitely at this time..

3/21/12 - throws

training

16# hammer
*2 winds x10, best of 117
*3 winds x10, best of 123

huge throws today, finally getting my hips into the hammer.. lots more practice just like this and big things to come

3/19/12 - in season upper

training

snatch up to 185x1x5, 135x1x10
front squat up to 315x3
pullups- BWx3x5
deads up to 635x1x2
push press up to 315x1x3
rdl- 315x8x2

good sesh, pushed the adductor a bit, no issues. felt good.

3/16/12 - throws

training

16# stone
*hip drill x5
*step over x5
*full x5, best of 45
*south african drill for fulls pin x10, best of 47

pulled groin on the last drills.. blegh, very annoyed here

3/14/12 - throws

throws

28#wfd
*stand x5
*1turn x10
*cast/drop drill x ~18-20
*cast/sprint drill x ~30

cast still off.. took lots and lots of video and when I do a 1 turn, my orbit is solid, low point where it needs to be, high point, etc. When I add the 2nd turn, it's off so much it kills the entire throw. Watched lots of vids of various throwers and it appears I'm following the weight to the right too much before I let it go behind me. I think this may be causing the arc to be too far to the right of my right leg which might explain why it's going way left when I turn. Going to play with this on friday and see if I can fix it.

3/13/12 - throws

training

28# wfd
*stand x6, best of 48

56# wfd
*stand x4, best of 29
*1turn x8, 2 over 40', avg of 39'

28# wfd
*cast/drop drill x5
*cast/spring drill x3

56# wfd
*full x10, best of 37

need to fix cast, high point too far to the left, throwing off the entire dynamic of the toss with 2 spins

3/12/12 - in-season lower

training

speed squat + choked jumpstretch green bands
*185x3 @ 3.83
*185x3 @ 3.83
*225x3 @ 3.58
*225x3 @ 3.83
*275x3 @ 3.33
*275x3 @ 3.46
*275x3 @ 3.46
*275x3 @ 3.71
*295x3 @ 3.46
*295x3 @ 3.09

speed deads
*225x3 @ 3.83
*275x3 @ 3.46
*315x3 @ 3.09
*315x3 @ 3.21
*315x3 @ 3.21
*315x3 @ 2.96

pullups- BWx 6,6, 5,5, 4,4, 3
RDL- 275x6x3 explosively supersetted with green band GMs x3x10
glute raise on low back ext- BWx12, +35x10

+db curls, meh

good session.. speed felt great on squats, slowed me down bad on deads though

3/10/12 - throws

training
28# wfd
*stand x8-10
*1turn x10-12
*full x8-10

16#stone
*stand x6-8

16# hammer
*no blades, full x10-12
*+ blades, full x4-5

42# wfd
*1turn x10-12

16# stone
*full spin x10-12

clinic down in tucson today focusing on hammers for everyone. I did my training before the clinic, then threw some hammer with everyone then threw some more after the clinic. Learned a few things on the full spin that will be putting into action..

3/7/12 - in-season upper/explosive

training

power snatch- up to 207x3 + 10 singles
snatch pulls- 207x5x2, 229x5x2
bn jerks- 185x8, 229x3x2
speed close grip press- 135x3x2, 157x3x4
ring rows- BWx10x4
sde to side plyo jumps- x8x2
ring dips- BWx8,7

exhausting, need to work more on not splaying my feet and pulling the bar up my chest rather than letting it drift out front.

3/3/12 - 2012 AZ NAHA Battle In The Desert Writeup

3/3/12 - 2012 AZ NAHA Battle In The Desert Writeup

The morning started off very chilly as I arrived to the field around 530am to begin setup. After about an hour and half of moving tires, kegs, weights, stones and various other odd objects. Athletes began showing up around 830a and the morning was off to a great start.

First off was log press. 190lbs for Masters & LWs, 240lbs for MWs and HWs. The women used a 105lb axle instead. Jacob Nicol pressed an impressive 7 reps before we moved onto the Masters. Dave DesRosier and Bob Wentlejewski both tied with 5 reps, followed by a 2nd place tie with 2 reps between Tim Sparkes and Brian Webb. Onto the MWs, Easton Taylor smoked 6 easy reps with the 240lb log followed by a 2nd place tie between Brandon Cox and Adam Brezina with 2 reps and Mike Larson with 1 rep for 3rd place. Brandon Hall was good for 5 reps in the HWs before moving to the next event. The women closed it off with Denise Ryan getting 2 reps and Gretchen Hall with 1 rep.

Next up: Heavy Weight For Distance. Some impressive throws today from everyone. Starting things off with were the LWs and Masters with the 42# weight for distance. Jacob Nicol took the first with a solid 39'11" throw and a very close second by Jon Cox with 37'9". Masters up next with Tod Stewart dropping a sweet 34'6" throw, followed by Tim Sparks with 32'7" and Dave DesRosier with 32'1". MWs and HWs following with the 56# wfd, Adam Brezina taking the win with a 34'4" throw. 2nd place was Karl Gherke with a post injury PR of 32'1" and 3rd place went to Brandon Cox in his debut games with a 28'6" throw. Brandon Hall in the HWs hit a PR of 33'11" with much more in the tank. Finishing off HWFD was the women. Denise Ryan thew a 30'5" toss, followed closely by Gretchen Hall with 24'2".

Rounding off the events before lunch was the Keg Carry. I was completely aware this was going to be the heaviest event of the day and was very excited for this. Kegs weighed 250lbs, 200lbs and 150lbs for HW/MWs, LW/Masters & Women, respectively. Beginning in the LWs was Ryan Brault with a score of 131ft taking 3rd behind Jon Cox with 159ft and Jacob nailing 1st with 180ft. Next up were the Masters carrying the 200lb keg. Tod Stewart pulled out the win with 194ft, followed closely by Dave DesRosier and Brian Webb, both tieing for 2nd. 3rd place went to Tim Sparkes managing 138ft. Next up was the MWs with a 250# keg and 3rd place went to Mike Larson with 162ft. 2nd went to Brandon Cox with 201ft and the win went to Easton Taylor with a shocking and very impressive 300ft. Brandon Hall represented the HWs with a solid 176ft carry before letting up. The women man-handled the 150lb keg like a boss. Denise Ryan took first with 180ft followed by Gretchen Hall with 98ft. Next up, everyone's favorite event of the day: lunch.

After lunch we headed over for some open stone action. 16# stone for men and 11# stone for women. Jacob Nicol led the LWs with a 43'6" throw, followed by Jon Cox in 2nd with a 35'8" throw and Ryan Brault in 3rd with a 27'3" throw. Tim Sparkes stepped up his game and dropped the stone out there at 35'6" taking the win in this event. Followed closely by Tod Stewart at 32'10 and Dave DesRosier in 3rd with a 30'9" toss. Karl Gherke represented NAU T&F with a strong 46'9" toss to take the win in the MWs. Adam Brezina a very close 2nd with 45'6" followed by Mike Larson with 36'8". For the HWs, Brandon Hall dropped a bomb out at 42'2" and Denise took 1st with a 27'11" throw.

Next up was the medley. For the LW/Masters group it was a 330lb yoke, 185lb farmers walk and 550lb tire. 60ft and had to run back to get the next impelement. 90 second time limit. This was a real gasser. For the MW/HWs it was a 530lb yoke, 185lb farmers and 550lb tire, for the women it was a 105lb yoke, 105lb farmers and 400lb tire. Jacob Nicol once again pulled out the 1st place in the LWs with a time of 1:17 followed very closely by Ryan Brault at 1:22. Tim Sparkes showed his conditioning well for the Masters with a time of 1:24, followedly by Tod Stweart with 1:29. The battle heated up when the MWs took the course. Easton Taylor set the standard at 1:06, flying through the course like it was his job. Much to everyone's surprise, Brandon Cox took off with the yoke and never stopped, nailing 1st place with a time of 1:01. 3rd went to Mike larson with a time of 1:13. Denise Ryan scored an impressive time of 1:09.

Finishing off the day was my personal favorite event: Weight Over Bar. We utilized Neis rules, meaning 3 total misses and you're out, instead of 3 misses at each height. This was a "last man standing" type event and everyone was going at once. For the LWs, Jacob Nicol again took the 1st with a big toss at 15' and just barely missing 16' out in front. Jon Cox took 2nd with a 14' toss and Ryan Brault just couldn't get it over the bar at 14'. Dave DesRosier showed what he was made of and went all the way up to 17' before taking his last miss. In 2nd was Tod Stewart who went out at 15' followed by Tim Sparkes who went out at 14'. Karl Gherke took 1st in the MWs with a 15' toss but just couldn't get it over the 16' bar. Next up was Adam Brezina who also cleared 15' but not 16', yet had a miss at 15' so took 2nd based on countbacks and Jason Barba taking 3rd place with a 12' toss and just barely missing 13'. Denise Ryan took the win for the women with a 13' toss.

After tallying up the scores we had a tie for 1st place among the MWs. We agreed at the beginning of the event that if 1st place tied we would hold a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker for the MWs was a 405lb axle bar deadlift for max reps in 60 seconds. Adam Brezina and Brandon Cox were both tied for 1st with 26 points. Nobody had a coin so we flipped a 45lb plate to decide who would go first. Brandon chose heads and won the toss, electing to have Adam go first. Time began and Adam squeezed out an easy 10 reps in 30 seconds. Afterwards he started to slow down, finishing with the 15th rep at the buzzer before collapsing from exhaustion. Brandon took the stand and the time started. Brandon managed to nail 15 easy reps before looking straight at Adam with a smile on his face and hitting an effortless 16th rep. For the kicker, he did this in only 30 seconds. Afterwards he helped Adam up and they congratulated each other. Truly an awesome tiebreaker.

Here are the totals for each class:

LW
1st - Jacob Nicol - 18pts
2nd - Jon Cox - 11pts
3rd - Ryan Brault - 8pts

MW
1st - Brandon Cox - 26pts
2nd - Adam Brezina - 26pts
3rd - Karl Gherke - 24pts
4th - Easton Taylor - 21pts
5th - Mike Larson - 20pts
6th - Jason Barba - 15pts

HW
1st - Brandon Hall - 6pts

Masters
1st - Tod Stewart - 25pts
2nd - Tim Sparkes - 24pts
3rd - Dave DesRosier - 23pts

Women
1st - Denise Ryan - 12pts
2nd - Gretchen Hall - 6pts

I'd like to thank my family for all the great help with paperwork, marking, judging, shagging weights, getting lunch.. They all proved invaluable, thank you so much to you all.

I'd also like to thank AtLarge Nutrition (http://www.atlargenutrition.com/) for donating four $75 gift cards. We placed all the athletes names in a box and drew them at the end of lunch. These winners are going to get some real quality supplements and I'm very grateful for the donation from ALN.

Finally, a huge thanks go out to Tod Stewart and Bethany Torgerson of Stewart & Torgerson Injury Law, our sponsor for the event. Check out their website at http://www.1800ourlawyer.com/. I've worked with Tod and can vouge for his knowledge, professionalism, integrity and empathy with regards to automotive misfortune and how it can affect you both financially and emotionally. Again, thank you Tod and Bethany for all your help in making this event as badass as it was.

I've uploaded pictures to the facebook AZ NAHA group page, check them out here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/116442465116435/

3/6/12 - in-season lower

training

500m wu row in 1:41

speed squat + choked jumpstretch green bands
*185x3 @ 3.71
*185x3 @ 3.83
*225x3 @ 3.71
*225x3 @ 3.71
*275x3 @ 3.21
*275x3 @ 3.33
*275x3 @ 3.46
*275x3 @ 3.33
*275x3 @ 3.21
*275x3 @ 3.33

speed pulls
*315x3 @ 3.09
*315x3 @ 3.33
*315x3 @ 3.09
*315x3 @ 3.33
*315x3 @ 3.09
*315x3 @ 3.33

pullups- BWx5x5
dimel deads- 225x15x3
-ss w/ green band pull throughs x10x3
db step ups- 45x5x2

curls & face pulls

good session, no groin issues, felt solid and speed was good.. looking forward to the next couple weeks

3/5/12 - conditioning

conditioning

500m wu row in 1:41

power snatches- 75x30, 135x30 non-stop in 10 mins


brutal, low back is crushed, lungs on fire

2/29/12 - full body deload training

training

power snatch- 60kg x3x2, 80x3x2, 90x3, 100x1x3
push jerk- 80x5, 100x5, 120x5
pullups- BWx5x5
ring rows- BWx10x3
squat- 100x10, 2

felt the groin starting to get annoyed with the training during the 2nd rep of squats so I shut it down. Felt good to get some snatches in, looking forward to adding some oly lifts back into my routine.

2/25/12 - throws

training
16# stone
*hip pop drill x8
*standing x8, best of 43'
*full spin x8, pulled groin..

fuck.. again.. this right adductor is just killing me. After talking with my friends it seems that I'm overreaching with my right and not getting my left down fast enough. Going to deload for another week and I've got a few things I want to try once it starts feeling better.

2/23/12 - throws

training
16# stone
*hip pop drill x15
*full spin x38

still deloading, spin feeling better, getting more comfortable getting into the power position. need to work on getting my left around faster, getting separated and keeping my right knee over my right toe.

2/22/12 - throws

training
16# stone
*hip pop drill x30
*full spin x15, best of 50, avg 45-46

deloading this week. first time working with the full spin, lots of work to do but it felt good.

2/21/11 - throws

training
16# hammer
*winds x ~20
*3wind w/release x1, 111'

focused on getting more on my left. need to turn my shoulders earlier as it is coming around my left side.. hammer is coming alone nicely

2/18/12 - strongman training

training
log press up to 230x6
axle bar c&p up to 275x1
530# yoke x65ft x2, best of 11 sec
250#keg x130'