4/10/13 - me bench / de ohp & stones

Training#1 @ 415a

Bench up to 385x1
**add slingshot 385x4/4/3
Strict ohp (speed) 135x3x8
Push press 225x5, 245x5, 275x4
Ring dips 5x6

Band pull aparts 3x20
Band face pulls 3x20
Band wide grip pushdowns 3x20

Good sesh. Wasn't expecting the 385 so that was pleasant. Felt solid, but went up slow. Looking to go 4+ here in the next couple months. I'd like to make another run at 450, my best ever was 455x2 raw. Lots more tricep work though. Slingshot felt pretty cool, can definitely see some overload training here on the tris. Progress on ring dips. Will start working 7s now until I can get 5x7 then move to 8s. When I get to 10s I'll start adding weight. Prob gonna be a while before that happens. Tris felt smoked after the pushdowns. I like.


Training#2 @ 1230p

15.5# stone
*standing x6 for warmup
*full spin x15-20

Worked on a snappier right leg. So, from the back my goal was to open up my left leg and get my right foot as far away from my left as possible. From there, allow the right leg to snap into the middle of the box. This gave me a much faster left and kept my right turning the whole time. Problem at hand: still finishing early. I need to hold my upper back longer. Ughh.. At least there's some progress. Covering more ground on the spin and getting more linear (mostly). Now I need to drill getting my weight balanced on my right leg and holding my upper body to torque up while my right hip is pushing through. Anybody have any tips or cues for you to hold back your finish and not rush it? Any specific drills?

4/9/13 - stones

Training @ 1145a

15.5# stone
*standing x12-14
*spin x10-12

Standing getting better. Bent over a little bit more today to get a longer push. Still trying to drive the right knee in and down to start the movement then get into a reverse C position. Feeling stronger, not much energy today as still pretty stiff from legs yesterday. Spins were a shit show.

Watched a lot of video of Armstrong, Hoffa, Cantwell and Godina. They all have one thing in common. The ball itself travels very little in the ring. In comparison, I appear to be dive bombing my upper body into the middle of the trig whereas these shotputters come out of the back slow and relaxed. Turn their torso to about 3:00 and then whip their right leg around and into position incredibly fast. The left pulls under and boom. All the while the shot itself doesn't even move very much. Something to think about. Stones again tomorrow. I've got to get these under control.

4/8/13 - me squat & hammers

Training#1 @ 430a

EFS reverse strong band squat up to 700x1
Front squat 365x3, 365x3, 415x3
Sumo deads 315x3, 365x3, 365x3
12" step ups 135x10, 185x10x2
RDLs 315x10x3

Squats were belt/wraps only and bands fully deloaded at the top. The walkout and top end felt stupid heavy. I liked it. Will defnitely throw these into a roatation of sorts. I think next training block I'll do front squats for the primary movement. Then squat against bands and then regular squats. Sumo deads were meh. I went from 365 to 415 on the 2nd set and as I was starting to pull my left hamstring cramped up. Seeing how I could give two shits about sumos, I dropped the weight back down to 365 and kept it there. Hammy felt gold. Rdls felt really good also, very good stretch on them. Going to kick it up a notch next week. Vegas games next weekend so going to get all my training done mon-wed, ice bath wednesday night and relax thursday/friday, maybe some hot tub action on thursday and friday with some active recovery as well. Looking forward to the games.


Training#2 @ 1130a

20# hammer x8, best 115, avg 113ish
16# hammer x6, best 137, avg 130ish
14# hammer x4, best 147, avg 140ish

Took a couple warmup sets of winds with the 16# hammer then jumped into the 20# hammer. Felt heavy. Took me at least 4 throws before I lost the stiffness from this morning and was able to get loose. Regardless, still felt slow and sluggish and wasn't feeling a big pop on the finish. Was hoping for 120+ here but oh well,  maybe next time. Had a pretty good sesh with the 16#er though. Took a couple starter reps out to 125-129 then started getting after it. Had a couple in the low 130s then a big one at 137 that felt awesome. 14# hammer went well too, though was having trouble catching it and wanted to go early every time. Getting really whippy on all of these. I feel like my finish could be tweaked, but still throwing good numbers so I'm undecided. Just trying to get a big scoop with my right arm on the finish. Really looking for 140 soon with the 16# as that's a huge milestone, but I fear it may still be some distance away.

4/6/13 - stones/wfd

Training @ 7a

23.5# bstone x10, avg 34-35
15.5# ostone x6-8, unk distances
49# wfd x8-10, avg 48
28# wfd x8, avg 82

Bstone feeling so much more comfortable lately, now to just speed it up and make it explosive. Baby steps. Doing a good job of pushing my knee in and down to accelerate the right hip while holding my upper back. Still lots of work, but it's feeling more natural. Going to be good when I can put some pop on it.

Ostone felt pretty good. Did lots of "mirror drills" and separated spins to work on getting my right down and keeping my bodyweight on it vs shifting forward onto my left too soon. Trying to get a longer right leg out of the back of the spin as well as getting my right down and holding my upper back similar to my wfd to get my left down faster for a longer push on the stone. Lots of little things but really working just one thing at a time. Lots of drills between throws. Things are shaping up. Today wasn't a "I hate stones day".

WFD felt good. Didn't feel like I had a lot of gas in the tank so my heavies were a bit off. Was looking for a 50 footer but kept hitting an invisible wall. Was a tough training week and I've got 2 more of them before the Vegas games. Will be sure to get lots of rest the 3 days leading up to the games. LWD felt solid but again, still missing a big pop. Felt like I couldn't really hit 100% on either the sprint or the finish. Happy with numbers despite.

Had to call it early without hitting hammers as my mrs called and needed me home to take care of the baby. She's got a nasty stomach flu so that really sucks for her. On the flip side, I get to spend more time with my boys and that's always fun (and exhausting, lol). I'll try to get out and do some wob either this afternoon or tomorrow depending on energy levels. Got plans this afternoon so might have to hit it tomorrow.

4/4/13 - speed work + assistance & stones

Training#1 @ 515a

16" box squat w/power factor, heels raised 1.5" 225x2x10ish sitting 2.7-2.9f/s
Deadlift w/power factor 225x1x2, 275x1x8, sitting 2.7-2.9f/s
RDL 275x15/10/10
Bb rows 275x8x3
Pullups 3x10

Wide grip band pushdowns 3x20
Band curls 3x20

Squatting from the 16" box is a good height for me. Some would say it's too high, but I digress. My full squat would probably put me somewhere around a 10" box. I know that if I try to drop onto a 12" box I come to a very abrupt stop so even that would be too high for a full squat for me. To get 3f/s with the shorter rom makes me push harder and I like that. Going to keep this weight until I'm consistantly over 3f/s then I'll move up to 275 and go from there. Same thing with pulls. Rdls felt great, though my lower back is still crushed from monday. Finished it up with a bro-sesh to get all swole up before work. Don't hate.


Training#2 @ 1230p

15.5# stone
*standing x7, avg 42-43
*glide drills = extension, middle drills, unseating
*glide x8-10, avg 43-44
*full spin x6, avg 49

Standing throws are getting better. The distances aren't showing yet but I'm getting a really nice stretch on my right side from pushing the hip through first. Legs are pretty beat up from this week so I wasn't expecting big numbers at all. Did lots of drills for the transition portion of the glide. Still having issues with getting into the power position and not blowing over my left or rushing the finish. Decided to take a couple full spins to finish things off. Didn't really think about anything. Just trying to get linear and separate. Very easy and relaxed throws. Best was out at 51' with not much on it. Others were 48-49 and a couple at 46 that the stone came off wrong and bent my fingers way back. Might be sticking with the spin after all. When I just relaxed and didn't really focus on anything specifically, I felt very fluid. I think I just need to take a lot, and I mean a lot of reps with the stone so I can get comfortable with it and not psyche myself out. No video, phone died shortly after getting onto the field. Weights tomorrow and stone/hammer/wob Saturday.

4/2/13 - me ohp + de bench & stones

Training#1 @ 430a

Push press doubles up to 315x2, 325x1 (missed 2nd)
Strict ohp 225x5/5/4
Speed bench 135x3x2, 155x3x8
Flat bench 225x10x3
Ring dips bwx6/6/6/5/4

band pull aparts
band face pulls
band wide push-downs

Triceps are smoked. Good workout. Really thought I could've gotten the double with 325 but the first rep was tough. Triceps are getting stronger but still the weakest link. Smoked the 315 double though and happy with that. Ties a rep pr with 315 (not a great one, lol).

Training#2 @ 1230p

17# stone
*standing x8-10, best 41
*glide x15-20, best 44

Stands are getting better. Legs and low back are still pretty stiff from yesterday so I'm satisfied with the number. Really learning how to drive my right knee in and down and get a good push on my right hip before exploding off my left. Need to keep my torso back more though and work on getting in the reverse C position.

Glides are meh. Having issues with finishing early, same as with the spin. As soon as my left touches I want to go go go, vs pushing my hip through and loading my left. Also still somewhat hoppy. Spoke with Spencer and he gave me a few tips:

1) push off the right heel
2) think about mule kicking the bottom of a door with my left, don't let it come up or it ends up landing too late, need a longer double support to apply force
3) middle drill: stand in power position. Move right leg out as far as I can. Then push off witht he right, pull it under and finish the throw.

#1 and 2 seem simple enough. I'm really anxious to try #3 and see if it fixes my inability to wait. Once I get this down then I can work on keeping my torso a bit more closed during the gilde. Hopefully this all comes together rather quickly. Stones again tomorrow and friday. Thinking some weights on Thursday and everything early Saturday morning. We'll see how that pans out.

4/1/13 - me deads

Training @ 440a

Deadlift doubles up to 545x2, 585x1, miss x2, 545x2
Front squat x3 + back squat x3 w/ last rep paused 225, 315, 365, 385
GMs 275x5x3
12" box step ups 135x12x3

skipped pull-ups, meh. Ran out of protein powder over the weekend and costco was closed so this mornings shit-fest was brought to you by an empty stomach. For months now whenever I pull heavy I feel a small pinch my left spinal erector near the insertion point above the glute. This annoys me and makes me wonder if this is the reason my pulling has been so terrible. Need to see a soft tissue guy to see if I can get it worked out. I've tried rolling it with a roller, lax ball, etc and nothing. It seems to inflame when I sleep weird the previous night and takes a few days to go away. Ugh. All excuses aside, I just didn't have the WIM for the double at 585, which is also funny because a couple weeks ago when I pulled 615 I would have killed the double at 585. I took a couple more attempts at a single and energy was nil. Dropped to 545 and pulled both like they were 405. whatevs. The squat complex-ish movement was interesting. Really didn't think it was going to be as tough as it was. Thought about hitting 4+ but was pretty smoked for the 385 so I called it there. Looking back at the session it really doesn't look like I did much, but I feel like I got hit by a train. lol

I need more posterior work.