IRON & STONE: Adventures of an Amateur Strongman

[mouse]

A random thought on bicep injuries and curls:

I've followed this random dude who added me on FB after we were at the same show a couple years back. I don't really interact with the guy, but he posts A LOT and it's usually good for guilty entertainment (lots of yelling, "I'd fucking die for this sport" after a novice podium, etc).

Anyway, dude just did a show and mentioned 'fearing' a bicep seperation during an event (I don't recall which). His answer to this is to train biceps, and he decides to start by throwing 135 on the bar and banging out wicked cheaty lean back triples that he basically free falls the eccentric...

Not sure this is gonna end well for him...

At this point I'm just sort of feeling bad for the dude...

Basically he's been grinding out 5/3/1 while listening to his worst instincts on randomly maxing out or doing otherwise dumb shit. Basically week to week he does some relatively low volume training, feels good, maxes out, hurts himself, rants/seeks advice, deloads, rinse/repeat.

Hes on one of the worst places you can go for training advice (a strongman FB group) and is currently wondering if the cause of his injured knee was... his knee sleeves. Not the random maxing out he did after a max triple.

Hes been told the sleeves may have weakened his stabilizing muscles possibly causing the injury.

Sometimes I hate this sport hahaha.

[DanCR]

Basically he's been grinding out 5/3/1 while listening to his worst instincts on randomly maxing out or doing otherwise dumb shit. Basically week to week he does some relatively low volume training, feels good, maxes out, hurts himself, rants/seeks advice, deloads, rinse/repeat.

I know jack about strongman training but maxing out on… not strongman lifts?… seems less than productive and even dumber than the usual dumb shit that folks like me do.

Worth you weighing in with some brief words of advice?

[mouse]

Basically he's been grinding out 5/3/1 while listening to his worst instincts on randomly maxing out or doing otherwise dumb shit. Basically week to week he does some relatively low volume training, feels good, maxes out, hurts himself, rants/seeks advice, deloads, rinse/repeat.

I know jack about strongman training but maxing out on… not strongman lifts?… seems less than productive and even dumber than the usual dumb shit that folks like me do.

Worth you weighing in with some brief words of advice?

From what I can tell from his posting his training is very much vanilla 5/3/1 squat/bench/dead and then he will do some log presses, mess around with stones, and I'm not all that sure how it 'fits' into the program or if it does at all. Spends a lot of time 'grip training' (i.e. maxing out lifts he makes up) and then filming weird shit to show his 'followers' (squatting a dryer for some reason).

Nothing wrong with the vanilla training or the not having a plan for his actual events, hell I'm plenty guilty myself, but much like an SS acolyte it appears he's just driving himself into a wall and then getting ass advice from randos.

Ive thought about chiming in and maybe one day I'll cave if for nothing else than to say this dude needs to keep an actual log (I don't think he does) and probably stop listening to people who offer advice that doesn't start with "what's your training look like?".

[platypus]

Ive thought about chiming in and maybe one day I'll cave if for nothing else than to say this dude needs to keep an actual log (I don't think he does) and probably stop listening to people who offer advice that doesn't start with "what's your training look like?".

To help, or not to help, that is the question
Whether 'tis nobler on facebook to witness
The slings and arrows of outrageous advice,
Or to take arms against a sea of morons,
And by opposing rouse them? To wrath, to rage.
Full send! and by a word you say to help
The lifter, will the thousand foolish bros
Viciously attack. 'Tis an aspiration
Nobly to be realized. Do it, give aid.

[Hardartery]

Ive thought about chiming in and maybe one day I'll cave if for nothing else than to say this dude needs to keep an actual log (I don't think he does) and probably stop listening to people who offer advice that doesn't start with "what's your training look like?".

To help, or not to help, that is the question
Whether 'tis nobler on facebook to witness
The slings and arrows of outrageous advice,
Or to take arms against a sea of morons,
And by opposing rouse them? To wrath, to rage.
Full send! and by a word you say to help
The lifter, will the thousand foolish bros
Viciously attack. 'Tis an aspiration
Nobly to be realized. Do it, give aid.

Beautiful.

[Hardartery]

Basically he's been grinding out 5/3/1 while listening to his worst instincts on randomly maxing out or doing otherwise dumb shit. Basically week to week he does some relatively low volume training, feels good, maxes out, hurts himself, rants/seeks advice, deloads, rinse/repeat.

I know jack about strongman training but maxing out on… not strongman lifts?… seems less than productive and even dumber than the usual dumb shit that folks like me do.

Worth you weighing in with some brief words of advice?

From what I can tell from his posting his training is very much vanilla 5/3/1 squat/bench/dead and then he will do some log presses, mess around with stones, and I'm not all that sure how it 'fits' into the program or if it does at all. Spends a lot of time 'grip training' (i.e. maxing out lifts he makes up) and then filming weird shit to show his 'followers' (squatting a dryer for some reason).

Nothing wrong with the vanilla training or the not having a plan for his actual events, hell I'm plenty guilty myself, but much like an SS acolyte it appears he's just driving himself into a wall and then getting ass advice from randos.

Ive thought about chiming in and maybe one day I'll cave if for nothing else than to say this dude needs to keep an actual log (I don't think he does) and probably stop listening to people who offer advice that doesn't start with "what's your training look like?".

You can try. IME you will likely fail to make a difference, these guys usually don't have the attention span or willpower to execute a long term plan, they need the dopamine hit that leads to failure. My prediction is major injury, walking away from the sport and training altogether and then telling everyone how dangerous it is and how broken it made him from that moment until he dies alone and bitter. Just sayin'. He desperately needs to train with someone level headed, and probably won't.

[DanCR]

squatting a dryer for some reason

Actually LOL'd.

Ive thought about chiming in and maybe one day I'll cave if for nothing else than to say this dude needs to keep an actual log (I don't think he does) and probably stop listening to people who offer advice that doesn't start with "what's your training look like?".

To help, or not to help, that is the question
Whether 'tis nobler on facebook to witness
The slings and arrows of outrageous advice,
Or to take arms against a sea of morons,
And by opposing rouse them? To wrath, to rage.
Full send! and by a word you say to help
The lifter, will the thousand foolish bros
Viciously attack. 'Tis an aspiration
Nobly to be realized. Do it, give aid.

You have won Exodus Strength. We can shut down the boards now.

[mouse]

You can try. IME you will likely fail to make a difference, these guys usually don't have the attention span or willpower to execute a long term plan, they need the dopamine hit that leads to failure. My prediction is major injury, walking away from the sport and training altogether and then telling everyone how dangerous it is and how broken it made him from that moment until he dies alone and bitter. Just sayin'. He desperately needs to train with someone level headed, and probably won't.

I think this is mostly accurate, mostly... I don't know if the impending injury will get him to quit outright... maybe, but I doubt he would take up preaching the gospel of light weights and cardio...

Without sounding tooooo much like a mean spirited shit talker, he's very "SS"ish in that he fat fucked himself and has a delusion that it somehow makes him harder than your average gym bro.

The other day homeboy posted a random clip of two gym bros getting in a scuffle and I believe he said something to the effect of 'I would never train in a regular gym because I'd end up yeeting a pretty boy through a wall' so...

There's reasons I've held off on chiming in.

[Hardartery]

You can try. IME you will likely fail to make a difference, these guys usually don't have the attention span or willpower to execute a long term plan, they need the dopamine hit that leads to failure. My prediction is major injury, walking away from the sport and training altogether and then telling everyone how dangerous it is and how broken it made him from that moment until he dies alone and bitter. Just sayin'. He desperately needs to train with someone level headed, and probably won't.

I think this is mostly accurate, mostly... I don't know if the impending injury will get him to quit outright... maybe, but I doubt he would take up preaching the gospel of light weights and cardio...

Without sounding tooooo much like a mean spirited shit talker, he's very "SS"ish in that he fat fucked himself and has a delusion that it somehow makes him harder than your average gym bro.

The other day homeboy posted a random clip of two gym bros getting in a scuffle and I believe he said something to the effect of 'I would never train in a regular gym because I'd end up yeeting a pretty boy through a wall' so...

There's reasons I've held off on chiming in.

They usually repeat the same injury until it is debilitating and then they walk away altogether. IME. Same thing happens in PL. There is always a sub-set that needs to make it their identity and crusade to the exclusion of reason until they flame out. That is Evan Singleton only he has actual genetics and ability so he persists. He currently has some guys reining him in in training which is why he is doing better and getting hurt less. He is his own greatest enemy, and so is the guy you are talking about.

[mouse]

12/8/2023

Deadlift
565x1, 475x4x4

Box Squat*
285x3x8

Goodmorning to Pins**
185x10x2

Air Bike
15 min @RPE7

I actually haven't been on a scale since Thanksgiving and I'm hoping I haven't fucked myself... I'm absolutely awful at this for some reason this time around...

*didn't want to fuck around with the bands, just don't think the juice is worth the squeeze and I think "speed reps" from a box in flats is 'unique' enough from my regular squat that they should work OK...

**forcing a controlled eccentric and repeatable ROM

[DanCR]

He is his own greatest enemy, and so is the guy you are talking about.

For dudes like this, that very description is part of their own personal mystique. They don’t want to change.

[mouse]

He is his own greatest enemy, and so is the guy you are talking about.

For dudes like this, that very description is part of their own personal mystique. They don’t want to change.

Just saw last night despite his knee that he "still can't Squat with" homeboy posted "practicing" dinnie stones by loading 240 each side on pins with carabiners...

I'm kinda impressed by the carabiners handling that not gonna lie...

[mouse]

12/11/2023

Incline Bench
245x8x3

Log Press
190x3x8

Close Grip Bench
205x12x3

Landmine Row
110x15x3

Hammer Curl*
2x15

More sets originally programmed but damned if I didn't have like a couldn't-straighten-my-arms pump so I called it...

[mouse]

Ya know with all this bitching and crying in the NFL over whether or not a ref should have enforced a rule that negated your super cool TD play I'd like to take a moment to appreciate that one of my childhood favorite hockey players turned commentator Rob Ray took an errant puck to the forehead last night so he stuffed a bit of tissue into the wound and kept calling the game...

[mouse]

12/12/2023

Squat
325x8x2, 340x8

13" Deadlift
405x3x8

Step Ups
100x12x3

Air Bike
10 min @RPE 7

[Hardartery]

Ya know with all this bitching and crying in the NFL over whether or not a ref should have enforced a rule that negated your super cool TD play I'd like to take a moment to appreciate that one of my childhood favorite hockey players turned commentator Rob Ray took an errant puck to the forehead last night so he stuffed a bit of tissue into the wound and kept calling the game...

I don't know who that is, but it sounds about right for a retired hockey player.

[mouse]

12/14/2023

Press
175x8x2, 180x8

Floor Press
275x3x8

Close Grip Incline Bench
165x15x3

EZ Bar Curl
65x12x3

Band OTE
3x15

[mouse]

12/18/2023

Incline Bench
250x8x3

Log Press
200x3x8

Close Grip Bench
205x12x3

Landmine Row
110x15x3

EZ Bar Curl
65x15, 65x12, 65x10

[mouse]

12/19/2023

Squat
325x8, 335x8, 345x8

13" Deadlift
415x3x8

Step Ups
100x15x3

Air Bike
10 min @RPE 7

[mouse]

12/22/2023

Press
185x8x3

Floor Press
285x3x8

Close Grip Incline Bench
185x12x2, 185x16

Deadlift
495x4x4

Box Squat
295x3x8

Pin Goodmorning
185x10x3

EZ Bar Curl
75x10x3

Band OTE
3x15

Air Bike
10 min @RPE 7

Fuck, I should not have been lazy and trained yesterday as planned because this suuuucked...

I'm off for the next 2 weeks and just got an absolute steal on flooring so another room reno is coming up...

Been watching the flooring that matches the original room I did and it was at 2.79/sq ft, tried to get some but it was mostly out of stock so I held off...

Out of nowhere it's back in stock at *checks notes* 0.97/sq ft so I bought everything the had. Paid for 13 and they gave me a partial box on top so now I should have enough to do both remaining rooms hahaha...

Score...