IRON & STONE: Adventures of an Amateur Strongman

[mouse]

I'm officially out of whiskey and there's 3 beers in the fridge...

Go Bills

That was more than a 3 beer game for a Bills fan.

Luckily for me it was either switch to vodka (gross) or open up my collector bottle of Metallica whiskey... I may have destroyed my liver last night...

They should all be fired... I no longer have any faith left in our coaching...

[mouse]

11/17/2023

Slingshot Bench
365x1, 405x1, 425x1

Max Reps Bench
225x19

EZ Bar Curl
65x12x3

This week has been a bit of a disaster training wise and I was supposed to hit some @8's here but chose to just go ham instead.

Havent fucked with the full boar since just before I blew out my rotator but I haven't missed a step I guess. Pretty fun... it was like the gravity got turned down to hit 225 max reps after that...

Low back and left hip, bothersome again... I'm starting to think I need a chiro appt. It doesn't feel like training pain as much as it does general stiffness...

I'll get back to training smart... eventually...

[mouse]

BW: 259

I feel like this is still pretty slow progress for as fat as I am and how much I feel like I'm not taking in calorie wise...

I'm eating salad for God's sake...

[DanCR]

I'm eating salad for God's sake...

My reaction to this was like you’d said that you were seriously ill. Like fuck I’m sorry.

[mouse]

I'm eating salad for God's sake...

My reaction to this was like you’d said that you were seriously ill. Like fuck I’m sorry.

So am I hahaha

[mouse]

11/20/2023

Incline Bench
225x8, 235x8, 245x8

Log Press
185x6, 205x6, 225x6, 170x3x4

Close Grip Bench
185x12, 195x12

Landmine Row
120x15x2

Wasn't the first plan, but it's the plan I'm going with for now...

[mouse]

11/21/2023

Squat
295x8, 315x8, 325x8

13" Deadlift
460x6, 485x6, 500x6, 375x3x4

Step Ups
100x12x2

Air Bike*
30:90x3 + 4:00

*oh my God that's so pathetic lol

[mouse]

11/24/2023

Press
165x8, 175x8, 185x8

Floor Press
275x6, 295x6, 315x6, 245x3x4

Close Grip Incline Bench
155x15, 165x15

EZ Bar Curl
65x10x3

Band OTE
3x12

Was hoping for a bit more out of those floor presses but I'm doing the with an axle and maybe it was just tough to find the groove or maybe I'm just making excuses hahaha...

Either way...

[mouse]

11/25/2023

Deadlift*
460x5, 480x5, 495x5

Squat + Bands**
275x3x8

Goodmorning + Bands
185x10x2

Air Bike
15 min @RPE 7

*did you really think I was gonna do 8's here? HA...

**might have to cave and use my cerberus bands next time, my smaller westsides only add like 20 lbs on each side. If I never mentioned it here before, never buy bands from Cerberus... they do sleeves well but the gear (at least bands) is lacking. Wish I had the money for some new westsides or rogue...

[mouse]

11/27/2023

Incline Bench
235x8x3

Log Press
180x3x8

Close Grip Bench
195x12x2

Landmine Row
120x15x2

Hammer Curl
3x15

[mouse]

11/29/2023

Squat
315x8x3

13" Deadlift
390x3x8

Step Ups
100x12x2

Air Bike*
30:90x3 +4:00

*still sucks, still pathetic...

[mouse]

Had some unexpected family matters to attend to the back half of this week that led to very busy schedules and important visitors...

Odds are I'll just hit the replay button on what would have been this week on Monday...

[hector]

11/25/2023

Deadlift*
460x5, 480x5, 495x5

Squat + Bands**
275x3x8

Goodmorning + Bands
185x10x2

Air Bike
15 min @RPE 7

*did you really think I was gonna do 8's here? HA...

**might have to cave and use my cerberus bands next time, my smaller westsides only add like 20 lbs on each side. If I never mentioned it here before, never buy bands from Cerberus... they do sleeves well but the gear (at least bands) is lacking. Wish I had the money for some new westsides or rogue...

When you are training for strongman do you use straps for deadlift since you’ll get the grip work in elsewhere anyway and to save your hands?
Or is there a different training reason to go strapless?
Or something else entirely?

[mouse]

When you are training for strongman do you use straps for deadlift since you’ll get the grip work in elsewhere anyway and to save your hands?
Or is there a different training reason to go strapless?
Or something else entirely?

For better or worse I always use straps on all variations of deads/rows...

It sounds very Rip-ish but I just DOH everything up until around 405 and then they come out because I don't consider deadlifts a 'grip' lift... unless I'm very specifically trying to improve it for fun or selfish reasons...

I do not understand people who only compete in strongman that use mixed grip or whatever in training... no reason in my opinion...

[DanCR]

I just DOH everything up until around 405

That sounds you heard from 1300 miles away was me sighing.

[mouse]

12/4/2023

Incline Bench
235x8x3

Log Press
180x3x8

Close Grip Bench
200x12x2

Landmine Row
110x15x2

Hammer Curl
2x15

Hopefully my arms don't feel like they want to fall off tomorrow like they did last week. I suspect the extra exposure to log cleans worked my small ass biceps more than they were expecting...

And a fun tidbit for anyone who may benefit:

[DanCR]

And a fun tidbit for anyone who may benefit:

Well don't tease.

[mouse]

And a fun tidbit for anyone who may benefit:

Well don't tease.

Sorry, had to eat dinner, fix a doorknob, etc... anyway...

Initial Impressions with Mouse
The Gear Review Segment Nobody Asked For...

Anyway, after a few years of use and abuse, I decided to replace my Cerberus knee sleeves. To my dismay, they only lasted me about 2 years apparently (I thought we were on 3... but my order history says otherwise). Currently my Cerberus sleeves have blown out tears on both knees, but the one side is all the way through the neoprene and down to the inner fabric of the sleeve. There's definately no pop like there used to be and even for 9mm the overall compression isn't really there much any more.

Anyway, this time around I decided to give Evolution Athletics a shot (Shaw's gear company for the uninitiated). They had a pretty good black friday sale and were offering freebies so I pulled the trigger. Almost got one of the support belts to replace my rehband, but my frugal-ness (pronounced, I probably shouldn't be buying these right now) won out.

Ordered a pair of 2XL in red, and they got here super fast considering the time of year. Because I didn't spend a ton of cash I was the proud recipient of a signed 8x10, which is actually signed and not some photo copy, which is pretty cool honestly. They looked a liiiiiittle more narrow than my Cerberus, but those are well broken in so I thought nothing of it and tried them on.

Now... fair play, I may have managed to mismeasure my knee, but I was also a 2XL in Cerberus so I thought we were good to go. Yeah not so much. These were never getting on. You could have put a gun to my head and I'd have asked to say goodbye to my wife and kids because you were gonna have to blow me away.

Per the instructions I placed a new order for 3XL and sent the others back. Today was my first day with the new ones, and they are very good so far.

Like the Cerberus, these are 9mm so they are SNUG but not as STIFF as I remember the Cerbs out of the box. I do vividly remember the Cerbs having some very uncomfortable pinching or chaffing on the back of my knee because the inner fabric is different than the outside, not the case here with the EA. The inside of the sleeve is the same as the outside, so it's a little 'softer' and doesn't bunch up as much. I suspect these will get more comfortable as I break them in.

I have to roll up my socks to give them a running start to get them all the way up where they need to be, but again they'll break in. I haven't squatted with them yet but my knees felt noticeably more 'compressed' with pushing the log than they did last week and my knees felt a bit 'fresher' if that makes sense.

Added bonus and I'll toot the horn of their customer service, on the second order I made a note that they didn't need to include another 8x10 as I was sizing up and Kerry threw one of the Christmas ornaments in (which was the next price tier up) as a thank you anyway, so that's pretty dope.

I will report back more after tomorrow but so far these are really nice sleeves and I hope they last at least as long as my Cerbs did. For about $57 or so I think they were a pretty good deal.

At the moment I would be inclined to invest in other soft gear from them (sleeves, under belt, shorts, etc) if I need to replace my current stuff.

For belts and wraps I'd still be a Pioneer faithful as my stuff is still going strong...

[mouse]

12/5/2023

Squat
325x8x3

13" Deadlift
385x3x8

Step Ups
100x12x2

Air Bike
10 min @RPE7

Squats feel good with these, and the refund on the too-small-2XL just popped through so that was pretty timely as well...

Thumbs up until further notice.

[mouse]

12/7/2023

Press
175x8x3

Floor Press
265x3x8

Close Grip Incline Bench
165x15x2

EZ Bar Curl
65x10x3

Band OTE
3x12