IRON & STONE: Adventures of an Amateur Strongman

[mouse]

1/13/2023

Deadlift
525x5, 460x5x3

Bench
290x6, 260x6x3

Landmine Row
75x12x4

Arms

[mouse]

1/16/2023

Squat
420x5, 365x5x3

Incline Bench
230x8, 215x8x3

13" Deadlift
365x10x3

Squat finally didn't feel like total ass today, so that's cool. Neutral grip is back on the incline, weight moved as good as last week. Deads are what they are, light garbage volume and they move really fast, but I feel like they're doing the job for where they are and I can super set them with the bench and not feel like I'm gonna totally die.

There may have been a little too much low back on the squats or the deads, or both, maybe its just a pump.

Light at the end of the tunnel now, then another deload week, and then onto lower reps again. Maybe even doubles on the squat/deads instead of trips this go round?

I feel like I've learned some stuff, maybe I'll opine on it some day soon...

[mouse]

Must have never hit submit earlier

Power steering decided to take an accelerate shit this morning. The cooler was probably right on the edge of being totally rotted and now it won't be ignored so...

Didn't train today (expecting it would be a little harder to diagnose) but I may use this as on opportunity to go to 4 days because I *gasp* am thinking of competing again in April...

[mouse]

1/19/2023

Press
225x5, 200x5x3

Close Grip Bench
230x10, 205x10x2

Band Rows

Yeah, somethings missing... I know... sue me... finally feeling okay ish about my overhead...

Training tomorrow and then probably hitting the go button on 4 days even though I don't know how they'll look just yet...

[mouse]

1/20/2023

Deadlift
545x5, 465x5x3

Bench
295x6, 260x6x3

Stone
220x5x3

A word, since yesterday afternoon I've been getting some strange and sometimes really uncomfortable pain in my right knee, lateral side kind of under the knee through the outside of my shin. It subsided last night and I didn't really think about it until it flared up this morning. Seemed to be tied to dorsiflexion, sometimes it was really painful (almost limp inducing) when walking.

Though I might not train, but somehow it subsided again while I was fixing the truck and I pulled out this session... life is weird sometimes.

I'm keeping an eye on it.

Side note, power steering cooler in 04 GM's is actually pretty damned easy. Might be the only job I've ever done that didn't go sideways somehow. In and out on about an hour to be honest...

Stone was awkward at first, but by the third set I was getting some one motions in there...

[mouse]

Tentative plan won't look much different than I originally planned, what I've been doing has been working well and I don't want to fall into the bad habit of overthinking it.

Basically gonna keep my 3 day as is (mostly) and then plug in an event day. Deload week this week will commence as planned, if for no other reason than it will be one less basketball week to deal with after...

Probably M/T/T/F but I'm not opposed to M/W/F/S we will see...

DAY 1
Squat - 4@8, 3x4@70%E1RM
Incline Bench - 6@8, 3x6@75%E1RM
13" Deadlift - 3x8

DAY 2
Press - 5@8, 3x5@70%E1RM
SGDL - 3x6@8
Close Grip Bench - 8@8, 3x8 -10%

DAY 3
Deadlift - 4@8, 3x4@70%E1RM
Bench - 5@8, 3x5@75%E1RM
Landmine Row - 3x10

DAY 4
Axle Clean & Press Away
Yoke/Zercher Yoke/Frame Carry/Arm Over Arm
Stone Loads

[mouse]

1/24/2023

Squat
405x6

Incline Bench
275x6

13" Deadlift
405x8x2

When I put pen to paper last week I was originally considering ADDING a Rep to squats, and my brain defaulted to that because I'm a dork and don't read my own shit...

I will more than likely forge on with 4's next week...

[mouse]

1/26/2023

Press
230x5

SGDL
405x6

Close Grip Bench
245x8, 215x8x2

[mouse]

1/27/2023

Deadlift
565x4

Bench
320x5

Landmine Row
120x10, 135x10, 145x10

Back to doing OT on Fridays again, can't afford not to. Ended up falling asleep in a chair for an hour or two before I got around to this. I think with a day off in between D2/D3 the deads may have felt fresh enough to go to 585x4 hahaha...

[mouse]

1/30/2023

Squat
425x4, 370x4x3

Incline Bench
275x6, 230x6x3

13" Deadlift
405x8x3

Incline didn't feel as good as last week so the back off was pretty aggressive. Actually probably too aggressive, probably could have been 10 lbs heavier but whatever. Probably hold the top sets and creep up the back offs...

[mouse]

1/31/2023

Press
230x5, 205x5x3

SGDL
405x6, 365x6x2

Close Grip Bench
245x8, 215x8x2

Arms

Slight misgroove on 230x5 but not like a grind or anything... just a little loose. Thinking I might pull off 405x6x3 on snatch deads was BOLD hahaha... also the second set I didn't get my straps set very well so I had to readjust my right... which loosened my left... which made the set overall a nightmare... third set felt very solid.

[mouse]

2/2/2023

Deadlift
585x3, 520x3x2

Bench
320x5, 285x5x3

Landmine Row
135x10x3

At the last minute I decided I'd rather do 3's on deadlifts...

[mouse]

Oh also, my first programmed event day is scheduled to be...

9 degrees...

So... we will see lol...

Edit:

Was up every 3-4 hours last night to keep our fire hot all night... truck read 15 degrees this morning. OT ran long today and the truck read... 3 degrees when I left the building so... pass. Tomorrow is supposed to be back into the high 20s low 30's so... tomorrow it is...

[mouse]

2/4/2023

Axle Press
225x3, 235x1x2, 255x0, 205x1x3

Great start

Well it being warmer wasn't technically a lie as it went from 0 this morning to around 10... there was no amount of compression or neoprene that made it comfortable.

Immediately made the old mistake of going too hard too fast, I fucking hate axle. All of the made reps are muscle cleans. I couldn't muscle 255 and couldn't continental it either. I either need to hope I can muscle it or I need to drastically come up with a new strategy.

Didn't bother doing anything else once the bad day blues and self introspection came on...

Try again later...

[Hardartery]

Oh also, my first programmed event day is scheduled to be...

9 degrees...

So... we will see lol...

Edit:

Was up every 3-4 hours last night to keep our fire hot all night... truck read 15 degrees this morning. OT ran long today and the truck read... 3 degrees when I left the building so... pass. Tomorrow is supposed to be back into the high 20s low 30's so... tomorrow it is...

Oh that wonderful lake effect....

[mouse]

2/7/2023

Press
185x8, 195x8, 200x8

RDL
325x6, 355x6, 370x6, 285x3x4

Close Grip Bench
205x12x2
DB Row
2x15

Arms

Quasi-Blog Entry
Nuked it. If I didn't mention it, going back to 4 days and that layout was meant to prep me for a contest. I've decided I need to actually focus on getting less fat (yes, for real this time), and that the weight I want to take off doesn't compute with competing (at least the show I was eyeing). Just one day of axle cleans and that tendonitis (or whatever) that was in my left arm reappeared. I'm already and always semi-banged up, so pushing it and trying to lose ~25 lbs is not something I want to balance right now.

Gonna take a certain org's strongman template, chop it up, shuffle it a bit, and turn it into a 4 day that's sorta kinda what I was doing but with some events for fun and some rep ranges that will hopefully lead to increased jackedness. I have some big family reunions and vacations coming up this fall and I want to at least sort of look like I lift and fit into an XL shirt without being self conscious... and let's be brutally honest, inflation seems to have added like 20% to sign up fees and I just don't need to be dropping that kind of dime on t shirts and self harm lol

[mouse]

2/8/2023

Squat
325x8, 345x8, 365x8

Bench
275x6, 295x6, 305x6, 225x3x4

Ukrainian Deadlift
225x12, 245x12

Roll Outs
Yeah you read that right

I've done these once or twice before but the Ukrainians are Ukrainian in like... spirit only. I don't have the boxes to do a true UKDL setup, so it's really like a narrow grip hands-inside-knees 6" deficit deadlift, and even as light as they are they fucking suck by the last couple reps...

[mouse]

2/10/2022

Incline Bench*
215x8, 225x8, 235x8

Box Squat**
365x6, 385x6, 405x6, 315x3x4

Pinch Bench***
135x15x2

Arms

*raised the bench a notch so they're like ~45 degrees

**the good news, my hip and knee felt way better than the last time I tried adding box squats, the bad news, my abs are so much more shot than I thought and 405 sucked donkey balls

***I'm using the inner most narrow grips of my multi bar to mimic where my hands would be pinching DBs, not quite the same, but at least a similar chest pump and I can push the weight higher than with my paltry DB setup...

[mouse]

2/11/2023

Deadlift
455x6, 475x6, 495x6

Log Press
190x6, 215x6, 225x6, 165x3x4

Yoke 60ft
400x4

Sandbag Throw
3x5

Not exactly on cruise control today but made it through...

[mouse]

2/13/2023

Press
190x8x3

RDL
295x3x8

Close Grip Bench
210x12x2
DB Row
2x15

Arms