IRON & STONE: Adventures of an Amateur Strongman

[mouse]

9/10/2022

8 hours splitting/stacking firewood

8. Fucking. Hours.

Almost got through my entire delivery but hit a wall around 6:30 to wear I just couldn't even look at the axe and wheelbarrow anymore.

Fucking wiped out.

[mouse]

9/12/2022

13" Axle Deadlift
345x5, 385x3, 450x1, 485x1, 515x1, 545x1
575x5

Squat
305x5, 355x3, 405x5

Morale may have been at an all time low today. After this weekend I was honestly would have been good with one decent rep at each top weight. Five for each is encouraging but I am certainly in a funk.

Plan this week is to just get through it. Probably won't set up the viking press tomorrow, just gonna use the multigrip bar since I think I'll be okay ish overall.

I think I'm gonna start looking at options for post Orange Elite training this week. Probably need to get real about shedding some pudge...

[mouse]

9/13/2022

Push Press
135x5, 165x3, 195x1, 215x1, 225x1, 235x1
245x4

Close Grip Neutral Bench
225x6x3

Tricep Pressdown
3x20

Didn't put a belt on at all today.

[mouse]

I think I'm gonna start looking at options for post Orange Elite training this week. Probably need to get real about shedding some pudge...

Thinking about running a Baker style scheme for a bit just to see how it goes. Some low pressure vanilla stuff with the option to drop in a Strongman Saturday if I get bored/antsy...

[mouse]

9/15/2022

Incline Bench
150x5, 190x3, 220x2, 235x1, 250x1, 265x1
280x6

Strict Press
135x10, 155x10, 165x10

DB Squeeze Press
100x15x2

[mouse]

Well... next project is underway... what a shit show this thing is...

[mouse]

9/19/2022

13" Axle Deadlift
385x5, 455x5, 495x5

Squat
275x5, 325x5, 365x5

Air Bike
10 min @6-7

No belts, just comfy top fives around 80-85%...

[mouse]

I have some sort of sinus bullshit going on, probably the worst sinus related headache I've had in recent memory and it lasted all day yesterday so I opted to work on the deck when I got home. It's marginally improved today with some meds, so I'll probably just do yesterday's work today...

[mouse]

9/21/2022

Press
165x5, 195x5, 225x5

Close Grip Bench
225x6x3

Barely qualified as training but it was something, still got in an hour or two on the deck...

[mouse]

Who fucking knows if I'm gonna train today... was feeling pretty good about it, like I'd gotten a handle on how to fit it all in, and pulling into work this morning I noticed the truck has a sweet new rattle (seemingly) in the rear end so now I have to track that down. It's driving/shifting fine (so far) but probably shouldn't be ignored.

At this point it's not gonna matter if I'm ready for Syracuse or not because I won't be fucking getting there...

[mouse]

The good news, it wasn't the drivetrain. The rattling/grinding I was hearing was in fact the catastrophic failure of my driver side parking brake. My piston(s) must be sticky on that side because my rotor/pads were trashed and my passenger side was like new so I got that goin for me...

The bad news? I didnt train because I spent my whole day fixing my truck...

[mouse]

In a not-so-shocking turn of events that will assuredly shatter the local WNY strongman sphere, I made the call to back out of the contest this weekend. I just haven't been able to keep myself in that competitive mode lately (obviously) and I just can't see giving up a day of my otherwise dwindling time before winter to go and not be able to give 100%.

What a difference a few months has made... I went from getting back to competing being a #1 priority to shoving it off nearly completely in about 90 days. I just don't have that mindset right now and I'm not totally sure why. Probably has a lot to do with feeling like a fat shit in general and being very unhappy with my overall condition. If we're being honest I need to drop about 15-20 lbs just to be near my comfort level.

I've really let some shit go and I know I need to do something about it.

Gonna go to that M/W/F schedule I talked about and just try to train myself out of this funk for a bit. Try to drop some pounds, try to feel quasi-jacked, and one day in the future I'll go back to picking up rocks and stuff...

[SnakePlissken]

In a not-so-shocking turn of events that will assuredly shatter the local WNY strongman sphere, I made the call to back out of the contest this weekend. I just haven't been able to keep myself in that competitive mode lately (obviously) and I just can't see giving up a day of my otherwise dwindling time before winter to go and not be able to give 100%.

What a difference a few months has made... I went from getting back to competing being a #1 priority to shoving it off nearly completely in about 90 days. I just don't have that mindset right now and I'm not totally sure why. Probably has a lot to do with feeling like a fat shit in general and being very unhappy with my overall condition. If we're being honest I need to drop about 15-20 lbs just to be near my comfort level.

I've really let some shit go and I know I need to do something about it.

Gonna go to that M/W/F schedule I talked about and just try to train myself out of this funk for a bit. Try to drop some pounds, try to feel quasi-jacked, and one day in the future I'll go back to picking up rocks and stuff...

If you recently had Covid don't be surprised if you feel mentally off for several weeks. Also sounds like a great time to start getting into splitting firewood if you want some conditioning.

[cole]

In a not-so-shocking turn of events that will assuredly shatter the local WNY strongman sphere, I made the call to back out of the contest this weekend. I just haven't been able to keep myself in that competitive mode lately (obviously) and I just can't see giving up a day of my otherwise dwindling time before winter to go and not be able to give 100%.

What a difference a few months has made... I went from getting back to competing being a #1 priority to shoving it off nearly completely in about 90 days. I just don't have that mindset right now and I'm not totally sure why. Probably has a lot to do with feeling like a fat shit in general and being very unhappy with my overall condition. If we're being honest I need to drop about 15-20 lbs just to be near my comfort level.

I've really let some shit go and I know I need to do something about it.

Gonna go to that M/W/F schedule I talked about and just try to train myself out of this funk for a bit. Try to drop some pounds, try to feel quasi-jacked, and one day in the future I'll go back to picking up rocks and stuff...

happens to everyone who doesnt actually get paid to lift things. i was super motivate 2017-2019 and made tons of progress...then life happens and powerlifting goes down a few notches in priority and 2022 rolls around and i finally compete again, albeit a shadow of my prior self. but we have kids and jobs and no one else cares haha. youll get back comp mode sooner than you think

[mouse]

If you recently had Covid don't be surprised if you feel mentally off for several weeks. Also sounds like a great time to start getting into splitting firewood if you want some conditioning.

Didn't really consider that but it would make a convenient excuse. More likely the hard truth is that I've let myself go quite a bit and I already have pretty gnarly self image issues... certainly doesn't help the situation... with everything else going on...

On the upside I find all this DIY contractor shit really fulfilling, which makes it easy to push other stuff to the side. Maybe my wife is right, I mean I've always enjoyed building and working with my hands, but I am 100% that dude that goes all in on a specific hobby. Before this it was strongman, before strongman it was guns/hunting, before that it was guitars/music, seems to be a pattern hahaha...

happens to everyone who doesnt actually get paid to lift things. i was super motivate 2017-2019 and made tons of progress...then life happens and powerlifting goes down a few notches in priority and 2022 rolls around and i finally compete again, albeit a shadow of my prior self. but we have kids and jobs and no one else cares haha. youll get back comp mode sooner than you think

You're probably right, it's definately made it a lot easier because other than fun and high fives... it's not like I get much out of it besides injuries lol and

youll get back comp mode sooner than you think

Probably as soon as I run out of project money, which is probably a big part of where this stress comes from. We've really gone all in on getting these projects done this year and to do it we've racked up quite a bit of credit card debt which is something I've always tried to avoid...

[mouse]

9/26/2022

Squat
355x3x4

Bench
235x3x4

Barbell Row
135x8x3

Push-Ups
36x1, 18x1, 11x1

Air Bike
10 min @6-7

Game time decision but I'm gonna do flat benching for a while and hope to develop some pecs again.

Also, to my shock and dismay, barbell rows REALLY AGGRAVATE this forearm/elbow tendonitis shit. Weirdly, it was actually worse with straps. When I just grabbed the bar it became (slightly) better. So those are garbage light, but it is what it is and doing some light strict rows probably isn't the worst thing I could do...

[mouse]

9/28/2022

Press
195x3x4

Deadlift
445x3x4

1.5" Deficit SLDL
295x8

Air Bike
10 min @6-7

[mouse]

9/30/2022

Squat
285x5x2, 285x10

Close Grip Bench
185x5x2, 185x13
(saw that coming)

Pull Ups
5x4

EZ Bar Curl + Rope Pressdowns
65x12x3 / 3x15

[mouse]

10/3/2022

Squat
355x5x3

Bench
235x5x3

Barbell Row
145x8x4

Doing the rows with a neutral grip because they bother my tendonitis less. Pull ups are getting swapped with RDLs because holy shit, the day or so following it was real bad...

Made some more progress on the deck this weekend/today. Bottom deck stairs are in and I started tearing down the upper parts that need rebuilding...

[mouse]

What needed to be torn off is torn off, and I managed to replace the main center joists last night with 2x8's that reach the new 4x4 post. I'm gonna just sister in new 2x6 lumber to the remaining 3 existing joists and put double wide hangers on one end. Should be done with it Thursday/Friday and ready to put in the next set of stairs late Friday or Saturday...

Edit: should this be a log within a log? hahaha