IRON & STONE: Adventures of an Amateur Strongman

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mouse
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IRON & STONE: Adventures of an Amateur Strongman

#1

Post by mouse » Mon Apr 30, 2018 7:19 am

IG HANDLE:
DJKSMVC

PR BOARD:
Squat - 560
Press - 275
Bench - 385
Deadlift - 705
Front Squat - 420
Log Press - 300
Axle Press - 275
Atlas Stone - 330
Farmers Carry - 320


STATIC MONSTERS ATHLETE PAGE

COMPETITIVE HISTORY:
Kilos For Cancer Novice Strongman
Sept 9th 2017 - 4th Place Novice
Central NY's Strongest Man/Woman 2
May 5th 2018 - 3rd Place Open HW 242
Strongest Man/Woman in the Forest 12
Sept 29th 2018 - 4th Place Open HW 265
USSF Fall Classic 2018
Oct 27th 2018 - 1st Place Open 110kg
Central NY's Strongest Man/Woman 3
May 11th 2019 - 2nd Place Open HW 242
Nickel City's Strongest 2019
July 20th 2019 - 2nd Place Open HW 242
Orange Elite V
Oct 5th 2019 - 4th Place Open HW 275
Festivus Feats of Strength
Dec 7th 2019 - 3rd Place Open HW 275
Static Monsters 2020
Oct 24th 2020 - 1st Place HW Open - 980 Total
Revolution Team Challenge
Feb 20th 2021 - 2nd Place Team
Central NY's Strongest Man/Woman 4
May 15th, 2021 - 3rd Place Open MW 220
Central NY's Strongest Man/Woman 5
May 21st, 2022 - 1st Place Open HW 275
Orange Elite 8: Bar Games Edition
September 22nd, 2023 - 3rd Place Open HW 275



OLD LOGS/TRAINING HISTORY:
SS LP Log
Intermediate SS Log
4/2017- 7/2017 - SSLP
7/2017 - 5/2019 - SS type stuff, HLM stuff, Matt Moore coaching
5/2019 - 12/2019 - I head out on my own officially...
12/2019 - 2/2020 - hypertrophy off-season shit... BBM...
2/2020 - 5/2020 - mishmash of stuff, thanks corona
5/2020 - 6/2020 - more BBM shit... some modifications...
6/2020 - 9/2020 - short lived conjugate, BBM bench shit
9/2020 - 11/2020 - experimental conjugate-y nonsense
11/2020 - 3/2021 - Hypertrophy stuff on a diet
3/2021 - 6/2021 - more fucking off, adapting to MW...
6/2021 - 12/2021 - rotator cuff/bicep tear, surgery+rehab...
1/2022 - current - strongman comeback tour


ORIGINAL FIRST POST:

Well... I'm going to officially make the move... I spend way more time here anyway...

This will serve as my main log from now on and I will transition off of the old one over the course of this week, culminating with however I do at CNY's Strongest this weekend. You can find my old logs over on the other forums if you're so inclined, my LP log being titled #StartingOver and my current log GET STRONG: The Intermediate Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman... decent info if you want to see how NOT to do an LP and how a TM-esque 4-day split has treat me since then...

I may occasionally put YT links in here for special PR's or meet results, but if you want to actually SEE any of this nonsense feel free to follow me on IG... my handle is DJKSMVC... it basically functions as a pseudo-log where I post pictures of the family, food, and dog too.

So to start off like I start off every log...

31 / M / 6'1" / 236

Current Lifts:

Squat - 460
Press - 230
Bench - 325
Deadlift - 550
Last edited by mouse on Sat Sep 23, 2023 3:17 pm, edited 64 times in total.

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#2

Post by mouse » Mon Apr 30, 2018 4:34 pm

4/30/2018

C&P - 225x1 / 250x0

Pin Squat - 435x1x2 / 385x3x2

Press - 225x1

Hell of a first log entry. Shitty shitty day. Confirmed in my heart that I will in fact 0 the C&P this weekend. Strength is there. Technique is not. Dropped 250 on my head after I initially hit myself in the jaw. Fun. Instant biceps tendonitis and jacked shoulders from catching it.

Squat went like crap, see the tendonitis and shoulder pain. Made getting tight tough, so my back was pretty loose, compounded the shoulder pain. Also managed to annoy my quad tendonitis.

I was supposed to work up to a decent press single, aiming for a PR at about 240-245... and do some backoff volume at 205x3x2. Wasn't sure because of the arm/shoulder pain. Worked up to 225 which was admittedly a little slow for how I normally press 225... racked the bar, and woke up on the floor.

Yup, first time ever. Total black out. Landed on the rack so I have a nice bruise on my back and probably hit my head pretty hard. Said fuck it and packed it in.

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#3

Post by mouse » Wed May 02, 2018 1:57 am

5/1/2018

Deadlift - 525x1x2

Pin Squat - 405x1x2 / 365x3x3

Stone Load 50" - 220x3x3

The deadlift bar experiment went awesome. Basically simulated the flex of a deadlift bar on my OPB by loading all the plates backwards and to the ends of the sleeves. Definitely makes it a half second slower off the floor but I don't think this is gonna be an issue this weekend.

Now I want a deadlift bar.

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#4

Post by mouse » Thu May 03, 2018 4:20 pm

5/3/2018

Deadlift - 455x1 / 475x1x2

Stone Load 50" - 220x3x3

Well that's it... time to rest, eat, and try to prep my mental game for Saturday. I know where I'm ready, and I know where I'm absolutely not ready, just have to get it cemented that I'm going in there to give it a fight, and come out having fun over everything else...

Time to get some!

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#5

Post by mouse » Mon May 07, 2018 3:24 am

5/5/2018

CNY's Strongest Man and Woman 2
Syracuse, NY
Men's Open 242/275 - 3rd Place
Weighed In @237

The Breakdown

Oly Bar Clean & Press - 265 lbs - 0 Reps

This was expected unfortunately lol. For a very brief moment I thought I might pull off a miracle. Cleaned it much quicker than I had cleaned 250 in training, and got it my shoulders with not a ton of effort. Actually managed to drive it maaaybe to forehead height but couldn't finish it. Started a 2nd attempt at cleaning it but it was much more difficult after a failed attempt. Decided to walk away... know when to fold em.

Axle Squat w/Tires - 475 lbs - 5 reps

Luck was totally in my favor here. First, the judge's concept of "parallel" was absolutely Strongman ATG lol. My reps were like six inches high, whatever, I'm not gonna complain. Second, one of the dudes who would for sure have put up a ton of reps blacked out on his second rep. He was OK thankfully, but it cost him the event. Third, the dude that followed me got very loose in the bottom of his second rep, had to reset, and could not squat it off the boxes. So I ended up taking 2nd in the event.

Truck Pull - 50ft/60sec - 34 ft

I was really hoping to do better here but what screwed me was only being tied in to one of the tow hooks on the truck. Don't know why they didn't tie in to both, but it screwed over a LOT of people. Some guys/girls had no problem at all, but plenty of us (me included) couldn't keep on a straight line to save our lives. It killed any leg drive I could get and I basically ended up pulling the truck with my arms most of the way.

Max Deadlift - 3 Attempt Rule - 500/550/600

This went EXACTLY as planned. Pulled a super fast 500, an equally as fast but more patient 550, and then a new PR at 600 with a just enough of a fight to be dramatic lol. I did pull 600 with straps because at this point I knew there was still a chance I might place and didn't want to chance it. Both the top two guys tied at 650 (I think they tried to pull 700, but I wasn't there at that point) so I took 3rd (2nd?) here.

Atlas Stones @50" - 305/320/340 - 1 Stone (305)

Got the first stone pretty easily actually. Second stone not so much. I didn't pick it high enough and rolled it back across my knees. I don't think I had it as tight to my chest as I thought I did at the time. Cost me some height trying to load it and I ended up stepping backwards which screwed me. Tried but failed to pick it two more times. Bummer. But I ended up taking 2nd in this event too thanks to my relatively quick time on the first stone.


So there it is, not a perfect day but better than I was expecting. The only event I let myself down on was the truck pull. I thought I would have done a little better. But for never doing it and never even really training it I can't complain lol. Placing was pretty cool, even though it was mostly lucky breaks and how small the class was (one other big dog and I would have been toast lol). I will likely be back next year I think...

Now... to start putting in the work towards the WV comp...


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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#6

Post by KoolaidMannn » Mon May 07, 2018 8:31 am

Definitely gonna follow along with your log, I just switched over to strongman a month or two ago myself and have a comp coming up. Congrats on finishing 3rd at your meet! Also that truck pull looked absolutely fucked

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#7

Post by mouse » Mon May 07, 2018 8:49 am

KoolaidMannn wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 8:31 am Definitely gonna follow along with your log, I just switched over to strongman a month or two ago myself and have a comp coming up. Congrats on finishing 3rd at your meet! Also that truck pull looked absolutely fucked
Thanks chief! Yeah I don't know what happened, all of the women's classes and most of the novice men had already gone by the time I got out there from squats so I'm not sure if that was the plan the whole time or if there was some kind of issue that popped up. I saw another tow-strap in a bucket, not sure if it had failed or something? Either way, I'm not one to complain... I'm just there to have fun so I don't mind rolling with the punches. Placing was cool but that was just the icing on the cake, I mean its not like I beat 5 other guys, I just had a slightly better day than another dude lol

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#8

Post by bobmen10000 » Mon May 07, 2018 9:04 am

Congrats on finishing 3rd - I once finished 2nd for my age and weight for a pump & run event a few years ago, of course my class only had 3 competitors, still counted.

Strongman events are legit, I didn't realize there were age/weight/sex classes until following brian alsruhe a while back.

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#9

Post by mouse » Mon May 07, 2018 9:18 am

bobmen10000 wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 9:04 am Congrats on finishing 3rd - I once finished 2nd for my age and weight for a pump & run event a few years ago, of course my class only had 3 competitors, still counted.

Strongman events are legit, I didn't realize there were age/weight/sex classes until following brian alsruhe a while back.
Thanks, I do wish there were more NAS comps around me because they have a 231 class. USS only has 198/220 and 242/275 and I just can't see myself cutting down to sub-220 at the moment. I'd be a little more competitive as a middleweight, even the girls rigging me up for the truck pull made a comment about how I was "kinda skinny" for my weight class lol

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#10

Post by mouse » Mon May 07, 2018 3:54 pm

5/7/2018

Bench - 315x1/345x0

Push Press - 185x5/135x5

I was offered the day off, should have taken it :|

315 moved so fast I thought 345 was there for sure, kind of misgrooved it and it was a bad grind that resulted in a 0 anyway. Push presses kinda sucked, because I suck at push presses, but thats why I gotta practice them I guess...

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#11

Post by tersh » Mon May 07, 2018 6:06 pm

Not a bad effort at all considering you brained yourself with a heavy bar, stressed your shoulders, and then blacked out after pressing and smashed yourself on the rack less than a week earlier!

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#12

Post by EricK » Mon May 07, 2018 6:19 pm

Strong shit @mouse, welcome, officially!

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#13

Post by mouse » Tue May 08, 2018 2:06 am

tersh wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 6:06 pm Not a bad effort at all considering you brained yourself with a heavy bar, stressed your shoulders, and then blacked out after pressing and smashed yourself on the rack less than a week earlier!
HA... yes the taper could have gone slightly better...
EricK wrote: Mon May 07, 2018 6:19 pm Strong shit @mouse, welcome, officially!
Thank you sir!

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#14

Post by asd » Tue May 08, 2018 4:26 am

Yeesh! Next time, try going a little slower, and don't get so tight.

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#15

Post by mouse » Tue May 08, 2018 8:42 am

asd wrote: Tue May 08, 2018 4:26 am Yeesh! Next time, try going a little slower, and don't get so tight.
Truck pull? Any experienced advice is totally welcome lol. I have another coming up in September, whole reason I did this comp was to feel what it was like, so I'm definitely looking to improve lol

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#16

Post by mouse » Tue May 08, 2018 4:07 pm

5/8/2018

Tempo Squat (beltless) - 275x5x3

Paused Deadlift - 405x5x3

Deadmill Sprint - 20/10x6

Magic happened on the squat today. I've gotten real bad biceps tendonitis and elbow fuckacitis from my back flexion in the squat again lately. Today something possessed me to try thumbs around once again and... it was like an epiphany. My back tightened right up, my elbows stayed pinned, and I didn't feel any weight on my wrists. I kind of undershot the RPE on those (if I was using RPE) because tempos feeling like hell and I was wary of aggravating my already hurt knee.

Coach floated the idea of adding in a second conditioning day, though deadmill might be a fast way to work it in during the week. Thought 8 rounds of 20/10 would be good. At the 6th round I realized I made a grave overestimate on my capability lol.

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#17

Post by mouse » Thu May 10, 2018 5:00 pm

5/10/2018

CGB - 245x4x4

Press - 175x5x5

Kept the press pretty strictish today. Breezed through these.

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#18

Post by mouse » Fri May 11, 2018 10:57 am

5/11/2018

Deadlift - 455x5x4

Tempo Squat - 285x5x3

Dead Hang - BW@60 sec

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#19

Post by mouse » Mon May 14, 2018 4:35 pm

5/14/2018

Bench - 285x5/275x5x3

Z-Press - 120x8x3

Did like a million sets of Z-Press to find a good starting weight, settled on 120 (went for 135 but only managed 5 lol). Bar speed was good but looked deceptively easy. I was told to shoot for 9, it was probably realistically more of an 8, 8.5 tops...

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Re: GET STRONG 2: The Strongening - Ramblings of an Amateur Strongman

#20

Post by mouse » Tue May 15, 2018 4:27 pm

5/15/2018

Deadlift - 410x5 (should have been paused... oops)

Paused DL - 410x5x2 (there we go)

Pin Press - 185x5x3 (beltless)

Tempo Squat - 295x5x3 (beltless)

Chin/Row BWx3/245x3 EMOMx10 (missed some chins by the last few rounds, grip wasn't holding up lol)

Doing a decent job of keeping about 5 min or less between sets. Knee was pretty pissed after but healing takes time I suppose.

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