MarkKO's training log

[Hardartery]

Well, good news. It's Saturday morning and the ankle didn't stiffen up. Some residual mild pain at the top of the calf so something definitely happened but I think I dodged a bullet. Again. Right now Neo got nothing on me.

On a completely different note, the realisation hit me that peaking for a strongman competition differs massively from a powerlifting meet in one way that I absolutely never considered. I've completed a fair few of the events already. I know what I can do with the weights over the distance so it's just a matter of seeing if I can improve on that. It's a huge difference mentally to me. For a PL meet, I'm going in knowing I'll make my first and second attempts unless I fuck up, and then will go into uncharted waters on my third. Very exciting.

For strongman? Different. I'm not going in with many questions marks, because it's mostly rep and time work so my mindset turns out to be looking at it more like a training day. It's not bad, but there is one pitfall and that is I don't have a sense of urgency to keep training hard. Instead it turns out my head defaults to focusing on being as recovered and uninjured as possible because if I am, I know I can already do around three quarters of the events.

I'm probably doing a very bad job explaining this. So what else is new?

Not a terrible approach. The biggest thing is being able to turn it on and off during the contest. It's way easier to burn your "Amped up" cards too soon in Strongman, the last thing to do is try and stay amped all day. Carry some trashy simple carbs, like gummy bears or a bottle of honey if you want healthier and fancier. Hit it post event, not pre-event, and don't be afraid to take a little creatine mid day with something food related. Do not eat anything serious all day. Nuts, granola/protein bars, gummy bears, maybe some cheese sticks or something. Steady trickle of calories until the contest is over but not a lot and drink some electrolytes periodically. You are just trying to avoid cramping and funnel carbs all day at a trickle. Stay away from anything requiring a lot of digestion. It's okay to switch it on part way into the event even rather than go all Evan Singleton. Remember that you are going to burn a hell of a lot more calories and adrenaline over the day than in PL, and caffein is never a mistake during the contest.

Thanks for that. Yes, my plan was to mimic what I do in a meet for food which is to go through a bunch of gatorade and maybe eat a banana or two. The gummy bears are a good idea though, I'll grab some. My main concern is going to be hydration because it'll still be reasonably warm.

I was also considering loading up on salt the day before to help me hold fluids, would that be worthwhile?

As to turning it on and off I'm not overly worried. I'm generally a very calm competitor and rely more on staying focused than amped. I often find being amped just throws me off, but what I am hoping for is that having a decent number of guys to chase is going to help me lift my effort somewhat.

I think salt only helps if you are coming in dehydrated, like recovering from a water cut to make weight. It doesn't sound like a consideration, so I personally wouldn't worry about it. The main thing with SM is you will destroy all of your glycogen every event on top of lactic acid formation. Muscle cramping becomes a concern in the heat, like a random calf cramp that drops you mid stone or something. The simple carbs pump right back in and help with the recovery between event, some guys walk around with tubes of glucose paste, at WSM they get an IV after each event. You usually think you're fine until you actually start the next event and realize you are totally catabolic.

[MarkKO]

Well, good news. It's Saturday morning and the ankle didn't stiffen up. Some residual mild pain at the top of the calf so something definitely happened but I think I dodged a bullet. Again. Right now Neo got nothing on me.

On a completely different note, the realisation hit me that peaking for a strongman competition differs massively from a powerlifting meet in one way that I absolutely never considered. I've completed a fair few of the events already. I know what I can do with the weights over the distance so it's just a matter of seeing if I can improve on that. It's a huge difference mentally to me. For a PL meet, I'm going in knowing I'll make my first and second attempts unless I fuck up, and then will go into uncharted waters on my third. Very exciting.

For strongman? Different. I'm not going in with many questions marks, because it's mostly rep and time work so my mindset turns out to be looking at it more like a training day. It's not bad, but there is one pitfall and that is I don't have a sense of urgency to keep training hard. Instead it turns out my head defaults to focusing on being as recovered and uninjured as possible because if I am, I know I can already do around three quarters of the events.

I'm probably doing a very bad job explaining this. So what else is new?

Not a terrible approach. The biggest thing is being able to turn it on and off during the contest. It's way easier to burn your "Amped up" cards too soon in Strongman, the last thing to do is try and stay amped all day. Carry some trashy simple carbs, like gummy bears or a bottle of honey if you want healthier and fancier. Hit it post event, not pre-event, and don't be afraid to take a little creatine mid day with something food related. Do not eat anything serious all day. Nuts, granola/protein bars, gummy bears, maybe some cheese sticks or something. Steady trickle of calories until the contest is over but not a lot and drink some electrolytes periodically. You are just trying to avoid cramping and funnel carbs all day at a trickle. Stay away from anything requiring a lot of digestion. It's okay to switch it on part way into the event even rather than go all Evan Singleton. Remember that you are going to burn a hell of a lot more calories and adrenaline over the day than in PL, and caffein is never a mistake during the contest.

Thanks for that. Yes, my plan was to mimic what I do in a meet for food which is to go through a bunch of gatorade and maybe eat a banana or two. The gummy bears are a good idea though, I'll grab some. My main concern is going to be hydration because it'll still be reasonably warm.

I was also considering loading up on salt the day before to help me hold fluids, would that be worthwhile?

As to turning it on and off I'm not overly worried. I'm generally a very calm competitor and rely more on staying focused than amped. I often find being amped just throws me off, but what I am hoping for is that having a decent number of guys to chase is going to help me lift my effort somewhat.

I think salt only helps if you are coming in dehydrated, like recovering from a water cut to make weight. It doesn't sound like a consideration, so I personally wouldn't worry about it. The main thing with SM is you will destroy all of your glycogen every event on top of lactic acid formation. Muscle cramping becomes a concern in the heat, like a random calf cramp that drops you mid stone or something. The simple carbs pump right back in and help with the recovery between event, some guys walk around with tubes of glucose paste, at WSM they get an IV after each event. You usually think you're fine until you actually start the next event and realize you are totally catabolic.

Got you. I won't worry about the salt, but will make absolutely certain to keep on top of glucose levels. Again, thank you.

[MarkKO]

Competition week

Zero warmup (again)

4x10 m x 132 lbs/hand farmer's walk
3x1x374 lbs axle DL
2x30 sec, 1x45 sec x 374 lbs axle zercher hold

Carries and DL were very easy. For some reason axle is just a super, super comfortable way to DL. For any given weight it feels around 50 pounds lighter than a barbell.

The holds were ok, holding the yoke is easier. Felt tightness moving up from the ankle during these, hopefully the actual walk will mitigate that.

[MarkKO]

Last training before competition is done.

Didn't warm up as such, but did work up instead of jumping straight in.

3x8x44 lbs DB military press
4x6x154 lbs dead press off pins around two inches off chest
3x8x77 lbs deadball press, which was interesting

[DCR]

Last training before competition is done.

Good luck, and have fun!

[MarkKO]

Last training before competition is done.

Good luck, and have fun!

Thanks! Assuming my ankle holds up it should be a decent day.

[MarkKO]

Recap incoming.

Weighed in yesterday which was just a formality, because the cut-off was 231.4 lbs and I wasn't getting anywhere near that. For the record, I weighed in at 221.1 lbs clothed without shoes. I'm going to trim a little down for a month or two as my waistline has gotten a tad larger than I'm happy with, but nothing under 209 lbs. As long as my waist is sub-100 cm I'm content. I'm at around 102-3 now.

The ankle has behaved all week and I slept well so woke feeling fresh. Perfect weather, clear and not meant to get too hot. Not windy either. Total of 62 competitors today, 11 in the under-105s so I planned for a long day. Stocked up on gatorade (four litres) and gummies (about a pound) because @Hardartery came through with the MVP advice again.

I expected a really horrible surface because it was grass/dirt but turns out it really wasn't bad at all. Also plenty of shade to sit in. Just as a precaution I strapped the ankle as well as wore a brace. I figured if nothing else the placebo effect would help.

Actually got to warm up a little on the implements too, which I hadn't counted on. Much to my delight the farmer's handles had some solid knurling, and although they were a couple of inches lower than what I've been training on I'll take knurling any day.

Event 1: 10 metre farmer's carry with 220 lbs per hand to 10 metre duck walk with 242 lbs, 60 seconds
I didn't get my exact time but on the video it looks like around 17 seconds total, about six for the farmer's and nine for the duckwalk. The transition took maybe two or so seconds. I came dead last, which I had absolutely not expected. I thought I'd sit somewhere around sixth. First and second I found out were 0.4 of a second apart, both around 11 seconds. Coming last threw me a little but I figured I had to forget about it and work on picking up points elsewhere. I was still disappointed though, but very glad my ankle held up and also not devastated because when I tested the event on a tarmac surface I got 21 seconds so I did manage a decent improvement there.

Event 2: press medley, axle clean and press with 198 lbs, yoke press with 220 lbs, 132 lbs monster DB, 60 seconds
Got the axle with a bit of wobble but no major issues. Couldn't quite get the yoke, but came pretty close. I had 20 seconds left but didn't think persisting was smart. While I had gone in thinking this was probably the one event I was likeliest to come last in, I came eighth I believe. I got three points out of it, at any rate. Two or three guys zero'd, one unfortunately leaving in an ambulance. I think he ruptured a disc. This had me on four points, still last.

Event 3: deadlift medley, axle with 440 lbs, silver dollar DL with 573 lbs, frame DL with 617 lbs, 60 seconds
Axle went up OK, silver dollar likewise and thanks to Hardartery and his strap wisdom I had enough time to get five reps on the frame. I probably could have gotten six because I had maybe two seconds to go after the fifth. Got another four points out of this, so I think I got seventh or sixth. First place came in with 19 reps. The under-90s had a horrible time of their medley because the frame was misloaded: it was slated to be 573 lbs I think but it wasn't until they had all gone and all failed the frame that they realised it had been loaded to 705 lbs. This let me lift myself out of last place by one position.

Event 4: zercher yoke carry with 374 lbs, max distance in 60 seconds with no drops
The track was 10 metres with a turn around a monster DB at each end and a divide down the middle. Distance on the turn wasn't counted and you were docked something if you crossed the divide in the middle of the track. I got around 23 metres. I didn't go the full 60 seconds but called it when my vision started going funny. That ended up being around to put me in fourth place with seven points. Quite a few guys who had been beating me soundly on the other events struggled. Worked myself into eighth place overall.

Event 5: stone to shoulder with 242 lbs for max reps on 60 seconds, no tacky
Everyone was put on notice as soon as we started warming up: the stones were as slippery as you can get while dry. I knew we were in trouble when open competitiors were giving the 220 lbs stone the stink eye. I think around half of my weight class zero'd, myself included. I fought the damn thing for the full minute but my grip just slipped and slipped, even when I had both sets of fingers sandwiched between the stone and the mat.

I ended up in ninth place by the end.



I had a very good day of it, and bar the stone everything went according to plan so I really can't complain. I'll do ACT Strongest in November next, and look at working myself into the top half.

[DCR]

Sounds like, for a first time, this was a big success.

Many compliments on my facial hair, surprise win.

No surprise about it.

[Hardartery]

Nice work. The opening Medley would have gone better if you were both going the same direction to race each other. Stones are what they are, more forearm contact would have helped you but it's really mostly about big hands that don't flex and the wrists being strong enough more than anything. I was surprised you didn't get the yoke press, you looked very close on it. I would have had you try to carry the Zercher a little bit higher on the abs, you ideally want to push them out and let it sit on top of that shelf as long as possible for that kind of carry to keep the arms untaxed as long as possible. But seriously, you did well and no injuries.

[MarkKO]

Sounds like, for a first time, this was a big success.

Many compliments on my facial hair, surprise win.

No surprise about it.

It wasn't bad, I'll say that much.

[MarkKO]

Nice work. The opening Medley would have gone better if you were both going the same direction to race each other. Stones are what they are, more forearm contact would have helped you but it's really mostly about big hands that don't flex and the wrists being strong enough more than anything. I was surprised you didn't get the yoke press, you looked very close on it. I would have had you try to carry the Zercher a little bit higher on the abs, you ideally want to push them out and let it sit on top of that shelf as long as possible for that kind of carry to keep the arms untaxed as long as possible. But seriously, you did well and no injuries.

Thanks. With the medley I really can't complain. The other guys were simply quicker on the duckwalk, and I wasn't prepared to risk my ankle by taking larger steps. It is what it is.

I need to practice the stones a bunch. They're still unfamiliar, and it doesn't help that my hands are big with small wrists. ACT strongest will have atlas stones, but I expect they will allow tacky. I know with tacky I can get 242 very easily, so by the time it rolls around I would hope that I can get something around 300 lbs or a bit more.

The yoke press was close for sure. I don't doubt I'll get it sooner rather than later. I'm hoping Mark will keep it in training because I have a feeling that it'll feed into my axle and most other pressing.

Definitely should have done what you say for the zercher. I'll bear that in mind next time it comes up.

[MarkKO]

Went through the gym briefly and did some windmills, but used a DB instead which I think I prefer. Worked up to 44 lbs for what turned out to be five each side. I didn't count, but filmed to see if I'm doing them correctly. I'm pretty sure I'm not, but they feel good so I don't care too much.

Made a detour via the back raise and then towards the stones because I'm still pissed about zeroing that event.

Got 220 lbs to shoulder pretty happily. Then I lapped some heavier stone, but I don't know how much heavier. Couldn't shoulder it, but got it to my chest. After that lapped the 264 lbs stone.

That was enough for my pride to feel soothed so I left, but did a set of eight chin ups first.

[slowmotion]

Damn! Great work at the meet!

[MarkKO]

Damn! Great work at the meet!

Thanks! I enjoyed it much more than I've enjoyed powerlifting meets. Less stressful, somehow, for all that I didn't place how I wanted. I think I've got a decent shot at getting pretty good at it, better than I am at powerlifting.

[cgeorg]

Nice work! Seems like a very respectable showing for your first event, and without reinjuring a spotty ankle to boot. It's a bit of a shame the stone wasn't liftable by anyone.

[Clearwater47]

Nice meet. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Congrats on the top tier facial hair!

[MarkKO]

Nice work! Seems like a very respectable showing for your first event, and without reinjuring a spotty ankle to boot. It's a bit of a shame the stone wasn't liftable by anyone.

Thanks. I was definitely lucky. Turns out the two guys from the gym who did get hurt have a fractured ankle from the duckwalk and a torn calf from warming up for the press.

The stones were hard. Some guys could get them, and congratulations to them. Apparently last year had the same scenario, so those stones are just hard. Something to aim for.

[MarkKO]

Nice meet. Sounds like you had a lot of fun. Congrats on the top tier facial hair!

Thank you. I did enjoy myself considerably.

[Renascent]

I know next to nothing about strongman competitions, but, echoing what others have said, glad you had fun!

[MarkKO]

I know next to nothing about strongman competitions, but, echoing what others have said, glad you had fun!

I also know very little about strongman competitions, and it showed

I'm hoping ACT Strongest has a similarly large group in my weight class so I can see how much I improved.