P/F/M NATs '13 MISREP Day 1: Travel Out

Today definitely did not end as I had hoped. I was supposed to land in Norfolk at 5:50, which would have given me some time to get over to Brute Strength Gym and spend a little time with the implements but due to a storm and an overfilled jet, I didn't land until around 8:10 and Brute closed at 9:00.

I was able to get there by 8:45 but, of course, this was not enough time to get anything done other than a walk-through. I took a few mental notes while I glanced around and I do need to get there tomorrow and touch some of the toys. 1. I noticed that their axle doesn't rotate at all - they did it right - which is a little different than I'm used to so I should go get a feel for it. 2. The 145 pound shackle for the anchor chain drag is a fucking monster, I need to go figure out how to pick it up for the drag. 3. The pick heights for the Frame, Truck Tires and Car Dead are different than I’m used to so I also need to go feel them out, a little.

These aren’t stark contrasts but hey, these slight differences can mean placing on the podium vs off the podium.

I will say, it was enjoyable to travel without having to worry about making weight. For shows past, by this point I’ve sodium loaded, then water loaded then started to try to sweat it out. I was able to have an iced coffee before I flew out and a meal over the extended layover in Denver, it was nice. Tonight I’m about to go find something to eat and tomorrow morning I can eat again, had the weight class shift not happened, I’d be waking up, wrapping myself in a garbage bag under a few layers of sweats and walking on the treadmill or sitting in a sauna until I saw the magical 232, hoping carry-over would bring me under 231.5 by the time I got on the scale. Then I’d start re-loading and re-feeding until I didn’t feel like me ears needed to pop, take a nap and hopefully feel normal again by early evening. Luckily, I don’t have to weigh in so, I don’t have to worry about any of that.


Competing as a Heavy (or “Middleweight” in this case) comes with a different set of Training, Tactics and Pcedures. I can’t recall what I did the days before my other NAS Open Heavy Shows (So-Cal Strength Challenge OCT 2010 & Red Bluff JUL 2012) but I do remember feeling at ease and unstressed, which put me in a good frame of time to turn it on when competition day came.

Comments? Like us on Facebook!
~SAVAGE~

Pol/Fir/Mil NATs '13 - 2 Weeks Out: Last Look & Heavy Liftin'

This weekend was my last chance to get heavy work in before P/F/M Nats. About a year ago I was training heavy for a Dallas Plat Plus show a week out and fucked my back up when pulling my 750 pound 'Doomsday Frame', an injury that haunts me to this day. With the recent 'hard cramp' of two weeks ago, I don't want to take any chances but, I needed a 'last look' before the show.

Failing at 303

DTG: 27JUL2013/1000
LOC: Brownfield Residence
Events: Axle Clean & Press, Arm / Arm Pull, Tire (Chain) Drag, Car Dead Lift

Today was a Team Big Sac extended family reunion at the Brownfield residence. The Barrel Doug Carroll came up from Santa Rosa, Brooks brought a few guys doing the Novice class at Northern Nevada's Strongest Man down from Chico and Fred Larson, Ty-lor Shelgren and Zach rode up with me.

I got some work in on the Axle while everyone else was working with the BiggDogg Logg. I worked up to 303 but I missed it twice. My best good rep was 283, 300+ will sadly have to wait until after VA. I did two sets each of Arm Over Arm Pull / Tire Sled drag with a 220 pound stone in the tire, both times the second go felt better than the first.

My real reason for heading to the Brownfield Residence was to get my hands on his Car Dead setup again. The pick on my Car Dead is about 6" higher than his and the one in VA, and it damn near crippled me last time I used it. I wanted to have another session with it, and be able to walk away from it, before heading out. Today, for my last set, we had a Corolla on the platform w/ 100 pounds of dumbbells in the trunk, with each rep one of the guys threw in a 60 pound sandbag. My 5th rep was my last, with an additional 240 pounds of sand in the trunk... And I walked away from it without cramping or tweaking it. Good training day.

DTG: 28JUL2013/1200
LOC: Fortress of Solitude
Events: Log Press, Keg Press
The sun has been relentless this summer and I was pretty burnt out after my day in Oroville. I decided to omit Frame Dead and 18" Dead today, after the Cad Deads, I didn't want to chance it. I got my whole workout in today in about 45 minutes. I went slightly above event weight on the Log, cleaned it once, pressed it for 4 reps. Not as good as I've done before but I also hadn't done Axel Press / Log Press on back to back days before. I'm going to chalk my weak Log work up to that.

Kegs have been an issue for me lately, mostly because I haven't trained with them enough. Today I worked staggered grip and hit the 207 with the left and right, also the 230 with the left and right. My last rep was a single with the 250, left hand on the top / right hand on the bottom, if that makes sense. Honestly, I was surprised that I hit it today, a 240 is going to be a chore at the end of the push-pull.

Last Two Weeks:
I have 12 full days until the competition. This morning I was 246.8, I have to cut 15.4 pounds. Here's my plans for the final days:

07/29-08/05: Last week of lifting. No max attempts at all. Any static events practice done will be capped at 85% of event weight. Try to hit conditioning every other day first thing in the morning, switching between 20 minute steady state sessions and hi intensity interval training.

08/06-8/08: Rest, rest, rest. Get adjustments and take massages. If any work needs to be done for cutting purposes, keep it very low-impact. Travel day is 08/08, I get in early enough to find a sauna or steam room if needed.

08/09: Wake up, check body weight, cut any final weight that I may need to, head to Brute to weigh-in as early as possible (1100 per entry form) and then hit Waffle House like a wrecking ball, get back to Brute to feel the equipment out, pizza/pasta feed at Regino's with leftovers 3 hours later.

Comments? Like us on Facebook!

~SAVAGE~

Pol/Fir/Mil NATs '13 - 4 Weeks Out: F@#K the groceries!!

DTG: 13JUL2013/1830
LOC: Brownfield Residence, Oroville, CA
Events: Log Press, Arm/Arm Pull, Sled Drag, Car Deads

I had National Guard duty and afterwards I went up to Oroville to train with Douglas Brownfield; his Car Dead apparatus pick height is much more close to the one at Brute than the one at my house is and because I've zeroed twice in Car Dead events, I don't want to mess around with prepping for this event. Also, as I said in a previous blog, I've really neglected training for the moving events so those were targets today.

We warmed up with a few set with the log, I think my last set was 210, clean once / press for a triple. I didn't do too much because I hit iBench pretty hard on Friday night. I still don't have an anchor chain but tonight's workout around was a tire loaded with four 45's on a loading pin. First I worked the Arm / Arm Pull with my feet braced against a 250 pound sand bag with the tire sled just over 60' away from me. I was focusing on working a rhythm trying to coordinate the legs and arms, I think I got the hang of it after three sets. I still have a long way to go to match the skills I saw in the Brute Strength Gym Functional Fitness Class videos.

I followed up each set of Arm / Arm Pull with Tire Sled drags, same weight and distance as above. I should have gone a little further but my lungs and legs were burning. Working on the form here, I tried to start off with short choppy steps and stride out towards the end. I have a bad habit of looking back over the shoulder that I need to correct. I feel like the setup at Brute will be much more challenging and I need to put something different together to train for it. After the moving events practice, I was well warmed up for Car Deads.

Brownfield and I started with a 500 pound tire on the platform and pulled it for some reps to warm up. To increase weight we parked the car on it and extended it and added weight to it, leading up to the final set, which was pretty close on contest practice. The Car Dead was loaded with my Honda Civic and 160 pounds of dumbbells in the trunk. Next to the car was a stack of four 60 pound sand bags. After each rep I knocked out, Brownfield threw in a sand bag up, I get all but the last rep, it was heavy.

It's about an hour's drive from Brownfield Residence to the Fortress of Solitude and I stopped off on the way to grab some groceries. About an hour after getting home I was cooking dinner and bringing stuff in from the car, On my last trip I walked in, set my gym bag and groceries on the floor, stood up and pulled a muscle in my lower back hard. It wasn't immediately as bad as when I wrenched my back with the 740 Frame Dead about a year ago. I'm writing this up a few days later and my lower back in still tender. Hopefully I won't have to pull out of P/F/M NATs because of this. I'll give it a few more days rest and then try to hit the weights again. I can't believe that way it all unfolded; fuck the groceries.

Pol/Fir/Mil NATs '13 - 5 Weeks Out

DTG: 07JUL2013/1130
LOC: Fortress of Solitude
Events: BiggDogg Logg Press, Push-Pull, Arm/Arm Pull, Conan's Wheel

Today Douglas Brownfield came over and we worked on our timing on pressing the BiggDogg Logg. If I go to Nationals, I'm going to need to make improvements with the overhead implements by leaps and bounds and I think that starts now. In reviewing lots of YouTube footage of big log presses, there's a hidden 'sweet spot' right at the top that most of the biggest pressers capitalize on. So, I began the endless quest for the sweet spot.

Having warmed up with the Logg, I was ready for Push-Pull Medley practice and went through 3 times at 70% 85% and Contest Weight *Keg was only 90%. It took a while to set everything up but it was good you move through it all, I learned that just like with the moving events, smooth is fast. I'll hit the components individually and then set everything up in another week or two. I need to load my keg to 240 or 245. I have a Keg that weighs 252, maybe I oughta just man up and work with that.

200 Keg Press

The Arm/Arm Pull coming up is still TBD. I have some gear that I need to take to my welder loaded in the back of Big Black, so I did a seated Arm/Arm pull at about 9,500lbs system weight. I felt like it went too fast, the truck pretty much rolled consistently from the initial big pull. For the second set, we loaded 2x100's into a tire, this was much more challenging as I had to fight for every inch of it. At about 60' I had Brownfield pull one of the plates off and finished the 30' of rope that I had left.

We finished with some Conan's Wheel. Gary Montoya is hosting a Record Breaker in conjunction with Northern Nevada's Strongest Man the weekend after Pol/Fir/Mil NATs and I'd like to take a stab at the Conan's Wheel Record. I took 200, 400 and 600 for a few laps. When I failed with the 600, I was about 50' shy of the current record. My lunges gave out before my legs did.

All and all, a pretty good events day. We went from 11:30-4:00. I skipped Car Deads, again. For the up-coming show and the record attempt, I need to start conditioning work, and I need to start it soon.

4th of July Liftin'

DTG: 04JUL13/15:45
LOC: Brownfield Residence, Oroville, CA
Events: Axle Clean & Press Away, 18" Deads

I have to admit it; even without an invite to North American Strongman Nationals, I took a look at the entry and the events list. The overhead events will by far be my biggest challenge, if I win an invite.

273 Axle Clean & Press Away for 2

My plan going in to the 4th of July workout was to hit some static events. It was about 108 degrees outside and I didn't want any part of moving events in the heat, I got my fill of that the previous weekend. Besides, it was a Thursday and moving events were already scheduled for Sunday.

After a brief warm-up the crew and I moved into some light Axle Clean and Press for triples, doubles, singles and finally some heavier work. My final three sets were: 233x1, 253x1, 273x2. It's not strong by any means but for me, it's an improvement. I recently hit 290 on a Barbell Clean and Press and slightly failed to lockout 300 pounds. I've never hit 300 overhead on anything and I'm inching towards it.

643 18" Dead from Blocks

After overhead work, we moved into 18" Deads. I recently made these blocks and we decided to put them to the test. I also recently failed to pull 555 off of these. I'm a few weeks out from Police / Fire / Military Nationals and a component of the Push-Pull medley is a Truck Tire Dead Lift, I've seen it at Brute Strength Gym before and it's about an 18" Dead. Hitting that rep was good for me today, a little improvement since missing it a few weeks ago.

I wanted to finish with some Car Deads, and the rest of the crew did but I had to take off early to pick up a salad my wife prepped for the get together and the newborn baby. I'll have to hit Car Deads on Sunday with Events training but, that's the way it goes. You put in the work when you can. All and all, even though it was short it was a good workout with a good crew. A few days later, writing this blog, I don't feel the slightest twinge in my back. It's been a long time since I was able to push and pull weights like this and feel good afterwards, it may be a good end to the season yet.

Want more Savage?!?

Comment & Like us here: R.A.Strahan - Iron Troubadour 

Compressed, Depressed Strongman

The Doomsday Frame: System Weight 740-790lbs

A week ago Sunday I blew my back out doing some Frame Deads with my good friend Douglas Brownfield while preparing to go to Dallas, TX for a North American Strongman Pro-Qualifier. I was more prepared for this show than any other show than I've gone to in a long time but I shot myself in the foot five days out from weigh-ins. 

My Frame, which will now be called Doomsday, has a base weight of 350-400lbs, I don't know which is correct, I've never weighed it. It's inventor, Dave Dirks of Dirks Welding in Yuba City, CA, told me it was 400 base on the poundage per inch of the scrap channeling he used to build it. My strongman buddies have ranged the ways it 'feels' anywhere from 375-500, based on how high gravity is cranked up on training day. I've always gone with 350, just to be safe. 

That day we warmed up with Harness / Rope assisted Frame pulls for three sets of 75' with increasing poundage, next I suited up for Doomsday Deads while Douglas flipped the tire. I was wearing my Inzer Advanced Designs Fusion suit - it's a one ply Dead Lift Suit, and my Inzer Forever Lever Belt. I knew I was warm so the goal was five sets of heavy triples, increasing weight with each set, my aim with this was to replicate the Car Dead Lift event that I'd face in Dallas. First set was Doomsday, empty for 3, it was my first time lifting with with the suit / belt and I wanted to get the feel of it. Doomsday alone was too easy, second set was +110 for another easy triple, this was too easy as well. Third set was +200, fourth was +290, and fifth was +340, all for triples. 

I should have stopped at the fifth set, actually, I shouldn't have been lifting at all, I should have been resting, but zeroing on the Car Dead in Tunica in 2011 was on my mind, I didn't want to zero in Dallas and hadn't felt prepared enough in that event to take a rest day. But it didn't... I called for another pair of quarters, dipped my hips, pulled to a sticking point and then wrecked my way to a lockout. It was a good rep, but my last for the workout and since. 12 minutes after the lift I had a feeling I wouldn't be going to Dallas, it was that bad. 

Later that afternoon I went for a hot stone massage, and woke up Monday the 13th having to lay on the floor to get dressed. I've been adjusted twice a day Mon-Fri since by Dr. Dean Ellyson of Ellyson Chiropractic in Marysville, CA. For the most part, I've got full range of motion back and am getting around pain free - for the most part. Still, I was scheduled to compete in Northern Nevada's Strongest Man, hosted by Gary Montoya in Reno, NV on the 25th. There's no way I could come in prepped for that show either. 

In my downtime, I've had a lot of time to reflect and come up with a game plan for the future. I've been looking at my training log for the week before the injury and here's the events I can point to that led to the broken back...

08AUG12:
- Suit / Belt Box Squats 225x5, 275x5, 315x8, 365x8, 405x3, 455x3, 495x3, 545x1
- Suit / Belt Barbell Deads 485x3, 535x3, 600x3, 650xF

11AUG12:
- Tire Flip LWTx5, HWTx11
- Yoke Walk 555x20', 655x20', 855x50'
- Farmer's Walk 200xP, 300x50'

12AUG12:
- Doomsday Pulls 440x70', 530x70', 620x70'
- Doomsday Deads 350x3, 460x3, 550x3, 640x3, 690x3, 740x1

Prior to my injury I was seeing Doc Ellyson weekly right up until July 23, after Tehama's Strongest Man. My work schedule changed to nights and I neglected to schedule appointments after that, stack the back to back heavy on top and it's almost like I was asking to get hurt. 

If I do recover from this I've got a few things in mind from preventing it from happening again:
1. Weekly Adjustments, even when I don't think I need them or have time
2. 2 Deep Tissue Massages a month
3. Heavy Lower Body Work limited to once a week or once every other week

I don't know when I'll start lifting again. I had planned on going to Police/Fire/Military Nationals as a Heavyweight on Sept 8th, it's probably a better idea to go as a lightweight at this point as it'll be a while before I get back to full strength.

There is a silver lining here. At the end of the day, it was a good lockout at somewhere between 740 & 790 pounds on one of the first few times I've trained the lift. Should I recover completely form this, I do see a 700 pound, and perhaps beyond Barbell Dead Lift (Suit & Straps) in my future even though it definitely won't happen this weekend. Someday I'll learn about peaking and periodization, probably for this year's run at Nationals.