Todays session was based largely on the Novice comp that i will be competing in in March. The first event in the comp will be a medley. With that in mind we started with farmers walk and instead of working up to a big 1RM we kept the weight a bit lower and did twice the distance (40m with a turn instead of 20m). We did this up to 100kg in each arm then did 20m with 120kg. After this instead of going heavier we set up the medley. I did take a picture but my phone died so i can't get it up but here's the summary:
- 100kg farmers walk (each hand) for 10m then run back to:
- 80-100kg keg carry for 10m then run back to:
- 250kg sled drag for 10m
The farmers walk and the keg took about 15seconds together then i underestimated the weight on the sled and after a false start i finished in 30.16seconds altogether. There is definitely space for improvement, mainly on the sled but also a quicker start on the farmers.
We then went onto the log and did an hour overall of this. I again wasn't great on the singles clean and press but i think this was down to fatigue and just the end of a long training cycle. I missed a 150kg press twice which was unusual but wasn't particularly worried as it wasn't unexpected. We finished the session with 75 seconds clean and press with a 85kg log and got a new PB of 15 reps. My technique here is still a bit messy but its improving and hopefully i'll be hitting 20 reps come comp time.
That was the end of the session. We had planned to do yoke and atlas stones as well but i was feeling quite hollow and exhausted overall. There was no DOMS, just demotivation and a deep fatigue. Rob was feeling a niggle in his knee so we thought it wise to call it a day. We had trained for 2 and a half hours anyway due to the large number of farmers walks we did and the medley.
Plans for Deload
I'm going to take advantage of my deload to focus on eating, fitness and technique. I'll try and keep anything heavy to a minimum and keep off my lower back (and grip, farmers really took a toll). Eating will be aimed at a slow bulk. At roughly 8 weeks out from the Novice comp it's my fitness not my 1RM strength that will hold me back as the weights are relatively lower then those at an Open comp. For this reason i don't want to put the weight on quickly, i'd rather take it easy and adapt to my current bulk while increasing fitness and strength endurance. At the end of the day i've got over 8 weeks to put on 4kg so it should be nice and easy.
In terms of technique i want to try and nail my jerk and my clean technique. In terms of fitness i will be doing various circuits and medleys that can be set up in the gym. They don't have to be strongman specific but they will include a weighted component. Ideas include:
We then went onto the log and did an hour overall of this. I again wasn't great on the singles clean and press but i think this was down to fatigue and just the end of a long training cycle. I missed a 150kg press twice which was unusual but wasn't particularly worried as it wasn't unexpected. We finished the session with 75 seconds clean and press with a 85kg log and got a new PB of 15 reps. My technique here is still a bit messy but its improving and hopefully i'll be hitting 20 reps come comp time.
That was the end of the session. We had planned to do yoke and atlas stones as well but i was feeling quite hollow and exhausted overall. There was no DOMS, just demotivation and a deep fatigue. Rob was feeling a niggle in his knee so we thought it wise to call it a day. We had trained for 2 and a half hours anyway due to the large number of farmers walks we did and the medley.
Plans for Deload
I'm going to take advantage of my deload to focus on eating, fitness and technique. I'll try and keep anything heavy to a minimum and keep off my lower back (and grip, farmers really took a toll). Eating will be aimed at a slow bulk. At roughly 8 weeks out from the Novice comp it's my fitness not my 1RM strength that will hold me back as the weights are relatively lower then those at an Open comp. For this reason i don't want to put the weight on quickly, i'd rather take it easy and adapt to my current bulk while increasing fitness and strength endurance. At the end of the day i've got over 8 weeks to put on 4kg so it should be nice and easy.
In terms of technique i want to try and nail my jerk and my clean technique. In terms of fitness i will be doing various circuits and medleys that can be set up in the gym. They don't have to be strongman specific but they will include a weighted component. Ideas include:
- 500m row - should take about 1minute 20 seconds or less so perfect timescale
- clean and press for reps or time
- Deadlifts for reps or time
- Duck walk for distance
- Keg carry for distance
- Barbell complexes for time or reps.
- etc...
I'll probably incorporate these at the end of my normal sessions and just spend my deload week checking out which ones are effective and how to plan them in terms of rest etc. The nature of strongman is very much going all out for 75-90seconds and then resting for a relatively long period of time so this format is probably similar to what i'll adopt.
Next post will be from Bangor. x
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