BEYOND STRONG

09/30/07- squat and dead

-Cambered Bar squat: off box, green bands double looped, worked up to 515+ bands x1 in briefs.  Added suit, got smashed on box with 565+ bands.  Took box away and did a slow grind with 565 + bands, but I got it.  The bands added around 375 pounds at the top and it felt like the world was pushing down on me when I unracked it. 

-Conventional Deads: work set 635x3

-Rack pulls: below knee cap, 4 mini bands quadrupled, 315 + bands x3, x3, x3

-Side bends with bar on back: x10, x10, x10

Done.  Back to straight bar next week.

-Rick

Time to train

Squats and deads in 1 hour.  No regrets, no fear.  Last week was an off week, this week I bring the fucking noise.  I WILL hit all of my numbers with ease.  7 weeks to go time baby, and I am fucking ready.

Need some good music to train to?  I have just found DEVILDRIVER.  Wow.  Check out the song "End of The Line".  You won't be disapointed.

I will check back in 5 or 6 hours with prs to report-

-Rick

WSM 2007

Mariusz Pudzianowski won his 4th World's Strongest Man Title this week. Winning with one event still to contend, the Polish Strongman  proved how good he was by bringing up weak events and making them strong events. Only Jon Pall Sigmarsson and Magnus Ver Magnusson have ever won the title 4 times in the past.

Poland's Sebastian Wenta pipped Britain's Terry Hollands to 2nd place in a close battle on the final event the Atlas Stones. Terry's performance is superb and it shows just how good he and the other British athletes are by making it to the podium in one of the toughest years ever at WSM.

 

Nick

Here Mariusz powers his was through the Truck Pull.

(Photo courtesy of Joshua Davis)

Haka

I've been watching many of the Rugby World Cup games and no team, even the English and the Australians of which I have warm feelings for both, fire me up quite like watching the Kiwi All Blacks.

This is a Haka from a few years ago. A Haka is a Maori war dance that they perform before each game, performed here from both the All Blacks and Tonga. This is a true test of man v man in a physical battle against skill, strength, speed and endurance. If this doesn't send shivers down your spine I don't know what will.

Watch this before your next competition!

09/26/07- bench

Taking the rest of this week off until Sunday.

-Bench Press: barx5, 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 245x2, 275x1, 300x1, ADDED 3 BOARD: 315x1, 355x1(pr), ADDED SHIRT, NO BOARDS: 405x1 (did not touch), 500xmiss (was 1" from touching, arms got weird, Cullen saved my life), 425x3, 425x2 (was within 2.5 boards of touching or there abouts).

-Kettlebell ext: 56s x8

-Bench Press: 135+ 2 double looped minis, x3, x3, x3, x3.  Tough stuff.  Right arm sucks and is much weaker thanks to the many pec tears I have suffered.  Must find a way to overcome this.

-Seated KB overhead press: 56s x8, x8, x8.

-Rack lockouts, hole 14: 315x5, 405xmiss (left arm locked out, right arm wouldn't). 365x3.  Stopped there, right arm was not cooperating.

-Kettlebell floor presses: 72s x10, x10, x10.

Done.

Need the next 3 days off to recuperate.  Over trained and under slept right now.  Will get mucho-sleepo these next few days.

"Trying to make a dollar outta 15 cents!"

-Rick

Where you at?

Weekend was busy as hell and thus had no real time to post.  When I did have some free time I was watching football and scouting my teams for next weeks bets.  Did well this week, but I need to do better.

Sunday's squats weren't too bad, but it wasn't great either.  Plan was full gear, knee wraps on last set.  The suit I wore at 220 is a 50, Sunday I had to wear a 54, which surprisingly was tight as hell.  This is some good news as I know I have put some quality mass on since June and not just fat.  Fat squeezes into gear better then muscle does, and my legs were not allowing the suit to come up as high as I needed it to be.  Still went for my sets:

695x3.  Stupid easy, but I was higher then a kite.

710x1 (second rep dumped): again, real easy on the first, but I forced the second rep and the suit shot my knees together and I dumped it.  bent ANOTHER bar.  I need to call Jesup Gym and get a couple bars ordered from there.  A couple more weeks of winning and I should be good to go.

Figured it was going to take 800 to get me to depth so we loaded it to 800.  It felt light on my back, but i was on my toes and about half way down I came back up and racked it.  I knew it was going to fold me, so I cut it.  I had zero confidence and motivation getting under it as well.  This will change.

Positives: 800 felt nice on my back, didn't feel like it was crushing me and i wasn't shaking at all.  Breaking in a brand new suit as well, so some strangeness is to be expected until I get used to it.  Also, haven't been in the suit since the last meet, so I am a little off.

Cullen was sick and thus didn't train and Lance was having a hell of a time with his bad shoulder and getting under the bar, so we called it a day.  Always better to walk away then to push on and get fucked up.

Plan for next Sunday: get into the suit again and stay the course of my cycle, don't worry about going up to 800 until the end.  Widen my stance out more to help keep my torso upright and take advantage of my hips more.  Stay the course with my deadlift, 620x3.  Not concerned here as my pull has been jumping up by leaps and bounds, so I am confident with it.  More reverse hypers and good mornings!!

You can't let days like this get you down.  You have to keep your head up, dust yourself off, and get back under the weight.  This is the power of a good training crew.  If I were still training alone, I would say to hell with the meet and take a month off to drink and be merry.  I know I have 2 other guys counting on me right now and I WILL NOT let them down.  I will be back there tomorrow morning with my confidence sky high again and ready to rock.  The plain and simple of it is I was not ready for 800.  The heaviest I have been since June was 650, so that I was a brain fart on my part.  I wont do it again, and each week I will build my confidence up to 800.

Until next time-

-Rick

Saturday

I am home today.  Penn State is playing Michigan and I am working on some other stuff here on the computer.  Plus, my yard is a jungle and needs mowing badly, and since no one is ever here anymore, I guess I am forced to go out and expend a couple hours of energy.  Lucky me!

New findings yesterday.  Luckily someone asked Brian Schwab from Elitefts.com about elite totals, and he listed the APF chart.  We were going off of the uspf chart, which apparently is for single ply gear.  So, my new goal is now 1940.  50 more pounds then the USPF chart of 1890.  What does this mean?  It means I am going to have to have the meet of my life and make no mistakes.  I will have to hit 800-425-715 at minimum.  I am hoping for more of a 800-450-750 day for 2000.  That would be huge and the perfect day.

My wife and one of her friends are launching a website/business soon.  She is an extremely talented artist and her fried is very business savvy, so it should be nice for them to earn some extra cash.  Basically they are making custom crafts.  Now, I don't know shit about that kind of stuff, but I do know the stuff they are making is original and pretty damn cool.  Women are going to eat this stuff up.  You know how women are, my wife has drug me through 100s of craft stores just to find a little doll or ornament that looks like a waste of money to me, but is sought after by chicks.  Strange culture, but I guess putting 800 pounds on your back seems strange to most, so what can I say?  I hope it takes off for them and my wife is able to work from home and make her own hours.  She deserves this.  When the proto-types are out, I will get some pics posted so you can see what the hell I am talking about.

My step-son and I are working on a local record label.  There are a million and one local metal bands around here and we are going to try and get some good stuff together and get some albums and t-shirts out.  Some very good music in a 100 mile radius but nothing is organized.  He needs to do a senior project for school, and since he is a music and metal nut, this seems like a logical start.  Lots of hard fucking work, but fun.

I supposed I should suit up and get out to get the massive grass mowed.  Squats and deads tomorrow!  YEAH!  My favorite day of the week.

-Rick

09/21/07- upper body

Alone again as Amy had to be to work early.  Incline bench pressing with no spotter, lovin' it. I haven't got stuck yet but next week I just might say to hell with it and just roll it down my chest and stomach if I get stuck.

-Incline bench: 260x3, x2, x2.  Should have went for 3rd reps on 2nd and 3rd set.  Pretty sure I had it, but didn't want to risk it with no spotter.

-Flat bench db press: 100sx6, x6, x6

-Skull crushers: 115x8, x8, x8

-T-bar rows: 250 x6, x6, x6

-Seated low row with ez bar attachment: 165x10, x10, x10.

Done.

Nothing really else to ramble on about.  Imagine that.

-Rick

09/20/07- squats

Tired this morning.  Fell right to sleep last night and as far as I know, had a good night of sleep with no night terrors.  They have been just about every night since we came home from the beach.  Doctor wants to send me to a sleep clinic, but I told her to wait till this meet is over and we will go from there.

-Close Stance High Bar Squats: very light knee wrap and belt, 420 x3, x3, x3.  Nice and easy.  Knee feels much better with a light knee wrap, no pain at all during or after the squats.  I had no motivation to do this today, and the gym was empty so I had to just sit and focus, then wrap and go.

-Calf raises: 225x20, 315 x20, x20, x20, 225x20.  Gotta get back on the calf wagon.  Mine are so small it is getting to be strange to see my legs in shorts. :P

-Shrugs: 515 x10, x10, x10.  Going on up with these next week.

Done.

Working on a couple different projects when ever I get "free time".  Keep your eyes, and EARS, open.

-Rick

09/19/07: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboy's Vulgar Hits

3:30 am I woke up to go to the bathroom and just stayed up.  No sense going back to sleep for 30 minutes, that just makes things worse imo.  Got in the car, threw in Pantera's Greatest Hits, and hit the road.

-Bench press: barx5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 245x1, 275x1, 300x1, ADDED 3 BOARDS: 315x1, 345x1(pr), ADDED METAL PRO VIKING BENCH SHIRT: 365x1, 405x2 (had the shirt off my groove and I touched the boards to low) 405x3 (smoked it!) 425x1 (easy single, could have doubled it).

-Close grip bench: 225x9.  I don't know.  This was something Cullen and Lance were doing so I jumped in.

-Reverse Grip Pull-downs: 150 x10, x10, x10, x10

-Triceps hell: 185x5, 1Bx5, 2Bx5, 3Bx5, 4Bx5, 5Bx5, 4Bx5.  135x5, 1Bx5, 2Bx5, 3Bx5, 4Bx5, 5Bx5, 4Bx5, 3Bx5.  (B = Boards).  These are all non stop sets, bar held at lockout while the board is being changed.

-Kettlebell Triceps ext: 36s x10, 53sx6, 36sx8, x6 (elbows out).

Done.

Gotta get ready for work.  Temp is back up, supposed to be 80s for the next 5-7 days.  Sweet...summer, hold on as long as you can my old friend. 

-Rick