Today we worked legs…to the extreme!
Started with squats: 135×10, 225×10, 315×10, 365×10, 405×10
Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 3 sets of 10
Front Squats to a box: 3 sets of 10
Walking Lunges: 4 sets of 10
One Legged Hamstring Curls: 3 sets of 10
Calf Raises and Calf Machine: 3 sets of 10
Hamstring Kick Backs: 2 sets of 10
Finished with 10 minutes of cardio with Josh, and I’m not doing anything the rest of the day!
Well I haven’t posted anything in 2 weeks, but I’m still here. I don’t have another contest until October 11, so I find myself having a bit of an off-season now.
How does that change things? Well my lifting is geared more toward muscle building instead of powerlifting. Hitting sets of 10 on bench and squat, lowering the weights and working on muscle endurance. I’ve also been riding my bike a lot lately. I’ve rode it to the gym a couple times, which is 4 miles each way. I’ve also rode it to work (7 miles) from there to the gym (7 miles) and then back home (4 miles), a couple of times.
So the lifting is pretty boring right now, and that’s okay every now and then.
I slept for about six hours the night before, which is normal for me. I ate a little breakfast and then Josh and I headed to the contest site. We got there about 9:15 (after a short run in with the law) and there were people warming up on the equipment. Now I’m all for being warmed up and trying out the equipment, but the contest isn’t starting for about another 60-75 minutes – so I just sit back and try to relax. I don’t like to get warmed til about 10-15 minutes before we begin, which I did and we started with axle.
Max Axle Press: These axles were brand new and had never been used before this contest. A lot of people were complaining that were slick. So when I gave my opening attempt it was a conservative 280. I hit that easy, went on to 300 and finished with 310 for the win. I had been close to 340 in training, but there was no need to go that heavy today.
Keg Carry: I knew that this was only 1 event out of 5 and that it would probably be my worst of the day. I still gave it the best effort I had, but as soon as I picked it up my hamstrings felt like jello! I made the first turn and it was a little better, but then my grip was going. I made it about 130 feet – 4th place.
Farmers: After doing 325 in each hand at Iowa, I knew that 270 had to be easier. I made it 60 feet down and dropped right after the turn. I picked them up again and made it very close to finishing – 2nd place.
I started doing a little math in my head between events. I knew that I would win the next 2 events, but one of the other top competitors was taking zeros do to a sore ankle, and even winning the next 2 events, I knew that I was going to take 2nd place overall by 1/2 a point. Nothing I could do about though, so I continued on.
Sandbag Load: YES, back to some events that I’m good at! Finished them very quickly for an easy win.
Super Medley: I felt really good about this too. Finished with the win in 48 seconds
In the end, I was right and I took 2nd place. I was okay with it though. I had won 3 of the 5 events and did the best that I could. It was a fun contest, but I sure am glad it’s over with!
This was probably the easiest weight cut I’ve made for a contest. I continued eating clean all week and went for a few walks in the evening to get the last few pounds off. The only meal I missed was breakfast on Friday. I weighed in at noon that day at 264.5#s. I then went to Wendys and downed 3 junior cheeseburgers, waited 2 hours and then ate again and finished the night with a medium pizza and a sonic blast.
Tuesday- Bodyweight 269
Started with a 3 mile run on a treadmill before the workout. This was much easier than running outside, but less fun. After that we worked out legs.
Squats: 135×10, 225×10, 315×10, 385×3, 225×10
Then hit a triple set of calves
Finished with 1 legged extensions and hamstring curls
Wednesday- Bodyweight 268
Bicep Curls: 30×10, 40×10, 35×10, 30×10, 25×10, 30×10
Preacher Curls and Reverse Preacher Curls
Hammer Curls and Cable Concentration Curl
Josh finished with triceps – I skipped out and will rest up the remainder of the week.
Weighed out at 265! – Right on Track!
With 1 week to go until the Nebraska contest, myself and 2 other competitors from Kansas ran through all of the events today at Jesse’s. A normal contest last about 5 or 6 hours, we went through all 5 events in 90 minutes – TOUGH!
Here is how I did:
Max Axle: 290 – Good, 320 – Good, 340 – Good clean, but short on the press.
Keg Carry: 270 Keg – Carried it for 120 feet. This is going to be the toughest event for me, hard to breathe and tough to carry.
Farmers: 270 Each hand for 120 feet – Took a narrow turn and dropped them, but finished the course.
Sandbag Load: We used 2 – 200 sandbags and 1- 300. This wasn’t too bad or good, but I was very winded.
Super Medley: 600 Yoke – Easy, 250 Duck Walk – Easy, 450 Sled Drag – Tough as the last event, but I finished!
Considering how quickly we buzzed through everything I was pleased with my performance. I think I do have 340 or maybe even 350 in me on the axle. The keg carry I could maybe squeeze out another 60 feet. The farmers I can do better with a wider turn, but I may still need the one drop. Sandbags should be easier at the contest as well as the medley. I just need to eat good the remainder of the week and rest up for the big show.
Today was an off day of lifting, but I had to make up my run from yesterday – so I headed to Zorinsky Lake after work. I ran the 3.1 mile (short) path today, the running is getting a little bit easier each time which is good. I feel better after running and I’m starting to look athletic again. It got me thinking of my lifting and my goals. I would like to be a 10-15 pounds lighter, IF I can maintain my strength. BUT – Everytime I think of going back to 250, I think of Nationals and my horrible performance. I need to remember that I was sick the 2 weeks prior, and that my girlfriend had her father dying at home while I was competing and those things affected my performance more than weighing light. I found another blogger who took the words right out of my mouth when it comes to weight loss for a big guy.
Deciding to change weights was a mental struggle for me for a number of reasons. I had invested a lot of money, time and training into becoming big and I liked it. To me, being big and powerful was something I admired since I was a kid. So cutting felt like I was moving backwards. Plus in this sport, smaller is almost always equated with weaker and my goal has always been to be the strongest I could be.
This (weight loss) process helped me to understand that for athletes we all have an optimal weight. There is a certain point where your body is going to function it’s best and no additional size is going to help it. I think many guys struggle with this. There is more glory in being a heavyweight. The big guys look more impressive and “put more butts in the seats” so many athletes are attracted to competing in this class. Unfortunately it maybe holding them back. And while I had fallen into that mentality as well, ultimately I realized that I’m going to perform better and be more successful at a lighter weight. Once I realized that, there was no other choice.
This is exactly how I feel! In the beginning it is all about getting bigger and stronger, but I think you must reach a point when you can’t get any bigger-only stronger. So I’ll get down to 265 in time for Nebraska, and after that I’m going to give the 250s another shot.
Had a very tough workout on Wednesday, we hit shoulders, biceps and triceps. It was great workout, and I got a great pump from it.
Shoulder Press Behind Neck: 95×10, 115×10, 135×10, 155×10, 135×10 – Last 2 sets were tough
Arnold Presses: 25×10, 30×10, 35×10
45# Plate Raises: 3 sets of 10 superset with Slow Side Raises for 3 sets of 10
Seated Curls: 3 sets of 10 with 35#s
Incline Curls: 3 sets of 10 with 25#s
Finished with Cable Curls, Tricep Extensions with dumbell, rope and cable – DONE!
Saved the running for tomorrow!
Workouts continue to be good – I’m also trying to run around Standing Bear after every workout. Monday we worked out back, so the run wasn’t to bad. Today we worked out legs, that made the run a little tougher.
Squats – 315×5, 405×5, 505×5, 515×5, 545×3 – Little help on the last one
Calves – 3 exercises for 3 sets of 12
Leg Curls – 2 sets of 20
Leg Extension – 3 sets of 15 – 2 sets of 10 doing partial reps
I started off walking like I normally do, and when I went to start jogging my legs felt like jelly. What else can I do but struggle through, so I jogged as much as I could, and walked as fast I could when I wasn’t jogging. I made it around the lake in 50 minutes, which I though was pretty good. Bodyweight is down to 273, and possibly lower…I really loaded up on water before the workout today.
