My Training Plan

This is the training program I have designed to get me ready for my first competition. Unlike many strength based training programs I incorporate many bodybuilding principles into my training protocol. A bigger muscle is a stronger muscle. I not only train the four big lifts (bench press, squat, deadlift, overhead press) and events (farmers walk, axel clean and press, medleys, etc) but also each body part. Here is how it breaks down.

Sunday Or Monday
Main Lift- Bench Press
Bodyparts- Chest/Triceps

Example
Bench Press- Work up to a 5 rep max.
Bench Press- Drop set, as many reps with 225 then 205, and finally 185.
Close Grip Bench Press- 4 x 5-8 reps
Dumbbell Flys- 4 x 8 reps
Triceps Extensions with Dumbbells- 4 x 8 reps
Triceps Pressdowns with Rope- 4 x 8 reps with last set being a 5 x drop set.

Monday or Tuesday
Main Lift- Deadlift
Bodyparts- Back/Biceps

Example
Deadlift- Ramping up in weight until finally doing as many reps as possible with 495
Bent Over Barbell Rows- 3 x 8 reps
Wide Grip Pulldowns- 3 x 8 reps
Close Grip Underhand Pulldowns- 3 x 8 with last set being a triple drop set
Seated Rows- 3 x 8 reps
45 Degree Back Raises- 3 x 8 reps
Dumbbell Curls- 4 x 8 reps
Barbell Curls- 4 x 8 reps done in an explosive fashion

Tuesday (if I trained Sunday and Monday)
Light Leg Day
Leg Press 5 x 8 reps
Hack Squat 3 x 8 reps with last set being a triple drop set
Leg Extensions 4 x 12 reps
Leg Curls 4 x 8 reps

Wednesday- Off Day

Thurdays
Main Lift- Overhead Press
Body Parts- Shoulders and Upper Back

Example
Strict Press- 4 x 8 reps
Push Press- Work up to a 3 rep max
Behind the Neck Press- 3 x 8 reps
Lateral Raises- 3 x 8 reps
Wide Grip Upright Rows- 3 x 8 reps
Bent Lateral Raises- 3 x 8 reps
Thumbless Shrugs- 4 x 8 reps
Farmers Walk Handle Shrugs- 4 x 8 reps

Friday or Saturday
Main Lift- Squats
Bodyparts- :Legs and Calves
Squats- work up to a max single
Squats- back off sets of 12 reps (number of sets varies)
Leg Press- work up to 1000 pounds and hit as many reps as I can.
Lunges- 3 x 8 reps
Calf Raises Standing- 3 x 12
Seated Calf Raises- 3 x 12

Later in the Day
Events Training
Farmers Walk
Axel Clean and Press
Viking Press using my hack squat machine
Medley
Stone lifting
Keg Carries

I will also be doing 45-60 minutes of cardio  x 3 days a week first thing in the morning. I may also do some conditioning work in the evening if I need more work using lighter strongman events like sled drags or farmers walk.

Keep in mind my example training sessions are subject to change. I may only do the main lift for that day or I might drop the main lift altogether and just do the bodybuilding training if I need a light day. It all depends on where I am at and what I need work on.

As I progress thru the off season I will likely add at least one event training lift to each session.

Right now my focus is on fixing my weaknesses. I have identified the following areas I need work on.

Pressing Strength- I have never had strong shoulders. While they have gotten stronger I still need a lot of work in this area. I also need to work on my core to keep better stabilized with the weight overhead.

Grip Strength- I have never really had to train my grip before. Specifically I need to work on grip endurance. Farmers walks, dumbbell pinch holds, thumb-shrugs, and axel bar work will be my plan of attack to improve my grip.

My weight- I will not be able to outdo some of the other competitors with limit strength (in the press and squat) so I need to focus on being faster. I am not a fast person but I am fast under a heavy load (no snickers please). Medleys (along with deadlifts) have proven to be one of my strongest events. Being lighter will allow me to move faster and not get winded as quick.

Power Out of the Hole on Squats- I need to build explosive power out of the bottom of the squat. Paused hack sqauts and deep Olympic style squats will help to improve this area. Box jumps will also be utilized to help in this area.

Getting used to the events- I have little experience training the strongman events. That is probably my biggest weakness at the moment. As I progress I will be doing more and more event training.

The Education of a Strongman

Well I went and did it again. I set my deep-set eyes on a lofty goal and this time nothing will stand in my way. I am going to make a run at Strongman competition. You may not be intimately familiar with the sport but you have almost certainly seen it on television. The big scary guys who flip over giant tires, press logs overhead, and deadlift cars. What many people do not know is that strongman competition is a world wide sport that has hundreds if not thousands of competitions a year from local amateurs all the way up to the professionals. While you only see the hulking behemoths on television, there are actually weight divisions for smaller competitors as well as women, teens, and masters (people over the age of 50 I believe).

This will not be my first foray into strength athletics. I began training (seriously) in 2008. My main focus was on powerlifting at the time. I will be the first to tell anyone that despite being a big man I was not a natural at the sport. I struggled for quite a bit of time to work up to respectable weights. Finally in 2010 I competed in two powerlifting competitions. Aside from the people there and Missy, I have not told anyone about that before. I kept it a secret because I was honestly not sure how well I would do and didn't want the added pressure of my friends and family knowing. I didn't do great but I didn't do horrible either. My first competition my nerves got to me and I bombed out on the squats by cutting them too high. My second competition I hit depth but lacked the confidence to use bigger weights to really make a good showing. I had really just winged things going into the competition. I was training on my own and no longer with the powerlifting team I had been training with.

I vowed to reorganize my training and take things seriously and hit a meet in 2011 and really make a top showing. An injury and two surgeries forced me to sideline those plans, among other things. While I returned to training full time in late 2011 I never really looked to compete again. I briefly tossed around the notion that I could try for Olympic Lifting but it quickly fizzled out. While I have all the respect in the world for Olympic lifters I just couldn't continue training with the light loads required to master the lifts. I love being strong. I love lifting heavy ass things. I love the strain. I like looking strong.

Starting in the summer of 2012 I wanted to do something in the field of strength athletics. My first idea was to organize a strength competition among my circle of friends. Many of them are hardcore lifters and I thought it would be a fantastic thing. Unfortunately getting a level of commitment from people proved impossible. Everyone talks a good game but when it comes down to it most people fizzle out really fast.

My 34th birthday is in exactly five days. I know that I don't have an eternity to try and make a mark. I really feel though that I am entering into my prime. I am stronger now than ever before. In the past week I have hit personal records (PR) in the big three lifts, bench press, squat, and deadlift. Hopefully today I will hit a pr in the overhead press. My endurance is getting better and better and I am sticking with and following through with all my plans regarding cardio/conditioning.

The iron is hot and I plan to strike. The strongman season unofficially goes from May to October. There are still some competitions in between but the main ones are during those months. That gives me an off-season of 5 months to prepare for my first competition (possible longer depending on the schedule of events). In January there is an event an hour or so away that I plan on attending. It will give me a good idea of the competition I can expect to face locally and it will let me see what events I might do well in and what I might struggle in. Then I can work on fixing my weaknesses and perfecting my strengths.

I will make another entry to detail my actual training program I plan on using and how I plan to address my obvious weaknesses.