Press Day

03-09-12

Bench Press
60x1 100x1 140x1 160x1 170x1 175x1 155x3x3

Weighted Dips
3x6

DB Lateral Raise
3x10

Double Crunches
3x17

Under a week to go till Elite Strongman's Britains Strongest Man...

Squat Session

31-08-12

Front Squat
60x1 100x1 140x1 180x1 200x1

GHR
3x6

SL Leg Ext
3x10

SL Calf Raise
3x20

1/2 Kneeling Cable Woodchop
3x15

Plan on working on my front squat for a few weeks. Long term goal being 250kg.

Events Training

29-08-12

Truck Pull
16tonnes for 20m x2

Strict Log Press
67x1 87x1 97x1 107x1 117x1 122x1 PB

Short session due to my body still feeling the effects of the UKs from the weekend.

Junior UKs Strongest Man

25th and 26th August 2012 

Originally I didn't want to do an under 24 comp for the same reason I moved up from the u105 class - it seemed to devalue the comp a bit. However, after thinking about it and after missing the seniors qualifiers through injury I decided to give it a shot.

The comp was run by Glenn Ross and took place in Belfast. Glenn sorted out everyone's travel and put on a great comp. Here's a quick overview of how things went.

DAY 1 
Delayed start due to the seniors comp which resulted in alot of waiting around. Finally got going around 7pm.

Event 1 - Strongman Push/Pull Medley 
This consisted of a press superseted with the single powerstair load. I nailed the log, axle and 2 of the powerstairs before I failed on the Inch dumbbell. I just couldn't get it to sit right on my shoulder. Finished 3rd. Disappointing start.

Event 2 - Titanic Hold
Basically a Hercules Hold and I cocked it right up. Didn't have balance at all and dropped the pillars around 30sec in. 5th. Terrible.

Very Bad day for me. At this point Chris Bundell led with 2 event wins so I had a tough task to catch him.

DAY 2
Started at 12noon and the sun was shining. Aimed to win every event today.

Event 3 - 240kg Axle Deadlift
Went out early and did 12 reps. Hoped that would be enough and luckily it was. 1st Place. Good Start.

Event 4 - Carry Drag medley 
100kg atlas stone carry and load into a 300kg chain and anchor drag. Was always going to be a good event for me. Smashed it in 28secs. 1st Place.

Event 5 - Car Deadlift hold. 
With straps. Horrible event. Was head to head with Chris on this one and it took everything I had to just out hold him. 61sec. 3rd Place (thought I had second but apparently one of the Irish lads beat me)

Event 6 - Titanic Cask Circle 
Billed as 250kg this was by far the hardest Conan's wheel I have ever done. I managed 270 degrees for a comfortable win but it was super tough. 1st Place

Event 7 - Big Daddy Dumbbell
A 60kg Dumbbell which is light but this one was HUGE. I knew I needed to get 8 reps to win and I did just that. Was good for double figures. 1st Place

Event 8 - Atlas Stones 
Super high platforms. Watched all the other guys struggle before me. At this point I was leading Chris by 2 points so I knew I only had to load 4 stones to win. Took my time and shouldered the first 3 stones then popped up the 4th. Re tacked and loaded the final stone for the event win. 1st Place.

Really relieved to have won the comp. Chris pushed me to the limit and I'm really happy he had a good comp and got 2nd place.

Onwards to the Elite Strongman's Brits final in 2 weeks time...

Pressing

22-08-12

Bench Press
60x1 100x1 140x1 160x1 170x1 175x1 152.5x3x3

Dips
BWx6 +25x6 +50x4

DB Lateral Raises
3x12

Double Crunches
3x15

Squat Training

20-08-12

Front Squat
60x1 100x1 130x1 170x1 190x1 205xf

Back Squat
205x3x3

RDL
100x6 150x6 200x6

Chin Ups
3 Different Grips 3x8

Hanging Leg Raises
3x10-15 

Got a bit giddy going for a PB on the fronty haha. Will nail it next time.

Events Training

Friday 17th August

Log Press
67x1 87x1 97x1 107x1 117x1 122x3

Block Pulls
Back was stiff as fuck so worked up to 270 and left it there.

Yoke
80x20m 180x20m 230x20m 280x20m

Duck walk/drag Medley
did 2 runs with a light duck walk and heavy sled.

That was it today. Did everything i had to. Moving stuff was fast and the log was OK. Getting ready to wind down now for the trip to Ireland for the UKs this weekend.

Gym Training - Pressing

15th August 2012

Bench Press
60x1 100x1 140x1 160x1 172.5x1 (PB) 180x1 (PB) 150x3x3

Dips
BWx6
+25x6
+45x6

DB Lateral Raise
16kg 3x10

Awesome session today. Think the rest has done me good. Planned to hit 170 on the bench but once 160 flew up i knew i had a PB in me. 180 is just a bonus! Been after a 180kg bench press for a long time.

All good so far...

10 days to go till UK Jnrs...

UKs Juniors Qualifier

12th August 2012

Wasn't going to do this comp for the same reason i stopped doing u105 comps. I feel like you're not the strongest if you have to say "u105" or "Junior" everytime you talk about it.

Thinking about it on the Saturday though, I realised it is a great oppotunity to compete in Belfast, get TV coverage and hopefully perform well enough to get some invites to other comps.

The comp itself was down at the Ministry of Muscle down in Kent and was well ran by Steve Winters and his team. Not many guys turned up making it a relatively straight forward task of qualifying, which was lucky as i was feeling pretty beaten up from ESM the day before.

Five events, all light and rep based. I did what i needed to and managed to win the comp qualifying for the UK's Strongest Junior on the 25th and 26th August. Not much time to train for it but i'm looking forward to it massively.

Anyway had a couple of days off fter this then i was back in the gym Wednesday... 

Elite Strongman's England's Strongest Man write Up

ESM Write Up

11th August 2012

This comp offered a chance to ultimately go to the USA to compete at the Arnold's Sports Festival so i took it seriously.

EVENT 1 - 135kg Log Press for Reps
Took one look at the Log and knew this was gonna be tough. It was a wooden log and  a BEAST at that! I was up first so had no idea of what to expect. The clean was easy but the large diameter of the log made the press dificult. I got 1 rep and thought i was looking at a last place. Then most of the other guys failed it leaving me in 3rd place. Happy with the result but not the performnce.

EVENT 2 - 125kg Farmers Walk for max distance
Up last on this one so i knew i needed 60m to win. I got it. Job Done.

EVENT 3 - Van Deadlift
Stupid heavy this one. Got 1 rep and it was the same story as the log with alot of guys failing to lift it. I think this photo says it all: Sex or poo face?



EVENT 4 - 155kg Atlas stone for reps
Had a bit of a tacky malfunction on this one. The tape on my arms ripped off and the tacky got clogged up with tarmac from the destroyed floor. Managed 4 reps. Bit disappointed but still OK points.

EVENT 5 - Man on Man Tug of War
There was ony going to be one winner on this event and it sure wasn't gonna be 118kg me. I won my first round then loast in the semi-final to Paul "manbear" Carter... all 180kg of him.

Overall i finished 3rd and kept my 100% podium finishes since the start of 2011.

Onwards to the Britians...

Introductions

So the year's 2008 and i'm finishing up my first year (and only year) as a professional rugby player at a premiership club. here's what i've learnt:

1. I love training.
2. I get super nervous before games.
3. I have no real set position on the rugby field.

These 3 things have lead me to believe that i want to persue a career in human performance and get involved in an individual sport. Where the person who works the hardest, lifts the most and runs the fastest wins.

I start training for maximum strength in a bid to follow in the footsteps of the great strength athletes i used to watch on my TV at Christmas as a kid.

Karlson. Ahola. Samueseson. Pudzianowski.

I competed in the u105kg class for 2 years, won several comps but the time came to compete with the big boys.

This Blog will contain my training, comp write ups and any tips i have for training for strength athletics.

Here goes...