My Journey To The Pro Circuit

[Clay Edgin]

I've been posting my workouts for a couple months over on Marunde-Muscle.com but figured I should post them here as well if anyone has any constructive feedback. Shawn as you know is Woodchuck from the board, and Chan is our training partner who I met when he volunteered to be a spotter/loader at the contest I won back in May. My goal is to become a professional strongman and perhaps work my way up to compete with the tier one guys like Marunde, Andersen, Pudz, and the like. That's a long ways away though.

As a nice surprise, I got to train my wife and her best friend, who is also Shawn's wife. No, you sickos, not like that. They wanted to give it a shot so I put them through the motions. I'll post their workouts here as well. We gotta whole team going on here!!! Today I put up a dry erase board with names of the people who train at the garage and their best lifts in certain disciplines. I hope hanging it within eyeshot of the rack will motivate people even more. The guys loved it, I know that.

Event day

Stones all to 47":

Clay: 175kegx2, 230x1, 290x1, 320x1, 350x1

Shawn: 175kegx2, 230x2, 290x1 (ties PR), lapped 320 (PR)

Chan: 175kegx2, 230x3, lapped 290 (PR)

That 350 is cake now. I'm creating a video of it for posting while I'm typing this. Having the platform lower I think helped a little mental block Shawn and Chan had from last week. In the video of Shawn doing the 290, he barely skims the ledge of the platform on the way up because it slid down his shirt a bit. Chan is learning more techniques on the stones. Once it clicks, he'll be loading the 290 faster than Shawn. Shawn doesn't think a 320lb stone is possible for him so I'll have to figure out a way to slap that notion out of his head.

Farmer's walk - 50ft:

Clay: 160x2, 280x2, 405x8'2" (PR)

Shawn: 160x2, 280x2 (PR), 285x1 (PR)

Chan: 160x2, 210x2

Kelli: 70x50ft, x100ft, 90x100ft (PR), 90x50ft in 13.10 seconds

Jen: 70x50ft, x100ft, 90x100ft (PR), 90x50ft in 13.53 seconds

Well, I wanted to surpass 17', which was a mark set by Ricky LaRocca and is considered an unofficial WR. Shawn and Chan were saying "Well, you did do stones beforehand" and "you did a lot of warmup sets" but there's no excuse - I just didn't do it, and I'm willing to accept that. However, I'm inspired to get after it again next week. The liftoff wasn't as bad as I thought. We all put in some SOLID work on the FW tonight. Kelli is my wife, and Jen is Shawn's wife. Neither one had done this before and I was impressed with how well they both did. I'll need to get them some good gloves for lifting those rusty knurled handles. I timed the girls to add a little fun into the mix, not because I expected them to be competitive with each other, but I wanted something to refer back to when I time them again and note their improvement.

Tire flip 500lb:

Kelli: 2 assisted flips

Jen: 3 assisted flips

It's unfair to expect both women who have never trained before to flip this tire on their own, so I was there to support the tire and help lift it a little. The first time they both lifted it I helped a lot but the more they got used to it, the less I had to help. I let go a little when Kelli was doing her second attempt and she got it the rest of the way over, but I was there to catch it if she or it fell. You can't imagine the satisfaction they felt when they pushed that thing over! I was very motivated myself.

Overhead press - men strict, women push press:

Clay: 95x5, 115x5, 165x5, 185x5, 200x3

Shawn: 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x2

Chan: 95x5, 115x5, 115x5, 125x5

Kelli: 45x5, x5, 50x3

Jen: 45x5, x5, 50x5

I think now the girls were getting into it more. On the third set of presses they both used leg drive and the bar was flying up. I tried to talk them into more sets but it wasn't happening Jen was going to do 3 reps like Kelli but she kept going for 5.

Ring the bell (partial PP in rack):

Clay: 225x3, 275x1, 315x1, 345x0x0 (six attempts)

Shawn: 225x0x0x0 (11 attempts), 185x1

Chan: 185x0x0x0 (9 attempts), 155x1

The idea behind the partial push press in the rack is to use a weight over your push press max and see if you can hit the top of the rack with it, which then rings like a bell. Hence the name. I like it because I can get used to having heavy weights in my hands and building that leg drive. Failing on 345 makes 300 feel like nothing.

Sled backwards:

Clay: 100lbs x 100ft, 202.5 x 50ft x 2 trips, 250 x 50ft x 2 trips (PR), 147.5 x 100ft in one trip

Shawn: 100lbs x 100ft, 202.5 x 50ft x 2 trips, 250 x 50ft x 2 trips (PR)

Chan: 100lbs x 100ft, 202.5 x 50ft x 2 trips

I've never pushed so hard on the sled in my life. After my second trip with 250 I had to sit for a few moments. I asked the guys if they were done, which they were, so I went again with 147.5 for 50ft and back without stopping. Then I laid down in the street for a while. I heard someone driving by say "Is he alright?" and I think Chan said "He's doing better now!" or something like that. My legs kept buckling and all I wanted was for the blood to stop blowing up my quads!

Squats, floor presses, and perhaps good mornings Wednesday. The guys keep trying to get out of sled dragging but dammit if we're there training that day we're going to be dragging the friggin sled! I made them a deal for next Sunday though - we'll do two sets at a FW/sled medley and get both exercises out of the way.

Edited August 29, 2005 by ClayEdgin

[smp76]

Nice work man. Very nice work.

-Sean

[Scott Styles]

Great write up. Those are some sick weights you guys are moving. Based on what I've seen of your ability to think about what you do, then apply it, those pros better look out.

[carusom1]

keep it up Clay

[gamidon]

Nice work big man!!! I am very impressed.

[jimwylie1]

Great work and an enjoyable read. Keep em coming

[Rick Walker]

clay-

Great to see you putting your efforts into strongman now! With your size and determination, there are NO LIMITS to what you can achieve.

Couple questions for you: do you use tacky on the stones? and, did I read that right that 405 per hand for 17' is considered the unofficial world record in the farmers walk? In the June Milo it states Odd Haugen took 401 per hand 37'11" "fairly easily" so I would venture to guess he would take 405 that far as well.

[sensei]

Keep it up, Clay. You are always willing to answer questions on this board from people new to strength training.

I look forward to seeing you compete with Pudz, Hugo and Zadrunas.

What do you think Johnny Perry could have done if he didn't meet such a fate?

[pdoire]

Nice write up Clay! Best of luck on the pro circuit!

[neilkaz]

Awesome workouts, and great to have training partners. When will we see you on WSM ?

.. neilkaz ..

[danegarreau]

clay-

Great to see you putting your efforts into strongman now!  With your size and determination, there are NO LIMITS to what you can achieve.

Couple questions for you: do you use tacky on the stones?  and, did I read that right that 405 per hand for 17' is considered the unofficial world record in the farmers walk?  In the June Milo it states Odd Haugen took 401 per hand 37'11" "fairly easily" so I would venture to guess he would take 405 that far as well.

←

Ryan Brown has taken 400 for 45' in training. And I know that Travis Ortmayer has taken 400 for 50' in training.

[Soilworker]

Come on Clay, where's the weight? Only a 350lb stone?

Just kidding, you're gonna whoop some azz!

How tall are you? You've got to be at least 6' 4" right.

[Clay Edgin]

Rick, I use tacky on the stones heavier than 320. I've been able to load the 320 without tacky (chalk only) twice but I really have to be in top form to do it. Lapping it without tacky is the hard part - once I can get my monkey arms around it I'm usually good to go

Thanks for the info on the farmers walk guys. Those are definitely some impressive marks made by some seriously strong dudes.

We're doing a contest in McPherson, KS on 9/25 and then the next show I do might be one that I'm putting on myself here in Rio Rancho. It should be a nice, heavy affair in the dead of winter. After that, it's Snowman time!

[Clay Edgin]

Here are some videos from training Sunday:

Shawn w/290 stone:http://www.castledarkmoor.com/strongman/shawn290stone.WMV

Clay with 290: http://www.castledarkmoor.com/strongman/clay290stone.WMV

320: http://www.castledarkmoor.com/strongman/clay320stone.WMV

350: http://www.castledarkmoor.com/strongman/clay350stone.WMV

Our 290 is made from a 21" Slater mold but uses Maximizer concrete instead of regular Quikrete, thus making it about 60lbs lighter!

http://www.castledarkmoor.com/strongman/claypressing8-28-05

I think these are just clips of the ring the bell partials. I hit it with 315 but missed 345 a bunch of times.

And my attempt at 405 per hand:

http://www.castledarkmoor.com/strongman/clay405perhand.WMV

Edited August 30, 2005 by ClayEdgin

[madss]

Great video of 405 farmers walk!

[Bill Piche]

Dang! 405 a hand....

[Jedd Johnson]

Clay,

I like the Ring the Bell lift. I want to train that tomorrow.

-Jedd-

[Jedd Johnson]

Great job on the 350 stone bro. No problem.

(Nice shirt)

-Jedd-

[smitty]

Clay - love your shirt man - wait til you see this years contest tshirt

Great strength - great job for all your crew!

Here is the gallery of Ryan Brown taking 400 an arm for a stroll

http://www.cyberpump.com/gallery/album103

[Rick Walker]

Nice videos Clay!

I hear you on the stones, lapping is the tough part for me as well. If I can lap it, there is a good chance that I am going to place it.

You guys have me stoked to try 400 an arm in the farmers. I think I will load it up this weekend and give it a go!

-Rick

[Clay Edgin]

Squats and Squat lockouts

Chan came over early and brought the Argon that we needed for my MIG welder and I tried my hand at remembering how to weld. Right when I got it looking good, the nozzle that goes from the tank to the welder kept popping off so I said screw it and waited for Shawn. Shawn fixed the nozzle and welded the yoke! This thing feels quite solid. We took some runs up the street with it at 10pm using just 4-45's, as there are four places to load the weights. The way it was designed, if someone can't walk the thing back into the house, we'll turn it 90 degrees and use the plates as wheels to roll it back inside While Shawn welded, we squatted or at least tried to in between helping Shawn.

Squats:

Me: 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 405x1, 455x1, 500x0

Chan: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x1, 345x1 (PR), 365x0

Whereas I belt up and use wraps on the heavier weights, Chan foregoes all the support equipment. He got a good squat tonight and missed something that he will get soon.

Squat lockouts in rack with axle:

Me: 270, 360, 450, 540, 630, 720, 810, 880, 1000 - all x 3 except for 1000 which was x2

Chan: 270, 360, 450, 540, 630x0

There is definitely some technique to this other than just getting under the bar and standing up and we spent some time showing Chan the ropes. He was able to lift his contest weight for the yoke event.

This Sunday we're heading up to Las Vegas, NM early to borrow a friend's log and then will start training at noon. We'll hit log, yoke (woohoo!), stones, and sled. Maybe something else if we feel like it. When we first started training the strongman events a couple months ago, we could only do one or maybe two exercises without being totally dead. Now we've done 5 events in a day and felt alright. I think we should cap it at 5 events and if there is more gas in the tank after we're done, we'll just do more sets of those 5 events.

Edited September 1, 2005 by ClayEdgin

[danegarreau]

Good work Clay. I can't wait to hear about you running down the road with the yoke.

[Clay Edgin]

I'm stoked about the yoke. The next contest we're doing has a 600lb yoke for 40ft and carrying a 240lb keg back 40ft. We've already practiced the farmers/keg carry medley and I've made good time.

[BigT]

Squats and Squat lockouts

Chan came over early and brought the Argon that we needed for my MIG welder and I tried my hand at remembering how to weld. Right when I got it looking good, the nozzle that goes from the tank to the welder kept popping off so I said screw it and waited for Shawn. Shawn fixed the nozzle and welded the yoke! This thing feels quite solid. We took some runs up the street with it at 10pm using just 4-45's, as there are four places to load the weights. The way it was designed, if someone can't walk the thing back into the house, we'll turn it 90 degrees and use the plates as wheels to roll it back inside  While Shawn welded, we squatted or at least tried to in between helping Shawn.

Squats:

Me: 225x5, 275x5, 315x3, 405x1, 455x1, 500x0

Chan: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x1, 345x1 (PR), 365x0

Whereas I belt up and use wraps on the heavier weights, Chan foregoes all the support equipment. He got a good squat tonight and missed something that he will get soon.

Squat lockouts in rack with axle:

Me: 270, 360, 450, 540, 630, 720, 810, 880, 1000 - all x 3 except for 1000 which was x2

Chan: 270, 360, 450, 540, 630x0

There is definitely some technique to this other than just getting under the bar and standing up and we spent some time showing Chan the ropes. He was able to lift his contest weight for the yoke event.

This Sunday we're heading up to Las Vegas, NM early to borrow a friend's log and then will start training at noon. We'll hit log, yoke (woohoo!), stones, and sled. Maybe something else if we feel like it. When we first started training the strongman events a couple months ago, we could only do one or maybe two exercises without being totally dead. Now we've done 5 events in a day and felt alright. I think we should cap it at 5 events and if there is more gas in the tank after we're done, we'll just do more sets of those 5 events.

←

Love the workout and reading about your journey. Strongman is some serious stuff buddy

[Clay Edgin]

"Back attack"

Today Alex (strongwoman from the Las Vegas comp) and her significant other Robert came out so we had a good group moving weights around. Today we also broke in the yoke. Robert and Alex impressed me today; I don't know, I guess I'm always impressed with someone when they stick with something near their max and finish it out. Shows character, and I make an effort to surround myself with people of character. Alex has only a few months of formal strongwoman training but I think has been active in other sports all her life. Robert is an amateur bodybuilder looking to get his pro card soon. The guy is about 200lbs with maybe 4-5% bodyfat and his next show is in 6 weeks. He hadn't planned on lifting today and was here for Alex but he got into it and I think he'll be back again.

Push Press:

Me: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x2, 275x1

Chan: 95x5, 135x5, 155x3, 175x1 (ties pr), 185x0

Alex: I think she worked up to 65x6

Robert: Worked up to 115x6 and then 135x3 (PR)

Robert said he has only recently began doing overhead pressing 135 was the heaviest he's ever gone. We all did good on these I think. Normally I press the bar while it is hovering under my chin but today since the bar was set lower for Alex to unrack it, I had to let it rest on my chest and I usually have a hard time pressing the weight from there. I think I should stick with the ring the bell partials for like 6 weeks and see what happens outside the rack.

Yoke:

Me: 260x50ftx2, 440x50ftx2, 540x50ft, 620x50ft - no drops on any runs

Chan: 260x50ftx2, 440x50ftx2, 540x5ft

Alex: 180x50ftx2, 220x50ft

Robert: 260x50ftx2, 440x50ftx2

Shawn: 260x50ftx2, 440x50ftx2, 540x45ft

The yoke is a fixed height so while it is nice for people under 6', the cross bar was right below my pec line so it was a harder squat. I've been pretty hard on my back lately with heavy squats, farmers, squat lockouts, and now the yoke so I think I'll go lighter for a little while.

Tire:

This was relatively disorganized so I don't know how many times anyone did anything. I know Chan did the 800 lb tire 6 times and that is a PR. Alex was close to getting the 500 over. I was there to spot and wasn't doing much lifting. Once someone can get the tire to their knee, they have to believe that they will finish it out. Jeniffer came out of the house to give it another shot. I put a board underneath the tire and she was able to flip it that way! Just once though, and it was a 2 minute ordeal that left her spent. Still, she was satisfied!

We did a tire medley where you flip the 500lb tire twice and then do the 800lb tire twice. I struggled more than I should on the 800lb tire and finished in 20 seconds. I'll be happy with 14 seconds, maybe faster.

Sled backwards:

Me: 100x50ftx2, 202.5x50ftx2, 305x50ft (PR), 247.5x50ft

Chan: 100x50ftx2, 202.5x50ftx2, 247.5x50ft

Robert: 100x50ftx2, 202.5x50ft

Alex: 100x50ftx2

Shawn: 100x50ftx2, 202.5x50ftx2

The sled is such a killer, but I love it. I love it like I love the pain of a tattoo needle or a slap on a sunburn.

Aside from that, I spent a total of about 12 hours completing the world's longest tune-up. The air filter and oil change took about 20 minutes total, but getting to the spark plugs was an affair I'd like to forget. I ended up making 3 trips to the parts store, using several ratchet extensions, and rethreading the hole in the engine block. That truck purrs like a kitten now.