My Strongman And Grip Training Journal

[danegarreau]

it was in a stack and picked up with one hand

[foggymountainmuscle]

That's a very good lift. I cannot remember if I can do six or five. It is really fun but remember there's like 4 different ways to pick them up. Hand facing inward, hand facing straight out, hand facing inward with the bricks closer to your body than your hand, and your hand facing out. I hope to get some brick lifting in over the weekend. Bricks are great for the extensors too, see how many you can put on the back of your fingers, but keep your lower arm parallel to the ground.

[danegarreau]

4/8/04

Todays workout was an awesome workout. Hit alot of PRs and got to use my new yokefor the first time, the first time i have used any yoke for that matter. My legs and hips feel very worked. While using the yoke my entire lowerbody had an enormous strain put upon it. I feel the yoke will really help build very functional strength. There was also a lot of strain on my knees, but it didn't hurt.

Squats

280x5 PR, hard

280x5

280x5, hard, but need to up weight next week

I was having alittle trouble coming out of the hole, but once i got to about a half or a quarter squat i could accelerate up so much the bar would actually lose contact with my back.

Yoke

360x50' in 16 seconds: felt very unstable, alot different from walking out a squat, i dropped it once.

360x50' in 14 seconds:felt better, more stable.

360x50' in 12 seconds:i figured out how to do it, keep feet close together and run.

360x50' in 11 seconds:PR,felt a tone more stable than the first run with it

360x50' in 11 seconds:felt good

360x50' in 14 seconds:i was really tired by this point, dropped it once.

Do more weight next time.

8 Pound Sledge

Successfully levered it to my nose with my right and my left hand, felt good, a big strain on my wrists. A big PR for me, i have been trying to do this for quite some time.

Grippers

#3-1 attempt, no where close to normal, about 3/4'' away

#2-1 close, hard as crap. Decided today wasn't the day for grippers.

2 3/8'' Dumbbel Deadlift

130x1 PR

130x0

120x1

120x1

120x1

120x0

120x1

120x1

[foggymountainmuscle]

Hey Dane, what type of yoke are you using? Barrle and chain or a H like iron frame? I haven't got to work with a yoke, how close is your squat max to your working yoke weight?

[danegarreau]

Foggy, it is like this one, except not adjustable.

http://www.cyberpump.com/gallery/strongman/aar

My squat max 2 months ago was 315, probebly 330 or so now. And 360 on the yoke was sort of a joke, once you figure out how to balance it is no problem. But i can tell you that it is a ton harder than doing quarter squats and then walking around with it, i think that is a good way to train for them though, but the yoke is much harder.

o yea i will have some pictues up of it pretty soon, and some pictures of my sledge levers.

Edited April 9, 2004 by danegarreau

[f1perez]

Is the yoke used to walk with kind of like walking with a sqaut bar on your traps the way Brooks Kubic describes in his Dinosaur Training book?

[danegarreau]

yes it is, take a look at my gallery, i have the picture uploaded in it.

[f1perez]

Thanks dane, btw have you maxed out on the deadlift and squat recently?

[danegarreau]

f1perez, the last time i maxed on deadlift and squat was about 2 1/2 months ago, got 455 on deadlift and 315 on squat, both raw. But i will be maxing again in 2 weeks.

[danegarreau]

4/10/04

Warmup

BenchPress

195x5 PR, felt good

195x5

195x5, slighly arched on last rep

InclinePress

150x6

150x6, form was kinda sloppy

160x4, forgot to take workoutpartners weight off, every rep was hard as crap

Closegrip Press

155x6

155x6

160x6, go up next time

3 Board Press

175x6, easy

180x6, PR felt good

180x6, go up next time

[danegarreau]

4/12/04

Deadlifts

395x5 PR, form perfect

395x5 last rep was hard

395x5 last two reps were really hard

Cleans

185x1

205x1 PR

205x1

195x1

195x1

185x0 Too tired to do it anymore

Pullups

175x6

175x4 I was so tired by now

175x6

RockLifting

I went to a creek with my friend and we found some good rocks to lift, we clean pressed some, shouldered some, pinched some, deadlifted some, skipped some. It was really fun. I did abut 10-15 lifts in all. I have some pictures up in my gallery.

It was an aweomse workout, two PRs and a good time in the greatoutdoors.

Foggy, David O., or anyother knoledgeable about olympic lifting. Am i doing enough volume on my cleans? Or is it just right?

[danegarreau]

4/13/04

2'' Bar Clean and Press

165x5, PR, felt good, pretty hard

165x5, hard as crap, barely got all 5

165x5, Turned stereo to Metallica, Fight fire with Fire, waited till the mellow part turned into the hard part, cleaned it like an empty bar and then threw up five reps like they were nothing, Note to self: this song is perfect for overheadpress.

165x1, tried to do a squat jerk but couldn't quite pull off the technique

Seated Dumbbell PRess

61x5 PR, pretty hard

61x5

61x5, every rep really hard

2'' Bar Curls

95x8, form was crappy, the weight was way too heavy

90x8, felt alot better, still hard as crap

90x8, even harder than crap, but it felt good, really worked my biceps, and my hands and wrists

Dumbbell Curls

40x8, PR, felt good

40x8, this was enough for me, skipped the last set because my biceps were so pumped i could hardly move them

Standing Wrist Roller Wrist Curls

95x10, PR, felt pretty good

95x10, the pump is on

95x10, pretty hard

Bending

40dx1, this was easy, but i couldn't of done any more, Note to self: don't try to bend after doing wrist curls

2 hand Plate Wrist Curls

35x6

35x6

35x6

All in all an awesome workout, lots of PRs, felt really good even though my back is sore.

[foggymountainmuscle]

Dane in my Olympic lifting I have found that a single and successively heavier single gets me hurt. What I've been doing, and having more sucess with is two singles at each weight and a single on my max.

It's kinda like first single: did it. Second single: easy.

Keep in mind my cleans are done with the jerk, it's like an extra lift tucked into the cleans. I also don't end on lighter poundages though, I usually move on to one or two support exercises: hyper shrugs, waist cleans, quarter snatch squats, quarter front squats, jerks from behind the neck. Other than the lockouts, I only train pylometric/explosive movements on O lifting days.

I don't know how you can clean anything after deadlifting though. I think your volume is fine as long as you can consistantly build up to your max, break your max, and not run out of steam before reaching the final set.

[danegarreau]

Foggy thanks for the tip, yea i'm not sure why or how i do cleans after deadlifts but i will continute to do it. Its pretty tough but i dont' do anything else when it comes to lowerback on that day.

Also, i'm finding on my heavier cleans lately that instead of squatting to catch the bar i am jumping and splitting my legs sideways. It seems to work but am i risking injury doing it this way? Mabey i should just go lighter and learn how to do them in perfect squat clean form.

[foggymountainmuscle]

Your split stance is a more stable stance and makes you get lower. For power cleans, just a shot off the floor, that would be how I'd catch them. But if you are doing true cleans, you catch the most weight by getting down the lowest, this is done by squatting, full squat too. It takes a while to be able to do it, but I was able to teach myself. A habbit I got into was stopping at the catch. I'd catch the clean dead stop, what you want to do is catch the clean low and get it moving back up. I have never had a problem squatting up a clean, but then again I don't have much of a problem squatting, for many others, that isn't so.... so they say.

http://www.coachesinfo.com/article/237/

I often look at this page to evaluate, and re-evaluate my form. To get the feel, do cleans from the waist, with a light weight, or just the bar. No squatting really, I use it to help me position my arms for the catch. The catch will rest on you collar, not your hands. Hope that helps.

[danegarreau]

4/15/04

Squats

285x5, PR, all reps really hard

285x4, very hard

285x1, all the life was allready sucked out of me.

Squats went well for the first set but down hill after that, i was really hungry when i first started working out so i know that didn't help, and i also had a big deadlift day on monday.

HelGarr Stone Carry

180x130', PR, felt pretty good.

180x120' in traditional form, Pr for this technique, felt good

180x120' in traditional form

Rolling Thunder

90x1

150x1, PR, barely held it long enough to count

155x0, just didn't have it in me

145x1

145x1

140x1

135x1

130x1, held it for about 10 seconds

120x1 held it for about 20 seconds

[danegarreau]

4/16/04

Bending

40dx8, no breaks in between, very easy

Bench Press

200x5, PR, very very hard

200x4, even harder

200x3, and i'm dead

Closegrip Press

165x6, PR

165x6

165x6

Floor Press

165x6, way too easy

185x5, very hard

One hand Deadlift w/ olympic bar

185x1, PR, the bar was allready loaded on and on the ground so why not

185x1

185x1

I also walked about 2 miles or so before the workout, should help loosen up the legs after squat day. It was a good workout, but i have had better.

[foggymountainmuscle]

Like those floor presses? Don't know how you did them after close grips.

[danegarreau]

Yea, the floor presses are pretty good, they really hit the triceps good.

[danegarreau]

4/17/04

Grippers

#3-1 negitive

#2- 20 singles

#1-5 no set singles

I used very little chalk so it made it kind of hard, my progress on the #3 is not progressing very fast, i am still having trouble setting it enough. But i can now dominate my #2.

[danegarreau]

4/19/04

Deadlift

135x5

225x5

315x2

475x0, budged it off the ground a few inches

475x0, it came off the ground but was not to be had

465x0

465x0

I had a very bad day in the deadlift department, not quite sure why i couldn't get the freakin weight to come up. But o well, sometimes you win sometimes you dont.

2'' Bar, Double overhand deadlift

260x1, PR, very easy

280x1, PR, still some left in the tank

290x1, PR, very hard, barely got it, i have a picture loaded in the gallery

2'' Bar, Over under grip

320x2, PR, but o so easy

360x2, PR

360x2, still not to my max as far as my grip goes

1 Hand Plate Pinch

50x1, passed it back and forth about ten times

50x1, same thing

70x0

70x0, training partner helped assist the weigh up

70x0, same thing

50x1, held it for 15 seconds with right hand

50x1, held it for 9 seconds with left hand

Well i was hoping to get 475 on the deadlift, but my body said otherwise, i know i can lift the weight but it didn't to coroperate. I think if i had it to do all overagain i would:

1)eat a better lunch, more of it

2)do one more warmup set

But i can't do it overagain so i will just have to be better prepared next time.

I have been using wrist straps on all my deadlifts for a long time now, it is not that i can't hold on to it, its just that i can concentrate more on the lift. But i think i am gonna put the straps away for a while and do it like a real man, besides it will really help my farmers holding ability.

I should also note that i need to work on my form, i think this could of been one of the reasons why i didn't get the lift today.

[foggymountainmuscle]

Dane, even if wraps help you concentrate on the lift, it is better in training to use as little assistance as possible. The deadlift is a total body lift, from the tips of your fingers down to your calves, to take away one part in a sense diminishes the lift and the indirect gains achieved with heavy compound movements like the deadlift. Think of how less intense a bicept curl would be with a wrist wrap combared to a 2" bar curl? If I don't need wraps on an 18" deadlift, you better just save the wraps for strapholds. Learn how to hook grip if need be.

[danegarreau]

4/20/04 Weighed 175 pounds this morning

Warmed up with some 35 pound dumbbell clean and presses

9'' Homemade Log Clean and PRess

135x2

175x0, i almost got it, didn't clean it well and wasn't ready to press it

175x1, PR, got it pretty easily and held it locked out for along time

175x1

175x1, this press was much more strict than the rest

175x0, it felt soo heavy

1 arm clean and press with 2 3/8 dumbbell

70x1, pretty easy

90x0, cleaned it but couldn't press it

80x1, PR, once i pressed it i did a bent press with it

80x1

80x1

Bending

5.5 by 1/4 steel from HDx2, PR, i got the first one in under a minite, the next one was very hard to do.

40dx2, pretty easy but my hands and wrist are shot

It was a very good workout, i got my goal of 175 pounds on the log press. Now i just hope that i can get it in my upcoming medley at my contest. I didn't get to do biceps, but o well.

[danegarreau]

4/22/04 Weighed 173 in morning

Squats

135x8

225x2

275x1

335x1, PR, felt really good, was tremendously hard

345x1, PR, alot harder and slower

350x0, tried it out but it wasn't ment to be

Yoke Walk

380x50' in 11 seconds: dropped it once, but felt pretty good

380x50' in 12 seconds

380x50' in 10 seconds

380x50' in 9 seconds: felt good

380x50' in 8 seconds: ran really fast, head slightly down and bent at hips

Timed Gripper holds

#2x1: held it closed for 20 seconds in RH and 13 in LH

#2x1: held it closed for 15 seconds in RH and 10 in LH

#2x1: held it closed for 15 seconds in RH and 10 in LH

#1x1: held it closed for 28 seconds in RH and 20 in LH

It was an awesome workout. I gained 30 pounds to my squat in just under 3 months, very happy about that. And hit some bigger weight on the yoke, didn't even notice the weight difference. I shoud also note that when i walked out my max squat it didn't feel heavy like it used to, the yoke and 1/4 squats have given me alot of stability and confidence. My technique is also improving on the yoke.

And the timmed gripper holds went well, i have decided to dedicate more of my grip training to supporting strength. Timed gripper holds, deadlifts, farmers, cleans should help.

[f1perez]

dane, you are doing great. keep up the good work!!!!!!!