Record Of Strength

[foggymountainmuscle]

04-13-05

Stone Lifting

I went out to the campus Quadrangle and lifted some stones they had lying out on some unfinished, or at least untouched landscape area. I did quite a few different pinching grip lifts with this smaller stone that was out there. I warmed up lifting the second smallest stone, this one I could get to my chest. The next two heavy stones I could lap, and even stand up with, but I could not get them to my chest, or hold them for long. They were large dimension wise so much of the weight would be in front of me and I could not stop them from falling away. After working those heavy stones for a bit, I went back to the smaller one and attempted to press it. I failed the first two times, I got it on my third try with some leg drive, and I was able to press it up 4 more times, 3 of those being strict presses. I walked with the stone shouldered for a bit, but I didn't want it to get out of control and have to pick it back up in the middle of the laneway. To end the work out I carried it like a Hussafell stone for what was probably 150 feet and it smoked me. I knew I was done.

[DuTCH]

Nice article foggy!! Respect

[foggymountainmuscle]

Thanks Dutch, I love to talk and write about training. I hope everyone who reads this log checks out the articl on the Diesle Crew Website.

Today, since it was such a nice day and my whole body was sore, I tossed around my keetlebell for a while. It got the blood flowing in my lower back and in my midsection. I went back to my room and stretched, reaching 9" past my feet, active flexability stretch none of this leg hugging bull crap. After I got back I grilled some steak. It was pretty good, alot better than eating at the dining hall.

Finally on a more serious note, to all you believers I need your help: I need your prayers. I am doing very poorly, uncharacteristically poorly in my calculus class, which I need in order to graduate. If I do not graduate, there are an innumeral amount of problems that will result from it. It's pretty hard stuff, especailly at an accelerated curve like at my school. My goal is to pass with a B-, I am currently getting a D, which is a failing grade at my school. There is not very much time left in the year and a limited number of opportunities to increase my grade. I thought about not saying anything here right after I thought to ask but I knew that was the wrong choice right away. Write it down or whatever it takes for you to remember, I am in distress, and asking for all the help you can offer me from so far away.

[tspinillo]

Get off the computer and start drilling the calculus. I was there and got out.

Good luck.

T!

[diesel]

dude, listen real carefully.

college calculus...failing miserably on the quizzes (and i am a relatively smart guy)

50s man...bad scores to get

so i did up some hard work. i got myself 'how to ace calculus'--the best book ever, better than idiots guide.

so get this. i aced calculus...that book, with a lot of hard work, got me a 100 on a college calc exam.

do that book up, and never quit at it...you will understand it

[Strack]

I'm not a big religious person, but i'm willing to bet God has other things to worry about that your calc class. Study your ass off, and you'll be fine. Good luck

[Digdogz]

Look for a kind hearted individual who has a good grasp on the subject at hand and ask for a bit of one on one help. I am sure you know a calculas christian?

Study hard and apply the same determination to your class as you do to your lifting and you'll get there.

Digz

[danegarreau]

Foggy I know how you feel. I am making a 73 in my Advanced Compositon class right now, i need it to graduate. Anyone who has read my posts knows that grammer is not my strong point.

You just gotta study like a madman, ask your teacher for some extra credit.

[diesel]

I'm not a big religious person, but i'm willing to bet God has other things to worry about that your calc class. Study your ass off, and you'll be fine. Good luck

I think you are betting wrong. God takes care of all of our burdens, from small to big, from calc exams to granting us eternal salvation. He is not a stranger to our needs, as He was one of us. He knows our problems and our dilemmas; never be afraid to ask of Him.

cast your cares upon Him, study up like nobody's business, get that book I told you to get cause you will seriously do much better, and you will do well.

[foggymountainmuscle]

Nick is correct. The analogies of people to lambs in the Bible is no mistake. Lambs are notorious for getting their heads stuck, foots stuck, getting lost, or getting frightened by the most trival things, in addition to the dangers of being eaten by lions, wolves, and bears. People are no different.

After I made that post, I worked on calculus for over 4 hours, and I will probably have to put in about 4 more hours to get ready for a test next week over the weekend. Much like a gripper, you can beging to crush the problem once you have gotten your hand wrapped around it.

[foggymountainmuscle]

04-15-05

Misc. Stuff

The stone work I did Wednesday really hit me all over so I wanted a workout that would touch on the things I didn't quite work with the stones. My partner expressed an interest in working on the clean & jerk and I agreed we hadn't done it in a while. We had to wait on the platform so we did some pinch work, trying out some new stuff. We used gloves with 3-10s, band assisted 2 35s, band assisted 3 25s. Didn't get 2 35s off the ground but I wasn't expecting to, I was not fully recovered and I was not trying to do a full pinch workout. Finally we got the platform to ourselves. Long story short it was the best C&J workout I've had in a while. I stopped at 200lbs. because I didn't want to over work myself but it felt fairly easy and I think I found my groove again. Another thing that helped was I read in Mossman's log about for the jerk you don't go straight down, you stick your but out a bit, that worked wonders, the jerks were smooth, and the landing was solid.

After that we did some neck work, full range movement stuff with 75lbs. for 8 reps for two sets with warmup sets of course. Inbetween neck work sets me and my partner were doing plate wrist curls. I was using 2 10s and I was pretty tough to do more than 5, but I managed 3 sets. After this we did side neck exercises. I thought of this doozy, with the head on a bench, remain perfectly straight while the partner picks you up by the ankles. We did 2 sets of 12 seconds. 2 sets for meduim volume always is enough for me when it comes to neck work. The last thing we did was reverse curls on an EZ curl bar; these bars feel so much better on my wrist for reverse curls and it puts them in a more natural position. I did a few sets of 5 with 65 and 75, a triple at 85lbs., and a single at 100lbs. (a big PR I've been chasing for a while), and dropped back down to 85lbs. for a very hard set of 5. The reverse curls were all done with my back against the wall.

[mossman]

nice work foggy....those clean and jerks are nasty....how did you clean, power or O style? i also tried most everything you had in your ab article, loved it man....great job

[foggymountainmuscle]

I clean Olympic style, it is a very long process to be able to do it well. I am impressed you have tried everything already, a lot of that stuff is very brutal.

I have been thinking about this for a bit and I have made a decision. I have set a long term goal that I do not believe anyone has attempted or is able to do as of yet. I plan to do a pullup using the Ironmind Outer Limit Loops. I believe it is possible, and I have the resolve to do it.

[JNowiski]

I clean Olympic style, it is a very long process to be able to do it well.  I am impressed you have tried everything already, a lot of that stuff is very brutal.

I have been thinking about this for a bit and I have made a decision.  I have set a long term goal that I do not believe anyone has attempted or is able to do as of yet.  I plan to do a pullup using the Ironmind Outer Limit Loops.  I believe it is possible, and I have the resolve to do it.

←

dang , thats a tough goal. I think you can do it though. I think your going to be one of the big names on the grip scene. You've already done thing most guys can't come close to. And you keep making great gains, too!

-Jon

[Jeff Parker]

That pull up would be amazing. How close do you think you are right now?

[foggymountainmuscle]

That pull up would be amazing.  How close do you think you are right now?

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I'm sure I can lift over a hundred with both hands; I have lifted my 44lbs. kettlebell with minimal difficulty with each hand. I'm thinking I might be able to push outward on them to give myself assistance like you pull inward on a rafter pullup. I'm quite excited, I think it will have a nice place in the Gripboard Gallery!

[mossman]

thanks for that tip on the rafters BTW....i tried them one other time, and got nowhere fast...of course, i tried to just pinch, not force inwards as well.....im thinking about getting a scale and working with jump stretch bands to help fat guys like me

P.S.-about that ab work, i had already done a couple of the other exercise, case in point being the turkish get up....you are inhuman if you can do that with BW on a bar like otto arco

[foggymountainmuscle]

04-19-05

I did a grip and bending workout. I tried crushing this old rotting potatoe I've been working on crushing. Can't crush the darn thing but I can split them with some manuvering. I mashed my filed #2 and that's about as much grip I got done. I did attempt some trainer closes in a chocker using my figer tips, oh yes, it hurt and I did not close the thing. I did some bending and took an 8" 1/4 square bar from slightly kinked to noticably kinked (might have even got it if you couldn't tell the bend is off center from 10 feet away) in addition to some timber ties as warmups and cool downs and a tough 60d.

04-20-05

I did a jumping workout, partly because I was pressed for time and couldn't make it to the gym, the other part because I've been wanting to for a while. I warmed up jumping on stair steps, then went on to long jumping. I didn't have anything to measure my distance with, but I just kept on improving and I'm sure I got past 8 feet. I went onto high jumps on to ledges, I started at about 30 some inches as a warmup, moving up to a height past my nipples (a good referance point and visual I know but just shut up). I then finished with jumps in a row at a distance of 8 feet, jumping two sidewalk sections. I did these back to back for about 10 jumps. Then by request a friend of mine, showing off my abilities asked if I could jump on this one ledge. It was higher than anything I had done before and did not know I'd be up for it after all that distance jumping but I DID IT! Guys, I shit you not this ledge is 50 inches high! That comes up to the bottom of my arm pit!

[foggymountainmuscle]

04-25-05

I wanted to go to the gym for a good pre contest upper body workout, but I was unable to make it due to some rather shitty circumstances, all of them being my fault but was unaware of the time restricting consequences. So I went outside and bent some steel. I ripped a license plate, bend a big nail and I got a really tight coil 2.5" in diameter on one of my 1/2" HRS bars, but that was the only real highlight, it was rebent metal so it wouldn't bend where I wanted to at all and nothing really impressive resulted. I went back to my room and did some kettlebell jacknives, one hand and two handed. I did about 3 sets per side of 10-15 seconds on the one arm versions and 3 sets for about 15 on the two handed version. This kind of ticks me off because now I won't be recovered enough to do a lower arm workout tomarrow and I can't get to the gym tomarrow either to do anything else. Hopefully I'll get to work on my 18" deadlift Wednesday and get an idea of what I will attempt at the contest.

[foggymountainmuscle]

05-02-05

I did a precontest workout for the Xenia. I haven't been able to get into they gym in the past week or so due to an overwhelming amount of work at school and an extended weekend where I went home. The workout was not that great and I have just found out I am not going to compete this weekend at Xenia: I am not doing well in my calculus class still and am endanger of not graduating. My dad said I couldn't go this weekend and that I need to spend the time studying. My mother was in tears on the phone after talking to a councelor from the school. I am so ashamed of myself; I thought I had things under control but now everything is a mess. I worked hard for all of this and it still isn't good enough. Lord help me.

[anson]

Hang in there Foggy, take some deep breaths and understand what's important in life. It ain't the end of the world if you have to take a calc class over.

[diesel]

you know, Gatorgrip offered some impt. insight to me a little bit ago:

I know from experience that sometimes the lord has to lay you or let you get laid on your back so you will finally look up and see the light.

how true this is. so you need to study. oh well, right. you are forced to study this weekend. so study you will. foggy, just do it like you do lifting. you are hardcore buddy, so be hardcore in studying and kill this sucker. if you gotta do it, you mine as well go with the attitude to destroy it. i know i told you in an earlier post, but i am serious about this one book...'how to ace calculus'. i know how rough it is. but this book allowed me to exit my 50s and F's to actually getting 100s on my exams. it works. more imptly, you gotta find what it takes to put you over the hump. dude, i read your posts a lot. you have a lot of heart, dedication, and a solid killer attitude. so get this done man. the sooner the better. plus i want to hear about your competitions and future trophies.

i will pray for you man. get er done.

[mossman]

cheer up man......i have trouble with math, particularly calc in school too bud.....you are strong, stronger than nearly anyone i know, and you can pull through this man......then, when you have come out of the whole, blaze back into strongman and suprise some people....i know you will my friend

[danegarreau]

Good luck with that Calc. class Foggy.

[foggymountainmuscle]

Well now my parents are saying that I can go to Xenia since my week has been stressful and I could use a break while recently learned Xenia may be my only chance to qualify for NASS Teen Nationals, but I have since made other schedual commitments this weekend. There's not a whole lot that I can say about that, I'm too tired to be angry, just really dissapointed.

05-05-05

Lower Arm

I did some plate pinching but man I sucked it up. I didn't do nearly as well on my deloaded 2 35s plate lifts as I have done in the past. I worked on quite a bit of single finger pinching with 15 Kg and 10Kg plates after I was finished with the 2 35s training. I sucked it up again with wrist curls, possibly because of my pinching before but doing 135lbs was a struggle! After that I decided to do static holds instead, holding a 65lbs. dumbell with my wrist in a slightly cocked position. I did 3 sets for each hand, getting about 8-12 seconds each set. Things got better after all that. I worked my way up to a 100lbs. THUMBLESS reverse curl on an EZ curl bar. Last time I did reverse curls I got 100lbs. using my thumb, so that's some darn good improvement there. I dropped back down to 85 and forced out a grueling set of 5. After this I worked on my outer limit loop pullups by attaching them to a pull down machine. I did 3 reps the first set, then 4, then 6 reps at 40lbs. I think because I had the two on the same clip it didn't allow me to do so much, I've lifted over 40lbs. with a single hand before. But they felt good and I definately want to do more work with pulling down on these things. I ended with some finger tip training, probably my biggest weakness. I was working with gripping 45s by the lip. I did a timed hold with all four fingers, then did 7 reps with my first two fingers, I got 4 reps with my last two fingers, and then I moved into single finger lifting. I managed to get some singles with my middle finger on the 45 and even my ring finger. I lifted the 45 with my pinkie and index. I wanted to do some single plate lifting with my index but it was so cooked I couldn't get it to do a 25 so I decided I was done.