An increased focus on recovery

Day one of the new program. I’m sore in my entire back from yesterday, nothing serious just annoying.

• I took my multivits which I ofter forget on weekends.
• I took an hour nap in the afternoon because I could.
• Walked the dog three times
• Played with the foam roller but haven’t watched the accompanying video yet, I did print of the pages suggested by Scott S
• 12K kb swings sets of 25, 4 set per hand

Help me….help myself

So, I need a hand. I am scheduled for two competitions before the end of the year. Neither of them are things I really am any good at.

Tactical Strength Challenge (09/08/07) – yep, I signed up again. I think I can bring my swings up, I wanna drive for 120. A pull of 500 will keep me happy. It’s the pullups that I need to work on. So far the primary piece of advice I have received on this is to do singles as many times as I can, then doubles and so on. If that’s the best way, I think I can make a better go of it than I have. roughly three days per week I have access to a pull up bar. I’ll try to take advantage of it the best I can. Any further suggestions are always welcomed. I’d like to hit 10.

Gripmas Carol (12/08/07) – this is an event I tried to do last year but was unable to make it. It’s in Ohio with the crew of Farmstrength, put on by Chris Rice. The list of events is:
Euro Pinch – the normal

IronMind Apollon Axle DL – Sumo or conventional – DO to full deadlift

Bending – DO or Reverse – not sure which yet – standard IM and FBBC stocks as per Erics chart

Medley – a mixture of increasingly difficult items

Weaver Stick – front and/or rear

Scale Weight Hold for time – the most talked about event at BBB last year – my scale weights are killer OR

100# Plates hold for time – the object is an endurance event to finish up with.

So I’ve got to train hard for this. I need some suggestions on grip training, I’ve never really been able to a make a solid go of it, I was always too worried a it interfering with my other lifts. Kettlebells will be a major part of my weightloss regimen. I don’t want to mess with that. Still I gotta do something.
I don’t know anything about the euro pinch but assume a plate pinch will do most of the work. I can work with my 2″ dumbells for the axle pull and try to hit an axle when I can. I have some bending stock and can get more. I have wraps and so on. I have never figured out this folding business but reached a double underhand blue bend before I decided I didn’t care. I like the weaver stick, I play with this occasionally, I can work front lever and similar lifts. The scale weight thing I have never done, this seems like  a one handed pinch to me. Last is the 100# plate for time. I assume this is one hand, anyway you like with an olympic style plate, hopefully Chris can correct me. I have the standard IM grippers T – 3, I assume a 2 is the best I will achieve in this short time.

The big question is, how do I fit this into a training schedule? Do I do a little each night? Do I set aside one big day for grip? How does it work?

It’s all about attitude

I won’t keep you in suspense, I placed 5 outta 5. It looked an awful lot like the video from last year. I don’t know what I’ll get back in the way of videos and pictures but as I get them, I’ll post them up.

I didn’t expect to win or anything but I expected better. I missed primarily due to attitude in my opinion. I went it unprepared and uninterested. When I got there, my warm ups went well. I was able to clean an jerk the empty log pretty easy. I felt like 40lbs  (280 total) more would be no problem. When the time came, I couldn’t make the clean. Someone told me it was because I wasn’t shooting my elbows under. I have the same issue with a barbell clean. I let my short comings there put me in a foul mood.

Next up, farmers, 330/arm. This is a rough event for me. I’m gonna ask for some help here on this but later, as part of another post. I simply couldn’t grip it. At one point I was pulling up hard enough that I actually lept off the mat as my grip slipped. I made about 5 pulls The right would start to come of the ground and my left hand would shoot off.

Yoke I think it was 800. I stood up and took two steps before being driven tot he ground. I was able to get several stand but never under enough control to make a step. I never got to the tire. At this point only pride kept me form going home.

Fire Hydrant carry, it was my first time picking up this hydrant. Carry a 330 lb fire hydrant sucks. I got it up and few steps before I coouldn’t hold it. After that I just couldn’t really stand with it again. I really feel like I could and should ahve done more but jsut didn’t want to. I can’t really say I gave my all on this event.

Stones, I felt nervous before the log and this, the two events I actually was look forward too. 290 stone gave me a litttle more of a fit than I expected but it went. The 300 was really giving me trouble, I was having trouble holding onto it. I called for tacky and got some but still couldn’t pick it up. I finally got it to my lap but not under enough control to finish the lift.

All in all a huge downer. That’s ok though. I learned alot about how much my own headgame sucks, how much my attitude plays into my performance. I realized that I have pretty much lost my ability to mentally prepare myself for a really tough/heavy lift. I don’t know when or where I lost it but it’s gone. I’m not gonna go looking for it too hard until after I lose some of this weight. Maybe next christmas that’ll be my gift to me 🙂

I saw more guys than I expected get hurt, we lost one to a knee during the yoke. Someone tore their bicep on the tire and we had a hamstring pull on the stones. It seems like out of the three events I have seen, each has had more injuries, that makes me worry.

back soon with more posts on plans and a request for help on a coupel goals.