Picking up heavy stuff and getting hit a lot

[Bloke]

BigAl

Best of luck at Xenia

Oh and you are more than entitled to get a bit sappy on the anniversary of 9/11 - I did and I live in Ireland - may we never forget!

[BigAl]

This is my official write-up I guess. Despite injuring myself right off the bat in the first event and a subpar performance, I still managed to get 2nd place in the under-175 division. For the most part, I'm irritated about how I did and what happened, but I did the best I could regarding the circumstances. One of the guys never showed (I heard he was really sick beforehand), so there was just three of us.

First event was the Atlas stones. Carry a 208 ten feet and load it on a barrel, a 235 five feet and load it on a barrel, and load a 280. I got the 208 up and loaded in about 7 seconds, losing my kilt in the process, it got stuck to some tacky on the stone so when I loaded it it snagged my kilt and yanked it right off. Luckily I had shorts on underneath! :P By the time I loaded the second stone I was at a little over 20 seconds, leaving me plenty of time to wrestle with the 280 I thought. I grabbed the sucker, lapped it.....and then started falling backwards! I shoved it off me the best I could but it ended up landing on the outside of my right foot near the heel. I got up and kept trying but I couldn't budge the 280 again. That ankle injury screwed me pretty much the whole way. I got 2nd in this event, probably the only good part of the contest since I managed to lap a 280. I think I could've gotten it too, irritating....

Next event was the 450 frame carry. Carry it 50ft, go around a cone, and come back. Unlimited drops. I didn't have the technique down at all, I was trying to rush it at first so the sucker was wobbling all over the place. It wasn't until about halfway through (when my grip was already dying) that I picked up that when you stand up with it, you have to wait a second or two for it to get balanced before you get moving. I got 80+ feet with it by the end of the 60 seconds. (Nobody told me my kilt was tucked under my belt too so you were seeing my shorts the whole time too ) As if the ankle wasn't bad enough, this one had me sporting two nasty blood blisters on my right hand and a small one on my left. I got 2nd in this one, not too happy with my performance but hey, gave me something to work on.

Third event was the axle deadlifts for reps with 315, max in 60 seconds. I got 9, which really ticked me off as I got 12 easy in training and started off strong. The blood blisters on my hand and the frame carry from before killed my grip though, so by about rep 7 it was falling out of my hands. I switched sides for my mixed grip (left hand over and right hand under) to get two more reps but my grip was fried. My back still felt really strong too, that's why I got really disappointed here. Got 2nd here too.

Fourth event was the 175 log clean and press (clean each rep). I got an easy first and a tough second (the clean was tougher than the press, my hands were DEAD and in pain), but no more than 2. I was shooting for 3+, but two isn't too bad. Got 2nd here as well.

Final event was the vehicle pull. We were supposed to do a fire truck but after a lot of the master's and police/fire/military LWs tried moving it to no avail, they switched it to the ambulance (16,000 pounds) instead. I only ended up getting 80+ feet in 60 seconds. I couldn't get as low as I wanted because then my right ankle started throbbing, so I had to be a lot higher than I should've been and didn't get as much of a pull behind me. 2nd place here too.

Overall, not too happy with a lot of it, but hey, live and learn. I've got the spot to go to Nationals but due to money problems most likely I won't be going unless things change. Still need a lot to work on, just gotta heal up for now and then get back into it.

Pictures and video incoming if they don't suck too bad.

[BigAl]

I'll be recovering for a bit due to dropping that 280# Atlas stone on my ankle so this journal might be quiet for a bit, but I'll be getting back into it soon. I think my base strength levels are holding me off on a lot of stuff, so since I won't be doing any competitions for a while I'm going to work three exercises really hard with maybe events once in a while: deadlifts, overhead squats, and power jerks.

[BigAl]

Pictures:





Video:

450lb frame carry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5F5_z1PNuo

315 axle for reps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFqtg014qlY

Ambulance pull: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbmtlU7R4Gc

[Shokei Marcsui]

Very nice.

[BigAl]

Thanks Marc

I've had to miss Kyokushin for a couple days now, this stinks This ankle better hurry up and heal. I tried doing kata today and it was like WHOA, bad idea.

[BigAl]

Got my heel X-rayed, luckily it's not fractured.

09/23/2006 STRONGMAN WORKOUT:

Big group today. There was me, McKenna, Dennis (finally!), my friend Natalie, and her boyfriend Fei. Natalie weighs about 105 pounds and set world powerlifting records in the deadlift (broke the record with 265, then broke her own record with 292 in the same meet) and set state records for bench (132). Fei's a strong guy who's looking into doing some strongman. I took it real easy today, didn't want to mess up my heel but I still tossed in a few little things here and there.

It was just me, Natalie, and Fei to start so I busted out the log and let them try. Fei managed to work his way up to 205 for a double, impressive for the first time touching one. Natalie cleaned the log empty (85) but couldn't press it, so we'll work with her on that

We then hit the road and let them try out some farmer's. Fei took it light since he did squats the day before, so he and Natalie did the same weight, 115 per hand. She got the whole distance with the turn, so she did really well. Future WSW winner maybe?

We then hit up the Atlas stone. Fei couldn't pick it up, I picked it up and threw it off me once to show him how, all the while balancing on the ball of my bad foot but it was still tough for him. Understandable, as stones are tough in general and it was also a bit wet from the rain before.

We then did some grip stuff while we were waiting on Dennis to bring over the thickbar, and McKenna zipped in and did some log presses, worked his way up to 230 for a couple. Once Dennis came, we had Natalie use the 2" thickbar and she worked up to an easy 245 on it. I did a double overhand dead with the 245 just once and we messed around with it a little bit, also doing some keg presses with my keg (it weighs about 85-90 right now).

McKenna and Dennis wanted to do stones, so we hopped on back to the stone and McKenna and Fei (using tacky) did some loads over the yoke with us stabilizing. Dennis managed to lap and almost stand up with the 225 using tacky. We let Nat use my keg and she threw it over about 4-5 times.

Dennis was down for some yoke, so McKenna brought it down the hill before he left. Dennis, Fei, and Nat did 200, 250, and 290 for 100ft total, then Dennis at my urging did 340 and kicked its butt. I figured what the hell, let's do it, and did 100ft with the 340 but basically walking on the ball of my right foot the whole way. I was barefoot and in jeans, so I'm officially a maniac. Cool.

Natalie and Fei left then Dennis finished up with some thickbar presses, he was using about 110 so when he was done I cleaned it, sat down with it, and did some seated presses with it while sitting on my picnic bench and just repped out with it until I got tired. We then played around with my pinch blocks then came in and had a beer.

[BigAl]

Heel's almost all better, Monday I'm going to hit the weights and Kyokushin and see how it feels

[BigAl]

Took a few days off as the heel was feeling better, so I decided to take it easy, let it get better then get back into it. Did 15 minutes on the speed bag yesterday, solid rhythm but time to work on something more than just circle punches.

Beginning of my "Back to Basics" routine, focusing solely on getting my gym lifts and base strength levels up. Using Hoffman's Standards to judge the majority of my lifts, trying to get to Bronze or Silver in all of them. Went a bit lighter than normal to get back into it, see how the heel holds up.

10/02/2006 GYM WORKOUT:

ATG Back Squats: 165x5, 190x4, 215x3, 240x2, 265x1.

265 went up without too much trouble, so 270 next time. 275x2 is my personal best, my goal this time around is to hit 325 (Bronze standard, based off of Hi Bar Squats).

Good Mornings: 135x3, 165x3, 195x3/3/3.
205 next time, these weren't bad at all. My best to date is 245 for a single. No standard set by Hoffman, so I'm looking to do over 300 by the end of this.

Power Jerks: 95x3, 125x3, 155x3/3/3.
160 next time, these were tough but doable. My wrist flexibility needs some work. My best is 185 for a single, looking to get well over 200 by the end of this (240 is the Bronze standard for clean and jerk, so that's what I'm using for power jerks).

Weighted Dips:
(BW+75 = 185+75 = 260) x3/3/3/3/3.
80 next time, these kicked my ass but I got them all so it's time to go up.

Going to go do some gripwork in a bit then hit up Kyokushin Karate tonight.

[BigAl]

10/03/2006 MARTIAL ARTS WORKOUT:

Did my daily routine to warm up (some kata, breathing exercises, joint rotations, dynamic stretches, the plank, a horse stance hold for time, and some vaccuums), a nice little one that takes about 30 minutes but not only helps my dynamic flexibility but wakes me up and gets me going. Works better than coffee. Held the plank and horse stance for 60 seconds each, first time I added both of these so starting off low.

Then I went and did my "kumite workout". I warmed up with a couple minutes of rope-skipping with my speed rope, mostly just normal skipping but did a few cross-overs for fun (though after smacking my bare toes once, I remember why I used to wear shoes when doing that ). I then went out and did 6 rounds on the heavy bag. 1st round was all punches, 2nd round all kicks, 3rd round combinations and the sabaki pattern, 4th round block and counter-punching, 5th round off-centering and kick counters, and the 6th was combinations again.

Hopped in the house next and did some calisthenics in a circuit: push-ups, mountain climbers, sit-ups, and bodyweight squats. Did 3x25 of each, all four in a row with no rest, wait a minute, then do it again two more times.

Took a nap after that as I was hoping to go to my Kyokushin Karate class, but when I woke up I was late already and feeling tired as hell. Didn't get enough sleep last night so that nap messed me up.

[BigAl]

[u]10/04/2006 GYM WORKOUT:

Woke up and ran 2 miles today. A long miserable 2 miles. I hate running. Finished in about 15:30.

After that I showered up, got a haircut, got dressed up, then hit up the police academy. They want me to take the physical abilities test on October 18th, so that's a good sign. It was funny though. I had my hair cut short and military-style and was dressed up in a nice black dress shirt, gray slacks, and black dress shoes. All the students kept calling me "sir", they all thought I was a cop already

Then went and hit up the gym.

Overhead Squats: 55x5, 75x4, 95x3, 115x1, ----.
Lost the second rep with 115 so I decided to call it quits. Lot tougher without the O-lifting shoes I was using before, I definitely need to get a pair of those now.

Power Snatches: 65x3, 85x3, 105x3/3/3.
Slow progression on these, want to make sure I keep good form. 110 next time.

Power Cleans: 115x3, 145x3, 175x3, 165x3/3.
After doing these, I'm thinking about making the power cleans 5-4-3-2-1 and making the overhead squats 5x3. I could've done the last two sets with 175 but my form was looking off with the first set so I decided to drop to make sure I'm still doing it okay.

Doing some speed bag work later on tonight.

[BigAl]

Yesterday I did a good 20+ minutes on the speed bag, working on straight and circle punches and really striving to get a good rhythm going. Slowly starting to get some of it back, nowhere near as fast as I used to be though.

10/05/2006 KYOKUSHIN KARATE:

Didn't do much else today besides Kyokushin, just a good bit of stretching. I got there and it was just me, my sempai Harvey, and John. Lighter than normal workout tonight. We started off doing lots of different hand strikes and blocks in Sanchin, then switched over to Zenkutsu and did transitions up and down the dojo for block-punch combos, then into Kumite stance for kick-block-punch combos. I'm pretty stoked as my jodan mawashi geri (high roundhouse kick) could actually hit someone in the head now without having to pull them down. Fooled around with a few other things like the Brazilian kick (a high snapping roundhouse kick that goes downwards at a 45 degree angle) and some of the kumite kata.

We then did a good bit of kata, specificially Pinan Sono Ichi and Sono Ni. I won't need to know these two katas until I test for green belt (I'm only a yellow, testing for blue soon hopefully which is right before green) so I'm ahead of the game. Pinan Sono Ichi was looking decent, and I finally got all the movements down for Sono Ni. Ended with our usual ab routine (crunches, oblique crunches, reverse crunches, and accelerated leg raises) although for the first three on the last 10 we did a 5-second hold for each rep. Butt-kicking. Then we did some knuckle push-ups, I've got an open cut on my hand so I decided against bricks for today but John and Harvey used them.

STUFF TO WORK ON:
**When stepping outside to do a gedan barai, turn and block simultaneously, not turn then block.
**Don't drive with the blocking hand until you're following it up with a punch right after.
**Make sure to exaggerate the pivot you use for the Brazilian kick to get that momentum behind it.
**My shuto mawashi ukes need to have a larger circle for testing purposes. I shorten mine up a lot.
**The Yuki version of chudan uchi uke is coming along, I just need to remember sometimes that it's not like a backfist and still should be circular, just not as big as one.
**KIAI on Sono Ni on the nukite and the final jodan uke.
**I was doing better with it today, but I'd still like to make sure I'm turning my hips so my kick comes more from the center each and every time.
**In the beginning of Sono Ni when you do the jodan-chudan block, the jodan block can go past the forehead but you need to bring it back to the temple. They're picky about that at testing.

Going to go do some more push-ups in a bit, just want to make sure I'm still working on those hard as I want to do well on my Army physical fitness test.

[BigAl]

10/06/2006 GYM WORKOUT:

Deadlifts:
225x4 (quick warm-up, double overhand)
285x5 (all but one were double overhand)
315x4
345x3
375x2
405x1

Adding 5lbs next time, going up slowly but surely. All of these were raw, no belt or straps, just socks and chalk.

Flat Bench Press: 115x3, 145x3, 175x3/3/3.
Guess I just needed to get in the groove of these again, these were really easy this time. 180 next time. Doing these flat-backed, no arch.

Bent-Over Rows: 115x3, 145x3, 175x3/3/3.
Going up to 180 next time with these.

Then went home and ran two miles. Did a lot better this time around, 14:40 and only had to stop and walk for about 10 seconds there. I hate running on the street all the time though, tough on my shins. I then went and tested my max push-ups in two minutes and got 62. I need 70 to get a perfect for the Army, but this 62 wasn't all in one set so I gotta work on that. Not bad after benches and rows though.

[BigAl]

10/07/2006 O-LIFTING/STRONGMAN:

First time back to O-lifting in a while, so Alex put me to work. Warmed up with just the bar for some snatches and clean and jerks, then he had me doing a lot of C&Js. Each one was a squat clean into a split jerk O-lifting style.

Clean and Jerks:
40kg (88lbs) x1
50kg (110lbs) x1
60kg (132lbs) x1, x1
65kg (143lbs) x1, x1
70kg (154lbs) x1
75kg (165lbs) x1, x1, x1, x1

75kg is my current max for these, simply because this was my first time going high on these and Alex wanted me to stop at 75kg. I didn't have too much left in me after all the pressing anyways, but next time I'll go for more.

With 52.5kg and 75kg, that gives me a total of 127.5kg (280.5lbs) to start. Going to keep working on these hard.

Then went home, rested for an hour, and Fei and Nat came over for a strongman session.

Log Presses: 85x5 (warm-up), 178x3, 198x0 (maybe a third of the way).

Didn't do too much more than this. Fei worked up to 225 I think, he went for 245 but the clean screwed him. We got Nat to clean the log a few times and helped her get it up, then she did some axle presses. She did 65x12 with the clean, but we had to help her get the 85 up, which she did for 6.

Front Carries: 200 for 100ft (drop and turn at 50ft), 290 for 100ft (drop and turn), 360 for 100ft (drop and turn), 410 for like maybe 5-10ft.

Should try a belt next time, might get more. Nat did these a couple times with 200, and Fei managed to crank out the 410 for 50ft.

Yoke: 290 for 100ft (drop and turn at 50ft), 360 for 100ft (drop and turn), 410 for 100ft (drop and turn, I did have one drop during it though at about 75-80ft), then tossed on a belt and did 480 for 50ft.

The 480 was rough, I walked so slow. Fei did the 480 without a belt and crushed it. Nat did 290 for 100ft, it was awesome. Some old lady walking by had the most pained expression on her face seeing her in action

Yoke Bottom Position Squats: 200x1, 290x1, 360x0.
My legs were dead after all the squat cleans, yokes, and front carries. Nat did 200 and almost 250 I think. Fei did 410 and tried 480 but couldn't get it. These were real tough, as you're starting from a below parallel squat position then just standing up with the suckers. Fei's idea, a fun one too.

Car Pushing:
Each one of us then pushed my Saturn for as far as we could.

Fun times. I'm real sore now, but it was a blast. They had me do a lot more than I intended, which was good. They both did really well too.

[BigAl]

10/09/2006 KYOKUSHIN KARATE:

I'm probably going O-lifting on the 10th so I decided to take it easy for most of the day and just train in karate a bit, stretch, and go to class that night. Through odd intervals at the day when I wasn't studying or surfing the Net, I was working on a lot of stretching and really focusing on my kata.

Class tonight was good. Lot of basics to warm-up from Sanchin, did 30 per hand of each of the following:

Seiken chudan tsuki, seiken jodan tsuki, seiken gedan tsuki, seiken age tsuki, shita tsuki, uraken sayu gammen uchi, uraken hiza uchi, shuto gammen uchi, shuto uchi uchi, shuto sakotsu uchi, shuto hiza uchi, shuto sakotsu uchikomi, vertical empi, horizontal empi, gedan barai, chudan uchi uke, chudan soto uke, jodan uke. Fell back into kokutsu dachi and did 40 shuto mawashi geris per side.

We then did some transitions up and down the dojo. We would do block-punch combinations at first then right after use the same block but really work on getting that bodyweight into it. We used all four blocks with seiken chudan tsuki. We then worked our kicks, specifically mae geri, yoko geri, and mawashi geri. We did the kicks individually to start (snapping them back to the center after each strike), then did some kick-block-punch combinations.

From there we hopped into Kumite Dachi and worked on a lot of sparring counters and techniques.

**Counter to rear straight: Lead soto uke-rear shita tsuki.
**Counter to left straight: Lead uchi uke-gyaku tsuki.
**Counter to lead shita tsuki: Lead gedan barai-lead shita tsuki.
**Counter to lead mae geri: Lead gedan barai while shifting lead foot back to center-rear gedan mawashi geri-lead chudan/jodan mawashi geri.
**Counter to rear mae geri: Rear gedan barai as the lead foot moves back-lead gedan mawashi geri-left straight-right straight-jodan mawashi geri.
**Counter-throw to right straight: Lead soto uke-rear shuto uchi to neck-both hands grab gi-rear knee to gut-turn all the way around while mimicing shuto mawashi geri movement.

We then did three rounds of sparring each. I faced my instructor twice and John once since we were the only three there. These were pretty short but sweet, as we went hard on each other the whole time. Can't remember everything but there are a few things that stick out in my mind that I either need to work on or managed to do that shows I'm doing something right.

1) Need to work on setting up or following my kicks with punches and my punches with kicks. Too often I just stick to one or the other.
2) Managed to almost pull off the same counter-throw we went over today on my sempai, I didn't get him down but I did manage to get him away from me.
3) My lead mae geri is decent, I just need to remember to THRUST with it at all times. One of the lead front kicks I did to my sempai was more of a snap and I banged my toes off of his elbow.
4) Keep your hands up more when in kicking range.
5) Managed to counter John's jodan mawashi geri fairly well, he launched a rear one and though I got caught in the head my lead arm managed to absorb most of it. Landed a nice counter right straight at the same time and dropped him on his butt, which was cool.
6) Got a spinning back kick to work too, I missed with a high kick so I spun around lightly with one to see if I could catch John and though he managed to get one arm down I still got a little piece of him.
7) Watch your breathing! For some reason after the second one I felt really winded. I did take some solid gut punches from both of them though, could be something to do with it. Still, I want to make sure I'm breathing and staying relaxed.

[BigAl]

10/11/2006: GYM WORKOUT

Ran about 2 miles first thing in the morning (truck was blocking the way to the rotunda where I turn around, so I turned around at the truck) and finished in about 14 minutes even. Getting better every time I run it, I hope that keeps up. Did some mild stretching too.

Meant to hit up the O-lifting club tonight, but by the time I remembered it was almost 7. The session starts at 6:30 and only goes to 8:30, so I would have had about a half an hour once I got there. So instead I went and did my Monday workout today, which was a good thing as I made some kick-ass gains.

ATG Back Squat: 170x5, 195x4, 225x3, 245x2, 275x1 (really easy), 295x1 (PR!).
Kicked ass on these tonight, I guess I got motivated by having a couple of the more serious guys that train there cheering me on and I raped it. It was also cool hearing somebody say during my 275 "Now THAT's how you squat!" This was awesome, best thing of the night.

Good Mornings: 145x3, 175x3, 205x3/3/3.
Not bad, had one of the guys check my form too and he said it was decent. Wanted to make sure as they moved the power rack from the last time I was doing these regularly so it's a different view now and tougher to tell. 5-10lb increase next time, depending on how I'm feeling.

Power Jerks: 100x3, 135x3, 160x3/3/3.
The last one on both of these locked out soft, had to battle it to get it up. 165 next time unless I'm feeling burnt, then I might stick with 160.

Weighted Dips:
(BW+80 = 182+80 = 262 total) x3/3/2/0.
BWx4
I was so dead after those first couple sets when I tried BW I couldn't even do 5 reps. Kicked my ass.

Decline Situps: BWx20/BWx20/BWx15.
Steepest it can get, I have to be careful not to bang my head off the ground going down. Haven't done these in a long time and it shows.

Max Push-ups in 60 Sec: A measly 50.

Cooled down by doing several kata (Tensho, the Pinans, the Taikyokyus, Sanchin, Pinan Sono Ni, and Tensho). Going to stretch before bed and try to work in some grippers.

[BigAl]

10/11/2006 ENDURANCE WORKOUT:

Was going to go run two miles again, but it was really pouring out so I decided I'd just toss in some cardio after I finished work.

Rowing Machine: Did 15 minutes at a good pace, 3:15/500m, level 10 intensity. Not bad, watching Parco P.I. at the same time sure helped too.

Max Push-Ups in Two Minutes: Managed to get 70, which is exactly what I need to get a perfect score for the Army PFT. This was after the rowing too when I had already been using my arms for a good while, so this was good. Did a fair amount of resting but it's the end result that counts.

Max Sit-Ups in Two Minutes: A mere 55, 25 less than what I need to get a perfect score. My abs were still pretty sore from the day before though, so I think that probably has a lot to do with it. By 20 I was already feeling it bad.

Speed Bag: Did 15 minutes on the speed bag, starting to get some of the speed back. Mostly worked on straight punch to circle punch combinations (right straight punch to right circle punch, left straight punch to left circle punch, repeat).