Becoming a Squat Freak

[GqArtguy]

Since Alco isnt posting, this is my squatting for the next few weeks. Ill be done with week 1 tomorrow. It will be sweet if I can hit 179-180 by the end of this.

ay 1*		Day 2*		Day 3*
Week 1	135	6 sets of 2 reps	135	6 sets of 3 reps	135	6 sets of 2 reps
Week 2	135	6 sets of 4 reps	135	6 sets of 2 reps	135	6 sets of 5 reps
Week 3	135	6 sets of 2 reps	135	6 sets of 6 reps	135	6 sets of 2 reps
Week 4	145	5 sets of 5 reps	135	6 sets of 2 reps	153	4 sets of 4 reps
Week 5	135	6 sets of 2 reps	162	3 sets of 3 reps	135	6 sets of 2 reps
Week 6	170	2 sets of 2 reps	135	6 sets of 2 reps	178.5	New One Rep Max (105%)

[L'ilJ]

Nice numbers Manuel. Hitting 180 would be some serious shit.

ZACH!!!! I'm so excited for you!!!! I'm wishing you the best of luck in your comp. I really, really wish I could have made it down there, but it just isn't going to work out this time. Kick some ass and post some pics.

[GqArtguy]

Originally Posted by L'ilJ

Nice numbers Manuel. Hitting 180 would be some serious shit.

Yeah, I would get all of the hot chicks after that.

ZACH!!!! I'm so excited for you!!!! I'm wishing you the best of luck in your comp. I really, really wish I could have made it down there, but it just isn't going to work out this time. Kick some ass and post some pics.

Dont lose.

[Frank.S]

the girls dont come until at least 220kg oly style

[GqArtguy]

Originally Posted by Frank.S

the girls dont come until at least 220kg oly style

Maybe, but those numbers are front squat numbers so I think the bar can be lowered a bit.

[Frank.S]

haha.. missed that.

thats a pretty nice front squat. - you can have some ladies for that.

[L'ilJ]

Well?

[Alcoholiday]

i copy and pasted this from MM. These were the changes that were made to the contest:

Deadlift: switched from 450 to 465
Farmers: switched from 75sec time limit to 60
Medley: switched from a drag/carry (drag 500lb sled, carry 250keg) to a carry/drag (carry a 250lb keg, drag a 600lb sled)
Yoke: switched from a 560lb yoke to a 600lb one. The yoke apparatus was also changed.

Everyone was in the same boat though with the changes. Had i been stronger, i wouldn't have a problem with the events. I just need to keep pounding away at my weaknesses now that i know exactly what they are.

This past weekend was my first strongman contest. It was Chad's central USA contest in Kokomo, IN. I have really been looking forward to this contest, and have been training hard for it the past few months. Overall, i was happy with my performance but not satisfied. It was a great learning experience for me, and it was a real eye opener where i am at the start of this sport.

In addition to this, i got the honor of meet Kaz and Chad gave me the opportunity to drive Kaz to Chicago on my way home. This was a great experience, and Kaz gave me lots of good advice in terms of training. He gave me advice about what he thinks i should work on personally, and i totally agree with him. I agree with Brian in saying that he is a great guy, and he is one of the most open people i've met, and willing to help anyone he can to promote the sport, and to better the person all together. I really owe a huge thanks to Chad and Kaz for allowing me this opportunity!


As for the show:

Log Clean and press for reps #180: My press sucks, and it is something i need to address. Got a big fat 0 on this. It's what i was expecting going into it. I have no doubt that i will make my press one of my stronger points the next contest i'm in.

Deadlift for reps 465: I got 1 here. It was supposed to be 450, but upped to 465. I'm happy it was because this was a PR here considering i've never pulled 465. Had it been 450, i may have been able to squeeze out 2 here, but that would have only tied my gym pr. I went strapless and i'm kind of disappointed i didn't get more than one here.

Farmers 215/hand: Was 180ft w/ 2 turns, after 60ft. I got 120ft without dropping, and by the time i went to pick it up again, time ran out. Only a 60sec time limit here. I wish i would have tried to get a few more ft here.

Medley: Carry 250lb keg, drag 600lbs back. I got the keg nearly all the way down before time ran out. I wasn't able to even walk with the keg coming into the contest, so i'm kind of happy with that. No one finished here, i don't think.

600lb yoke: i couldn't even pick this up b/c my legs were so toasted. Joe Kenn pretty much flew with this. It was crazy.

Like i said, some positives and some negatives. I should have done better but there's next contest to improve.

This contest was run crazy fast, and i think us novice guys finished in probably about 2hrs? Chad knows how to run a good, heavy fast show.

Like i said, I'd like to thank Chad for his hospitality, and for allowing a newbie to start training with him awhile ago. Without this opportunity i'd still be a super weak little kid in the gym and wouldn't even be competing. I'd also like to thank him for allowing me to drive Kaz back to the airport. Thanks to Kaz for the great information, tips, and for being such an awesome down to earth person and helping me navigate around Chicago. Also for autographing my shirt and belt!

Also thanks to my training partners, the guys in Kokomo (Travis, Tyson, and George) for helping to get me prepped, and my family and friends for coming out to support me.

[Alcoholiday]

I only have 3 pics b/c that's all my sister/family took.

Deadlift:




Farmers:

[L'ilJ]

Sounds like it was a great learning experience. The key is to get your first competition out of the way to see what to expect and what you need to work on, etc. Congrats on the Deadlift PR! 465 is awesome!

[Matthew]

Congratulations on your first comp man.
Now put what you learned to use, so you can kick ass at the next one.

You didn't say what place you came in.

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by Matthew

Congratulations on your first comp man.
Now put what you learned to use, so you can kick ass at the next one.

You didn't say what place you came in.

thanks Jill and Matthew.

Came in 4th place (not last! yay!)

[Matthew]

haha sweet

Good job alco

[GqArtguy]

Did they change it the day of the contest? If so, why?

What did Kaz tell you?

[Frank.S]

sounds like you have learned alot, good work.

why are you wearing 2 belts?

im also interested to here what kaz told you. for your next contest, since it will not be your first will the weights be heavier?

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by Frank.S

sounds like you have learned alot, good work.

why are you wearing 2 belts?

im also interested to here what kaz told you. for your next contest, since it will not be your first will the weights be heavier?

Lots of guys wear the 2 belts (rehband and power belt/valeo belt) in strongman. One's a rehband back support. It has a lot of give to it, and it only a few MM thick. It keeps your back nice and warm, and has velcro to buckle it, and then velcro straps that run from the back up to the front. It makes you feel very stable, but doesn't give you a lot of pop in terms of amount of weight lifted. So, wearing 2 belts feels better. ha!

Kaz told me lots of things (3hrs worth!). haha. One major thing he told me is that i need to bring up my overall leg strength. He said i need to really squat and bring it up, and that he told Jesse Marunde the same thing when he saw him. Said that having a "powerlifting" base in terms of press, squat and dead will give me a big carryover to the implements. Told me a few exercises he liked, etc. Good conversation though. I really enjoyed talking to him

This was actually a really heavy novice competition. For comparison, here are the weights for a PA novice class:
log press: about the same 185
farmers walk: 185/hand with only 1 turn and for 100ft total.
deadlift: 385/reps
stone carry: this will be on a platform so you don't have to pick it up off the ground. i will bet money that a keg from the ground is harder to carry than a stone from a platform.
and then a tire flip

So basically since this was a big show, for a LW pro card, he made the events a lot heavier. So, the next contest i do (i'm thinking i'll probably do 2 next year, and spend the rest of the year bringing up my lower body and press) will probably have a heavier log and a slightly heavier deadlift. The farmers range in weights with the guys going for a LW pro card ranging from 3-350lb, and the lw shows are usually something like 230-260/hand, usually w/o turns. It really depends on what show fits with my time schedule though, and location of the show since every one is different.