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Thread: Novice Strongman competition in July

  1. #1
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    Default Novice Strongman competition in July

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    Hello,

    My gym is doing a novice strongman comp in mid-July and the events are as follows:

    270kg Yoke - 110kg Farmers (do one length yoke, return with farmer handles)
    Max Axle Press (has tyres on the end)
    Car deadlift
    Pull of war (2 guys in harnesses with rope between them trying to crawl away from each other)
    Atlas Stones 85kg-160kg

    A couple of months ago I managed a sloppy push press with the minimum axle bar weight but with regular plates instead of the tyres (which I hear rotate and make it harder) and my press is now a bit stronger than then. So I have 2 months to prepare. I was thinking

    Monday
    Bench
    Squats

    Wednesday
    Press
    Deadlifts

    Friday
    Axle press for singles
    Back off barbell pressing (maybe 8s)
    Squats
    Yoke / Farmers

    My squat/bench/deadlift/press programming I'd just keep as I'm doing now as it's getting me stronger. I'm not sure when to implement the stone lifting (for which I'll hire the strongman coach in my gym to show me how to do), practice the car deadlift or trap bar deadlifts and whether I need to yoke/farmers more than once a week.

    Unless my new job has a problem with me drinking loads of milk at my desk like I do currently, I'm planning on gaining a few KG of body weight also to help out

    Thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

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    Quote Originally Posted by mgilchrest View Post
    Your outline looks decent.

    You might consider swapping "volume press" onto Monday and doing a medium bench effort on Wednesday with the axle press on Friday being your "intensity day". If you can microload the bench, you might be able to keep a weekly LP running there.

    The last few weeks you could probably spend doing more specific work with a bit of volume the first week to practice the skill and then taper that off towards the comp. 8 weeks is fairly compressed, but I'm guessing you're doing this for fun, which it should be.

    Grip work might be in good order as well.
    Thanks for the input

    What would you suggest in terms of the medium bench? I've been doing Doug Hepburn's 8x2 routine for press/deadlift for a month or so with good results (8x2, work up to 8x3 over a few weeks then add weight and repeat) and was going to do the same for bench. Maybe 3x5 or something?

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    Quote Originally Posted by mgilchrest View Post
    You could just try to sustain the Hepburn setup for bench on Wednesday. I think the press split between Monday and Friday would benefit from the high volume lower intensity deal on Monday with Friday being the max effort day.
    Thanks dude, I will do exactly that

    Quote Originally Posted by allent View Post
    Is it a clean/press for the axle press? Did you use a fat bar for your push press, or a regular bar? I'd press/deadlift Monday, bench/squat Wednesday, press/pull/and event training Friday?
    Yeah it's a clean and press for the axle bar (push pressing it with the fat bar). RE your deadlift twice a week thing sounds like a good idea. I could deadlift at the start of the week, my 8x2 and then do some car deadlifts or trap bar deadlifts to mimic the car at the end of the week

    Quote Originally Posted by Meshuggah View Post
    Great video, thanks Meshuggah. As it looks like it would be a complete programme overhaul I probably will not implement the full thing so soon to the competition date but something for me to use once that's out the way
    Last edited by Kregna; 05-14-2017 at 10:58 AM.

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    I had a go with the axle bar / tyres yesterday (sorry 4 potato-cam):

    Axle bar lift - YouTube

    But way too much for me to press. I'm not too far off with a push press / sloppy jerk. Do you think it's better for me to focus on push presses / jerks (never done before) to prepare for this? I'm sure I can't get my overhead press up enough to make much of a difference in the next 2 months and so if I use my legs it's really just the top portion anyway (the bar completely drops after the leg momentum fails - I'm not able to hold it there at all)

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    Quote Originally Posted by mgilchrest View Post
    Probably not a bad idea to practice more skill-specific things are this point, especially if you're struggling with the acquisition.
    Currently doing axle press with bumper plates once a week (easier, as the lower start position means I can clean in one move rather than continental) + presses once a week + bench once a week

    I do farmers/yoke the same day as axle and did atlas stones for the first time on saturday. Is this what you mean?

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    Thanks fellas, I will do this

    Was doing regular press 8x2-3 and axle push presses for singles

    If I were to introduce more push presses / axles, do you think triples would be good?

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    I would also recommend dropping the bench. At this point, all of your training energy should be towards practicing the actual lifts you'll do (IMO).

    Yes, spend more time on the push press. The jerk can take a little while to learn. Regarding how to use the push press- I would use a "make it / take it" approach. Let's say you start with a double at 180lbs. If you make it, you get to increase to 190. If you make that, the next set would be 200. And so on until you couldn't do any more. And then drop the weight to something you can do easily and crank out a few sets of as many as possible. For example, let's say you miss at 230lb - you can probably do quite a few reps at 180. The goal is to learn how to increase weight and lift heavier with the push press, especially since you aren't used to it.

    Also, how will the competition be structured - is it all on the same day? If it is, you should begin learning how to lift maximally on multiple lifts in one day. Basically, you have to warm up for each lift, so pick a warmup routine & stick with it. You'll likely need to eat between lifts, so it might be good to find some foods that work well for you. Honey, fruit, peanut butter & banana sandwiches, etc. You have 2 months, or 8 weekends between now & then. This gives you an opportunity to run three "mock meets" every other week, with the competition on the final week. You'll learn if your warmups are adequate, how much weight you can move, whether you are fueled appropriately, etc. You'll also learn what you need to practice to get ready for the competition.

    It sounds like fun! Hope it works out well for you.

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    How many reps are you looking at on the car deadlift? Training for 1-3 is different to training for 10+

    I did a Strongman comp a couple of years ago, with similar events - log C&P, deadlift for reps, frame carry, yoke, truck pull - no stones though. Andy Baker (http://startingstrength.com/resource...p/t-56432.html) recommended switching my squats to once a week DE to keep them going but minimise stress - i.e. prioritise deadlifts. For the log and DL I mixed up heavy stuff with lighter high rep stuff within a session - trying to push top end strength + the ability to rep out is challenging.

    I relied on deadlifts for the frame carry (was only 200kg from memory), and I did some intervals with the yoke once a week to get used to that.

    Most importantly - it was awesome fun. Hope you enjoy it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mgilchrest View Post
    I'd probably go lighter in the 4-6 rep range to get skills in line.
    Thanks Gilchrest

    Quote Originally Posted by Chebass88 View Post
    I would also recommend dropping the bench. At this point, all of your training energy should be towards practicing the actual lifts you'll do (IMO).

    Yes, spend more time on the push press. The jerk can take a little while to learn. Regarding how to use the push press- I would use a "make it / take it" approach. Let's say you start with a double at 180lbs. If you make it, you get to increase to 190. If you make that, the next set would be 200. And so on until you couldn't do any more. And then drop the weight to something you can do easily and crank out a few sets of as many as possible. For example, let's say you miss at 230lb - you can probably do quite a few reps at 180. The goal is to learn how to increase weight and lift heavier with the push press, especially since you aren't used to it.

    Also, how will the competition be structured - is it all on the same day? If it is, you should begin learning how to lift maximally on multiple lifts in one day. Basically, you have to warm up for each lift, so pick a warmup routine & stick with it. You'll likely need to eat between lifts, so it might be good to find some foods that work well for you. Honey, fruit, peanut butter & banana sandwiches, etc. You have 2 months, or 8 weekends between now & then. This gives you an opportunity to run three "mock meets" every other week, with the competition on the final week. You'll learn if your warmups are adequate, how much weight you can move, whether you are fueled appropriately, etc. You'll also learn what you need to practice to get ready for the competition.

    It sounds like fun! Hope it works out well for you.
    Damn that's very detailed, thanks Chebass

    I'll do those trial competition days every 2 weeks, as you suggest.

    I also tried the push pressing for doubles yesterday and barely got 1 at 198lbs. My best overhead press is 184lbs, so not even 10kg difference... hopefully as you said as the movement becomes more familiar I'll be able to go heavier


    Quote Originally Posted by DeriHughes View Post
    How many reps are you looking at on the car deadlift? Training for 1-3 is different to training for 10+

    I did a Strongman comp a couple of years ago, with similar events - log C&P, deadlift for reps, frame carry, yoke, truck pull - no stones though. Andy Baker (http://startingstrength.com/resource...p/t-56432.html) recommended switching my squats to once a week DE to keep them going but minimise stress - i.e. prioritise deadlifts. For the log and DL I mixed up heavy stuff with lighter high rep stuff within a session - trying to push top end strength + the ability to rep out is challenging.

    I relied on deadlifts for the frame carry (was only 200kg from memory), and I did some intervals with the yoke once a week to get used to that.

    Most importantly - it was awesome fun. Hope you enjoy it.
    Also very helpful, cheers Deri. I don't know how many reps people will be getting with the car deadlift but I'm guessing less than 10 (maybe 8ish at a guess). I'm a bit wary to start changing my deadlift programming so drastically, as it's been on the move nicely for the past 6 weeks and I'd rather not do as well at the competition than interfere with the momentum by introducing higher reps. Although maybe I will try 1 set of reps in a minute on the car deadlift once every couple of weeks and see where I'm at

    Dynamic effort squats is interesting - might apply that!

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