Quest for Fire

[Erok]

Fri., 1/25 - took off work so I could go to bed early, and make food to bring. Cheeseburger sliders, trail mix with chocolate covered espresso beans, whey shakes, coffee concentrate.

Sat., 1/26. Woke up at 4:30 to drive North in the -20 weather. It was -30 by the time we reached our destination. The car never really got warm. I ate three sliders before we even got out into the country. Can’t believe wife agreed to come with me, but glad she did. She kept me fed, watered, and relaxed.

After the usual confusion about what to do with my opener card, I weighed in at 101.71 Kg., easily making my chosen weight class. On go the tighty whities. In goes more coffee.

The only other competitor from my gym is in my flight - flight buddies! There are also two of the greatest powerlifters from my gym there to help and observe. They basically take us under their wings, coach us through warmups, advise us on second & third attempts, give us crucial form notes. We both would have been lost without them there. Big thanks to Matt & Sara!

I’m nervous. Like, opening night nervous. It’s a great feeling that I’ve missed dearly, but I’m a little out of practice with it. I go conservative for all my openers.

Squat 1: 170Kg - three white lights. The carpet feels weird, positioning is all off, but I got it out of the way.
Squat 2: 180Kg - three white lights. Feeling better, got the shag of the carpet figured out. Why the fuck do they use carpet?
Squat 3: 185Kg. - three white lights. Even though it wasn’t even my PR, it was the meet Masters record for about 5 minutes. Felt good. All these squats felt heavy out of the rack, but felt easy coming out of the hole.

Hindsight: I could have hit at least 190Kg., but I’m still glad I did what I did. In goes another slider, and several handfuls of ‘rail mix’.
Wife says: “you know, three of those beans is equal to a cup of coffee.”
Me: “Wow, cool.”
Wife: “Wait - How many have you had?”
Me (shrugs): “mmM mmph.”
Wife: “...oh, my god...”
Me (vibrating): “Want some?”
Wife: “Just the cashews.”

Bench 1: 102.5Kg. - three white lights. Unstable on the chest, not using leg drive.
Bench 2: 110Kg. - three white lights. Chest is solid now, leg drive lacking a bit.
Bench 3: 117.5Kg. - three white lights. Finally got leg drive working - pushing the toes forward more did it. Chest was solid, speed was great.

Hindsight: If I’d have known the judge would be calling such short pauses, I could have definitely hit 120. Still glad I didn’t push it too far. Down goes the rest of the coffee, more rail mix. My flight buddy starts hitting the gummi candies. All the high school lifters are doing pixi stix. Seriously, you should have seen all the paper straws on the floor.

Deadlift 1: 180Kg. - three white lights. No problems.
Deadlift 2: 190Kg. - three white lights. No problems.
Deadlift 3: 200Kg. - three white lights. Difficult; time slows down, R hand wants to open, airframe buffeting starts above the knee, vision very blurry - but red, instead of grey, so that’s good - everyone in the gym yelling at me, so I can’t quit. I set it down nice and easy. Watching the video afterwards, the whole thing takes a second, and my back didn’t round either.

Hindsight: no regrets. Got the PR I wanted. Probably could have made 202.5, mayyybe 205, but I don’t care. My R thumb feels like it’s pulled apart at the wrist, so no more hook grip for a bit. 27 white lights, though - feels real good.

After our flight is done, flight buddy asks me - wanna go max out overhead presses? Oh, hell, yeah! We duck into the warmup room, where I fail 205 twice, but he PRs 165. Wife hits deadlifts for 3x10 to counteract the Folding Chair Butt Syndrome.

The tighty whities go in the trash. I really wanted to burn them. My thighs are chafed raw from the damn leg cuffs on the singlet.

Flight buddy gets second place in Open, I take third place in Masters Men. We match totals - he squatted a bit more, I benched a bit more, we DL’d the same. Except he didn’t use a belt or knee sleeves or wrist wraps. Raw raw.

Wife and I take the back roads home, the car gets warm, I make stir fry beef and mushrooms, and we crash hard watching Danger Mouse and Count Duckula. Sunday is spent entirely on the couch, in my jedi bathrobe, eating all the things, then going to bed early. Good weekend.

First time I've ever received a medal for an athletic endeavor, so there's that.

[Erok]

Tues., 1/29. 224.2#. Too soon? Whatevs, man, I’m on a schedule. Strongman is in 17 weeks.

Log C&P: 90x12, 95x12,12. Viper style. Yes, it’s basically cardio.

Wrist rollers: 10x1, 20x1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1. Supersetted with everything else.
Pullups: 3, 3, 2.5, -3, -3, -3, -3. The negative sign denotes negatives.
Incline Bench: 45x10, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x5. Wide grip.

Chest supptd Seated Rows: 150x5,5,5,5,5.

Pizza, bachelor chow. If you share it with your spouse, can you still call it Bachelor Chow? Hmm.


Thurs., 1/31. 223.4#. Thumb/wrist is okay, as long as I don’t try anything funny. Lifting is fine, putting on suspenders or changing the LPs on my record player is not.

Speed SQ: 45x..., 135x5, 205 x 2,2,2,2,2,2. 2 reps EMOM for 5 minutes.

DL: 225x5, 265x5, 305x5-straps, 350x5-straps.

1arm DB Rows: 35x5, 50x10, 70x10-straps.

Sandbag Squats - was trying to figure where to do these, when I realize there’s a perfect space in the Smith Machine - rack up the bar all the way, and I have a Fortress of Solitude. 100 x 5, 22. Gotta pick up the bag and carry it across the room, though.


Roasted chicken & sweet potatoes.

[BrooklynJerry]

Nice job describing the meet. All whites is great to hear.Good luck with the strongman prep.I hope it warms up soon.

[Erok]

Sun., 2/03. 225.6#. All hail the Pan-Asian buffet!

it's super crowded in here on Sunday morning, so I'm just fitting things in where I can.

Power Clean into Front Squats: 45x..., 95x5, 115x5, 135x5.

Front Squats - from the rack: 185x5, 205x5, 225x5,5,5.

Chest Supports - OHP grip, walk it out, tight breath, then a knee dip - like the first move of a push press: 225x3,3,3.

DB Snatch (one-handed, duh): 35x3, 40x3, 45x3, 50x3, 55x3, 60x3, 65x3, 70x3. sweaty, out of breath, hungry.


Meet some friends for brunch, where I finish everybody's french fries and salads. Crab cakes are amazing, Croque Monsieur very satisfying.

Later: some really smooth Canadian whiskey, pulled pork mac&cheese.

[Erok]

Wed., 2/06. I love the snow, hate the freezing rain, but hate missing days more.

Log C&P: 95x10, 115x10, 125x10. Been one-moving these. I believe the kids are calling it the Viper Press? Got a little close to puky by the last set.

Wrist Rollers: 20x2,2,2,2,2,2,2.
Pullups: 3, 2.7, 2+-1, 2+-1, 2+-2, 2+-3.
Incline Bench: 45x10, 10, 75x5, 85x5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5,5. Can't wide grip these, either. Crunchy shoulder.
Chest Supported Seated Rows: 150x5,5,5,5, 165x5.

Jucy Lucys with extra cheese, tater tots, eggs.

[Erok]

Thurs., 2/07. 226#. So, the cut's going well.

SQ: 45x..., 135x5,5, 225x5, 250x5, 290x5, 330x5.

Deficit DL, about 3": 135x5, 225x5, EMOM, 10 min: 265x1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1. I get it now. a rep every minute gives you 11 reps in 10 minutes. If you do 10 reps, that's only 9 minutes,and you've played yourself.

Rows: 135x5, 175x5, 195x5, 215x5, 195x8.

Steak, eggs.



Sat., 2/09: Mostly here to experiment with my stone sleeves. The laces don't get them tight enough, and it's impossible to tie them with one hand. Instead, I'm gonna try cable ties.

Stone: lap it once, with two extensions: 125x2, 175x1,1,1. Verdict: cable ties for the win. very tight. maybe too tight. I'll need to cut an extra strip of leather to cover the back of the forearm to protect my skin. I knew I should've got the extra large sleeves. But, I didn't need extra large at the time. Oh, problems.

Sandbag Rollups - basically the extension part of the stone lift, over and over again: 100 x 10, 20.

smoked salmon on bagels with cream cheese, onions, capers. Then, omelettes with pork belly. Yeah, the cut's going really well.

[Erok]

Mon., 2/11.

Log C&P: 95x5, 115x8, 125x8, 130x8, 135x8. The one-move thing is getting pretty hard by the end of this. Should've warmed up the shoulders more, too.

Wrist Roller: 25x2,2,2,2,2.
Pullups: 3, 3, 2.8, 1.5+ -3, 1+ -3.
Incline Bench: 45x8, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5,5,5.
Chst Sup Cable Rows: 165x5,5,5,5,5.


Wife found some kind of vegan pizza with an amazing sourdough crust, so we roast some chicken thighs to put on top of it. See? I could go vegan, as long as I can still eat dinosaurs. Cuz let's face it: given the chance, that chicken would kill you and everyone you loved, without hesitation.

[Erok]

Tues., 2/12. Snow shoveling. about 8 inches. Heavier this time, with a wind packed layer halfway down.

[Erok]

Wed., 2/13. 226#. Stable.

Speed Squat: 45x..., 135x6, 190x4, 2xEMOM, 5 min @ 230 x 2,2,2,2,2,2. plates rattling, bar bouncing off the back at the top. Fun.

DL: 135x6, 205x3, 245x3, 285x3, 330x3, 375x3-straps. I doh'd that 330, though - that's progress.

1 arm DB Rows: 50x5, 60x10, 85-straps x 15L, 17R.

Sandbag Squats: 100 x 10, 25. Embrace the suck - I mean, embrace the bag.


Steak, chicken poblano soup.

[Erok]

Fri., 2/15. Just something quick and simple.

OHP: 45x20, 95x8, 135x3, 155x2, 165x1, 175x1, 155x5, 135x8.

Stairbastard: 11 min, 0.63 miles. Is that vertical mileage, or diagonal?

steak, tater tots, some other stuff.


Sun., 2/17. snow shoveling: 5+ inches of soft, sparkly powder.

Snacks made of leftovers, lots of nibbling all day.

Got all my lunches prepped for the week: chicken mole over rice. The secret to a good mole sauce, is that there is no secret, because everything in mole is a secret. Make sense? I'll just say this: toast the walnuts well, and add all the blackened powder.