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To
see the background to my training log, check the bottom of this page.
Training Log for Previous Months
Training Log for July 2006
I am currently experiencing the lowest ebb of my
strongman career ever. After suffering a back injury in January (mostly due
to my own stupidity), I was forced to take things easy for a few quite
painful and uncomfortable months. I started making reasonable progress again
by May but as soon as I started upping the workload my back injury quickly
deteriorated a lot.
I am now (26 June 2006) at a point where I've
basically given up hope of competing in 2006. The only one of the three
major lifts that I can perform more or less pain-free is the squat. As soon
as I hyperextend my back in any way, I feel pain.
My plan currently is to try and regain good form
through slow and steady progress in order to be ready by 2007. I have
decided to change my training routine slightly for the next few months. This
comes after my training partner, Dewald, used it to good effect for the last
couple of months. The revised Westside routine looks like this:
The order of the different ME and DE days stay exactly
the same except that every second day is dedicated to strongman work and
some cardio. This will result in a training cycle taking about ten days
instead of 1 week. I'll still be resting completely on Sundays.
After giving the subject some thought, I've decided to
cut some weight due to the fact that I've got no competitions for the rest
of the year. I started eating clean on 11 June at which time I weighed 175kg
(385lb). I don't have a definite goal as to how far I'm going to take it and
I'll probably just play it by ear.
Monday 26 June : Dynamic
Effort Squat
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Low box squats with very tight green |
120kg 9 sets of 2 |
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bands |
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Rack lockouts from knee height |
100kg x 6, 140 x 6, 180 x 6, 225 x 3, 180 x 6 |
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Jumping squats |
20kg x 10, 40kg x 10, 50kg x 10 |
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Remarks |
Jumped in with Dewald halfway through his 10 |
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day cycle. Took things very easy to start with. |
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Speed wasn't good. |
Tuesday 27 June : GPP Cardio
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20 Minutes stationary bike |
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Leg scissors (back rehabilitation) |
3 x 10 |
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Alternate DB curls |
18kg 2 x 10, 15kg x 10 |
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Swimming |
40 lengths (12 meter). Different strokes |
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Remarks |
No big deal. |
Wednesday 28 June
(Day 1 of 10): Maximum
Effort Bench
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Full raw bench with very tight green |
60kg x 3, 80kg x 3, 100 x 3, 110 x 3, 120kg x 3 |
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bands |
130kg x 1, 135kg x 1, 140kg x 1, 100kg 2 x 8 |
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Cambered bar bench |
60kg x 10, 80kg x 10, 100 x 10, 120kg x 8 |
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Incline log press |
75kg x 10, 95kg x 7, 95kg x 7, 95kg x 7 |
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Floor DB tricep extensions |
18kg x 10, 22kg 3 x 10 |
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Remarks |
I'm weak. Very weak. |
Thursday 29 June
(Day 2 of 10) : Strongman Events
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Hand over hand car pull |
2 x 20 meters no handbrake |
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2 x 20 meters 12 clicks handbrake |
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2 x 20 meters 13 clicks handbrake |
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2 x 20 meters no brake upper body only |
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Remarks |
That was tough and hit the back real good. |
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Thankfully no pain from the lower back. |
Saturday 1 July (Day 3 of 10) :
Maximum Effort Legs
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Deadlift |
60kg x 10, 100kg x 3, 140kg x 3, 180kg x 3, |
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220kg x 3, 250kg x 3, 270kg x 0, 270kg x 0 |
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180kg x 6, 140kg x 6 |
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Good morning squat combos |
60kg x 10, 100kg x 10, 120kg x 10, 140 x 8 |
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Remarks |
Now THAT was hopefully the lowest ebb to |
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which I am going to descend! I couldn't lock |
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out 600lb! At least my back took the strain |
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quite well and didn't feel particularly worse for |
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wear the next day. |
Sunday 2 July (Day 4 of 10)
Rest.
Monday 3 July (Day 5 of 10) : Delts
and Triceps
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Incline straight bar front raises |
20kg x 10, 30kg x 10, 45kg x 6 |
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Military press with 1 mini band |
40kg x 10, 50kg x 10, 60kg x 8, 60kg x 8 |
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Seated low pulley front raises |
3 Blocks x 10, 4B x 10, 5B x 10, 5B x 10 |
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superset with bent over lat raises |
10kg 4 x 10 |
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EZ bar pullover presses |
35kg x 10, 45kg x 10, 55kg 2 x 8 |
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Remarks |
Feeling very weak indeed. I've been on diet for |
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just over 3 weeks now and the effect on my |
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strength is very noticeable. Bodyweight down |
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from 175kg on 11 June to 171kg on 1 July. |
Tuesday 4 July (Day 6 of 10) : GPP
Sled Dragging
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75 meters 50kg |
2 sets forwards, 2 sets reverse |
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75 meters 100kg |
1 set forward and 1 set reverse |
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75 meters 100kg |
1 full speed sprint |
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Remarks |
Geez! I dunno what happened there but some- |
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how the surface was very sticky. As a result |
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the sled was VERY heavy and it gave the |
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lungs a major workout. Still, I actually felt better |
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than on last week's sled drag. |
Wednesday
5 July
(Day 7 of 10): Dynamic
Effort Bench
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Speed bench with very tight greens |
100kg 9 x 3 |
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and legs raised to save my back |
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2 Board press with very tight greens |
100kg x 8, 120 x 6, 120 x 8, 100 x 6 |
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Elbows out floor DB presses |
40kg 4 x 10 |
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JM Presses |
30kg x 10, 40kg x 10, 45kg x 10, 50kg x 10 |
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Tricep extensions superset with |
11 Blocks 2 x 10 |
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rope extensions superset with |
10 Blocks 2 x 10 |
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normal push-ups |
2 x 8 |
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Remarks |
I got my butt kicked by both my training |
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partners. That's sad. |
Thursday 6 July (Day
8 of 10) : Strongman Events
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Tyre flip 350kg with bad grip |
6 warmup reps |
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1 set of 9 reps |
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4 sets of 3 alternating with partners |
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another alternating set of 4 x 3 |
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Farmer's walk |
110kg per hand 1 x 20 meters |
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Remarks |
We used Willem's tyre which has almost no |
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grip. I like it that way as it prepares you |
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for any comp where you might encounter a |
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similar tyre. |
Friday 7 July
Rest. Had to postpone today's workout due to work
commitments.
Saturday 8 July (Day 9 of 10) : Dynamic
Effort Squat
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Low box squats with very tight green |
130kg 9 sets of 2 |
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bands |
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Dimel Deadlifts |
100kg x 10, 140 x 10, 180 x 10, 220 x 10 |
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Pull throughs |
11 Blocks 4 x 10 |
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Remarks |
Speed was better than last week, especially |
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towards the end. |
Sunday 9 July (Day 10 of 10)
Rest.
Monday 10 July
(Day 1 of 10): Maximum
Effort Bench
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Chain suspended floor bench |
100kg x 3, 140kg x 3, 160kg x 3, 180kg x 3, |
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with elbows just off floor |
190kg x 1, 200kg x 1 |
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Suspended floor bench rep sets |
140kg x 12, 100kg x 17 (no legs) |
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Incline DB press with green band |
Band only x 10, 5kg x 10, 7.5kg 2 x 10 |
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Smith machine close grip bench |
30kg x 10, 60kg x 10, 80kg x 10, 90kg x 10 |
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Standing elbows out ext with 2 minis |
Bands only x 10, 10kg 3 x 10 |
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Remarks |
Slight improvement over last week. |
Tuesday 11 July (Day 2 of 10) : GPP Cardio
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20 Minutes stationary bike |
Level 13 |
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Leg scissors (back rehabilitation) |
4 x 20 |
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Straight bar curls |
22kg x 10, 27kg 2 x 10, 32kg x 10 |
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Swimming |
50 lengths (12 meter). Different strokes |
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Remarks |
At least my fitness is coming along nicely... |
Wednesday 12 July
Rest. Had a family function I could not get backed out
of.
Thursday 13 July (Day 3 of 10) :
Maximum Effort Legs
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Box squats with very tight green |
60kg x 10, 100kg x 3, 140kg x 3, 180kg x 3, |
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bands |
190kg x 1, 200kg x 0 |
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140kg x 6, 100kg x 6 |
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Bulgarian deadlifts |
20kg x 10, 40kg x 10, 50kg 2 x 10 |
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Leg extensions |
19 Blocks 4 x 10 |
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Remarks |
My PR on that movement is 245kg. Quite |
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depressing, actually. |
Friday 14 July (Day 4 of 10):
Strongman Training
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Log lift |
75kg x 6, 80kg x 6, 85kg x 6, 90 x 3, 100 x 3 |
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Remarks |
First log since the injury. Took it easy but |
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the back still hurt a bit nonetheless. |
Saturday 15 July (Day 5 of 10):
Strongman Training
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Hand over hand sled drag |
100kg 2 x 25 meters |
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superset with |
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Car pull with harness |
100kg 2 x 25 meters |
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Remarks |
Very high intensity. Very tough |
Sunday 16 July (Day 6 of 10): Rest
I was helping out as referee at the SA strongman
championships today.
Monday 17 July (Day 7 of 10):
Dynamic Effort Bench Press
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Speed bench with very tight greens |
105kg 9 x 3 |
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and no leg drive |
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Incline dumbbell press |
35kg x 10, 46kg x 10, 60kg x 7, 46kg x 10 |
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Reverse grip floor bench |
70kg x 10, 100kg x 10, 120kg x 10, 130kg x 10 |
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Skull crushers |
40kg x 10, 50kg 3 x 10 |
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Tricep extensions |
9 Blocks 4 x 10 |
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Remarks |
Speed slightly better than last week even |
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though 5kg heavier. Nice. |
Tuesday 18 July (Day 8 of 10) : GPP
Sled Dragging
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75 meters 50kg |
2 sets forwards, 2 sets reverse |
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75 meters 100kg |
1 set forward and 1 set reverse |
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75 meters 100kg |
1 full speed sprint |
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Remarks |
Did the same amount of volume as last |
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week and it felt slightly better but still very |
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hard. Good intensity. |
Wednesday
19 July (Day 9 of 10) : Dynamic
Effort Squat
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Low box squats with very tight green |
130kg 9 sets of 2 |
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bands |
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Deadlifts |
100kg x 6, 140kg x 3, 180kg x 3, 220kg x 3 |
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240kg x 4, 240kg x 4, 240kg x 2 |
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Reverse hack squats |
1 Plate (per side) x 10, 2 plates x 10, 3P x 10 |
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4P x 10 |
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Remarks |
10kg up on last week and some improvement |
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in speed. Happy. |
Thursday 20
July (Day 10 of 10): Strongman Training
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Hand over hand sled drag |
My pickup with handbrake - 5 sets of 25 m, |
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getting progressively heavier |
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Car pull with harness |
2 sets of 25 meter - medium and heavy |
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Remarks |
That was some very hard work. |
Background to my personal training
log
I've
never been very good at keeping a proper training log although I've always
wanted to. It often happens in the gym that I want to attempt a PR on
a specific lift only to realise that I've forgotten what my PR actually is.
Very frustrating. I've finally gotten round to it!
I will probably not update this log on a daily basis, and
I'll possibly only use it to log big PRs, so that I do not forget them again
in future. This might mean that I might only update this log sporadically.
Who knows?
Why do I want to put it online? Well, I mainly want to
keep the log for personal reference but you never know, maybe there is
somebody somewhere that could learn something from it. Even better, people
might give me valuable advice or point out things that I might not have
noticed myself. On that point, you're more than welcome to email me any
comments that you might have and I'll post it in the log. Anyways, here
goes...
I train using the Westside methods, pioneered by Louie
Simmons in the US. I've been training this way for a little more that three
years now (as of January 2004) and it has allowed me, as a drug-free
athlete, to make very good and steady progress. I'm a 100% Westside convert
and I would not even think of training any other way, at least not for the
foreseeable future. I had to adapt the Westside methods slightly to allow
for the fact that I'm not only a powerlifter but a strongman too. If you
want some background on the Westside methods, then check the link to Dave
Tate's Elite Fitness Systems on my links page.
I always like to be training for a specific upcoming
competition as then I feel that I'm working towards a goal instead of just
training away without purpose. For instance, these were my goals when I
wrote this early in 2004:
Firstly, in 2004 I'd like
to improve significantly on my 7th position at the 2003 Strongman Nationals.
Also, being a powerlifter too, I'm also working hard preparing for the 2004
IPF powerlifting world championships, which will be hosted in Cape Town,
South Africa in November 2004.
My training split looks something like this:
| Monday: Maximal effort bench press and
auxiliaries for the pecs and triceps. |
| Tuesday: Maximal effort squat with lower body
auxiliaries. |
| Wednesday: Delts and lats, often preceded by some
strongman events training. |
| Thursday: Dynamic effort bench press followed by
more pec, delt and tricep work |
| Friday: Dynamic effort squat and auxiliaries
preceded by a full strongman workout. |
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