TRAINING LOG: MOUNTAIN MAN

Although I am in no way in the same strength/experience league as the other loggers, but I hope that I can inspire someone by them thinking, "If that guy can manage to get to the gym and try, so can I."

My brief background, I am 41, 6', 235 lbs and this is my fourth season coming up in the Games.  I have been a solo sports guy my whole life, to include tennis and rock climbing. I started lifting in 10th grade  summer (17 yrs old) out of self-preservation as I got my butt kicked daily. I obsessed at the weights and found a sense of confidence I desperately needed. Out of lack of knowledge of strength lifts, I lifted to just get bigger, as I was incredibily small.  I kid you not, the guys in the gym laughed and snickered at me when I started lifting but I made a motto I still use to this day: 'You gotta start somewhere.'  And shortly after this my personal motto: 'If you're gonna be a bear, be a grizzly!' So I have to go balls out in the gym/field, why waste your time on this planet. If God blesses me with health, I will not waste the gift.

My goals for this offseason include a 500+ Deadlift (carryover from my 40th year on Earth 500 goal, which I missed), Hang Clean 225, Push Press 225 for reps, Zercher 315 and to lose belly fat so my wife will stop with the "family history of heart attack" worries and I can live longer.

I just started the 5/3/1 program with these maxes and exercises:

DL: 475, DB Incline 120, Hang Clean 190, Push Press 185, Zercher 265 and DB Snatch 105.  Along with Core work and throwing, this is all I am doing, no accessory lifts/exercises. I am keeping it simple. I lift 3 days a week and do cardio 2 days. I throw 1 day a week, weather permitting.

Mountain of a Man,

That is a heck of a lot of reps...seems almost like cardio to me!  Maybe back off some of those 10/12 rep sets...move toward a different split. 

I have it on good advice that many of the real explosive monsters out here push and pull twice a week, give or take. 

Try a 5x5 or 5x3 on the HEAVY throwing-specific lifts?

Not bagging on your lifting, but this seems a tad excessive, particularly because I know you are capable of MUCH more, particularly poundage. 

And screw the alpha males in the gym...you are competing against me, and everyone else who reads this board and plays this Game.  Train against us...those other guys can pound sand.

Get some.

Duh...my bad Robin.

Grizzly Bear? I thought you were a donkey chasing a carrot. I just started my workouts in late Dec. I hope we meet somewhere so you can get another shot at the old man. By the look of your workouts I will not have  much to worry about. (A little smack talk.) Keep up the hard work Robin. You're going to need it. (A little more smack talk.) 

Duncan McCallum wrote: And screw the alpha males in the gym...you are competing against me, and everyone else who reads this board and plays this Game.  Train against us...those other guys can pound sand. Get some.

No pressure at ALL!    Thanks Dunc...I was almost reassured by your other post.

I agree about the reps though...those 10's and 12's are throw back to hypertrophy lifting (bodybuilding).  They may make you all swole up but they won't necessarily make you stronger.  I am in the 5-8 range (occasionally a 10 for warmups) on most stuff.
Since this is your first phase...make sure to do the rep calculations off those 10 rep sets and set the max's for your next phase.
(What you can do now, what I did on my first, was just check to make sure I was being consistent...if you get 10 on 5's, then see if you can get 6's on the threes and 2 or three on the singles...then you average all those rep calculations for your next max.)

Believe me...when you set it right...that first 5 is hard to get!

Another tip I am taking from a different vid I watched (and some guys that showed up in St. Louis) is to lift explosively.  Push the speed on your lifts.  I have always just grunted through my lifts...and I could tell last year I was slow as a snail compared to some.  So lifting with speed when I can on my lifts.

Go get em'!  I understand the left over goal from your 40th! 

Robin, Next week it will be warmer. I'll get the weights up a little so I can stay up with you.

I'm using the 5/3/1 program for my Power lifts as well.  I really like it because it gives me some structure.  I set my DL's too low, reset it and still keep getting 10's.

Mountain Man wrote: Bunch of curlers and benchers in the gym, plenty of douches to focus the nasty.

 

 Awesome

Try to focus on that nasty 500lb deadlift instead of the other nasty's in the gym.

dl_buffy wrote: I post them really to get Travis and Duncan riled up at my nasty form.   (But I'm working on it.)

Everyone will find their own unique form that works best for them. Like me, I'm a fat man so my form isn't the same as a skinny fellow.

(as we all hijack the thread...)

I was told I was being mean to the weights the other day...that is why they bit me later giving me a blood blister.  Talk about nasty...I am scaring the 45's.

Ok Robin....what did you want to talk about here...

No highjacking took place at all. I love tales of the Nasty. I wrote on the Dead Thread that I was gonna make a shirt of Myles statement: "I will go anywhere to get my nasty" but thought no one would get it...or they would get it in the wrong context and those kind of looks I don't want/need. I am a nice guy too but my kids told me scare the crap out them with my "mean face" when lifting. I cooralate it to the look Mel Gibson had when he looked at his kids all bloodyfaced after tomahawking the crap out of that soldier in the Patriot.  Still laugh at that one: I said in the theater to my wife, "no one's gonna backtalk Dad tonight."

I appreciate the support Bill re: the 500. I am planning on one more cycle with the 5/3/1 and on the 1 day I am gonna get it.

I have contraption I made to simulate the hammer wind, works pretty good.

Hang Cleans and Push Presses tonight.

To answer your question:  there are two things you can do, and it's recommended you do both.

• Rather than pushing the bar into mid-air from the clean position, slide the bar down your body.
• Rather than letting your arms go dead straight at the bottom, bend at the hips to take the weight on your thighs.

Wayne Hill wrote: To answer your question:  there are two things you can do, and it's recommended you do both. Rather than pushing the bar into mid-air from the clean position, slide the bar down your body. Rather than letting your arms go dead straight at the bottom, bend at the hips to take the weight on your thighs.

Good question Robin, I've been doing second of Wayne's points, not the first.  Learned something to try and see.

An EXCELLENT plan Hoss.  Bring that A game to Texas.

I dare you!!!