Week 2020.08.31

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A big thank you goes out to everyone who competed, helped out, and showed up to cheer on the athletes at this year’s Testify Strongman Summer Showdown!

Reminder: Please note that the gym will be closed on Monday, 09/07/20, in observance of Labor Day.

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled
Outdoors:
10 rounds of:
Push sled 100 ft
Pull sled 100 ft (hand over hand)

Indoors:
20 rounds of:
Push sled 50 ft
Pull sled 50 ft (hand over hand)

Compare to 2020.07.20.

Option 2
Bike/row:
3 rounds of:
8 x 20 sec on/40 sec off
Rest 3 min between rounds
Score = lowest distance

Compare to 2020.07.06.

Option 3
Outdoors:
5-10 rounds:
10 sledgehammer strikes (5R, 5L)
50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Indoors:
5-10 rounds:
10 sledgehammer strikes (5R, 5L)
100 ft farmer carry (50 ft down-back)
Rest 1 minute

Compare to 2020.06.08.

Option 4
Sandbag-over-bars
Set yoke at #33 for women or #35 for men.
1. 1 minute AMRAP
2. 5 rounds of 2 reps every 2 minutes (speed!)
3. 1 minute AMRAP

Weights
Female under 40 years
140 lbs and under: 75 lbs
140.1 lbs – 185 lbs: 100 lbs
185.1 lbs and over: 150 lbs

Female 40 years and over
140 lbs and under: 50 lbs
185 lbs and under: 75 lbs
185.1 lbs and over: 100 lbs

Male under 40 years
185 lbs and under: 150 lbs
185.1 lbs – 235 lbs: 200 lbs
235.1 lbs and over: 250 lbs

Male 40 years and over
185 lbs and under: 100 lbs
185.1 lbs – 235 lbs: 150 lbs
235.1 lbs and over: 200 lbs

Compare to 2020.06.01.

Your Training Log - Part 1: Just Do It

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I was having a conversation with one of our members the other day (you know - not this day, but the other one), and this member  - let’s call him Bill - had come upon a startling revelation. Bill had recently gone through several workouts without using his training log, and when he started using it again, he immediately realized that not using his training log had been a huge mistake. He realized that - without the log - his lifting had been unfocused, and the weights were often incorrect. Bill even asked me to never let him get away with that again. Bill is a wise man.

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When we train with weights, we do exactly that – we train. Training has a purpose - a goal in mind. To achieve these purposes, to work toward these goals, we need data, and this is where the training log comes in. Without the log (or journal, notebook, etc.), we quickly find ourselves adrift in a sea of barbells and weights with no direction whatsoever. We find ourselves lost in the Sea of Exercise . . . and there be monsters.

Mind you, there is nothing wrong with Exercise, and it's certainly better than Doing Nothing, but let us not confuse Exercise with Training. Exercise is what you do when you want to get hot and sweaty and tired and feel like you’ve accomplished something. Training is how you actually accomplish something. The log separates Training from Exercise.

The log is our history - it tells us where we've been, what we've done - our lifts, warm-up sets, work sets. But it is a more complete history than this - it also includes PRs, how we felt on certain days, how proud we were of our accomplishments, how utterly disappointed we were with our failures. If you had a poopy day squatting 185 lbs for your work sets, write it down in your training log (seriously . . . “this was a poopy day”). Success is magnified by knowing how far we’ve come, and on the day when 185 lbs becomes your second-to-last warm-up set (and that day will come), the knowledge that this weight used to be terribly heavy will remind you of the progress you’ve made.

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The log is also our compass - it tells us where we’re going. We write down the weights for our next workout, yes, but we also write down our plans and our goals. I want to bench press three plates. I’m gonna deadlift 250 lbs at the next meet. I WILL get my first pull-up this year. Write this stuff down. All of it. Write down the date on which you set that goal. Someday, you’ll reach that goal, cross it out . . . and set another one.

Don’t kid yourself. If you want to exercise, go right ahead - you’ve got plenty of options. But if you want to put in the hard work of actually training, keep a log. You’ll thank me later, and your coach won’t lose his or her mind when you can’t remember what you’re supposed to squat today.

Next time . . . how to keep a training log (hint: it’s not complicated).

Week 2020.08.24

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Upcoming Events!!

  • This Saturday (08/29/20), we are hosting the 4th annual Testify Strongman Summer Showdown, so come on out to cheer on your friends (or enemies?)!

  • Due to the strongman competition, the gym will be closed for training this Saturday.

  • After the strongman competition, we’re having pulled pork and other goodies, so stick around and join us for some more fun and some great beer brewed by our very own Chas!

New videos on the Testify YouTube channel:

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
Sled Pyramid – 4, 5, or 6 tiers
Go up and down a 4, 5, or 6 tier “sled pyramid” – rest as needed. The distance for each round is 80 m indoors (a down-back on the 40m course) or 200 ft outdoors (2 down-backs on the 50 ft course). Rest as needed.

For example, Bob does the following (4 tiers):
Round 1: Empty sled
Round 2: 25#
Round 3: 50#
Round 4: 75#
Round 5: 50#
Round 6: 25#
Round 7: Empty sled

Compare to 2020.07.13.

Option 2
Bike/row:
12 min TT
Score = distance

Compare to 2020.06.29.

Option 3
5-10 rounds of:
30 sec ME tire flips
30 sec rest

Compare to 2020.06.01.

Option 4
1. 5 yoke carries @ 30 yd (15 yd downback) – work up to heaviest carry
2. 5 rounds of 5 reps on the axle “clean and press away” – work up to heavy set of 5

Compare to 2020.05.25.

Week 2020.08.17

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New videos on the Testify YouTube channel:

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
”Prowler Base+1”
1. Load up a manageable weight.
2. Sprint 40m at 85% intensity.
3. Rest 30 sec.
4. Repeat 5-15 times.

Courtesy of “Death by Prowler” (on Starting Strength).

Compare to 2020.07.06.

Option 2
Bike/row:
8 x 30 sec on/2:00 off

Score = least distance covered in any 30 second interval

Compare to 2020.06.22.

Option 3
Outdoors:
5-10 rounds:
50 yd sled push (25 yd down-back)
50 yd farmer carry (25 yd down-back)
Rest 1 min

Indoors:
5-10 rounds:
100 yd sled push (50 ft down-back)
100 yd farmer carry (50 ft down-back)
Rest 1 min

Compare to 2020.05.25.

Option 4
10 x 50 ft farmer carry
Each carry is 25 ft down and 25 ft back and is for time. Rest 1 minute between carries.

Women: 97# per handle (80# of plates)
Men: 137# per handle (120# of plates)
(Note: Each handle weighs 17#.)

Compare to 2020.05.18.

Week 2020.08.10

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New videos on the Testify YouTube channel:

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
“Prowler Base”
1. Load up a manageable weight.
2. Sprint 40m at 85% intensity.
3. Rest until breathing and heart rate slow down. (45 sec – 2 min)
4. Repeat 5-15 times.

Courtesy of “Death by Prowler” (on Starting Strength).

Compare to 2020.06.29.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 800m

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = slowest time.

Compare to 2020.06.15.

Option 3
1st: 5 x 50 ft seated sled pull. Add weight each round. Rest as needed.
2nd: 5 x 100 ft duck walk. Add weight each round. Rest as needed.

Option 4
10 x 50 ft yoke carry
Each carry is 25 feet down and 25 feet back and is for time. Rest 1 minute between carries.

Compare to 2020.05.11.

Week 2020.08.03

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New videos on the Testify YouTube channel:

This Week’s Conditioning

Option 1
“Prowler Sprint Test”
1. Load up a heavier weight.
2. Time a 15 yards sprint at 100% intensity.
3. Rest 30 seconds.
4. Repeat sprint until times slows down 10%.
5. Goal is to increase # of sprints under the time standard.

Courtesy of “Prowler Sprint Test” (on JTS) as well as “Death by Prowler” (on Starting Strength).

Compare to 2020.06.22.

Option 2
Bike/row:
4 x 3 minutes

Rest 3 minutes between each round. Score = lowest distance.

Compare to 2020.06.08.

Option 3
1. Work up to a heavy single on the axle clean-and-press (i.e., ground to overhead).
2. 5 x 100 ft Zercher carry (50 ft down-back). Add weight each round. Rest as needed.

Option 4
For time:
500m row
5 x 80m sled push (200 ft if indoors)
500m row

Rest 1 minute after the first row and after each sled push.

Compare to 2020.05.04.