I never listened to Micheal Jackson's music...

I remember the first time I saw Micheal Jackson. It was on TV during news coverage of one of his events in the mid 90's. I remember my parents talking about him, I asked, "THAT is a guy?". My parents responded with an understanding "Yup." From that point on, I always saw him in the way that was popular. I regarded him very much so as a joke and couldn't for the life of me understand why it was that people were so enamored with him. I saw quite clearly just how loyal his fans were, the legions of people, young and old, screaming outside his concerts and appearances. I never understood the love affair for what I saw as some kind of freakshow milking his once epic stardom. When I first heard he died, I was in a bit of disbelief. Not that it could've happened, but that it did happen. How could such a figure, a household name, someone only months older than my own father, pass? My first thoughts went to remembering how tragic a figure he was. Pummeled in the media, talked about as a pedophile, turned into some kind of sad joke but still, his fans were there. It's true, I've heard his music before many times over, but as wives everwhere can tell you, "hearing" and "listening" are hardly the same thing. I remembered songs from the Jackson 5 like "ABC" and knew that Micheal was an impressive singer, but it took his death and the heartfelt words of his daughter Paris to actually get me to sit down and listen to one of his songs. Sitting here in my chair, I listened to the song "I'll be there" as sang by a pre-pubescent Micheal in the late 60's. It's true, I had never listened to Micheal's music, and for the first time I asked myself "Why?" I always saw and heard the joke of a man that had been built up slowly by the media and the countless people willing to take aim at an easy target, but never the music. For the first time, I understood why it was that so many people were willing to stand behind him even as he was berated and looked upon as some kind of oddity. I understood why his fans were so loyal, why Micheal Jackson became what he did. It's true, I never listened to Micheal's music, but I will be from now on.

Rest in Peace Micheal

Larkin Get-together

Had a get-together at Larkin's today. Everytime I go there I leave with a new-found lust for strength. Re-energized as it were. I managed to get 405 in the deadlift again, but couldn't do it without a belt. I'm extremely disappointed at how hard it was each time I pulled it. It should be far easier than it was by now and I will be deadlifting regularly again. I came sub 1/4" on 2 BB grippers that were(I'm told) harder than the MM1. Those BB's really like to bind up at the last little bit. I really just need to get my set down again and I'll have that MM1 in the bag. I pinched 163ish on my device and did some light levers. A bad time cannot be had at Larkin's gym.

In preparation for Nationals, I did some rear weaver levers with a hammer when I got home. Managed to work up to my 12lber and get at least one solid rep in. I'm fairly certain I will be doing better on this event at Nationals than I did at Gripmas last year.

1st Annual Woodall Grip Challenge report

I think more than one person(myself included) was "off" that day. My numbers here compared to my training numbers are ridiculously low. I blame that on the incredible treatment myself, Steve and Durniat recieved from Rex's family. I became too complacent and too relaxed... the total lack of training had nothing to do with it.

Chad was flipping ON. Explosive and focused as always. 200kg on the axle, coming 2nd in the grippers, winning the RT. I know this wasn't an easy contest for Chad, he certainly worked for his win. Steve and Andrew were not letting up and constantly up there in the top 3 of events.

Steve got that 205lb #4 in the first event. If I recall correctly, that is the heaviest gripper close in competition history, choked or otherwise. He went on to do lighter 4 closes after the competition(several people videod... hopefully Jedd doesn't delete/lose/record over/forget). He also may have ended up with 266 on the RT, but he got 295(not including the pin+handle) off the ground.

Andrew was ON as well. He attempted a 476 axle and got it up 3/4 of the way. Slightly better planning may have netted him a 476 pull, but he still broke his own record, so not too shabby there. His medley performance was awesome, lightning fast. The only one faster was Chad.

Jedd, man. This is the first time I think Jedd has come outside 3rd in a looooooong time. The competition was at an extreme level and I think Jedd was slightly off on comp day. However, coming in 4th at a competition of this caliber on such an off day? That says something.

It was great meeting Aaron again. I think we had all of six or seven words when last we met at Beatty's in '07. He certainly looked to be on his game today. He didn't really have a bad event, no surprise there. He always manages to be at roughly the same level in all the events. I think he came 4th-6th in everything here consistently. Truly an all-arounder.

Rex, wtf. You have flipping 9"+ hands. Learn to use them for thickbar for goodness sake. Other than that, I think Rex had a great day. All of his lifts were up there around or just below the tops guys.

Paul came in with an injury after drinking until 2-3am the night before the competition. I also believe he didn't bother waiting until the comp was over to start up again... AND HE STILL CAME IN 7TH. PAUL, GET IT TOGETHER AND TRAIN PROPERLY.

Ryan was an impressive individual. If I heard right, he trained for this about as much as myself and about as frequently. A little bit of stragety would've netted him a 375+ axle. Starting at 401 obviously didn't work out. Nor did his stiff-legged, rounded back, grinding, sumo pulling style he decided to use. He pulled 401 to his knees 4 damn times and failed to lock out because he couldn't drive his hips forward. DO BETTER!

Chris, 60 and still whooping my ass. I believe Sundin has used the expression "like a fine wine" to describe Chris more than once. It remains true.

Brent, I was totally beating you for a few seconds. We were close in points, but not in actual weights lifted. I have a feeling this was an off day for Brent as well. Perhaps if he would learn to NOT WARMUP TO 90%.

Me? I sucked. My hands seemed to be tired just walking in there. I was off my game and was smart enough to have a squat session with some pinch and 2.5" axle work thrown in on Tuesday as a last minute mad dash to train.



Overall, this was a fantastic venue for a comp. Chad really went out of his way to make this thing professional and it really paid off. The announcer was a nice touch as well. I also did not know the whole story behind Eddy, Rex's friend doing the documentary. This guy was a pro. Rex, send me that email address again and I'll try my best to find some more training footage and photos. GET THAT STUFF SENT IN GUYS!!!!

The sponsors really stepped up, Beatty, Rice, Perth, several local companies. I don't have the shirt in front of me right now but there were over a dozen sponsors. I would like to thank them all VERY much for helping to put on such a flipping awesome contest.

One more glowing review of Rex's family, I don't think I could've been much more welcomed anywhere. Even if I paid bookoo bucks to stay. Just an amazing trip all the way around and thanks to all involved!!!!!

Catching up again

I have been neglecting my log here lately. I apologize as I've been busy with work and for whatever reason my life has seemed quietly hectic these past few weeks... if that makes any sense xD

I squatted yesterday but apparently forgot to post it. Here it is:

Back squats all
135x5
225x5
300x2
350x0(if I had been motivated and not beaten down/burnt out I would've had this one)
300x1
245x10(could've done 20, again, if I wasn't such a lazy pussy...cat that day)


Today's bench workout

2DBOHPress
75'sx3

Flat Bench
135x10

Incline Bench(I just realized my next strongman comp has a 230lb log press for reps as the first event, I figured I should try to work towards at least one rep )
205x3
235x1(10lb PR)
205x3
205x3
185x5
185x5
185x5
135x5(narrow grip, elbows touching the sides all the way down and up with a 1 second pause and breathe at the bottom)

Hammer curls
60'sx5/5
60'sx5/5(both sets were decently strict with virtually no swinging until the last 4 or so reps of the 2nd set, big improvement here)

Full hammer curls
50'sx5/5

Some back pressure training and then 1 set of 10 chins and 1 set of 7 pullups.

Michigan Grip Championships 2009

Bob Lipinski put on yet another awesome grip comp last weekend! As always, it was held at Don Larkin's gym. The Larkin's are just straight up good people. Always willing to help and I'm not sure I've met too many people with as many interesting stories as Don.

On to the comp then.

For starters, I did very well. Far better than even I expected, and I went in there knowing the events favored me and that I had trained them more than previous contests.

First up were the grippers- I have been closing my average #3 pretty consistently since I first shut it a few months ago. I was shutting a 160ish PDA gripper that I borrowed from Bob on and off on strong days with near misses on weak days. So I knew that contest adrenaline would help me out here a bit and expected the PDA to be my upper end. I didn't even bother with it. I attempted the Hard #3 first and after a minor setting issue, slammed it. I went for the Narrow Super Elite, which is about 164ish, next and managed it with a solid set. I failed on the easy Elite on my 3rd attempt and passed my 4th. I wouldn't have gotten the easy Elite fresh even with contest adrenaline, but it would've been close under those circumstances I think. That Narrow SE close put me in 2nd place right from the start with 3 guys tied for 1st.

Hub lifts were next- I knew I would get 60+, but I hadn't trained this all that often before the comp. I was confident that 65+ would go on this day and I managed a solid and not-too-tilted 67.5 pretty easily and failed 70 and 71lbs, getting the 70 off the floor. Dave Thornton went all beast on us and pulled 80lbs with a super heavy front load. He passed on his next few attempts because we couldn't figure out how to load 40 extra pounds on the 45. He could've pulled 85 that day.

Vbar next- I suck at Vbar. Partly because I never train it, partly because I can't figure out how to train it and lastly because I just hate vbar lifting. I pulled 215 which I think equals my all-time PR, so I'm not that dissapointed in myself, but I just knew I would lose major points here. I did, but the damage was contained by other's mistakes and what seemed to be an all-around weak day for many.

Hammer Medley- I was expecting to pwn here. I had trained this and I had actually trained this seriously for some time before it was even an event at the contest. So I kind of won the lotto on that one. My front lever is one of the strongest in grip, I'm sure of it now. I easily front levered my 10lb sledge at 26" with a quarter on the head to the high platform for a total coup points-wise. I knew I was going to get it too, which felt great being the last guy and seeing even Dave Thornton only pull it up to the low platform and gave me a huge confidence boost for my attempt. The slim levers went great and I knew that I could get at least the 16 with decent ease, and did. I failed on the 18.5 quite a few times and had several near misses but it wasn't happening today. I tied for 1st on this one.

The Rim lift was next- the weight was 335 and I held it for 3 seconds. By this time, I just didn't care. I was so happy to have beaten Thornton and Durniat on something so solidly and happy that I was in a good placing points-wise, that I could care less what I got on this event. Turns out it didn't matter all that much. I believe Jeff Flynn got 1st on this event, I also believe that if he hadn't done well in this event, I would've come in 4th place overall instead of 5th. I came second to last in this event and ahead of the 2 guys who had to go to the lighter weight:D

Awesome contest overall and I think this was a situation where I had a strong day coupled with everyone else having a not-so-strong day. It worked out well for me and everyone had fun regardless of any apparent weaknesses on the day.

After comp feats for me include breaking 3 25's off the floor ever-so-slightly, my first human flags on both sides, a ring finger chinup that I definitely felt for 2 days after doing it, several attempts at slippery, rounded 5 10's with some air, and another solid 10lb front lever.

Overall, Saturday has given me something to boast about and a boatload of confidence to carry with me to Chad's comp a little over a month away. Once Jerri Larkin's DVDs get here, I'll relive the day several times over this month and next which should help me out in my training significantly. Just one more reason to make it out to a Michigan Grip comp, free and WELL-MADE DVDs with high resolution pictures and videos of several events from different angles. You don't get that shit anywhere else!

New squat idea... again

Did some squats today and decided to do some high reps. I didn't feel mentally ready to test my maximum reps with BW, so I did the next best thing: A 10x10 set with 205, 8lbs more than my BW.

Front Squats
135x5
225x1

Back Squats
315x1
315x1
205x10
205x10
205x10
205x10
205x10
205x10
205x10
205x10
205x15(tried for 20, but wasn't there mentally)
205x5

This was by far the hardest squat workout to date. My heart was racing at set 3 and I was slightly dizzy after sets 3 and 4 and decided that I would give myself ample rest between sets. At least I will at first. I thought of yet another way to train for the 100 rep squat also. I will try to do this for the next few weeks, possibly months if I am capable and it turns out I make gains.

Do a 10x10 set but try to do a 20 rep squat after set 8. When I can get myself to do the 20 reps at the end of the squat session and do the session with less than 5 minutes between sets, I'll add 5lbs to the total and try to do the same. Once I feel I hit a wall weight-wise, I'll try to add reps to the last set instead of adding weight. I felt I hit a wall mentally on the 5th set because my last idea, to do 10x5, got me used to 50 reps, not 100. This will get me used to 100 reps and help me add weight.

Deadlifts

I decided to deadlift today instead of squat. I haven't deadlifted in awhile and it has always been my favorite lift and I want to get back to deadlifting regularly. Last time I pulled I did 405 sumo for a few doubles and a triple if I remember right. I only went sumo because my back was bugging me, not the problem today. I pulled conv.

225x2
315x5
335x5
365x5
385xhover (sumo)
385x1(sumo with a belt)
385xhover (conv.)
365x5
315x5(1 rep was done thumbless and the rest were DO)

I used to have a very SLDL-type of form due to my severe lack of leg strength. I can get lower at the start and benefit from leg strength now. I at least hovered what I couldn't pull today, that in itself is a PR. I used to go heavy almost every time I pulled, I wont be so brash this time around. 5's, 3's and 2's will be common unless I'm feeling strong or haven't pulled heavy in awhile.

I did some work with my 2.5" PVC wrist roller afterwards... wow. FRIED again.