Aug 4 - 23 Training Overview and Highlights & Battle of The Beasts 2 (Program Weeks 6 + 7 + 8 [Deload])

This update is later than I planned, because I've been tired out and very busy!! Here's a quick look at my past 3 weeks of training and video highlights from the Trainstagram, as well as a brief recap of Battle of The Beasts 2 and some of my future plans. Check out my training log, for more details: JohnSambo@TraningBlog.com

Weeks 6 and 7 went quite well and brought me several PR's. I tried out speed work on my squats and deads, for the first time. Now that is a damn fun challenge! I also have just started playing with Pause Deadlifts and I quite like them. Variety keeps things fun and interesting, that is for sure!

Fatigue really started to catch up with me on week 7 and I felt pretty damn beat up, all the way through the deload. It was one of those weeks when every little thing seemed so daunting. I still was fairly productive, trained hard and did lots of fun stuff, outside of the weight room!! Lots of delicious and often dirty eating, lately. I've been trying to gain a few pounds fast, but having a hard time with that. My daily average weight is just starting to move up. The last thing I want is to show up on meet day, 7 pounds under the weight class limit, again!!!

Last weekend, I volunteered at Battle of The Beasts 2, AKA BC's Strongest Man.I got to see some friends of mine go all out for the title and also met a few more Strongmen who I'm a fan of. The events of the day were Log Clean and Press, Last Man Standing Deadlifts, Truck Pull, Kegs over a bar and Yoke Carry Medley and my favorite event; Atlas Stone Loading. Even though I was just a volunteer, I did a few things just for fun. I pulled a spontatneous 415 Deadlift, pulled the truck for a very unremarkable distance and held up the 700 pound yoke for 8 seconds. The whole thing was a hell of a lot of fun!! It's good to know that there are so many awesome people in the Strongman community, big shout out to all the volunteers and athletes - and of course, the guy who planned and coordinated the event, Mike Mcgonigal!

I'm too excited for words to announce my upcoming foray into the sport of Strongman!! I'll be training with some of the guys I saw that day, who happen to live fairly close to me. I'll still be doing Powerlifting meets, because I love this sport! I'm working to broaden my horizons and embrace new challenges. Another shout out to my awesome coach, Geoffery Chiu. I intend to keep working with him, after the meet. With his help and that of my Strongman friends, I'm about to take my game up several notches! Turning up the heat, baby!!!

Just over the past couple days, I've started feeling nice and fresh. I'm ready to hit my peaking cycle full force. Only 4 weeks of hard training, before a pre-competition deload. With 34 days till Thunderbird, I've refined my goals a bit. My ultimate goal is to total at least 1150 pounds, hopefully 1200+. It would be nice to hit a 405 Squat and 295 Bench, but I'll wait and see what's in the cards. A 525, maybe even 535 Deadlift doesn't seem like much of a stretch. I'm glad to have my coach helping me pick attempts, this time around!! It's go time! No more messing around, the iron is calling!! FUCK BULLSHIT, GET GAINZ!!! Here are video highlights from the Trainstagram (MrJohnSambo@Instagram):

Belted Squats - 335x4. This set was a PR; albeit, an ugly one. In fact, this is the most weight I've ever done for more than a single. Being angry worked in my favor, today!!! #angrysquatting #destroyingthesquatrack #newpr #spinesareoverrated

Belted Sumo Deadlifts - 435x4. Another PR here, that 500 is SO CLOSE! This set felt pretty good. As you can see, I used a different camera angle, for once. Aren't I so adventurous?! #gripandrip #smooth #deadlifts #deadliftdomination #newpr #hookgrip #sorethumbs

Pause Bench - 225x5. PR, here. The last couple reps were pretty hard, but the set was decent. #benchpress #powerlifting #newpr #pressingmatters #decentform

Overhead Press - 125x5 and 135x4. 125 was a PR, felt pretty smooth and left me feeling like 135x5 would be very doable... I was wrong. Failing makes me mad, but at least my OHP is coming up! #overheadpress #powerlifting #newpr #missedreps #angrypressing #betternexttime

Close Grip Pause Bench - 195x5. I matched my current unpaused 5 rep PR, here. This was at least some redemption, after my failed OHP top set. #benchpress #powerlifting #newpr #angrypressing #pressingmatters #decentform

Pause Front Squats - 250x3. I'm pretty happy with this, as I hit this for an unpaused PR, only a week ago. I felt really strong, so decided to just go for the gusto. #frontsquats #powerlifting #newpr #goforthegusto

It makes me so mad when I catch people doing squats in the curl rack! Everyone knows that the rack is only for curls!! GET OUT OF MY GYM, YOU LOSERS!! #getoutofmygym #gymproblems #curls #squats

July 21 - Aug 2 Training Overview and Highlights (Program Weeks 4 + 5)

The last couple weeks of training have been have brought me a few PR's and overall, have been a huge step forward. Here is a brief overview and some video highlights from the Trainstagram. Check out my training log, for a more detailed look: JohnSambo@TraningBlog.com

The end of this past week of training marked eight weeks till Thunderbird Powerlifting Challenge. I've been hyper-focused; but will need to dial in my focus even more, to ensure that I make the most of these coming weeks of training. I'm enjoying utilizing the RPE system, now that it's becoming more familiar. I feel a lot more in tune with my own strength and am getting a much better feel for what I should be able to hit, on a given day. Weights are getting heavier, which is always fun. Bringing the belt back into play has been nice.

Squats have been much better lately, but still need a lot of work. Upon prompting from my coach, I've narrowed my stance from 1.5x shoulder width, to shoulder width. Depth is much easier with this adjustment, but I'll have to work on ankle mobility and play with bar placement. Staying upright will surely get easier, as I get a feel for the details. 405 seems to be a good target, for Thunderbird Powerlifting Challenge!

My control on bench has improved a great deal and I see a big PR coming. Maybe 295 is not so far off! Taking a wider grip has brought my pecs and lats into play, to a far greater degree. I've only realized how much my bench was lacking, in that department. This realization has led me to switch my competition grip.

Switching back to Sumo Deadlifts was a good move, after doing Conventional for a while. I really need to work on not rounding, it's been pretty bad for a while now!!! While I have gotten better about it, the habit has just become so deeply engrained after the phase of ego-deadlifting that led to my injury. I am confident that I'll be able to clean things up and pull over 505, at the meet. I wanna hit 525, but only time will tell if that's in the cards!!!

Last but not least, my OHP is blowing up. On average, I've had much better stability and control and have felt far more explosive on it!! This is nice to see, as OHP is my worst lift and I feel like the ratio between it and bench is very much out of whack.

Here are video highlights from the trainstagram (MrJohnSambo@Instagram):

Close Grip Bench Press - 195x5. Another PR, this week. Feels good! It's kind of funny how the first rep was the ugliest... Whatever, set was not bad!! #tomatoface #newpr #notbadatall #raisingthebar

Pause Bench - 205x6. New Pause Bench PR, here... Felt pretty good!! The last rep was just on the verge of grinding, but no stick and good control. I'm really starting to feel comfortable with this wider grip, think it's time to use this as my competition grip!! #pressingmatters #smooth #newpr

Overhead Press - 115x6. Felt good, my OHP is coming up!! This was actually a PR, for me... #raisingthebar #deltoiddestruction

Belted Squats - 315x5. This set was a PR, I'd only ever hit 315 for a double, before this. Not the prettiest set and depth was questionable, upon closer examination. #purplebeltftw #destroyingthesquatrack

Front Squats - 225x5. Pretty good, but I leaned forward a bit for a couple of reps. This set matched my current PR, but was much nicer than last time. #elbowsup #stayupright

I know all you haters are just jealous of my robust Pokemon collection! DON'T EVER ASK ME TO TRADE MY CHARIZARD!!! #Pokemanz #firetypesrule #Charizardisgod