Quad Cities Contest

First off, I want to say I had a lot of fun at this contest. I thought it was a good challenge, but very doable. That said, I am a touch disappointed with a 4th place finish, but I realize there is a lot of work left for me to do to achieve better placings against strong competition.

The first event was the press medley. I finished the first 3 in just over 17 seconds, I managed to clean the 280 log, but I realized that any attempt to press it up would more likely result in me going down as I was seeing stars at this point. I was actually very pleased with the split I got although Bryan managed to edge me out by .07 seconds on this one. This went far better than expected.

The second event proved troublesome. On the 280/hand farmers walked I got a good first pick, but 6 steps into it my left hand gave out. I ended up with about 6 drops along the 80' course and finished in a pathetically slow 48 seconds. I was really displeased with this because farmers walk had gone really well for me in training for this contest. I guess I have more grip work to do in the coming months.

The third event was the duck walk/sled drag medley. I got a decent pace on the duck walk which is the worst part of it for me, but got a really fast pull on the prowler sled drag. I finished in a little over 20 seconds. Not a spectacular time, but much better than I had done in training.

The fourth event was the one I was most looking forward to, the truck pull. I got off to a fast start and easily got down the course finishing in just under 27 seconds. I was not surprised as this has always been a good event for me.

The last event was the one I had dreaded most in training for the contest. It was the 270 atlas stone over a 48" bar for max reps in 60 seconds. I had only been getting 5 to 7 reps in training on account of my overly deliberate lapping and re-gripping of the stone. At the contest, however, I managed to one-motion 8 of the 11 reps I got. It was truly unbelievable. It felt like an out-of-body experience. All I could focus on was going as fast as I could, I just heard Corey yelling at me the whole time. I don't know what was responsible for my turn around on this event, but it felt good. I felt manly.

Overall, I was pleased to have done as well or better than expected on 4 of the 5 events. I was able to finish every event but the press medley (which I did not expect to anyway) and I had a great time. I want to give a sincere thanks to my teammates who helped me at the contest. Bryan, Corey, and Ian, you guys are awesome. I'd also like to thank Bryan's lovely wife, Cassie, for coming out and taking lots of pictures, and my beautiful girlfriend, Brittany, for all of her encouragement and support. I also owe a huge thanks to Jesse Jobe for allowing me to train at his gym and for his advice, support, and encouragement, and to the rest of the Steel Jungle crew for all they do to help in my training. I am very excited to build on what I accomplished and learned at this contest and to venture into new territory as a LW competitor this summer.

Squats and Cleans

Hang Cleans:
135 x 3, 185 x 2, 225 x 2, 245 x 1, 265 x 0, 265 x 1, 265 x 0

Box Squats (narrow stance to box 3" below parallel):
135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 3, 315 x 3, 245 x 3

45 Degree Calf Raise:
135 x 25, 135 x 20, 135 x 17

Hamstring Curls:
65 x 15, 105 x 10


This workout felt shitty. My cleans were sloppy and slow, my squats were pathetic as well. Weighed in afterwards, was sitting at 271.5 pounds, obviously carb-depleted and slightly dehydrated, so rather than work more accessories I went and pounded down some noodles and co. Then I felt lots better.

Board Press and Shoulders

Bench (close grip):
135 x 12, 185 x 6

Close Grip 3 Board:
225 x 6, 275 x 6, 295 x 6, 305 x 6, 245 x 12

Rope tricep pushdowns:
2 sets of 12

Elbows in tricep extensions:
3 sets of 12

Shoulder Raise
15 x 16 x 2, 20 x 12 x 2

Incline Flies:
15 x 12 x 2

Wrist Curls:
90 x 15 x 2

Ab Machine:
2 sets of 15


This was a decent workout. Board Press felt good. It was nice to work bench without aggravating my pec. My Triceps were FRIED from this workout!!

Upper Back and Biceps

Face Pulls:
5 sets of 12

Lat Pulldowns:
90 x 12 x 4, 110 x 6, 130 x 6, 150 x 6, 160 x 5

Bent Over Cable Rows:
neutral grip on wide bar
4 sets of 15

Standing Straight bar curls:
5 sets of 10

Overhead Cable Curls:
3 sets of 16

Hammer Curls:
25 x 12, 20 x 12, 15 x12

Ab Machine:
3 sets of 15

I chose to concentrate more on biceps this workout did not work a lot of traps as those will be hit with cleans later this week. Great workout

Week of 11/9-11/13

Monday 11/9:
Rack pulls (from 18"): 135 x 5, 225 x 5, 275 x 5, 315 x 5, 365 x 3, 405 x 3, 455 x 3, 495 x 3, 545 x 3

Good Mornings:
135 x 8, 185 x 8 x 2

Front Squats:
185 x 5, 225 x 5 x 2, 245 x 3 x 2

Leg Extensions:
3 sets of 12

Ab Machine:
3 sets of 15

Calf Raise:
3 sets of 25



Tues 11/10:
Upper Back and Biceps

Shrugs, Pulldowns, curls, etc.

Wed 11/11 and Thurs 11/12:
Off

Fri 11/13:
Upper Body Recovery

Close grip Bench:
95 x 15, 115 x 12, 135 x 12, 155 x 12, 175 x 12

Lat pulldowns:
some sets x some reps

Curls, Tricep extensions neutral grip, shoulder raises, Shrugs, bent over rows


This was a very hectic week. This is what I worked as well as I can remember. I had a lot of tests and projects which demanded my attention so I lifted on sort of a deload.

Shoulders and Triceps

Explosive OHP:
135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 245 x 2, 225 x 5 x 2, 135 x 6 (split jerks)

Static OHP:
135 x 6 x 4

Dumbbell Seated Military Press:
40 x 6, 50 x 6, 55 x 6, 45 x 8, 40 x 8, 35 x 12

Elbows Out tricep extensions:
25 x 10, 30 x 8, 35 x 8, 40 x 6, 30 x 8, 25 x 12, 20 x 12

Rotator Cuff Rotations:
3 sets of 10

Rear Delt Bent Over Flies:
3 sets of 12

Lateral Delt Raises:
3 sets of 12

Ab Machine:
3 sets of 15

Tricep Pressdowns:
4 sets of 16


I tried my olympic shoes on the overhead. Not sure what to make of it. My low back felt like crap so I was limited in what I did. Also since I have been shedding pounds my strength is kind of bottoming out. So far I am down to 273 from 284 need to cut another 13 pounds and level out at 260. Hope I can train smart, stay healthy, slim down, and not lose a lot of strength.

Missing Posts 10/30 - 11/6

I was very busy this week and did not post my workouts after I did them. Yes that makes me a lazy pile of shit, but my priorities were elsewhere.

I did still workout. I can't necessarily remember all the reps and sets I did but a basic outline goes as follows:

Fri 10/30:
Upper Back and Biceps

Bent Over Barbell Rows
Close Grip Palms facing pulldowns
Shrugs
Upright Rows
Hammer Curls

Pretty straight forward upper back work. Kept shrugs lighter since I also did upright rows. Kept Pulldowns fairly light. Went heavier on hammer curls.

Mon 11/2:
Snatch and Front Squat

Snatch: Worked up to 175 for a single
Front Squat: Went ass to grass. worked up to 255 x 3
Leg extensions
45 degree calf raise
Pulldown abs

This was my first workout in my new weightlifting shoes. It felt pretty good. A twinge in my low back kept me from going heavier on the snatch. Took the front squats really deep in the oly shoes. Holy Quad Pump!!!

Tues 11/3:
Shoulders and Chest

Static OHP: did a lot of sets the last 4 went 185 x 3, 205 x 2, 185 x 4, 185 x 5

Close Grip Incline: Worked up from 95 for sets of 6 adding 20 lbs each set up to 175 then did drop sets stripping 10lbs a set to 135 doing 5 reps per set.

Shoulder raises
Tricep Extensions
Ab Machine

Wed 11/4:
Upper Back and Biceps

Standing horizontal rows on cable cross-over machine
Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns
Face Pulls
Lean back shrugs on smith machine
Bent Over Dumbbell shrugs
Hammer Curls up to 50 x 5
Rotational curls

Thurs 11/5:
Box Squat and Snatch

Full Zercher Lifts: 65 x 3, 95 x 3, 115 x 3, 135 x 2
Box Squats with Light Bands: 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 3 x 3, 315 x2, 315 x 3
Snatch: worked up to 185 x 2
Kneeling pulldown abs
45 degree calf raise
Leg Extensions
Single Leg Hamstring Curls


Fri 11/6
Upper Body Recovery Work

Close Grip Bench: 4 sets of 12 up to 130
Dumbbell military press
Tricep Press downs
Rotational Curls
Shoulder Raises

Kept all of this light. Just got the blood flowing. Trying to workout tightness and soreness from the pec strain 3 weeks ago.