Hip Update

Yesterday my hip felt great. I got out to the garage for 30 minutes of rebounding, some light exercises and mobility work. I felt so good that I stopped the pain meds.

Last night I slept very well. This morning I thought I was gonna die. The pain was excruciating. I felt throwing up. Eventually, everything settled down and I was able to get to the hospital. There I was told to medicate at regular intervals through out the week instead medicating reactive to when I hurt. Feeling much better now.

This afternoon I wanted to get some exercise done.

Rebounding - 45 minutes

Grip Work

Now it's time for some dinner before going out Christmas shopping.

Snowdaddy

Time for a break

This morning the hip pain was excruciating. I went into the MIR. There a Physiotherapist checked me out and said it wasn't what I thought. Piroformis Syndrom. Through range of motion he concluded I strained something in my hip and that rest is the best medicine. Rest and moderate movement. I guess I'll go Christmas shopping today.

Snowdaddy

Lots Going On

I started Christmas leave yesterday. Three weeks off are gonna be great. Especially since my son and brother-in-law will be here to celebrate with us.

In addition to this I received an invite to the following.

I want 2025 to be my debut in Strongman. The Western Canadian Strongest Master is a sign from higher. However, I'm having problems with my piriformis. I spent most of today icing my right butt cheek. It feels better this evening but this morning I was in agony. Hopefully it's better tomorrow.

With my right piriformis feeling somewhat normal I decided to do some upper body.

No Rebounding.

Inclined Bench Press - 3 sets/12 reps/135lbs, 3 sets/12 reps/185lbs, 3 sets/12 reps/135lbs.

Cable Ext - 3 sets/12 reps/30,35,40kg.

Dumbbell Side Laterals - 3 sets/12 reps/20lbs.

Good upper body pump. I kept the rest short between sets to keep my heart rate up.

Snowdaddy

Trap Bar Rack Pulls

Going out for dinner with my wife tonight. Dispite running around most of the day I needed to do a little something before going out.

Rebounding - 30 minutes.

Trap Bar Rack Pulls - 130lbs/12 reps, 230lbs/12 reps, 3 sets/12 reps/330lbs.

No belt, no chalk, no straps. These felt great. Really good work. Tomorrow I'll talk about an amazing piece of news.

Snowdaddy

Inclined Presses

I wanted to train at bldg 90 today but I quickly ran out of time. 

Inclined Smith Machine Press - 2 sets/12 reps/90lbs, 2 sets/12 reps/140lbs, 2 sets/8 reps/160lbs, 3 sets/8 reps/180lbs.

Now I need to go pick up my wife. More work is needed eventhough I have a good upper body pump.

After work. After supper. After an unplanned nap. I got out to the garage to finish my day.

Rebounding - 40 minutes.

Straight Arm Press Downs - 4 sets/12 reps/15,20,25,30kg.

It's gonna be very cold tomorrow. Of course it's gonna happen.

Snowdaddy

Squats

The weekend was really busy and all I did was rebound. No weights. Today I have to rectify that.

Rebounding - 30 minutes.

Theragun and Dynamic Stretches.

Squats (knee sleeves no belt) - 2 sets/6 reps/bar, 2 sets/6 reps/135lbs, 2 sets/6 reps/225lbs, 315lbs/3 reps, 3 sets/1 rep/315lbs.

Splits Squats - 3 sets/12 reps per side.

BW Calf Raises - 4 sets/16 reps.

No belt felt ok. My core must be coming along. Working form for one rep. Last single looked good.

Snowdaddy

Morning at Bldg 21

The way I'm going to train over the winter and how I'm going to prepare for Strongman events in 2025 is becoming clearer. I know how to train for Powerlifting. I've been doing it for years. Strongman is something entirely different. This morning I played with some of the toys at bldg 21.

Stationary Bike - 15 minutes.

Yoke - 2 sets/100ft x 2/200lbs (empty).

Prowler - 2 sets/100ft x 2/50lbs.

Suitcase Walk - 2 sets/100ft x 2/40lbs kettlebell.

To explain how training is becoming clearer. I can't do everything at once. Some exercises conflict with others. I only have so much time in a day. There are only 7 days in a week. Twice a day training is a great idea. Doing heavy lifting twice in a day is not a great idea. However, training like this morning is definetly a great idea.

"Mornings are for moving my feet"

Exercises like the following are a good example of what I'm talking about.

Yoke, prowler, farmers walk, sandbag carry, keg carry, harness pull, backwards pull, tire flip.

All of these require a decent amount of cardiovascular fitness to execute well. Morning is a great time to do these exercises.

Snowdaddy

SSB Bench Squats

Continueing from last week I made some progress on the bench.

Rebounding - 10 minutes.

SSB Bench Squats - 140lbs/12 reps, 3 sets/12 reps/190lbs.

Again, no belt, no sleeves, no shoes. These feel really good. I would have done more but I ran out of time. Despite that, training was good.

Snowdaddy

Tire Deadlifts

Deadlifts were on the menu today. I added tires to spice things up a bit. I really wanted to test my grip. I was convinced I would pull 405lbs with an overhand grip today. Not yet I'm afraid. There's still work to do yet.

Rebounding - 30 minutes.

Kettle Bell Swings - 2 sets/20 reps/40lbs.

Tires Deadlifts - (OH Grip) 225lbs/3 reps, 315lbs/1 rep, 405lbs/missed twice. (Normal Grip) 3 sets/3,4,5 reps/405lbs.

Kettle Bell Swings - 2 sets/20 reps/40lbs.

The Kettle Bell Swings offered a good warm up before DLs and a great pump afterwards. I do these again for sure.

Snowdaddy

SSB Bench Squats

Spent most of the morning running around. Which didn't leave me a lot of time to train.

Rebounding - 30 minutes.

with Grip Work - 6 sets/10 reps/HG100, 6 sets/10 reps/HG200.

SSB Bench Squats - 4 sets/12 reps/140lbs.

Good lower body pump. Now its time to go to work.

Snowdaddy

Push Ups Plus

This morning before heading out.

Rebounding - 20 minutes.

While out I was treated at the base hospital for a corn on my left foot. Wearing my work boots afterwards was quite painful so I called in sick. Sitting with my foot elevated and no socks or shoes seemed to really help.

This evening I'm really bored. Time to get out to the garage.

Rebounding - 30 minutes.

Push Ups - 4 sets/12 reps (last set was 16)

Straight Arm Cable Press Downs - 3 sets/16 reps/15,20,25kg.

The corn feels tender but otherwise alright. Upper body is nicely pumped.

The weather is getting more winter like and the heater is on in the garage. Temperature is -8°C outside and +12°C in the garage.

Snowdaddy

Rebounding and Kettlebell

Now that the heavy stuff is done it's time to condition myself for my Military FORCE test. I'll go into what the FORCE test is all about later. Today I started slow as I didn't have much time.

Rebounding - 30 minutes.

Kettlebell Swings - 3 sets/30,30,40 reps/40lbs.

Feeling good and healthy. Now it's time to turn it up.

Snowdaddy

WRPF Deep Freeze

Bringing a competion to my competitive year was the WRPF Deep Freeze.

It was my first with the WRPF and my first Push Pull. I was pleased with my performance eventhough my numbers were lacking. And, since there were no National records in my age group and weight class, I am now a National record holder in the Bench Press and Deadlift. Here are my attempts.

Bench Press - 140, 145, 155kg

Deadlifts - 205, 227.5, 232.5kg

Snowdaddy

Squats

I got up this morning and felt like crap. My sleep was terrible and my throat felt raw. I called in sick. As the day went on I started feeling better. Time for some Squats.

Rebounding - 30 minutes.

Theragun.

Squats - bar/6 reps, 135lbs/6 reps, 225lbs/6 reps, 315lbs/3 reps, 365lbs/1 rep, 365lbs/2 reps.

Split Squats - 3 sets/12,12,20 reps.

Calf Ext - 16,20,20 reps.

Squats felt much better than they have in a long time. No more heavy stuff until the weekend. Deep Freeze.

Snowdaddy

Bench Press

Today I was busy travelling an hour outside of the city. There I had the great opportunity to listen to Nathan Payton at the Training Grounds gym.

To say I learned a lot from the greatest nutritionist in strength athletics is an understatement.

I got home and had supper. After that it's time to train.

Rebounding (grip and band) - 30 minutes.

Bench Press - 3 sets/12 reps/135lbs, 3 sets/6 reps/225lbs (speed)

Cable Triceps Ext - 3 sets/12 reps/25kg, 3 sets/12 reps/30kg

Dumbbell Side Laterals - 3 sets/12 reps/15,20,20lbs.

Next week is Deep Freeze so nothing heavy. Speed reps were a perfect option.

Snowdaddy

Deadlifts

Yesterday we had a schedual change and I had to work during the day. In the evening I got on the rebounder for an hour.

Today and tomorrow I'm back on evenings. This morning I'm feeling very motivated to pull. Instead of going up in weight from last deadlift day I decided to crush my opener. 

Rebounding (with gripper) - 20 minutes.

Deadlifts - 225lbs/6+1,1 reps, 315lbs/3 reps, 405lbs/1 rep, (belt) 3 sets/1,1,2 reps/455lbs.

Ab Sling - 3 sets/10 reps.

Just over a week until Deep Freeze. I'm not really where I want to be for weights. That said, I'm still losing bodyweight and I'm getting stronger. My belt is the loosest it's been in ages. At the Provincials back in February I couldn't latch my belt and reach the bar. Today I latched it and it was loose.

I've decided these will be my openers.

Bench Press - 145kg

Deadlifts - 205kg

After that will depend on the day.

Stay tuned.

Snowdaddy

Bench Press

Yesterday, in the afternoon, I did 30 minutes of rebounding and a few extra exercises to keep active and burn calories. Today was back on the training tracks.

Rebounding - 30 minutes.

I should take a moment to explain what I actually do on the rebounder. During the 30 minutes of bouncing I do the following,

Heavy Grip - 2 x 2 sets per hand/10 reps/100HG.

Parallel Pull Up Negatives - 3 sets/30,40,50 reps (bounces)

Band Pulls - 2 sets/10 reps/Orange Band.

Band Press - 2 sets/10 reps/Orange Band.

I feel that I get a good all over warm up during this time. Important as I get older.

Bench Press - 3 sets/12 reps/135lbs, 225lbs/6 reps, 315lbs/1 rep, 3 sets/1 rep/330lbs.

Titan Ram BP (long pause) - 2 sets/2,3 reps/330lbs.

Dumbbell Side Laterals - 3 sets/12 reps/15,15,20lbs.

Awesome training day. I feel slightly stronger on the bench. Good considering Deep Freeze push/pull is less than two weeks away.

Snowdaddy

Remembrance Day

Today is the day we remember those who made the unltimate sacrifice. At 1111hrs on the 11th day of the 11th month we pay our respects to the fallen with a momment of silence.

My family has had a pround history of service. Remembrance Day is very important to us. 

                 In Flanders Fields

    In Flanders fields, the poppies blow
         Between the crosses, row on row,
       That mark our place; and in the sky
       The larks, still bravely singing, fly
    Scarce heard amid the guns below.

    We are the Dead. Short days ago
    We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
       Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
                              In Flanders fields.

    Take up our quarrel with the foe:
    To you from failing hands we throw
       The torch; be yours to hold it high.
       If ye break faith with us who die
    We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
                                In Flanders fields.

Squats

Back into the garage again this morning with new drive. This is for two reasons. Iron Claw yesterday and my bodyweight is down to 347.5lbs this morning. Lets go Squats!

Rebounding (with gripper) - 30 minutes.

Theragun.

Leg Swings and Dynamic Stretches.

Kettlebell Swings - 3 sets/12 reps/40lbs

Squats - bar/6 reps, 135lbs/6 reps, 225lbs/6 reps, 315lbs/1 reps, 335lbs/1 rep, 365lbs/1 rep.

Kettlebell Swing - 3 sets/20 reps/40lbs.

I'm happy with today's training. Everything went really well.

Iron Claw

Today I competed at Manitoba's first ever sanctioned grip competition. I had a great day hanging out with some amazing people. It was an honour competiting with and cheering on these amazing strength athletes. Here's how I did.

Axle Deadlift - 120kg

Flask Lift - 62.1kg

Hub Lift - 22kg

Little Big Horn - 53.5kg

I am really pleased with my performance. I was the only master lifter (50+) so I came home with a gold medal. I have nothing to base my numbers on but I'm still pleased.

Iron Claw

Check out the YouTube video. I'm in the last third (last flight) of the video.

Snowdaddy