I spent the weekend in a great gym (thanks Brickhouse Crossfit) with a whole lot of great people, lifting a bunch of heavy stuff. I’m bruised, cut up, and probably still full of tacky which means it was a great time. I went to a strongman seminar put on by Lift Big Eat Big with a few of the LBEB crew members (Brandon, Matt, and Streaky). The entire weekend was really well run and I learned a good amount and also got to practice some new skills and work on others that I rarely practice.
There was a lot of photo & video taking between events
Day 1:
The majority of this day was spent doing non-carry events and was broken down into 3 pieces: Deadlift, Pressing, & Stones.
Deadlift: I took it pretty easy on deadlifts (I did go for a new 1RM at 275# but didn’t get it) since I had already deadlifted 3 days this week and deadlifts tend to seriously fry me and I didn’t want to be too exhausted on Monday. We used straps the entire time which was great since I rarely use straps in my own training. In strongman, you can pretty much always use straps on a barbell deadlift so it was good to get extra practice. Major takeaway: adjusting my hand/foot positioning – overall, my deadlifts felt MUCH better than they have in a long time.
Pressing: We started with axle continental clean & press. My cleans were really, really good and I got a lot of compliments on them. My pressing was just okay. Major takeaway: Throw that shit behind my head (I swear, one day, I WILL actually do it). We also did some log pressing with this beastly thing:
Streaky makes the log look good.
I really struggled with this. It was so strange and it took me a two tries before I actually pressed it but once I did, it wasn’t too difficult. I got stuck on the next weight up though and couldn’t get the hang of it. Major takeaway: Elbows up, get big, short and aggressive drive. I’ve also got some lovely forearm bruises to go show for it. I really, really need more practice on this.
Stones: I LOVE STONES. I’m not the best at them but they’re so much fun. I actually ended up PR’ing my stone by loading a 176# to 46 inches (over a bar) – I couldn’t get the 215# but I think that will happen fairly soon. Also, loading to a high platform every week has really helped me – I was one of the few girls who did not get stuck on the bar with my stones. Major takeaway: I need to really dig my hands under the stone – it made a big difference when I actually thought about doing it.
Day 2 was all about moving and carrying events – my favorites.
Yoke: I’ve never done a yoke run before so everything was very new to me. I don’t think I did as well as I could have done due to the fact that I kept getting in the way of my own feet. I ended up doing 350# for probably 40ish feet with 3 drops and then just couldn’t make the pick after that. Also, the yoke is very exhausting – it’s similar to conan’s wheel where it just kind of takes your breath away. Major takeaway: walk on train tracks, not trip over my own feet.
Farmers: I like farmers walk a whole lot and we got to practice turning, which is always my weak point. I didn’t PR this event mainly due to the fact that my hands were on the verge of ripping and it just wasn’t worth it. I did 155#ish for 70 feet or so with 2 drops. This was after doing several other rounds so my grip was shot. Major takeaway: Work on the turn.
Keg Press/Carry: I’ve never done a keg press before and it was actually a lot of fun. I fought with the 80# keg and eventually got it (Streaky made a video on Instagram) but I definitely need some more work with this implement. I ended up carrying the 110# (I think) keg for probably 100 feet with one turn, no drops, pretty quickly. Major takeaway: More hip drive on the press. And keg carries are FUN.
I’m tiny.
Overall, I had SUCH a great time hanging out with the LBEB crew and a ton of really awesome people. One of the most interesting things, for me, is watching others get coached and seeing what works for them. I really enjoyed listening to the Q&As sessions that we did at the end of each day. As people asked questions, a few themes became evident:
1.) implementing strongman with crossfit
2.) how to get people interested in strongman
3.) how to encourage women to lift heavy, with regularity, and try things like strongman
4.) nutrition.
I enjoyed listening to coaches from other gyms talk about the issues they have at their gyms and with their trainees/athletes – it offered a really great opportunity to get varying perspectives on these issues. Talking with other athletes as well (the majority of which were Crossfitters) was also really interesting and there were some great conversations. All in all, a very fun weekend!And now, I need a lot of stretching, foam rolling, and ice cream.