[Adam Bishop]

Great assistance session in the gym this week.

I’ve finally settled on a format that will see me through the season here, pushing the volume in this session to compliment the high load and intensity sessions. This weekend session is an Upperbody session but pull bias as that’s the muscle group that needs some more volume. Let’s see where this takes us.

All exercises this week were set at a load of 55% 1rm.

CG Pulldown 12.12.10.8
SA Cable Row 12.12.12.12
High incline DB CSR 12.12.12.12
Hammer strength Chest Press 12.12.12.12
DB Curl 12.12.12.12
Bent over Pressdowns 12.12.12.12

Injury Update: my TFL survived yesterday’s events session it seems. Managed to get into a full squat position today so hopefully by Monday I’ll be able to squat with just the bar on my back and do some heavy partial pulls.

[Adam Bishop]

Hi Kris

Take this how you want as SBD is one of my sponsors but I’d always advise to buy nice or buy twice. I’ve never worn out a pair of sleeves or ever seen a pair split from anyone.

The vast majority of sleeves on the market are made to a budget in sweat shops abroad and the longevity and quality of the product reflects that. SBD’s sleeves are made in the UK completely from start to finish – I’ve been to the factory and seen the process first hand and seen the quality control. They are the market leaders for a reason.

Either which way you decide to go it sounds like you want a neoprene sleeve if warmth is what you’re after. SBD do either the standard sleeve which is 7mm or a weightlifting sleeve which is 5mm and a bit shorter which I would consider a good option for bodybuilders or general weight trainers.

[Adam Bishop]

Promising events session today from an injury point of view. Managed to get through everything with minimal pain. Just the two events again as I’ll leave stones till next week.

My warm up was probably as long as the session as I used the compex to prep the muscle and then took my time with the bag toss but all in all it was a success.

Bag toss – various singles then a couple of 5 bag runs.

Shield walk – 3 static holds focused on breathing then two walking sets of around 20m total.

[Adam Bishop]

Depends how much you want to spend.

Cheapest option (and one I’m currently using) is a 360litre wheelie bin. I put some bricks in it to make a seat and it’s good to go. It’s a tight squeeze but it suits me.

Many people also use a chest freezer (check out videos on YouTube on how to make it sealed and safe) or an agricultural water tank.

There are bespoke ice baths that chill the water all year round which are way more expensive £3000-5000ish. One such company is the Ice Bath Co. (search for them on IG)

[Adam Bishop]

Hi Adam, quick question, where did you get you CPAP machine from?

Intus Healthcare.

They do require a document from a doctor confirming your need for a CPAP before purchase.

[Adam Bishop]

Awesome session today. TFL is healing nicely but not ready for axle cleans so we had to modify the session a bit today and go out of the rack for both log and axle presses. I decided to add some volume to the axle work instead of pushing the loading as I’d covered that with the log press.

Strict Log Press – 171×1
Strict Axle Press – 87.5x3x12
Seated Banded Pin press – 120 plus 70kg at lockout
Cable Pressdowns 4×6

Hit the sauna after the session then I’ve had the compex on my TFL again tonight. Hopefully I’ll be good for some events Friday ??

[Adam Bishop]

So my TFL was pretty sore today. I got some very light massage done on it and promoted some blood flow via the compex and it seems to have helped. I’m definitely going to bed in less pain than I woke up in which is great. Also spend some time in the hot tub which helped.

Press session tomorrow will be modified. Obviously no axle cleans unless it feels way better by tomorrow which I doubt so the plan is to press out of the rack on both axle and log. Not a major issue, I’m hoping I can get more pain free movement by Friday for some throws and shield holds

[Adam Bishop]

Bag of shit tonight. Tore my TFL on the first rep of my squat set with 305. Finished the rep fine so I’m hoping it’s not too bad and will heal quickly. Had to modify the session after that as couldn’t risk pulling heavy, leg pressing or doing the sand bag walks so…

Squat – up to 305×1
Block pulls (15”) 270x3x2
Back Extension 6×12

I’ll keep you all posted over the next few days. Not ideal as I’m 6 weeks out from Britain’s Strongest man but luckily I’ll be able to train around it I think.

We’ll know more tomorrow

[Adam Bishop]

Excited to follow along here!

I know you’ve mentioned beating the deadlift record, is that something you’re actively working on in the background whilst competing, or will you be taking time off of competitions to train specifically for that? Obviously you’re always training your deadlift, but I think when both Eddie and Thor did it they were focused 100% on the record.

You’d be surprised. Yes Thor did obviously focus on it as there were no competitions going on due to covid.

Eddie however pulled his at Europe’s strongest man in April 2016 after competing at Britain’s earlier in the year and then competing at various shows after it.

I have focused my deadlift work towards it for sure. I’ve moved the focus away from rep work and towards a new 1rm later in the year.

[Adam Bishop]

Take a look at your mattress and pillow.

I sleep on my side and I invested in a really good mattress and pillow from Levetex and it makes a big difference.

Make sure you build your pillow up to the correct height so that you take the pressure off your neck and shoulder

[Adam Bishop]

Not much going on today, no training just rest.

Spent some time in the hot tub and went for my normal 45min walk with the dogs.

Bodyweight update: sitting at an all time high of 156.9kg/346lbs which is great. Progress is being made!

Back to some heavy lifting tomorrow with some squats and deadlifts

[Adam Bishop]

Back in the barn for some assistance work today – back and arms focused.

Chest supported Barbell Row
CG Pulldown
SA Cable Row
High Incline DB Row
DB Alt Curl
DB Hammer curl
Long rope Pressdowns
Bent over Pressdowns

Great first week of prep for this years WSM. Body is feeling great and now I’m on the CPAP my sleep quality is way better.

Looking forward to progressing everything next week.

[Adam Bishop]

Hi Clark,

It’s very easy for us to equate strength increases with new tissue and while this is of course true in advanced individuals we must remember that increasing the muscle cross sectional area is not the only way we gain strength. I like to split strength increases into three key pathways when discussing getting stronger from a physical standpoint:

1. Neural adaptations/ability to recruit motor units

2. Increasing muscle cross sessional area

3. Co-ordination of the movement

If you were moving to a new progressive overload model I would assume that you are teaching your body to be neurally more efficient (point 1) and improving your technique on each movement (point 2) which will lead to bigger numbers on your lifts. This doesn’t mean that you didn’t build muscle tissue but it was highly unlikely IMO.

Strength increases should be celebrated whichever pathway they come so be proud of your improvements especially while calories are restricted.

You say that you are gaining 1-2lbs per week on the bulk so it sounds like you are putting on weight at a fast rate so I say keep on the bulk. Now that you have your technique honed you should be able to push muscle hypertrophy in a calorie surplus.

[Adam Bishop]

Solid events session down the farm today. It’s been a while and the place needs a clean but if felt good to be chucking heavy kit around again.

Big focus for me today was on two key events for Brits – the sandbag toss and shield walk. These two events are make or break for all of us as there are so many things that can go wrong.

Worked on a lot of bag throws over the 4.5 wall with the 22.5kg bags then moved onto the shield where I did some pick up and holds to work on breathing then a couple of 10m carries

That was enough for this week, I’ve got 5 training weeks to increase the distance and add a bit of weight to the shield.

[Adam Bishop]

Thursday – Rest Day

Shoulders were a bit beat up after Wednesdays return to strongman events so I got some mobility work done in the morning, did my usual 40min walk with the dogs and hit the sauna for my recovery work.

Woke up feeling much better today and ready to hit up some sandbag throws, shield carry and stones at the farm.