[Adam Bishop]

1. I have EAAs mid session for this protein source.

2. Mix you carb sources buddy. Rice, cream of rice, fruit, oats, honey etc. Makes it a lot easier to get your carbs in this way.

[Adam Bishop]

Woke up this morning with some nerve type pain in my lower back/glute region. Think I slept at a weird angle. Not ideal for a pull day but things eased off as the day went on so I still trained but held back on the loads a little.

SLDL 220×10
Pendlay Row 140×10 90×15
CG Pulldown 100×10 60×16
SA DB Row 65×10 35×20
WG Seated Cable Row 60×10 40×20
DD Reverse Fly 12.5×10 8×17

45mins walk with the dogs this evening and got some chicken grilled for the coming days.

Rest day tomorrow then my first events session back on Monday.

[Adam Bishop]

Back in the gym for some pressing today:

High incline bench press 120×7 80×12
Hammer Strength chest press 80×10 40×15
Incline DB Fly 17.5×10 10×20
Dips BWx10 blue band x20
Incline DB Curls 17.5×8 10×16
BB curl 40×8 20×15
SA Preacher curl 17.5×8 10×12

All pretty straight forward, nothing exciting but my chest was definitely not used to the volume hahaha. Lots of progress to be made over the next few weeks.

[Adam Bishop]

Agree with JP here.

If you’re looking for quad development from it then add some form of heel wedge.

Also it’s very easy to sit back a lot on a belt squat especially if you stabilise with handles Hatfield style. Ensure you’re staying as upright as possible to bias the quads more.

[Adam Bishop]

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it buddy.

If you’re progressing your lifts keep it going until progression stalls then make a change.

[Adam Bishop]

Rest day for me so just 45min of walking with the dogs today. Also did a Costco shop to get my food for the week.

While there’s no training to report here’s my split for the next 18.5 weeks:

M – Events (bag toss, hummer tyre deadlift, stones)
T – shoulders
W – legs
T – off
F – chest
S – back
S – off

So the change in split is to facilitate my goals. I have the Shaw Classic in 16 weeks and the deadlift champs in 18weeks both of which I need to be going in heavy bodyweight wise. I have the next 8 weeks to drop down to circa 140kg before I push back up for the shows. I did a similar thing post injury and leading into BSM 2023 and it worked extremely well. The reduction in heavy strongman events also gives my joints a short rest.

My back/pull session is now on Saturday so that it aligns with when I’ll be pulling the 505 in September at the deadlift champs.

Weirdly enough we have a standing chest press event at the Shaw Classic so I will be using my chest press as part of my chest days. I think it’s important to get plenty of chest pressing exposure for both a performance and injury prevention stand point.

Really looking forward to this next challenge.

[Adam Bishop]

Legs session today and the different focus was really enjoyable. Didn’t go too crazy as I’m still recovering from the travel and a chest infection but managed to lift some semi decent loads. In a good place for week one of a new plan.

Leg ext 111×18 77×20
Leg Press 600×10 400×20
Hack squat 200×10 100×20
Back ext 10×10 BWx20
Prone leg curl 65×10 45×18
SL curl 20×10 15×20
Standing calf raise 124×10 88×15
Seated calf 40×10 20×18

[Adam Bishop]

So I managed 80mins sleep on the flight from the US and got another 90mins before I trained today.

Still full of a cold so didn’t push things to heavy but I really enjoyed the different pace of session – very much looking forward to the next few weeks. Kicked it all off with a press session:

Seated DB press 35×10 25×20
DB Lateral Raise 14×10 10×16
SA cable 9×8 4.5×15
DB Shrugs 35×10 25×20
Pressdowns 40×8 22.5×15
Rolling ext 17.5×10 10×20
SA Pressdowns 9×10 4.5×20

All pretty straightforward and stuck to the top shelf of the DB rack. Legs tomorrow where I hope that after a good night’s sleep I’ll be able to push things a bit more

[Adam Bishop]

And we’re back in the UK!

Flight was ok but I didn’t manage to get much sleep due to a screaming baby near me – man I hate kids.

Back home now and had my breakfast so I’m going to grab 90min sleep before I get my pre training meal in and train at 2pm. Press session today – no strongman movements which will be nice.

Still this cold/illness but I want to train and I know I’ll feel better for it. I will go into more detail on the change of training and diet this week

[Adam Bishop]

Still got the cough but feeling a tiny bit better today.

Can’t wait to get home and get back in the gym. I love training and I love the process. Got everything planned out ready for the next 19 weeks to take me up to a WR deadlift.

Flight is tomorrow and I’ll be home on Tuesday morning and back in the gym for some push. Can’t wait.

[Adam Bishop]

Deload and if it persists in the first legs session after deloading then it will be time to investigate further.

[Adam Bishop]

Still feeling very rough today unfortunately.

Watched the guys in the final complete their first 3 events today then went out for a nice meal. Making the most of it as I’ll be dieting down to 140kg again starting Tuesday.

Plan is to drop down to 140kg before I build back up for the deadlift with 155kg being the goal bodyweight.

One more day watching the finals tomorrow before I get to head back to the uk on Monday evening.

[Adam Bishop]

Hi Cooper

In your other thread you stated that you are able to brace your lumbar with bent knees – is this correct?

If so I would advise you use a conventional deadlift as your primary pull from the floor. I would also recommend using a 45deg back extension bench to allow your body to learn how to differentiate between hip and lumbar flexion. This is what I have used with many athletes in your situation who struggle with lumbar control. No additional load, just bodyweight

Do you think it’s best to pull conventional then with as minimal leg drive as possible? No sunk hips just having a fixed position to pull from? Just with more bend in the knees?[/quote]

I think Adam’s point is for you to use a conventional deadlift just as a start of a hinge pattern to practice bracing . And in time once you learn the skill you’ll be able to crossover into the SLDL and be able to flex from the lumbar .[/quote]
This. Oscar is correct. Just pull conventional mate until you’ve got control of your bracing.

The conventional deadlift is still a great exercise for erectors.

[Adam Bishop]

Hi Cooper

In your other thread you stated that you are able to brace your lumbar with bent knees – is this correct?

If so I would advise you use a conventional deadlift as your primary pull from the floor. I would also recommend using a 45deg back extension bench to allow your body to learn how to differentiate between hip and lumbar flexion. This is what I have used with many athletes in your situation who struggle with lumbar control. No additional load, just bodyweight

[Adam Bishop]

Another disappointing day unfortunately. I blacked out on the conans which made it impossible for me to make the stone off.

Managed to gain some pride back via a solid 2nd place on the kettlebell toss but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to take me through to the final.

I’m feeling rough today and my resting heart rate has been elevated since being in the US so I think I’m sick. Either way I wasn’t good enough this time round.

When I get back to the uk it will be time to cut some weight for 8 weeks before I reset my sights on the deadlift champs in September.

Sorry to hear that bro but you still did us proud big man! Just being there is insane in itself – legit one of the strongest men in the world. Hope you feel better soon too bro 🙏[/quote]
Thanks mate.

Woke up this morning feeling proper fucked and like I’ve been gargling razor blades so confirms what I suspected about getting sick.

Completely my fault, I made some mistakes with my food intake and relied on the food provided by the hotel for the athletes which turned out to be piss poor. Next time I’ll be cooking all my own food like I do for the one day shows.