Strongwoman training – Week 2

If last week was the week that I was full of excitement about the fact that I’d signed up for a competition, this week was the week where the reality of what I’ve got to be able to do for that competition really started to sink in.

Monday 11th Jan – PT session

We tested my deadlift maximum as a baseline and I set a new best of 105kg. I got the 110kg off the floor but it wouldn’t budge past mid calf. That means I need to work on creating tension in my back and working on my hip extension –which means lots of heavy RDLs on the cards for me! Being able to do one rep at 120kg let alone multiple reps feels a bit of a way off!

We also did some upper body strengthening moves and Jess showed me a series of yin yoga hip openers which are going to be a regular feature of my evenings over the coming weeks.  

Tuesday – rest day

And I took it as complete rest.

Wednesday – Strength/power session

This was a repeat of last week’s session but increasing the weights on the cluster deadlifts by 10kg. So it went like this:

Cluster deadlifts at 50kg 3 reps every 30 seconds for 10mins – that’s  a total of 60 deadlifts of 50kg each in 10 minutes
Romanian Deadlifts @40kg 2 sets of 8 and 1 of 6
Kettlebell swings @24kg 3 sets of 10
TRX rows 3 sets of 6
Grip work

There was definite improvement on the week before which felt really motivating. My grip felt better, the lifts easier and just overall felt like a stronger session than the week before.

Thursday – Julia Buckley workout – Six Pack Shred #1

The first of a new series on Julia’s website – this was 20mins of total core focused work on the mat. Very tough.

In the evening I did the hip yin yoga sequence in front of the TV. My hips are really tight and many of the moves weren’t at all pleasant but I could feel them doing me good if that makes sense?

Friday – Julia Buckley workout – Pheonix #1

Another new series that Julia has just launched – this one focusing on the upper body with pull up and chin up training integrated. I worked on single negative reps today – moving through the down motion of the pull or chin up for as long as possible.

I also went back to see my osteopath as my knee isn’t completely back to normal. He’s now referred me for a scan and I have an appointment with my Dr next week so hopefully can get it sorted relatively quickly. My knee just isn’t going back to normal and although it’s better than it was it’s not healed and it’s been 6 weeks now. Best to get it scanned and find out what the underlying cause is.

For now I’m going to avoid the very heavy loaded carries like yoke and farmers walk. I can concentrate on deadlifts and overhead work for a bit until I know what’s going on.

Saturday – Strongwoman training

While other people in the group practised the yoke, I did some overhead work. And when I say some I mean quite a lot. Here’s how it went.

Single arm Kettlebell press (20kg target) – warmed up at 12kg and then worked up to 20kg on the R. Stuck at 18kg on the left

Log press (55kg target) – warmed up with the log then worked up to 1 rep at a new PB of 45kg

Keg press (45kg target) – started with 10kg, then 20kg then 30kg. Couldn’t quite master the 40kg – kept getting stuck at my boobs!

Single arm dumbbell press (30kg target) – got to 20kg, can’t quite get the 22kg yet

Axle (45kg target) – difficult technique – did 27kg no problems, but really struggled with 37kg – I need to practice the technique some more.

Then I put it all together and did a medley – 20kg kettlebell, 35kg log, 30kg keg, 20kg dumbbell, 27kg axle

After about 45minutes of overhead work I went outside to do seated tyre pulls. This involves sitting on the floor with your legs pressed against a plank of wood for resistance and pulling a tyre along with a rope. It’s tough! I did four pulls at 55kg, 65kg, 67.5kg and 70kg –my lats were on fire!

Then it was back inside in the warm for keg loads – by this time I was exhausted. I got twice through loading the 20kg, 30kg, 40kg and 50kg kegs. I tried the 65kg but I just couldn’t get it off the floor –I was totally done in by this point and felt weak as a kitten. I guess not too surprising since I’d been training for nearly 2 hours at this point!

That afternoon after a lovely healthy refuel meal at Itsu I did the yin yoga hip routine again.

Sunday – slightly random session in the gym

For some reason I thought that I’d be able to do another big strength session today, but having woken up with DOMS pretty much everywhere I took myself to the gym to get warmed up and to see what felt good.

In the end I did a bit of a random session consisting of some shoulder strength work, a bit of time on the cross trainer, some TRX rows and Romanian deadlifts and some push presses.

Overall this week has been a bit of a reality check for some of the weights I need to lift and the techniques I need to learn and practice. On the upside though I got a new deadlift and log press PB and have tried out a couple of lifts that were brand new to me. It’s all progress.

I also got a shiny new pair of Converse for training – they are perfect for lifting as they have a flat sole and also have good grip for carries. They’re also quite pretty and were a massive bargain in the sales!