This time in a fortnight I’ll have taken part in my first ever strongwoman competition. I’ll rest for much of the week before so this was the second to last week of ‘proper’ training for me.
Monday 28th March – gym session
I never deadlift as well on my own as I do when Jess is there so today I decided to concentrate on rack pulls.
Rack pulls – from 60kg up to 2 @ 125kg (a new PB)
Romanian Deadlifts @60kg – 3 sets of 5
Single arm Bent Over Row @18kg 3 sets of 5 each side
Lat pull down @47kg then 52 kg
Tuesday 29th March – PT session
PT session – keg press practice – not really done much of this during training and I’d got a bit concerned as I really struggled with the 40kg keg on the previous Saturday.
I warmed up with neutral grip shoulder presses @7 then 10 then 12.5kg
Then we moved onto the main event, the keg. I’d really struggled the following week and could’t get the 40kg overhead at all. As ever with strongwoman moves it’s about technique as well as strength so after some practice with the 30kg keg I moved onto the 40kg one and low and behold it went up. Multiple times. I’m really quite relieved and pleased!
We finished off with inverted rows and supinated back flyes.
Wednesday 30th March – Julia Buckley Sustain session
One of the things I love about Julia’s online gym is the variety of sessions that are available. Today was a rest day but I really felt the need for some flexibility work so I chose a 25 minute flexibility and mobility session from the Rebellion programme. Perfect for me today.
After a period where the site was closed to new members sign up has now re-opened so you can join up here. At a price of just £16.50 a month it’s fantastic value.
Thursday 31st March – Julia Buckley session
Today I chose a short but tough abs focused session followed by another Sustain stretching and flexibility session. I have a huge bruise on my arm from the keg presses on Tuesday and my right knee is also unhappy, probably because it’s been bashed about quite a lot. This strongwoman stuff definitely isn’t for the dainty!
Friday 1st April – gym session
Overhead barbell press from 20kg to 50kg
Arnold Press @ 2 x 10kg
Single arm dumbbell bent over row @18kg
Bench press from 20kg to 40kg
Overhead tricep press @ 2 x 8kg
Saturday 2nd April – strong woman session
Today we flipped tyres, practiced Viking press and dragged tyres.
I find tyre flipping quite hard so I was glad to be able to flip the 150kg around a fair bit. I didn’t fancy my chances on the Viking press after yesterday’s pressing sessions but I got up to a new PB of 2 in a row with 15kg on each bar.
We finished off the tyre pulls – supposed to simulate a truck pull. We worked up from the empty tyre to 100kg and then decided to have a bit of fun and try pulling each other around. I pulled Becky and the tyre – a combined weight of 127kg for about 5-6 meters. A new PB by a fair distance. I then took my turn to be the human weight while Becky pulled me. I’m quite a bit heavier than Becky so this super human feat saw her pulling nearly twice her own body weight!
Sunday 3rd April – Atlas stones at Commando temple
Today I visited the Commando Temple in Deptford and was taught how to lift the Atlas stones. It was a lot of fun and a very cool gym so I’ll write up a separate post about my experience there.
Two weeks to go!
From Strength to Strength 