Sat, 11 Mar 17
Block 10, Wave 3 - Events @ Brute Strength Gym
Today I left early and headed south for the two and a half hour drive to Norfolk, VA to train at Brute Strength Gym. My next competition will be a Highlander (combo of strongman and highland games) hosted by Brute at the Virginia International Tattoo. No, not the body art. This tattoo refers to the traditional Scottish pipes and drums. I have been training weight over bar here at home and simulating the odd stone press with sandbags and atlas stones, but I am still caber-less due to the fact that when Dave and I tried to procure a tree of appropriate size we waaaay overshot the weight. So after I got down there over and through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and I got warmed up, I donned my kilt and headed outside to throw everything I could get my hands on.
Weight Over Bar
1ea x light over 10'
1ea x light over 12'
2x1ea x light over 14'
1ea x heavy over 10'
4x1ea x heavy over 12'
I thought the heavy weight I used was the 42, but after checking out pics from when I competed in Brute's last Highlander in November, I am pretty sure the heavy weight I was throwing was 56. This makes me think the lighter weight I used was the 42, which is heavier than I thought it was. This is my own fault for not checking with the guys at Brute who train there regularly and also explains why I had more misses than usual with my left arm on the higher bar heights for both the light and the heavy weight.
Caber
4x1xLW caber - 1:00, 1:00, 12:00, 12:00
5x1xHW caber - 9:00, drop, 0º, 0º, 12:30
The first goose egg on the heavy caber was headed for 12:00, but didn't have enough ass behind it. The second was not good. I was getting to the point of being about to make myself stop without a good turn, but thankfully my 5th turn with the heavier caber was solid so that was a good note to end on.
Keg Toss (over 16')
warmups were 1 toss each x 21, 32, 35, and 30 (normal size)
1x21, 1x32, 0x35 - This is the series where I missed with 21 the first time and it came winging right back at me, forcing me to take cover (see first video).
2x{1x21, 1x32, 1x35, 1x30} - The first 3 kegs were half kegs (1/4 kegs) and the last one was a normal size (1/2 keg), making it more awkward even though the weight was lighter.
Odd Stone C&P
warmups were getting the stones out and setup and doing 1 rep with each weight (not in a series)
3x{1x105, 1x130, 1x135, 1x155, 1x170}
I made at least one mistake on each run, but I was getting pretty tired by this point and the clean and press series were still not too bad.
Atlas Stone Shouldering (tackyless)
2x5x225 - Alternating shoulders, I was majorly beat by this point.
Prowler Hi/Lo
7x{50' x prowler + 50 high handles/50' x prowler + 50 low handles}
Indoor prowler skis on rubber flooring brought back flashbacks to conditioning with Steve and Rob and Iron Athletics and getting my ass handed to me with Rob prancing up and down the length of Steve's gym like a gazelle while Steve and I (especially me) tried not to let the prowler get our cookies.
This was a lot more training than normal for me on event day and the conditioning had me contemplating ripping out my lungs and beating my legs with them - so it was joyful and triumphant. I have never had a bad time at Brute Strength Gym and I really needed a strong training day after a whole week of craptastic training in Salisbury. Thanks to Stella and Sophia, Pep, Mr. Valentine, and Marah for all their help, Dave and Liz for keeping Brute going through all the years when strength sports weren't nearly as popular as they are now, and all the amazing guys and girls who train and compete at Brute for helping make it an absolutely outstanding place. Deck out.