Tuesday
Lower

Belt Squat
100x5
200x5
300x5
400x5x2

Deadlift
135x10
225x10
315x5

Reverse Hyper
90x15
180x15
270x15
350x15

Core
Seated Med Ball Toss
15x10x2

Challenge
Max Pullups in 3 min
21 (just absolutely terrible)

Trained at Jesse's, it was a great day, good to see the guys again. I tried to throw the WOB but it killed my neck. It's very frustrating, but I know that I just need to keep taking it easy and letting this heal. The doc said I would be back close to now, but then again, I don't think he understands just how much force this bone has to take. I have taken the McPhearson games off my calendar, no sense pushing it and then being hurt for the offseason. I'll just continue to gradually improve and do what I can. I can throw shot now, so I'll work that a ton and see where it gets me.

Monday
Upper

Bench
135x10
225x5x2
275x5x5
315x1

Pullups
30#x3-5xsome

Dips
BWx10x3

Neck
15x50

Grip
2.5x10

Core
Palloff Press

Friday
Lower

Zurcher Squat
225 x10x5

Short Band DL
225 +average x5x5

Core
Weighted Leg Raise
30x10x3

Grip
COC #2 x10
# 3.5 (Fail)
# 2.5 x10

Challenge
150 KB swings 35#
I made it in 3:39

Great day, Troy and I threw shot at the park before this. I wasn't sure if my neck would take it, but it was no problem. I threw the 12 and had zero pain. I topped at probably 80% power just to be sure that my neck wouldn't be killing me tomorrow. I stepped out my farthest throw and it was around 47 feet. Nothing to get real excited about, except for the fact that I could actually get out and throw with now pain!

Thursday
Upper

Press
45 x50

Up Row
45 x50

Bench/Lat Pull
225 x5 / 200 x5  x10

Core
Palloff press
Physio ball Jacknife
3x10

Challenge
Upper Body Step Ups
10" 50 in 3 min
(Troy absolutely demolished this getting 85 in 3 min, it was awesome)


Good to train with Troy, I'm pleased with the progress of my neck, I am able to do some lifts now that I couldn't have done 2 weeks ago. Granted it isn't much weight, but just to be able to do the movement is encouraging.

Tuesday
lower

Front Squat
135x10x2
225 x5
315 x3

Deadlift
135 x10
225 x5
315 x5
405 x5
500 x1x2

Kettlebell
Power Swing
96 x5x5

Challenge
Jump Rope 500 jumps
5 minutes

Great day, Good to be back at the Steel Jungle, I missed it. Neck is feeling better, still in some pain post workout but it isn't too bad. I am pleased with my pull, 405 felt really light today, but I still can't use any upper back at lockout and I definitely felt it on the 500 pulls. I've decided to do some sort of finisher/challenge after each workout. I'll keep track of these, most often I'll time the entire challenge and then try to beat that time next time I do it. That way if I'm looking for something short to do for extra, I can just check back at my challenges and I'll have an instant workout and time goal.

Monday
Press

Bench
135 x10
225 x10
225 x7
275 x3
295 x3
315 x1

Pullups
Many

Palloff Press
Less than many, but more than a few

Wrist Levering
Who even knows

Neck Rehab
Form Raises, ROM work,

Jump Rope
Fast

Feeling better every day. I haven't tried to throw in a while, but I'm still not going to push it. I was very happy with the bench today. I still can't bench normal and have to hang my head and shoulders off the back of the bench, and that means that I always feel like I'm going to flip off backwards and have to have my feet really far forward to balance out, that means no leg drive, but it is what it is for now.

I'm pretty well sore as shit today...here's why

Tuesday I did this:

Belt Squat
Intervals work:rest 40:20
8 rounds
185 pounds

I never got less than 10 reps in a round, so that is at least 80 reps.

and 8 minutes of squatting




My freaking neck better heal fast because I'm tired of this bullshit.


I benched on Monday, 10 sets of 5 with 225 supersetted with 10 sets of 5 pullups.


Gay as hell

Still getting better.

I can do more and more things now without pain. I still can't hold a shot up next to my neck, but I am able to get my arms completely up overhead (Can't press yet) and have been able to carry a bag over one shoulder. I'm still not going to push throwing, I'll try to catch the tail end of august with some throws before I decide if McPhearson is even in the picture.

Yesterday I trained near Sarah's home in the sandhills at their high school gym. It isn't much, but I was able to deadlift 315 for 2 sets of 5 which I was pretty excited about and then I did some other odds and ends. I supersetted 135 floor press with fat man rows and ended with physio ball knee ins. I know, it's fitness industry stuff, but it's all I can do right now, plus I'm working areas that I need to bring up for throwing.

Today I did some more this and that. I was able to do some KB work with some pain, but nothing too excruciating. I worked intervals today work:rest of 50:10 KB complex, divebomber pushups, core band presses, sledgehammer (gently with obliques this still hurt some), crab walk reaches, and jump rope.

I can feel myself starting to get very frustrated with this and it is very difficult for me to keep telling myself that it's going to take time.

Tuesday
Lower

Jump Rope
300 jumps

Belt Squat
90 x10
135 x10
225 x10
315 x15x3

Deadlift
135 x10x2

Core
Oblique Isos

Grippers


Quads were burning after this. I was happy that I was able to do a little deadlift, even though it wasn't much, it felt good to feel some of those muscles work a bit.

Monday
Press

Circuit

Bench: 135 x10
Lat Pull: Average Band x15
Leg Raise: x15
Bicep Curl: 35x15

Ten times through in 21:30

Not anything crazy, but I took pretty much zero rest between all this. I still can't handle much weight due to my neck, but it is feeling a little better each day. Just have to keep going and cross my fingers I'll be ready for McPhearson. I have some big numbers to hit and that will probably be my last contest of the year.

Saturday
Squat

Belt Squat
Worked up to 405 x5x3

Seated Back Ext
Average band x20

Leg Raise
3 position adduction

Grip
2.5 x10 (PR)


Still working, belt squat is awesome, but I know that I need to work my low back and have found a way that is kind of good. I looped some bands around my shoulders and do sort of a seated good morning. It doesn't put a lot of pressure on my fracture, and isn't too difficult to keep my upper back relaxed while I do it.

Want to close the 3.5....

Thursday
Press

Bench
135x10
225x50 (in the least amount of sets possible)

Lat Pull Down
Average Bands

Planks
3 sets of 30s

Grip
1.5x10x4

The hardest thing about training right now is not flexing my upper back at all. This is a hard thing to do if you have trained yourself for the last 10 years to use lots of upper back for everything. I instantly know if I am contracting too much though, something about the knife-like pain in my neck that is a bit of an indicator.

Tonight, on unsolved mysteries...find out who gives a shit about bigfoot...

It has been a while since I posted. I've been busy. I've had a few highland games contests come and go, and have been progressively getting better. However, recently I've hit quite the roadblock...

This isn't my x-ray, but that's what it would look like.






I was doing the sheaf toss at a games in SD and was throwing for 28 feet. When I dipped down to throw and pulled up I felt a gross crunch in my neck and then it felt like somebody stabbed a knife in it. I couldn't even hold the fork with the bag on it to go for another throw, believe me, I tried. I did, however manage (incredibly) to complete the caber toss after that. I thought that maybe I just torqued a vertebrae and it just needed some time to fix itself, but it didn't get any better and the first 4 days after the contest I couldn't even get my hands high enough to wash my hair. So I went in and this is what we discovered. Apparently when I dipped to pull the bag up for the toss, my traps contracted so hard they snapped my spinous process in half. Awesome! So now, I have to wear a sweet cervical collar which we are promptly going to paint black and put skulls on. I can however train things that don't make my neck hurt, which isn't much since you contract your upper back for pretty much everything awesome in the gym.

I did bench yesterday since I can't do any overhead. I tried to go for 225, but it smashed my neck into the bench, so I decided to do 135 for 100 in as many sets as it took. Halfway through I figured out that if I hang my head and neck off the bench, I can do it relatively pain free, I'll try that next time and see if I can go any heavier that way. I finished my bench and supersetted it with weighted leg raises, grip work, and hammer curls.

Today I hit some belt squat which I can already tell are going to be my savior. Here is a picture of my belt squat setup. The only bad thing is that when you get heavy, and it's a hot day, the tire really sinks in and sometimes it's hard to walk it back to the edge.

I managed to work up to 450 for 2 sets of 5 and then hit 275 for 2 sets of 10.

My plan is to just alternate days of upper and lower, basically whatever I can handle, I'll do. I won't be able to do anything that hurts my neck for the next 4-6 weeks until this fracture heals.






This year has just been the shits for me as far as injuries go, but I'll come back from this one no problem, just a bump in the road on the way to another bridge to cross. I'm looking forward to getting back to the Lincoln-Omaha area and training with the guys (however limited it may be)

I'm still crossing my fingers that I'll be back in time for MacPhearson games. I calculated my scores from my last contest and based on that, if nobody else changes, I should be ranked close to 13th in the amateur class, which isn't bad for my first year of throwing. I know I can improve my throws with more reps and practice, so my goal for next year at this time is to be top 10.

Sorry to everybody who reads this for not posting all summer, but it was nice to just get back to basics and not care about anything but training. I'll post from here out even though it may be dry since I apparently can only do bench and belt squats.

Making cervical collars bad ass since 2011. (Who does that, seriously)

Update. Apparently nobody gives a shit, so...fuck him.