I'm going to be honest, this past 4 to 6 weeks, my mind has been on anything but training. Life took over and prioritising that has been the main focus. However I have not missed a training session despite it.
Now this isn't me bragging about how great I am at multi tasking, managing my time and my ability to be consistent and making sure I get the sessions in anyway. This thought is leading to something else. And consistency is the driver, but not as you may think.
What has allowed me to continue being consistent through a stressful time in my life, a time that will most likely continue being stressful for some period isn't my ability to time manage, it's not my ability to multi task and it's certainly not my ability to be emotionally dead inside and plow through regardless.
It is my ability to be consistent and lean on the habits i've already created, but more specifically my ability to say no to the things that might destroy my consistency, rather than just 'being consistent'.
Thats just a little food for thought and there's more on that in this months email that will go out on the 1st May.
You can sign up for that here if you like: https://www.savagestrengthcoaching.co.uk/mailing-list-sign-up
But right now I'm going to talk less about me and more about the guys I coach and what they've been doing!
Lets start with Joe, the Joe that Marie sometimes mistakes for George F... There's a full back story to this but you'll have to join my team to get it. Anyway, Joe has been making big steps in the Wrapped Squat taking 230kg x5 in his first session in wraps and building that to 250kg x5 over the course of 3 session. The original goal was 240kg to 245kg and to take his best triple in sleeves for a set of 5 and we surpassed that. It'll be exciting to see where we go with this and how I develop as someone who can wrap a knee for squats.
New Skills
Before Joe, I'd never wrapped a knee, but as a coach you should always be willing to learn new skills and add strings to your bow. Joe is already a great squatter, squatting 265kg in sleeves. He's also a willing participant, not only in his own endeavour in wraps, but also in my development (and he's very patient when I get the wrap wrong from time to time). For me, it's important to always be looking to acquire new skills, whether you're a coach or an athlete and me and Joe are developing together on this and thats an exciting thing as a coach.
We have one PB for Taj this month in the C&J at 65kg for a new 1RM. Taj has struggled in the Snatch recently, but this confirms that we're still moving in the right direction. You don't hit a PB C&J if you're not getting stronger or better in some way, so while he may be struggling in the Snatch right now, we can rest assured that, if we continue to work hard, it will turn round. Weightlifting can be an odd and frustrating sport at times.
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We recently change the way we approach James training and it feels like it's working a treat with PBs in the Axle Split Jerk of 125kg, Deadlift of 220kg x2, BTN Snatch Grip Press of 95kg x5 and 100kg x3, Snatch Grip Stiff Leg Deadlift of 155kg x3, Snatch + TAG Snatch at 58kg x2, BTN Jerk of 110kg x3 (He would say 4, but I'm not giving it) and the all important Circus DB at 64kg x1 and then 64kg x2.
Changing the approach
Now, when I say we changed our approach, that doesn't mean I've completely changed and overhauled how I program, thats still me. It still has my style and most importantly, it works, that doesn't mean it's perfect for everyone though.
James needed a little more freedom to make some of his own decisions on load. Make it his choice to go up or to stay at the prescribed weights and making these changes isn't based on anything physiological, because my programming style and preferences certainly illicit a physiological response already, if they didn't this blog wouldn't exist.
To put it short, the altered approach just fits his personality better and If I can bend my programming to fit his personality better, thats inevitably more progress down the road as there's been research that shows that buy in to a trainign style or program can have more of an effect on progress than the minutiae of the set and rep schemes selected.
As I say, the changes I make to my style are specifically for James and when I write his program and i'll not go into the details because that might take a while, but in essence it's 5% here, an extra set there, volume matching a different rep scheme that works better for him and deciding where to give him more freedom... Nothing complex.
Thats the beauty of personalised training programs and giving a coach the time they need to work things out.
Big Jo has had a great training cycle so far and at the point of writing this, he's gunning for a new 1RM Axle Clean & Press in hopefully about 6 hours time. But thats not the only thing he's made progress on, he's hit a PB Good Morning at 150kg x8 and PB Farmers Walk at 130kg x30m (10m x3) in 26 seconds. He's also hit a new 1RM Monster DB at 72kg which fed into him hitting, like James, a 64kg Circus DB first for 1 Rep and then for a double.
Circus DB
The Circus DB is a big part of the training a lot of the Strongmen I coach have at the minute. It's in UKNS UK Finals for reps and I have 4 people competing, James and Jo are two of them. I'm not going to write an intricate technique guide on the thing, but here's some 3 key points for technique and a couple of assistance movements you can use.
Key Points:
Shift the hips so the centre of the Dumbbell is over your centre of mass
Move the elbow under the Dumbbell in the rack position
Stare that fucker down! Don't take your eyes off it once it's on the shoulder and in the rack.
Favourite Assistance:
BTN Snatch Grip Push Press - Builds leg drive in the dip
DB Windmill - Builds trunk strength, shoulder stability and confidence in the receive position
Brace Press - Builds raw, unilateral shoulder strength
Marie has had a stressful old time recently, but that hasn't stopped her making progress in preparation for two competitions in May. Marie has hit PBs in the Muscle snatch of 36kg, Low Hang Power Clean + Tall Clean Jerk at 47kg and then taking it up to 50kg shortly after, TAG Snatch at 46kg x2 (which is +4kg on where we started) and then taking it higher a couple of weeks later to 47kg x2, Clean + FS + Jerk at 58kg x1 beating her all time max for this which was 52kg, Muscle Snatch + Hang Muscle Snatch + Hang Snatch of 35kg. All this while losing weight and being 10kg lighter than when she started being coached!
Bodyweight and lifting
A quick one here and it's not what you think. It's important to understand what losing or gaining weight will do to your training. A couple of kilos here and there won't change things, but if like Marie you're embarking on longer term weightloss that amounts to more than a couple of kilos, it's important to keep things in perspective. One of the things I discussed with Marie earlier this week was that it's been a while since a PB in the classic Snatch, Clean & Jerk and Squat, but Marie being the type of person who has her head screwed on, pointed out herself that all of her all time PBs in those movements were done at a bodyweight that was 10kg heavier and that in training we're generally only a couple of kilos off those all time PBs in the Snatch and C&J. And while we've not hit that elusive 100kg Squat yet, we have added a kilo or two while losing weight.
The same goes for gaining weight, a conversation I recently had with Sam was that his rep performance isn't increasing in his Dips & Pullups and hovering around the 5 to 8 mark. I pointed out that we've been actively trying to gain weight and that he is heavier now. If rep performance in those movements is maintaining, that is the definition of getting stronger as he's shifting more weight per rep.
Progress comes in many forms, not just weight on the bar or extra reps and because of that, the details matter as it can define how you perceive things and then your attitude towards them.
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Little Jo has had an amazing month hitting All time PBs in the Deadlift of 73kg & 75kg, Bench Press of 46kg x3 & 49.5kg x1, Squat of 62kg x3 & Seated OHP of 31.5kg x1 & 32kg x1. Jo's done all this while losing around 6kg (over 10% of her bodyweight) in the process.
Jo is one of the few clients that I have that doesn't compete in a strength sport and her goal is to be jacked and strong. This makes her program really fun to write as there are no constraints in terms of movements that have to be performed in competition.
While we were disappointed not to take home all timePBs in the Squat and Bench, Liam P performed brilliantly at the ABPU Newcastle qualifier taking home 1st in the U100 Raw category and hitting a 7.5kg Deadlift PB at 240kg.
Lifting with injury
In the run up to this competition Liam had issues with both his bicep and hip which limited our progress in the Squat and Bench Press, and while we didn't take home any all time PBs, we were still within touching distance of them (within 5kg on the Squat and 2.5kg on the Bench) which is promising. But what is most promising is Liams mindset change towards having niggles, injuries and limitations.
Whether it was basketball or lifting, Liam throughout his athletic career hasn't had much luck when it comes to injury and that physical history can plague people on a psychological level too. When I first started coaching Liam all those years ago, the slightest niggle would become his sole focus, it would be a signal (that in his head) he was injured and often stop him lifting, but over the course of time we've managed to flick a switch and change the story. Yes, Liam still gets niggles (like us all) but it doesn't signal injury to him any more, which allows us effectively train around them while managing his level of discomfort.
Pain doesn't always injury, sometimes it's just something to manage.
Not much to say about Olivia right now except that the collar bone is healed and at the time of writing, she is on the first week of her Strongwoman journey and I think i'm as excited as she is. Not just because I've helped bring the sport to someone else, but quite selfishly to because it's a chance for me to see if I can navigate a womans journey in strongman as well as I can navigate the mens. Olivia started her journey by hitting a new 5RM in the Deadlift of 110kg.
Scott competed at the McGregor Games in April, his second ever strongman competition and first ever stone competition. It was a great learning experience for him and he'll be back.
Wil is flying! 3 full body sessions a week on limited time and he's came away with New 1RMs in the Squat of 165kg, 170kg and 175kg as well as in the Deadlift of 176.5kg, yes, I know thats a weird number. He's also hit new 5RMs in the Reverse lunge of 120kg which is huge as well as 220kg in the hip thrust.
Wil is genuinely the hardest worker in the room and sometimes the skill is in holding him back a little so he leaves something in the tank.Just like with James and the individualisations he gets, thats something that I do specific to Wil, not everyone needs holding back.
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Savage Strength School has been quiet with the easter holidays, but we're back in full swing and expect to see some great things in May!
Our Kids sessions runs two nights per week out of Stag Fitness Strength Centre and it's focus is to introduce kids to lifting in a safe, supportive and educative environment.
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It's getting close to the Nixon Rowell Memorial Cup and Jack is flying on our weightlifting club program! He's hit 3RMs in the Low Hang Snatch at 80kg and Low Hang Clean at 100kg, 2RMs in the Snatch + TAG Snatch at 85kg & C&J (2+1) at 110kg and a 1RM in the Jerk off the blocks at 118kg. Everything is trending nicely in the right direction and he'll be ready for competition on the 26th of May!
Each movement feeds the next
If you know weightlifting, you'll know the similarities and the differences between a Low Hang position and a Touch and Go... It's around about an inch. And while the movements changed, they were similar enough that 3RMs fed into the 2RMs. The low hangs were great to build work capacity and positional strength, the Snatch + TAG Snatch was great for allowing us to go heavier while getting a similar stimulus and more exposure off the floor. It doesn't have to be rocket science, but your movement progressions have to be planned just like your rep, set and volume schemes.
There's no set way to do this, but a useful way I approach things is to ask,
What variation could I use to build strength in the main lift.
I then ask my self, how can I alter that variation to increase work capacity or a quality that feeds into the variation above.
In this case I ended up with:
Phase 1: Low Hang Snatch for tripless (Positional Strength & Work Capacity)
Phase 2: Snatch + TAG Snatch for doubles (More specific that in phase 1, but maintains the qualities trained while allowing higher loads).
Phase 3: Snatch for Singles (We'll look to maintain the qualities trained in phase 1 & 2 while contextualising them into a full Snatch)
Our Weightlifting Club runs multiple nights per week out of Stag Fitness Strength Centre and it's focus is to introduce people to the sport of Olympic Weightlifting while giving them the opportunity to compete if they wish to do that.
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Our Strongman Club has been working hard, and the PBs will come at the end of this training cycle... In 10 days time from the time of writing, so i'll have more to report in May!
Our Strongman Club runs multiple nights a week out of Stag Fitness Strength Centre and has a history of taking people from the level of complete beginner to British Finalist.
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In our Online Weightlifting Team, Karen has had a great month hitting ne 1RMs in the Snatch at 49kg and Clean at 63kg. That 50kg Snatch isn't far away!
Our Online Weightlifting Team follows the British Weightlifting competition calendar with a focus on the bigger national competitions and the regional ones in the North East of England and is perfect for those competing in that area and for those looking for guidance and a periodised and focussed program.
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Our Online Strongman Team is gearing up for UKNS UK Finals where Jonny is in real contention to take the crown of UKs Strongest U105 Natural Man. I'm pretty sure he's hit many PBs this training cycle and i'd love him to send them to me, but the one that I do have is in the Deadlift where he took 260kg x6. Jonny, if you're reading, send me those videos!
Oli is also gearing up for UKNS UK Finals and this time he's coming in without back issues! He also needs to be better at sending PBs across!
Our Online Strongman Team follows the UK Natural Competition Calendar with room to stop off and compete through a few other competitions too. It’s perfect for those competing on the circuit and for beginners who don’t plan to compete yet but want a coaches guidance and a periodised plan.
Want to Join our Online Strongman Team?
Click the link below to book for a free trial.
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Thats it, as usual i've typed for hours so i'll finish this with something short.
All of the PBs in this blog are in some way caused by consistency, but don't think about consistency as plowing through regardless of whats going on, that doesn't work long term. Reframe it and think of consistency as not doing the things that cause inconsistency.
Once you've done that, i'd like you to think of between 1 to 3 things that cause you to be inconsistent when inconsistency arises and how to limit them.
And if you indeed feel compelled to, put them in the comments below this blog.
Until next time
Adam
