We’re getting close to competition for our BNSF Strongmen and a few of them are flying and hitting rep PBs at exactly the right time, so lets get to it!
Jenesis Isn’t a new athlete to me but she has just moved up to working with me two days a week rather than one while also going on my programming full time. This gives me a lot more control and flexibility to manage her training which is always preferential. Jenesis hit PBs in the Push Press of 42.5kg and Squat of 72.5kg to start off a new training cycle well!
Joe had a great competition at Ashingtons strongest at the start of the month, coming second overall in the Inters class after I pushed him into it from novice on the day. Joe hit PBs in the Deadlift of 260kg for a new 1RM and in the Axle Clean & press of 110kg x5 winning that event. I also think he won the Yoke too. There’s a lesson here… Don’t be scared to step up if you’re capable.
Taj is making good progress in the snatch (I’m not writing the PBs down because it’s basically every session right now) but is also making progress with his strength hitting a new 5RM of 75kg and a new 3RM of 78kg.
Xena has had a great month despite having a family life and dissertation to do on top of it. Showing up and getting started is the most important thing and in a time when it would have been easy to sack of the sessions she came away with this list of PBs by being consistent when stress was high.
Squat - 91kg x1
Squat - 92kg x1
Push Press - 42kg x2
Front Squat - 70kg x1
Snatch Deadlift - 80kg x1
Push Press - 46kg
Xena’s next focus is on competition at the back end of May.
James is competing in BNSF on the 16th of April and has been hitting some big PBs… He’s getting a list too rather than writing about every one of them.
Deadlift - 215kg x5
Front Squat - 140kg x4
Front Squat - 147.5kg x3
Front Squat - 150kg x3
Push Press - 117.5kg x2
Push Press - 120kg x2
Axle Press - 112.5kg x1+2
Push Press - 125kg x1
Would you believe he’s done all this while dropping around 15 to 20kg in Bodyweight to get into the U105kg class! This meant it’s not been straight forward and sometimes energy availability has become a problem in the sessions, but it shows, with the right adjustments based on how you feel that day, you can make big gains in strength while losing a lot of weight.
Little Jo has been making big gains with her pressing and has hit PBs of 26kg on the Seated OHP and a new 2RM on Bench Press of 40kg. Jo trains out of her own garage and it’s definitely the garage of gains right now!
Big Jos been dealing with some shoulder issues, but thats not stopped him focussing on what he can do! Jo has hit PBs in the Deadlift of 235kg x5, 250kg x3 & 255kg x2 while also hitting PBs in the ‘High Bar’ Squat of 182.5kg x3 & 210kg x1. I’ve seen a huge mindset change in Jo this training block and it’s rewarded him.
Liam P is basically hitting PB Front Squats every session the biggest being 110kg x3 (5 Sets), which was actually his 1RM or slightly above it before this session. I love percentage based training, but sometimes you have to ignore solid numbers and go with an estimate while inserting enough flexibility into the program to accommodate for any inaccuracies.
Olivias rugby season is almost over so we’re just about to start getting her prepped for her first weightlifting competition. She’s already hit a PB C&J of 68kg this training cycle and 70kg would be a nice number to hit on comp day.
Wil is almost fully recovered from the knee injury he suffered skiing at christmas so it’s exciting to be able to load him more conventionally on lower body work. In the mean time he’s hit a PB in the Bench Press of 80kg x4. He’s another great example of making progress while training what you can, how you can when dealing with obstructive issues.
Jacks making great progress and has hit PBs in the Pause at Mid Thigh Snatch at 75kg x3, Clean at 100kg x3 and Muscle Snatch at 52kg x3. Jacks goals are to get back to where he was before his year long plus hiatus from weightlifting. That includes a 96kg Snatch. We’ll get there, but the longer you’re out the longer it takes to get back. We’ve got a competition stop off on the 28th of May too so that will be interesting to see what we hit on the day.
Lucy PBs in the Muscle Snatch of 36kg x3 and a big PB in the Clean of 63kg x3 this month. It’s great progress, we still looking to make progress on that jerk though!
George F has had a great month and hit lots of PBs in the deadlift along with a new 3RM in the Axle Push Press. Here’s a list.
Axle Push Press - 115kg x5
Deadlift (Beltless) 275kg x3
DOH Deadlift - 170kg 5x5
Axle Deadlift - 240kg x3
Axle Deadlift - 250kg x3
Axle Push Press - 120kg x3
George is gearing up for the UKNS finals in around 7 or 8 weeks time.
Stephen hit a nice new 3RM in the Push Press of 100kg and is gearing up for Stags Strongest on the 16th of April.
Sean is another BNSF competitor and is starting to hit his groove at the right time. He’s hit PBs in the Axle Push Press of 125kg x3, the 15in Axle Deadlift of 270kg x3 and Yoke Press of 120kg x3.
Mark is gearing up for Edinburghs strongest on the 16th of April… Yea, I know, 3 different competitions going on on the 16th of April… And has hit PBs in the Deadlift at 250kg, Axle Push Press at 90kg x5 and in Log FTOH at 95kg x4.
Lastly we have Jonny who is flying and I believe is genuinely one of the strongest natural U105s in the country. He’s hit PBs in the Axle Push Press of 120kg x5 & 130kg x2 (I think 130kg x2) while also smoking a 15in Axle Deadlift of 285kg x3. Jonnys coming in hot and it will be interesting to see how he fairs in BNSF compared to last year.
Thats it… There was a little running theme of ‘Train what you can, how you can and when you can’ with a couple of people carrying niggles. Thats a lesson to us all though. I would take consistent training over optimum training any day.
To many people stop completely when there’s a road block, but consistency is the best way to progress and often it’s just about getting rid of that all or nothing mentality because if you suffer from that all or nothing mentality it’s the biggest road block to success.
Psst… It’s my own biggest barrier in my own training.
Until next time
Adam
