Training Shift to Prepare for the Arnold

I haven't talked much about what's been going on in my own training as the realization that I'm actually going to The Arnold sets in. What also sinks in is that I have a huge discrepancy between what I'm good at (plant my feet and pick something up over and over and....) and what I'm bad at (pick something up and move my feet as fast as I can).

Also, I want to concurrently train my ass off and hide under a rock.

Now I'm trying to juggle not letting my Olympic lifts go to shit, while I get better at the strength and speed necessary to be competitive in Strongman. And it's certainly changed my approach to my event days on Sunday.

First thing I have to do is get my upper body stronger. So I've started a real basic linear progression with my strict press. I've learned through powerlifting that I have the bench multiple times a week if I'm going to make any progress on my upper body (Westside did not work so well for me there). So I do a progression where in one week at one weight I'll do 5x3, 4x4, and 3x5. If I make all my reps, I get to go up in weight the next week. I've moved my working weight slowly from 95lbs to a whopping 110 lbs so far.

I haven't talked much about what's been going on in my own training as the realization that I'm actually going to The Arnold sets in. What also sinks in is that I have a huge discrepancy between what I'm good at (plant my feet and pick something up over and over and....) and what I'm bad at (pick something up and move my feet as fast as I can). Also, I want to concurrently train my ass off and hide under a rock. Now I'm trying to juggle not letting my Olympic lifts go to shit, while I get better at the strength and speed necessary to be competitive in Strongman. And it's certainly changed my approach to my event days on Sunday. First thing I have to do is get my upper body stronger. So I've started a real basic linear progression with my strict press. I've learned through powerlifting that I have the bench multiple times a week if I'm going to make any progress on my upper body (Westside did not work so well for me there). So I do a progression where in one week at one weight I'll do 5x3, 4x4, and 3x5. If I make all my reps, I get to go up in weight the next week. I've moved my working weight slowly from 95lbs to a whopping 110 lbs so far. A video posted by Kristin Newman (@strength_geek) on Nov 11, 2014 at 2:28pm PST Yes, I can barely press 110lbs for a set of 5, but I can jerk more than 230lbs. Just add legs. Other than adding strict pressing, I'm doing a lot more deadlifting, mostly adding in the trap bar to practice a more upright position. I think I am more upright with a trap bar deadlift than I am with my squats. Fucking femurs. On event day, I'm being a little more "reckless" with my work. By that I mean, I'm not playing it safe anymore. Like I said, moving events are my worst, and on event day training I would be super careful and mindful about my positions, steps, grip, set up, etc. I wanted to make sure I got everything JUST right. But that also meant that I moved more cautiously and slower than I normally would. So now, I just grab the fucking handles/yoke/keg and take off. As long as the implement is on my body, I'm trying to accelerate. This means I drop stuff more often right now, but I'm getting a much better sense of where that edge is.

I haven't talked much about what's been going on in my own training as the realization that I'm actually going to The Arnold sets in. What also sinks in is that I have a huge discrepancy between what I'm good at (plant my feet and pick something up over and over and....) and what I'm bad at (pick something up and move my feet as fast as I can). Also, I want to concurrently train my ass off and hide under a rock. Now I'm trying to juggle not letting my Olympic lifts go to shit, while I get better at the strength and speed necessary to be competitive in Strongman. And it's certainly changed my approach to my event days on Sunday. First thing I have to do is get my upper body stronger. So I've started a real basic linear progression with my strict press. I've learned through powerlifting that I have the bench multiple times a week if I'm going to make any progress on my upper body (Westside did not work so well for me there). So I do a progression where in one week at one weight I'll do 5x3, 4x4, and 3x5. If I make all my reps, I get to go up in weight the next week. I've moved my working weight slowly from 95lbs to a whopping 110 lbs so far. A video posted by Kristin Newman (@strength_geek) on Nov 11, 2014 at 2:28pm PST Yes, I can barely press 110lbs for a set of 5, but I can jerk more than 230lbs. Just add legs. Other than adding strict pressing, I'm doing a lot more deadlifting, mostly adding in the trap bar to practice a more upright position. I think I am more upright with a trap bar deadlift than I am with my squats. Fucking femurs. On event day, I'm being a little more "reckless" with my work. By that I mean, I'm not playing it safe anymore. Like I said, moving events are my worst, and on event day training I would be super careful and mindful about my positions, steps, grip, set up, etc. I wanted to make sure I got everything JUST right. But that also meant that I moved more cautiously and slower than I normally would. So now, I just grab the fucking handles/yoke/keg and take off. As long as the implement is on my body, I'm trying to accelerate. This means I drop stuff more often right now, but I'm getting a much better sense of where that edge is.

A video posted by Kristin Newman (@strength_geek) on Nov 11, 2014 at 2:28pm PST

Yes, I can barely press 110lbs for a set of 5, but I can jerk more than 230lbs. Just add legs.

Other than adding strict pressing, I'm doing a lot more deadlifting, mostly adding in the trap bar to practice a more upright position. I think I am more upright with a trap bar deadlift than I am with my squats. Fucking femurs.

On event day, I'm being a little more "reckless" with my work. By that I mean, I'm not playing it safe anymore. Like I said, moving events are my worst, and on event day training I would be super careful and mindful about my positions, steps, grip, set up, etc. I wanted to make sure I got everything JUST right. But that also meant that I moved more cautiously and slower than I normally would.

So now, I just grab the fucking handles/yoke/keg and take off. As long as the implement is on my body, I'm trying to accelerate. This means I drop stuff more often right now, but I'm getting a much better sense of where that edge is.

More updates and videos to come as the months progress!