Strongland

strongland
1. Levantadores – The Basque Strongman
strongman
2. Stoneland
strongland
3. Fullsterkur

Netflix has a 3 part series titled Strongland.  The series provides heritage and origination of stone lifting and competition. I really enjoyed them, and if you have time I recommend watching.  These people have a lot of passion and history.  Some of us wonder where these competitions originated from.  There are a lot of answers on these 3 series.  I myself have never lifted stones.  But I can just imagine the difficulties of doing this.  The Basque cut stones in different shape for gripping. However how about the raw round stones?.  Either way both require raw strength and conditioning!.  Just think about it.  A deadlift, squat, to overhead press, well not completely but still challenging.  So it goes to show you that when we challenge ourselves we can accomplish much!

Power lifting And Olympic Lifting Differences

 

 

Powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting have different lifts as part of their respective competitions

The basic difference is that powerlifting consists of the squat, bench, and deadlift. Olympic weightlifting consists of the snatch, and clean and jerk. Though some powerlifters opt out of wearing Olympic-style weightlifting shoes, most powerlifters do use the Olympic-style weightlifting shoe during competitions. Women compete in both Olympic weightlifting and in powerlifting.

 

 


 Which lifts are used in powerlifting competitions?

Squat, bench, and deadlift

Snatch, clean and jerk are Olympic weightlifting lifts, whereas powerlifters compete in squat, bench, and deadlift.

 

 


When you lie on your back to do the bench press, where should your feet be?

Flat on the ground

Keep your feet flat on the ground to maintain stability on the bench. Having your feet in the air or spread outward can interfere with the exercise, and possibly injure your lower back.

 

 


  How many attempts for each lift individual does a lifter get in a sanctioned competition?

 

3

Lifters get three attempts in each lift. The greatest amount successfully lifted in the deadlift, bench, and squat counts towards the lifter’s total. The total is when the greatest amount lifted in the squat, deadlift, and bench is added together. Should a lifter have three unsuccessful attempts in either the squat, bench, or deadlift, he will be disqualified.

 

 


  When benching for your first time, it is best to lift how much?

 

A very small amount

This is a mistake many people make when trying to lift. It is best to start at a light weight when lifting, then work your way up (especially when you are a lightweight individual).

 


  Powerlifters usually wear special powerlifting gear for meets. What is a powerlifting meet called when lifters do not wear that gear?

 

“Raw” meet

“Raw” powerlifting meets do exist, though it is more common for lifters to wear gear in competitions. This gear usually consists of a squat suit, bench shirt, deadlifting suit or singlet, belt, wrist, and knee wraps.

 

 


  No matter how experienced you are at bench pressing, you should always have someone nearby to act as a what?

 

Spotter

A spotter is someone who may assist when lifting, and also helps ensure that no injuries occur. If you have a home gym, it is advised not to lift alone, as you may get stuck and have no around for assistance.

 

  Why would a powerlifter have baby powder in his bag?

 

For deadlifting

Baby powder is used in the deadlift to help the bar move smoothly up the shins. Chalk is used on the hands to help with gripping the bar, not baby powder. Baby powder would cause a lifter to lose his grip more easily.

 


 When performing the bench press, where should you be looking?

 

Slightly up or Straight ahead

If your head is straight up, you could hit your head on the bar, or injure yourself in some other fashion. Looking to your sides or at the bar can also be hazardous.

 


  How many judges are there judging each lift in a sanctioned competition?

 

3

There are three judges who judge each individual lift. Judges give red lights or flags for unsuccessful attempts, and white for successful attempts.

 

 


  How should your chest be when you are bench pressing?

 

Your chest should be up

Allowing your chest to flatten and your shoulders to go back can damage your shoulders. If your chest was against the bench, you couldn’t bench press anyway. So when benching, always keep your chest up and shoulder forward. This will help you bench more weight, keep good stability on the bench, and decrease chance of injury.

 

Pec Tear Update 2016

Here is an update as years of healing has passed from a severe torn pectoral (Severe pectoral muscle belly)  due to flat bench dumb bell presses.  (March 2011)

As you can see in these pictures I will always carry an indentation of this horrible strain/tear. My pressing moves have diminished due to this , and over the years pressing dumb bells or bench press on flat benches are difficult and awkward. However I did gain back a lot of strength but still lacking about 20% of what I used to press. Incline presses I can still do much better and much more weight. On flat bench the muscle rolls to the middle of my chest and I defiantly feel a degree of weakness as my left side favors such. All my other weight routines have not been affected.

When this happened I went to a Sports Doctor because it is prudent to seek a treatment of this nature in the right field.  I had an MRI done to confirm that it was not a tendon tear. As far as Muscle surgeries, there were none offered that would completely heal me back to normal. So here I am still struggling but accepting that this is a fact and I am still able to lift.  I had researched and found that ART Active Release Therapy was my answer when this happened. But it was not. In fact it did nothing. It probably would if I  had a tendon tear.  However I learned too late that If I went immediately to a good message therapist, He or She could have over time worked the muscle scar tissue out and into workable muscle fibers bringing the muscle back together.  This would have not been a complete healing process.  So in other words skipping the time spent in ART and going to deep muscle massage therapy the outcome would have been better. I did do many sessions of deep muscle therapy in the tear area and it helped tremendously. However my therapist told me that if I had come in shortly after the tear they could have worked the muscle fibers closer to bind and mesh verses  the scar tissue that had built up.

I hope that anyone who has a similar tear gets an MRI and determines the best route to recovery. And  you consider therapy as soon as you can. In fact, let a muscle therapist determine when you should start sessions. It may be too soon on your injury to start. So please get a professional opinion.

Good luck and in healing.

The New Gym Equipment

I was in the new B Fit today, ( Balleys) new spinoff. It is all new with the latest equipment. I will give it an A+ for cleanliness. But the isolation machines are made to hold up a cement truck. Well I should say the movable benches could!! as well. Not to mention they are way too high to be a safe product to get a firm footing for any pressing moves. I do not know why these are made now in this fashion. I was dumb bell pressing and it was very awkward due to the fact I could not place my feet flat on the floor, I am average 5′ 11″. This is dangerous and could result in injury,,back to the weight of the benches they are very heavy, to a point that I do believe some people could not lift one end to roll it to where they need. So WAY over kill on bench make-weight. Cable cross over stanchion was nice the choice of weight to use is by flipping a switch which was hard to decipher which weight you have.  A lot of the handles on the isolation machines were big enough for Andre the giant to wrap his fingers around ,,I could see this a problem for folks with smaller hands. OK  the power rack,,,AHHHH the new power racks! well I can say one thing, They are being built-in a fashion to distract serious lifting,,of course my favorite DEAD LIFTS ( I do All mine in a power rack ) They are now building these with the bottom support cross members high enough that the bar bell hits it before any plate bottom does.. This really is bad and takes away from a good power rack,,where it is a STAPLE in building!!.  So what do they have to supplement this?? An Olympic station which has the fat Olympic rubber plates. So only good for Olympic style lifters. Olympic plates are 45 lbs but about 3 inches wide so you can only get about 3 on each end of a bar bell.  Dumb Bells only to 80 lbs.

B Fit is pretty nice and you can get a good enough workout there. But be aware of these new style machines, you will know my frustrations as well.  Call me old school , because I am. I think the older machines particularly the Hammer Strength are tops.

Generation Iron

 

I am watching Generation Iron movie,,a long awaited sequel to Pumping Iron made in late 70’s . Very well done and narrated by Mickey Rourke. I am contemplating moving to another gym, I find moving to different gyms keeps me motivated and no two are alike. Cutting Edge Fitness has Hammer Strength ,which are well constructed units to isolate while handling heavy weights. Hammer Strength machines are the closest to lifting free weight but in a more controlled and safe manner. Good movie for those that are interested in the Bodybuilding arena.

The power rack

I was sitting on the bench by the power rack looking at it after just finishing my deadlifts in it. I ve been working in it over ten years and it has not changed a bit,,but I have. I built myself in that rack. You can get a lot accomplished there. From squats to deadlifts and bench presses to curls and on and on. There are no limits to the power rack and they are built to hand any amount of weight you can handle.  So I recommend you all to spend more time in a power rack and try it out. 

No more big bench

No more big bench presses for me.  Since my torn pec problem two years ago I have been limited to cables and hammer strength.  But its getting the job done.  I am still seeing a massage therapist which has helped tremendously.  I also turned 47 today and it does make a difference in strength, my size is staying about the same.  I have cut down on the weight in my dead-lifts from 605 for reps to 510 and down to 425 for reps.  Squats I am 525 for reps on the smith machine and 415 for reps in the rack.

The pec tear was a huge offset,(it was a 2 inch tear), but I am grateful for the big dumbbells and bench I got before it happened.  I can do up to 100 lbs dumbbells now, but it is awkward to say the least.  I still have  a small dimpled peck area when flexing but it is usually unnoticeable at a relaxed stance.

The scary thing about these tears are the fact that I never had any indications of it coming on.  I felt strong and normal with good presses, the only thing that I could say is I was using the hand made bar that made the weights wobbly and I think my arm got to much outside of a safe zone of stability.  BUT I have heard of muscle tears regardless of proper form.

I would highly recommend warming up the muscles.  I do cable to pump the blood into the muscles before any free press weights.

Ladies and gentlemen our journey in the iron asylum is a hard goal with years of pain and sweat.  It is all worth it.

I cannot stay away from it, injuries or not.

Just use your brain as the first muscle to flex in judging your progress without going beyond something not rational to safety.

Good luck stay safe.

UPDATE

Hello everyone. It has been some time since I have posted on my Blog. I am sorry for those following my blog on Blogger for I just got done moving it and closing some Google accounts. I hope that you have found the new web address.  The WordPress one has not changed. I am still in the lifting world. Setting no goals, I have just maintained and in some lifts reduced the amount. I will be turning 47 soon. I do not want to tear anymore muscles or get injured in any way. Though my mind loves the heavy lifting, and I continue to lift hardcore I notice my body talking to me to ease off some days .  I am great full for meeting my goals and sometimes exceeding them. My pectoral tear is still healing to some degree. I do notice being a little stronger. It will never be the same as I accept it and happy to still be able to lift. The imprint of the tear is still there and it is still awkward to do bench or dumb bells but I can still do them.

Today was leg day

315X12 warm up Smith machine
415X10
525X10
525X10
Leg press
1200X12
1200X10
1200X9
1200X9
Walking Dumbell Lunges
90X2
85X2
80X2
85X2