Finnegan's Wake

[finnegan]

Well, I figured I'd better start one of these if I'm going to be posting in this forum.
History of training:
Normal, sporadic lifting for a big kid. I always had a good amount of natural strength, but I was always grossly obese.

Started blacksmithing at age 17. Smithing gave me a lot of solid, functional muscle in the upper body. I still ate like shit, though. Around this age, I also started to do SCA (medieval reenactment) style combat.

Three years ago, I moved from my hometown to the Louisville area. This was a big change from the small town I grew up in. I started attending various events, and noticed that the same firetenders where at these events. Eventually, us fireworshippers got together, and I started to help them out. Talk about training! Dragging 400 lb logs through the woods using a rope, then standing that son of a bitch up in the middle of bonfire will get you strong in no time.

I lost a lot of weight using crappy diets and the Bas Rutten MMA Workout. Atkin's cost me about 70 lbs on my bench. I worked my way back up and beyond, and am on a healthy diet (5-6 meals a day, lots of protein, yada yada). Total, I've lost 60lbs to get to my current weight at 235 lbs. I train in submission grappling twice a week and try to get at least two heavybag/ focus mits days in as well.

I began seriously lifting heavy just recently; about 6 months ago or so. My lifting before was for muscle endurance and weight loss, with sporadic heavy cycles. I started with bench, and got it up to 315 for 1RM max as of today. Three weeks ago, I added deadlifts to my schedule. I've yet to seriously squat anything, as I work out mostly at home. I only have one good spotter, and would like at least two. Still, I plan on making most of what I need. I am a blacksmith, after all.

On to the stats:
Personal:
Male
25 years old
6'1
235 lbs (approx 11% bodyfat if anyone gives a shit)

Lifts:
Bench Press: 315 x 1, 300x3
Deadlift: 415 (as of tonight!) x2
OP: (just began tonight) 145 x 5
hammer curls: 70x 1, 55x 5

*Updated Lifts 7/3/07*
Bench Press 315 x 1, 300 x 5
Deadlift: 500 x 1
Push Press: 185 x 1
Zercher Deadlift: 400 x 1
Hack Squat: 405 x 3
Zercher Squat: 245 x 20, 325 x 5

Updated 9/ 23/ 07
Bench Press 315 x 1, 300 x 5
Deadlift: 525 x 1 strapped, 495 chalked
Push Press: 205 x 1
Zercher Deadlift: 400 x 1
Hack Squat: 425 x 5
Zercher Squat: 245 x 20, 425 x 1

*updated 11/9/07
Deadlift: 535 x 1, 495 x 5 chalked
Bench Press: 315 x 1, 300 x 5
Push Press: 205 x 1
Zercher Deadlift: 405 x 1
Zercher Squat: 455 x 1
BOR: 275 x 1
Dynamic Row: 275 x 5

*Updated 11/27/07
Deadlift: 550 chalked, 495 raw
Bench: same
Push Press: same
ZDL: same
Z-Squat: same
Dynamic Row: same
Squat: 405 raw

Updated: 1/1/2008
Deadlift: 600 x 1 chalked
Bench: same
Push Press: same
Z-Dead: same
Z squat: same
BOR: same
Dynamic Row: same

S&P Strength Training for MMA thread: http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=567490

 

[finnegan]

Tonight:
One hour, submission grappling. Got armbarred pretty hard. Decided to use an elbow brace for lifting afterwards.

Deadlift: 415lbs x1, 415 x2, 350 (4 sets x 5 reps)
OP: 145lbs (4 sets x 5 reps)
Bendover rows (dumbells) 65 lbs (4 sets x 5 reps)

Light night tonight. I usually do more, but I was stupid and did grappling before lifting.

 

[Henry Swanson]

Awesome. Been waiting for this one.

 

[dexter c]

Deadlift: 415lbs x1, 415 x2,

Is that 3 PR deadlifts after getting armbarred pretty hard?

 

[w0cyru01]

Where do you lift at in Louisville?

 

[fat_wilhelm]

I'll be following along. Nice lifting.

 

[finnegan]

Is that 3 PR deadlifts after getting armbarred pretty hard?

Yeah. To clarify it a bit, I am no stranger to heavy lifting, but most it comes in the form of logs.
I just recently started doing DLs, so I'm still working up to my max. I am going for 425 next time.
Most of my back strength comes from firetending. In general, we try to have a 5-8 ft tall chimney log or just a big damn stump as a center piece for the fire, and it usually falls on me to stand it up while the other people move the other logs out of the way or guide it in.

 

[finnegan]

Rest today, but I feel compelled to post that my St. Wilhelm's shirt arrived.
Weather (and my ability to secure a good digicam) permitting, I'll be posting my "Feat of Strength" this weekend or shortly thereafter.
Feat of Strength thread: http://www.sherdog.net/forums/showthread.php?t=536651

 

[finnegan]

Where do you lift at in Louisville?

I'm in Jeffersonville, across the river in Indiana. I lift at home, which greatly limits my options. I've got 600 lbs of Olympic weights at my disposal though.

 

[oyaji poi]

what's "firetending"?

make yourself a badass lifting cage, take pics and post them up in here. bacon made one the girly way, with a "welding torch". psshhh

 

[Numpty]

Interesting life you've had. Good lifts!

 

[finnegan]

what's "firetending"?

make yourself a badass lifting cage, take pics and post them up in here. bacon made one the girly way, with a "welding torch". psshhh

Firetending involves building and stabilizing a bonfire. Many outdoor events or parties want to have a bonfire, but they don't have anyone who actually knows what the hell they are doing with one. As a firetender at one of these events, I haul wood, build the fire, feed the fire, and keep everyone safe (from both the fire and themselves, depending on the situation).

Biggest burn I've ever done: 10 foot oak chimney log as the centerpiece. (I am not pictured)

Me and another firetender staring at a big log deep in the woods, trying to figure out how to get the son of a bitch back to the tractor.

 

[Bamaispriceless]

Awesome log man, I'll keep up with this one.

 

[finnegan]

Bas Rutten's Thai Boxing 3 minute rounds tonight.

Got my chiropractor friend out to the "gym" after showing him some Saint Wilhelm's footage (it'll be his digicam I'll be using for the forging. He's a smith as well) I put him through my routine.
He did okay. He pulled 195 lbs (5x5) DL @ 135 lbs bodyweight, and did 100 lbs squats for 10 reps.

He is already thinking about what his "Feat of Strength" will be.

 

[finnegan]

Bench Press
225 x 5, 1 set warmup
300 x 3, 3 sets
Isometric pushup :
45 seconds each position w/ one minute rest
OP
135 x 5, 5 sets
Hammer Curls
60 x 5, 5 sets
Squats (the ones where you cross your arms in front to hold the bar. Can't remember real name. More about that in a minute..
225 x 5, 5 sets
Saxon Side Bends
25 db x 15, 3 sets each way (my heart is full of hate for these)
leg raise crunches
15 for 3 sets


Now then, onto the questions. As I've stated, I don't have two spotters. I put the barbell racks on the top position, straddled the bench, and crossed my arms so that the bar sat in the crook of my elbows. I squatted until my ass hit the bench, then went back up. My thoughts were that if I had to dump it, I'd still have some control over it with this lift and not have cast iron weights hitting concrete. I know its not as deep as I should be going, but its better than nothing, right?

 

[Barut]

Awesome log man. I'll be back in Lexington in May. We'll have to get together and beat the hell out of some people and incinerate their corpses.

Personally, I think you'd better off cleaning and front squatting until you can build your own rack.

 

[finnegan]

Just finished my St. Wilhelm's Feat of Strength. I did pretty good. In the first video, I folded the tool steel bar in one heat. It took me about 20 hits to hold it over, and a few to close it up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2GXxLayLpw
In the second video, I flatten a railroad spike in one heat to show the contrast in how much force I was using just to fold the tool steel over.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jQfPImOjL0

 

[Lusst]

This log should be good...

/subscribe

 

[finnegan]

Conditioning day.

I did 20 minutes of the Bas Rutten All Around Workout (up to the point where he says "Don't stop. In about 9 minutes you can stop. Make that 8 minutes. You're lucky.")

Rested for about two minutes, then did five 3 minute rounds of the Thai Boxing CD.

Total time: approx 45 minutes.

My goal for this one was to really pay attention to when my striking form breaks down. I'm kind of on a Bell curve with technique. When I'm too fresh, I overextend/ overpower my punches. When I'm too tired, I turn into a Toughman puncher. My form broke in round three (stopped rotating my body, arm punches, etc)

This is the basic scheme I'll be using for a couple of months on heavy conditioning days. My goal is to push back the breakdown in form to at least round 5. For each round I go without my form totally turning to dogshit, I'll add another round to the end of the workout.

 

[finnegan]

Tested out a few lifts tonight for my workout tomorrow.

Hack Squat:
225 x 1
305 x 1
330 x 1
350 x 1
One Arm Dumbell Snatch
65 x 1
One Arm Barbell Snatch
75 x 1

Impressions: The Hack Squat with the Zercher Squat will probably be my go-to moves. On the Hack, I wasn't really straining too much at 350, so I'll go heavier tomorrow during my session (probably 375 x 5, as this sounds about right for the resistance I felt)

The Dumbell and Barbell Snatches were both done w/ left arm. The barbell snatch felt wrong as hell. I'll definitely want to practice this at lower weights until I get the motion down. The Dumbell snatch, on the other hand, was smooth and nice. I'll alternate between the two. I'll stick with 65 x 5 for now until I can better gauge this lift.