Avast me hearties! My strongman training facility is finally OPEN! 'tis called THE STRONGHOLD and has everything you could possibly want and need to become POWERFUL! That isn't to say you need to be strong and mighty to come along: it's designed to increase your power no matter what point you are...
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Having completed five tough weeks of strongman training, it was finally time to test my progress at England’s Strongest Man Under 80kg Novice competition. A few weeks before, I learned that my Ghost Squad amigo, Hakon Fram Stokka, was flying from Norway to Edinburgh to do a 50+ km Spartan Ultra...
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After all my rambling about strength training, I decided I should put mine to the test. So I signed up for the novice round at England’s Strongest Man Under 80kg. That weight category is very important. I have loved strongman ever since witnessing Magnus Ver Magnusson conquer all mortals in the...
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After feeling like a combination of wrestling and Westside Barbell was going to kill me, I opted for something a bit more focused on my athleticism as well as my strength. The Juggernaut method is a vast and expansive all around athletic development program. It’s based on the idea that strength...
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Coming out of trying 531, I wanted to get back into heavy weight training, so I looked into Westside. The Westside Barbell program was developed by Louie Simmons, and uses Eastern European principles of weightlifting. Unlike most powerlifting programs that focus purely on moving fairly heavy weights...
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My God, 531. I swear I nearly gave up on life itself whilst reading up on 531. The sheer about of “debate” that exists online concerning the program must be crushing to anybody trying to work out whether or not it is for them. Every possible question has been asked and answered, and every answer...
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This was the first proper lifting program I ever adhered to. Why? Because it was simple. Other programs had dozens of variations of exercises and convoluted combinations of sets, reps and percentages of maximums, to the point that I always felt I spent longer reading and planning than training. ...
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After a LOT of consideration, I have decided to try Jim Wendler's 5/3/1 training program. It took a lot of thinking because, after 4-5 months of Faleev's 5x5 training (5 sets of 5: if you succeed, put the weight up 5kg next week), Wendler's approach seems ludicrously light. You see, traditiona...
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QUICK OPENING NOTE: I've been documenting some of this on Instagram at @edgamester, in case you're thinking about trying it out for yourself :) For the last 12 weeks I've been doing a strength-based routine designed by Alexander Faleev. It came to my attention via an article written by former Sov...
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The Good News My powerlifting raining is progressing slowly, but surely. At the end of week eight of dedicated training, my lifts currently stand somewhere around: Squat: 170kg (based on a 7 rep max of 140kg) Bench: 120kg (based on a 4 rep max of 110kg) Deadlift: 215kg (based on a 7 rep max of...
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I've never really been into powerlifting as a sport. It's presented as test of strength, but I've always felt like strength should imply the ability to perform a variety of physical feats - not just three highly practised movements (squat, bench press and deadlift). I mean, if a man can bench pr...
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It's brainless, really. There's a bit of biology, physiology and simple maths, but weight training is pretty straightforward. For me, that's its appeal. The simpler the better, too. Three lifts: deadlift, squat and bench press. Do one of them correctly every day, and you'll get stronger. ...
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Dear friends, Please excuse my recent lack of updates. Since arriving back in the UK in September, my adventuring has stalled somewhat - mainly due to the massive debt I have accumulated. I have sold my car (the infamous 1977 Datsun 260z) to pay off part of it, but still I am deeply in the red. ...
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Alongside the deadlift, there can be no argument that the squat is the King of Exercises (in weight lifting, anyway). Some even rate the squat higher than the deadlift, but that's a matter of much discussion. Simply put, squats rock. They ravage the majority of muscles in your entire body, burn...
Continue reading ...For the last seven weeks, I have been suffering with somethingorotheritis. I picked it up in Cambodia, threw up multiple times every day for a month and have since been incapable of eating anything much without suffering with cramps, sweats and blurred vision beyond about four feet. This ailment ...
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Today, after dropping my brother at Gatwick airport to go adventuring, I had my first ever training session at Monster Gym in Cheshunt. One of my favourite things about Monster Gym is that, alongside its enormous weights room, dedicated cardio area and boxing/MMA gym (including bags, ring and...
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I haven't been here long, but I have come to love exercising and working out in Australia. I find it infinitely more energising than going to the gym in the UK, where even in the summer I have started waddling in stiff and aching from the cold, hunched over and dripping wet, wondering why I even bo...
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Today, I have come to Muscle and Fitenss in Townsville to meet Joel, the mastermind behind Adventurethon. In fact, it was his infectious enthusiasm for the event that got me to upgrade from simply volunteering to help out, to taking part in the Enduro race, being filmed for two TV shows and expan...
Continue reading ...After a day of hiking around Mossman Gorge in the Daintree Rainforest, we have returned to Port Douglas. Here, it is imperative that I perform a feat of strength. For tonight it is the Full Moon. Alas, finding feats of strength in a tourist town like this is not easy. Of hats, there are plent...
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In training for Adventurethon 2013, I decided I needed some help. Some advice. Some (dare I say it) training. You see, no matter what I do to train for my Enduro Adventurethon (14km of open sea kayaking, 21km of mountain biking and 12km of off-road running) I will be totally and utterly unprepare...
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