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Spot on gavin.

Ive had a couple days rest to start the program tomorrow fresh and ready.

Unfortunately the only strongman apparatus i have at the moment is a tractor tyre, but ill build up my collection over time =p  I think ill just improvise atm and do things like heavy one arm dumbell shoulder presses and tyre flips/tyre sprints/tyre pull, in 75secs etc ive got my mate to help me weld some farmers walk apparatus aswell and ill just try to get some empty metal kegs from the local pub and fill 'em up with varying amounts of sand and play about with them.

It makes no difference to the rate of gain but remember that there is a lot of technique to using equipment correctly and getting the most out of it. I'd say if your gonna do a mix of PL and SM then just use a belt, maybe knee wraps if you feel the need on some lifts. I certainly would NOT use a bench shirt or squit / DL suit unless you want to compete in PL exclusively and in an equipped fed. The equipment doesn't make you stronger, it just lets you lift bigger weights

One more daft wee question (which i should probably know =p) lifting on my ME days for the main lift (or even dynamic for the main lift) should they be belted and strapped or raw? Ive seen mixed discussions on both lifting with support and lifting raw in terms on strength gains.

If lifting raw means higher strength gains then theres no debating the fact ill lift raw, even if the weight does only creep up slightly every week.

Assistance should be repeated efforts method (train to failure, increase load whenever you can) and rotate the movements when what was your weakness is no longer the weakness. You could set it out as a mini cycle based on %'s or rep ranges for assistance work if you wanted to but I'd just keep it simple.

GPP work just track total volume loosely and try to increase it. I used to tally reps in reverse hypers, metres dragged with the sled and reps in glute ham raises and just make sure the overall number was going up over time. The shoulder health stuff just go by feel and increase load when you can, loads will be very light on this work anyway.

Keep records in your assistance stuff as well...both set / rep stuff and timed sets stuff ie "60Kg DB's x 11 reps in incline press" or "80 reps in 2 minutes with 35Kg DB's lying on a swiss ball" and so on. when you rotatte back to a particular assistance exercise or weakness, even if it is months since you last used it, you should be able to look back and see what the record is. 

Cheers,

G

Should i increase the load on Assistance/GPP/prehab exercises? or does the weight remain the same for a 3 week (or whenever i cease to increase weight on main lift) time period.

[Sample Week:]

2 Max Effort workouts / week.

2 Dynamic effort workouts / week.

Other workouts for general physical preparedness (GPP) and strongman event training performed at different times.

Max effort = working up to 1 or 2 rep max in a lift, plus related assistance wrk.

Dynamic effort lower = 10 sets of 2 in a lower body lift, with 65-85% 1RM, moved as quickly as possible on the concentric.

Dynamic effort upper = 9-12 sets of 3 in an upper body pressing movement, with 50-65% 1RM, moved as quickly as possible.

Rotate ME movements when you fail to set a training maximum, usually about every 3 weeks or so.

Keep DE movement the same for several weeks, but wave the load you use in a microcycle ie

Week 1 upper 50% 1RM, lower 65% 1RM.
Week 2 - upper 55% 1RM, lower 70% 1RM
Week 3 - upper 60% 1RM, ower 75% 1RM
Week 4 - New cycle begins, change movement if you like.

Assistance work on both DE and ME days...2-3 lifts, 2-6 sets each of 3-10+ reps. Chose exercises that work your weaknesses.

Pre-hab work can be done in the same workout if you wish, or separated out.

Strongman events can be rotated in as max effort movements some weeks ie silver dollar deadlift (rack pull) or similar.
Other lighter / longer time frame events should be trained as a group at the weekend.

GPP work can be done as a warmup on DE / ME days or can follow the workout some hours later to aid restoration.


Sample Week:

Day 1 - a.m.

ME Lower.

Max effort movement

Back squat - work up to training max.

Assistance

6 x 3 in the half squat in the rack.
3 x 8 good-mornings with a wide stance, toes forward.
Glute ham raises - 4 x max with bodyweight.

Day 1 P.M.

Lower body GPP and pre-hab

Reverse hypers - 2 x 50 reps, very light
Sled or tyre drags - 4 x 60 metres, light, walking pace, facing forward.
Cable pullthroughs in a sumo stance, feet flared out - 4 x 20 reps
15 mins stretching hips, groin, glutes, hamstrings.
Whirlpool.



Day 2 - a.m.

ME Upper

Max Effort Movement

Close grip bench press - work up to training max.

Assistance

Wide grip bench press  - 3 x 6
Rolling Dumbbell extensions - 4 x 10
DB Rows - 6 x 6 /side.

Day 2 - P.M.

Upper body GPP and pre-hab

Lat Pulldowns - 4 x 12
Shrugs - 4 x 8
Rear delt raises - 3 x 8
Face pulls with a high cable + rope handle or against bands - 4 x 20+
Shoulder External rotation with DB or band - 4 x 12
Cuban press with DB's- 3 x 12

Day 3 - Rest or light GPP

Day 4 - A.M.

DE Lower

DE Movement

Box Squat - 10 x 2 with 65% 1RM (following % cycle outlined above), 45s rest between sets.

Assistance  -Same format as ME day, pick exercises that work your weakness.

PM - Same idea as on ME day - lighter, focusing on blood flow and conditioning rather than heavy loads. Sled drags, light tyre flips, glute ham raises, reverse hypers, lunges etc.


Day 5 a.m.

DE Upper

DE Movement

Bench Press - 9 sets of 3. 3 sets with close grip, 3 sets middle, 3 sets wide. all sets done as fast as possible. 45s between sets. Follow % cycle outlined above.

Assistance - as per ME day, heavy wrk for weaknesses.

PM - again as per other day, lighter, higher rep, lots of shoulder pre-hab work and upper back, especially scap retraction.


Weekend -  day six - Strongman event training - 3 hours or so, moderate efforts, trying to cover all kinds of event types and durations.

Day 7 - off.

SO I am rubbish at updating this! Got a two day split. First session back today after a holiday and it was tough.

Sitting at 148lbs.

Routine is as follows:

Day 1 Lower

Squats
Deads
BB Rows
Ham Curls
Plank
leg raises

Went for 10 to 12 reps and 3 to 4 sets. Greater reps and sets for the compound lifts.

in short... It reduces muscle break down, increases protein synthasis and helps with recovery from exercise.

Sorry for the silly question - but what does HMB do? Haha!

50% off RRP* at EZ-Sports (Stirling branch) £15.00!!!! *whilst stock lasts, limited time only.