STRONGMAN - Tom Mutaffis

[Tom Mutaffis]

7/11/2010
Did some conditioning today...

Bike Ride:
Covered about 10 miles in a little over an hour.

[lilsuperman]

Awesome lifting!

[LuNa]

That front squat was so incredibly impressive. Not just the amount of weight, but especially the form. You are such great inspiration Tom, keep it up!

[Tom Mutaffis]

Awesome lifting!

That front squat was so incredibly impressive. Not just the amount of weight, but especially the form. You are such great inspiration Tom, keep it up!

Thank you.

Hopefully I can have a good showing next week at the contest...

[Tom Mutaffis]

7/14/2010
Trained at Lifestyle Fitness. Saw the Chiropractor this afternoon and the Doctor did some adjustments, I have a couple of things that will need to be corrected but for right now just trying to make sure that I am healthy for CT.

Warmup:
Elliptical for 5 minutes @ level 2

Leg Press:
5 plates/side x 10 x 5 sets - 45 seconds rest between sets.

Leg Curl:
100 lbs x 10 x 5 sets - Short rest periods

Incline Bench Press:
255 lbs x 12 - Testing the shoulder, felt OK.

Finished off with some band work, hypers, and stretching.

[john o]

Wish you well at the contest Tom.

[ZMoberg]

How was CT? Or has that not come yet? You have a really exciting journal to follow because it's different man, your lifts are phenominal and rediculously huge. Keep it up, and gl in your competitions that are ahead!

[Tom Mutaffis]

Thanks John and Zmoberg.

Here is the information for the Connecticut event: http://www.visionstarinc.com/Hartfor...?reloaded=true

I will be flying up there on Thursday and will try to put up a post on some of my preparation before I leave for the contest.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Europa Strongman Battle of Champions Write-Up

My strength levels going into this contest are the best that they have been, though unfortunately my event work has been lacking and so I was not sure how things would go or if I would be able to be in contention.

Thursday afternoon I flew up to Hartford for weigh-in's. My weight was close so I did not eat much throughout the day, ended up coming in at 229 lbs with shorts and a t-shirt on. After that I went out for a big dinner with a few of the other competitors.

When we arrived at the venue for the first day of competition everyone started warming up and we soon realized that the equipment was non-standard. The log was built to different specifications than what most people train with and seemed awkward in the clean position. There was also an event change and the car deadlift was moved to day two and the husafeldt stone carry was on day one now.

Day One:

Log Clean & Press:
The log weight ended up being 280 lbs. My plan was to clean and push press each rep, but I had trouble getting comfortable with the log. The press was not bad but I never felt right in the clean position so I could not get a good rhythm going. A couple of competitors did the viper pres which bypassed the shoulders, had I known that the log would be like this I would have trained that method as well. Ended up with (6) reps which was good for 3rd place.

Husafeldt Stone:
The stone was 307 lbs and we had to pick it from the floor then carry for max distance. I have not touched one of these stones in about three years and really was not sure what to expect. Managed to go just under 220 feet but unfortunately a couple of other competitors went just a few feet farther which pushed me down in the standings, took 7th place on this event and was in 4th overall after day one.

Day Two:

Dumbbell Clean & Press:
These dumbbells were huge 150 lbs circus dumbbells and I really have not trained much with a dumbbell so I was not too confident coming in. Worked up to 135 in practice and did that fairly easily so I figured that I could post a few reps. Ended up hitting 5 reps in 30 seconds but had all sorts of trouble after that. Had a 6th rep at lockout but did not hold it for long enough, this was good for 5th place but unfortunately I knew that there was not much that I could do to win the contest from here.

Car Deadlift:
The car was 500-550 in hand from 15", and we had to pause each rep on the floor then wait for an "up" command. This is usually a good event for me which is why I was hoping that it would be on day one so that I could carry a lead into day two and know what I would have to do on each event. Decided not to use a suit and ended up pulling 22 reps with the 23rd right at lockout as the whistle blew. 1st Place.

Yoke / Frame Medley:
The distance for each implement was dropped to 50' which was good and bad for me since I was feeling pretty good about the yoke but knew that I would have trouble with the frame. I finished the 880 lbs yoke without a drop (PR) and then ran over to the frame. The pick was easy and I went about 30 feet then had a put down. I picked up the frame again and ended up dropping again about three feet from the finish line. We were only allowed two drops so I had to take the measurement which gave me 6th or 7th place.

Stones:
The first two boxes were over 60" then they dropped down to 54" and 46" for the last two, and we had to run about 10 feet between boxes. The stone weights were lowered to 240, 285, 310, 330, and 405. I have not really touched a stone since the AZ Invitational two months ago but usually do well with stones. I loaded the first four stones without much trouble in 25 seconds, but the tacky was not grabbing and I kept slipping on the 405. This was good for 2nd Place.

Ended up finishing in 3rd Overall against the best competitors in the country. I am a little bit disappointed because I feel that I could have done better but this was my first Platinum Plus or National contest since 2008. I am really looking forward to going to the North American Strongman National Championships in November.

Videos:

Car Deadlift - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCaqxFzk8rI

Yoke / Frame - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvRX9A9ihlo

Stones - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVbRe0NwcCU

[Coke]

Ended up finishing in 3rd Overall against the best competitors in the country.

That's an awesome showing in a National contest Tom!!

[nickp8]

Congrats on 3rd place Tom. No doubt you will keep improving. Where is the national championship going to be held?

[Tom Mutaffis]

That's an awesome showing in a National contest Tom!!

Thank you.

Congrats on 3rd place Tom. No doubt you will keep improving. Where is the national championship going to be held?

Nationals this year is going to be in Reno, NV. I will probably fly into Vegas and then drive up so that I can visit my Grandfather again.

There is also a Platinum Plus contest in about two weeks in Dallas that I am looking at. They just need a couple more entries and then this one will offer the Pro Card as well.

[john o]

You'll take what you learned here and tear up Nationals!

[Tom Mutaffis]

Friday 7/30/2010
Did some light training out in the garage, worked up to a semi-heavy push press and then did some light arm/shoulder work for a bit.

Saturday 7/31/2010
Quick conditioning workout; did about 15-20 minutes of cycling and then a few complexes of thick bar DB snatch, SLDL, box jumps, and some band work.

Sunday 8/1/2010
Finally feeling recovered from the contest, trained up at Elite in Huntersville with David Hansen. Morning body weight 233.5 lbs.

One-Arm DB Press:
Worked up to a clean single with the Circus DB, got it on the first try and this is a PR.

Power Clean:
225 lbs x 5
275 lbs x 1
305 lbs x 1
335 lbs x 1
350 lbs x 1 - PR!

Farmers / Drag Medley:
220 lbs / 375 lbs Tire Drag x 60 ft. each
290 lbs / 375 lbs Tire Drag x 60 ft. each - Pretty good speed.

I was very pleased with this workout, took video of the power clean and should have that posted this week.

[nickp8]

That's a big clean Tom. Nice work.

[Tom Mutaffis]

That's a big clean Tom. Nice work.

Thanks Nick, 350 is the same weight that I injured my wrist on a couple of months ago so I was happy to nail it this time.

[john o]

I guess you are recovered LOL. Great job Tom! Way to work on the circus DB to improve there also.

[Tom Mutaffis]

8/3/2010
Rode my bicycle down to the gym at my complex to do some cardio.

Elliptical:
17 minutes @ Level 3

Lat Pulldown:
70 lbs x 25 reps x 2 sets

Low Pulley Row:
70 lbs x 50 total reps, minimal rest.

Finished off with some quick stretching.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Here are a couple of photos from the Connecticut contest.

[Tom Mutaffis]

8/6/2010
Trained up at Elite in Huntersville; bodyweight was around 232 lbs.

Circus Dumbbell:
160 lbs x 1
160 lbs x 4 - PR. Went up smoothly, finally got the hang of the DB.

Incline Barbell Press:
205 lbs x 5 x 2 sets
245 lbs x 5
300 lbs x 9 - PR!

Pushdowns:
30 lbs x 20 reps x 2 sets
45 lbs x 50 reps

Good quick workout, here is a video of the dumbbell and incline:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7iQhFYg5ws

[Tom Mutaffis]

8/8/2010
Quick conditioning workout.

Power Snatch (Off Boxes) / Rolling Thunder Farmers Hold:
135 lbs x 3 / 110 lbs per hand x 20 seconds
185 lbs x 1 / 110 lbs per hand x 20 seconds
205 lbs x 1 / 110 lbs per hand x 20 seconds

Tire Sled Drag:
375 lbs Tire x 50 feet x 5 sets

Leg Press:
3 plates / side x 35 reps
5 plates / side x 25 reps

[john o]

Serious lifting with the Circus DB and incline the other day!

[lilsuperman]

Great showing at the meet, Tom! Killer work on the deadlift and STONES!!!!

Nice power clean!

[Tom Mutaffis]

Serious lifting with the Circus DB and incline the other day!

Great showing at the meet, Tom! Killer work on the deadlift and STONES!!!!

Nice power clean!

Thank you, I should have the video of the power clean posted soon.

[Tom Mutaffis]

8/11/2010
Update for the Dallas Southwest Strongman contest, I woke up at 230 lbs even this morning so am right on track in terms of making weight. Will be flying out tomorrow night and I arrive in Dallas late in the evening; the contest will be on Friday and Saturday with two events on the first day and four on the second.

Overall I am feeling pretty good and am looking forward to the contest.