STRONGMAN - Tom Mutaffis

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/3/2010
Trained out in the garage, bodyweight is in the low 220's but I plan on eating more this week.

Barbell Strict Press:
210 lbs x 5 x 3 sets

Close Grip Bench / Plyo Box Jump Pushups:
255 lbs x 5 / BW x 5
255 lbs x 5 / BW x 5

Loadable Dumbbell C&P:
170 lbs x 1 - PR, will do this for reps next time.

Side Raises:
15 lbs x 10 x 5 sets

[Mark!]

Good stuff Tom.

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/5/2010
Trying to increase frequency, decided to wake up early and do some front squats before work.

Front Squats:
225 lbs x 5 x 2 sets
275 lbs x 3 x 2 sets
350 lbs x 3

The next time that I work out in the morning I need to eat/drink something and make sure to bring a water bottle down to the garage with me.

My plan is to train again after work this evening.

[Off Road]

jumping back in with both feet...good to see.

[Geometheus]

2 a days..... dang.... well good luck and I look fwd to reading about how it goes

[Coke]

Sounds like an excellent plan, would be great seeing you do some before & after work efforts Tom.

[Tom Mutaffis]

jumping back in with both feet...good to see.

2 a days..... dang.... well good luck and I look fwd to reading about how it goes

Sounds like an excellent plan, would be great seeing you do some before & after work efforts Tom.

Thank you, I decided to hold off yesterday on the late workout but today will definitely be a double session.

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/6/2010
Quick workout this morning, planning on doing some pulling tonight.

Medium Grip Chins:
BW x 5 x 10 sets

These felt better than they have in a while.

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/7/2010
Trained out in the garage. I have not deadlifted in a while and want to start working them back in, decided to do some deficit pulls. Body weight is in the low 220's.

5" Deficit Deadlift:
405 lbs x 2
475 lbs x 1
550 lbs x 1 - No straps, just belt.

Muscle Snatch:
185 lbs x 2
210 lbs x 1

Pretty good workout, strength is coming back. My next investment for the home gym is going to be a new barbell.

[Off Road]

What is a Muscle Snatch? Sounds like a scary date

[Tom Mutaffis]

What is a Muscle Snatch? Sounds like a scary date

Haha... It is basically a power snatch with bad form, where you 'muscle' the weight.

[JSully]

Haha... It is basically a power snatch with bad form, where you 'muscle' the weight.

i'm very familiar with these, i've got a 225lb muscle snatch on my facebook, lol..

thanks for the good wishes buddy..

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/9/2010
Trained out in the garage, quick pressing workout.

Standing Barbell Strict Press:
225 lbs x 3
235 lbs x 3
245 lbs x 3

Incline Barbell Press:
275 lbs x 5 x 3 sets

Shoulder Circuit:
Band Upright Row / DB Military Press / Side Raises x 3 rounds

[Coke]

Superior pressing sets dude.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Superior pressing sets dude.

Thank you, it is a good increase over last week but still need to keep pushing.

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/10/2010
Time to start doing some conditioning...

Bike Ride:
20 minutes, all hills.

[john o]

Things are moving in the right direction in here.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Brute Strength Gym Charity Strongman Contest – Write Up

One of the trainers from Brute Strength contacted me about a charity event that they were planning at Brute Strength. It is a great gym and a great cause so I was definitely on board, although unfortunately I have not really trained much over the past two months. My partner was HW Mark Kimener and he is very well rounded so we figured that we should be able to get through most of the events without too much trouble.

Woke up early on Saturday for the five hour trip to Virginia Beach, it was smooth sailing until the tunnel into Norfolk was blocked – but we found a detour and made it there just a few minutes late. Now on to the contest…


860 lbs Yoke / 650 lbs Frame Medley – 80 feet each
Since my grip is not my strongpoint I decided to go with the yoke and my partner would handle the frame. I haven’t touched a heavy yoke in a while but this apparatus was very solid and after a short run with 590 lbs I felt good about being able to finish the course. I picked up the yoke and moved with a decent pace until around 60 feet when I had a put down. Quickly regrouped and had another drop just shy of the finish line. Our total time for the event was just under one minute which was good for 3rd place.

180 lbs Monsterbell Clean & Press
My objective here was just to get one rep since it would be a PR and I have never attempted a dumbbell this large/heavy. My partner has a strong press so he started off but he had trouble with the lockout on the first couple of attempts. I stepped in and managed to fire it up on my first try! I went for a second but the dumbbell slipped and so my partner came back in and this time he nailed an easy rep. He went for another but wasn’t able to control the lockout. We switched again and I knocked out another single to put us in a 3-way tie with the other two teams who had gone previously. My partner stepped up and drilled a 4th rep to give us the lead right before time expired. We finished in 2nd on this event.

Tire / Power Stairs Medley
We had a tall 700 lbs tire for 80 feet and then three power stair implements including a 260 lbs keg, 300 lbs power handle, and 400 lbs power handle. Because of my height (lack thereof) we decided that I would take the second half of the tire flip course and then I would load the keg on the power stairs, this also allowed for us to alternate. We went through everything with a good pace but the time was only fast enough for 3rd place.

Car Deadlift
This car deadlift was a low/wide pick and we were very close to the car so the weight in hand was probably around 600 lbs. I usually do well with this event so I lead off and hammered out 11 reps before taking a break while my partner took over. He got in a good rhythm and had us up to 20 reps before stepping out to take a breather. I pulled another 5 reps and then ran out of steam, so my partner stepped in and pulled one more rep before time expired. This gave us 26 total reps and 3rd place overall.

Atlas Stones
This was a 10 stone series with six stones over 350 lbs! Our plan was to alternate doing two stones each on the lighter ones and then have my partner take care of the huge stones at the end of the series. I quickly loaded the first two and he took care of the next two. My tacky slipped on the 357 stone but I was able to load it to the platform. After that I had nothing left but my partner stepped up and loaded the last five stones (371-440 lbs) all by himself! This gave us first place in the stones and secured 3rd place overall.

This was a really fun day and I believe that we raised about $500 for the charity. If anyone has a chance to visit Brute Strength Gym I definitely recommend going there! They have the best collection of strongman, powerlifting, and Olympic lifting equipment that I have seen anywhere; plus they put on top notch events.


Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWw_xpOSrMM

Here are a few photos from the contest...

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/20/2010
I just purchased a stereo for my garage gym and was excited to try it out. Bodyweight has been right around 220 lbs.

Barbell Strict Press:
225 lbs x 5

BB Strict Press / DB Flyes:
205 lbs x 3 / 40's x 8
205 lbs x 3 / 40's x 8
205 lbs x 3 / 40's x 8

BB Shrugs / Pullups / Hammer Curls / Side Raises:
135 lbs x 20 / BW x 5 / 15's x 10 / 15's x 10
135 lbs x 20 / BW x 5 / 15's x 10 / 15's x 10
135 lbs x 20 / BW x 5 / 15's x 10 / 15's x 10
135 lbs x 20 / BW x 5 / 15's x 10 / 15's x 10
135 lbs x 20 / BW x 5 / 15's x 10 / 15's x 10

Right now I am in the process of buying a house and once I close on it I will have a nice two car garage (gym) and fairly long driveway; looking forward to it.

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/23/2010
Trained out in the garage tonight, bodyweight right at 220 lbs.

Deadlift:
535 lbs x 5 - Belt and straps, had more.

Axle Clean:
Worked up to 280 lbs x 1 (ties a PR)

Axle Clean / Pullups:
210 lbs x 5 / BW + 35 lbs x 5
180 lbs x 10 / BW x 10

Axle DB Rows / Pullups:
125 lbs x 5 each arm / BW + 25 lbs x 5

Wide Grip Upright Rows:
170 lbs x 5

Pullups:
BW + 50 lbs x 5
BW x 10

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXq32hnWm-o

I was pleased with this workout. Afterward I was on the computer for a bit and found a concept rower on Craigslist that I plan to purchase today; and then I put together a 3.5" handle loadable dumbbell (will give it a try next week).

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/25/2010
I bought the Concept 2 Rower yesterday and decided that I would try it out this morning.

Concept 2 Rower:
500m @ #5 - 2:18
500m @ #5 - 1:54.9

The rower is deceptively tough! I like it.

[Off Road]

I just read about the strongman event. That is so freaking cool. Why don't we see more team events? That adds a whole new dimension to the sport.

[Tom Mutaffis]

I just read about the strongman event. That is so freaking cool. Why don't we see more team events? That adds a whole new dimension to the sport.

Team events are a fun change of pace but can be tough to organize. From what I have seen the participation is usually a bit lower for team events as well.

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/25/2010
Trained out in the garage tonight, long day at work so I decided to just get in some volume.

Concept Rower:
1000 meters - Finished in 4:12

Incline Bench Press:
185 lbs x 3 x 3 sets
225 lbs x 7 x 5 sets

Standing DB Military Press:
40's x 10 x 4 sets (used Fat Gripz)

That was it for today.

[Tom Mutaffis]

10/26/2010
Quick lower body workout tonight...

Front Squat:
445 lbs x 1 - Belt and sleeves, 2X bodyweight.

Close Stance ATG Squat:
275 lbs x 5 x 3 sets (minimal rest)

Decline Bench Sit-Ups:
BW x 10 x 3 sets