STRONGMAN - Tom Mutaffis

[Mark!]

Solid stuff Tom. Freakin motivational.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Nice work mate, are there any rules on clean and jerks with logs or axles? I know that the guy who came second on the log press in WSM used OLY style to get the lifts just wondered if it is generally accepted?

I was under the impression it was 'get it up anyway you can'

solid work as ever Tom.

In strongman you can press/jerk the implement overhead however you would like as long as you finish with your arms locked out and feet parallel.

great work as always Tom

The compilation vid is beast Tom, you do damn good work.

Solid stuff Tom. Freakin motivational.

Thank you.

[Tom Mutaffis]

2/22/2011
Another late night session out in the garage, weight is still in the low 220's.

Sumo Deadlift:
335 lbs x 2 x 2
425 lbs x 1 x 2
515 lbs x 1
600 lbs x 1
665 lbs x 1 - Raw PR.

Pull-Up's:
BW x 5 x 5

Decided to shut it down and get some rest.

[Kiff]

Nice raw Pr!!

[BodyByGamma]

Sick Deadlift pr!

[killxswitch]

Huge pull, Tom. What was your previous best?

[Coke]

Way to rock those sumos bro.

[Geometheus]

Crazy Strong on that Raw Sumo DL !!!!

[GazzyG]

Epic deadlift PR mate, that's huge.

[nickp8]

Nice PR Tom.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Nice raw Pr!!

Sick Deadlift pr!

Huge pull, Tom. What was your previous best?

Way to rock those sumos bro.

Crazy Strong on that Raw Sumo DL !!!!

Epic deadlift PR mate, that's huge.

Nice PR Tom.

Thank you.

I believe that my previous best on sumo (close stance) was around 565 lbs; I have not done them in years but they are a more natural movement for me than conventional.

[Tom Mutaffis]

2/24/2011
Trained at Elite tonight; figured that I would change things up from the garage and wanted to use a standard axle.

Warm-up:
Axle strict press, worked up to 245 lbs x1.

Axle Push Press / Jerk:
275 lbs x 3
305 lbs x 1
325 lbs x 3

Incline Barbell Press:
225 lbs x 5 x 3 sets

Full Clean:
265 lbs x 1
290 lbs x 1
310 lbs x 1

Video: http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...=2-24-2011.mp4

[Cmanuel]

Strong stuff these days. I had no idea you were so strong on Sumo? You dont see too many strongman pulling that style either.

[killxswitch]

Thank you.

I believe that my previous best on sumo (close stance) was around 565 lbs; I have not done them in years but they are a more natural movement for me than conventional.

A 100 lb. PR must be pretty satisfying. Impressive cleans and push presses in your video.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Strong stuff these days. I had no idea you were so strong on Sumo? You dont see too many strongman pulling that style either.

I figured that it would be a good way to mix things up.

A 100 lb. PR must be pretty satisfying. Impressive cleans and push presses in your video.

It is always nice to go back to a movement that you have not done for a while and hit a PR. I am trying to work in a bit more olympic lifting and will start training more frequently after the Arnold.

[Tom Mutaffis]

2/27/2011
Weight is steady around 225 lbs, would like to be a bit heavier but my strength is increasing so weight should follow as long as I stay consistent with my diet.

Conditioning:
Worked out in the yard for about two hours this morning, cleared out some brush and then installed some edging in the front yard and put down mulch.

Power Clean:
245 lbs x 1
270 lbs x 1
300 lbs x 1

Axle Continental Clean:
275 lbs x 1 x 3 sets - trying out different belt configurations and found the one that I will use for the Arnold.

Medium Grip Bench Press:
245 lbs x 3 (2 Board)
285 lbs x 5 (2 Board)

Seated Box Jumps:
3 x 3 to 42"

Back Hyper's:
BW x 10 x 3 sets

Pushdowns:
75 lbs x 75 reps

Pretty good session, was a bit tired but I attribute that to the yard work that I did before training.

[Mark!]

Great work Tom. Impressive lifts.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Great work Tom. Impressive lifts.

Thanks Mark, even though this may sound a bit unusual I am really looking forward to training after the Arnold.

[Tom Mutaffis]

2/28/2011
Trained out in the garage, took it fairly easy since I am competing on Friday.

Front Squats:
275 lbs x 5
315 lbs x 3
385 lbs x 3 (Link to Video)

Power Snatch:
Worked up to an easy 175 lbs x 1

That was it for today.

[Kiff]

Good wrk. Best of luck for Friday Tom!

[Coke]

Saw your vids with the front squats, push presses and cleans - amazing!!

[Tom Mutaffis]

Arnold Amateur World Championship Write-Up:
Going into this contest I was not very confident that I would be ready but did not want to pass up the opportunity to compete at this level. On Thursday morning I drove up to Columbus from North Carolina and the trip took about 7 hours, made it there in time to relax in the room a bit before the rules meeting. At the rules meeting it was apparent just how tough this contest would be - all of the international athletes were massive and some even had cool jumpsuits.

950 lbs Yoke Race:
I have never done a 950 yoke, so getting this one anywhere would be a PR. I set the yoke a little low figuring that the weight would compress me, but that turned out to be a mistake. Made it 51'8" with the yoke for a big PR! But unfortunately this was only good for a couple of points.

325 lbs Axle Clean & Press:
My overhead strength has been coming back but I struggled with the cleans in training. These axles felt pretty good in warm-up's and I was hoping to make up some points here. Clean and pressed the first rep with relative ease, and on the second rep I missed the press on the first attempt then re-racked the bar and managed to get a bit more leg drive to power the bar to lockout. I took about a 15 second breather and went back for another rep but once I cleaned the bar to my shoulders I was not able to get the press. Finished with two reps which again was only good for a few points.

800 lbs Frame / Drag:
For this event the rule was that if you did not make it 60' with the frame you would receive zero points. I knew that this would be a long shot for me so I decided to see how it felt on the pick and then just shut it down to conserve energy if it didn't go well. Unfortunately I had to take the zero on this event but 29 of the other competitors also took a zero.

Car Deadlift:
I knew that I could make up some points here and was looking forward to this event. As we were waiting to lift it was announced that Arnold was coming over to watch! This really added a lot of energy an excitement to the crowd. At this time the current leader was Kenneth Nowicki with 14 reps, we had four competitors going at once and Jay Hughes and I were both keeping a good pace. I managed about 10 reps in 30 seconds and then took a short breather. The referee Brad Dunn told me that I need to keep pulling and I dug deep for another 5 reps in the remaining 20 seconds - this tied me with Jay Hughes for the lead at the time with 15 reps and Arnold told his camera man that he was impressed with our lifting. Ended up finishing tied for 4th in this event.

The car deadlift helped me to gain some points and I finished in about 33rd overall out of 50 competitors. It was great to meet and compete with all of the international guys and to see a lot of familiar faces from the U.S. I am looking forward to getting back to training and am going to do my best to qualify for this event again in 2012.

Photos:

The Competitors:



Yoke:



Arnold Watching the Car Deadlift:

[GazzyG]

Mate, what an amazing experience. Well done on the PR! Sounds like the level of competition was fierce!

[Coke]

Looks like you all had a great time down there at the Arnold, good write-up man.

[killxswitch]

That looks very challenging. Still you tore it up on the deadlift, good job Tom. Was this your first time ever at the Arnold or just your first time competing?