STRONGMAN - Tom Mutaffis

[Coke]

This is my first win in the Heavyweight Division and also earned me a qualifying spot at 2011 North American Strongman Nationals.

Great news, awesome to know someone competing in the Strongman nationals this year!!

[Tom Mutaffis]

Congratulations on your 1st win in the HW Division and on qualifying for a spot at North American Strongman Nationals.

Thank you, I guess technically I did win a small silver level contest in 2009 as a HW but this one was a big win for me.

Amazing work Tom, winning the HW division while still a lightweight is awesome

It can be tough giving up so much bodyweight, in a lot of cases I even give up a significant amount of weight when competing with other LW's.

Great news, awesome to know someone competing in the Strongman nationals this year!!

I have done Nationals twice in the past, took home 1st Place in the 200 lbs Class in 2007 and 3rd Place in the 231 lbs Class in 2008.

[Tom Mutaffis]

3/24/2011
Still feeling a bit beat up from Georgia, my plan is to make some big changes with training and diet next week.

SlingShot Bench Press: (medium grip)
225 lbs x 5
315 lbs x 3
365 lbs x 2
385 lbs x 3 - Default PR, ties my raw PR.

Decided to shut it down and take a couple more days to recover.

I am heading down to Fort Myers this weekend to help out with SW Florida's Strongest Man.

[john o]

Great write-up and clap, clap, on the performance!

[Tom Mutaffis]

Great write-up and clap, clap, on the performance!

Thank you.

[Tom Mutaffis]

3/27/2011
Down in Florida this weekend to help out with SW Florida's Strongest Man, the contest went well and I am glad that I was able to be a part of it. On Sunday I went to the gym with Dave Beers. We were both fairly exhausted from working the contest the day before.

Warm-up:
Hang cleans, worked up to 225 lbs for a couple.

Upper Body:
- Smith Machine Z Press (finished with giant set of 5's)
- DB Hammer Curls (Also went with sets of 5)
- Triceps Pushdowns and High Pulley Extensions (Sets of 25-50 reps)

Going to look into purchasing another gym membership this weekend, still planning on doing the majority of my work at home but I would like to have access to more equipment.

[Tom Mutaffis]

3/29/2011
Started my new diet today, and am also going to be following a new training program.

Warm-Up:
Did some C&J and Snatches with 95 lbs.

Training:
- Close Stance High Bar Squats
- Speed Bench (against doubled micro mini bands)
- Deficit SLDL

[StLRPh]

and am also going to be following a new training program.

Any chance you'll be able to write up some of it?

[LuNa]

Any chance you'll be able to write up some of it?

I would like to see this to. Maybe on the diet as well.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Any chance you'll be able to write up some of it?

I would like to see this to. Maybe on the diet as well.

My plan is to do something similar to the HCT-12 three day split with some variations on the clusters and less primary movements in favor of a bit more accessory work. I am also going to add in direct grip training and flexibility work.

[Tom Mutaffis]

3/30/3011
Adding in some direct grip training, this has been a weakness for me and I am going to work to turn that around.

COC Grippers:
Trainer: Did a number of holds for 5-10 seconds
#2 Gripper: Closed a few times with each hand, singles were tough.

[Tom Mutaffis]

3/31/2011
First week of the new program is almost complete, making some small adjustments along the way but so far I think that this should work out well.

Training:
- Barbell Push Press
- Speed Deadlift (against bands)
- High Incline Press
- Pull-Up's
- Rear Delt Raises

Nothing too exciting in terms of weights tonight. Just working on getting back up to speed with my gym lifts.

[Tom Mutaffis]

4/2/2011
Trained down a Brutal Iron gym in Rock Hill with Brandon, the gym recently opened up and they have some great equipment.

Warmup:
- Light power cleans.

Training:
- 18" Deadlift from Blocks
- SlingShot Speed Bench
- High-Rep Leg Press
- Back Hyper's
- Strive Military Press

Grip Work:
- Axle Holds

[Mark!]

Hope the changes work out for ya Tom. Will be exciting to see the new heights you'll be taken to on it.

[Kiff]

Looking good Tom i am sure the changes will work well for you.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Hope the changes work out for ya Tom. Will be exciting to see the new heights you'll be taken to on it.

Looking good Tom i am sure the changes will work well for you.

Thank you, I appreciate you guys following along and will post more info on exactly what the program involves once I get a bit farther into things.

[Tom Mutaffis]

4/3/2011
Did about two hours worth of yard work this weekend, purchased a new mower that is not self-propelled so I will count that as conditioning. Still a lot more to do to get the yard to where I want it but things are looking better.

[Tom Mutaffis]

4/4/2011
Allowed some flexibility over the weekend with my diet, back on track today though. Had a rough day at work but was looking forward to training tonight. Things are warming up here - the garage was at 70 degrees around 8:30 PM.

Training:
- BTN Split Jerk (not very comfortable with these so kept it light)
- Low Box Squats with Bands
- Incline Press with Bands
- Barbell Strict Press / Side Raises

Finished off with some face pulls and some band curls.

[barryisawinnah]

Tom how much direct bicep work would you recommend someone who is a novice to strongman stuff?

I have rarely ever done direct bicep work before

[Tom Mutaffis]

Tom how much direct bicep work would you recommend someone who is a novice to strongman stuff?

I have rarely ever done direct bicep work before

There are two different schools of thought with regard to biceps training and strongman. Some individuals believe that every muscle needs to be strong in order to prevent injury, whereas others believe that strongman training is so taxing on the biceps that additional direct biceps work will lead to over-training.

If you are doing a lot of heavy Back training you may cover your bases with biceps work, but may want to throw in a couple of sets of hammer curls if you believe that your biceps are a weakness.

[barryisawinnah]

There are two different schools of thought with regard to biceps training and strongman. Some individuals believe that every muscle needs to be strong in order to prevent injury, whereas others believe that strongman training is so taxing on the biceps that additional direct biceps work will lead to over-training.

If you are doing a lot of heavy Back training you may cover your bases with biceps work, but may want to throw in a couple of sets of hammer curls if you believe that your biceps are a weakness.

I see. I'll probably throw in a fet sets of hammer curls a week then. Thanks again.

[Tom Mutaffis]

4/6/2011
Had a bit of a stomach bug today but was still looking forward to training. My weight has been steady in the mid 220's and I am starting to see improvements with regard to body composition / energy from the dietary changes.

Training:
- Front Squat (singles)
- Tire Drag (5 sets with minimal rest)
- High Bar Mid-Stance Back Squats

Grip Work:
- Hangs from pull-up bar, couple sets with Fat Gripz and a couple without.
- Gripper Work (did this yesterday but didn't log it)

After training I picked up a new florescent bulb for the light in my garage gym; it wasn't the mood lighting that I was going for but at least now I can see while I am training.

[killxswitch]

Congrats on the new light bulb. I imagine being able to see will help. Heh.

It seems like you are training your grip more aggressively these days.

[john o]

Nice efforts Tom! Thanks for the tip on the Zydrunas presses.

[Tom Mutaffis]

Congrats on the new light bulb. I imagine being able to see will help. Heh.

It seems like you are training your grip more aggressively these days.

My next project is reorganizing and painting the garage gym, will probably knock that out tomorrow.

Grip has been a weakness of mine and I have not paid enough attention to it in the past so I am working to change that now.

Nice efforts Tom! Thanks for the tip on the Zydrunas presses.

Thank you, I will start posting weights once I am acclimated to the new routine. The Z presses are tough but they will definitely help with your raw pressing power.