The "Hollywood" Critique - Road Back

[Louis Costa]

Has this past year been one F'd up / stressful / magical ride.

Yes.

My training suffered.

My reasoning waned.

My career suffered.

I am back. Documenting everything. For Better or Worse.

I love any and all of the Iron Sports.

Recently, after the birth of my son. I've rededicated myself to "this thing of ours"

And like the Italian soldiers take the Omerta ... I took a code of honor to myself .

To the Self Respect of my talent.

And to stay as positive as humanly possible and start a godamned empire....based off of my sweat.

This is that start.

Lou Terentino over here.

This is about more than just training. It's motivational ...sappy crap...with hardcore training...and fun music. What the F. else do you want. ??? :)

Road Back - Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/user/LouCosta54#p/a/u/1/MZRMT1RLl2c

MZRMT1RLl2c

Road Back - Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/user/LouCosta54#p/a/u/0/aT6AeDHdb-M

aT6AeDHdb-M

Love

lou

[Bryan Hildebrand]

good to see you around and dedicating yourself to your craft... we'll be watching.

[Big Dave Smith]

After watching you at Bros/Pros... If you're making a comeback, I can't fucking imagine what kind of animal you'll be. The bar only fits so many plates!

PS- I shall see you at the next bros/pros deadlift meet!! If you have the stones, show up to the next squat! Prepare for losing, loser!

Seriously, kick some ass and get back in your groove. Tons of potential. I'll be following this one closely.

You're a PA guy, right? Where are you at? We have to get a session in one day. I've always wanted to go to IronSport. They'd get a kick out of you. Your kind of place.

[Louis Costa]

Bryan -

I need the watchful eye! My attention span wanders with training. :)

Big Dave -

I'm in Harrisburg for summer now after a grad semester at IUP but thinking very hard about making a move to become a Philly Fire Fighter. I Like Steve Pulcinella down at Iron Sport. James Dart and a few other guys i'm good friends with lift down there. It's like the East Coast Mecca for Stength! You close?

I also wanna talk with you about diet. Your looking straight sick . Good luck at your show!

I would absolutely love to a squat challenge next. I need something to keep me motivated in the lift! I'll take that challenge...even though it seems like a fools errand chasing you in that lift.

[robert da strongman]

every once and awhile we have to step back and regroup...hope it turns out well

[Louis Costa]

Legs -

I had a very "trying" morning of errands to run....and part of me wanted to call up mark lurch and his bash brothers goon squad and tell them I couldn't make it.

But I remembered one of the most over used and under appreciated quotes of all time.

As cliche' as the quote is...." If you always do what you always did..you'll always get what you always got."

I have a history of skipping workouts or only competing or training hard when I'm feeling' strong.

As unsavory as my morning was...I thought...Am I going to change?? Do what I say......or stay the same old under achieving doucher.

Called up Mark ( he took second to lb. stone in bro's vs. pros deadlift challenge by 2 reps!) and said i'll be there.

No breakfast. Starving. Late. Sweating.

Here's what transpired.

Front Squats - Bar Only.

A ton of warm up bodyweight squats. Prolly 50.

135 x 5

135 x 5

225 x 5

275 x 5

315 x 5 - add belt and low Bench. This bench is easy two inches below parallel. I come down. Completely stop on bench. Relax. And fire up through - I do this for stone loads. Awesome quads are a byproduct :)

365 x 3 - easy. Bar was jumping off shoulders.

405 x 1 miss reps. Fell back wards..too amped up. lost balance. Was pissed

405 x 3 easy and loud. doesnt sound like much weight. but the way we do them....it's F'n hard. Enough said.

315 x 5

Mark didn't use bench and wrapped up but hit an easy...easy 425 for 3. pretty impressive.

He got all froggy...and wanted to do stop pause back squats Why? Idk. Crazy bastard.

But i can't pass up a challenge.

405 x pause 2 seconds at bottome for 5 reps.

Pretty easy. I knew I had strongman this weekend. Heavy...so I backed out.
Mark went up and did 585. Dead ass stop..two inches below parralel. sick. whew.

Deep Sven Karlson Hacks.

405 x 10 x 10

495 x 10

Mark decided to do 20. I hate him.

I wont admit getting smoked too many times. But this kid did. It's gonna be a strong summer. That's all I can say.

Shoulders tomorrow so I should be able to get him on that :)

Awesome day all around. Left some in tank for strongman. Looking so forward to hitting some events.

If I do anything strong I'll post the vids. I hate just reading this crap.

Have a fantastic day you meat heads.

Love

Lou

[Louis Costa]

every once and awhile we have to step back and regroup...hope it turns out well

Thank you Robert.

I've hit the reset Button so many times they call me the original nintendo :)


Someone Blow on me so this shit can work . I wanna play battle toads!

[Louis Costa]

sprints

Because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. Me and neighbor yell at each other through our windows. No shit. Our houses are this close. He's cheap. So I call it free texting.

"Heyyy. You wanna sprint?"

"Meet Me in ten"

50 yard sprints.

2 warm up jog

1 50 percent

1 75 %

10 @ 95 %.

Sprinted quarter mile as hard as we could. Wheww..heart rate is up.

Fin'

Only problem is..it also works for beer.

"Heyyy....Wanna drink Amstel ? "

"Meet me in ten"

:)

[Louis Costa]

BASEMENT OF DESTINYYYYYY PRESS WORKOUT
WITH
JOHNY PETRO AKA "STOIC LEADER"






Press Workout.

Many..Many thoughts on the day.

First day handling a log workout for real in about 8 months. Whew..

So Johnny Petro is a press beast. And his basement of destiny always has cool classic smooth rock playing.

The Guy is statically as strong as anyone I know. legit 385 log and 400 axel out of rack. Except my man isn't even that explosive!!! Just Brute Strong. He's a grinder. Kills it. Much respect for him.

Log. Log Video

YouTube - Basement of Destiny

Warm up

200 x 5

245 x 3

285 x 2

315 x 2 - Super Tramp came on. A basement of Destiny gemstone. Nothing like the logical song to get you AMPED!!!!

265 x 5

Ya. Not gonna Lie. I f'n used to kill this weight for easy sets of 10. Here's a vid of me pulling up in crappy competition after I tore my calf 2 weeks before I Hit 8 easy!! stopped in middle to ask how many I had left. I also was 315.

YouTube - Snap Fitness Strongman Show

Soooo.Getting used to new little stealth body. And not strong cereal eating body.

So I said I was gonna post anything and everything. I guess this is that jump off point.

Not deterred. Actually not that bad for first workout back.

Talked with Petro..and Realize...there is a huge difference between being in shape. and being in "strongman shape". Remember that! Guess that means back to prowler and tire flips.

Standing Log Strict Press.

200x 3

250 x 3

270 x 3

200 x 10.

All Strongggg

Swiss Bar Scull Crushers super set with close grip same inside grip.

3 sets of 10 and 10.

So. What does it all mean ? being 50 lbs off my of my log training...when I was at my peak ???

Idk.

But I think.....the answers to this and the past year .....may....may just lay in the wisdom of supertramp and the basement of destiny.

Thanx Johnny!

"There are times when all the world's asleep,
the questions run too deep
for such a simple man.
Won't you please, please tell me what we've learned
I know it sounds absurd
but please tell me who I am" - supa tramp




OH ya..I added Mountain Dew to my shake and shook it up without thinking bullshitting with johny and the top blew off and sprayed all over me..the wall...the cat...

I'm sure Johnny is M f ing me right now.

Love luey.

[Dadup]

good luck to you man, great thread, we'll all be following this one :yep: impressive lifts

[Louis Costa]

good luck to you man, great thread, we'll all be following this one :yep: impressive lifts

Much Appreciated !!!

I'll get bored and quit in 2 weeks.. But until then..i'll make it interesting! :)

[Mr.Bones]

Great training in here. Congrats on your son.

[Louis Costa]

Great training in here. Congrats on your son.

Thank You. Still Turning up the Intensity. Getting my feet back under me.

Excited about training again!

[Louis Costa]

Today Was supposed to be an off day.

After being disappointed as hell about my strongman cardio yesterday.

And remembering why I've been such an underachieving doucher.

I decided to go to some F'n Heavy brutal pushes and drags today.


Started with one plate and went up one plate each run until got to 5 plates a side. Did 3 sets at max weight.

Wanted to die after.

Here's Video - YouTube - Shatty Drag

Yesss..I have gay boots on. No..I'm not a 90's bodybuilder. I forgot sneaks. But damn did they work well! I was expecting horrible results.

[Mr.Bones]

I would not want to do that.

[Louis Costa]

I would not want to do that.
It was Shitty!


Strongman Training Day

With Petro

Huge Breakfast. Rested and Ready to go. First long Strongman session in quite some time.

Video - YouTube - Strongman Training

Farmers Walk -

135 x 100 ft. with turn

225 x 100 ft. with turn

275 a hand x 100 ft. with turn.

Grip felt like a vice. Forgot my damned shoes again so I was in boots. Running with this weight is never a problem but 1. It eats my hips and knees up. and 2 . My grip needed time under pressure.

So opted for very slow..controlled runs.

Johnny went pretty heavy. Killed it.

Big Dogg Strongg Husafelt Carry.

Nicest shields on the market.This event was always my worst. Was really interested to see how dropping weight would effect this weight. Was very...very pleased with the outcome.

300 lbs. x 100 ft. with turn at 60 - felt like childs weight.

Decided to go for it.

300 lbs x 210 ft. Felt Awesome! first time ever I failed in my muscles and not just ran out of air from being a fat tard and had to quit. Whole new ball game now! Little confidence on this event could go a long way!

300 x 120ft just to work the pick to the other leg. Didn't turn out so well. haha. stick with original plan.


Jon's Bastard Tire.

Ok..its not really that bad. But it feels a lot heavier than 750 or whatever.

5 flips slow to warm up.

5 flips fast to get groove.

10 flips to work cardio and put it all together. did 10 flips and about 80 ft in 40 seconds. Very pleased.

Very good session. Much momentum to build on. Must keep working!

lou
http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/images/misc/progress.gif

[Louis Costa]

trongman Day 3 in a row ?????

Ya...idk what I was thinking.

Woke Up.

Felt ok. Little bruised and battered from yesterday.

Knew I had work to do on stones and axle C and P. Because in honesty my gym lifts dont really need too much work. Just the implements and all around strain of strongman I need to get in condition for again

Decided to man up and do it.


No video. Hands were covered in chalk and tacky all day. And didn't think I would have that good of day to be honest.

Axle Rose C and P.

Warm Up.....bunch of odd weights idk...just feeling it.

went 245 x 1

275 x 1

300 x 1 x 1 x 1 x 1 - All very fast...very explosive. All double overhand continental. My grip was just about shot from yesterday. That was the only noticeable soreness from yesterday.

300 x 5 Clean once and press. - Not too bad considering the full week of work. Very happy with these. Didn't really push anything either.

Stones - OH God.

I've had a problem for a year on these. No explosion. All excuse.

Today. felt like old luey was back.

240 x 3 58 inch plat.

325 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 to 52 inch plat.

Almost Every rep was explosive. Fast. Very comfortable.

240 to 63 inch? x 1 x 1

290 to 63 inch miss. Only ended up hitting it to 58.

Very ..very good day. time for a rest.

Only cardio work tomorrow.

i've been eating a ton more calories to manage the work load i've been putting in. So far...very good results. Looking fuller..leaner...and bodyweight is hanging out around 275.

Battered and Bruised everywhere! ...and damn do my hands hurt.

whew.

Good first full strongman week.

Let's keep on top of it.

Love

Louis.

[Louis Costa]

Must Be Strongman Season again.

Good Grief.

[Louis Costa]

I was going to post this on the main forum under a thread about Strongman..dealing with money.

I'm tired of interjecting my opinion in places that doesn't need it.So if your reading this. You want to hear something from my perspective. Which seems to get trashed on the internet. But never in person ? hmmm

Is it because i'm intelligent...well read..not an asshole..non confrontational but still confident and just have a different opinion than yours?

Like I've been told a million times.

If you want to compete for money. Get out of strongman. Point Taken.

Interesting Bryan Hildebrand thinks drug testing would help. It has been a theory of mine. But usually that just gets turned around to me being a self righteous asshole.

Maybe because that is how the natural organizations come off ??..idk. I think so

Oh Wait..there is no natural American organization anymore. dont have to worry about it.

I'm listening to Mike Johnston right now on RX Power Hour - which in my opinion is one of the best things that has come around for strongman...Rx Muscle in general. ..so I will wait to post this until I get through the whole thing.

Interesting...ASC would like to work on a collaboration with RX Muscle....But still at Odds with the Marunde Crowd?? ..which is arguably the biggest strongman community on the internet.

Maybe not anymore with RX actually putting out exciting video. Editing events. Doing interviews. posting pictures. Starting discussion threads. Asking ppl for radio shows. Ask Dave how much money that costs? Nothing. Just fuckin' man power and a want to do it. First person that got that. Why can't or couldn't our own ppl do that ?

Speaks a testament to Dave actually. That the whole community is willing to switch to his website just because he does all the leg work. WTF does he care if he gobbles up another genre of strength sports and gets 30 thousand more hits a day. Just like a smart ass google buying up smaller sites.

Wait..Wait...don't I remember ppl giving me shit for posting all of the RX shit we were doing on Marunde a year ago? Interviews..contests??

And now every ASC pro posts on RX..and Almost Zero post on Marunde ? Very....very interesting..hmmm....

I will say I really agreed with a lot of the points that Mike had during his first interview a few months ago.

Making Strongman into a rock show.

Longevity of athletes....except that is in direct contradiction to heavier weight. mmmright.

Interested for this interview.....Ok...listening.

Few Thoughts on Mike's Interview: Play by Play

Very cool to hear about his and chucks Training. Much respect for still getting after it.

He took a quick jab at Callie and her show. And why ASC should be solely involved with RX.

Sad...because monopoly on anything sucks balls. Especially when no one gets paid and no votes are counted for the athlete. But they dont get that.

Love to see that ASC is going to new events . Can't wait to see what they are.

Bigg Dogg Strongg equipment is the best equipment out there.

Who's original idea was it to make big ass awesome equipment for NAS? Wish I had the capital to make it happen and they didn't want it for free. I did fail on that venture.

I was scared to death I was going to lose the 5 grand I put into making yokes and Logs for NAS after the deal ended sour. But I made the money back. No harm. No foul. Just being a monday morning quarterback

Johnny Waz is doing a fuckin awesome job with it. Happy for him. and a little jealous.

Another jab at Callie. Seems out of place and insecure. Why?? It turns ppl off. They dont get that.

I'm Glad Dione and Willie and fam are safe. Always got along with Willie. I'm recently on mend with Dione. I think we burried the hatchet which is always a good thing.

No one wants to see anyone hurt or property destroyed.

Good luck to Dione on the sports convention in Jamaica!!! Bring some sponsors back!

Of course the image of strongman would change if the fat guys change their Image!!!

No one...and I mean no one gives a fuck when a 350 lb fat guy does something strong. Sorry.

...umm...duhh..didn't I just shed weight for this reason ?? How many of my fuckin ideas of mine are 6 months early before their time and no one listens because i'm not a fuckin ASC pro???

Hmm...Maybe its time Nathan...maybe its time.

Bracewell..you will never be photogenic. you ugly bastard. ;) ..jk.

We keep bouncing around all these nutritional plans and whatever. I know nathan is protecting his biz. But ppl are learning nothing...besides to go look shit up themselves. Or get confused.

Eating greens ... no dairy...Meat and no starch will help your digestive track.???

..how many ppl have actually followed a bodybuilding diet..these are basic ass general principals. Eat healhty..stop shitting yourself..and actually absorb the good nutrients.

Maybe I'll stop with artificial sweeteners. Always knew they were bad...just so delicious. so thats a good idea.

No more Plat Plus.?? Why not Call Donnie Rhodes up in Cali before NAS started making promoters pay a couple grand just to have the event. He did an awesome job.

But yes..that's the real reason why..no one will pay ASC the new Plat Plus Promotional fee.

ASC doesnt wanna throw a back yard parking lot event ? Come on man. We've all been there already. A few times. He knows that's bullshit.

haha.."Wanna Be ASC promoters". Callie Gave away a paid trip to giants live..and Al thompson puts you infront of the biggest strongman crowds you can imagine along with paying for everything. Ya they are just one shot shows...but imagine if we all worked together!!! good grief. That's just facts. But I do admire Balls. So I'll go with it.

The interview started awesome!!! and ended a little sour in my review.

But i'm severely biased....and just dont care for bullshit.

My views:

Will always be shit on. Because I speak out against anything that doesn't jive with my constitution. Am I youngish? Yes. Do you not believe solely in your views ? You should....or 1..you will be used your whole life and never know what the real score is and 2...you will die wishing you spoke up for what you believed.


Not just ASC. or Republicans. Or whatever.....

It's like whenever joe rogan beats down a heckler...hes like..I have the microphone..no one can hear you.....no one can hear you. That's how this works.

I wish there was some sort of open debate. But Mike is allowed his opinions as we all are. Free country. Just not free strongman world :)

I stopped giving a shit I suppose personally about a year ago. But in a debate forum....whew..idk. I realized nothing needs to be personal.

I love the sport.

I will never be jenkins because he's a freak and I love getting drunk and chasing women.

I will always be outspoken.

I am committed to joining the great crowd of ASC.

And the only way to further anything in the sport..is not with criticisms and smart ass jabs taken at each other....

its through positive thinking and progressive thought out actions.

Interesting interview. Anyone who speaks their mind like mike I respect and if i wasn't so close to everything and I wasn't so damned sensitive it would be easy to drink the filthy coolade.

I really hope dave does not consign himself with just one organization. That Would be a mistake.

But he's working with a sport (bodybuilding) that one show a year 3rd place finisher makes more than all of the ASC athletes put together. So wtf does he care really

Because ASC does house the best pro's in america. they've created for better or worse the top strength athletes in the world.

But it's because the athletes had no other choice....and simply default of no other option that ASC wins the right to boast claim to those athletes.

I myself aspire to be an ASC athlete. Because they are the best athletes. I've recently realized this. WTF am I gonna do...go start a jam band? I'm made for this shit.

I respect everyone in the organization. But there are always improvements that can be made.

As long as all 80 of their athletes are splitting 55 thousand dollars a year of prize money...you cannot convince me we are flourishing.

It rests on Image. The fat ass dirty strongman need to change. The image the corporation puts out. The VP. The Interviews. The Personal communications. The relationships....they all matter in a small knit community.

And ASC cannot....cannot say they are without fault. To me. That would mean something important.

I know they can pull it together and make something incredible like IFSA without all the stealing of money.

Hey..can't someone just copy the biz model for the old ifsa and just not steal money..??? haha..sounds like great idea.

But the organization can be great because of these things.

1. The Athletes. First and Foremost. They are the Best.

2. Willie is a cool human being. :)

3. Mike Johnston is the best MC and event host there is in strength sports. Even better than me Mc-ing. Yes..maybe :)

4. Dione watches ASC and will protect it like a hawk above all other.

There doesn't need to be whole sale change or turnover. Or new federations

This organization can do it. And I'd like to see that personally.

Ask your athletes what they want!

Not me..and besides I know they dont give a shit about that.

I'll chase you bastards around anyways like I have been. I can't quit. duh. I love this shit. My brain just matured last year. No really..males brains aren't mature till they are 26. And I drank a tonnnnn through hs and college so i'm prolly a few years behind. So what the hell do I know anyway?

Just change! or evolve! and not just in crazy weight increases. Mike just said in his interview he went through a "stage" of wanting to make shit increasingly heavy. and then sucked bracewell's balls for going through that stage

I can tell you this. Bracewell..amongst anyone...has earned it his spot. He did the heaviest fucking shows i've ever seen and took second a bazillion times.

So I'll never say otherwise. He went through some sick competitions to earn his spot.

So If ASC went through a stage of weight increase and all we got was a bunch of busted up backs and hurt Bi's. Make things more "difficult" with out just weight increase

Make the equipment more badass. Fucking great idea. Get some hollowed out cars and lets do some cool yokes. Car Squats.

Put the fat ugly strongman on a diet and teach them how to shave and and tan.

If GSP can take gymnastics to make his balance better in the fight game.

God damned strongman can stop eating lard and learn to take care of themselves!

Anyways. I'm out.

Love everyone.

I cannot fucking wait to go hit some chest and prowler tomorrow and get back eating clean. Cheat day just makes me feel guilty as sin like wiping my hands on my grandma's dog as a child. so lazy....so guilty.

haha..

night .

lou

[Mr.Bones]

I would like to see strongman add some more different events possibly.

I'm a big fan and watch it every year on TV. I don't think it is that popular just because of the society we live in today, same with bodybuilding etc. Everything is 'taboo' now.

[Louis Costa]

I would like to see strongman add some more different events possibly.

I'm a big fan and watch it every year on TV. I don't think it is that popular just because of the society we live in today, same with bodybuilding etc. Everything is 'taboo' now.

If you add up All of the Prize Money given away in just America For Strongman.

It would equal roughly what the second place finisher for the arnold classic got this year in bodybuilding. One athlete in bodybuilding. has the potential. To make as much as all of the strongman WORLD combined.

So yes. Both sports are taboo. But bodybuilding is finding money somewhere!!! and it's even less "accepted" by the public.

Strongman is on TV. Loved by most old guys and men in general take atleast a passive interest.

No way will bodybuilding ever make it back to a cable network after the steriod bullshit that's gone on in society.

So how is it. We as a sport cannot find more cash influx?????

MMA was as underground as it got 15 years ago. Called human fucking cock fighting by john mcain. Outlawed for gods sake in states. !!!

It took an owner! Some Money! A vision! Passionate ppl...and dedicated athletes.

[Brian Carley]

No more Plat Plus.?? Why not Call Donnie Rhodes up in Cali before NAS started making promoters pay a couple grand just to have the event. He did an awesome job.


Really? So how are guys supposed to turn pro now?

I hope this doesn't turn out like powerlifting where there are 15 different feds with 15 different records and millions of rules, otherwise we'll have guys putting on a lot of independent shows so then the revenue to NAS/ASC will be out and then in turn, run ASC out of business without people going through them to put on comps.

Also, I don't get why everyone dislikes Marunde(forum) so much, I love it, it's where I started getting serious about strongman, lots of great people and info on there.

It is also great on what RX is doing to promote the sport, with Bryan doing all the coverage, with thanks to Dave for going forward and wanting to get another base of people to come to his site/forum.

[Louis Costa]

Really? So how are guys supposed to turn pro now?

I hope this doesn't turn out like powerlifting where there are 15 different feds with 15 different records and millions of rules, otherwise we'll have guys putting on a lot of independent shows so then the revenue to NAS/ASC will be out and then in turn, run ASC out of business without people going through them to put on comps.

Also, I don't get why everyone dislikes Marunde(forum) so much, I love it, it's where I started getting serious about strongman, lots of great people and info on there.

It is also great on what RX is doing to promote the sport, with Bryan doing all the coverage, with thanks to Dave for going forward and wanting to get another base of people to come to his site/forum.

Very Solid Points Brian.

How are you supposed to even turn pro then with only 3 spots given out a year?? You kind of see the cirlce talk right there. If they aren't even putting out pro athletes for whatever reasoning.

That Means there are a hell of a lot of athletes busting their backs for a few coveted spots that simple money semantics (Plat Plus fees) are clogging up the system.

Great for turning out top notch pro's. Bad for anyone like myself that only has 3 shots a year to take off. Book a flight. And hope nothing goes wrong. This isn't bodybuilding. ANYTHING CAN happen at a show.

The Marunde thing is simply personal between the two owners. With ASC reaching out to RX it cannot be called good biz to stay away from marunde. That is where everyone is! Marunde Muscle still holds the most strongman content on the planet. Dave is fastly changing that.

Brian H. And Dave have a spot on plan. But it's funny...because I know they both talk to Callie about her shows also.(Along with other top promoters)

So..I think both sides (ASC and Marunde) are fighting for the cool new hot chick (rx) and the hot chick is out on dates making out with everyone just for fun :)

Why? Hey..because they are the one fighting for her...wtf does dave care :)

Side Note: I used to think a different federation would work. Now. I dont care. I've given myself enough freedom in strongman to do the shows I like doing. And compete when I want to compete. I would just like to get the ASC pro card to do america's strongest man and the olympia. After that. I have no more goals to really accomplish and may just be able to enjoy the sport. But 15 federations would def. hurt all of strongman. 1 more quality organization: Would absolutely push the sport to change...adapt...and get better.

[robert da strongman]

Interesting Bryan Hildebrand thinks drug testing would help. It has been a theory of mine. But usually that just gets turned around to me being a self righteous asshole.

Lou...that was an inside joke and sarcasm. we were making fun of the natural organization holding an event at the europa in orlando

[Brian Carley]

Why can't we all be friends?

I know everyone wants to make money and be the best, but in the end we all have the same goal to make strongman successful and a great sport, for the athletes and the fans (which will end up being the real money maker).

I agree, Marunde does have the biggest and most serious strongman on the internet, most of the top pros have accounts and post their, along with a lot of the top amateurs. Also there isn't much bullshit or belittling going on, everyone is supportive of everyone, wants everyone to succeed. I have seen more guys come over from Marunde to RX, granted they post on both sites (like myself and you).

I could be wrong but it seemed like Jesse Marunde got the sport more attention, it would've been cool to see what he would've done if he hadn't passed (RIP), but he taught many of the US top pros now (Palmer, White and I know a few others but can't think of their names at the moment) and now they are continuing the knowledge and drive to see the sport succeed, which they got from Jesse.

All in all, I just don't see why we can't all bond together and make the sport a success and a money maker. Where they can do bigger payouts for the comps, like they do in bodybuilding. Why do we all have to fight and say one is better than another, which in turn, really isn't true because they all have flaws and faults but if they bond together they could work out the flaws and make everyone happy.

[Louis Costa]

Lou...that was an inside joke and sarcasm. we were making fun of the natural organization holding an event at the europa in orlando

Haha. Whoops. Well either or. Its a good idea to test. Its not a good idea to come off self righteous and put the world natural in organization names

[Louis Costa]

Why can't we all be friends?

I know everyone wants to make money and be the best, but in the end we all have the same goal to make strongman successful and a great sport, for the athletes and the fans (which will end up being the real money maker).

I agree, Marunde does have the biggest and most serious strongman on the internet, most of the top pros have accounts and post their, along with a lot of the top amateurs. Also there isn't much bullshit or belittling going on, everyone is supportive of everyone, wants everyone to succeed. I have seen more guys come over from Marunde to RX, granted they post on both sites (like myself and you).

I could be wrong but it seemed like Jesse Marunde got the sport more attention, it would've been cool to see what he would've done if he hadn't passed (RIP), but he taught many of the US top pros now (Palmer, White and I know a few others but can't think of their names at the moment) and now they are continuing the knowledge and drive to see the sport succeed, which they got from Jesse.

All in all, I just don't see why we can't all bond together and make the sport a success and a money maker. Where they can do bigger payouts for the comps, like they do in bodybuilding. Why do we all have to fight and say one is better than another, which in turn, really isn't true because they all have flaws and faults but if they bond together they could work out the flaws and make everyone happy.

Very true. A Strongman eutopia would be best case scenerio. In reality what everyone is fighting about is so fn small Its almost funny. And I don't Really feel its fighting. Just everyone taking offense to everything that gets said. Hopefully with the new exposure of rx. Dione widening out the sponsor search. Callie offering a direct link to worlds most ppl should be satisfied. I personally like all the choices. Just wish someone would forge ahead. Sign a TV deal. Create a new style ifsa and not steal money Like They did. The athletes deserve contracts for all there work. I know were not there but it feels close!

[Louis Costa]

Chest / Tri's

Really Should've taken today off.

But wanted to go in and do some lite stuff. I pretty much want to concentrate on overhead / Deads / Events. That will be my main concern until after Philly show.

Close Grip Incline Benches.

135 x 10

225 x 5

275 x 5

315 x 5 - felt crazy easy

365 x 5 - had atleast three more. Wanted to save everything for overhead this week. Crazy to me how much stronger I was on these. after three weeks ago barely hitting these.

225 x 27 - Ties PR. My endurance lifting is going through the roof. Feeling really good about it.

Dbell Fly's superset into Bench Press. Ya...I know..i've been doing a lot of these. But I wasn't really feeling any more heavy pressing and we had no cable stack.

80lb. dbells.

3 sets of 10 x 5 .....very easy.

Pushdowns. about 6 sets. 3 heavy for sets of 10. 3 sets at reps of 20.
Prowler work.

6 sets of Push 30 yards low handles. Push Back 30 yards high handles at 230 lb.s Very...Very Easy. Barely Breathing hard. Nice solid off day session.

Gorgeous day outside.

Probably hit up some very light sprints tonight and take tomorrow completely off before big deadlift day on wednesday.

[Louis Costa]

Leg Day

I've been looking forward to this day for a while now. I know I'm excited for a session when I get all nervous and can't sleep.

I was prepared. full breakfast. Full day off yesterday. Body felt great. No nagging injuries at all.

Ready to get a big chunk of strength back and more importantly confidence that I had lost in the last year after hurting my back early last year and being a big ween since.

This. Was the Best workout I have done. In quite some time. Lot of volume. Lot of pushing myself to the max of what I'm currently capable.

I am really excited for whats to come for strength. I am lifting with crazy confidence again. First time in a while

Video - YouTube - Deadlift Training - Road Back

14-15 inch reverse band deadlifts

315 x 3

500 x 3

675 x 3

765 x 1

815 x 1 (easy)

855 x miss - this was my goal. Dammit!!! Just Missed. Wanted it badly. Didn't hesitate at all. Strength just not there yet. You can see in video.

805 x 2 - was going to go for three but felt like the grim reaper was closing in and telling me to save it for philly if i wanted to live that long. I listened.

500 x 5. Trying for all speed.

Zerch Harness Squats

175 x 10

260 x 5

340 x 5

390 x 3

435 x3 all very fast. very explosive.

SLDL

225 x 10 - making sure my hamstrings were still alive

315 x 10 - way too easy.

405 x 10 - first time going on these in a while. I could feel every muscle strengthening and tightening I was doing them. Def. Could've gone another plate. Wait to fight another day I suppose.

Prowler Lunges and Push Back -

Basically just long ass stride lunges on the prowler about 35 yards semi down hill. Then push and sprint back uphill

Progressing a plate each side until I hit 4 a side.

Most volume I've done on legs and back in a long time. Felt F'n awesome. Ate some neato burrito afterward.

Very excited to see where I can put myself in 8 weeks.

The lineup for Philly is outstanding. One of the strongest front to back line ups i've ever seen. I will not embarrass myself by not showing up in shape. Am I gonna beat shaw and jenks? No. But I will be the fastest / most explosive in shape Lou that's ever competed, and that's all I can ask.

Pray for no injuries!

Love ,

Lou

[Louis Costa]

FORGOT: !

Directly after all the deadlifts and zerch squats. We wanted to hit a pain set.


Back Squat -315 x 20 - endurance set - My original thought process was that this would be wayy too lite. I cannot express how F'ing hard this set was. I was smoked at ten. And did ten singles yelling like an idiot all the way to 20. My glutes / back / quads were destroyed. My constitution is now better for doing this set. As weak as it may sound.

[Louis Costa]

Shoulders /Upper back

Reverse Band Push Press out of rack.

135 x 5

225 x 5

275 x 3

315 x 3

335 x 1 Speed. x 1 x 1 x 1 No Pop or explosion . Plan was to go to 365 and hit these. but my shoulders have been feeling a little achy after all the pressing. decided to wait for weekend to crush them.

275 x 3.

Seated NO back Dbell strict presses with palms facing each other.

No bounce out of bottom.

60 x 5

80 x 5

90's x 5

80's x 8

Felt very easy. 90's were a pr for me on these. But i never usually try and go super heavy.

Side Raises super set into front raises.

30 lbers.

1st set 25 x 10.

2nd 25 x 5

3rd 20 x 5.

4th 20 x 5.

5th 15 x 5.

PUll downs.

5 sets of 15.

Reverse grip pull downs.

2 sets of 15

Weird Band Pull apart things for rear delts.

3 sets of 13

Today was just a work day. Nothing special. no intensity. Just getting done what needs to be done.

Went home and loaded 2 tons of rocks around our deck and trees. That was where the work was. How the hell do ppl do that half our size and half as strong. Im more tired from 3 hours of that than strongman.

Lou

[Mr.Bones]

Probably because those people are not oversized.

[Louis Costa]

Probably because those people are not oversized.

Must Be. No way I could do that daily.

[Louis Costa]

Prowler 50 % sprints today for cardio

1 plate a side. 25 yards low handles. 25 yards High handles back - about 10 runs.

2 plates each side . 3 runs down and back. good half hour worth of work.

Why? Because my legs are F'n sore and I thought If i pumped some blood in them they would recoup faster for tomorrow strongman.

Also to burn off a few cals and get the HR up.

Felt lean and very full today out in the sun doing lite prowler pushes. Could just be bc of the sun...or could be because of dehydration ??? haha...either or it was a win.

Ate Small Breakfast. Recovery Shake and my normal Subway. I wont let the diet secrets totally out of the bag.

Gonna try and keep waking up around 275 and keep strength. 280 is a tiff too close to sleep anea country anddddd....one binge day away from 290 if i'm not careful. http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif Gasping for air when you wake up is not the best experience. I'm sure some of you understand.

Looking forward to hitting some lite events tomorrow with Jenks/Petro/Marlboro and maybe the Phist.

Have good friday..

luey

[Mr.Bones]

Never heard of these exercises ever, sound crazy.

In fact strongman are crazy, I can't imagine being that big and saying hey let's go run with some heavy shit behind us

[Louis Costa]

Never heard of these exercises ever, sound crazy.

In fact strongman are crazy, I can't imagine being that big and saying hey let's go run with some heavy shit behind us


haha...the mentality....is a tiff nuts. But...Cardio and power and are half of what make a good strongman ....

I will admit i'm nearly bat shit crazy anyways...and to be honest...I find that when I'm working hard...its like a sick badge of honor...knowing your working harder than 95 % of anyone working out. Which we do as strongman

Most ppl think they are hardcore....but few...can actually walk the walk.

And believe me..I've met a few ppl that I actually think are insane...and push their boundaries so far past what my threshold is...and they are usually the best at what they do ...haha..

[Louis Costa]

Gonna knock this out before I pass out from today.

Worked with Jenks, Petro, Marlboro and Phist out in york at Johnny's place.

Pretty good session.

Ate two neato burritos before I went to bed so I know I was gassed up and ready to rock out with my burrito out.

Yoke

6 very light runs just to get warmed up @ 50 - 60 ft. finished around 500 lbs

Husafelt Carry.

Actually didn't even use a knee this time. 300 from the ground will be much different than 400 but it's a confidence thing on this.

went to 240ft to match Jenkies and actually pushed myself on the next run to around 270-80 ft going past our mark without really exerting myself during.

Of course I was oUt of breath but it wasn't the pass out die feeling that normally ensues.

So Pr - ing this two weeks in a row is huge for me as my shattiest event.

Frame

2 runs.

60 ft. @ 500 lbs.

no belt. No speed. Just working grip on the inch and half handles. everything felt good.

Heavy ass drags.

All around 80 ft.

Sled By itself - 500 x 80 ft.

Sled Plus Marlboro and 50 lbs. - call it 750. 70 ft.

Sled Plus Malboro and 50 lbs x about 85. Phist makes fun of me for yelling but eat crap phist. It's hard....and Im not afraid to squeel like a girl. Shit hurts!

Fun day. Gorgeous weather. gonna take a semi lite week in gym and hit events very heavy next week. Especially stones! Looking forward to it!

Luey.

[Mr.Bones]

Sounds like strongman is pretty popular in PA to me

[Louis Costa]

Sounds like strongman is pretty popular in PA to me


It's a good group of guys. We all Like each other I'm sure when were not saying shit behind each other's backs.

:)

were like gossipy children. Will kill an outsider at the drop of a hat if they attack one of us. but squabble and fight amonst ourselves like little strong animals.

[Louis Costa]

Chest

Incline dbells

60 x 10

80s x 10

100s x 10

120s x 5

140s x 10 x 8 felt weird strain in good pec. Nothing serious.

Flat BP With orange band tension.

Bar. And bands x 10

135 and bands x 5

225 and bands x 3

275 and bands x 2 . Pec strained again. Stopped. Stretched did some pushups

225 cgbp

Very very careful 3 sets of ten.

Flat bench dbell flyes

60xs 10 x 10 x 10. Very gingerly stretching.

Nothing serious but am gonna take off pressing until sat. Strongman. Shoulders need break. Lil worried. But run of the mill shit basically.

[Louis Costa]

Back / Bis

Explosive Barbell Hi pulls.

I get Hi...Hi ... HI. Hiiiiiiiiiiii. - that's an old jam.

135 x 10

185 x 5

225 x 5

245 x 5

275 x 5

Cake. all very fast. Getting more explosive every week . Lets see if it translates to cleans next week.

two sets of 135 hang snatch x 5.

Tbar Rows Coleman style with a strongman range of motion.

4 sets of 15 with 5 plates

High rope pulls super set with straight arm pull downs

4 sets of 10 x 10

Bi's.

Dbell strict drag curls - "It's not how much weight you can do....it's how much weight you LOOK like you can do." - Bob Chicherello.

Oh wait..that applies to bodybuilding. Strongman..its actually all about he weight. whooops.

30s x 20

40s x 15

45s x 12

50s x 10 drop to 30's x 20 switch to dbell hammers with some swing x 20.

whew...looking big ol' swole.

Machine Free motion bicep curls.

Whole slew of angles and rep ranges / weights.

Weighted rope pull for abs

6 sets @ 100 lbs. x 20

took only about 30 seconds between each set . maybe a min. at most. heart rate was up and pump was on. Good day.

[Louis Costa]

woke up dreaming about training. Was gonna take today off but might as well go do tri's and work some arm over arm pulls lite after yesterday.

Back and Bi's are Very sore!

Other than that.

Body feels great.

BW. 281.2 http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/images/smilies/frown.gif I dieted extremely hard the past two days with zero results. Usually that yields a good 5 lb. shed in water and bloat.

Only thing I could think of was I ate lean ground beef hamburgers last night and kept the patties together when I cooked them with onion soup and bread crumbs. Sodium may be playing a role here.

Was talking shop last night with Danny Masshardt the "Power lifting preacher"....NO really..he's a preacher that powerlifts.

After we lifted yesterday actually he said i'm looking more full / lean / strong at this weight than 270 and that is with me jacking my carbs up almost a full 200 grams ( almost all around my workout in simple sugars and fruit and things)

Powering through workouts like no tomorrow so I guess we will just hang on and see where all this goes.

Needed this week to kind of step back and not push my limits. Saving it all for next strongman session. Want to start putting up some brett somerville style numbers !!! http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif

Strength is going up for sure...for absolutely sure..but i've always known with me as weight goes up strength goes up. That is the simplest equation there is for me and why I have so many Fing stretch marks.

Now..that i've been sleeping better and apnea is pretty much gone..(well who knows but it doesn't feel like i'm drowning every night now!) .scared to death to start putting on weight...along with how well I feel doing front carries and not dragging through workouts. Not to mention the far less sweating and fat jokes..haha.

The big test will be the deadlift in the next couple weeks along with my over head.

IF those lifts don't start sky rocketing to where they were after all these cals and hard workouts....I may just say F it and let the weight come as it wants to and just stay up on cardio and these long ass brutal workouts.

I want ....and will be competitive as hell in Philly because from the line up it looks about as competitive a show that you can put together front to back without being an asc guy..and just a regular shlep like me.

AND... I want to take the Worlds natural team title away from the damned Hungary team and their home field advantage.

Maybe the Natural thing wont last very much longer with me?? It's a moral badge of honor to some around me....It's starting to look like a hindrance to actually getting what I want.

Dont worry...I wont announce it...but you'll know when it happens if it does...and then maybe you filthy swine naysayers that talk so much shit will know I have made it this far on good ol proteins and burritos.

Not that it matters...I'm just interested in the end product at this point.

F the politics and health standards....and behind the scenes gossiping ...

I'm ready to break out..one way or another.

That was a Public Service Lou Broadcast.

Over and out.

[Louis Costa]

Tri's

Felt great going into gym.

Super Secret Tri Exercise

3 sets of 5

1 set of 10.

I cannot divulge what it is. It feels too good on the joints and perfect for explosion without involving chest.

Lets just say this...It involves A machine / Bands / and a turtle - nuff said.

Incline Bench Dbell Extensions

75s x 10

80s x 10 -

75s x 10

70s x 10

Flat Bench Cross Face French Press.

40 lb. dbell. Alternating failure on both arms with no rest for 3 sets each back and forth.

Rope Push downs superset into Overhead ropes.

4 sets of 10 x 10

Side Raises.

30s x 30.

Machine Lateral.

Bunch of dumbass ass sets ...not really feeling it.

Giant set of side raises starting with 45s. Dropping 5 lb.s after each set of failure all the way down to 20's.

Prolly did 120 reps.

Friedddddd.


Big leg day and dl tomorrow. hoping for good numbers. Legs feel fresh and good to go.

Peaaace

[Dan Masshardt]

I know your 'super secret' ;-)

[Louis Costa]

I know your 'super secret' ;-)

haha....Danny! now I can't lie about my weights anymore that your snooping around!!!

Legs today ...nervous already....wheww

[Dan Masshardt]

I was actually pleasently surprised to see that you've been telling the truth about your weights :-)

If anybody else on the forum wants to know real insider info on Lou (the details of what's in his magical burrito?), I can fill you in.

[Louis Costa]

Squat / Deads

Whew. Really looking for these nums to go up. Very pleased with this workout. Felt strong and explosive almost the whole way through.

My legs are destroyed.

Here...is their story.

YouTube - Strongman Training


Squats with Power Bands.

135 x 10

225 x 10

315 x 5

405 x 5 - felt rediculously fast.

500 x 5 - in video. I was feeling super duper. Hit the easy button.

550 x 2 - wanted to go for 5. But I miscued at the start and had the bar off center and it threw me off. either way. Felt really good with these deep guyers.


Deads off floor.

yes there is inch matting in the video. I kept my shoes on to make up for it. I usually go barefoot. So f you.

315 x 3

500 x 3

585 x 3

I was a little nervous to go up. Its like..you put all this work in and I would have been mortified if i went up to 675 and had to hitch or it felt too heavy. I knew after the leg work that I would be taking a chance. But figured set of 3 with stops should be well within range.

675 x 3 - felt really good. Fresh. I should be ALMOST....ALMOST to where I left off.

500 x 15 - endurance set. seems like I could've done more. Idk why my endurance strength is so much more than my 1 rep max. damn me.

Prowler.

Lets just say brutal. worked up to 8 plates. I put in about 10 runs that all almost killed me. Layed on pavement for good 10 minutes with extreme quad pump. This had better be working!!!!

Overall. Progress is being made. Gonna take a light week on my squats and deads after 3 very heavy leg/dead days in a row. we will see what transpires. off day tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Enjoy the video. Ye style.

[Louis Costa]

sorry..vid working here.

YouTube - Strongman Training

[Dan Masshardt]

The Prowler is kinda like Chinese Buffet: as soon as you're done you say 'never again,' then a few hours later you think, 'hmm, I could go for some more prowler/chinese. :-)

If I had stopped the first time my body quit, I probably wouldn't have needed as long as a recovery. haha.

Solid day Louis. Good work day. Feels good to deadlift again.

You should post some of your nutrition/supps on here sometime...

[Louis Costa]

The Prowler is kinda like Chinese Buffet: as soon as you're done you say 'never again,' then a few hours later you think, 'hmm, I could go for some more prowler/chinese. :-)

If I had stopped the first time my body quit, I probably wouldn't have needed as long as a recovery. haha.

Solid day Louis. Good work day. Feels good to deadlift again.

You should post some of your nutrition/supps on here sometime...

Thanx Danny...My head and CNS has been screwed up since the workout today. whew...took it out of me.

And these guys would probably laugh at the extreme simplicity I adhere too in diet...along with my "pg" supplementation regimen.

What was our old mantra ? Slang weights with hate and eat steak ? still works. ha

[Aaron West]

Make the equipment more badass. Fucking great idea. Get some hollowed out cars and lets do some cool yokes. Car Squats.



Lou, I cyber-stalked you from MM to find this thread. I registered and am going to use my first post to personally invite you to the 2011 Cardinal Strongman Challenge II. Your thirst for badass equipment will be quenched. Dualling car squats, monster bells from 8" to one size over the Arnold bell, stones...what's not to love? Sorry, no hollow cars this year, but last year we debuted the ridiculously MAMMOTH wheelbarrows, this year the car squats, next year the....

Besides, if the Phist is coming, it's already awesome by default.

[Louis Costa]

Lou, I cyber-stalked you from MM to find this thread. I registered and am going to use my first post to personally invite you to the 2011 Cardinal Strongman Challenge II. Your thirst for badass equipment will be quenched. Dualling car squats, monster bells from 8" to one size over the Arnold bell, stones...what's not to love? Sorry, no hollow cars this year, but last year we debuted the ridiculously MAMMOTH wheelbarrows, this year the car squats, next year the....

Besides, if the Phist is coming, it's already awesome by default.

Aaron; I put an inquiring text out to Deck and will talk to phist this weekend. The events look very fun. And i've made a living off internet stalking...so never apologize for it. haha....i'll keep an eye on the cardinal classic. events look great!


Lou











The real question to ask here on the day off.......

is how to maximize training potential for upcoming philly show and natural worlds?

But still prepare for a very tough kumite lineup? Gallman / Cybart / Gill = no joke

I'm gonna stick with prepping for the events in the bigger shows...and hope everything falls into place and I dont look silly at a small amatuer show.


Today: Body is beaten and tired. First time my low back has been fried and knees feel like they have hand grenades in them since I started training hard again. I knew it was coming

This will be a mental hurdle for me to get over.

Not because I can't stand the pain...but bc I constantly ask myself if the pain is worth it.

For the first time I'm going to ignore the aches...and stiffness....and crazy low energy reserves today.

What is the long term goal ? To compete at my best. I think about it every f ing set. Every day. I get angry at myself for wasting 2 years putting around giving 75%.

Every time I want to back off adding weight...or out of breath on ground writhing in pain. I think about what it takes. I challenge myself. Are you going to get better...or continue be a doucher? It's been working.

I'm tired of underachieving...and just want to say that once...I gave it 100 percent. I think then...I will be at much more peace with myself.

So the definitive plan: I need to concentrate much more on training and less on competing. So I will limit myself to these shows only.

Kumite - kick the rust off. Hopefully qualify for nats

Philly Pro show - Not be a shmuck...and surprise a few ppl. Compete at 100% ability.

Natural Team Worlds - Put America atop the heap of dirty European natural strongman.

Take a month lay off and let body heal after mid july and traveling and handling all these heavy weights. Many..many bodybuilders use the idea of taking off a huge chunk of the year to maintain longevity in the sport. not a bad idea...and I like the idea of not becoming burned out. I can feel the toll its taking already after a month....and I want to be at best for nats this year.

Maybe hit up the cardinal classic.

10 week prep going into nats

Nats: Win the 265 class . qualify for arnold amatuer.

Arnold Amatuer: Compete at top of ability. That's all.

Less shows and more training should equate to me becoming better. Something I haven't done in two years now.

Funny...I haven't gotten better in two years....

I'll remember that for events this weekend.

off to work.

lou

[Brian Carley]

What is the long term goal ? To compete at my best. I think about it every f ing set. Every day. I get angry at myself for wasting 2 years putting around giving 75%.

Every time I want to back off adding weight...or out of breath on ground writhing in pain. I think about what it takes. I challenge myself. Are you going to get better...or continue be a doucher? It's been working.

I'm tired of underachieving...and just want to say that once...I gave it 100 percent. I think then...I will be at much more peace with myself.


Inspiring! From your log, you sound a lot like me or I sound a lot like you, however you want to look at it. Either way, your log is inspiring and as corny as it sounds, you're pushing me to new levels and motivation to strive to be my best and know when I hang up the Rehbands, I will know I gave it all and know I did all I could in the sport!

[Louis Costa]

Inspiring! From your log, you sound a lot like me or I sound a lot like you, however you want to look at it. Either way, your log is inspiring and as corny as it sounds, you're pushing me to new levels and motivation to strive to be my best and know when I hang up the Rehbands, I will know I gave it all and know I did all I could in the sport!

Thanx Brian. Means a lot.

But the questions I ask myself are what we all subconsciously or in inadvertently think about.

Sometimes...its just good to hear that other ppl think..or feel..or are going through some of the shit you go through ya know.

Hopefully that's what I bring to the table.

I may be erratic...conceited....over confident....and underachieving..

but dammit I'll admit it! ha

Hope your training is going well..i'll follow ya on mm.

lou

[Louis Costa]

Events -

Arm over Arm Sled Pull

We used the prowler for this and built up a good system.

Worked up to 10 plates total on a slight up hill climb.

3 warm up sets and did 3 runs at max weight at 40 ft or so each pull.


These pulls were a little harder than a regular pull because after each time the you would pull..and reset your hands....all momentum would stop...where as a normal truck would have a little momentum to it.

Forearms / hands / Bi's were smoked. Really worked on getting solid cadence and rhythm going. Felt strong.

Also get the right gloves for hands. After last year and the rope destroying all of my skin it ruined about the next 2 weeks of life.

Took the plates off down to 6 and just did standing arm pulls only for cardio.

3 sets. Huge pump and burn all through arms back and hands.



Sled Drags.

Same style as before. except worked up to 6 plates a side.

push down 40 yards. Drag back up slight incline. Legs were on fire...but I'm def. getting stronger and they are def. gettting more used to these. Should be good to go with these two events by philly. Must not let off gas!

Very pleased with training.

Going to take another whole day off tomorrow and then hit events with reckless abandonment on sunday. Really going to push numbers and see what I got.

have good weekend.

Louis

[Louis Costa]

Strongman training at the edge with Barry Perkins and crew.

Needed a good day . Felt extremely good this morning. Big ol crew hanging around and met a bunch of new Strongman peeps.

YouTube - Strongman Training @ The Edge 5 /15

Log

Took off all week hoping a rest would do me good. Gamble paid off.

Warm up

190 Xs 3 c and p

240 xs 3 c and p

290 Xs 2 c and p

310 x 1. Felt.crazy easy. Video shows it

335 Xs 1 missed first press. First time in two years going this heavy. Once I hit it easy after first miss was all I needed mentally.

335 Xs 2. Clean once. This is a PR for me actually. I hit a 365 log two years ago but a Rep.PR at this weight and easy presses.at that was awesome for me mentally.

290 c and p Xs 4. Everything felt easy as hell man. Just gassed out. But its up 25 lbs from two weeks ago. Very pleased. I'm almost where I was 30 lbs and.two years ago. Not letting off the the gas pedal now.

Speed yoke

Couple warm up sets

670 xs 80 ft for two runs. Cake. Fast explosive. My knees are fn killing me as I write this in car ride home with Phist.

Tire

Couple flips on 500.and 600 lb tires.

Needed heavy tire work. Got it

Barrys 1000 lb. Tire. Actually 950 or.some shit but its heavy.

Wow. Its pouring and me and Phist are water skiing in the versa home. Damn.

1000.x 2
1000 x 3
1000 x 9. Went for it. Killed it. Very excited about it. Video shows it.

Stones

I was Pretty smoked. 240.xs 3. 300 xs 3. 330 xs 1 . Soo. Easy.
350 xs miss. Was sticking to shorts. Missed three times.in a row. Back was fd in the a. 300 xs 3 x2 xs miss for three. Just got too.tired. sad to end such a good day on low note. Video will be up shortly.

Now Its sunny out. What the hell? Hopefully this means zombie apocolyose is coming

Love

Louis j

[Louis Costa]

282.4 today.

Weight keeps going up!!! So hard to argue with the results though! I just got home from the grocery store. No more subway. And no more burritos. sigh http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/images/smilies/frown.gif I'm gonna keep my cals up with chicken / rice / oatmeal / eggs and simple sugars around workouts.

I'm dead ass serious about dropping weight down around 275 and staying there. I did eat a ton of cals all weekend so I'm not too extremely worried.

Infact..my diet has been down right loose like the next door neighb......never mind....

but my weight...haha...it keeps creeping up on me godammit. Going back to eating clean should remedy this.

Cardio is up.....weight is up...strength is skyrocketing by the week....so...if i get weak after this little cut i'm just gonna say F it till after july. Strong lou is a good lou.


Back / Bis / Cardio

All just to get blood in the right places. Recover workout. Spent a little time stretching. Complaining...and about ten minutes warming up shoulders.

All the weights were about 75 % and not even close to failure so no point reporting. Almost deload.

pulldowns.

High pulls.

Barbell Rows. all 4 sets of 15 - 20

Bis - soooo sore from the arm over arm stuff and strongman yesterday. Like deep in the tendon sore.

dbell curls

4 sets 25 lbers x 20

4 sets of 20 with 55 lb. cambered bar.

Prowler.

only one plate a side.

8 sprints. Down and Back 40 ft counted as one.

Little worried about quad. Dropped the tire on it yesterday and felt my rectus femoris ( No Big Steve...not the rectus your thinking of ) pull really hard when I missed the first clean at 335.

Little black and blue today so that's not good. Gonna make sure to get blood in it and stretch it every day.

But the sprints helped.

Looking for a big press day tomorrow. Gonna try and go 405 for reps on close grip incline. And of course...i just jinxed myself. Because whenever I shoot for something..i never get it.


Later..

lucifer.

[Louis Costa]

MMMM..

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[Louis Costa]

Not adding hydrogenated oil. Sugar. Or any other ingredients is a huge selling point. Duh Right? Its healthy as Hell for you

I've been eating it for the past four months And swear by it compared to its "natural" counterparts found in jiff skippy ect .. Which if you check the label..after certain consideration are not very natural. Hmm...A lot like some Strongman! ....... kidding. Jeez I'm kidding

But Were gonna make awesome Tshirts that say " i eat nuts. Naturally". Or some other clever saying. They're gonna put a little Strongman section on website. And of course ill be selling those.

But here's the fact. Eating peanut butter is good for you.

Eating Zimmerman's nautral peanut butter. Will Get you strong.
Eat Zimmerman's. Get strong.

Do me a favor. Check it out. Make the switch. You'll be healthier for it.

And I'm not gonna lie. Their chocolate is delicious. The chocolate covered pretzels are more scandelous than Arnold fathering a child with his staffer. http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif

Love lou

[Louis Costa]

I just wrote entire f'n workout down and computer froze.


this is the short version.


I have secret competition plans.

You may be able to guess.


I will not announce it because it's top secret.


Today was monster press day.

HIghlights.

425 flat bench close grip. 1st time maxing since pec tear in 3 years. cannot take normal grip because of said pec tear.

Super secret tricep exercise. cannot divulge any info. classified.

Incline CGBP. pec got all tired.

Z seated floor presses. they suck ...had to quit..quads cramped and jumped off leg actually sitting on ground.

Dbell Shoulder press seated. very strong.

Cable chest flys. Gay.

Facing Machine....machine No back shoulder presses. Kill time. kill time.



ok...sorry that was the short version. I gotta go eat. I hit the major points. But giant press day was infact giant like my ..... well..it was big..take my word...it's a grow'er...not a show'er. My shoulders! Get your head out of gutter.


Have good day.

love. your louis.

PS. Eat natural pb. It raises your testosterone. Makes you more attractive to women. Pays your taxes and welcomes you home much like your favorite dog

[Louis Costa]

Dead / Leg Day.


I cannot express the loads of balls I felt like crawling to the gym today.

Knees. Hips. Elbows. Shoulders. Triceps. Chest. Everything sore. creaky. and over used. I knew I couldn't keep up that pace forever. Tearing through workouts and not feeling the long term effects I felt before. For a second...just a second...I thought I had tricked the old body into some new ultimate strongman machine.

All Gains. No pains. Right.

Wrong.

These are the days I usually would've called off. When I have to roll out of bed. Stretch. and hobble down stairs.

I wanted to write something...motivating...Angry...make a claim. "I will not back down..blah..blah..I will keep going...yadda..yadda...

But realized no one really gives a crap when you post that shit on facebook or here. Our battles are with ourselves. at least mine is. always.

Jay cutler said the key to winning the olympia is consistency over a period a years.

I feel the key to strongman is consistency matched with an unflinching desire to decimate your body. purely masochist style. I do love that pain. perversely enough as it is haha.

I will keep drudging on. This is usually the point I give in. Give up. Back down. Say it's too hard.

Never really knowing where the finish line is...and being too scared of swimming too far out in the ocean to make it back.

Fear of injury.

Fear of failure

Fear of success. Period

But thank god today was gonna be a lite day. After the past 5 leg/dead days were so brutal. I needed to back off.

So atleast I dont have to feel guilty about not destroying myself.

is something wrong with me? I literally feel guilty if i dont crush myself into laying on ground and wimpering.

17 inch Rack Dead lifts with Purple Band tension.

Reverse Bands - Helpie ----- Normal Purple Bands - Hurtie

I dont want to speculate on how much the tension was at top....but had to be atleast 250 with just the bar and bands. Crazy band weight.

225 + bands x 5

315 + bands x 3

405 + bands x 2

495 + bands x 2

585 + bands x 1

675 + bands x 1 - was starting to feel really good. Knew I should've stopped here.

725 + bands x miss - got burried. and it destroyed my back missing this. Whew.

Deep stop and go barbell back squats.

135 x 10 - right hip and quad are all jacked up from this weekend. uh oh.

225 x 10

315 x 5

405 x 3 x 3

135 squat jumps. x 10 x 10 x 10.

Packed up my bags. Tail between legs and crawled home. ate my chicken and delicious lasagna. Felt like total ass.

Just woke up after short nap. Felt ten times better. Gonna take two days to just d0 very light recovery stuff.

I need to figure out how get through these plateaus when the body is beaten...and the job is not done yet.

F#cking being natural man. Everybody deals with this crap but guys I know gassed up dont come home broken. Beaten. and tired for 3 days.

It does make me a little angry.

But I'm gonna load that up and use it for events this weekend. Rest , Rest, Rest.

I'm going for the 100% raw World record at 275. 1850. Should be able to hit those nums now. But strict powerlifting is something i've never done.


Actually hoping to get some input from raw lifters out there. So feel free to chime in.

I was scared originally to say anything. Because I realized. part of me wanted to back out. But something i've gained in the past 6 months is an unwavering belief in myself.

So I'm going for it. Ya it's retarded to risk pec tears and hamstring pulls so close to philly and worlds. But my body is going to hold up. I'm taking care of it. Nutrition is spot on. sleeping 8 hours a night. not drinking. Getting regular old fashions.

So why not now.

Fear of success.

and that is something I cannot live with any longer.

If the body fails..it fails. But it will fail giving 100 %

louis

[Louis Costa]

Stretched. Foam Rolled. Stretched more. Did some rotator cuff exercises . Rear delts. and half hour of gruesome prowler work.

Everything feels much better. two days of just cardio and I should be in good shape for events this weekend.

Decided not to deload for kumite next week. I need the week of training. Actually gonna hit hard next week and hope the cards fall where they may.

[Louis Costa]

last workout was on Thursday. Took All weekend to rest.

Wasn't planned. No drinking. All resting and eating.

But Listen...I was tired of feeling like shit. Thursday was a recoup workout and when everything still aches after that. At this point..after about 7 or 8 very hard lifting weeks and a month of hard strongman workouts it was time for a little periodization break.


Hit Heavy Press Today. Gonna Hit Heavy Legs and back tomorrow> Give deads a break till the weekend. and then just cardio stuff into kumite.

So after saying I was going to go hard through this week and not deload. Well. I guess we will just lower the volume. but still go semi heavy.

Press Day.

Close Grip Bench. Stop Reps. Working Press Call

225 x 5

315 x 5

365 x 3

405 x 2 x 2 - speedy

315 x 14

Pretty Happy with these. Even using an extremely close grip and practically doing a negative bringing the weight down to protect my pec I felt much stronger this week.

Even though when I normally do chest with dbells or machines i get all muscle pump..now..my tendons are extremely sore. Which ...only re inforces my idea of going extremely slow..careful.and close grip on these. a normal bench and i know pec would snap off.

Today..NO pain..so that is good.

Barbell Push Press out of Rack.

135 x 10

225 x 5

275 x 3 - felt crazy easy. I mean this is usually my barometer for next set. Had it in mind to beat my rep PR at 315 (7)

315 x 2 - Felt Crazy Shoulder stiffness. Backed the F off. Oh ya..and mis racked the bar and everything went crashing down and made me look like a newbie re-tard.

245 x 10. Eh...whatever. stupid crap weight.

Not a good sign for this weekend. But whatever. My press fluctuates like 40 lbs in any given day. Does anybody else have this problem?

Flat Bench Dbell Extensions super set into Palms Facing Dbell Press.

60's x 12 x 8 4 sets - sheeazy. just repping weight and thinking about burritos.

Side Raises. Bunch of sets and random numbers.

Going to go up to 600 and maybe..maybe 650 back squats tomorrow out of the hole with up command without knee wraps.( per WR rules. )

If..and I mean if I can hit a 450 bench and 650 squat.

Hoping to hit a 650 squat tomorrow.

= 1100

Only would have to hit a 755 Deadlift. Which should...= World Record / Tested - Raw in the 275 class.

My real numbers right now. Look more like this.

425 Close Grip Bench. - Very Easy Last week. But you never know in comp
625 Squat - in the bag.
750 Dead. hit it a million times.

1800 - Need to find those other 55 lbs somewhere!!! tomorrow we will see.

In reality I've never tested a 1 rep squat for max in like ten years. And that is assuming my deadlift is up to par..which..may..or may not be the case. ??

Guess we will c.

Have good night.

Luey.




5/24

100 % Raw Powerlifting Federation. American Challenge. June 11th. Marlow Heights Maryland. http://www.rawpowerlifting.com/

Although After today I'm severely wondering If I have not over shot the mark. I cannot tell you how much I respect Stan Efferding's / Scott Weech's squatting ability now. Raw. Un wrapped. Belt only.

I have never trained max squat and haven't had the need to squat over 6 hundo in quite some time.

Here's the kicker. Every Time I would squat heavy I would throw on knee wraps. This federation allows nothing. Not even rehband. So I felt like a little naked luey child squatting.

I forgot my flat black high tops I ALWAYS squat in. All I had where my crappy Nike shox. So that had to play a little role today.

Warm ups.

135 x 10. ass in ground every one.

225 x 5

315 x 5

405 x 2 - felt like I was ready to go.

500 x 1

550 x 1 - Knew this was a little slower than it should of been. I just hit this ..with bands. for an easy 2 last week. put "the fear" in my head.

610 x 1 Grinded it out. But not confident I couldve gone for much more. So it would've counted but I was hoping for 650 to be within reach of WR.
was deep. I will post video with compilation training.

Knew going up further in weight would be a mistake.

405 x 5. Stop reps to the ground. Explosive

405 x 5 - same.

Prowler - decided to punish myself for being a dirty lou. bad. Bad lou

Prowler plus 180 lbs.

Down 35 ft. Up hill 35 ft. Back down hill 35 ft. and sprint drag up back uphill 35 ft. x's 5 sets.

It wasn't absolutely torture. But it was bad. I got the... " I hate/love doing this" feeling. Where you know your accomplishing something. But its still bastardly hard.

Felt a little dejected. But what could I expect?? Squatting heavy for first time in ever. Not training for Max squat...thinking I would be good at it just because I've been squatting again recently. Dirty nike Shox.. Still hit close to what I wanted. Idk.

I will say this. I felt Fibers in my hamstrings and ass....just like with chest..that i haven't used in a loooong time. Def. Red lining my joints / attachments / muscles. Or maybe just stretching them out..dusting them off ..getting them out of closet? idk. But the "oh shit" factor after feeling that max weight again has been weird /enjoyable / and a little scary.

NOTHING VENTURED/NOTHING GAINED. so what if it's my health. right http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/images/smilies/wink.gif

I've made a living training around 80 percent of my perceived maxes. so idk.

I really kind of like the 3 basic lifts again. well..for the first time ever.

Will see how this weekend goes. And next week attempt some speed work I guess before taking week off for the powerlifting meet.

I can't decide if I honest to god wanna take a shot at the WR. Red Line and max out my body...or ..just go and have a good time. Enjoy it. See what happens.

I feel I have a responsibility to WNSF now after they signed my ticket. Payed for hotel and are expecting me to show up not mangled through dumbass WR attempts.

It's all just one big gamble. But. We will see.

[Louis Costa]

Lou Rant. Un strongman related.

I dont have my glasses on so i cant really see what i'm typing. Forgive blatant errors I'm legally Blind without my spectacles. . and I've got extra second at work

Was watching 60 minutes last night about lance armstrong. And was a huge fan of barry bonds, mark macgwire, sosa and the whole baseball gang growing up as a kid.

What blows my mind, is that our government has such a perverted view of justice, and fairness, and moral high ground to chase these guys down at the insanely high costs reaching into the millions of dollars now. All of these cases (clemens, bonds, Marion) yielding any sort of actual conviction??

These Investigators chased bonds for 8 years. 8 freakin years only to get him to plead to some less charge of perjury or whatever he got off with.

How Many Hundreds of thousands / Man Power Hours. ??

For what!!! ??

They are chasing lance armstrong years after he's retired ...trying to face him down and make him eat his words and abort his squeaky clean image. Just like they made marion jones do.

JAILTIME ?? for her. are you f*cking kidding me. The women spent half a year in jail for purguring herself. She was a mother of 3. the bread winner for the family...a sports hero with zero criminal record......over lying ??

What's Left after we tear down all of our super stars / idols / sports hero's ? Into dust.

What is this exercise in prying out the truth that no one really cares about by the government really accomplishing ?

Why? Because they did what HAD to be done to be the best.

Of course they all used Performance enhancing drugs.

Get the F over it if your still a little bright eyed child and think sports are fair..and "for love of the game" bullshit and all of that.

Bonds and the home run crew of Big Mac and Slammin Sammy completely recovered the game out of a strike year ...after greedy owners locked out the players...these same owners turned a blind eye to what was going on in the club houses...all while warmly opening up their check books to reap the benefit because it was excited..it electrified a nation.

Now they all squirm in their chairs as they testify against the same people that saved their sports and made them rich.

You think Babe Ruth set his records without steriods. Right..He didnt.

But he also didn't face black pitchers. or any other race of ball player.

Sandy Kofax threw off of a raised mount. They lowered it bc of him.

It just sickens me to death. That investment bankers that ruined our country the past 7 years. The idiots that de regulated the entire system to let a few weasles rape us for BILLIONS UPON BILLIONS of dollars are let slither back to their yachts and ten mansions WITHOUT REPURCUSION.

They Stole. From Us. Got bailed out. At our Cost. AND STOLE AGAIN!!!!! WTTFFFFFFF

They effectively bankrupt the world. with global econmy being so inter debendent as it it is.

Yet godamn lance armstrong...and bonds...and big mac. and who ever else captivated a nation...gave us reason to celebrate life..or sport...or whatever are villified...hung out on a cross..and spit at.

...I remember me and my sister...sitting watching the 2003 tour de france...never having watchiedva race in my life. Because i was awe struck...At how hard of an achievement any of those riders went through. Not just lance.

Lance has donated millions to cancer research. And these slime balls want to make him pay ....not monetarily. but crush his image. So be it.

The investigators ruined the home run chase of 98. ruined lance armstrongs records.

You silly asses will say..they got caught..they cheated.. Well i got news for ya. Everyone does. EVERYONE. Look at the lists in cycling..and baseball and football.

OUr country just reached it's max out limit on credit. 13 trillion combined. Bankrupted its citezens. Spent trillions on a war in iraq while osama sat in pakistan air conditioning. How many lives. HOw many homes empty because of the housing crash. How many bail outs do they need. ??

How F#ckin irresponsible is our government?

Just to take the high ground and cut down our legends...or great memories we have of them...at the price tag of millions.

6 months in jail - marion jones.

nothing for bonds.

Big mac Crying.

After everyone ( owners, fans, business ) turned a blind eye and cashed in on on their jerseys ..accomplishments.

It sickens me.

All because of steriods and some perceived moral righteousness our dumbess legislators and FBI investigators have.

Here's a thought.

Spend some of those millions you spent chasing these athletes that I call heros.....

and spend it on the freakin tornado victims down in missouri. Let pour Lance go and go feed the homeless. Good grief man.

Way to ruin half of my great sports memories growin up..

All while holding a righteous flag and being more irresponsible with money / lives/property than any citizen could imagine being.

All over Mother F'n Steriods? ?????

Way to go USA . You caught another one in lance... Way to go.