Scottish Highland Games in Las Vegas
I met tons of really great people at this event. I have to say, throwers sure are a lot like powerlifters. For example, I ran into this big dude named Attila. Like, Attila the Hun. That’s a damned cool name. He is a big, strong guy who did really well for his first Highland Games. We got to talking, and he asked if I had read the article, So You Think You Are Huge. I responded with, “Did I read it? Hell, I wrote it!”
The promotions people, athletes and judges were all great at this event. I owe a big thanks to Mike and Melinda Pockoski. Mike is a pro Highland athlete who hung around on Sunday to help, and his wife is an unbelievable thrower who won worlds last year. They were both a great help and taught me a lot.
I was actually very happy with my results from the Vegas Games. I hit some distances that I thought would take me a lot more time, and I learned a lot more about technique. Best of all, I finally found my focus and concentration again. I’ve been really struggling in that department for the past five or six months, with everything just shooting in and out of my brain. During lifting and throwing practice, I would get pissed at myself because I couldn’t focus, and all the little things I did wrong would completely frustrate me.
During these games, I was able to block out all pain and follow through with the throws. I did irritate my compartment syndrome, but I didn’t feel anything during the throws. I have to say that spraying sticky in the open wounds on my hands didn’t feel good, but it was easy to block out. I felt like my old self again, and that was awesome.
Woodland, CA Highland Games
My next event was the following weekend in Woodland, CA on April 26th. This was the weekend after the Vegas Highland Games, which was not such a good idea for me. I wasn’t particularly sore after the Vegas Games, but there were definitely some muscles that were worked differently than normal. I was exhausted and didn’t seem to recover very well during the week. There were a number of factors that played a role in this.
I was still getting over being sick, I’m not used to being in the sun and heat all day, my sleep sucks right now, I wasn’t eating very well or very much, and I’m not used to competing for such a long day. At a powerlifting meet, I basically do nine heavy lifts, but at the Highland Games you do nine events with a minimum of three all-out throws for each. I did managed to take second overall, though, and I won the weight-for-height competition and also learned a lot.
We started with the Braemar stone, and by the time I took my first throw, I knew it was going to be a long day. I was already exhausted and had no pop or explosion. I figured I’d just try to throw the best I could, but really focus on soaking up as much information as I could. One of the reasons I did these games was because I would be throwing on the same day as the professionals, and I saw this as a great opportunity to gain some knowledge.
I have some friends who know a few of the pros, and they told me to just introduce myself because the pros are really good guys. Going up to talk with athletes is really not a problem for me, especially with ones I look up to, so I just went up and introduced myself. I told them I was still new to the Games, but that I had been watching videos of them and was impressed. Some of them actually knew who I was and said they were fans of mine. I’m not trying to sound too cocky or big-headed here, but that was pretty damned cool.
I kept trying to watch them as much as I could, so I could pick up technique. As the day went on, I’d take my throw, then wander over to watch them until it was my turn again. As it turns out, some of the pros were also watching me, and they would give me tips on how to do things better, or how to fix the things I was doing wrong. One of them commented on how they could tell I was an athlete, because I listened to what they said and then executed it. My head is going to grow so large that I won’t be able to get it through a doorway!!!
Here are my results for the day:
Braemar stone: 39'
Open stone: 47' 8"
Light weight for distance: 60'
Heavy weight for distance: 27' 8"
Light hammer: 99' 3"
Heavy hammer: 83' 4"
Weight over bar: 15'
Caber: 2:00
The Braemar stone was actually decent, but the open stone was not so good. For some reason, I was not gliding all the way across the trig, and I was rushing my hips. Heavy weight for distance was about the same as last week. I had a good start on my third attempt, but slipped in the middle. I need a little more practice to work on my balance. Light weight for distance really pissed me off. I was trying to generate some speed and sprint across the trig, but I was so tired I couldn’t get anything going. Light hammer wasn’t terrible, but again, I couldn’t get any speed going. Heavy hammer really sucked.
The highlight of the day was getting to spend my lunch break watching the professionals. Eric Frasure and Sean Betz gave me some great advice that I can’t wait to start working on for the hammers. Caber wasn’t really what I wanted, either. My picks have gotten a lot better, but my timing was way off. I think that because I was so tired and slow that when I’d squat to pop the caber, I’d be too late. Weight over bar was actually not too bad. I came in at 12’ and went up to 15’ fairly easily. My first attempt at 16’ was just under the bar, and then I did two attempts that had the height but were in front of the bar.
I learned a lot from Mike last weekend, and it really helped out. I just need to work it and get more consistent. So, all in all, not the best results, but not bad. I did better in some of the events, and still finished second in a large group of good A’s.
I want to thank all the pros that helped me out with advice and everything. Eric Frasure is still a very young athlete, and he’s doing some seriously impressive throwing. He’s also strong as hell and I believe he’s thinking of trying strongman. Look him up on YouTube to see some of his lifting and Highland Games performances. Sean Betz is also one of the highly-ranked pros, and a great guy. He is very strong and has a great chance to win the world competition this coming weekend. Larry Brock is the current world champion, and is just an amazing guy to watch throw. Check out his website and videos at www.brockthrow.com. Andrew Hobson from Los Angeles is a great guy, and a great thrower.
There are definitely people I’m missing here, but I’m terrible at remembering names. There were all good guys, and it was great to meet them all. I would also like to thank all my sponsors: Muscle Milk and Cytosport, EliteFTS.com, Sportkilt, American Iron Gym, BodytechUSA.com, Fatheadz.com and GoMetal.com.
Q&A:
What does the weight for height in a Highland Games weigh, and what could I use to practice for it?
The weight is 56 lbs. I think a kettlebell would work okay to train with if you don’t have the actual weight. It’ll be a little different because the kettlebell is once piece, and stiff, while the weight for height is a weight with a handle. It should be ok. I’ve thought about and heard others talk about training this event with a lighter weight to work on the speed and explosion, but I think training with the actual 56 lbs weight is also important. This would be the conjugate method for the 56 lbs weight. I find that I am not lacking in strength, but could get the weight moving faster in order to go higher.
I enjoyed your interview with Mark Bell. Your workout schedule is rather unorthodox, to say the least. Have you heard of anyone doing anything similar with results like yours?
I’m glad you liked my unorthodox interview, and that’s a good way to describe me: unorthodox. Plus, it has the word “OX” in it. It’s true that when you get stronger and lift heavier weight that it’ll tax your body more. This means you need more rest. The truest statement about lifting I’ve ever heard is that you get stronger when you recover. When you know that, you’ve learned what most lifters never will.
I think the basic principles of the Westside template are ingenious, but doing it in seven days doesn’t make much sense to me. That’s why I use it in modified form with more rest.
My partners have all excelled with my modified program. They do more workouts than me, but we all follow the same principles. Every now and again, I’d have to fight with them to start taking more days off. I would win, they would take more days off, and then they’d go set PR’s in all their lifts. Ethan is a 600+ bencher, 700+ squatter and mid-600 deadlifter with a ton of injuries from livestock, and a super-energetic kid that has him running all over doing sports. Scott is 300 lbs, 100% drug-free, and squats 1000+, benches 600+, deadlifts 700+ and has totaled 2300+. He has the ability to squat 1100, bench 700 and pull 800 if he would ever do another meet.
I’ve heard that Ed Coan trained less than a lot of people, and that Anthony Clark didn’t actually train that much, either. I’ve heard a lot of stories about some of the older big lifters who didn’t train very much, but I don’t know that personally. It’s funny to me that people will hear this stuff and just assume that it’s just because they have great genetics. You have to at least consider that my program has something to do with how strong I am.
I am far from a genetic freak. I am a SELF MADE FREAK!!!
If I were a genetic freak, I wouldn’t have all the damned problems I do. I’ve just taken an intelligent approach to powerlifting. I knew my problems left me at a disadvantage, but I wasn’t willing to give up. I took every advantage I could. I learned from the best, I learned everything I could about technique and practiced it, I learned my weak points and fixed them, and I have a great team of guys who help me tremendously.