The last push for the WPC Worlds with a new nutritional sponsor, METAL NUTRITION!

It has been ages since I have updated my blog in any way, so once again a small recap is in place!

The second year of Uni started and now, finally, I have four solid weeks. It has been a whirlwind of traveling and occasions and with that whirlwind I almost had to flush my World Championship goals down the toilet, and actually I partially had to.

The traveling takes its toll!

After a long seven month off-season I had a good off-season shape, going up to 300kg for a touch on the bench, weighing around 117kg. Did also 290 in a competition that we were running, which is a severe handicap and therefore a satisfactory result without peaking.

From the end of semester in Uni and after pushing through the amazing European Championships here in UK with my wife and the fabulous BPU team we headed for a deserved “holiday” (working, writing, training, checking universities, renewing our vow etc.) in Texas! Texas treated us well and we both gained strength, Emma didn’t gain weight but I gained it on behalf of her also… But the most important thing was that strength went up good. Even when I had to switch to less heavy duty single ply bench shirt (became too heavy for my Metal Pro that is meant for me at 110kg class) I still did 333kg for a touch after just 3 weeks in Texas. I was setting my dreams on either dieting down to 110kg and doing 330+ there, or doing 125kg class and going for the biggest UK bench ever, 352.5kg.

Neither of those goals held.

Weight gain was mostly water, but there was enough muscle gained through off-season to ditch the dreams of 110kg class without a severe dieting, and with traveling I deemed that too stressful a plan. So the alternative seemed realistic and fanciable, benching more than anyone in UK before. Now as a resident, married in and citizenship pending I am almost a British gentleman, and they record my lifts in the all-time UK list. It would have been fitting to snatch that title, if for nothing else then just for the piss-taking rights when training with Big Andy Bolton, a man who actually holds the biggest squat, bench, deadlift and total in the UK ever. And I felt it doable in single ply, to add insult to injury! But talk is cheap and in all honesty that goal is now toned down a bit. Not forgotten though! The best part of it is that Andy himself is actually helping me to achieve that goal as we train in Leeds. That is sportsmanship!

Andy B.

Then the traveling, organising, stressing and all that goes with it started. Countries and cities changed, everywhere there was too much to do. Countless hours spent on coaches, trains and otherwise sitting down, equipment being hauled and lifted and competitions ran. People to meet, things to do, paperwork calling from the background. All of my own doing though, and most of the stuff done very much my own choice.

One of the recent trips, a trip to Finland to Metal Nutriton Expo!

I have always despised people who hide behind not having time if they truly do have. And I did. By cutting some time from sleep we almost always got our workouts in. The effect was shite, they were done in the puniest gyms, sometimes even those dreaded commercial mouse wheel storages where everybody wears brand clothing and electronics worth more than a monolift. And therein lies the problem. Too much resolve and stubbornness, too little self-reflection. All those half-assed, ground out workouts did was to exacerbate pre-existing naggles and injuries and take away from the recovery of the main workout. Old story. You tell your clients to tone down training, your friends to tone down training. In the same situation you yourself push through and end up injured or just plain weak.

The result of those weeks at the end? Weight down a little, shoulders inflamed, torn groin and bench down about ten kg. So time to cry and ditch all dreams?

No.

Now I made a reasonable, recoverable plan for the rest of the time I have (namely, four full weeks) to maximize what I can. On the upside I have been handling 300kg+ (biggest board press 365kg) on the bench press for about 12 weeks every weeks so that has certainly normalised as a weight to handle, and technique is relatively good. The base is built so now focusing on the essentials, benching twice a week and doing less assistance, I believe a decent shape will be found. Goals have been set to only beating the 330kg mark, in 125kg weight class. That will bring me a new PB and this has been a valuable lesson altogether. If on the day more is possible, of course it will be lifted.  The plan was hatched together with Emma’s coach, Mike Womack and will be put to fruition starting now!

The sponsorship

To make the best out of these four weeks I will for the first time in my life embark on a serious mission with food and supplements. Eggs, Skyr, rye bread (Finnish rye bread, not the nonsense British one), cucumber, tomatoes, turkey, potatoes and assorted other veggies are the mainstay. On top of that I will attack the supplements with my sponsorship stuff accordingly:

Morning and night time I have a shake of their Protein 100, forest berry flavour is really good and agrees with my stomach so that’s the choice for me.

During training: Iron zone, EAA drink to be drank during training. First time ever testing this and
hoping for it to give me an edge in recovery. This and a bottle of fruit juice keep me going for the training!

After training: Ano’s after, a glutamine and creatine fortified recovery drink with half and half carbs and proteins, I mix about 150 grams of the powder in a pint of filtered water to be consumed after training.

On top of that some vitamins and minerals like D, C, zinc and magnesium. But on the micronutrient field I think I am covered with healthy food and lots of veggies and fruit.

Starting point:

Morning weight: 127.4

Newest InBody machine-measured fat percentage: 26.8 (horrible, hopefully down a bit next time I step on the machine with EasyWay who I count on doing my measurements)

Bench press comp PB:

320kg@124kg,           302.5@109kg

Gym lifts:

333kg single ply touch@131kg,

4.5” board press 365kg

This weeks training sessions and their main lifts:

Monday: Ralls Gym Leeds

Bench with single ply Katana: 5x180, 3x220, 1x260, 1x290, warm ups as low as it gets, the last one toa  1.5” board.

4.5” board: 3x295, 2x315, 1x335, and ending up with fooling around with 260, doing ten reps to a good lockout.

Raw with minibands 4x3x120-160

Recovery work

The final set:

Tuesday: London, Hammersmith

A tired assistance workout for recovery, 3x10 and 1x20 with 100kg on the bench to recover from Monday and assorted assistance

Wednesday: London, Waterloo

Some deadlifts to warm up

Emmas Partial deadlifts 3x10x140, 190, 220

Strict barbell rows, no belt, wrist straps. Working up to a drop set of 10x132.5, 10x100, 10x70

Upper back and abs

Thursday: Manchester, Olympic Gym

Behind the neck presses to warm up

Speed bench with Bench Daddy: 6x1x220, 3x220

Triceps pushdowns on pulldown machine 4x6-20x30-90kg

Assorted stretchy assistance

Some speed benching with a bit of a wobble and swearing.

Friday: Olympic Gym, Ashton

Squats 6x5x100-140, 1x160, 1x180, 3x3-5x140 First time going over 100kg after the groin tear. Felt good, even though very careful descent.

Rounded back straight leg deadlifts: 4x5x100

Leg press, adducto/abductor , twisted lunges, calf raises and one leg curls, all kinda stretchy and just to fix the groin.

Saturday:
70 minutes of stretching.

I must say with the new supplement regime, adequate sleep and relatively steady living (this week we visit 4 different cities but they are all within 300 miles so we count that as little traveling) I feel really good. Next week the idea is to push the shirted bench work sets up 10kg with the same reps!

A big thank you to the amazing staff at Olympic Gym and Rall’s Gym, to my sponsors Metal Sport and Wear and Metal Nutrition and of course my wife, having the best female bencher in the world and the best strength sports psychologist in the world in ones bedroo.. I mean corner, is a great asset! 

Next update coming next Sunday!

To fly like an eagle or to lift like an ox, everyone needs his moments.

Half a year has elapsed since my last blog post, and the reasons are full time University studies, helping in the running of the British Powerlifting Union with my wife Emma and of course training, traveling, competing, announcing and everything that goes with it.

But today I felt compelled to write! My wife is writing on almost the same topic as I am, as we are both unbelievably enthusiated by one thing: 

Eddie the Eagle Movie!

What a phenomenal piece of work it was. It is a story of Eddie Edwards, a young plumber from Cheltenham who wanted to be in the Olympics. And he did not win, he did not place, but fuck me he got there. Most of us know Eddie's story before as he has been the crowd favourite in Finland as well as his home country of UK.

But that movie embodied so much that you sometimes miss, even in the sporting movies that root for the underdog. A feel good family movie but packed more punch than boxing, running or other memorable sporting movies. And it all boiled down to one thing: 

It is not about winning, it is the frigging struggle!

I felt incredible pride in what we are doing with the BPU right now and what I do in my home country of Finland with beginners competitions and the Nationals I am promoting. As many know, we have in BPUthe drug tested side and the non tested side. And the idea is to make everyone equal in that sense, respect everyone's choices to compete using steroids or compete on an even playing field without them. Compete with supportive equipment or to compete RAW, once again in level playing field. And, more importantly than the level playing field, give everyone the platform. We have had 220kg RAW benchers crying for joy over 100kg deadlifts by teen lifters. Not because it is a World Record, but because it is the effort they know have gone into it.

I do admin and run comps and haul equipment, and Emma does even more. I feel like a damn accountant sometimes, trying to send a hundred letters of memberships etc. more often than not late. But I feel pride in giving the platform and being part of something that is so unbelievably positive. 

We have hundreds of members, including all time record holders and world champs, but the truth is, most of the lifters will never achieve that. And it is for those lifters and because of those lifters the federation runs. They bring in the joy, the support and the mass of members. The world champions lift in multiple feds and will always fit in, because they are alfa males and females, at least in some sense. But even they cheer for the small guys and the underdogs. Because they all earn the respect by doing what they can, within limitations and desires, to the utmost personal best.

I often as an announcer overuse hyping up a lift as a lifter;s personal best. That is simply because I see that as the single most important record one can break. It sounds tacky, but that is the way it is. 

Movie hitting home

The number one reason why I (as Emma) felt compelled to write something, was that the movie struck me hard personally. I was close to tears one dozen times for Christ's sake. The reason is, that Eddie did not win. And everyone told him that he would not.

When I was lifting as a kid, I was told the same thing over and over again. I was told to go to some other gym, as a fat, long haired kid did not fit certain gyms. At the gym's Christmas party I was asked to perform a posedown because of it's humour value, I would have even be paid to be the laughing stock with m long hair and seriously obese physique. And I was shit at every single sport there is. Not good even at throwing stuff.

10 years old and 90kg or more. Not a climber or a distance runner. (although a wicked hiker compared to any modern fit kids)

I was envious, but never bitter, to guys who could pop open a can of steroids and lift 3 days a week with a shit program and bench 200 RAW, whereas I remember struggling with shoulder injuries before benching 100 the first time (at 125kg bodyweight, mind you). I had, and still have, moobs and everything nowadays proclaimed worthy of having male body image issues.

But I stuck to it. Not because I thought I would be in the Olympics, but because I felt my small successes would make me prouder. And I did not go to the lengths of Eddie by jumping off giant hills, but I did, and will always do, pretty insane shit at the gym, numerous times brushing with actual Death (300kg on the throat on bench for example) and have injured myself more than I can count.

And I have read literally thousands of pages of books and articles to get better.

And I feel in my own way I did what Eddie did. I got something I was proud of. Even though it was not the best result ever, I benched my long time dream of 200, then 300. I got the World Champion title of the two biggest Pro federations in the world in 2014 and 2015 respectively. But those weren't the star moments. My star moment was bronze at the Nationals in Finland, 2008 or 2007. My first comp as an Open lifter at National level, after I had been sure and assured by many I can't do it. That is the only time after competition I have cried of joy. And ever since I haven't really cared about the naysayers patting me in the back. It doesn't matter when you know what you have done and what makes you proud.

Las Vegas and bronze at the WPC Worlds

My bench record is almost 100kg less than the all time record that some freaks in the same weight class has lifted. I am not even in the top 20 of all time benchers in my classes, and maybe never will be. But that is not the point. I had my moment, like Eddie. I did something that cleansed my soul and will keep on doing it. And set new goals.To some they are big, to some they are shit. For me they are mine.

The moment I surely knew I have made it.

Frankly, I don't give a shit if I ever break any all time record of everything. As long as I have my moments and my pride. And through BPU and my own competitions in Finland I will offer those moments for other people. The scrawny Asian kids who don't know you have to wear long socks in the deadlift, those housewives who have rehabbed thei backs and want to lift, men making their powerlifting debuts at the age of 63, the guys going for the all time world records, the rank novices and everything in between. 

To anyone who wants, just for a moment, to soar like an eagle.

Eddie the Eagle, made it to the Olympics

4 different trainers, four different ways to train, one sport.

My own trainees competing in the Paimio Power Weekend

Hello everyone and welcome, or  "helvettiakos siina toljotatte" in Finnish!

I promised for once not to talk about myself, so here is a small profile of four lifters that I have coached, some longer, some only for a few months. But the common nominator is that they all lifted in my Paimio Power Weekend competition, two bench only, two in the full power. I have other people I train, but I wanted to make a small piece on these particular individuals, and luckily they all agreed.

I am extremely proud of all of them, two of them were complete first-timers which makes it even better!

I'll start with the girls, as we have a saying in Finnish that says: "Women firs, even on a thin ice". Chivalry is not dead!

Katjusa Levaniemi:

Katjusa is an yoga teacher and a youth worker from a city some 20 miles off my hometown. We originally met a few years ago when we were doing a theatre project together in Salo. She came a year or two later again to work in Paimio in a theater project, and at some point she asked me if I could coach her in her gym pursuits.

Red carpet

I agreed and we have worked ever since. The first thing that we came across was, that mobility and flexibility needed in lifting is not the same as in yoga. But with persistent work she eventually overcame her rather dire shoulder and knee problems, and a woman who thought he couldn't squat was able to do full powerlifting raw squats. The hip mobility and opening up were the key, and it was done by lifting, not stretching. She does enough of that on her own with the yoga.

Licensed yoga instructor practising what she preaches

Overall I think those two disciplines are quite complimentary, especially with background of injuries. I think she is now in a very good shape, and can do almost any movement without pain and restrictions.

She took a leap of faith, and competed for the first time of her life in the Paimio Power Weekend. And I was very positively surprised. Sometimes in the training her confidence gave up on certain weights, but in the competition, under pressure she performed her best ever! She did personal best lifts in a competition setting, and for a first-timer that shows inner strength!

Especially the deadlift she has been strong from the beginning, but always had hard time with not rounding the back and keeping the bar near the shins. When she got to three digit numbers, the technique was in the comp better than ever! That was a joy to watch, and I hope she keeps on competing for her own fun at least.

Proof that Katjusa is actually a grandma!

Tiia "Pikku Myy" Weckman

I have known Tiia for about 8 years, we first got to know each other working in the pubs and nightclubs of Salo city. First I was a bouncer and she worked the bars, eventually she also did some bouncing. We have remained dear friends even though I have moved to England. Although there is nothing wrong with working in the bars, I am happy to say she has given up working on the door and behind the counter, bought an apartment with her boyfriend and is back studying! Good for her.

She started boxing few years ago and fell in love with the sport, and along that she started weight training. Sport-bug bit her properly, and she competed 2.5 years ago in boxing, then did couple of submission wrestling competitions and finally now the Paimio Power Weekend was her second powerlifting competition. I do not know what is next, and probably neither does she, but I think more powerlifitng and maybe wrestling on the side. Time will tell!

Tiia is a client who would not want do anything besides squat, bench and deadlift, and would prefer sets of 1-4 reps! 

Unfortunately for her, I do make her do other stuff besides barbell lifts, but in my training philosophy, not that much small assistance is needed. She also started coaching fitness boxing classes and still trains submission wrestling, boxing and BJJ on the side sometimes, so there is also mobility and assistance work via those activities.

We have come a long way from her times as a bartender, when she spent a lot of her free time in the pubs also. She eats healthy, trains all the time in one form or another, and is radiatingly more healthier than in those days. 

About a year after she started weight training

Bar times, this is where it begam

Different, more recent take on lying on a coach and a reminder why to squat rather than eat crisps

She had a broken build-up to the competition, but she fared well and hit some PR's. She was happy and enjoyed her time on the platform, which always lightens up the audience also. She still has some work to do with her nerves, but strengthwise we are well on our way to bigger lifts! In the squat particularly are many kilos just waiting to be lifted!

Here is a link to Tiia's blog

In her first powerlifting competition with the grandfather of Finnish Powerlifting, Esko "the Iron Grandpa" Ketola

Niko Ruohonen

Niko is one of my newest clients, and we worked few months together to get him ready for the Paimio Power Weekend comp, which was his competition debut. He was happy with those short months, and so was I, so we signed a deal to take him all the way to next years European Championships where I am hoping to get him on the podium!

Niko is a hard working man with a baby, a house project, a woman to take into consideration, all this on top of work and studies. And he finds time to train. So, all in all, I think anyone else reading this can ditch the "no-time" argument.

As you can see, very busy man, no time to relax

Niko's dream was a double bodyweight bench press raw, and in competition. I did him a small program originally, and after finishing that, about 8 weeks before the comp we trained together. He is a hard trainer and even with everything else going on he executed the plan to the best of his abilities.

He was a bit over 100kg in weight and went up to 170kg on the bench. He still had a little in the tank, but most importantly technique was very good notch naturally. Very small tweaks were made, nutrition plan laid out, strengths and weaknesses mapped and I told him that he will make the double bodyweight bench in the comp 8 weeks down the line.

Niko executing the diet plan...

Well, he trained hard, stuck to the plan and arrived to the weigh-in at 92kg, very solid look and had been doing good in training. So the comp itself went 175 easy, 185 easy and finally 195kg which he narrowly missed. Not bad for a first competition, and not bad in 8 weeks. Now he will take a semi longer-term approach to the WPC European Championships and hopefully get a 200+ bench in the 90kg class or a 215+ in 100s to make the cut for the medal and the podium!

Hard training needs recovery methods, here is cold baths. And no, I certainly did not ask him to do anything like that!

A good client with a work ethic, and he honestly displayed his time restraints and keeps me posted if there are difficulties in training, so we can plan everything to his needs. We do not live in a perfect world, so sometimes that kind of maneuvering is needed. He has made the best of what is available, and I am sure he will go as far as he wants in benching.

After his debut comp, posing with Zahir Khudayarov!

Arttu Wahlstrom

Meeting Arttu was one of those things that often happens. You meet someone with mutual friends, have a couple of drinks and in the middle of the night you promise to coach him and he promises to train hard, become a champion etc.... And those guys never amount to anything and you'll never see them again.

Except this time we did.

I had been announcing in a bar competition in Finland, and we joined the afterparty with my wife, some of my friends, the promoter and Arttu. He had been lured into competing by my friend and the comps promoter Iiro Huhanantti of Infernal Power Productions.
Arttu had benched 130kg in the comp at 80kg bodyweight, and was not pleased. So I promised that if he does what I say, we will get that number up rapidly. We shook hands, and this time it actually came true. We are both men of our words so we ended up working together.

Arttu having a posedown with my wife after comp, professional behaviour

His bench shot up 20 kg pretty quickly, he did the Nationals. His strength and continues to climb as he started to put the effort in, and I asked him to come to the European Championships. And being a man with a can do-attitude, he decided to hop on a plane to Prague.

A small flu took the best edge of his lifting but still did 150kg at 75kg raw if I remember right, he placed fifth but enjoyed the experience immensely. Seeing Emma (and maybe myself) bench with a shirt in the European championships, he decided to give it a go at my competition. Unfortunately he only got his hands on a proper shirt (METAL's new single ply) 2 days before the competition!

Lack of faith in the yard of our gym in Paimio, two mdays before the comp in a brand new, really big shirt.

So this man has never tried a bench press shirt, gets one two days before. So what does he do? Tries the shirt on to know the opener! I said his attitude is can-do, and I meant it. in a sport often full of egos and fear of failure, he tried the shirt on, and it was loose, way loose. We fixed the shirt on him, Emma being a single ply specialist trying to make it as tight as possible. Eventually we went up to 180 as the opener, and left it to that.

Competition day arrived, and wouldn't you know it! 180 and 190 flew up, 200 failed on a technicality but was up for grabs. That was unbelievable lifting, seeing that many struggle to even get a result in their first shirted comp, and have trained for months. Arttu had the shirt on once!

Shirt put on properly, still big but worked fine

On top of that, he was an invaluable asset in arranging the comp, as was Tiia also. So thank yous for both of you via this blog once more!

Arttu going strong and training hard, just have to wait and see what happens in the next 6 months!

This was a small glimpse on what different, real lifters look like, their stories and their successes and losses. I am immensely proud of all of these people, and might take a look to some of my other clients. One of the hard parts of leaving Finland is that I have to resort to online training, and of course meet them when I travel there. I miss their enthusiasm and miss seeing them develop as persons and lifters.

Luckily I have few up and coming clients to trian online and some live here in UK, so that part of my life is not completely gone. And as said, I do coach all of these four. The moment I believe I can not help them to achieve their goals, I will redirect them to someone else. Until that day, looking forward to meet Arttu in the World Championships min Portugal where he will destroy the 200kg, looking forward to meeting the rest of you on my next trip to Finland!

The first competition I promoted and training for the Worlds

All B&W photos courtesy and property of  Riku Ritamaki

Paimio Power Weekend and my own training

Time has passed and it is now due for me to recap the recent months!

After my marriage, acceptance to University and official move to UK, time has been running like a Somali after unemployment benefit! I have been to Texas, ran a relatively large powerlifting competition in Finland, have been part of a few in UK, studied, trained, coached and above all spent time with my lovely wife. So, rather good (note the word “good”, not “easy”) times and now heading towards the World Championships in Portugal.

Not all sunshine of course, money is scarce for a student and in the beginning of the week I had very bad news that require a visit to Finland. But all in all, life is good, I am still alive and loved by at least few, so no complaints!

Let’s dissect a little, starting in this instalment on the comp I pulled off:

Paimio Power Weekend:

Pictures

Finally, being part of many competitions in one form or another, I hosted one, first time as the actual promoter. And of course I did not start out small to gain experience etc. I set my aims high and wanted to host the biggest Pro comp in Finland this year, wanted lifters to set records and lift obnoxiously large numbers, wanted to attract new lifters, wanted to hand out money, wanted to support charity, wanted to involve the community of my hometown, wanted to add in extra show, prize money, sponsors and fun!

Press coverage, positive image for the sport, everything!

Everything and now!

And I came to Finland one day prior to the comp...

Well, how did it go? 

To put it in one word, stressful. But to put it another way, a success. Not the World Championships, but a large, two-day comp that got media coverage in 7 different newspapers, gathered hundreds of spectators, Around 40 first-time lifters and a host of novice and of course the experienced on their own day. All in the settings of a sports hall of my petite hometown of Paimio.

Ano and Minna Turtiainen of Metal Sport and Wear were also in attendance, refereeing and representing Metal

I worked in collaboration with a local sports group and we gathered money for their youth team, and most importantly we had a really positive articles in newspapers, attracting attention, in a good way. And I did all in my power to get the attention, as this video, filmed 2 days before the comp as a last advertisement, tells:

Everyone was excited about the novice comps, which are not typical in Finland. And this and much else I owe to Emma, she really did help me out with many aspects, but first and foremost set the example with BPU on how important and rewarding it is to focus on new lifters.

Esko "Iron Grandpa" Ketola, former head coach of IPF Finland, 5-time World Champion coaching a novice competitor Tiia "Myy" Weckman

That is the future, and they always bring something new to the table in a unique way that sometimes is missing from the more seasoned lifters. So thank you once again to my beloved, patient wife. She let me do the mistakes I needed to do and stood aside and supported as she does with everything I do.

In the comp we had many highlights, from Faisal Hercules, 16-year old BPU lifter making his entrance to International competition alone and far from his family, to hard-fought, standing ovation inducing lifts made by lifters of all weight, age, gender and experience classes.

Faisal, who had a hard competition but who finally made it after nearly bombing out. A young man with dedication and spirit.

The most publicised achievements were probably Zahir Khudayarovs all-time records. He squatted more than any man before him in raw with knee wraps class, all weight classes included. He also did the 125kg weight class all-time biggest total and the second biggest total ever. Quite a spectacle!

We had weights on the bench up to 390kg equipped and 260 RAW, 350-380kg pulls in 110kg class RAW and national records broken in many age and weight classes.

Zahir with 472.5kg of iron on his back

Also, I am obliged to mention the bench press for reps challenge, done feet in the air and Raw, which my wife won and I, ashamed to admit, lost!

Rules dictate men do reps with their bodyweight and women with two thirds of their weight, and I only got 19 reps wit the 115kg. I have to put that one up to tiredness. Or some other excuse, as long as I don’t have to admit my failures!

Well, the smaller men did more reps, and when a guy hit 37 reps, everybody thought the game is over. But Emma entered the comp with high-heels, without warm-up straight from the refs seat, having weighed in earlier, and actualy got by mistake 2.5kg too much weight on the bar. She smashed 39 reps out and I put everyone else in shame. Well, at least I saved in the prize money! 

(Before somebody takes up the fact that I did not pay the prize money to my wife, I have to add she refused it)

Laughing and talking to the audience before the winning performance. No doubt motivated only to show off to her husband!

All in all a great weekend, even though many things I do want to do better next time. But it is a learning curve, at least I didn’t start the learning by being conservative and running a low-risk, low-stress comp suitable for a full-time student. That wouldn’t have suited my style.

Instead I overreached a bit for my timetables and monetary situation and went for a sex life jeopardizing, traveling requiring, long hours demanding comp that was financially unsure. But I’m glad that I did, it was an experience, and I have had many thanks afterwards. As fasr as thnak yous are considered, the most generous was being chosen to host the single lift Nationals of Finland next year!

Doing the final scores on Sunday with Emma

Thank you once again to all my sponsors and all competitors, and especially the help I received. Will not go on to describe everyone, because doing that would mean that I forget many, and piss off all of them. All who contributed deserve a great big thank you on my behalf and on behalf of the sport for this one small step towards making it more popular in Finland.

One of the sponsors

My own training

Do I even train? Yes I do, 5 times a week, no matter what country or city I am in. Most sessions we do together with my wife, but we have our individual training programs, sometimes ones that are tweaked and changed on the run. Many similarities in them enable us to train together rather efficiently.

I am going to incorporate martial arts elements to my training after the Worlds, but for now (and for some time now) I am training like this:

Monday: Bench (recently only 140 raw and then shirted to 290-340 depending on the week), assistance+stretching exercises for chest, with Andy Boltons team in Leeds when possible

Tuesday: Lockouts in the power rack (In recent weeks up until 200-240kg, depending on the feel for reps or singles),  assistance+stretching exercises for arms

Wednesday: Easier day, light long sets of behind the neck pressing (50-65kg) for mobility, then Arnold presses (7x48kg now the heaviest set) and other pumping movements for shoulders.

Thursday:Back, starting with partial deadlifts for sets of 10 (up to 250) and then multiple assistance movements, geared towards benching of course

Friday: Legs, starting with squats, usually around 180-200kg for singles to be properly warmed up and then longer sets (recently 19x150 with out belt the best), and then more by the feel.

This gives a good flexibility in the training. If we miss a session, there is Saturday and Sunday to add it in, and if we have a good week with good recovery it is possible to add in extra Saturday session and still have Sunday off before the “Big Day” of benching.

Not the most conventional of approaches, but works for now and is good for me because I do like to bodybuild a little and keep the integrity of the body by training with multiple movements. Not suited for most I think, and actually far from what I usually advocate for my own trainees. But you have to have an open mind for different things. Off-season will look again very different with the martial arts thrown in etc.

That is it for now, in the next installment I will actually stop talking about myself for once, and introduce a couple of my trainees, two of whom did a competition debut in the aforementioned Paimio Power Weekend!

Arttu, one of the crew I coach, doing his first meet with a bench shirt, only getting to try on a shirt for the first time 2 days before.

Until next time!

Steady living, which means hamstring tear, trip to Finland, enrolling in University, arranging a competition and getting ready for international Grand Prix.

After our wedding and the British Nationals, me and Emma stayed put for an award winning over 3 weeks! Of course an occational trip inside the country interrupted that, but otherwise for once we were relatively still.

Still does not mean boring, mind you. Hard training, sponsorship deals, arranging my own competition that will be one the greatest Pro comps in Europe and on top of all, enrolling in University. All that was going on and ensured boredom doesn´t set in! On top of that we finally had time to bask in the joy of our newlywed life. Yeah, sounds kinda dull, but hey, we newlyweds are allowed to boast with our love every chance we have, so suck it up.

Boasting

University

I actually dropped out of high school, left vocational school for work and academically were an upset for all the teachers who claimed to see a glimmer of talent. Well, I was just waiting for the time to be right! I  ventured into musical theatre school for a year in 2011/2012, and it sparked something inside of me. But being of a non-academic family and without secondary education not allowed even to apply in the Finnish system, University was not really in my sights..

But with Emma I stepped first time in my life actually inside one of these intimidating smart peoples dens, and found it rather welcoming. Scroll forward 4 months and now I am officially accepted into Glyndwr University to study for a Bachelors degree in English and Creative Writing!

On the fourth week of September I will continue my journey in the academia, and see if the teachers and close ones who said they saw some talent were right or not. And I must say I am thankful for the opportunity. For all the people who believe in me, my wife and the people of Glyndwr.

I´ll devote my first Bestseller to them.

What? A man has to have goals doesn´t he?

Hamstring tear

Not to be too perfect, our lovebunny life was interrupted also with a minor tear in my hamstring. No, it did not occur during heavy squats. No, neither did it occur deadlifting or wrestling. And NO! Yeah, you perv who thought it went in the bedroom, it did not!

It went sprinting.

And that would not be a reason for shame, if the exact same thing on the same leg wouldn´t have happened 4 years ago! On top of that, doctor then told me about this movement deficiency in my hip joint that made me a candidate for tears if I sprint on even ground. After couple of years of martial arts I thought that was fixed.

It was not.

Well, luckily I am a fast healer and I have good help. Zaheer Abbas, an osteopath par none, saw me immediately after the tear, and again at the end of the week. Emma applied some  techniques on the hamstring also on few occasions, and I avoided painkillers and ice like hell, trained, moved, teased and gave hot treatment to the leg.

Zaheer, an osteopath, not a nutritionist

Avoiding all the components of the outdated "rest, ice, compression and elevation"-bollocks,  10 days after the tear I squatted a double with 150, last week a double with 170 and this week we will see if I can go higher again. Movement is almost complete and I even had 8 rounds of light boxing with it.

10 days after the tear, rehabbing

Training

Training is now geared towards the WPC Grand Prix in Folkestone, 29th of August, so two weeks out!

Training has been going relatively well, all things considered. Great emphasis has been put on nutrition and training, but still there are unturned stones on those departments. Especially interresting I have found the effect of carbs pre- and during workout, and the exercise selection is also geared towards rehab/prehab and increasing/upholding integrity of the system and mobility. Of course after one big compound movement with reasonable weights, that I see as a given.

I ventured into heavier weights at the Gometal powerlifitng meeting with Emma, Ano, Minna and many Finnish powerlifting stars at the opening of the new Metal Gym in Helsinki, the capitol of Finland.

240 was the biggest weight I had handled since the Europeans, so 280 on a 2" board was the best I managed, and 275 from the chest. 300 I tried twice, but technical difficulties and straight out lack of strength made me miss those.

Ano checking out as 275 gets down:

http://auvinen.kuvat.fi/kuvat/Gometal%20Powerlifting%20Meeting/DSC_8542.jpg?img=smaller

This week my nervous system was more accustomed to the bigger weights, so 300 from a 2" board was a success! That was the last heavy heavy workout until the comp, so we can only hope I will better my 272.5 from the Europeans.






So that was it this time, thank you for reading. I also urge you to check out my competition page! 120+ lifters, including over half a dozen world champions competing in my hometown of Paimio, Finland!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1444797765829899/