Heaviest single in one session of snatch, clean & jerk, squat, bench press, deadlift. For rules and posting results, go here.

Ask questions in the comments of this thread (after reading the other page).

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Hey guys, Shrugthug here.


Let me go off the record in saying this -


I don’t actually think my traps are that big. Well, they aren’t big ENOUGH. I admit they are disproportionate to the rest of my body, sure, and they are probably one of the only remotely visible pieces of evidence of the fact that I lift weights. The bottom line is I weigh 175lbs and this just isn’t a significant amount of mass in general.


But as you all know, I am aggressively working to rectify this.


Justin and I have had several discussions about the need for me to develop more muscular bodyweight, particularly in my upper body, but basically, it’s generally been agreed that I need to fill out 85kg with some quality weight, and eventually 94kg if I’m planning on doing anything cool.


There have been disagreements between us about how I should go about adding that mass though (paraphrased):

Brent: so i want to get more yoked, man


Justin: Oh yeah? What are you planning on doing?


Brent: probably some shrugs, Bill Starr style. i want bigger traps


Justin: (sigh) Your traps are big enough. You have the traps of a 215lbs guy on a 175lbs body. Maybe you should hit some other areas.


Brent: what do you mean?


Justin: I don’t know, maybe the rest of your upper body OTHER than your traps?

We’ve had some other disputes regarding this.

Brent: look, all i’m saying is, i don’t see why there’s a problem with me wanting to be yoked like a bull


Justin: There isn’t, but a big yoke requires the body of a bull, not a calf.

Well, here is my response to THAT:





Shrugging for 17 reps isn’t really standard ops for me. It was kind of a special day since I was training at the WFAC with Mike, and I wanted to get a PR set of 10 in. I typically have been doing these shrugs for a top set of 5 once a week, but I wanted to have some fun. I wasn’t counting reps; I think I was more concerned with telling myself I WANNA BEAT ‘EM. BEAT EM. BEAT EM. BEAT EM! with each rep. I figured at some point that I’d done about 10, and so I did two more “just to be sure.”


I asked Mike if I got 10. He said, “Seventeen. Close though.”


As my friend Chris says, I was feeling reckless.

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Sorry Brent, we’re gonna talk about football again. Roger Gooddell, the commissioner of the NFL, and the team owners want to increase the regular season from 16 games to 18. This would be a good thing because they’d eliminate the worthless pre-season games, but then the owners want more games (because they want to match or increase their revenue). Some of the players realize the problem here:

“I would vote to eliminate two preseason games and then keep it at a 16-game season because the longer you’re out there playing, the more your body breaks down,” Chicago Bears tight end Desmond Clark said. “When you get into December, you’re like walking zombies. You can’t feel your joints.”

The players are TURNING INTO ZOMBIES! OMG!!!1111@!@!11!224ehjr09fujdlvkn

NFL players have resorted to eating BRAINS and the NFL wants to increase the season? I always knew there would be a zombie outbreak, and now I know the source of its inception. (GASP)…Is this a dream? I’m gonna need a kick. But…how can you kick me without any gravity?

All right, the point is that the only thing left to seal the deal on the 18 game season is playing nice with the player’s union. Let’s just assume this will happen, much like we have to assume the whole “death, taxes, and Brent Kim will be shrugging” thing. NFL players get injured enough as it is in the 16 games they already have. A quick search yielded this bit of research about injuries in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association. Regardless if it’s good research or not (I only skimmed it), we know intuitively that players are more likely to be injured in a game, on turf, if they are veteran players, if they are fatigued, and if they have a pre-existing injury. Injuries can remove a player from participating in practice and games, or it can be a less severe injury that the player has to deal with depending on their position.



The point is that football players are injured enough, and now the work load is going to be increased to a point that will be more difficult to handle, genetic freak or not. It’s obvious that pre-season games don’t garner the same physical effort or intensity as real games, and the real games are where guys are more likely to get hurt. Owners don’t realize that this will be debilitating to their investments (the players), and players will find a way to survive: steroids or other drug enhancement.

Read more »

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Cooking has become increasingly popular over the years on television, and it has branched throughout the internet. I’d like to share two websites, Bargain Bites and swEEts, that may entice some of you. These sites are run by lovely ladies that are friends of mine who are also married to or dating some of my good friends.


Bargain Bites is pretty cool because it is focused on cooking all different kinds of foods while on a budget, and Aimee, who runs the site, has created all of the recipes on her own. She was just telling me the other day about her Triple Threat Cookies that look pretty awesome.





swEEts is run by Evan, another third of the top three funniest girls I know, and is full of, well, sweets — cookies, cupcakes, cakes, buttercreams/icings, breads, breakfast foods, and other desserts. Some of you might be amused by these Guinness and Bailey’s Swirl Brownies:





I can personally vouch for the cooking and baking prowess for both of these gals (especially Evan’s cookies, oh man), so you can just slobber at the recipes or give it a try. Both would be more than happy to help you out if you wanted to e-mail them.


We’ve also had quite a few posts on 70′s Big about food, and I’ll recap some of them here.
Chicken Fried Steak by Gant — First and second posts
Gant is also the king of barbecue — Brisket and lots of meat (totally no homo, Gant doesn’t play like that)
Jacob shares his chili recipe
Eating to gain
And a great post by Gant on general eating habits that is applicable to lifters and people trying to eat healthy.


That should have made you hungry, so let’s talk about food in the comments. You can talk about your favorite food or what you’ve eaten recently. In the last few weeks I’ve had three of my favorite meals that my mom makes; pork loin, buffalo wings, and chicken and dumplings. It is the bayst.

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Setting: Minsk, Belarus


Act: 2010 Olympic Weightlifting European Championships


Scene: 105+kg weight class


Actors: 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Matthias Steiner (144.4kg body weight), 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist Evgeny Chigishev (130.6kg), 20 year old Ruben Aleksanyan (144.5kg)


Snatch

The 20 year-old Aleksanyan opened with a pretty solid 190kg snatch. Steiner, who hasn’t competed since the 2008 Olympic games, took the same weight as his opener. Steiner racked the weight solidly overhead but had a hesitation in the bottom of the snatch before he stood up with the good lift. Chigishev, who was beaten by Steiner by 1kg at the 2008 Olympics, opened with a beautifully easy 195kg. Even though Chigishev has gained 6kg since the Olympics, he still weighs 15kg less than the other two lifters, but looks extremely strong and powerful (especially with his beard). Aleksanyan hit 195 for his second attempt all though he had to wrestle with the squat. Steiner lost his second attempt of 195 behind, much to his chagrin. He went for it again on his final attempt, but looked slow on the pull and never racked the bar. Aleksanyan called for 197 on his third and final attempt, but didn’t pull the bar high enough for a no lift. Chigishev lumbered to the bar for his second attempt of 200kg, and it almost looks like the bar flies out of his hands before he racks it. Easy second attempt for Chigishev. He asked for 205 on his third attempt, pulled the bar, racked it, and squatted it with some trouble, but it looked good for his third made lift. This was significant for Chigishev because he is only 6kg away from his best of 211kg, and he’s doing it 2 years out from the 2012 Olympics. Look for him to storm into those games looking for retribution for his missed opportunity in 2008.


The score sheet thus far…
Steiner — 190, 195x, 195x
Aleksanyan — 190, 195, 197x
Chigishev — 195, 200, 205


Looks like Chigishev is gonna roll with this one, right? Not so fast my friends…


Clean and Jerk



Steiner opened with a white lighted 230kg clean and jerk that seemed some where in the range of medium to heavy. Chigishev opened with pretty standard 235, although I would have expected him to be a little faster on the clean (the front squat was easy, though). Steiner calls for 236 on his second. The clean required some extra oomph but it was never in doubt, but he had to wrestle the jerk into place once he racked it. Nevertheless it was still good for a 2-1 good decision. Not to be out done, Aleksanyan hit 237 for his opener. The clean wasn’t picture perfect, but he rocked the piss out of his jerk. And here’s where things get a little hairy…


Chigishev came back out for his second attempt of 240, and he was ready to do work. You could tell he was going to hit his lifts and force the other two lifters to push it for a medal advancement. He cleaned the weight and started squatting it up when his thigh comes up lame. He missed the lift and would sit out for the rest of the competition. Chigishev was sitting on a 440 total. Ain’t too shabby, but now his European Championship was in jeopardy. Aleksanyan smells blood so he calls for 246 on his second attempt to go into the gold medal position. He has a victorious, yet tough clean, and then left the jerk out front. No lift. Aleksanyan follows himself to repeat the 246 on third attempt. This is fucking competition after all. The clean and front squat were equally painful, and then he held the jerk overhead for a wonderful instant…but he let it drift forward and he tried to hang on but it drove him into the ground. No lift. A valiant effort by the 20 year old who was crushed by his defeat.


But don’t forget about Steiner. He’s been watching in the back this whole time and has One. More. Lift. He had found himself in a eerily similar situation to the 2008 Olympcis. All Chigishev can do is watch from the warm-up room. The room is tense as Steiner approaches the bar. The clean is racked, and Steiner is stuck, seemingly pinned at the bottom. He battled with the bar, and by god Steiner is a fighter, and the crowd roared as he ground out a dead stop front squat with about 550 pounds. Steiner, who is known for his come from behind victory, knew he was close. He dipped, he drove, but it wasn’t enough. The bar fell to the floor as he agonized over his loss.


Clean and jerk results followed by total

Chigishev — 235, 240x, 440T
Aleksanyan — 237, 246x, 246x, 432T
Steiner — 230, 236, 251x, 426T


Nice lifting all around, and quite the drama in the clean and jerks. Good show.

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There is a 70′s Big Workshop in Alpharetta, GA this Saturday (near Atlanta), and you can still sign up by going here. The price is $85 and we will start at 10:00 AM. E-mail me if you have any questions.
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The Super Total is this month’s challenge. Some of you dudes were being a pain in the ass about stuff not being heavy enough in the challenges, so now is your chance to do a challenging lifting day. The details for the Super Total are here.
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Since I haven’t been talking about it, I’ll extend the 70′s Big Face Picture Challenge until Labor Day weekend. To learn how to make the face, go here, and go here for info on the picture submission contest (including where to send the picture). Winners will receive posters from Killustrated.com.

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Also, you can receive a 10% discount on any order over $25 at Killustrated.com by using the code “70BG” when you check out. There are some sweet posters and cool shirts.
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PR Friday
Let us know if you’ve had any PR’s whether you think you are strong or not. If you don’t have any PR’s, let everyone know how your training is going. The discussion probably makes everyone’s work day go faster on a Friday.
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Random Video — Kendrick Farris clean and jerking 211kg in training.

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