Oi Oi ladies and gents, this months been a great one for Savage Strength!

Two Podium finishes, Brits invites, UKNS Northern Qualifiers and a whole host of PBs. So lets get right into what our athletes have been doing.

Jen finally hit that 100kg Squat…twice! That probably means there’s a little more in the tank but we’ll save that for another day, as the focus is currently in the competition lifts in which Jen hit a new PB snatch of 36kg, adding a kilo to her max and continuing to chip away at the lift she struggles with most.

Joe is currently in a competition prep. Max Deadlift is one of the events, so hitting PBs in the Low Block Deadlift of 240kg (+7.5kg on his Max Deadlift) and in the Deadlift of 242.5kg x1 (+10kg) followed by 245kg the following week is a good sign that we’ve strengthened his hips the way we were looking to and that we’re moving in the right direction. Joe also hit a PB on Axle FTOH of 130kg x1, adding 10kg to his Max Axle and 2.5kg to his max Push Press in the process.

Paul is firmly in SBD mode and hit PBs in all three adding 2.5kg to his Squat (127.5kg) and Bench (120kg) and adding 5kg to his Deadlift (190kg). We’re going to stay in the weekly undulating training cycle he’s currently in and keep chipping away until we’ve gotten as much out of it as possible.

Xena said she’s feeling left out this month on the PBs, I disagree! Xena hit PBs i the no foot clean of 43kg x3 and 45kg x1. She also hit a PB in the No Foot Snatch of 32kg x3 and Snatch Deadlift of 65kg x5 which is (or was) actually her 1RM Snatch Deadlift. Her Front Squat of 53 x5 may have also been a rep PB, if it wasn’t it’s close. So yeah, she’s had a way better month than she thinks she has. They’re just not coming as fast as they were in that early beginner phase, but we’re chipping away.

Big Jo hit a nice PB in the Front Squat (Beltless) of 150kg x1 which is a 10kg increase on his belted Front Squat Max.

Liams pressing has been flying as of late and he’s hit PBs in the Seated Backless OHP of 57.5kg x 3x2 (1RM Match) & 61kg x1 along with a nice PB in the Incline Bench of 95kg x1. Liams triceps are his weak point when pressing, so operation triceps is on.

Marie has had a belter of a month and it’s probably just best to list her PBs.

Snatch - 50kg x1
C&J - 60kg x1
Jerk - 61.5kg x1
Squat - 85kg x2 (+1kg & and extra rep over 1RM)
Front Squat - 74kg x1 (+2kg)
Push Press - 47.5kg x2
Snatch Deadlift - 73kg x2
Clean + Front Squat - 63kg x1+1 (Beats her 1RM Clean by 1kg)

I think thats a PB in every movement that matters… Literally could not have had a better month!

Olivia is mid Rugby season, that doesn’t mean you can’t be hitting PBs as long as the training is well planned. Olivia hit PBs in the Squat of 97.5 x3 & 102.5kg x2. The Push Press of 60kg x3 (Matches 1RM) & 62kg x2. And the Deadlift of 117.5kg x3, 120kg x2 & 125kg x1. Awesome work. Sets you up nicely to finish the season strong!

Jack has had a nice month in the weightlifting club hitting a couple of all time PBs along with getting closer to his old numbers pre break. Jack’s hit PBs in the Push Press of 80kg x3 & 95kg x1, while also hitting PBs in the Power Movements of 95kg in the Power Clean and 76kg in the Power Snatch.

Lucy hit a nice PB on the clean, showing off her leg strength and taking 65kg for a double.

In the Strongman Club it’s all been going on!

George C hit a 5kg PB on the Log of 95kg x1.

Sean in the Online Strongman Club hit a Deadlift PB (Deadlift Bar) of 272.5kg adding 2.5kg to his max and that leaves us with just the guys who were competing to cover!

George F had a spectacular time in the Opens category of the UKNS Northern Qualifiers, coming second and receiving his invitation to the finals in Ireland. I’ll not cover all of the events, but the two highlights for me were taking 270kg in the Deadlift for 7 reps when his PB was 4 and we were aiming for 5 along with his win on the Stones that secured his 2nd place finish, showing great composure in a situation that meant there was only half a point between 2nd & 3rd going into the final event. In training and the run up to the competition George hit PBs in the Log (Beltless) of 122kg x1 and the Incline Press of 100kg x2 and 110kg x1.

Jonny had a magnificent competition, was not out of the top 3 in any event and had won the U105 category before the final event and booked his place in the final in style. There were many highlights but 250kg x9 in the deadlift was my favourite.

Where do i start with Rachel, who competed with a torn calf against some worlds standard competition. Despite the torn calf Rachel hit PBs in every event and most importantly, got past some fear on the Deadlift. Great work!

It’s been a brilliant month for Savage Strength and i’m not going to hit you with anymore information, I’ll just leave you with this thought.

Not every month is as eventful as this, if I’m honest, this is what i’d call a highlight. I mentioned ‘chipping away’ in some form at least twice in this blog and thats what most of training will be, just chipping away at things. At weight, at work capacity, at movement patterns or any other target you might have.

Yes, you’ll have times when a huge piece of stone falls and it unveils a master piece, but most of training is just chipping away at your targets. Hitting PBs are the easy part of training, accepting and enjoying the process of just chipping away is the real challenge and often where people fall off.

Until next time.

Adam