Rob Luyando training Log

[luyando]

OK my posting has been non existence since returning from the Relentless Hope Kids Kick off weekend. Now that I have had plenty of time to soak it all in and got answers to some unexpected questions its time to get back to keeping up on my training log.

Kick off weekend start off on Thursday afternoon for me. We had the truck loaded and were on the road by 1:00 PM Shellie complained about my aggressive driving per usual and we made good time. We were checked into the hotel and off to dinner by 7:00 PM. Had a great meal at Chevy's Mexican Restaurant. After Dinner we headed back to the Hotel. After settling into the room we all headed down to the Hotel pool. There were two huge pools and an equally huge hot tub. Spent a few hrs in the pool and hot tub. Good night of sleep.

Friday morning Shellie and I headed to our oldest Daughters apartment and kidnapped our grandchild. Made a few stops at a few stores to spoil him. We headed to Mall of America and ate at Bubba Gumps. Excellent food. After lunch Hunter and I took off on our own and checked out the amusement part in the center of the mall and Lego Land. Hunter got spoiled by Dad. After two hrs in the mall I had enough. I left everyone at the mall and walked back to our hotel. Which was about a mile walk. I did so with out getting out of breath. Once back at the room I took a nap until Scott Nutter and Pam Bosko (Crazy Strong Canadian powerlifter) picked me up for a training session at Southside Athletic.

Southside is a awesome gym. They have everything you could ever need for powerlifting, bodybuilding, strongman, and cross fit training. Not to mention they had more specialty bars then I knew existed. Awesome set up with a hardcore atmosphere. I trained upper back while Beth Thomas Squatted, JJ Thomased stretched, Pam Deadlifted, and several other Hope team Members trained as well as a few cross fit trainers busted there ass. We were all joined at the gym my Marshall and Kathy Johnson. Two awesome people that are as real and sincere as they come.

After training we grabbed my family and all met out at another Restaurant and took it over. Had a great meal. BHunter was in seventh heaven hanging out with his buddy Marshall Ferakshow Johnson. Put them two together and I feel like i have two kids. Fun to watch them go at it.

Saturday Morning The Nutters, Johnsons, and Bosko picked me up at the Hotel and we hit the i-Hop for breakfast. We discussed Carb Back loading and i decided not even to try to help out kathy Johnson as she is the pickiest eater ever. I don't there is anything she likes to eat that is good for you. poor Marshall.... lol.

After breakfast we headed to South Side Athletic. I put on about a 3 /12 hour bench seminar. There were about 25 attendees both raw and equipped lifters. All of the raw lifters hit singe rep paused PR's before i was done with them. All of the equipped lifters touched with weights they never dreamed of. i had tow people touch with 135 and a few touch with 185, and 225. the biggest bencher their Anthony Carquist swore it took 700 or better to touch ended up touching with 405. Several of the lifters all hit PR gym lifts as well. Mr Relentless Garth Heckman touched with 225 first time ever in a shirt and ended up benching a 485 full range before we were done. A lot of talented lifters that all listened well.

After the Seminar was over Marshal & Kathy Johnson, JJ Thomas, The Nutters, Bubbles, and Frank the fashion statement all decided to get there bench session in. We revamped Kathy's whole set up and she ended up smoking @ 320 full range. Marshall touched with 405 in his jacked shirt and then worked up int the 600"s all touch sets. The Nutters moved some big weights fast. Scott touched for the first time in two years. JJ touched with a lot lighter then he dreamed of and then ended up working to a low 500's full range. After the benching was done they all put in their time doing assistance work in. That is what I like to see. the assistance work is what makes champions.

After training I headed to the Hotel to grab my family and then Met the Johnsons, Frank & Bubbles for Dinner. Fun times.

Sunday Morning I headed to cabellas with the family and ate some great burgers. Nt sure what kind of meet it was but it wasn't beef. As usual we were rushing to get to the Hope Kids Kick Off event. An experience I will never forget. The place was packed full of Hope Kids. The smiles melted the biggest of men. The event started with the Team Hope lifters in the warm up room. Scott Nutter and Garth Heckman gave moving speeches about the importance of the kick off and why the Team Hope lifters were there. I don't think there was a lifter in that warm up room thats eyes weren't swelling with tears. The event started and I started warming up on the bench while Marshall and JJ Thompson and a few others were finishing there deadlift warm ups. I walked out inbetween warm up sets to watch as much of the other Team Hope lifters as possible. The lifting was intense and for a purpose. To see the smile and excitement in all the Hope Kids eys made all the hard work we put into our training so rewarding. My warm ups felt good. My last warm up was a 1000 lbs 2 brd. The weights started to slide off and when I was pressing the weights shift all onto my left shoulder. Not good I have been battleing issues for the past month or so. Right about that time my Hope Kid Dustin Bragg came back into the warm up room with his dad to meet me. 13 year old Kid fighting for his life. Awesome brave and strong kid. I knew I messed my shoulder up good and what ever I took on the platform wasn't going to be easy and pain free. We decided to back down to a 975 lb two brd. Just to move some heavy weight for the Hope Kids. My boy Dustin heald the brds for me. It was so cool. He was like a gym pro. Just prior to heading out to the stage Marshall Johnson cam upto me and gave me a speech that brought tears to my eyes. He is unreal. I wiped the tears and attacked the bench. These Kids were all their to see big weight moved. The weight came down and moved up slow but the job was done. Feeling the electricity in the air coming from the Hope Kids was unreal.

Afterwards all The Team Hope members signed autographs and took pictures with several of the Hope Kids. Seing the smiles on the hope Kids faces was awesome. Made me forget about my shoulder. I encourage everyone to make an attempt to attend Relelntless 2013. The meet sold out in one day for lifters. You can still volunteer to help spot and load or just attend as a spectator. I guarantee it will be an experience you will never forget and cherish.

The ride home was long and painful. My shoulder swelled up and my mobility was non existent. Monday I paid my ART Dr a visit and he tried to move my shoulder and quickly decided a MRI was needed. I continued to ice to get the swelling down.

Tuesday I had a contrast MRI done. Getting a needle stuck into my shoulder joint was so comforting and fun. Not! Had to wait till the following morning to get the results. Cartilage damage and fluid in the shoulder joint. The Rotater cuff, and bicep and pec tendons were all fine.

Had to wait until today to meet with a surgeon to see my option. Saturday I decided to squat with a Safety Bar worked upto 510 raw which I was pleased with since i havent squatted in over 6 months. Monday night I decided to try pulling. Overhand grip felt comfortable and didnt cause any issues with my shoulder so once I couldn't hang onto the bar I added straps and ended up pulling a cheater PR with no belt sumo.

I met with the Surgeon today. He basically said he wasn't concerned about the fluid in my shoulder as he thinks some of the swelling may have bled out while I was given the shot for the contrast MRI. He said the Cartilage damage didn't require surgery at this time and said the bleeding into the joint caused the shoulder to lock up. Basically I'm getting a cortisone shot into the humerous and the going to on go a bunch rehab stretching to free the shoulder mobility.

I will be working closely with my ART Dr, Chiropracter, and Donnie Thompson to get my mobility back. Its going to take a lot of work and patience on my part but it looks good for me to compete at Relentless! I will try to update my log daily from here on out.

[luyando]

OK I find myself slipping again on keeping up on my log.

Rehab on the shoulder is going great. I made a trip to Lima Ohio over the weekend and spent a Few hours with Dick Hartzell. Dick is the originater of the Jump Stretch bands and is now back in business at Flex Performance www.flexpnt.com. When it comes to rehab this guy is the king. He beat on mefor two hrs straight using bands. His techniques are easy to learn and very affective. My shoulder mobility is better now then it ever was pre-injury. Not to mention my shoulder pain is now non existant.

Saturday -
Safety Bar squat - barx8x2 110x8x2 150x5x2 200x3x3 240x3x2 290x3x2 330x3x2 380x3x2 420x3x2 470x3x2 510x1x2 550x1x2(knee wraps) 600x2x2(briefs) 650x2x2(briefs) 700x1 (briefs)

Hack Squat - 225x12x4

Leg Extensions - 100x15 125x15x3

Sunday -
Bench - barx12x2 100x12x2 140x12x2 190x12x2 230x12x2 280x5x2 320x3x2

Shoulder rehab with bands - 45 mins.

Monday -
Deadlift - 135x8x2 225x5x2 315x3x2 add suit - 315x1 425x1 515x1 block pulls - 550x1x3

DB Rows - 105x12 110x12 115x12 120x12

That catches me up to date. Squatting to keep legs strong and to help deadlift & Bench. Bench work was light but i wanted to test the shoulder with a little weight to see if I was going to have and issues. Everything felt great but I shut it down to play it safe. Deadlift strength is good but still having issues with my set up and getting my bench belly down to the bar wit the suit on. I am going to make a trip to The Overkill Power Pit next MAonday to train with Jose Garcia, Jason Patrick, and The Barzeen. Overkill owner will also be on hand. Hoping between the four of them they can get my form dialed in. Tonight I am going to join my crew with our lock out session to test the shoulder some more. I have enought time to start handling heavy weight smartly and get stron as needed for Relentless!

[luyando]

Tuesday Night
Close grip bench - barx12x2 100x12x2 140x12x2 190x5x2 230x5x2 280x5x2 330x5x2 380x5x2 410x5x2 460x5 500x5

Pushdowns - 125x12 150x12 175x12 200x12 225x12 250x12 275x12

Shoulder felt good weights felt light. No mobility or pain issues. Things are looking up. Decided not to push my luck and shut it down after the 500 set. Plenty of time to get Strong(er) for Relentless 2013. Going to jump back into a shirt this weekend. Nothing crazy just testing the shoulder to see how its going to hold up and where my shirt strengths are at.

[luyando]

OK I find myself falling behind again. Life has been busy.

This past Saturday I was in Florida visiting family. I trained at Bert Underwood's Golf Coast Barbell with his crew. The Barbell had every thing you need to get killer training sessions weather your a Powerlifter, Strongman, Crossfit, Body Builder or just a hardcore lifter.

Shoulder has been feeling a lot better and my mobility is getting better every day. Haven't had a shirt on since the Hope Kids Kick Off Event about two months ago. This past Tuesday was the first time I had done any type of benching at all. Decided to test my luck and see where the shoulder was really at.

Bench - barx12x2 95x12x2 135x10 185x8 225x5 275x5 315x3 405x1 added single ply shirt (loose) 500x2 585x1 650x1 705x1 755x1 added muty ply 755x1 805x1 855x1 905x1 955x1 all shirted sets were done to a two board to save my shoulders some. all in all my stability with the bar was solid as normal. My bar speed was good on the way down and decent on the way up. Shirt felt a little looser then normal but still plenty supportive. I could definately tell I haven't been holding weight for a while as some of the sets felt heavier then normal. My lock out strength was not as strong as I would like but I have plenty of time to fix that before Relentless.

Monday (2/18/13)
Deathlifts - 135x8x2 185x5 275x3 315x2 365x1 405x1 455x1 495x1 545x1 585x1
Rack Pulls - 5 sets of singles
Baby Kroc Rows - 110x12 115x12 120x10x2

I got to the gym late and my crew started with out me so I had to play catch up. Not as good of a session as I would of liked. Spent the day at the walk in clinic with 2 sick kids and then spent an hour at Walmart waiting for the prescriptions to get filled. Didnt make time for preworkout drink.

Lockouts later tonight................Relentless!

[luyando]

Close grip bench - barx12x2 100x12x2 140x12x2 190x5x2 230x5x2 280x5x2 320x5x2 370x5x2 410x5x2 460x5x2 500x5 550x1

Bandit - 410x5 460x5

Pushdowns - 150x12 175x12 200x12 225x12 250x12 275x12 300x12

Weights felt good for the most part shoulder started getting a little tender on the heavier lockout sets so I shut it down and moved onto next exercise. Making progress for Relentless!

[luyando]

2013 Arnold Classic started Wednesday night for me. Light training session at The Mecca. Followed up by loading my bench, bar and @ 1,100 lbs of plates into my truck for the MHP Power Pit. I tried to get to sleep early but didn’t happen. The Arnold is one of my favorite events of the year so I was like an excited kid. Only my 7th trip to the Arnold so you would think I would be over the excitement.
Thursday the Alarm went off at 320 A.M. And much to my surprise my wife was already up and ready to go. This never happens. I jumped into the shower finished loading the truck and we were on the road by 4:00 AM. It snowed pretty much the whole way from my house to Ohio. The wife and I made a pit stop at Bob Evens just outside of the Ohio State line. No meet pressure this year so eating was a great option.
After breakfast we got back on the road and pulled into Columbus shortly after noon. I decided to make a pit stop at Rogue Fitness to pick up some bumper plates to add to my collection. While there I noticed they had a Donnie Thompson Phat Pad on Display. I quickly sent Donnie a text and told him where I was at. Within minutes I am approached by the manager who asks if I am Rob. I say yes and he advises me that he has a Phat Pad for me. Score! Only catch was I had to come back in an hour so they had time to get if from the other warehouse.
Shellie and I headed over to the Arnold Expo to unload the truck. With much surprise I didn’t have to wait till 3:00 PM as in years past. We got right in and unloaded the truck in record time. After setting up at MHP Power Pitt. Shellie and I headed over to the Iron Rebel booth and spent the afternoon helping Steve and Shelley Dennison set up. Lots of laughs were had. Ran into Marshall Johnson walking around the expo. A great friend/person/lifter. We made plans to meet up for dinner.
I ran back to Rogue Fitness and grabbed my Donnie Thompson Phat Pad and bumper plates. Thank You Donnie for the hook up!
Checked into the Hotel and grabbed a shower. Then off to Dinner. An Arnold weekend tradition is to attend BD’s Mongolian Grill. So we met up with Steve & Shelley Dennison, Scott & Jonah Cartwright, Nicki Crapotta, Therese Janc. We all walked over and the California peeps thought it was cold out. LOL! Marshall showed up late but had plenty of time to eat with us. At Dinner I visited with Ed Coan, Bobby and Kathy Fields. Awesome food and I think they were ready for us to leave after our first hour there. They definitely lost money on our group.
After dinner we headed back to the Hotel and hung out at the Bar for a while. Got to see tons of old friends and made a few new ones.
Friday I headed out early to meet Marshall Johnson for breakfast. I can’t stress enough what a great guy he is. Then off to the MHP booth to start the weekend of madness. Joe Mazza, Mike Cartinian, Chis Della Fave, Ketron Bailey, Bean, Chrystal Marie, Michelle Seng, Dennis & Libby Lowe, Jimmy Kolb, WWE Mark Henry, 2012 Arnold Strong Man Winner Mike Jenkins all worked the Power Pitt. We were swamped all day long. Special thanks to Rougue Fitness for bringing the hardware first thing in the morning to install the new Thompson Phat Pad on my Forza. Jimmy Kolb put on a bench exhibition working up to 900 lbs with ease. This kid is going to be the next big thing in the sport for sure. We had literally thousands of people come into the booth to bench their body weights for reps. MHP gave out thousands of free t-shirts all weekend. I was able to visit with a lot of great friends that I only get to see a few times a year. Kenneth Richardson, Bert Underwood, Mick Manley, JJ Thomas, Tim Hensley, Jeff Johnston, Bobby Fields, Mike Wolfe, Scott & Jonah Cartwright, Nicki Caproso, Ed Coan, and the list goes on. It was a long fun day at the Expo. On my Lunch break I shot over to the Iron Rebel booth where my wife was working all weekend. Iron Rebel was swamped. I’m not much for crowds. So I pretty much lowered a shoulder with Mazza in tow and we made our way through the crowd without much resistance.
Friday Night Dinner was a walk back to BD’s Mongolian Grill. Steve & Shelley Dennison, The Wife, Joe Mazza, Ketron Bailey, Bean, Dennis & Libby Lowe, Paul Key and a few others spent a few hours grazing. At dinner I spent some time hanging with the Nutters and the Southside Bully crew. Great people. After Dinner back to the Hotel bar. Visited with tons of people including Gene Bell, Brandon Lilly, Rodney Roller, Craig Richardson, Peter Dorobis and tons others. Good times for sure.
Saturday breakfast with MHP then off to the expo. Another fun filled day. Joe Mazza and I did a bench exhibition. Mazza (165lbs) worked up to an insane fast 750 2 brd. I have been dealing with shoulder issues and told myself I was just going to train light in the Pit. The crowd was unreal. Every set felt a little better and lighter. I stayed with a 2 brd the entire session to save my shoulder. Last set was a 1000 lb. grinder. First time I have handled that weight in the past few months due to the injury. I’m ready for Relentless. Thanks to my training partners Dave Mueller, and Matt Houser for making sure I had everything I needed. Another day of thousands of people passing through the Power Pit, to bench their body weight for reps. 3 Time World Strongest Man Zydrunas Savickas hung out at the booth with us. Big fuckin Dude. WWE Mark Henry was at the Booth on and off all Day another monster of a man.
After the Expo we headed to Max & Erma’s for Dinner with the Majority of the MHP crew. Great food, and laughs. At dinner I realized I strained my left glute benching earlier in the day. Sitting didn’t do me any good. But what the hell it provided for cheap entertainments as I attempted to get out of my chair and make my way up the stairs of the restaurant.
Back to the bar, to mingle with friends. Saturday night at the Arnold is one a few nights of the year that I let loose and get my drink on. Ketron supplied the Moonshine. Enough said. Had a great time with the MHP crew and the Cartwrights. Hung out with Ed Coan, Gene Bell, Jessica the Power Princess, Kirstin Lykus (former Team MHP member) made a brief appearance. Chris Della Fave, Eric & Michelle Seng, kept me out way too late! Good times for sure.
Sunday the alarm went off way to early. Headed to breakfast with MHP and even brought the wife coffee before heading to the booth. The booth never slowed up all weekend. I took my lunch break just in time to watch Marshall Johnson crush a 1005 Squat in the Animal Cage. Chris Della Fave did a bench exhibition working up to a 800 lbs 2 brd. Dana Lynn Bailey stopped in a few times to put on a freak show benching a marathon. Her last set was 100 lbs for 57 reps. Crazy! 13 year old Maryana Naumova stopped in all the way from Russia to bench in the Power Pitt. She did several sets working up to 250 lbs raw. Unreal. She finished off with 150 lbs for around 30 reps. Crazy strong Kid! Met Eric Spoto for the first time crazy strong 700 lb raw bencher. Finished off the day getting a picture taken with the largest and coolest strong man Brian Shaw 2012 Worlds Strongest Man. Mountain of a man and down to earth.
The Power Pit Crew all stuck around to help load up my truck. I greatly appreciated the help. Long weekend and an even longer drive home. Shellie and I arrived home safely around 1:00 AM.
That’s a wrap till next year. Can’t wait!

[luyando]

Relentless 2013

My Relentless weekend started Thursday Morning. Hunter Vinny Miles and loaded the truck and got on the road by 6:30 am. Hunter crashed in the truck till about 9:45. Then it began. If Hunter asked once he asked 100 times when are we going to see Marshall Johnson. Marshall is Hunter's hero. The closer we were to Minnesota the more questions about Marshall came from Hunter. We rolled into Rosemont at 12:30. Weren't able to check in the Hotel right away so we headed out to Southside unloaded the bench, Relentless Prowler, and bars. Then we went to Mall of America. Hunter and Vinny hit the rides first. Then we all played 18 holes of mini-golf. Hunter ended up pulling off the win and gloated about it. Hunter and vinny had lunch and I watched. I was 12 lbs over when I left the house. We checked into the Hotel @ 4:00 and then we went straight to the pool. hung out in the Hot Tub for about 40 mins and then off to the Sauna for the next 40 mins. As I was checking my weight to find I was still 7 lbs over Scott Hoss Cartwright walked into the Pool area. He reasoned with me for about a minute about cutting weight. Next thing I knew we were all heading to Famous Dave's. Needless to say Hoss talked me into going 308. I knew I was no where near 100% so why put any more unneeded stress on my body. man Hoss is smart. I ordered the garbage can lid and Hoss ordered a meal smaller then Hunters. It was quite comical. All of the Mecca crew and a few others joined us for dinner. good times good laughs. turns out Lady Hoss has more of a manly appetite and ordered 1/2 garbage can lid. During dinner Hunter drove me nuts asking if I heard from Marshall yet. Did he call, did he text, did you text him? So as we were finishing up Marshall saved the day. Marshall sent a text asking us to meet him at Old Chicago. So we finished eating and headed over to Old Chicago just in time to order food. I stuck with a desert. Hunter was in 7th heaven playing video games with Marshall. Kathy Johnson was messing with Hunter so the kid was truly being spoiled. Reunited with my Minnesota family. Hammy, Bubbles, Kim and Mike Gray, Scott & Rachel Nutter and the kids were all there. Saw so many friends it was an awesome night. Afterwards we went back to the pool at the Hotel and Hung out till midnight.

Friday Morning we were up early for weigh ins. Saw so many awesome lifters waiting to weigh in. The realization of how special of a meet this was going to be started to set in. After weighing in Hunter an I went to breakfast with two of my favorite lifters Marshall Johnson, and Justin Gralfs and about twenty other lifters. We had a blast at breakfast and I'm not so sure the rest of the people in the restaurant quite new what think. After breakfast Marshall kidnapped Hunter and I headed back to the pool. A relaxing morning in the pool. Hoss showed up at the pool and yep it was feeding time again. We headed to Red Robin with the Johnson's, the Hoss's, and Vinny and Pete. Good time good food. Hoss was going to order a wrap until we all blew him shit. So he ended up ordering a croissant. (Equally gay). To get even I told the waitress it was his birthday. So all the Staff came over to the table to sing happy Birthday to him. He was shooting daggers at me the whole time. Then they brought him and ice cream sunday. He had a conference call for work so we ate his sunday. Back to the pool we went. Dinner was planned by Detroit Barbell. All of team Hope was to eat at Old Chicago. the word spread fast and 25 became about 60 people in no time. Needless to say everyone had to split up but it was a great time. All of Detroit Barbell was there, all of my lifters were their, the Carpenter family, Mr & Mrs Barzeen, The Johnson's and their adopted side kick frank and so many others. Dinner was great the high light was when we were ordering Barzeen ordered a large pizza and the waitress assumed it was for him and Kristian and passed her up. We all laughed as Kristian tried to get the waitress to take her order. Watching Barzeen kill the whole pizza was quite impressive. Then there was Marshall who just picked at his food. Hunter decided he didn't like Jerk Chicken.... a little spicy. After dinner we headed to the room and called it an early night.

Saturday was show time. As we pulled up to the Church there was so many people there already. The set up was unreal. Nothing was spared. Once again the Nutters and Minnesota Hope Foundation out did themselves. 93 lifters were going to take to the platform for Hope Kids. The squatters were warming up. When the National Anthem started playing you could feel the excitement and energy in the air like no other meet ever. The first flight started on time and the crowd cheered on some of the strongest women in the world banging it out head to head. The spotters and loaders never missed a beat. I was so impressed on the efficiency of how smooth the meet was being run. The judging was spot on. Marshall, Hoss and I signed shirts for the Hope kids and every Hope kid was given a Mecca Barbell ball cap. Hoss and I found each other fighting back the tears. it was an emotional roller coaster all day long. The final set flight of squats was full of monsters. Barzeen, Hoss, Grandick, Jahnson, Jason Ehlert, Grallfs CodyBrant, to name a few. Hoss's speed was unreal. the energy from the crowd was unreal. The kids were precious and on their feet cheering all day.

Then bench flights were started by 12:30. As I started warming up each set felt worse. Clay Brandenburg, and Hoss know me well enough to tell me like it is. The hardest decision I had to make was to sit out from benching. I felt like I was letting everyone down. This meet wasn't about my feelings it was about the Hope Kids. I made the decision to sit out and just deadlift. I handled all of my crew and a few others. I had a blast. Witness a lot of nice benches. Jake Prazack missed 925 right at the top close as they come. Jacob Stratton (one of my team mates) broke his arm and had to be taken to the hospital by Ambulance. He is a warrior and will bounce back.

As the Deadlift flights Hunter admitted he was nervous. I told it would be fine. He was in the last flight with me. I will admit I was out of my realm. Everyone in the warm up room was so supportive of both Hunter and I. It was a very cool experience for me as a father to watch Hunter be treat like a man by all the other lifters. They all cheered him on with support as he warmed up. Watching Barzeen, Graalfs, and Brandon Cass make each warm up look like a empty bar was impressive. My warm ups felt good. Stephen Wagner, and Kevin Frey handled me in the warm up rooms. Or should I say harassed me. Well at least Stephen did. Good times.

As we headed out to eh staging area Hunter was excited and ready. All I could think of if I bomb i will never hear the end of it. Hoss teased me about never thinking he would see the day that i did a deadlift only meet. That made two of us. Hunter was first up in the flight. He went out like a pro and smoked his opener. My fist lift 558 went up easy. Brandon Cass was probably the most impressive opener 760 raw like an empty bar. The flight moved quickly. Hunter was up for his 2nd attempt and was no where to be found. They announced his name a 2nd time and he came running up to the platform with two girls chasing him. I guess he is 8 yrs old. lol. His 2nd pull 104 looked just as easy as his first. My 2nd attempt 584 went up decent but I felt something start to pull in my bicep. As I walked off the platform Hoss, Barzeen, and Wagner jumped me about my form. Hunter's last pull 116 was just as easy as the previous two attempts. He made if through his first meet. I was proud and the crowd loved him. Just and Marshall stole the show. I can watch then two guys lift all day. they both scream intensity.

The meet was a wrap. 93 lifters and we were done shortly after 8:00. Incredible. Have to give the Judges props I felt the judging was spot on all day. Only one or two calls all day that I disagreed with. the Lillibridge family did and awesome job spotting and loading all day.

High lights of the meet Pam Bosko, Kathy Johnson, Therese Janc, Ambre Pigeonlover, and Beth Thomas smashed weights all day. All of the Mecca crew did well. Cody Brant set Junior National records in the squat deadlift and total, Vinny Miles hit a 50 lb pr, Jerry Foltz hit a nice pr, Jake Baker had a solid meet, Jeff Johnson smoked a 727, Tom Waldrep won best bencher with a 705 at old balls 220, Barzeen Smoked PR's all day, Brandon Cass made 760 look like an empty bar. Jim Grandick had a solid meet. Marshall Johnson and Justin Graalfs brought intense lifting to the platform every time they stepped on it. Jason Elhert beastly squats. Hoss manhandled 1000 plus squats like I have never seen before. Last but not least the high light for me was a tie. Watching Hunter dominate the weights in his first meet will be something I will cherish forever. And The strongest man on the planet James Valentine. James is my little buddy Austin's Dad. This man is the definition of strong. When he made his first bench on the platform at his very first meet it brought tears to my eyes. What made it even more special was that Austin was in the crowd watching.

OK all the lifting was cool to watch but just a small part of the weekend and Relentless 2013. Scott and Rachel Nutter hands down are the best of the best. They give selflessly give their all to Relentless and the Hope Foundation. They planned for months and made it go off with out a hitch. I am proud to call them family. No one in the sport does what they do.

Scott gave a speach after the lifting was done and called Marshall Johnson and Cart Olson out to the stage to report to everyone that Carter is now 100% cancer free. Carter was suppose to pull the last deadlift of the meet. But Carter being cancer free means he is 100% boy and had broken his leg a few weeks prior to the meet ice skating. Scott called Hunter out to pull the last deadlift of the meet. Hunter's face lit up. A look I will never forget. Hunter pulled the last one and then Marshall held both Carter and Hunter in his arms.

Marshall Johnson is a great man. He brings the true meaning of Relentless to life. He has devoted himself to a selfless relationship with Carter and the Hope Kids. Amazing on and off the Platform. I can't thank him and Kathy enough for how cool they are to Hunter.

The closing of the event was the presenting of the Check to the Hope Foundation. Joe Kuphal and I were asked to come to the stage and give the check. It took all I had to keep my composure. My emotions were on fire. $102,000.00 was raised with money still coming in. Never in a million years did I think a group of Powerlifters could come together and dominate for a cause.

Joe and I were both presented with framed team hope T-shirts signed by everyone of the hope Kids. Joe raised $16,000.00 and I raised $13,000.00 with our Firstgiving pages. I have to thank everyone of the Mecca crew for doing their part. Thank all of my family and friends that stepped up to support me and Hope Kids. My sponsors MHP, Iron Rebell, for sending care packages for the Silent Auction. Dave Mueller for the Relentless Prowler. The Daminga's and Overkill for there continued support. My wife Shellie and my kids for putting up with me.

Thank you Dustin Bragg for letting me represent you as your Team Hope lifter. You are the real hero! I look forward to seeing you again soon. Stay strong little man and never stop chasing your dreams.

I will just leave the Pool party for those that attended. Clay your the man is all I'm gonna say! LOL!

Thanks Mike Gray for meeting me at Southside. Sunday Sorry I was late.

Scott Nutter and Rachel again thank you for everything you do for the sport and for Hunter and I!

I will be calling my Dr to get my shoulder looked at again and to decide what steps to take next. Relentless Detroit will be next............. believe it!

[luyando]

OK so its been longer then I thought since I have posted on my training log. I have been training and have adressed some of the issues I had back at Relentless 2013. To catch everyone up to speed I ended up getting MRI shortly after Relentless 2013. MRI showed that I had a full thickness radial tare in the cartilage around the humerus joint on my left shoulder. I didnt wast any time and made an apointment with Dr Romeo out of Rush Hospital in Chicago. He is one of the best shoulder surgeons in the nation so I was very pleased to get him to see me. Dr Romeo has worked with several real profesional athletes in a wide aray of sports. I had to wait a couple weeks to get into see him. I decided while I was waiting to get the shoulder addressed I was going to limit my training to lower body and arms. I trained 4 days a week and even through a few cardio sessions in. I started religiously following Carb Night Solutions.

My appointment with Dr Romeo came and my options were to have the shoulder scoped and fix and clean up the shoulder and anything else that he discovered. Had to reschedule the surgery due to family funeral that I wasnt going to miss.

My training was going decent and enough to keep me content while waiting for surgery. I trained legs twice a week 1st day was Powerlifting training with Safety Squat bar and single ply Overkill briefs and then leg assitance work. My 2nd leg day was more of a body building type workout with tons of volume. Also trained arms twice a week. Training biceps actually seemed to lesson some of my shoulder discomfort. Arm workouts wer lighter weights and high volume as I didnt want to utilize shoulder leverages.

Finally a week ago Thursday I had my surgery. I was nervous as hell going into it. Dr Romeo's staff was awesome and treated me like i was a pro athlete and made me feel relaxed about the surgery. The day after surgery I spoke with Dr Romeo's main assitant who advised that my shoulder had a lot of arthritis. The cleaned and repaired the cartilage and ended up repairing a tare in the labrum as well. I haven't had any pain since the surgery and have been sleeping better then ever.

I started Rehab Monday. My mobility measurements were taken and then work began. Monday and tuesday I had to do 3 rehab sessions aday. Each session takes about 40 mins. Wedneseday they upped my sessions to 5 times a day so I have been keeping busy. Still no pain to speak of. I'm pushing myself as hard as I can each session. Sore during the sessions but no issues afterwards. As of right now all of my rehab is focussed on getting my mobility back and better then pre-injury.

I meet with Dr Romeo this coming Wednesday to get stitches out and for my first follow up visit. Plan is to follow his direction with rehab to a T. I do plan on throwing legg training back in two weeks post op.

My crew is all training for Relentless Detroit so I will be involved with their training.

[luyando]

Had 1st follow up visit with Dr Romeo. He was pleased with my mobility progress. I have been given the green light to train legs, core, limited back movements, and cardio. I have to continue with 5 rehab sessions a day so its going to be a challenge to get training as well.

Thursday Night training at Dixon IL Correction Center.

Leg Press 8 sets of 12 reps
Leg Extensions 6 sets 12 reps
Single Leg curl - 4 sets 12 reps each leg

Pretty hardcore advirement. A few of my training partners are employed at the Correctional Center so we hit that gym from time to time to change it up.

[luyando]

Friday Session

Following 5 40 mins sessions of rehab

Bent Over Rows - 4 sets 20 reps
Chest Supported Rows - 4 sets 15 reps
Lat Pull downs - 4 sets 15 reps
Abb work
25 mins elliptical

[luyando]

Saturday Legs

25 Mins Elliptical
Leg press - 450x12x2 540x12x2 630x12x2 720x12 810x12
Leg Extensions - 100x12x2 125x12x2 100x12
Leg curls - 50x12x3 60x12x2
Abb work

5 40 min sessions or rehab work

Congrats to Dave Murphy an Matt Houser for winning theri weight classes today at area meets.

[luyando]

8/5/13
SBS - barx8x2 100x8x2 150x8x2 220x8x2 260x8x2
Leg Press - 450x12 540x12 650x12 740x12 830x12
Hack Squat - 225x8x5

[luyando]

8/6/13
25 mins elliptical
Abbs
Red man rows - 20x5
Chest supported rows -15x5
WG Lat PD's - 15x5
T-bar rows - 15x5
5 rehab sessions

[luyando]

8/7/13
5 rehab sessions

8/8/13
25 mins elliptical
Abbs
5 rehab sessions

[luyando]

8/9/13
25 mins elliptical
Abbs
Red man rows - chest supported rows - wg lat pd's - tbar rows

Decided to do a circuit training session. Reps were between 15-20. Did 4 rounds