[Adam Bishop]

Bodyweight sitting at 334lbs this morning

[Adam Bishop]

The off season commences.

Back in the gym today for the first press session of the off season. My split has now shifted as I drop out the strongman events for the next 12 weeks:

M – Incline Bench Press & press 1
T – Squat & Lowerbody
W – Off
T – Military Press & press 2
F – Deadlift & Pull
S – Arms
S – Off

I’ve also worked with TrainedByJP Nutrition to sort my diet out with an end goal of getting my bodyweight up to 355-360lbs in time for next year’s WSM. I’ll update my log with the changes soon.

Here’s how today’s session went down:

Incline Bench Press 147.5×5 135×5 120×5
Paused Incline Bench Press 105x3x5
Pec Dec – 2 work sets
Chest press – 2 work sets
Cable Facepulls – 2 work sets
Rear Delt Fly – 2 work sets

All nice and easy today as it should be.

[Adam Bishop]

BRITAIN’S STRONGEST MAN 2021

It’s been a long time coming this comp. I’ve held the title for just over 18months now and going into this year’s show I wanted the repeat.

I knew this competition would be between 4 of us. Myself, Tom Stoltman, Luke Stoltman and Graeme Hicks – it would come down to the fine margins.

Event 1 – Circus DB Ladder 80-120kg
I went out last in this and had the advantage of seeing what the other guys hit before me. I knew that hitting the 80/90/100/110kg dumbbells would be good for top 3 so that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t even attempt the 120 but looking back maybe I should have as my 110 rep was comfortable. 3rd place.

Event 2 – 400kg Super Yoke 20m
I knew this was my event. I’m super fast at this wanted to make a statement. I ran the 20m in a time of 9.54sec to win by 2 seconds. 1st Place

Event 3 – 350 Axle Deadlift for reps
The mark to beat was 8 reps by Hicks and Tom. I rattled through the 8 and then just hit the 9th all wrong. Bit of a technical error but more worryingly my back was super pumped after this. Joint 1st place.

Event 4 – loading (4 implements)
This event had been going really well in training however my back pumps were crippling and I struggled a bit. Dropped some points here. 5th Place

Event 5 – Atlas Stones 100-180kg
Out last here against Tom and we were neck and neck till the last stone when my hand got caught in the ring which slowed me down. 22seconds – 3rd place

I finished up 2nd overall behind Tom Stoltman. I knew going into this I would need to be perfect to beat Tom since he is the reigning WSM and unfortunately I dropped some points in the latter stages of the comp. I will need to look at my comp day nutrition strategies a bit more as I’m not getting enough food in prior to these evening shows.

Still I know who I need to beat in order to achieve my goals and lucky for me I won’t have to wait long for revenge – we do BSM 2022 in February so 16 weeks to make the changes I need to.

A big thank you to TrainedByJP Nutrition for all the support – all the other guys were dipping into my Sustain and JPre 2.0 for most of the show. That’s the sign of a great product when athletes who are sponsored by other supplement companies what your product instead!

I move into my short off season now so a switch up in programming from tomorrow. Time to make Bish Bigger!

[Adam Bishop]

We made it to Sheffield.

Popped in at the SBD office and factory to meet the workers and see how the manufacturing process goes down. Very cool to see how it all works and the level of detail that goes into every product. All of SBD’s products are 100% made in the UK which is amazing.

I then headed back to the hotel for a hour’s soft tissue work from my therapist and did the athletes meeting.

Tomorrow is go time! Retain the title and hear the words “and still….”

Let’s do this.

[Adam Bishop]

Yep I echo Rich’s points here.

The vast majority of my deadlift work is in those rep ranges as well.

[Adam Bishop]

Solid rest day today.

Got everything packed and ready to go, got all my meals in and finished with some contrast baths before bed.

Tomorrow we drive up to Sheffield ready to compete on Saturday.

[Adam Bishop]

Final session before Brits today.

Worked up to a medley on the DB press of 78/97/100kg all done in around 25sec.

Finished with a very very fast run with 240kg on the yoke.

Rest day Thursday then I’m up to Sheffield on Friday. It’s finally game time!

[Adam Bishop]

I’ll stretch this out to competition as well and say my 1000lb (453.5kg) Deadlift from this year as it was a milestone I’ve been after for a while. Onwards to the World Record….

Actually in training in my gym I was most satisfied with my 3 reps at 180kg on the log press as historically it’s been a weakness of mine.

[Adam Bishop]

I feel a slew tracker could be a useful tool here to get some insight.

I started using a Whoop band to track everything and I was amazed at the difference between my time spent in bed and what I actually got as meaningful deep or REM sleep. You naturally spend some time awake at night so going to bed for 8 hours doesn’t equate to 8 hours of sleep

You’re doing plenty of things correctly with your sleep hygiene which is good.

[Adam Bishop]

Recovery day.

Well rested and kept the food going in today, not much else to report really.

I just have one more session tomorrow before Brits on Saturday.

[Adam Bishop]

Yep I drink it after Rich put me onto it while I was needing to push my carb intake.

I mix 150g COR with 400ml of water and it is easy to drink and digest from my experience. I also include 60g of whey and use it as my post workout shake now.

[Adam Bishop]

Well into the taper today. Very little volume. At this point it’s all about maintaining movement and limiting fatigue.

I like to warm up as I would for a full session then perform some lighter, speed work.

Today it was some speed deadlifts on the axle. 3 sets of 2 at 220kg so nothing heavy and very little volume.

Finished up with some contrast baths tonight before bed.

[Adam Bishop]

Morning guys – time for a catch up as it’s been a busy couple of days and I didn’t manage to post.

On Friday I travelled up north to train on the kit for Brits as part of my final heavy session. Traffic was carnage and it took me just over 6 hours in the car to do a journey that usually takes just under 4 hours.

I stayed over Friday night before hitting some events on the Saturday morning. We have a new set of circus DBs for event 1 which is a DB press ladder going from 80-120kg so it was important for me to get a feel for the kit being used. I did some singles with the 80/90/100kg DBs and they felt great. All really easy and moving well.

Next up I sorted my rack height for the yoke race and then had a feel of a couple of implements for the loading. This is very important to do as we use different kit every competition so getting used to how it behaves when lifted avoids and surprises on comp day.

Finished up just after lunch then made the trip back down the M1 home. A lot of time in the car this weekend but it was worth it to get those final preparations done.

[Adam Bishop]

Once again not much to report today as it’s a recovery day.

Contrast baths to end the evening and minimal movement during the day apart from my morning dog walk.

I did have a very productive sports psychology session today which has put me in a good place for Brits next weekend. It also reiterated the importance of having something else to focus on apart from strongman – something I have struggled with since going full time. Being a strongman has enveloped my existence and not allowed for my mind to do other things.

Expect to see a return to the golf course for me soon even with my heavily restricted swing!

[Adam Bishop]

I agree with the above.

I would also add that it’s important to show the athlete/client progression. This can be done via photos or strength increases (and lifting form improvements via videos etc) but the more time you take to display their progress is always a sure fire way of them buying into your process as a coach.

It doesn’t have to be fancy analytics but clearly displaying how much the athlete has progressed over your time with them is a powerful tool.