Rehband Knee Sleeves

Here I am pictured with the classic 7mm.

I have used Rehband knee sleeves for 4 years. I have used the thick 7mm and thinner 5mm versions.

The Good

-Convenient to put on and take off. 

-Provides warmth and a little compression on the knees. 

-Washable. 

-Durable. 

The Bad. 

-Can get stinky and hold bacteria. 

-Not as much compression as knee wraps.
-Bar can contact sleeve during pull.

To purchase in Canada: http://vikingweightlifting.com/shop/rehband-knee-support-7751/

http://www.rehband.com/global/sports/weightlifting/blue-line-knee-support

Here I am wearing the thinner and newer 5mm version.

Below is a video showing me squat with the 5mm Rehband Knee sleeves:

Gaining Weight Eating Paleo

A typical lunch or dinner for me.

I was asked if I knew how to gain weight eating the Paleo diet. For me personally, I can't. I am wondering if anyone out there has had success with this. Currently I am not eating 100% strict Paleo, but more of a focus on eating whole natural foods as much as possible, but not getting to hung up on the fine details when I go out for dinner. This is what my current diet/ schedule looks like:

One big thing I do is try to limit carb intake before work outs, then eat like a pig after. If you want to gain weight, you always have to be stuffing your face. If you want to do it strict paleo, then you would need a lot of carbs-squash,rice,yams along with red meat, eggs etc. 

Basically my philosophy is, I try to keep everything healthy in my house, and eat there most of the time.
I don't count calories or carbs but a typical day looks like this:

Breakfast-5 egg omelette with spinach, tomatoes, mushroom, cooked in coconut oil at 8:30am
Bulletproof coffee with GF butter & MCT oil
Protein shake pre workout.
Work out @ noon.
Protein shake & banana
Lunch @ 2:30- steak or hamburger with rice or squash or yams.
Dinner @ 5pm- red meat most of the time, or sometimes fish or chicken, with yam,or squash, or rice, veggies. or if we go somewhere for dinner, it will be whatever they are having.
Another meal or snack around 9pm.

Snacks include:
Nuts.
Greek yogurt & blue berries.
Crackers and cheese
Avocado
cheat meals include:
Won ton soup
Hamburgers

On days I work mornings, my schedule looks a little different.

Eating While Training for 2014 Provincials

Training and eating are going steady, here are some calorie packed meals as of late:

Freezer meals. We prepared like 30 at a time. They were not that good.

Always have my Bulletproof Coffee for my pre-workout drink/meal.

Man Stew. I chop up a roast, add veggies and stuff.

BBQ Sockey Salmon. Yes it is wild. I caught it myself!

Some Sockeye salmon I smoked and ate as a snack on crackers with cream cheese.

Make your own sushi rolls with smoked salmon.

Zucchini boats filled with ground beef, homegrown tomatoes, and cheese.

Brisket from hobby farm raised beef.

Brisket, rice, zucchini, and mushrooms.

Adipower Weightlifting shoe review

Training and competing with these shoes for over 2 years has been a delight.

Adipowers

The Good:

- Very stable and solid heel.

- Flexible sole. 

- Tough and long lasting. 

- Comfortable. 

The Bad:

- Expensive. 

- Narrow fit. I have to get a slightly bigger shoe to work for my wide foot. 

- I have seen some pairs crack at the toe crease. Although Adidas has rectified this with their new white version of the Adipower, my WL shoes have been crack free. Perhaps due to the fact I use shoe trees when I'm not using them. 

Overall, I would say these are the best weightlifting shoes money can buy, especially if you have a narrow - normal foot width. If you have a wider foot like me, you may want to try the Nike Romaleos 2 weightlifting shoe. 

To order Adipowers in Canada, I highly recommend the Adidas dealer Viking equipment. Guy Greavette will draw on his unprecedented experience in the field being a past elite weightlifter. 

In the states you can search online for East bay shoes for the best deal or try Dynamic in Washington.


Below is a video of a competition wearing Adipowers:

Eleiko Weightlifting Wraps

Eleiko wrist wraps.

I have used the Eleiko wrist wraps in training and competition for almost 2 years and knee wraps for almost 1 year. I have almost worn through my second pair of wrist wraps even though I had them repaired once. The knee wraps are still going strong.

Wrist Wraps.

The Good

- Comfortable. 

- Convienient to loosen/ tighten between sets. 

- Washable. 

- Supportive but not restrictive. 

- Relatively inexpensive. 

The Bad. 

High wear area by the loops.

-Velcro stitching is not strong. 

-The area around the thumb loops get's stretched. 

-Less than 1 year life span. 

In summary, don't expect the wrist wraps to be as good as Eleiko's barbells. 

Knee Wraps

The Good:

Eleiko Knee Wraps.

-Offers more support/tension than knee sleeves. 

-Totally adjustable to different sizes and desired tension. 

-More breathable than knee sleeves. 

-Flexible material. 

-Washable. 

The Bad

- They can loosen during movement, so you will need to continually adjust them between sets.

Here is a video of a competition while I wear Eleiko wraps:

To order Eleiko wrist wraps contact Guy at Viking Weightlifting Equipment. 

http://vikingweightlifting.com/eleiko-weightlifting-equipment/

To try some from other wraps, check out Bells of Steel.

These Blue Shoes

A poetic journey of my first pair of Polish weightlifting shoes:

These blue shoes, who will they choose?

Blue weightlifting shoes and barbell.

These blue shoes came from a man named Dieter Stamm. 

He would invest in these for you, if you were a young man who had some jam. 

The author pulling on a barbell
wearing the shoes in question.

When you wear these blue shoes you are only allowed to say "I can."

I wore these blue shoes for years. Adding 100 kilos onto my total while facing my fears. 

These blue shoes even absorbed some tears. 

Then one friend tried them on and thought to himself "I will compete not before long."

He added confidence like a buck outgrowing his former fawn. 

And after not too long, he passed them on. 

Brother Andrew wearing the blue weightlifting shoes at a comp.

Andrew got back.

Brother youngest placed his foot inside and began tying. He transformed from gazelle to lion. 

Sometimes frustrated but always kept trying. 

He made a super total and now is pursuing a cause worth dying. 

The latest victim of the shoes.

One day at a party these shoes chose an unsuspecting soul, whose body would soon take a toll. 

His positive energy would be his console. 

Time will tell, if this computer jockey will get swole. 

Since 2009, these blue shoes have started 4 men in competitive weightlifting. Who will they choose next?

Pendlay Needle Bearing Bar

The knurl and collar of a Pendlay Nexgen Barbell.

Let me start out by saying; I own an original Pendlay HD bar, I have used the latest versions of the Pendlay Nexgen Bushing bar, I have used York Elite, DHS needle bearing,  Eleiko competition and training bars extensively. I have an expert base of experience when dealing with bars. On any given training day I could encounter a Pendlay bushing or bearing bar, a DHS competition bar, a TKO bar, or a commercial gym bar.

Let's start out with the positives. For the money ($550 USD approx), it is a great bar. No complaints about the spin or the knurling. Some people like center knurling but I don't for training. The whip of the bar is adequate.

The only negative aspect I can complain about is how the shaft can bend. I have bent my second shaft on my Pendlay needle bearing bar in less than 6 months use. 

MDUSA was great in replacing it at no charge, but then soon enough I bent the second one. I thought this was a one off story until I found other complaints on the Pendlay forum similar to mine. I don't do anything crazy, so there is no reason the bar should have bent. My platform is more forgiving than most. And I haven't even attempted PR weights on this bar.  

Bang for your buck, the Pendlay needle bearing bar is a good product. If the manufacture figures out the shaft bending problem it could be a great bar.

So I Did a Powerlifting Meet 100% Raw

Let me start out by saying that I love the 100% Raw powerlifting federation due to the fact they are vehemently against performance enhancing drugs and supportive equipment. I have always liked what this federation was doing so when I heard that they were putting on a somewhat local meet, I knew I had to try it out.

Coming out the hole with a World Record Squat.

The timing with my competitive weightlifting schedule worked out and I was in the area on vacation. It was meant to be. I was after the squat world record, in the law/military/fire 100kg class (225kg), and the national deadlift record in the same category of 248kg. I have done more than these numbers so I was confident to get it done. With 5 weeks to train, after taking 3 weeks off after nationals, I got to work adding bench in for the first time in years. 2 weeks into benching I strained my right pec so benching was out for a couple weeks. Squats and deads were coming along nicely as they were programmed around my Olympic lifting. The week of the comp I was on family holidays, so it was easy to taper. I just changed the one day of training to lower volume back squats and continued normally with my snatches and cleans.

Meet Day

In the hole.

I weigh in with the nice folks at the meet, and was told by a director after the technical meeting, that I would not be lifting until 11am. With that in mind, I go off to have a leisurely omelette at my cousins house. At 10:15 I decide to head back to the meet. As I'm pulling, in I get a text saying I just missed my first squat. Instant adrenaline rush. I run into the warmup room, load 2 plates for a set of 5, 3 plates for 3, 4 plates for 2, 445 for a single then run up the stairs for my opener of 205kg for my official second attempt. I smoked that, and 215kg. Since I was attempting a world record I was given a 4th attempt that would not count towards my official total. I loaded 225.5kg and smoked it. I didn't want to take any chances so I only beat the record by the minimum .5kg. Definitely had more in the tank.

On to bench. My right pec had a strain from trying out bench press in the previous weeks. I kept it light so it wouldn't aggravate it. Embarrassingly, I  started with 105kg, then onto 115kg and a fast 120kg. I just started to feel my pec hurt a bit with 120kg. Glad I didn't go higher.

Bench Press

I had my eye on the 248kg national deadlift record in the law/fire/military category. I started with a conservative 230kg. Then went for the new  national record 248.5kg and smoked it. It was challenging though, so I knew I could not have beaten the world record of 267.5kg. I decided to go for 255kg and break my high school deadlift PR by a couple pounds. Unfortunately my back started losing it's arch half way up my shins so I put it down. Some guys can deadlift with a round lumbar but not me. I strain ligaments and hurt my SI joint thus leaving me unable to lift for a couple weeks. I would rather be safe than sorry.

Deadlift

All in all it was a great meet. I enjoyed lifting in that environment and it was a casual meet for me so I had fun. I also enjoyed how easy it was for me to warm up for a power meet compare to an Olympic weightlifting meet. I did not make 1 PR but it was my first official PL meet, so some will say all the lifts are PR's. Official total-583.5kg, unofficial total (including the 4th squat)-594kg. Next time I will smoke 600kg for sure!

Here are the official results:
http://media.wix.com/ugd/fa7009_cd4375fb5e4643e6b119b0203c4f41ba.pdf

Lamb Stew Night

Seared bone in lamb meat.

I tried this recipe out with the help of a buddy. Actually, he did everything. I just provided the lamb meat. Anyways this recipe is from the Chaos and Pain website. No I will not link to it because of the profanity in the URL but you are welcome to search for it. 

 So we start out with some grass fed lamb that I personally raised on a friends farm. I had to saw the bone in leg roast to get it into the pan. We first browned the lamb with olive oil and garlic.

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. finely chopped garlic

3 pounds lamb, on the bone 

1 medium onion, sliced

Add in fried onions.

1/3 cup brown rice (traditionalists use rolled oats as an alternative)

6 cups water

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 cabbage, roughly chopped

3 carrots, diced into 1/2" pieces

1/2 rutabaga, uniformly diced

1 cup cauliflower florets (optional)

4 potatoes, scrubbed well and diced into uniform 1/2" pieces (see alternative note below)

In a large pot, sauté the garlic in the olive oil on medium , don’t brown it. Add in the lamb meat to brown. 

Add  diced onion to pot, sauté lightly.

Chopped up lamb.

Add rice and water. 

Turn heat to high. 

Allow to boil for 5 minutes, skim away froth as it rises.

Reduce heat to medium, stir in dried thyme and oregano, cover pot, and cook for 40 minutes.

Add cabbage, carrots, rutabaga, cauliflower (if using), and diced potatoes. Cook, covered, for an additional 20 minutes, or until vegetables are fork-tender.

Remove meat and bones from pot, chop meat coarsely, then return. Warm for an additional 5 minutes. 

Adding the lamb back in.

Adding diced potatoes and rutabaga.

The finished lamb stew.

First Medal at Nationals 2014 Canadian Championships

I would love to say I came away learning something from this years Nationals, but this year, I put everything into practice that I had previously learnt.

Justin Ott Bronze at 2014 Nationals

This was my 5th time at the Canadian National Championships and I have been in many situations. I have showed up expecting to win in 2012 and had a lackluster performance leaving me just out of bronze. I have seen last minute weight class changes, I have seen exceptional performances come out of nowhere, and I have seen people who have expected to do well, fail to place a total. These things happen almost every single year, and I was prepared for it all. This time it would not rattle me or throw me off course.

My training numbers were not where I wanted them, and after my test day I knew I would have to find an extra gear to make the podium at Nationals. I usually make bigger lifts in competition than in training so I was mentally prepared for such things.

The plan was to make conservative openers and build my total up. Then when the moment came for my last clean and jerk I would make the necessary jump no matter how big, and execute to get on the podium. I played this through my mind over and over again so I would be ready.

On the day of the comp I went through my usual routines to prepare. When it came time to warm ups I was dialed in and focused. There was a weight class change, there was a lifter who came out of no where, there was people doing worse than expected, there were people doing better than expected, and there was 4 registered lifters in the 21 athlete class of 94kg lifters, either pulled out, or failed to make a total. But I did not care, nor was I paying attention. I made all 3 snatches: 124kg, 127kg, and 129kg. I did not even pay attention at the time to my placing. I started warming up with clean and jerks before opening up with 159kg. One of my coaches, Guy Greavette, told me  "make this 167kg Clean and jerk and you will win bronze." This was the moment I was preparing for. I was so pumped and ready for this, I was practically flying around backstage. I went out and perfectly executed the 167kg clean and jerk to the tune of 3 white lights securing BRONZE! My first medal at nationals. I was elated to say the least.

Finally On the Podium 

By the numbers:
I was 4 kg's off my best competition total, but ended setting a new personal competition record in the 94kg class with a 167kg clean and jerk. That 167 kg clean and jerk is also a new M30 94kg Canadian Masters record. 21 athletes signed up in the 94kg weight class making it the thickest category by sheer participants.

This was not my biggest total I have put up, but I have never been happier with a weightlifting competition. I made the big lift when it counted to get on the podium at the biggest competition in the country. I know this is not gold at the Olympics but it is a real milestone for me and I want to publicly thanks some people that I could not have done this without: Thanks to Christine Girard for programming, technique work, and mental conditioning. Thanks to Rob Macklem for great pics and coaching. Thanks to Guy Greavette for coaching and tactics backstage. Thanks to my good friend Brent Watson for coming to these far away comps and filming while supporting. Thanks to Gord Yard for all the encouragement over the years. Thanks to the boys and gals at BLM, and Kilophile. Thanks to Pacific Sport for their athlete services. Thanks to Pacific Life Chiro for great care. Thanks to Dieter Stamm for giving me my start in this sport. Most of all, thanks to my family and friends for putting up with my time consuming hobby.

BC's Medalist's at 2014 Nationals
Gabe Auclair, Rachel Siemens, Ralph Soriano, Justin Ott, Evan Openshaw.

The Abby News picked up the story: http://www.abbynews.com/sports/262796081.html

Official results here: http://www.halterophiliecanada.ca/resultats_en.html

2014 Canadian weightlifting nationals in Saskatoon Watch Live

This Saturday I will be competing at the 2014 Canadian weightlifting nationals in Saskatoon. This year is special, as it is a qualifier for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and you will be able to watch the competition live on the internet. Here is the link, I will be lifting around 6pm saskatchewan time on Saturday.
"As part of the organizing committee for this years 2014 Canadian Senior Weightlifting Championships I wanted to pass on this information to you so thatyou could let your athletes and membership know that live streaming of the event will occur throughout the weekend so that friends, family, and other interested parties may join in the fun and spectate across Canada.

The link is - http://www.ustream.tv/channel/2014-canadian-weightlifting-championships

If for some reason the link does not work please head to http://www.ustream.tv/and use the search function to search the event titled "Canadian Senior Weightlifting Championships 2014".

COMPETITION SITE: Saskatoon Inn - Saskatchewan room – section “B”

 2002, Airport Drive, Saskatoon SK S7L 6M4 

 http://www.saskatooninn.com/ 


Saturday May 17, 2014 



CATEGORIES 


 Session Athl. COMPETITION 

1 Men 56-62-69 kg  *10:00 am 

2 Men 77 kg 12:30 pm 

3 Men 85 B - 94 B kg 3:00 pm 

4 Men 85 A kg 4:30 pm 

5 Men 94 A kg 11 6:00 pm 


Sunday May 18, 2014 

 Athl. COMPETITION 

6 Women 48 - 53 kg  *9:30 am 

7 Women 58 kg 11:00 am 

8 Women 63 kg 12:30 pm 

9 Women 69 - 75 - +75 kg  2:00 pm 

10 Men 105 - +105 kg 3:30 pm

Hearty meals for a hearty character

Had a meaty stew after a solid training session today. 

It is a chopped up chuck roast with Japanese yams, carrots, and barley. Here are some other dishes of late:

This one isn't totally Paleo I know. 

Some charts on the modern diet

There is some good insight and charts in this article talking about what is wrong with the modern diet:

http://www.businessinsider.com/whats-wrong-with-the-modern-diet-charts-2014-2#!JDSYc

Prodigy protein powder

I love this protein powder because it tastes awesome, mixes great, and is sweetened with stevia.

Prodigy Whey from Athletic Alliance.

The multiple types of protein ensure different absorption rates and covers more bases. If you are an athlete, you will love that it is made without ingredients containing banned substances as per WADA.

Highlights:

• 7-Source Protein blend with Colostrum
• 27g of Protein per scoop
• Low-Calorie & Low-Carb
• Meets Standard Anti-Doping Regulations
• NO SUGAR (Sweetened with Stevia)
• Available in Chocolate & Vanilla
• NUTRITION:

Per 1 scoop (35g)

140 Calories
3g Carbohydrates
27g Protein

Contains Whey Protein Hydrolysate, Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Milk Protein Concentrate, Colostrum, Goat Whey, and Egg Albumin. DOES NOT CONTAIN any ingredients known to be banned by standard anti-doping regulations.

Product info: http://www.athleticalliance.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=50

The Start of 2014 Nationals Preperation

After taking a week off from my last competition, I am starting to rebuild the foundation en route to the 2014 Canadian Weightlifting National Championships.

Here are some recent meals:

Wild cod with spaghetti squash, broccoli, and carrots.

Pesto chicken pizza on pita bread. (I know this is not Paleo)

Tuna steak with rice and veggies.

Uncured nitrate free bacon from Trader Joe's.

Quick 12 with Olympian Tim Randall

Tim Randall 2014 Olympian

 1- Ok, you are an Olympic Athlete, chosen to represent Canada at the 2014 Sochi games in Russia. How cool is that?

TR: Being an Olympic athlete has been a dream of mine since i was a little boy. For me it is more than just cool, it represents many years of hard work dedication and sacrifice. Walking in the stadium at the opening ceremonies made it all worth it. It made me realize that my dream had come true and that i was in fact an Olympian forever.

2- What got you interested in Bobsled?

TR: The things that attracted me to bobsled are the speed and pure adrenaline the athletes feel when going down the icy track while competing for their country. I have always been interested in speed, power, and strength sports, so to me it only seemed right to try out a sport like bobsleigh. I had essentially been training for bobsleigh my whole life without even knowing it. I have always lifted a certain way growing up, and I feel like that has made the transition into bobsleigh a lot easier. I remember the first time i saw bobsleigh on TV i was drawn to it. I knew i wanted to try it, and see if one day i could compete at the Olympic level in this sport.

Brakeman Tim Randall

3- Tell us about your background in sport and why you think you became proficient so quickly at bobsled?

TR: I grew up playing all kinds of sports like soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, and volleyball. It wasn't until high school where I started playing football. I immediately fell in love with the sport. I also enjoyed the type of training associated with football. Again the speed, power, and strength aspects of the sport quickly grabbed my attention. I played football all throughout high school, and looked to play at the next level in university. I got recruited to the University of Guelph where I played running back for five years. Making the switch from football to bobsleigh was made a little easier because I had already been training for the sport without even knowing it for almost 10 years. A lot of the physical aspects of football can be directly transferred over to bobsleigh. I was always interested in power lifting, Olympic lifting, and a lot of the training programs I did growing up were based around this. At the end of the day the training for football and bobsleigh are very similar. Playing football for so long made the transition into bobsleigh very easy for me.

4- What are your proudest moments of athletic achievement in football?

TR: My proudest moments in football would have been in high school when we won back to back championships, and in university playing in the Yates cup at home to a sold out crowd.

Tim Randall Sochi 2014

5- What are your proudest accomplishments in bobsled?

TR: My proudest moments in bobsleigh would have to be winning my first world cup medal in Whistler, and most recently achieving one of my life time goals of competing for my country at the Olympic games.

6- Tell us about training on and off season for bobsled, and what exercises translate the best into being a powerful sled pusher?

TR: Off season training for bobsleigh usually lasts about 6-7 months. In that time the athletes are solely trying to increase speed power and strength. This is done through vigorous workouts usually consisting of things like squats, cleans, sprinting, throws, jumps, bench, and sled pushes. We usually train 6 days a week, and in some phases twice a day. For myself, the exercises that translate best into pushing are: squats, sprints, and power cleans.

Tim Randall front squat 495lbs.

7- Now to the weight room, what are your best lifts? And let us know your body weight.

TR: Bench 420lbs, Close-grip bench 395lbs, Deadlift 585lbs, Squat 665lbs, Front squat 545lbs, Power clean 365lbs, Snatch 300lbs, Jerk 405lbs @ 250lbs body weight. I can do some of them now at my bobsled weight of 228lbs.

8- Ever think of competing in weightlifting or power lifting?

TR:  I have always been interested in power lifting and Olympic weightlifting. I have always trained with similar principles of these two sports. I have honestly thought about seriously getting into both sports when I was finishing up my football career at Guelph. Bobsleigh kind of put these ideas on hold.

9- Favorite supps?

TR: My favorite supplements are protein(powder), creatine, glutamine, BCAA's, vitamins, and powder burn (pre-workout) stuff gets me going.

10- Diet philosophy?

TR: I try and stick to meat, nuts, and veggies. I pick low G.I carbs when I eat them. When I eat carbs I try and eat them around my workouts. I don't really eat dairy and stay away from sugary food and drinks. I sometimes cave and have diet coke lol.

11- What keeps you going through drought/dark(no PR's) periods in training?

TR: When it comes to plateaus or droughts I am very fortunate. I am able to train in a group of very high performance athletes. This allows me to stay as motivated as possible, and stay on track. It allows me to train harder than normal, and I am able to reach almost all my physical goals because of it. We also have a lot of variety in our programs and various training phases which kind of keeps our bodies guessing.

12- What are your goals for your future athletic career?

TR: I would like to continue bobsledding, and I hope to train for the next Olympics in 2018. Now that I have a taste of the Olympics, it makes me even hungrier and more motivated to be the best athlete I can be. After going once and seeing what it was all about, I now have an urge to win a medal at the next games. I would also like to pursue a career in firefighting. I will hopefully get some things in order so that I can get all the required courses out of the way and start the application process while continuing to train for my sport. I would also like to open up my own gym one day and train young aspiring athletes to achieve their goals. Training has been part of my life since I was little and I hope it will always have a place in my life.

Tim Randall with his team mates.

List your social media stuff so we can see more of your underwear pictures:

Twitter @timrandall86

Instagram-trandall1986