A couple month’s ago a client of mine named William Walden asked me to mentor him for a school project.  It was for his Communication class, which made me laugh since we used to joke that Will was mute. He wanted to do something strength related, but didn’t know exactly how to approach it. The project consisted of a research paper and a presentation, but required the student to spend 15 hours with their mentor. In addition, their had to be quantitative, a finished product, a video, a journal, or some tangible to present as well. Immediately I suggested strongman. It would be great. He could train with our group on Saturdays, and we could document his increasing badassedness with a training  journal, video documentation, or completion of a competition. He was game and began attending training regularly.   

William has always been a really strong kid. So, I had no doubt in his ability to master the events of strongman. He was a three sport athlete: baseball, football, basketball. The problem with playing sports year round is it presents a really small window of time to train for strength. This creates a dilemma for an athlete like Will whose main objective is to get freakishly strong. See, Will has always been into strength. So when sports began to interfere with training, Will chose training.  

 I don’t encourage athletes to quit sports, unless it’s time to specialize. So, when Will chose to quit baseball this week to focus on strongman, I was not upset. It has always seemed to me that “ball” sports were secondary to Will. Strongman is a natural fit. When the actual sport itself is based on the ability  to move massive amounts of weight fast ,and the payoff in the end is strength, how could a kid like Will not chose strongman. 

Yesterday at training Will I Am shared his research paper with Chase and I. We were both impressed. I have copied it below. There will be additional post to follow ,as  Will’s project wraps up, documenting his success in the classroom as well as under the bar. 

 

The Sport of Strongman and Its Origins    

Throughout history mankind has been obsessed with strength. From ancient drawings on stones that suggested men lifted them in competition, to the ancient Greek olympics and the Scottish highland games, man has always been trying to prove who is the strongest (“Bybon” Wikipedia). There are modern sports that test the strength of men, but the sport of strongman is the true test of practical strength for the modern age.    

Although you can watch the freakishly hugeMariusz Pudzianowski compete in the World Strongest Man Series on ESPN, similar competitions of strength were held thousands of years ago. For instance, a block of stone found at Olympia in Greece weighing 316 lbs had an inscription that translates to “Bybon son of Phola, has lifted me over his head with one hand” (“Bybon” Wikipedia). This might have suggested that men competed in stone lifting competitions in the ancient Greek Olympics. There are many cultures that have a history of stone lifting, such as the Scots and Basques, who still hold competitions today that are similar to the atlas stones event in strongman (“Bybon” Wikipedia).    

The Highland Games is an ancient event that involves Scottish traditions such as music, dancing, kilts, and athletic competitions. The Highland Games has been a Scottish tradition since as early as the 11th century and is now becoming popular in other countries such as the United States. The music, dance, and festivities did not overshadow the main purpose of the event which was the athletic competitions. Historians believe that the athletic competitions of the Highland Games were started around the times when the English occupied Scotland and forbid the Scots to bear or train with arms to prevent uprisings. The Scots decided to train anyway, but they had to replace their arms with implements such as farming equipment, tools, and common things found in nature. One of the most popular events today is the caber toss which features tossing a stripped tree trunk or wooden pole, commonly weighing a little over 150 pounds and reaching 17 feet in height, for distance (“Highland games” Wikipedia).    

In the 19th century the term strongman did not refer to a person who competed in the sport of strongman, it only referred to a person who exhibited great strength. Early strongmen in the late 19th century and early 20th century would display bizarre feats of strength for show. Many of these so-called early strongmen were featured at carnivals or traveling circuses. They performed feats such as pulling heavy weights with teeth, metal-bending, or supporting a barbell overhead with one hand (also known as the bent-press) (“Strongman (strength athlete)” Wikipedia).    

The barbell became the foundation of modern weightlifting. It was developed in the late 19th century and it consisted of two hollow globes that were filled with either sand or lead shot. As time went on more and more uses were found for the barbell and they became plate loaded versus having weight filled hollow globes. The barbell is still present in gyms today where it is the tool for all the major core lifts (the squat, the bench-press, and the deadlift) as well as many of the secondary lifts (the incline-press, push-press, hang-cleans, etc.) (“Weight training” Wikipedia, & “Weightlifting” World Book).    

In the early 1900’s weightlifting started developing into various sports. Weightlifting started to show up in the Olympics in the form of what we call olympic weightlifting, which consists of two lifts: the clean & jerk and the snatch (“Weight training” Wikipedia, & “Olympic weightlifting” Wikipedia) . Later powerlifting was started which consists of the three main core lifts: the bench-press, the squat, and the deadlift (“Powerlifting” Wikipedia). Although these events became popular among weightlifters, they had a low public appeal and limited spectators.    

In 1977, to increase public interest, CBS sports conceived “The World’s Strongest Man Competition”. The concept was under the direction of David Webster, a Scot, and Dr. Douglas Edmunds, seven-times Scottish shot and discus champion and twice world caber champion. These two men were in charge of inviting the competitors and choosing the events (“World’s Strongest Man” Wikipedia).    

The events were chosen for their adversity and their ability to test each competitor’s strength, power, and endurance to their fullest extent. Some events were based on powerlifting, olympic weightlifting, and Highland Games heavy events. Other events were spirited by stories of mythological feats of strength. The events were swapped out or modified from year to year in order to prevent favoring certain types of competitors. For instance, one year they might have competitors do a clean and press with a log and the next year they might replace the log with a truck axle and tires. (“World’s Strongest Man” Wikipedia). The strongman events appealed a lot more to spectators because people could relate to the concept of someone being able to lift their car. Unless they were a weightlifting enthusiast they would have nothing to compare to a guy who is just lifting a bar weighted with metal plates (“Strongman Training Tips and Advice: Part 1”)    

Since the equipment used in strongman events is not standardized it takes more mental ability to adjust to the adversity (Henkin). Common events in strongman are the airplane/semi-truck pulls, and the car/fridge carry (“World’s Strongest Man” Wikipedia). It would be hard for a competitor to obtain an airplane, and they certainly do not make all vehicles and refrigerators the same. Competitors have to visualize completing goals in spite of the overwhelming adversity that they face.    

Just as lifting techniques vary so do different training methods. Many strongmen come from different weightlifting sports backgrounds, such as powerlifting, olympic weightlifting, and body building. Each require different training methods. In powerlifting competitors train limit strength, which is the maximum lifting capacity for a single repetition where tension is constantly kept on the weight in a controlled movement. Olympic weightlifters train speed strength, which is lifting a maximum weight in an explosive movement where one is required to rapidly get their body underneath the weight while it is being pulled upwards (“Strong Man Training Tips and advice: Part 1”). Body builders focus on the body tone and mass of their bodies which might require them to lift heavy weights for higher reps, but they are not focused on being able to lift a maximum amount of weight or to lift implements outside standard gym equipment (“Strong Man Training Tips and advice: Part 1,” & “Bodybuilding” Wikipedia). C.J. Murphy is an award winning trainer and competitive strongman who makes the distinction that “Strongman is a hybrid where all of the different types of strength are applied along with technical skills on a given set of events on a particular day” (“Strong Man Training Tips and advice: Part 1”). A strongman combines lifts and exercises that will hit limit strength, speed strength, and strength endurance in his training since all three types of strengths are crucial for being a competitor in strongman. Strongmen also develops the technical skills used to lift objects that are not always designed to be lifted (“Strong Man Training Tips and advice: Part 1”).    

Another important aspect, along with training, is nutrition. It is not so much the quality of food a strongman eats, but the quantity. An enormous amount of calories is needed to support the energy and muscle development of a very large body mass (Wylie, & Neveille).    

In body building, diet is probably even more important than the physical training. Body builders are required to have an extremely low body fat percentage while maintaining a very large body mass. They have to support their muscle development and energy demands by eating high quantities of quality well-balanced food and supplements in order to create the optimal physiques (“Bodybuilding” Wikipedia).    

While one’s diet is personal preference, guided by desired physique and bodily demands, most strongmen and powerlifters tend to be on the “see food” diet. This means that they eat everything they want so long as it is high in protein and calories (Wylie). It is very common to see competitors with large round bellies along with huge muscles when watching “The Worlds Strongest Man Series” on ESPN. Unlike bodybuilding in strongman and powerlifting, a low fat body percentage does not matter a whole lot and some of the competitors obviously do not care about it. Mariusz Pudzianowski quotes, “I eat everything” (“Mariusz Pudzianowski” Wikipedia). He then describes his diet which consists of ten eggs and two to three pounds of bacon for breakfast, a double meal of Polish pork chops, sauerkraut and potatoes for lunch, and either steaks, pork chops, or bacon for dinner with sauerkraut and potatoes. On top of his meals, he drinks a protein shake before and after workouts, takes creatine, magnesium, and amino acid supplements, and eats lots of chocolate between each meal. Regardless of Mariusz’s diet, he still manages to have the physique of a professional body builder and perhaps that is what separates the five time “World’s Strongest Man” winner from the rest (“Mariusz Pudzianowski” Wikipedia).    

In conclusion, strongman is the result of mixing new and old strength sports. Man’s obsession with strength continues through a sport that has evolved into a test of all the types of different strengths and the mental ability to adapt to lifting odd objects. Strongman becomes today’s true test of practical strength when all these aspects are combined with an added modern twist.    

These are some highlights from last saturdays strongman training session.

Not pictured are an 800# tire flip for 2 reps and a 480# yoke walk. Still, it was a great training day!

Sunny and mid 50’s. I can’t wait for Spring!

Sometimes I will copy and hand out articles and such that are especially standout to me. The following is one of my favorites. It continues to motivate me everytime I pick it up. Hopefully it will mean as much to all of you. It was written by singer and poet Henry Rollins and first published in Details magazine.

“Iron”
I believe that the definition of definition is reinvention. To not be like you parents. To not be like your friends. To be yourself. Completely.students. I was threatened and beaten up for the color of my skin and my size. I was skinny and clumsy, and when others would tease me I didn’t run home crying, wondering why. I knew all too well. I was there to be antagonized. In sports I was laughed at. A spaz. I was pretty good at boxing but only because the rage that filled my every waking moment made me wild and unpredictable. I fought with some strange fury. The other boys thought I was crazy.classes.

When I was young I had no sense of myself. All I was, was a product of all the fear and humiliation I suffered. Fear of my parents. The humiliation of teachers calling me “garbage can” and telling me I’d be mowing lawns for a living. And the very real terror of my fellow

I hated myself all the time. As stupid at it seems now, I wanted to talk like them, dress like them, carry myself with the ease of knowing that I wasn’t going to get pounded in the hallway between

Years passed and I learned to keep it all inside. I only talked to a few boys in my grade. Other losers. Some of them are to this day the greatest people I have ever known. Hang out with a guy who has had his head flushed down a toilet a few times, treat him with respect, and you’ll find a faithful friend forever. But even with friends, school sucked. Teachers gave me hard time. I didn’t think much of them either.

Then came Mr. Pepperman, my adviser. He was a powerfully built Vietnam veteran, and he was scary. No one ever talked out of turn in his class. Once one kid did and Mr. P. lifted him off the ground and pinned him to the blackboard.

Mr. P. could see that I was in bad shape, and one Friday in October he asked me if I had ever worked out with weights. I told him no. He told me that I was going to take some of the money that I had saved and buy a hundred-pound set of weights at Sears. As I left his office, I started to think of things I would say to him on Monday when he asked about the weights that I was not going to buy. Still, it made me feel special. My father never really got that close to caring. On Saturday I bought the weights, but I couldn’t even drag them to my mom’s car. An attendant laughed at me as he put them on a dolly.

Monday came and I was called into Mr. P.’s office after school. He said that he was going to show me how to work out. He was going to put me on a program and start hitting me in the solar plexus in the hallway when I wasn’t looking. When I could take the punch we would know that we were getting somewhere. At no time was I to look at myself in the mirror or tell anyone at school what I was doing.

In the gym he showed me ten basic exercises. I paid more attention than I ever did in any of my classes. I didn’t want to blow it. I went home that night and started right in. Weeks passed, and every once in a while Mr. P. would give me a shot and drop me in the hallway, sending my books flying. The other students didn’t know what to think. More weeks passed, and I was steadily adding new weights to the bar. I could sense the power inside my body growing. I could feel it.

Right before Christmas break I was walking to class, and from out of nowhere Mr. Pepperman appeared and gave me a shot in the chest. I laughed and kept going. He said I could look at myself now. I got home and ran to the bathroom and pulled off my shirt. I saw a body, not just the shell that housed my stomach and my heart. My biceps bulged. My chest had definition. I felt strong. It was the first time I can remember having a sense of myself. I had done something and no one could ever take it away. You couldn’t say shit to me.

It took me years to fully appreciate the value of the lessons I have learned from the Iron. I used to think that it was my adversary, that I was trying to lift that which does not want to be lifted. I was wrong. When the Iron doesn’t want to come off the mat, it’s the kindest thing it can do for you. If it flew up and went through the ceiling, it wouldn’t teach you anything. That’s the way the Iron talks to you. It tells you that the material you work with is that which you will come to resemble. That which you work against will always work against you.

It wasn’t until my late twenties that I learned that by working out I had given myself a great gift. I learned that nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain. When I finish a set that leaves me shaking, I know more about myself. When something gets bad, I know it can’t be as bad as that workout.

I used to fight the pain, but recently this became clear to me: pain is not my enemy; it is my call to greatness. But when dealing with the Iron, one must be careful to interpret the pain correctly. Most injuries involving the Iron come from ego. I once spent a few weeks lifting weight that my body wasn’t ready for and spent a few months not picking up anything heavier than a fork. Try to lift what you’re not prepared to and the Iron will teach you a little lesson in restraint and self-control.

I have never met a truly strong person who didn’t have self-respect. I think a lot of inwardly and outwardly directed contempt passes itself off as self-respect: the idea of raising yourself by stepping on someone’s shoulders instead of doing it yourself. When I see guys working out for cosmetic reasons, I see vanity exposing them in the worst way, as cartoon characters, billboards for imbalance and insecurity. Strength reveals itself through character. It is the difference between bouncers who get off strong-arming people and Mr. Pepperman.

Muscle mass does not always equal strength. Strength is kindness and sensitivity. Strength is understanding that your power is both physical and emotional. That it comes from the body and the mind. And the heart.

Yukio Mishima said that he could not entertain the idea of romance if he was not strong. Romance is such a strong and overwhelming passion, a weakened body cannot sustain it for long. I have some of my most romantic thoughts when I am with the Iron. Once I was in love with a woman. I thought about her the most when the pain from a workout was racing through my body. Everything in me wanted her. So much so that sex was only a fraction of my total desire. It was the single most intense love I have ever felt, but she lived far away and I didn’t see her very often. Working out was a healthy way of dealing with the loneliness. To this day, when I work out I usually listen to ballads.

I prefer to work out alone. It enables me to concentrate on the lessons that the Iron has for me. Learning about what you’re made of is always time well spent, and I have found no better teacher. The Iron had taught me how to live.

Life is capable of driving you out of your mind. The way it all comes down these days, it’s some kind of miracle if you’re not insane. People have become separated from their bodies. They are no longer whole. I see them move from their offices to their cars and on to their suburban homes. They stress out constantly, they lose sleep, they eat badly. And they behave badly. Their egos run wild; they become motivated by that which will eventually give them a massive stroke. They need the Iron mind.

Through the years, I have combined meditation, action, and the Iron into a single strength. I believe that when the body is strong, the mind thinks strong thoughts. Time spent away from the Iron makes my mind degenerate. I wallow in a thick depression. My body shuts down my mind. The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back.

The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.

We were payed a visit today by friend and colleague Dr. Brooks Tiller. Brooks accompanied us on our presentation at Matt Hughes HIT Squad, and was a welcome addition to our crew. He was passing through on his way back from the IYCA conference that Chase attended last weekend. In addition to the conference, he decided to take the time to visit a couple other places along the way.  

His first stop was to visit Carlos Alverez at St.X in Cincinnati. In case you don’t know, Alverez and St. X are one of the top high school strength programs in the country. This year St. X fielded 900 athletes on 43 teams in 14 sports. I have had the opportunity to hear Alvarez present and personally talk to him, and believe me, he is definitely on his game when it comes to dealing with multiple athletes. We watched some film that Brooks had made and were impressed at how systematic and efficient Alverez’s technique were when dealing with 60+ athletes at once.

His second stop was our place. I have to say, we have had teachers, administrators, and student interns sit in on our workouts, but this is the first time we have been honored by a Dr. of physical therapy wanting to see how we do things. My goal has always been to provide clients with the best, most sensible approaches to exercise. It pleases me to know that others want to see the product that our facility produces.

Get to know more about Brooks at his blog http://blog.drbrookstiller.com/

Wes has been on fire this year. Or should I say en fuego, since he just recently got back from playing soccer in Costa Rica. Costa Rica makes for his second international trip in the past 12 months. His first trip was to Europe with a Superclubs team.

He really turned it on this year. He received top honors locally,making both all district and all region teams. He was also named MVP of the JV team. On top of all that, he advanced to the national camp of the Olympic Development Program this year, putting him in the final selection pool for the US National Team.

Way to go Wes!

Long before Nelly was Stompin’ in Air Force, Chuck Taylor made a name for himself with his sweet

basketball shoes. And while the greatest popularity  of  “Chuck’s” came from greasers and punk rockers,

our clients like to rock them when they bang heavy weight and smash pr’s.  This is how we rep’ the  timeless style of ”Chuck’s.”

 

 

 

When life gives you snow, make snowballs! Combine 6-8 inches of snow, cabin fever, and a serious lack of cardio conditioning and you get one hell of an out of the box, full-body conditioning workout! I guarantee, if you get chest high, every minescule turn will make your heart feel like it will pound through your chest. No telling what the total weight was. Notice all the rock it picked up.  Every effort gets increasingly more difficult until it will budge nomore. It probably took me about 30-40 minutes to get it this big.

When I hear the term “functional training” I cringe.

I shouldn’t. After all, for something to be functional it should be specific to a purpose, right. But still, no matter how functional you think transverse rope grip iso lateral externally rotating forearm curls on a BOSU are, they are not. In fact, some exercises(and most, if not all performed on a Bosu) are just plain stupid.Which brings me to the point.It seems that in searching for movements that are “specific” we lose sight of the most functional movements of all.

Squat, bend, push, and pull.

We do these movements countless times during the course of the day, which is precisely what makes them functional. They serve a purpose in our daily lives.  

Still though, there are people out there who think they train functionally without a nary of a squat or dead lift anywhere. My recommendation to you is simple. Pick up the weight. Put it down. Repeat. Pick up the weight. Press it over your head. Repeat.Try putting a substantial amount of weight on your back and squatting with it. If you are not doing closed kinetic chain exercises as the core of your workout then you do not train functionally.

 Let me break it down. The kinetic chain refers to how your body moves. Whether a movement is open or closed refers to if  the muscles being trained move free or are limited to a fixed movement. Machine movements are open chain, because they dictate the path of travel. Ultimately, open chain exercises will lead to imbalance and possibly injury. Closed chain are weight bearing exercises like squats, cleans, and push press. These movements recruit many muscle groups at once, more closely mimicking real life activity and sport specific movement. Closed chain movements should constitute the majority, if not all of the exercises you perform. Push ups, pull ups, lunges, front squats, Romanian dead lift, are all more examples of closed chain, functional movements.

So now you say “dead lifts are dangerous to the back” , or “squatting will hurt my knees.”

My response is “only if they a performed incorrectly.” There are no inherently dangerous lifts. There is only improper execution of lifts. If your squats look like a dog taking a dump, then you need proper coaching on the lift before performing it. Don’t underestimate the importance of good training and proper technique. Learning and perfecting technique will make the difference in a strong body or an injured one.  Proper coaching will insure form and function and keep you headed in  the right direction whether your tackling a wide receiver or a day at work.

Dis•ci•pline 1. n. the training of the mind and character || a branch of learning || a mode of life in accordance with rules || self-control || control, order, obedience to rules || (eccles.)a system of practical rules for the members or a Church or order || punishment, esp. mortification of the flesh by way of penance || a scourge for religious penance 2. v. to bring under control, to train, to punish.