Jill Mills, my coach, and legendary strongwoman and powerlifter, hosted a womens only, two day strength clinic. It was the culmination of decades of knowledge, and one person willing to share her experiences, successful lifting techniques, and strategies to nine women with a passion for strength based sports. If you are one of those athletes that think you have it all figured out...well, you were not invited anyway. But if, like me, you constantly strive to be better and desire to increase your knowledge at any given chance, this clinic was the place to be.
Yes, I spend three, sometimes four days a week training the fundamental lifts and strongman events with Jill. But passing up a learning opportunity like this would just be plain stupid. It would be like telling Pat Summit or Martina Navratilova, I don't think I could really gain anything from your years of experience and success. I know there are plenty of athletes and coaches that have that mind-set, but I am not one of them.
The weekend provided a unique opportunity to not only receive instructional tips, but also observe various teaching techniques geared toward experienced lifters and newbies alike. How to make simple corrections, to what to look for in technique flaws and how to correct them, it was all available right in my own training facilities...and for once I was not the only test dummy.
Our first day was spent at Olympic Gym breaking down technique on the major lifts in powerlifting as well as an introduction to accessory exercises. Every athlete in attendance was provided the opportunity to have their lifts critiqued and corrected. We also covered Jill's programming, which I can personally attest to its success rate. But the best part of day one was simply getting to know the other women. Jill pointed out the comradery that exists within the women's strength community...and without a doubt, she is absolutely correct. In my short time in competition, the extended strongwoman family has proven to be a loving, caring, and a giving community.
On day two, we all made the road trip south of San Antonio to the barn. Home of the best collection of strongman equipment with more space than we had at last years national competition. Not to mention, my favorite place to escape to on sunday nights and throw around heavy objects. We tackled every major strongman event, and then some, with Jill providing the details on everything including grip, footwork, speed, bar placement...you name it.
By the end of the weekend, some found confidence in lifting heavy, others new techniques to work on, but we all went home with new members to add to our strongwoman family, and a ton of knowledge that only a legend could provide. As exhausted as I was by sunday night, I would have done it all over again starting monday morning. Yes, it was that good.
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