Strongman 101

The ever popular "steps to success" and "you can do it" articles and blogs have recently cast their shadow in the world of strength sports.  Many being written by so-called, or should I say, self-proclaimed athletes, who are no more athletes than I am a world famous chef.  Everyone, including myself, critiques the uneducated CrossFit coaches that pop up, but the "created by social media"...dare I use the word again...athlete, with their two cent opinions, are being embraced and praised.

So, I figure with one year and four months, and upward of a dozen comps experience, I have just about reached the level of all-knowing veteran. Yes, I am being sarcastic.  But even with my minimal experience, I know the life of a strength athlete is a lot tougher than the picture being painted.  On that note, here is my "life is tough, suck it up" version of a list for Strongman.

1.  Just Commit.
If you want to compete, pay the entry fee, and get to work.  A year and a half ago, I signed up for my first comp with zero knowledge or background in strongman, and did so simply because it looked like fun.  I had just enough time to get some basic "how to" on the different events, and run a yoke...twice.  It has been one tremendous journey since that day, so I say this in the nicest way possible...nut up or shut up.  Fear of failure, or the "it's too heavy syndrome" is just your ego telling you that you do not want to look like an ass in front of a large group of people.  Fellow competitors will have a lot more respect for you if you join them in battle rather than kicking back on the sideline, and/or talking a big game.

2.  Implements & Events Vary.
No matter how much you practice, or how good you become within the comforts of your training space, it is rare to find an exact replica of your equipment at a contest.  Do not be surprised when the yoke is wider, a stone is lop-sided, the axle bar has a fresh coat of paint, etc., etc.  The inconsistencies in the equipment are just as common as a change in the events on the day of the contest.  That is strongman.  Shit happens.  Learn to adapt.  Save yourself, and your fellow competitors, from the on-slaught of excuses that are building in your head by preparing for anything and everything...obviously, within the limits of the equipment that will be provided at the competition.
As far as equipment goes, you need to locate the closest Home Depot, lumber yard, and car salvage facility.  That is it.  If you can find a cheap welder, that is an added bonus!  Almost everything you need to train for strongman can be pieced together in one way or another at a very low cost.  It does not require the mind of an engineer, just a little creativity.  If, by chance, you have money at your disposal, I will be happy to recommend the best equipment manufacturers...as well as a place to store it within walking distance of my house.

3.  Gear.
Knee sleeves, wrist wraps, tacky, and about a million other items are wonderful to have, but are they absolutely necessary...no.  (And yes, I include tacky as optional.  Take the advise of my coach:  Learn to lift stones without it...it will make you better in the long run.)  As with any other sport, these additional items are not cheap.  My personal recommendation is to invest in a good belt, knee sleeves, and several roles of athletic tape to get started.  With competition experience, you will learn what else you might need, or want to invest in.  Truck pulls do not require rock climbing shoes, stone loading does not require stone sleeves, overhead pressing does not require ten ply elbow sleeves...stick with the basics until you have an understanding of the movements of the sport.  With the money you save, you will be able to enter more contests, or travel to a larger one.

4.  Comfort Food.
There are no grass fed, free range, gluten free, non-grain, veggie filled, pop-tarts.  But you will see a lot of them at a competition.  If you haven't noticed by now, strongmen and women eat...a lot.  There are no specific dietary boundaries.  Everything under the sun is free game.  There is no one standing around waiting to ask about your Paleo to cheat meal percentages.  If you choose to consume Big Red Zero and Chunky Chips Ahoy, then so be it.  You eat to fuel your body for a day of competition or training...whatever works, works.

5.  Patience.
You may possess incredible raw strength.  You may be technically proficient.  You may be a great competitor.  You may have the greatest training crew or coach on the face of the planet.  Problem is...can you put all the pieces together for a single sixty second event?  How about five events?  And then what about a two day competition?  Most people are not born with every single factor associated with being a successful competitive athlete.  It takes time, and a whole lot of practice, to develop the physical and mental strength to become more than a weekend warrior.  Most will not achieve over night success, so be patient with your training.  Learn and practice the basic elements of an event, from the actual lifting technique, to transitions, to foot speed.  In other words, check your ego, unload the implement, and do it right, with light weight.  This process will be very beneficial in the long term.

6.  Love or Hate.
If you love strongman, you will know it by the completion of the first event in your first competition, or possibly the first day lifting a stone or carrying a yoke.  It is definitely not a sport for everyone.  Some will fail to find the challenge in it, while focusing on their short-comings.  Some can't handle getting beat up day in and day out.  And others are looking for a pay day, that of which strongman will unlikely provide.  If you love it, you will find any way to train, make room in your training schedule for torturous event days, research every available article and video in order to get better, and possibly employ the help of a coach.  Then, you will spend more time trying to perfect techniques, and alternative ways to train for events for which you do not have proper equipment, than you ever spent studying for high school algebra.  If you hate it, you will turn the overpriced stone you purchased into a yard ornament, and settle for a return to the local globo gym.

7.  Learn.
You live.  You learn.  You fail.  You learn some more.  Not every contest will be your best.  Even if you do come out on top, there will be, in the back of your mind, something you could have done better.  If not, you need to re-read the point I made about checking your ego.  There will always be that one event where you had a specific rep count planned, but you failed to hit it, or a specific time frame in which to finish, but didn't make it.  These are the things that make you better, and push you beyond what you thought was possible.  Embrace the learning curve of failures and mistakes.
Finally, learning the technical aspects of this sport may require a coach of some sort.  If your thinking about hiring one for programming, nutrition, or specific event training...DO YOUR RESEARCH. Hiring someone based on a well-known name, number of contest wins, or the fact that they are strongman certified by a self-proclaimed elite fitness company, does not mean they are capable of educating a tree stump.  Behind the walls of a Google search engine and social media is more info than you truly need to make a well educated decision. Use it.  It is not every day that you find a multi-time world champion, proven programer, and technically proficient instructor, right in your backyard.  But if you do the research, there is no telling what you may find.

Women of Strength

It was an EPIC weekend!

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.

Arthritis

I beat the hell out of my body in college.  My roommate and I used to jokingly bet on who would be in a wheelchair first, as we would pop handfuls of anti-inflamatories after a game.  I am proud to say that neither one of us has the bragging rights just yet.

I played small college sports, no scholarships, just bust your ass because you love your sport.  And that I did.  I escaped college with only two "major" injuries...a broken wrist and a scratched cornea.  If you don't think the latter is a "major" injury, you have obviously never experienced it.  I would take multiple broken bones any day rather than having to experience that again.

I was an aggressive player.  I was the player that would dive, fall, or run into a brick wall for a loose ball.  And when you play three different competitive sports, concentrated in the fall semester, your body pays a huge price.  In addition, most of my years were spent playing basketball on concrete floors.  Wood floors were a novelty in the late 80's and early 90's, and I did not get to consistently play on one until I transferred to Dallas in the mid 90's.   Imagine hitting the pavement eight to ten times a day for ten years.  I cringe just thinking about it now days.

During my final season at Dallas, I had my hand x-rayed because of a swollen and badly bruised finger.  Although my finger was in one piece, the doctor noticed that I was already showing signs of arthritis in my hand.  At the time, that meant absolutely nothing to me.  All I cared about was playing in the upcoming game.  My grandfather had always struggled with rheumatoid arthritis, so, I was well aware what it was capable of doing to the body.  I just chose to ignore it.

Years after college, I dealt with lots of hip, lower back, and knee pain that I attributed to years of playing ball...and getting older.  When I returned from the CrossFit Games in 2009, I could no longer ignore the pain in my left knee and finally went to see an orthopedic.  Following a series of x-rays, he informed me what was causing the pain.  Osteoarthritis.  Basically, the cushioning in my knee had deteriorated to the point where bone spurs were now growing in its place.  These friendly jagged little pieces actually think they are helping the situation by increasing the surface area of the knee cap.  I hate to break the bad news, but they only cause more problems.

My knee issues only worsened as time wore on.  I could no longer even sit on the toilet without one of those damn bone spurs catching and causing pain.  And squatting was forever out of the question (or so I thought).  I found no relief through the supplementation of glucosamine/chondrition, but low and behold, beer sure did help!  So, I drank more to mask the physical pain as well as the emotional.  No exercise + a shit ton of alcohol = gaining a ton of weight, which also = more joint pain.  Before I knew it, sleeping was even painful...and getting out of bed was worse.

Fast forward to my new sober life, down fifty pounds, and lifting more than ever...how is it all possible with arthritis?!  After losing the first twenty pounds and regaining some muscle mass, I began to notice that getting up in the morning was not as big of an issue.  With the help of my coach, I learned how to squat correctly, gained strength around the area causing the majority of the problem, and bone spurs or not, the pain has subsided and is much more manageable on a daily basis.  My beat up hands have followed suit.  Although my job is pretty demanding on my hands, the increase in strength through lifting has proved as effective, if not more effective, than relying on pain meds.

My hips are a slightly different story.  It has been the slowest of slow climbs to gain hip strength.  Although I no longer sleep in pain, spending too much time laying in bed or sitting on the couch will cause pain.  So, don't get offended if I decline your offer to sit down, standing and moving around is much more tolerable.

When people are diagnosed with this, the most common form of arthritis, it becomes a choice as to how you deal with it.  Yes, it is painful.  But it is almost intolerably painful when you become sedentary.  Weight gain or muscle gain is very much a determining factor of the level of pain.  And yes, exercise is painful, but the benefits far outweigh the alternative.  The term fat and happy does not exist when you throw arthritis into the equation.  I have lived both lives, and turned to medicating myself first, which did not work.  Exercise does work.  It is solely your choice.  I choose to battle it head on and live in a lot less pain.

Washington: Strongman Sunday

Before I sit down and write about my awesome road trip to the Northwest, I figured I would begin with a blog about the sunday strongman competition at RAB Fitness, the competitive reason I traveled over 4000 miles in one weekend.  By 9am on sunday morning, over 50 strongmen and women had weighed in, rehydrated, refueled, and now gathered at the front of the gym waiting for the rules meeting.  Competitors in grey, judges in red, Mike Kromer explained how the day was going to go, where the events were going to take place, and the standards for each event.  The mass of strong people then proceeded to the adjacent room to get individual measurements for the first event, the tire squat.

I spent much of the morning debating whether to use wraps or knee sleeves for the squat. For me, a 256lb squat is a bit out of my range, but I also did not want my legs to cave like a new born deer on the first event of the day.  My debate ended when HW competitor Kristy Scott pulled out a pair of SBD knee sleeves, and told me to try them.  I came close to not giving them back.  Although I knew 256lbs would have been a 50lb PR, I did not back down or scratch the event....miracles do happen.  Ok, maybe not on this day, as I took a zero for the event.  I must have missed the portion of the rules that said you have to stand up with the bar in order for the rep to count.  On to the deadlift medley!

Starting a competition with a big fat zero is not optimal, but I was pretty confident going into event #2, the deadlift medley.  Four bars (a 283 axle bar, a 365 trap bar, a 411 bar with tires, and a 500 frame) were lined up across the gym floor.  The only pull I had little experience with was the frame, but I knew it would be doable.  I was the first middle weight to attempt the event.  The axle went up fairly easy, the trap bar was a bit of a slow pull off the floor, and I hitched the crap out of the tires.  With plenty of time left on the clock, I still managed to rush my set up on the frame, didn't tighten my straps well, and just before lock out lost my grip on the right side of the frame.  With 15 seconds remaining, I reset my stance but had nothing left to even budge the frame.  But I did set the pace by completing 3 out of the 4 lifts, which would only be surpassed by one competitor.

The third event made me a bit nervous, a max clean and press on the log.  I train with a 10" log, and let me tell you, the 2" difference from a competition log is HUGE.  I knew the 130lb starting weight would make it overhead, so there would be no zero score for this event.  As the LW women finished the event, the log was loaded to a starting weight of 140lbs.  Hold the damn phone.  140lbs??  It is one of those mid-comp, mess with your mind kind of changes, but none the less, I was able to get the bar overhead.  Only one competitor completed the lift at 150lbs.

For the next event, a medley, there were three implements staggered at different lengths, all to be loaded onto a small platform and a long 410lb sled drag to the finish.  I knew there would be quicker competitors, the words "Ashley" and "quick" are not synonymous, so I decided to find a good pace and stick with it.  With the constant encouragement of my judge, Grant Higa, I never stopped moving and completed just over twenty feet on the sled portion...good enough for a first place finish.

My first place finish allowed me to go last in the final event, the atlast stones.  There were five stones ranging from 140lbs to 230lbs, all to be loaded to a 51" platform.  At this point, I knew that the only stone that could pose a problem would be the final 230lber, and I just hoped my adrenaline would fuel me enough to eclipse the 51 inches.  I moved through the first four stones in twenty-one seconds but fell short of the platform three times on the final stone.  With Mike Kromer in my ear telling me I needed to move faster, I was able to win the event by two seconds.

As I stood in the freezing weather in a sports bra and tight shorts, removing spider tack from my hands, I realized that regardless of my zero score on the squat, I was pretty happy with my overall performance.  And as my coach, Jill Mills said via text, "nice comeback".  In the final standings, I remained in third place.  The points I lost on the first event were too much to overcome...and for what its worth, one single squat would have landed me in a tie for first.  But I can not look back at what could have happened, only move forward and squat my ass off until my next competition...a return to my first competition ever, Texas Strongest Man/Woman!

Thank you RAB Fitness, Mike and Lisa Kromer, and Roger and Ally Baker for an amazing weekend of lifting!!!

A Little Bit of Everything

Before I catch myself posting about lifting, strongman, and more lifting, a little bit of background info would probably help.  First, I am a 39 year old recovering alcoholic...or as I like to say "former professional drunk".  I say that mainly because I spent most of my life drinking and was damn good at it.  For me, it was mostly a way to hide from my problems and various issues, but have just recently passed the fifteen month mark clean and sober.  I will probably post more on the alcoholic side of my life in other blogs, but for now I shall leave it at that.

I work part-time in retail, office supplies if you must know, and have worked on and off with the same company for nearly twelve years.  I am not your average salesman or customer service representative.  I work in the back of the store doing all the dirty work and heavy lifting...and am very well known around the local stores for what I do and what I can get done.  I do love my job...even though I may not be the most customer friendly person you will ever meet. 

I have a wonderful supportive family at home that includes two cats, two Boston Terriers, and my sidekick Killian, a Doberman.

I always love a good cigar, a cold Big Red Zero, and Chunky Chips Ahoy!

And finally, my passion...lifting.  I have always been a sports person and began playing at a young age.  I pursued basketball in college and am in my university's Athletic Hall of Fame.  After my basketball career and grad school, lifting was my sport...at that time it was mainly a way to stay in shape.  I found CrossFit in '08 through my personal trainer and became one of only two people in the city to ever represent as an individual competitor at the CrossFit Games in 2009.  Injuries plagued me after the Games and through drinking and sitting on my ass gained about fifty or so pounds.  In October of last year, I met with a new personal trainer, set some goals, dropped all the weight and now compete in powerlifting and strongman competitions. 

In a nutshell...that is me.  Living a whole new life and loving every minute of it!