The Question

What is it like having the 2x World's Strongest Woman (WSW) and world record holding powerlifter, Jill Mills, as your coach?  A question I hear fairly frequently, but honestly, don't think I have ever answered...outside of simply saying "awesome".  So, here ya go...

First things first, your ego must comprehend the fact that there is, and will forever be, only one Jill Mills.  It doesn't matter what you think you can do, how much you think you work, or how good you think you are.  She has, and will, do more, work harder, and be better.  Once you have grasped this concept, as well as understand that her way is better than about 99% of what you think you already know...then, and only then, you just might be able to undertake the task of learning from a legend.  (And for the record, from my own personal experience, letting go of the useless crap that is tucked away in long term memory is no easy task.)

With that being said, there is one more small requirement.  Passion.  The all encompassing word for truly loving your sport...from the hard work you put in, to what you give back (emphasis on giving back).  Jill has a unique passion for her sports, which has resulted in enormous amounts of valuable knowledge.  You may never posses the same passion, or even understand it....but you sure as hell have to appreciate it in someone else.

Two years ago, when I first contacted Jill via e-mail regarding training, her response was almost immediate.  I was scared shitless.  It was one of those moments when you want to travel back in time, slap yourself, and say, "what were you thinking?".  That fear was followed by a multitude of questions, self-doubt if you will.  What was she going to think of a fat, out of shape, recovering alcoholic, has-been athlete?  The answer to that: nothing.  The only judgement came in the form of critiquing my horrible lifting techniques, and the possibility of what could be...not what once was.

From a lifting perspective, I have made some incredible gains.  From an unweighted bar squat, yes, just the bar, to 250lbs.  My all-back 315lb deadlift jumped to 360lbs when I learned to incorporate my posterior chain.  In my first strongman competition, in March '13, the 400lb yoke almost killed me, now, I am working to get quicker with 500lbs.  Hell, I have even grown into a squat suit that Jill let me borrow for a competition in California last year.  I am still trying to decide if fitting into that miserable suit is a good thing though.  However, I can not simply write a blog on numbers.  Her coaching and programing success can be seen in athletes everywhere.

I was only seven months into my sobriety when I started training, still struggling to discover who I really was, and my place in life.  Through lifting alone, I built confidence and began to believe in myself...but my understanding of feelings and emotions was progressing much like a game of Chutes and Ladders (Google it).  Call it luck, coincidence, or meant to be, but
in finding the right lifting coach, I also found a role model for the person I desired to be.

She knew when to encourage, when to guide, and when to let me stand on my own, fail, and learn.  I have tested her coaching skills, her patience, and her tolerance level more times than I even care to count.  But she did not quit, nor throw me out the door...although I am sure the thought has crossed her mind...more than once.  She truly wanted me to succeed, not just in the gym, but in life itself.  There has not been one single day that I have left the gym, if I can physically walk out of the gym, without some new insight...to make me think, and to help me grow.  Every trip to the gym, or barn, or park, or where ever the workout may take me, is a unique opportunity.  You can take these moments for granted, or you can, as Jill likes to say, "embrace it".

Although the 2x World's Strongest Woman may be a living highlight reel of feats of strength, she is first and foremost a wife, a mother, a self-made woman, and a wonderful human being.  In other words, she is a whole lot more than what you see in any thirty second youtube video.  The visible strength is undeniable, but the unseen, internal strength is even more impressive.  Being able to train with and learn from Jill is a privilege...one that I will continue to embrace for years to come.

Rebuilding: One Rep at a Time

Getting involved in strongman competition was one of the best things I ever did. I love every minute of it, from simply getting stronger, to learning techniques, and even starting from scratch with a simple movement. For me, it is the drive to overcome and the desire to be better at this sport.

I can't say that I haven't hit a level of frustration in having to re-learn the simple things. I mean who wouldn't at times. But I have hit a point where I know it is going to happen...having to retrain my body and mind to a more efficient and effective technique in order to keep moving up in weight.

When I competed in CrossFit, I taught myself a ton of bad habits. I was big for a CrossFit athlete and the weights back then were typically light, so I muscled through WODs with little to no technique at all. Gymnastics movements, such as handstand push-ups and muscle-ups, were just starting to become a part of competition and Olympic lifting was still a year or so away from making its grand entrance.  If you don't believe me, check out the results from the 2009 Games, where female athletes failed on the handstand push-up WOD, future Games champ Iceland Annie had not yet learned how to do muscle-ups and in fact, hit her first one at that competition, and the average snatch was only 95lbs.

In comparison, I am fairly average in size for a strongwoman competitor and I am sure as hell not able to muscle through heavy events without technique.  My coach and I have spent hours of gym time rebuilding my squat, which was without question my weakest movement, and yet so essential for strongman...and obviously powerlifting.  So now with a stronger base, and one that still needs to get stronger, I begin to tackle the power jerk.  It is something I am in desperate need of for my October competition, and overwhelmingly proved to be a weak spot for me out in California.  I spent so many years doing a push press off my toes that now I am having to rebuild this movement from the ground up, literally. 

And it is kind of funny, even when I workout alone in my garage, I can hear my coach, Jill, in my head saying "that one was better" and on the very next rep "not that one".  One day down the road, I swear I will get her to say those were both good reps.  It may only happen once, but it will happen.