Massive Overhaul

Favorite Strongman #3 - Hugo Girard

2012-01-02T21:29:00.002-06:00

I know, it's been a while, but it's the new year and I'm back on track. #3 on the list is the All-Canadian nice guy Hugo Girard. 6 time World Strongest Man finalist (1998 - 2004) (highest place was 4th in 1999, hands down the strongest man never to podium in WSM), North America's Strongest Man twice, won the World Muscle Power Championship 4 times, Won Strongman Super Series in 2002. He, of course, also dominated the Canadian strongman scene for a decade.

Unfortunately his career, particularly later, was marred by injury. The most shocking of which was at the 2006 Mohegan Sun Grand Prix where, after owning the first event, he tears his patellar tendon on the Conan's Wheel. It was a real shame too, Pudzianowski was there and a veteran Girard looked poised to give him all he could handle. Such a shame, another injury at the Canada's Strongest Man contest in 2008 cause him to bid a tearful goodbye to strongman competition.

Why I like him:

Met his wife after she posted an add in the local paper requesting help moving a refrigerator in exchange for a home cooked meal. Brilliant... Ladies if you want to trap yourself a good man, and especially a big 'ole strongman like Hugo, the way to his heart is through his stomach.
Kept on keeping on despite injury after injury, there is definitely a lot of merit in that.
I consider him one of the veterans of the sport, and when I got interested in strongman, he was always a favorite to watch
Excellent overhead presser especially dumbbell and axle
He's French-Canadian, what's not to love about a modern day Louis Cyr
From the documentary film Strongman, Seems like a nice average Joe with a heart of gold.
Seems to be secure in himself enough to wear pink alot...

Here are a few more resources on Hugo for those interested

2005 interview with many insights into how he trained.
If you speak French there is this documentary
And you can also visit his website for pictures and other stuff.

The last 365: Reflections on Life and Lifting

2011-12-23T13:33:00.000-06:00

I feel like I've done a lot of growingup since this time last year, but feelings can lie. Even still, lifeis becoming more focused for me, and I just wanted to share a few things that I have learned in the last 365 days. Hope youfind something useful. Enjoy.

Have a lifting contest with your friends in your backyard. Grill some meat, it'll be one of the highlights of your year.
Take the box out of your squat. It's a crutch. Put a heavy barbell on your back, and squat up and down (to at least parallel) like a man. Box squats are a tool for the toolbox not the main thing, use sparingly.
Buy a good camera. Life is too short not to have your memories captured in fine detail. And quit using your cell phones as your primary photography tool, it's fine when there is no other option, but endeavor to have another option. (my Canon Rebel T3i is my weapon of choice).
You are what you tweet. Use social media wisely.
Be humble, ask questions of your peers in the sport. Seek and receive advice from people stronger and smarter than you. (I sent two friends in the Strongman game an email just last week that said “what do you eat?” they responded with two polar opposite answers, both were useful, both are impressive lifters.)
Don't freak out if you hurt yourself, just back off, work around it, and give it a little time assuming it's nothing serious.
Deadlift more. I deadlifted twice a week most of this year once for speed and once for strength. Keep the volume low and manageable. No more than 10 reps per workout.
Go outside, go on walks, take the family, take the dog, take a ball, run, race someone.
It's ok to listen to something besides raging bloody death metal when you train. Listen to what inspires you. (I've been digging Shane and Shane / Mumford and Sons all year)
Drink a lot of milk, it makes cows big and strong and it will do the same to you.
Don't hate people for being fans of your rival, even if they aren't especially nice to you. I am a lifelong fan of the Auburn Tigers and two time Auburn Alum. I used to think how nice it would be to have Tuscaloosa (home of our most bitter rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide) wiped off the map. Well, on April 27^th, 2011 I just about got my wish. A huge tornado ripped right through, the heart of Tuscaloosa, and several other parts of the state, killing hundreds of people. Families ripped apart, loved ones blown away, lives crushed... I would gladly watch Auburn lose the next 100 Ironbowls by double digits in exchange for having those people back... Even if I did have to listen to them yell “Rammer Jammer” at the end of the game. Football is foolish compared to family and friendships. Life is desperately precious and extraordinarily short. Show respect for people, keep rivalries in proper perspective and have fun with them. Your rivals are image bearers of God, just like you.
You can train for a year doing the squat, deadlift, log press, and clean/jerk almost exclusively and make excellent strength gains.
Read Dan John. Just trust me, he'll be like your wise strength coach internet uncle.
If you aren't training at a gym with bumper plates, you aren't training at a gym. I cannot imagine not being able to do variations of the olympic lifts and send barbells crashing to the floor with no hesitation. They've made me better and more powerful lifter.
If going to the gym interferes with obligations to your immediate family, don't go, rearrange your schedule. Some people may say that makes you a poor strongman. I would say to those people, you need to rewrite your definition of strongman.
Use old fashioned mouse traps, they still work the best. (glue traps are sometimes ok)
If you have children, invest in them starting at the earliest possible age. I've spent plenty of time playing in the floor and with a doll house this year with my little one, not enough, honestly. Trust me, the reward is immeasurable.
If you pull a max effort deadlift with perfect form, it wasn't a max effort deadlift.
Don't “technique” beginners to death. If a person is just starting, let them figure a little out on their own, if you do give instruction keep it simple. Don't make it rocket science just to look smarter. The body has a way of figuring it out if they practice the movements enough.
Coffee is the only energy drink any self respecting lifter should need. Seriously, I see people walking around with $3 Monsters and Red Bulls, and neon stuff that looks like antifreeze and I can go make 12 cups of chest-hair-growing coffee for about 25cents. If you read enough about the legends of the iron game you will find one common denominator among many of them, if they wanted a little perk before training, they poured up a cup of Joe. Old time strongmen drank coffee, your dad drank coffee, and you need to too. And not that $5 hot milkshake crap they serve at Starbucks – Real, Man, motor oil thick, burns the end of the spoon off, give you the shakes, Coffee.
Having more choices or variety in your lifting equipment doesn't mean more progress. “Oh I would be so much stronger if I could just purchase (insert latest gimmick here)”. Stick to the basics, use what you have. Heavy barbells work every time.
Compete. Train for and compete in something at least once a year.
Take Personal Records 5lbs. At a time. Gains get slower the stronger you get.
Swim.
Go to the beach, eat lots of seafood, take pictures with that new camera I told you to buy.
Give some things away, and get rid of some stuff.
Go watch an major international strength sport event. (ie. World's Strongest Man, or some other world championship. I did, and it was awesome.)
Sit in a hot tub. It's super therapeutic.
Establish traditions with your family and friends. Do special things every year that you look forward to. We spend time with close friends every New Year's Eve, I spend about 364 days looking forward to it, we are growing up together.
If you meet someone that acts like they know everything, run the other way. The people that know the most are the humble ones that have learned so much that they realize they can't know it all.
Speak up for those who have no voice. Defend the helpless, the orphan, the widow, because that's what strongmen do.
When it's time to flip the switch, flip it... and pour every single last fiber of your being into making that one big lift,
no retreat, no reserves, no regrets.

Thankful

2011-11-21T20:59:00.001-06:00

Rebekah Grace on our first trip to Astrakhan, Russia - December 2009

It was right about this time two years ago when we got the call. "Well, they don't have any little boys, but they do have a little girl" the lady from our adoption agency said... We didn't care, boy or girl. We just wanted to be parents, and give a child a home. Two years removed from that phone conversation, we tucked that little girl in a warm bed at her grandparents house last night.

Today, The turkey is in the oven, the dressing and sweet potatoe casserole too. A feast is being prepared, a celebration. And two years from standing on the fearful edge of the unknown, the little malnourished girl we found in the dark of south Russia is about to sit at the table, again, with her family, on a warm Thanksgiving day in Alabama.

My daughter, to whom everyday is a gift, will never know hunger again, and her family is to numerous for my aging mind to count. She's a Boman, and a Felton, and a Cleland, and a Burt and she holds all the rights and priveledges associated with belonging to a large, loving family.

But I'll never look at my beloved daughter sitting at the table, with a plate full, and not think of the feast to come. For those belonging to Christ, one day we'll all gather around at the feast of the Marriage Supper of The Lamb of God, and not a stranger will be found on that day, and for all of enternity we will rejoice in what Jesus Christ has done to bring us into His family. And every day between now and then we will continue to point Rebekah to the God that saved Mommy and Daddy and sent them to get her. So, remember the fatherless today, and, if you are not a part of God's family, allow me to invite you in, there are plenty of seats at table.

Today I am most thankful that we were not left as orphans.

z

1"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also... 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you." John 14:1-3,

World's Strongest Man Finals in Photos

2011-11-10T20:43:00.001-06:00

I'm a loser for not wrapping up this whole WSM '11 sooner. But here we go.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend - Randall J. Strossen... He's probably reading one of my tweets..

The truck pull lane

This is the view from competitors angle.

This is what a world record looks like.

I can't believe I was there to witness all of this, and got to play photo journalist at World's Strongest Man for a few days... best use of vacation time ever... Brian Shaw deserved the win, but like Paul Ohl said once "if you give Zydrunas enough events, eventually, he'll win." If there had been one more event Zydrunas would have claimed his 3rd title, he was just warming up at 6 events. Nevertheless I'm proud for Brian, he worked hard for it.

To view all of my photos from the finals Click Here for Day 1 and Here for Day 2.

Breaking Stuff

2011-10-15T07:34:00.002-05:00

Had the chance to experience some of the more stunt oriented strongman feats. Gym member Nick brought some bricks and a bat for us to try and break. It was a great night. Enjoy.

for more information about where I train visit www.auburnbarbell.com

World's Strongest Man 2011 - Qualifiers - Day 4

2011-09-21T18:52:00.012-05:00

Day 4 of World's Strongest Man qualifiers was a joy to watch. Some groups had Block Press, some had DB press, everyone had stones.

The day began with the circus dumbbell press. Four dumbells of ascending weight were used (220 - 250lbs. - I think). The good dumbbell pressers made it through 3 dumbbells, the bad dumbell pressers were lucky to get one. The surprise of the day was seeing Nick Best out early and warming up with a light barbell and then the lightest dumbbell in warmups. Everyone thought he was through when he was helped off the platform after the car deadlift a day earlier. Despite a great effort he was unable to press any of the dumbbells.

Thor made it quickly through three dumbbells and cleaned the last, but was unable to get the press.

The Block press is one of the purest tests of pressing power. Of course, Z and Derek get all 4 blocks (240ish - 330lbs) in showman-like fashion. And I've been a lifelong fan of Derek Boyer, so, for me the highlight of the day came when Derek grabbed the mircrophone and said: "I'm the old guy here, and I'm gonna be honest, this is a real crap event for me. So, if I get that first block up, I want you guys to cheer like I just won this thing!" Derek then proceeds to flip the switch and wrestle with the first block for what seemed like a minute, then pressed, rested it on his head and then finished the press. When he got it up the crowd went nuts and he jumped around and yelled. It was great to see.

Somehow I imagined the stones arriving in a golden chariot pulled by Clydesdale unicorns and then unloaded by Zeus himself... Not so much.

So let me just summarize by saying that the stones were awesome to watch. To watch these giants do their stone runs live and in person was surreal. I will say this, the stage was constructed over grass and the fifth stone kept getting dropped, so by the time the event was over it was creating a little sink hole in front of the platform. Nothing was really ever done about it, not sure if, at that point, there could have been, but still. It was one of the things that reminded me that the point was to finish shooting for that day, not let the best strongman in the world have a safe stable place to load a 400lb. stone. That was a little discouraging. Fortunately, I don't think it really hindered anyone, but I guess it's the point of the matter.

Day 4 observations:

I followed all the athletes to the cafeteria, I watched them stand in a lunch line and act normal and just hang around regular folks. I watched Zydrunas make a salad.
All you hardcore diets folks, let me tell you this, the greatest strongmen in the world don't eat brown rice, sweet potatoes and boiled chicken all the time. The eat anything that looks like meat, cereal, cookies (lots of cookies), they raid the ice-cream freezer, and pretty much stuff their bellies with whatever they want. So take that amateur nutrition experts.
Terry Hollands isn't scared to get in his underwear in front of folks.
I felt like I stood next to guys that looked like this most of the day... I can just hear him saying "I can totally do this, bro"

... guys, if you own any article of clothing that resembles even a similar style to the one pictured above, please burn it. You're only embarrassing yourself...

Here is a link to my pictures from Day 3 and 4 of qualifiers

World's Strongest Man 2011 - Qualifiers - Day 3

2011-09-19T09:26:00.017-05:00

Where do I start?... World's Strongest Man being held just outside of Charlotte, NC this year could not have worked out more perfectly for me. My sister and her family live in Charlotte so I'm free-loading for a week during the contest. Due to work obligations I missed the first two days of qualifiers, but I arrived late Friday night in Charlotte and got up early Saturday Morning to make the trip to Rockingham Motor Speedway.

Day 3 qualifying events were the firetruck pull, car deadlift hold and car deadlift for reps. Rockingham Speedway is, for the record, out in the middle of nowhere, and as a rural Alabama native, I felt right at home taking the endless two lane road through the country that added up to about an hour and a half trip.

I crested over a country hill and there the monstrous speedway structure was, sure enough, in the middle of nowhere. I was directed through the tunnel and into the infield parking lot. I walk to pit row and suddenly I was in Strongman Heaven. The drive had taken longer than usual, and fortunately for me, things were running about an hour behind (in other words, right on time).

Walking around the other side of the barrier wall I tried to position myself for the best possible photo opportunity. I quickly started seeing familiar faces from the amateur strongman scene, the gang was all there to watch what may be a once in a lifetime event.

And then you started seeing them, the athletes. A moment I can only describe as surreal. Maybe I'm too much of a fanboy, but honestly, I don't care. I've been watching WSM since Jouko won in '97, and here I was at the big dance. They were all there walking around like it was another day at the office...Terry Hollands, Poundstone, Felix, Zydrunas, Boyer, Petrusson, Louis-Phillipe Jean, Brian Shaw. I haven't seen Shaw and Poundstone since the 2007 America's Strongest Man. It's amazing how 4 years of training has changed both of them, they are monstrous. And I don't guess I'll ever forget seeing Zydrunas Savickas in person for the first time, I guess I can only liken it to being a passionate golfer and then watching Tiger Woods walk ten feet in front of you and take his turn at the tee. World's Strongest Man is the Masters of strongman.

Firetruck Pull

Pit row, where the events would be held, is on an ever so slight uphill grade. So there would be no momentum in the pull. In fact, Dave Ostland who was serving as an alternate and event tester did a test pull early on and only pulled it about 15 feet. As a result they shortened the course a bit and backed it to a slightly more level surface. The Rockingham firetruck was shined up like a new penny and ready for it's appearance.

The most memorable performances of the day include, of course, watching Zydrunas Savickas do the truck pull, his focus and preparation before the event were unmatched.

Then I watched Brian Shaw pull it like he was tethered to a Mini Cooper, and even faster with Thor. Several of the athletes failed to finish the already shortened course, but Thor and Shaw had the best times. Mike Jenkins seemed to have a very good pull as well, a handful of us were standing next to his mom and right before the event she yells "Don't Die!" - classic, that's what moms are for.

Car Deadlift Hold

Next the groups were split up, and the first group did the car deadlift hold for time. I noticed the side handles of the deadlift were set pretty wide. Derek Poundstone even kind of laughed and commented on how wide they were when he picked it up in warmups. No doubt it had to create a greater degree of difficulty in the initial deadlift as well as the hold, I would think it would have to create a greater strain across the shoulders and back.

Car Deadlift for Reps

I got to watch most of the athletes do this event. Mark Felix was definitely the highlight. Felix is a natural and strong deadlifter and could make up some ground on getting to the finals with this event.

Mark Felix and Nick Best were paired together, and after the 4th rep or so Nick could get no more, and gingerly started making his way off the platform. It looked like he done for the competition and, frankly, everyone expected him to withdraw from the competition, but he miraculously bounces back for Day 4. Mark went on to win his group with 11 reps.

Shaw did just enough to stay ahead of Thor and keep his #1 spot safe for the group. He watched Thor the whole time and made sure he stayed just a rep or two ahead.

Observations from day 3

World's Strongest Man is very much a TV show. The television production takes precedence over everything, even the athletes. The crowd is only involved as far as making it look good for TV. Whether or not the audience sees anything, or two bit hacks like me get good pictures is of little concern. In a way I understand this, the production crew has a job to produce a television show that is aesthetically appealing for the likes of the great and powerful ESPN, and I get that. Part of the reason I haven't bothered (sneaking) taking any video is because it is so well produced for television, why bother. You'll be able to see it in HD in December and photos last forever.
Things move slow in WSM world. Events take a long time to set up and athletes have lots of downtime between events. I imagine it would make it difficult to time warmups and then on top of that you may spend 15 minutes on deck while the touch up painters make everything look shiny for TV. Has to be frustating, but I suppose they've come to expect it.
Most of the athletes seem approachable and friendly. Brian Shaw and Hafþór Björnsson are larger than life. Both over 6'8" and both over 400lbs. They make everyone look like Hobbits. At one point the two of them had their picture made with a little old lady that had to be in her 80's, she was probably about 4'10", it was quite a sight.
There is an unofficial spreadsheet online that the guys from Spider Tack are doing, they've got a couple of folks there watching and recording events.
To view my Photo Album from Day 3 and 4 of the qualifiers Click Here.

Favorite Strongman #4 - Magnus Samuelsson

2011-08-24T20:57:00.004-05:00

Oh yeah. He can dance. #4 on the list, Magnus Samuelsson, is the living embodiment of "if I'm going to do something, I'm in it to win it". Not only has he climbed his way to the top of Sweden's version of dancing with the stars, but he has found is way to the World's Strongest Man podium five times, winning 1st place in 1998.

Why I like Him:

He broke Nathan Jones arm while arm wrestling (1995 World's Strongest Man)

He's a farmer
He's Swedish

Has a wicked awesome grip
He races cars too.
Did I mention he broke a man's arm?(see minute 2:05)
Claims to be drug free (which not many people are willing to stick their neck out an do, gotta respect that)
Strikes me as a nice guy

I'll leave you with one final video of the Giant Swede from his time on "Dancing With The Stars". Like any good contestant, he basically just stands there and pretends to kind of dance while a beautiful girl dances around him. I wish I knew what they were saying during the critique, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with how awesome his sparkle shirt is. I couldn't be prouder to have the Strongman community represented in this manner, bravo, Mr. Samuelsson, bravo.

Favorite Strongman: #5 - Zydrunas Savickas

2011-07-19T21:12:00.012-05:00

#5 on the list is none other than Big Z himself, Zydrunas Savickas. In the day and age where it seems strongmen must be tattooed from head to toe, have a Mohawk, or some other ridiculous hairstyle, or customized facial hair, or Heaven forbid - nipple rings - It is the clean cut All-Lithuanian powerhouse that is the strongest man since the Biblical Samson.

(Author's Note: There should be a rule for strongman contestants that in order to wear nipple rings you have to beat Travis Ortmeyer's time in a five stone run, Travis is the only person allowed to wear nipple rings, more than one person wearing them is too many for strongman.)

Zydrunas Savickas' record speaks for itself, six Arnold titles, two time (and counting) World Strongest Man winner, Two IFSA championships, and more 1st place finishes in minor competition than you can shake a stick at. Believe it or not he managed to do all this without or looking like he'd spent 100 hours in the chair at LA Ink. Hats off to him.

Why I like him:

Can Log press more than most powerlifters can bench press
Soft spoken and seems to do most of his talking on the platform
Has a huge gut, gives me hope
He is not "ripped", "cut", or any of those other ridiculous words used to describe people who are lean with a little muscle
did I mention the power belly?
Hands down the strongest man of the modern era (if you disagree I would love to hear your futile arguments)

He holds more world records than any strongman, and is a human highlight reel, but I've elected to leave you with a training video of him casually deadlifting 902lbs for a double and 946lbs. for a single. Shame on every emaciated, frail weakling in that gym for not stopping and staring at the greatest strength specimen on the planet lift this monstrous weight. They should count themselves privileged to share the same gym as him. This is art.

(photos 2 and 3 credit to Randall J. Strossen of Ironmind.com)

Favorite Strongman: #6 - Svend Karlsen

2011-07-12T20:39:00.007-05:00

The viking from Norway, Svend Karlsen, worked his way up the podium over the course of three years to finally take first place in World's Strongest Man 2001. He held off a very motivated Magnus Samuelsson for the win.

Svend has competed as a bodybuilder, powerlifter, and strongman and achieved great success in all three.

Why I like him:

He is versatile and mastered a number of disciplines across a wide range of strength sports
He has "Viking" tattooed on the right forearm and "Power" across the left so that when he brings his fists together it says his catch phrase "Viking Power"
He is facebook friends with me, most of what he says is in Norwegian, but still, it's cool.
He rocked some awesome purple tights during the WSM'01 competition
From Ironmind :"It was only about a week after 9/11, but Jim Davis wasn't going to let a few terrorists stop something as big as his United in Strength strongman contest, and one of the guys who hopped on a plane to compete was Svend Karlsen, who won the contest and then grabbed the mike and declared "It is important that the whole world stand together and show that terrorism has no right!" Svend Karlsen went on to win the 2001 World's Strongest Man contest . ---militant Muslims beware, Svend gonna find you.
Overcome much adversity including kidney disease, dialysis and finally a kidney transplant in April of 2009.

Made this video , and this video

I mentioned that Svend has overcome much adversity, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention Svend's late wife, Lene Alexandra Karlsen.

On April 5, 2009 after having suffered with bipolar disorder for years, Lene took her own life after enduring a particularly severe episode of depression. It was a devastating blow to the strongman community and of course to Svend. I, frankly, cannot imagine the grief and devastation of losing the wife of your youth.

Lene was a constant presence in the international strongman scene while Svend was competing and serving as a host for various contests. Randall Strossen of Ironmind wrote a short piece in memory of Lene Karlsen that you can read here.

And if you know someone who needs help, play the strongman, and intervene before it's too late.

Old Glory

2011-07-04T07:41:00.009-05:00

I wrote this post after Rebekah's 1st 4th of July a year ago. I hesitated to post it at that time because I felt that we had become self-indulgent regarding our adoption and experiences while in Russia. Now that some time has passed I thought people wishing to properly celebrate their country's independence might enjoy it or find it inspiring. Happy 4th of July.

Vitali, our driver, parked the car on a busy eight lane street in Moscow, we grabbed our backpacks, and he pointed us to our destination. "It is that building there, I wait here for you." he said. When I pictured what the United States embassy would look like, it was hard for me not to imagine something similar to the Emerald City in the wizard of Oz where everyday is the fourth of July and every night the sky was lit up with fireworks and a message of freedom. But, instead, we walked up to an rather unassuming, government building surrounded by an iron gate. Allison and I had to divulge the entire contents of our bags at the entrance and get a metal detector waived over us... They even waived it over Rebekah. We gathered our things and went inside. We were there for one purpose only, to get Rebekah a Visa to enter the United States of America.

As we walked inside, there it hung, Old Glory. The stars and stripes so bright they hurt my eyes.

I hadn't seen a single American flag in nearly a month. And after a steady diet of unintelligible, propagandized Russian media, frankly, it was breathtaking. I resisted the urge to stop and stare and we wound our way down crowded hallways and up some stairs until finally we reached the place we would receive our immigration papers and Visa for Rebekah to come home. We waited there with several other American adoptive families, we met a nice couple from Charlotte who was adopting a little boy that wasn't nearly as cute as my daughter, a single lady from New York who was traveling with her mom, and several other adoptive families working to get their children home. We were a humble platoon, battle weary and worn, all of us ready to cross the finish line into the greatest country in the world. It was nice to stand on American soil four thousand miles from home, if only for two hours. After receiving the papers that would gain our daughter entry to the U.S., we stepped outside to the city street and back into the country that we grown to both love and hate...

A few days later, on the long journey home, we landed in Miami. We walked for what seemed like forever, on our way through the international terminal and eventually into a little customs office full of people red and yellow, black and white... and us. A customs agent reviewed Rebekah's documents and then stamped her passport, and when ink met paper, it was official. Not only was she our daughter, but she inherited the rights, liberties, and privileges of a United States citizen.

God Bless America. The country that swung wide its doors to welcome my immigrant daughter. Let freedom ring.

Favorite Strongman: #7 - Phil Pfister

2011-06-29T20:51:00.010-05:00

If you look at Phile Pfister's strongman resume you'll notice that he was most often the bridesmaid and never the bride throughout most of his strongman career. Numerous 2nd place and 4th place (just off the podium) finishes. He's competed in 8 WSM's total, in a fistful of Arnold Classics and except for a miraculous finish in 2006, only has one other 1st place finish in international competition.

Why I like him:

The rain was coming down in Sanya, China in 2006 as Phil Pfister stepped onto a slippery platform with the reigning World's Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski. Earlier, on the first event of the finals, the car deadlift, Phil finished a disappointing 5th place, giving him 6 points, digging himself a hole early, he never was a deadlifter. On the power stairs he faired a little better at third place, but still the contest now belonged to Mariusz. His fourth WSM title was now looking like a formality. Phil Pfister's only chance was to win the five remaining events, and not even the super strongman from Poland had ever done that, I don't think anyone ever has.

But then a funny thing happened. Phil won the over head stone lift, narrowly edging out the Pol.

And it didn't stop there. Then he won the Fingal Fingers. Then he beat Mariusz on the bus pull, and then by fractions of a second on the car walk. And now he was five stones away from becoming the first man from the USA to win World's Strongest Man in 24 years. All he had to do was beat Mariusz one more time.... Watch the Video and enjoy.

For the official results sheet from this contest, click here. [editor's note, the only reason the margin of victory is so high for Pfister is b/c Pudzianowski never placed his last stone, he gave up once he saw Pfister had won, had he completed the last stone the final score would have been Phil Pfister 61, Mariusz Pudzianowski 60.5 - War Damn Pfister]

Favorite Strongman: #8 - Derek Boyer

2011-06-27T07:22:00.009-05:00

He's never won World's Strongest Man. In fact, he's never gotten close. But I can't help but like Derek Boyer. A journeyman strongman from the Island of Fiji, he competed in every WSM from 1996 to 2002, then made an appearance at the 2007 competition. He has won Australia's Strongest man from 2000 to 2010. And had the privilege of competing at the 2009 Fortissimus.

Why I like him

Never won much of anything on the international scene but still showed up and gave it his all
Had a rocking mullet in the 90's
Face paint
At the 2009 Fortissimus offered help to a very sick dehydrated Derek Poundstone the night before the competition. Here is a quote from Kristin (Mrs. Poundstone) "Oh and by the way, that night Derek Boyer came to our room. He heard Derek (Poundstone) was sick and wanted to check on him and see if he needed any flu medicine. I thought that was so nice of him! When I peeked around the corner to meet him I couldn't believe how big he was! He looked like Tom McClure's shorter brother! So kudos to Derek B for being so generous!"
He sumo wrestles (I've always had a fascination with sumo wrestling)
He is a type I diabetic (insulin dependent)
He is on the Australian version of American Gladiators (he is known as "Thunder")
Kisses babies
Holds the bar and does a lot of talking after completing a heavy deadlift.

Favorite Strongman: #9 - Jouko Ahola

2011-06-25T07:00:00.004-05:00

I cut my strongman teeth as a 18 year old watching a lean mean Finnish man named Jouko Ahola win WSM in '97 on ESPN. Jouko was compact and lean before Pudzianowski made it mainstream.

Why I Like Him:

Seems like a nice guy
Was known to deadlift until his nose bled.
Made it look easy, and at least by some of his training videos, really worked to master the events.
Could dominate crazy heavy atlas stones before it became cool to do so.

Career highlights:

'99 WSM

'97 WSM

Other resources:

1999 interview done with (I guess, the now defunked) World Strength Legends website
In that interview it references a Sports Illustrated article on strongman "Titans of Testosterone" - You can read that article here - It is a good read on some of the sports history as it relates to the television production.

Favorite Strongman: #10 - Derek Poundstone

2011-06-23T22:09:00.015-05:00

Kicking off the list is none other than America's Strongest Man, Derek Poundstone.

Why I like him:

Derek is a great representative for strongman. He's done a great job of marketing himself while bringing a positive light to our sport. He is a perfect combination of brutally strong, technically sound, and extraordinarily well conditioned. And despite his accomplishments he seems very approachable outside the competitive arena.

Other reasons to like Derek Poundstone:

Hands down the best circus dumbbell presser in the world
He's a cop
Proposed to girlfriend after winning The 2010 Arnold Strongman Classic
Drives a Dodge Viper

Career Highlights:

2007 - America's Strongest Man - I was there to witness this, as he set the standard for other strongmen to strive for. He had won the competition by such a wide margin that he could have probably not done the last two events and still maintained a respectable lead over his fellow competitors. I feel like this competition raised the bar for American Strongmen and launched Derek into the international strongman spotlight.

2008 - Fortissimus - The final event, the natural stone load. The competition belonged to Zydrunas Savickas, all that was left was the formality of letting Poundstone fail on loading the 517lb. Louis Cyr natural stone to it's platform (a task that all other competitors had failed to do as well). To the amazment of everyone in attendance Derek wrestled the stone to his lap and put it on the platform, beating Zydrunas by 1 point. Hands down one of the greatest strongman moments in history.

2009 - World's Strongest Man - Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Derek Poundstone on the stones for the win. Derek jumps out and has the lead going into the last stone, he laps it and loads it, the stone slips from the edge of the platform and falls to the ground. Mariusz completes the final stone a second behind him for the win, Poundstone takes second. A real heart breaker, but still, we know know who was stronger that day.

My top 10

2011-06-23T21:40:00.005-05:00

I'm in maintenance mode with the diet and hovering around 286lbs. bodyweight. I've taken a break from the world of the low calorie and low carb the past several weeks because I wanted to enjoy life. The minute I get up the nerve to continue and get back on the wagon I'll let you know.

The down side of putting the diet on hold is that I've been dry on blog content lately. And I have a lot of ideas for things to write, but scarcely the time for writing them.

What I've decided to do is to make a few top ten lists just to keep things simple and interesting. Also, I want to put together something fun, and hopefully inform/entertain along the way. Plus, everyone loves a list, I mean, nobody watches David Letterman for the celebrity interviews.

My first list was actually a difficult one to put together, and I've spent the last few days going over it in my head, scratching off names and rearranging and perfecting it. So, without further adieu, the first list will be...

My Top 10 Favorite Strongmen

The BarBell BQ

2011-06-10T21:55:00.019-05:00

The last few weeks have been busy and I haven't really had time to do a proper post about the BarBell BQ.

I wanted to host a friendly strength competition at my house, and so my fellow gym members and I all agreed to a deadlift contest. I decided in setting up the rules to make it Bodyweight/Best Deadlift and the winner would be determined by ratio so we could all be in the same class. Well, when all was said and done we had about a dozen competitors, a pile of food, and a great time.

I broke my personal best in the Deadlift by 40lbs. and cracked the 600lb. barrier. I narrowly missed 625 on a special 4th attempt. Right before that attempt my sweet little girl yells "you can do it daddy!"... Friends, I've never flipped the switch like I did then. The 625lbs. made it to my knees faster than the 605, but I just didn't have the juice to lock it out. I don't suppose I'll ever forget that moment. It's good to be someone's big strong daddy.

Anyway, enjoy a couple of videos, and click here to be taken to my Facebook photo album.

Diet: Day 38

2011-05-08T15:22:00.004-05:00

Oh boy, the march continues.

This was actually yesterday (Saturday) morning, bringing my total on day 38 to 15.8lbs lost. Shortly after this photo was taken I was on my way to the local doughnut shop for a dozen and few creme filled. I binged. I must have eaten 7 or so doughnuts before the pressure in my sugar deprived head began to rise and experienced such a sharp rise blood glucose that it made me dizzy. It was awesome. I had planned on a cheat weekend anyway, since we had family in town for mother's day and cheat I did.

At lunch I practically coated a Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich in Polynesian sauce and gobbled it up with a large order of waffle fries and some sweet tea.

For supper it was Outback, and all the bread, toowoomba pasta, and bloomin' onion my gullet could stow away. Then home for fistfuls of chocolate chip cookies and milk. Bam! I feel like a million bucks.

I'll get a fresh start Monday morning and resume the journey to skinny. But this weekend it was nice to feel normal. To actually get nourishment was refreshing. I feel in some ways renewed and ready to take on the challenge of another 15lbs.

My slow weight loss has proved beneficial in retaining muscle and strength. I feel good in the gym and I can tell I've lost a little strength, but not much. So I feel like my losses have not been much in terms of muscle (what everyone should strive to retain).

So there you go, 272, here I come.

Diet: Day 29

2011-04-30T16:11:00.005-05:00

Ok, it's obvious that this is going to be the death march of diets. So, I'm in this for possibly 90 days.

I am pleased with being back in the 280's. My walking around weight is typically a svelte and devilishly handsome 285lbs., so I'm back in the saddle. My total weight loss to date is 13.8lbs. so I'm averaging about a pound every two days, not too bad.

I did pretty well this week. I cut a few extra calories, but still was only able to get in 3 good training sessions.

Even though I didn't meet my goal of 286 from a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't help but make a visit to the Chinese buffet. I ate my self sick and I've decided to make Friday night my cheat night. From 6:30 to 10:30pm I'm going to eat as much of everything bad for you as I possibly can. And going to buffet was like was like throwing a smoker gone cold turkey a carton of cigarettes, and frankly, I got the best sleep I had all week as a result... You know, because my body wasn't dying and I actually got some nourishment.

I'm also discovering that I hate vegetables. If I have to crunch something green one more time I may vomit. I can't wait until this is all a distant memory and I can go back to eating the creamy smooth processed gluten goodness I've grown to love. Peanut butter and double stuffed oreo sandwiches. Chick-fil-a sandwiches wrapped around Double Whoppers wrapped in bacon and pancakes... It's going to be heaven.

And, yes, I will be trimming my toenails very soon...

Diet: Day 22

2011-04-22T22:10:00.012-05:00

Well Crap. That is about a 1lb. gain.

I guess week three is the new week two. I really didn't change anything this week. I ate my protein, didn't eat the carbs. The only thing I didn't get to do this week is put forth any reasonable effort into burning calories, I got only one good walk and two training sessions in this week, proving to me once again that good old fashioned exercise is the catalyst to weight loss.

There are some positives from this week. I took my blood pressure for the first time since starting the diet and it was down around 16 points (138 systolic to ~122 or so). The dizzy spells I was having when I bent over or stood up to fast have disappeared. Also, sleep is getting better.

I'm also learning ways to improve the process. For the first two meals I eat basically the same thing everyday. Diets are not about food tasting good, they are about food being easy enough to prepare that you stick with the plan. I mean, if you have a choice between spending an hour preparing an elaborate, gourmet low-carb meal or stopping off for chinese take out on your way home from work, sesame chicken will win every time. So, the meals -

Breakfast = 4-6 eggs scrambled/fried + turkey bacon or sausage, lots of coffee

Lunch = 1 can green beans, 2 small chicken breast (w/ hot sauce)

Afternoon snack = turkey or ham sandwich on low cal bread

Supper = meat, salad, veggies

Post workout (on training days) = whey protein w/ raw eggs (~80grams of protein)

I repeat this almost every weekday. Yes it is monotenous, yes I have to choke it down half the time, but it is convenient and fits the plan. Also, it ain't forever.

I do one cheat meal, usually on Friday night, just to keep my sanity. I'll give my current plan one more week and if no weight loss results I'll go back to the drawing board and tweak some things.

Diet: Day 15

2011-04-15T07:12:00.008-05:00

Frankly, I am shocked by this number. I fully anticipated not losing any weight this week. Typically, week two is where you give up from not seeing any results. Anybody can drop 8-9 lbs. in week 1, it takes nerve to not lose a pound in week 2 and keep going. If you ever hear anyone say, "I've tried all the diets and none of them work" That means that they dieted until day 10, while weighing themselves everyday, stopped seeing immediate progress and then gave up and hurried to the office birthday party before all the cake was gone.

I don't weigh everyday, I might check the scale midweek just to make sure I'm not being stupid. For instance, I weighed in Wednesday morning at a 295lbs., rather than panic and assume I am doomed to live a life of obesity, I just kept on keeping on, had some fiber and a few blog worthy bowel movements, and this morning when it counted... everything was alright on the scale.

My total weight loss to date is 12.4 lbs. My cargo shorts from last summer that were obscenely tight are just a little bit less obscenely tight, and I'll have to soon take in my weightlifting belt a notch. My gym lifts haven't suffered much, but I can tell that I'm staying sore longer after a heavy session, but any calorie deficit will hurt your body's ability to recover. I'm trying to counteract this as much as possible with a high protein intake.

The thing that stands out the most about this diet, and my wife agrees, is not getting any good sleep. My sleeping has been terrible, and my energy late in the day is also terrible. Anyone who says "I feel great" on a diet is kidding themselves or not doing it right. I feel inflamed, agitated, and tired by the end of the day, then, unable to sleep well. Honestly, the days I felt on top of the world were the days I trained hard and heavy and then pounded a 32oz. whole milk and ice cream protein shake and 3 Whopper Jr.'s and slept like a grizzly bear, but this ain't forever.

I am taking a few nutritional supplements. Just FYI. The list is short, simple, and there are no magic beans on the list.

Fish oil, because Dan John said so

Flaxseed Oil, another Omega 3

Vitamin C

Multi-Vitamin

Naproxen / anti-inflammatory as needed

Whey protein powder if you can count that

No real rants or anything else to speak of. I hate dieting, that's why you do it 6-8weeks out of the year and then go enjoy your life. If I get to 286lb. next week I'm going to the Chinese Buffet.

A Box to Squat On

2011-04-10T19:53:00.008-05:00

I had some old plywood and time on my hands this weekend, and managed to break out my tools and build a box for squatting.

It's 16.5 x 15.5 x 12.75" so you've got three different heights depending on how you stand it up.

I put a center support in it and used my finish nailer to tack it together. Gentlemen, if you own no other air tool, it is worth it to buy a compressor and a nail gun. I put about 50 finish nails in it in no time. Then did some extra securing with drywall screws.

Whatever number you sit on is the height you are squatting to. After I drew the numbers on the side my little girl decided she would right on it too (see the line to the left of the 12).

So to make daddy's little helper happy I let her draw on the scraps. Unfortunately I had to take the marker away after about 1 minute because permanent marker and 3 year olds don't mix. Also note the crater in my carport to the top right, that's from atlas stones, even through two rubber mats it did that... And I still suck at stones.

Before the day was over, Rebekah took all my palm sander discs and lined them up on the driveway and pretended to have a birthday party with her imaginary friends. It was a great afternoon, we ran the box up to the gym so the fellas could use it in the morning, and stopped by Burger King to pick her up a treat.

Diet: Day 8

2011-04-08T05:38:00.013-05:00

Booyah.

So, yes, with the low-carb style diets there is an initial boost of weight loss from water, it works well at giving instant results. But I haven't lost almost nine pounds of water.

As mentioned in my previous post my diet has been quality protein (meat, eggs, cheese) and mostly vegetables with a diet coke or some chocolate whey protein for sweet tooth/snack control. I haven't really counted calories, and I usually just eat until I feel full (fill up on the good stuff). The key for me has been protein and fat intake. I haven't gorged on fatty foods, but I haven't avoided them either. Fat gives a sensation of satiety, one of the many reasons low-fat diets leave you starving.

In the mornings I've been trying to eat as many eggs as I can stomach. Usually about five, but after yesterday watching the Oprah episode where she and her staff went vegan for a week, and some anemic blonde woman (Kathy Freston, who isn't a nutritionist by the way) was telling the audience how much "better you feel" going vegan (with your 500$ a week grocery bill from Whole Foods) and then how our appetites should "not be more valuable than an animal's life" yadda, yadda, yadda, I really got convicted that I need to eat more eggs. They are hands down the cheapest source of valuable protein out there. My beloved and tolerant wife bought a carton of 30 medium eggs at Kroger for about a dollar (I don't know who these manager's are, but I love their specials).

You can't beat that for cheap muscle food. I've even been blending raw eggs into my protein shakes, which actually works really well (and before you Salmonella alarmist people start up, you can keep it to yourself and tell me "I told you so", when I tweet from the ER with food poisoning). In short, after seeing the light, I've decided to shoot to consume a dozen eggs per day. A lofty but worthy goal in my opinion, my motto is going to be "eat six and drink six". I'm pretty sure I can do it.

Anyway, back to Oprah... So Oprah begins to interview members of her staff who have done the vegan diet and everyone begins talking about how much weight they've lost and how much better their bowel movements are, etc (seriously, apparently everyone is constipated). All I want to do is jump through the TV and remind everyone that any period of starvation and malnutrition will cause weight loss. Nothing will make the scale go down like quality, hard earned skeletal muscle having to cannibalize itself because you are to righteous to eat a steak (or at least some fish, fish are barely even animals).

The grand finale was when the anemic girl (Kathy) shows a picture of her with her neutered, tired, sad-eyed, bag of flesh she calls a husband. He obviously has sat through one to many PETA propaganda videos and now deeply regrets his choice in trophy wife, so pray for Tom and eat a steak for him.

The diet is going just fine. Last night before bed I walked over to my sweet old dog, scratched her behind the ears, looked in her eyes and reminded her that my appetite is more important than her life....

Diet: Day 1

2011-04-01T06:56:00.020-05:00

This is my scale this morning post "library time", and for the record, I love being big. I love that if a famine hit I would be a finalist for survival. I love that I could take a bullet, move a piano, use my stomach for a tray while sitting on the couch, and put that same power belly into a heavy deadlift. I love that XXL T-shirts are now tight (both in the shoulders and in the gut), and the buttons on jeans that I used to wear comfortably are now screaming for their life, and could become dangerous projectiles at any moment. I love that I can bear hug just about anybody, and provide adequate protection for them in dark alleys. And I LOVE being a big hairy dad (everybody needs one)

I (in agreement with the guys over at 70's Big) think that you are not an adult male until you are > 200lbs. I will make exceptions for weight class athletes (Mr. Roberts, with your fancy Olympic lifts). Also, I would like to point out that the strongest men in history, were rarely "ripped" or "cut" or "shredded" or had rippling abdominal muscles that the drove the women, and a few of the men wild. It would have given the airbrush artist carpal tunnel if they had tried to put Paul Anderson's picture on the cover of Men's Health without his shirt on in today's cosmetic climate. The classic strongmen had large bellies and man-boobs, and had all the physical attractiveness of the fry cook at Waffle House. You know, real men.

Legendary Russian Weightlifter Vasily Alexeev

this, ladies, is a real man

I the past few months I have, somewhat intentionally, been packing on the pounds and trying to make some gains with my strongman training. I've added a proud layer of winter fat around my mid-section, and when standing upright have two well endowed back rolls at the base of each lat muscle that will grab and eat a shirt like a sock puppet. I've made some good progress and the additional mass has definitely aided me in the gym. But, with a right shoulder in need of rest and therapy, and a host of other ills associated with being big I've decided to pull it back and notch, drop a few pounds, and put strongman on hold for a few weeks.

With literally hundreds of different diet plans to choose from, my weapon of choice is the oh so 2003 and outdated Atkins style diet which has actually been around for decades. (John McCallum even outlined it from a Strength and Health article in the 1960's as seen in the book The Complete Keys to Progress). It's straightforward, it works well for me, and it is what I know.

So, let's get on with the list of things I can eat.

Meat (delicious, yummy, bone candy - as much as I want)

Eggs

Cheese (blagh!, I hate most cheese, but we'll see)

Fat (omega 3's, and butter especially - butter is good for you, not sure if you knew that)

Whey protein (the kind I use is very low in carbs, so mixed with water this could be a lifesaver)

Veggies (yellow/orange veggies in moderation)

Sugar Free snacks (in moderation, this likely will be an afternoon Diet Coke)

Things that are NOT on the list

Magic Pills

Magic Elixirs

Anything from GNC

Anything sold on an infomercial

Magic Pills that really do WORK! We Promise! Or your Money Back!

Sugar

Things containing sugar

Things that are white in color or look like a french fry

Things that are handed to you through your car window

Magic pills that you got from your co-worker's husband's boss' best friend that contain ground up tomato root and a chinese man's toenails and made his cousin's sister lose 90lbs. in 3 weeks, but then when you see her she looks exactly the same and is eating birthday cake.

So there is the plan. It is simple, but not easy. I'm about 12hrs. in right now and the hallucinations have stopped, my sugar craving migraines are subsiding and my body is beginning to accept that I am in control. It is a good feeling. This eating plan combined with about 6-8 hrs. of vigorous training a week and my beautiful belly will begin to shrink and I'll likely not get out of breath tying my shoes, or getting in and out of the car, all things I will miss. At least until it's time to eat my way to the top. More to come....

Central Georgia's Strongest Man

2011-03-22T21:05:00.003-05:00

Here is a brief write up of Central Georgia's Strongest Man March 19, 2011 in Macon,GA. This is a little late, but better late than never.

About 5am. Central Saturday morning my car was loaded down with all the things necessary to survive a long hot day at a strongman show. I was sipping coffee and waiting on my training partner, Will, to arrive and we would begin the long trek to Macon for my 4th and his 1st strongman contest.

At 5:05am my beloved 3yo daughter began crying and vomiting in her bed and my wife and I found ourselves calming her down and cleaning her up. We went through two sets of sheets and two mattress covers in about 20 minutes.

At 5:30am I held my wilted flower of a child in my arms and rocked her while her mama got her some fresh PJ's and, frankly, any desire I had to drive two hours and spend all day beating myself to death on strongman implements went right out the window.

At 5:35am I reluctantly and guiltfully decided to go. And that is how my Saturday began, beat before I even left the house.

Once we arrived at the venue in Macon, I started feeling up to it, got to see some old friends and meet a few new ones. I along with Jim "The Tennessee Oak" Whisman and Brad "The World's Strongest Bama Fan" Stanford made ourselves a tent city with our pop-up canopies and began warming up.

The thing get started and it's my turn on the press medley. Now, I'm a terrible presser, so my expectations were realistic. I just wanted to Get one or two implements and call it a day, preferably the lightest two implements. Which were a 245lb. log and and 220lb. keg. I should have been a lock for either if not both. The plan was to take my last place point and move on. The whistle blows I clean the 245lb. log and I pop it off my chest and it stalls... after two more attempts I can't lock it out. My shoulder just won't do it, and after an awkward clean on the keg my back already began clamping up. I was already low, and my day wasn't getting any better, and frankly had not a host of Auburn folks showed up to watch I would have likely withdrawn. But thanks to some friends talking me up, I stayed with it, tied for second in the deadlift, pulled a bus a reasonable distance, flipped a tire a few times, and did what I usually do on stones. I'm fairly confident I finished last, again, but at least I was out there.

My training partner Will faired much better and finished 1st in the Novice Heavy Weights. We made the long drive home relived the days events. It was a good day.

Below are a few highlights, enjoy.

The Mouse

2011-03-16T22:03:00.004-05:00

We've had a little bit of a mouse problem around the Boman house. We've taken to sticky traps as the first line of defense. This makes #3 in as many days. Enjoy.

Into Heaven

2011-02-15T21:48:00.005-06:00

I have elected to pull this post until I can obtain permission from the family. Thank you for reading.

Hugo Girard: Strongman

2011-01-16T07:33:00.002-06:00

I've been wanting to see a short documentary on Hugo Girard that was made several years ago. As luck would have it all of the videos have been posted on YouTube. It doesn't cover much of his training, so I'm glad I didn't have to buy it. Enjoy.

New Year's Resolutions

2011-01-05T20:37:00.005-06:00

I fully intend to keep each one, most of them are food related.... I think it's because I'm hungry

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables by eating more animals that have eaten fruits and vegetables.

Why should my digestive tract do all the work when there are plenty of animals willing to consume grains and leaves on my behalf and store them as useful fat and protein.

2. Read less.

Perhaps the most monotonous and time consuming sillyness that has ever been contrived is reading. I'm planning on cutting reading by 50%, otherwise this year would have been a failure.

3. Consume 365 Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches.

That is an average of 1 per day, I'm already several days behind. I better get cracking tomorrow.

4. Take the elevator instead of the stairs.

I walk enough...

5. Start Smoking.

.... ok, maybe not....

6. Shoot an animal.

Really any animal would do. I would like to start with my neighbors yipping dogs, but a deer has lots more protein.

7. Place all my used aluminum cans in the trash instead of the recycle bin. (this also goes for batteries and CFL bulbs)

8. Watch fewer movies.

I have rarely sat down to watch a full length feature film and two hours later not wish I had that two hours back. Most recent movies, are poorly written, trashy and scarcely entertaining. So, Hollyweird you can have it.

9. Eat more gluten, sodium, and trans fat.

I really think these are miracle dietary substances necessary for maintaining life. If I owned a cookie company, the outside packaging would say things like "NOW WITH 50% MORE GLUTEN!"

10. Sit on the toilet for longer periods of time.

Seriously, what is the hurry.

The Icebox

2010-12-08T12:09:00.002-06:00

Monday I learned two things. #1 - Cold weather and even colder barbells and plates make for an absolutely miserable training day. #2 - Walking into the gym with no plan is as productive as not walking into the gym in the first place.

Currently we are undergoing expansion at the training compound. Hopefully, in a few weeks we'll expand to 1400 sq. ft. and all my hopes and dreams of having large private training facility will begin to be realized. But thanks to a blast of Canadian air, our little uninsulated steel building barbell club feels more like a meat locker than a gym right now. The barbells in the early morning below freezing temperatures make you hands ache they are so cold, it's like grabbing fire ants, and i've found you spend nearly as much time warming up as you do actually training.
I went in Monday to begin preparation for the various upcoming strongman shows in GA this spring. I had high hopes for the day, but most of them froze solid and fell to the ground when I woke up to 28 degree temps. Plus the landlord had removed some walls as part of the expansion and his junk and bolts and screws were everywhere and there were plently of new holes to let in the draft (Our propane heater did nothing to combat this kind of cold). Everything was in disarray and more importantly I had not plan for training. Sure maybe a loose idea, but no script to follow. And in my foggy, early morning daze and the ice cold temperatures, no plan was going to get formulated on the spot. So I stood around and looked stupid for a while, tried to train for stones, made a half hearted attempt at doing something that looked like exercise, and then sipped on my coffee and called it a day. I accomplished nothing except mild sleep deprivation from crawling out of my warm bed so early. So, from now on I'm going to do a better job of planning, I'm going to script my workouts and dress in three layers of clothes(and a hat, and gloves), and try and make some honest to goodness progress (even in these unfavorable conditions). I'm also going to look into that wood buring stove I've always wanted...

Orphan Sunday

2010-11-07T20:54:00.004-06:00

I don't know what to say...

As I type this post I have heard my little girl sing "Jesus Loves Me" over her baby monitor in just the last few minutes... 7 months ago we were essentially strangers, and she wouldn't utter a word. Wow, what a difference a loving home makes.

Today is Orphan Sunday, and churches all across America are making efforts to recognize the desperate need for people to provide for and defend millions helpless orphans all over the world.

Allison (my wife) and I spent an hour or so sharing our story with a young married couples Sunday school class at our home church (Lakeview Baptist). We recounted the fear, strife, and joy of our journey to become parents, and our life parenting our precious little girl. I hope it struck a cord. I wish that someone had told me the things I said today when Allison and I were newly married in 2003.

So, consider the orphan. Adopt, or help someone who is adopting. Invest your life in things that matter, and don't store your treasures here. Please help.

Why Love Orphans? from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

Massed Bands

2010-11-01T20:29:00.002-05:00

I didn't get a chance to attend the Stone Mountain Highland Games, but I did get sent a link for a video of a whole lot of bagpipes and drums during the opening ceremonies.

Talk To Me Johnny

2010-10-30T07:28:00.002-05:00

I've been busy, so I haven't had the opportunity to do much writing, but I'm going to try and do a better job of posting some good content, and stuff worth watching/reading

I got sent a link to a very interesting/entertaining blog called Talk To Me Johnny and an article written about some of the more serious training facilities in the country, both past and present. It's a good read and I'll try and be better about posting some more content in the future.

Here's the link for the article:

Talk To Me Johnny - Mecca of Power

Also, the zombie preparation articles are an interesting read.

Hilarious! A must Watch

2010-09-16T21:37:00.003-05:00

Tire Flipping: 101

2010-08-24T13:32:00.002-05:00

I got a text message Sunday afternoon.

"I am thinking about flipping the tire 100 times tomorrow. you want in?"
From:Zack Roberts
5:28pm 8/22/10

I reply.

"I am training in the morning"
From: Zac Boman
5:30pm 8/22/2010

He says...

"Word"
From: Zack Roberts
5:32pm 8/22/2010

So, I hadn't decided to do the hundred rep challenge with Roberts as I left for the gym. I had actually planned to do some dynamic effort box squats with bands at a certain percentage of an estimated max and other very sciencey training with complicated sets and reps and loading and gadgetry all designed to make me look smart and trick my training partners into thinking I knew what I was doing.

I pull up to the compound and sure enough Zack was already there and I helped him roll the tire out on the gravel drive to begin his quest. And something in me just wanted to do it too. "Are you gonna flip the tire Boman?" he asked, I said "I think I am."I then ditched all my complex training plans for something simple and straightforward task of flipping a 540lb. tire 100 times. To complicate matters I had about an hour to do it. So, we decided to work in sets of five with ~2 minutes of rest in between sets. Then it began. The first fifteen were cake, barely even broke a sweat. The next fifteen started the water works, and then the next fifteen had us wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. By 7am we were both sitting at 50 flips. Things start going down hill from there.

The tire literally became soaked with sweat. The hand holds were caked with sweat and dirt. And you had to talk yourself into every flip. We coated ourselves in chalk. We reached 70.

At 80, my grip was going, my shoulders were chewed up like I had been front squatting a roll of barbed wire, and me, Roberts, and the tire were suffering. The sun by this time had broken over the trees. its 7:23am.

I needed to get this over with, so I decided to do a set of 7,7 and 6 brining me to 100 and getting me home and showered. I wrestled 7 over for the two sets. And finally came the last set. I finished the 6 and then did one more just to show it who was boss. 101.

I had jumped slightly in front of Robert's he was working to get to 90. I had to leave before he finished. I knew he would flip to 102 just to say he did more than me. I had trouble opening doors the rest of the day, My fingers weren't fully functional for about 12hrs. My entire body is sore today, and it's kind of nice. You set a goal and you don't stop till it's done. Again, one of the nice things about having a place to call your own.

I get another text message close to lunch -

"111"
From Zack Roberts
8:03am

"you jerk"
From Zac Boman
11:32am

"Lol go back and do 112 tomorrow"
From Zack Roberts
11:34am

No, I don't think I will.

Happy Birthday Precious Girl

2010-08-22T22:02:00.001-05:00

I missed the birth of my daughter. A reality that haunts me as the fact that Rebekah was not naturally born to us seems more and more foreign with each passing day. Worst of all, I don't know where I was or what I was doing August 23rd, 2007. I would give anything to remember. I would like to think that I paused for a moment and things felt different, or I woke up in the middle of the night wondering what had disturbed my sleep. I doubt such romantic or supernatural a thing happened, but I wish it did.

The last five months have flown by. I don't know where the time has gone. And it is hard to believe that in December it will have been a year since we sat in the stern orphanage director's office in south Russia and had placed in our lap a crying, underfed, frightened little girl with a social history that, frankly, scared us to death. It was enough to make two naive parent wannabes almost turn tail and run... but because of God's faithfulness we didn't.

That little girl who, 9 months ago, terrified us and convinced us we were about to ruin our lives, is now asleep in her very own room right next to ours, and part of me is hoping she wakes up just so Allison and I can go in there and tell her we are here, always, and she is safe.

We put her to bed tonight as a two year old for the last time. My heart breaks as I think about all we missed. Allison said only moments ago "I wish I could have seen what she looked like when she was a little baby", just one of the many phrases that make me want to invest everything I own into developing a working time machine. I am determined to make sure we don't miss another thing from the girl who has changed our lives, for the better, forever.

I could go on and on about what a treasure she is, how she has come to life and is nothing like the hollow, somber child we met in December, and how God Masterfully purposed in eternity past to accomplish this thing in our lives for His Glory, but it's late and I need to shed a few more tears over the fact that time is already moving to fast and my little girl is growing up. Happy Birthday Rebekah, you are a treasure to your Mother and Father's heart, we love you.

Where I got hooked

2010-08-17T20:43:00.005-05:00

In 2007 I had the opportunity to go to America's Strongest Man in Charlotte, NC. It was produced as sort of a side show to the NASCAR Speed Street festivities in downtown.

It was a good year for Strongman. This ASM contest included names like Brian Shaw, Steve MacDonald, Nick Best, Travis Ortmayer, Derek Poundstone, Van Hatfield, and Chad Coy just to name a few.

It seems hard to believe, but I didn't have a digital camera in 2007, So these were taken with my trusty Canon Elph (remember advantix film?). After I took these pictures, the camera sat untouched in the console of my wife's Yukon for the last three years, no kidding. A few weeks ago my dad was visiting and making a trip to Wal-Mart and I got him to drop the film off. Our Wal-Mart no longer does on site processing so they had to be sent off (alot has changed in photography in three years). Anyway, here is a few pictures of the only professional strongman show I've been to. It was very cool to watch and I think I drank about twenty complimentary Monster Energy drinks over the course of the two day show.

Brian Shaw on the Log Press for Reps, I forget the weight.

Steve MacDonald getting ready to press

Van Hatfield getting set for the Engine Block carry and Load

Derek Poundstone after the Engine block load and discovering that he had already won by points, I don't think it was even the second day yet.

A tenacious but undersized Chad Coy

Nick Best getting ready on the Block Press

Those Blocks were hot

Nick Best on the 700lb. Deadlift for reps

Steve MacDonald deadlifting

Travis Ortmayer, who withdrew due to back injury after the first two events, on the block press

Derek Poundstone after the deadlift

And Van Hatfield after a solid deadlift performznce

All in all, it was alot of fun to watch the pros at work, and now some of these names are the best in the world at what I love, I'm glad I was there. I think my log press went up 20lbs. just smelling their sweat.

2010-08-10T21:28:00.000-05:00

Dairy Farm

2010-08-08T21:03:00.006-05:00

Here are a few pictures of our trip back home to Vernon, Alabama. As I mentioned earlier, we visited Gilmer Dairy Farm. God bless the farmer's of America for working so hard to fill my ever growing power belly.
Allison, Rebekah and I had too good of a time, life moves a little slower in Lamar County... And I am better for it. To view our photo album from our trip just click either of the two pictures. And Drink More Milk!

Playing in the Dirt

2010-08-04T07:20:00.004-05:00

The longer I train out in a steel building the more I like it. Slowly, my workouts are looking less and less traditional. I guess you'll mix things up a little when you have the space, equipment, and remoteness that a bizarre training protocol requires. Today I wanted to train my upper back, but I need to work on some form of power movement... and I wanted to try and throw something (just in case I work up the nerve, don a kilt and compete in the highland games in October). So my session was reduce to me hoarding the bumper plates working my way up on a very "born outside of marriage" version of an olympic high pull. Which, frankly, became reduced to a very fast deadlift and an upright row at the end. This was intermingled with me marching out in the dirt and grass to throw a 20lb. kettlebell as high as I could. The kettlebell kicked up wads of dirt and the morning dew as it landed and the red mud turned the handle slick as glass. I was ok with that, it made me feel rugged, and old fashioned, and alive. In between throws I went back and did some barbell rows. I'm thankful to have patches of grass and gravel that afford me such weird luxuries as slinging weights as high over my head as they can go. Two of the three exercises I did today would have had me escorted off gym property at any fitness establishment.

The further I get into my own training the less inclined I am to perform traditional movements. A person should squat, deadlift, and press in some capacity, everything else is subjective. I haven't performed a traditional bench press in nearly six weeks. It's one of those things that fall by the wayside when you train the log and overhead press twice a week. So when people ask me "what do you bench?" I'm going to say... "I mostly do curls..." and then I'm going to stare at them blankly and let a little bit of drool drip out of the corner of my mouth. And then, regardless of what they say, I'm not going to say another word, just keep staring and drooling until they walk away.

As an aging lifter, I am learning what Dan John means when he says "the body is one peice" and "all training is complimentary". I couldn't pass up high pulls just because the good mornings I did on Sunday made my hamstrings and low back sore, sometimes things just overlap, I'm learning to be ok with that. Plus, you might think what I did today did a poor job of bringing "ripped" and "shredded" definition to my rear deltoid like a Men's Health model... and you'd be right. But supersetting reverse cable flyes doesn't develop the strength and power it takes to put kettlebells eye level with third story windows.

Does a Body Good

2010-07-21T21:13:00.004-05:00

This was the top shelf of our refrigerator a couple of days ago. It was so beautiful I had to take a picture. Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, famously, in Pumping Iron "milk is for babies". He was correct. Milk is for babies and people who want to get wicked big and strong. Right now I'm going through a gallon of whole milk every two or three days. Usually mixed with couple of scoops of my EAS Sam's Club protein powder (the vanilla is pretty good and 30$ for 5lbs).

My almost three year old daughter is underweight, I mean not even on the chart underweight. When we got her from the Russian orphanage she was malnourished and would eat anything you put in front of her. Our pediatrician told us to do whatever we could to get extra calories in her. She told us nothing but whole milk to drink, and to put butter in everything she eats. The more calories, the better. It was music to this old strongman's ears. I happen to be a weight gain expert. So, now, not only does she drink almost nothing but organic whole milk, but it is usually laced with carnation instant breakfast, or whey protein, or melted ice cream. Plus we give her anything and everything she wants in the way of food. I've often said to Allison (my wife) that we check our ego at the dinner table and try get as much food down her as we can coax. The result? I don't know if she's on the chart yet, but she gained a little weight, grew 3/4 of an inch last month, her hair and nails are growing like weeds, and we've already outgrown clothes that were too big for her in Russia in early spring... And she hasn't even touched a barbell... yet.

So, Milk, it does a body, almost any body good.

I'm headed to my hometown this weekend and The Boman Family is going to visit Gilmer Dairy Farm, which is owned by former a high school classmate and friend, Mr. Will Gilmer. And we are going to show my cute girl where this magic, muscle making, weight gaining elixir comes from... And hopefully pet a few cows.

Resolution #6

2010-07-18T20:43:00.006-05:00

Resolution #6 - I am resolved to consider anyone who would spend a significant amount of money on a magic bracelet as having a grossly inferior intellect.

This is where I may lose some friends. This is the resolution that may hit close to home and quite honestly, I might get some backlash from this. But someone has got to take these people by the collars, shake them, and wake them up to the fact that wearing a bracelet with "holograms" in it doesn't magically makes them healthier or a better athlete... Or better looking... Or able to stand on one foot longer.. etc...

Let me back up a little. For those of you who don't know, the latest trend in athletic accessories (at least in my part of the country) is a Power Balance bracelet. They are basically a rubber bracelet with a shiny thing on top and bottom that apparently are holograms that "resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body." The website further explains "Power Balance is based on the idea of optimizing the body’s natural energy flow, similar to concepts behind many Eastern philosophies."

Bullpoop. (Allison made me edit this part.)

If I meet you and shake your hand and look down and see a Power Balance bracelet on your wrist. I am going to assume a few things about you. First, I will assume that I am vastly superior to you in every facet of cognitive ability that can be measured. Second, I will assume that you are the living embodiment of "a fool and his money are soon parted". Thirdly, I will assume that you lack discernment and discretion in, not only your choice of apparel and accessories, but also every other area of your life up to this point. Finally, I will assume that whatever exchange is about to take place, I am going to win it.

Power Balance bracelets are stupid, bottom line. And if you have bought one expecting the results it promises, you are an idiot. If you have purchased one to be fashionable and to look "cool" and not really to be a better athlete, you are an insecure idiot. Furthermore, you should be ashamed of yourself for being subject to every pop culture and societal trend. If I have hurt your feelings, good. Somebody needed to, and if it has to be me, so be it. Just remember, I loved you enough to tell you the truth. And the truth is, you are a disgrace to all things reasonable if you are trusting a piece of rubber and two "holograms" to make you a better person.

If you have purchased a bracelet and are now sorely repentant for being such a complete fool after having read this, I'll be glad to be your life coach, just send me 30$.

Dad Life

2010-07-03T16:06:00.006-05:00

A Gym of My Own

2010-06-20T21:52:00.005-05:00

Well, with no place to rack my weights now that Swat has closed, I've taken matters into my own hands. I, along with my training partners have secured a mini warehouse that will serve as our new training facility. So this afternoon, after church, I borrowed a friends truck and loaded up as much as I could haul of my carport gym and headed over to an undisclosed location in Lee County, Alabama, to our new private training facility. We combined all our equipment and have got a very good setup.

After a few trips from my house and a storage unit we finally got most of the stuff put in the gym. I have never sweated so much as I did today.

By clicking on any of the above pictures you can view my complete album on facebook. I'll be adding more pictures as we get things like we like 'em at the new gym and wrap it all up with a video tour. If you are living in the Auburn/Opelika, Alabama area and are interested in training or being a member of our "key club" gym please contact me at bigbomanowski@gmail.com.

Swat Gym Closes

2010-06-15T21:36:00.007-05:00

Swat Gym is where I've trained for the last 4 years. And today I walked out of there for the last time. I won't make this a sorry lament, I'm ready to move on.

It has been subject to poor management in the best of times (the gym hasn't belonged to Bill Kazmaier in years). As a business it never advertised or sought to improve it's building or equipment. Every vinyl covered bench had rips and holes in it. The machines were old and useless. The dumbbells stayed perpetually in the floor. The five and ten pound plates were always skillfully stacked under a mountain of 45's and 25's. I would commonly find a bar loaded to 500+ pounds lying in the floor from someone who was strong enough to deadlift it but they were too weak to unload it (it was usually the trap bar, so you knew they were fruity). I would complete a 4 exercise training session in the time it took most people to bench press (usually, they took 5 phone calls between sets).
The music sucked. In the mornings I squatted, pressed, and deadlifted to a steady diet of Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, and Miley Cyrus.

Bars were bent, light bulbs out, water bottles and cups strewn about. For the most part it was really a reflection of human depravity. I have a few good memories.

I remember talking to Bill Kazmaier as he happened to be in there shortly after Phil Pfister staged (in my opinion) the greatest comeback in all of Strongman history to win the 2006 World's Strongest Man competition. He won four or five straight events, including beating Mariusz on the stones by a hair as the rain came down in Sanya, China. It still gives me chills to think about it. Bill was there, he talked about what a jerk Puzianowski was, how Phil told him this was it, how he really felt like it was his time and then he rattled off a few stories from the competition. I was captivated, and began training for my first contest shortly after that.

I remember some good lifts, I remember plenty of bad ones, failed ones, and ugly ones.

If one more person came up to me and asked me what the bands were for, I guess I was going to strangle them with a pair of mini's.

I remember meeting my dears friends Zack and Kandis. I will always be thankful to Swat for introducing them to Allison and I.

I remember the day the power went out and we all trained in complete silence and darkness, all you heard was clanging plates. They sounded like angelic cymbals. Everyone should train in complete silence every now and then, it clears the head.

I remember laughing alot.

SWAT Gym wasn't so bad I guess... But where I'm going to start training next is a little bit of a surprise...

As we were finishing up today Zack and Tim and I noticed that someone had loaded the two top, vertical pins on the warped old leg press machine slam full of 45's and didn't remove them. I've stripped every bar I've ever used for the last 4 years, and even reorganized plates and dumbbells as I trained. I had had enough. So, leaned up on either side of that leg press were two 100 pound plates. I got one and Tim got the other, we hoisted them up to about eye level and slapped them right on top, face down.

It's been fun SWAT Gym, good luck with the big move tomorrow, before you unload that leg press you might need to grab a crowbar.

Resolution #5

2010-06-12T20:46:00.002-05:00

Resolution #5 - I am resolved to never drink a soft drink from the can, at room temperature, or without ice ever again.

There are few things more refreshing to me than to take a nice big Auburn Tigers Stadium cup (college fine china) and press it to my refrigerator door until it is 3/4ths full of ice and then pour as much diet coke, or cherry coke zero, or coca-cola classic, or mountain dew, or just about any carbonated beverage you can think of, over it until it is just about at the brim. That is the pinnacle of refreshment. [Grapico... I forgot Grapico...]

Conversely, if you were to take that same carbonated beverage and leave it unrefrigerated, and pull it straight from the pantry, pop the top, and then drink it, you would have a liquid burning down your throat with all the appeal and satisfaction of having drank a perfectly mixed 2-cycle gasoline... It's too harsh and hard. At least that's my opinion.

Ice has the uncanny ability to add a certain refinement and luxury to the lowly canned drink. If a soft drink is to be enjoyed properly certain prerequisites must be met. A proper vessel is a must(i.e. one of the hundred or so stadium cups in your cabinet), and Ice is a close second.

Of all the things I missed while in Russia, none of them are quite as small and simple as the ice cube. It gives a soft-drink the taste and temperature of freedom. I love freedom. I love it like I love a cold drink after cutting the grass in summer time.

So, while adding ice to your cup may not let you get the full 0,5 Liters of beverage you paid your hard earned Ruble for in Russia, who cares! It's good. And it makes me thankful that in America, some things are still free... Two of those things are people and refills.

Georgia (still) On My Mind

2010-06-10T21:51:00.001-05:00

Saturday was a good day. I got to spend some time with some good friends and participate in the sport I love, but am genuinely bad at (for now).

My second outing at Georgia's Strongest Man ended in the same result as the first. Dead last in the Super Heavyweight division. But, frankly, I'm just thankful to have been a part of it.

I only trained twice from March 14th to April 25th, and those two times were in a little gym in southeast Russia while my wife and I were away trying to pry our daughter out of the steel trap of the Russian government. I also, lost 23lbs. in that time frame due to the stress and terrible food. When I finally got back to training in late April I could barely squat 325lbs. for a set of three. At that point GSM was six weeks away.

So, I just began there. Chopping wood and gaining weight back and thinking about June 5th. I wanted to compete, even though I knew I would likely finish where I did, despite my best efforts. Slowly the strength came back, and every time I went to the gym I felt like my old self. And every time I thought about the contest I wondered what in the world I was doing.

Then last Saturday, it was finally here. I left out early that morning and made the scenic drive to Douglasville, GA with my father-in-law (he came to drive my mangled body back home if need be). He asked me if I was nervous about the competition, I wasn't. When you've stood in a Russian courtroom and contended for the custody of your daughter against a rude and belligerent judge wondering if the child you so desperately want as yours will be given to you, nervous takes on a whole new meaning. I was glad to test myself, I wasn't there to win, I knew going in there would be no chance of that. I was there so that the Hell Russia had drug us through didn't win. And that it didn't stop or influence my life any longer and hold me back from who I am. It was time to live, and make memories, and spend time with friends, and make new ones.

I came close to a couple of PR's on the Axle Press and the Deadlift but fell short, beat a couple of folks on the truck pull, stunk it up on the 750lb. yoke (but I didn't scratch), and got close on the stone #3 on the stone load. It was certainly not a memorable performance, unless you are me. I'm proud of the effort, I honestly couldn't have done any better.

Every pound I moved I wholly and fully dedicate to my beautiful wife and precious baby girl. Being a Strongman will always be a distant third after Husband, and Father. And the first two are far more rewarding.

Special thanks to Brad Stanford who threatened to slap me if I did not attempt the third stone. The thought of your meaty bear claw coming at my face produced my best run at stone #3 yet. Also, the thought of you yelling "War Eagle!" is the only way I was able to even break that 605lb. deadlift off the ground. I knew I should have brought my Snuggie.

Special thanks to Jim Whisman for letting me stand in his enormous shadow while the hot summer sun tried to fry us all. I'm going to start calling you Jim "The Tennessee Oak" Whisman.

Finally, special thanks to the 75% of you that voted "yes". I needed that.

Last Events Day

2010-05-30T21:26:00.002-05:00

This was my last events training day before the big show next Saturday. I'll do a couple of light gym workouts between now and then. but, here is the last one that counts.

Axle continental and press
110 x 5
160 x 2
210 x 1
230 x miss (tried to get cutesy with it and goofed up)
230 x miss (tried to get fancy on this one and use some "technique")
230 x 1 (just did what works, good and easy)

225lb sled tire pull up my driveway x 50ft

wow, I forgot how much demand the pull puts on your achilles tendon, worked on staying low.

Deadlift
301 x 1
367 x 1
433 x 1
499 x 1 (yes, you heard me, between the mish mash of KG and Lb. plates I was using this is what the progression looked like. I had to use the calculator on my computer to figure this out.)

About the time I was going to the yoke and stones a monsoon came, so hard that I thought I should start building an ark. It blew into my carport and made everything wet. So I called it quits here, I may do stones and yoke tomorrow, I may not... who knows. What is done is done. I'm not going to gain any measurable strength between now and the contest. Oh well, I'd rather strongman poorly than not strongman at all.

Big Ole' Copperhead

2010-05-25T21:32:00.002-05:00

I thought my one reader might want to see the huge copperhead my dad killed while weedeating some of his land up in Lamar Co., Alabama. He was about three feet long and I think dad plum near shot the head of the thing as he pulled his .22 Beretta from his pocket and emptied the clip. (I advise anyone and everyone, when in doubt, empty the clip) He was about three feet long and were it not for the weedeater he would have likely stepped on him.

The People Have Spoken

2010-05-23T20:54:00.004-05:00

77% to 23%, I will be competing in Georgia's Strongest Man 2010.

Ironically, the state with the lowest percentage was Sweet Home Alabama, with only 55% of voters wanting me to compete, second was Georgia with 67%. I think my concerned Mother may have voted "No" multiple times from different computers.

Every other state with voters was at a full 100%.

No one one the West Coast voted because they apparently don't give a rip, and I can't say I blame them.

So there you go, it is what it is. So, I'll give it my all and do a full write up in two weeks. CHEERS!

4 weeks ago tonight

2010-05-18T21:12:00.004-05:00

...Allison, Rebekah, and I stepped off a plane in Atlanta and almost literally fell into the arms or our family and friends. I still do not have words for that moment... For those who supported us, my heart will forever be overflowing with gratitude. No matter the depths of senility my mind may take me years from now in my old age, I will never, never, never forget that night. It was the culmination of all that God wished to do in our adoption of Rebekah, and now He continues to work in her in ways we never imagined. There is a God in Heaven, Jesus is His Son, if your still an orphan, He wants to find you.

6 Weeks ago tonight, the somber, speechless, furrowed-brow little girl who we had set our affections on was ours for the very first time. That first day with us she ate enough for an adult while sitting in my lap at lunch. I'm certain we could have fed her rotten garbage and she would have ate every ounce she could, not knowing when her next meal would be. We put her down for a nap, and a few hours later, in the late afternoon when she awoke, she trembled from fear as Allison held her in her arms. Later that night, we managed to get her to sleep. Just like I knew I would, I laid in bed wondering what we were doing 5000 miles from home, and also wondering if we had what it took to survive this. Like any good man, I hid it the best I could, and tried to show stone like resolve while the storm raged inside. Husbands, be Jesus to your wife, a Bulwark, a Fortress never failing.

I remember when we went to have Rebekah's passport photos made. On the way, as we bounced along the road, the orphanage worker that accompanied us said through our translator - "In a month, you won't even recognize her..." She was exactly right...

Tonight, we got out as a family to run a few errands after I got off work. Rebekah bobbed her head and clapped her hands while we jammed to Shane and Shane in the car. She sang her little song about Gracie (the wonder hound) "Dogga - Dogga, -Dogga, Dogga, Dog!". She also talked alot in her own baby talk as she reviewed the events of her day, and often I would catch her smiling to herself as I kept an eye on her in the rear view mirror. After dinner we stopped off by the park. The Opelika High School jazz band was doing a little concert. Rebekah loves music, I have never seen a child dance as hard and freely as she danced tonight. She clapped vigorously at the end of every song, and pointed in amazement at every dog in sight. She loves the park, she loves her home. Finally, after daddy made up silly songs at bathtime, Allison rocked her while we read our Bible story. Whenever I finish reading she clasps her hands together, closes her eyes and smiles, reminding us to pray. I start it the same way almost every night. "Dear God, thank you for Rebekah..."

You Decide 2010

2010-05-16T12:38:00.008-05:00

Ok, I'm gonna be straight up. I've tried to play catch up with my training since arriving home from Russia, but needless to say, we've been a little busy getting the little one settled in.

Here is my predicament, I'm underweight by about 15lbs. of where I would like to be. I'm undertrained and (in my mind) weak as a kitten and likely to finish last given the talented strongman competitors that show up for such a well organized and popular contest.

So, I'm turning to you [both of my readers] to decide. I will do whatever the poll results tell me. If it is a no, Brad and Jimmy, I'll come set up the tent and help keep you guys out of the sun. If it is a yes, I'll fight lift, pull and push until I can go no further - and let the chips fall where they may.

Georgia's Strongest Man 2010 will be held in Douglasville, Georgia on June 5th.

Please, one vote per person - Polling will end Sunday May 23rd at 7pm.

Fat Gripz

2010-05-07T20:56:00.008-05:00

I have to just be honest, sometimes I fall victim to a flashy sales pitch, or gimmicky things that I think may be the long lost strength secret that will finally make me the greatest of all time. I like gadgets, little things that can be useful in training. Now, these things can also be a major distraction. I bought a Rolling Thunder, for instance, that I just knew I would use every workout and twice on Sundays. I don't think I've hooked that thing to a loading pin since 2009... I have so many other "fish to fry" before I need to worry about how much I can one hand deadlift on a spinning PVC handle. But, anyway, I digress...

The online shopping bug bit hard a week ago and I couldn't help but take advantage of some free shipping over at EliteFTS. So, I bought a set of monster mini's, some short bands (for deadlifting, more on that later), and... yes... some Fat Gripz.

Much like the zombies that Advocare makes out of professional athletes (and its customers... and its salesmen...), I have become a Fat Gripz non paid endorser.

I've used these for Dumbbell tricep extensions and curls over the last couple of days. I also got a chance to use them on the bench press. I love them. It increases the level of difficulty dramatically, and replicates the grip on a thick bar perfectly. The rubber felt a little mushy when I got to 250lbs. on the bench, but overall it is pretty sturdy. I plan to use them pretty much all the time, especially on dumbbell movements.

Hopefully that Thomas Inch replica at SWAT Gym will be coming off the ground soon.

264.9 or Bust

2010-05-06T21:40:00.010-05:00

Monday I weighed my self. The day after I got home from Russia I weighed 270, 12 days later this is where I'm at.

June 5th I would like to compete in Georgia's Strongest Man. The problem is I ain't got no business being a Super Heavy Weight. So, the diet began on Monday, I'm going to try and slim on down and compete in the 265lb. class. Which is still in the heavy weight class, but hopefully I'll be a little more "in my league" at the lighter weight class.

So I've trimmed the carbs, reduced the portions and (to an extent) upped the volume. Things are going well, I won't be at my strongest going in, but hopefully, I can be a little more competitive (assuming I make weight). This coming monday I'll show the scale again and we'll see where I'm at.

Resolution #4

2010-05-02T11:08:00.006-05:00

Resolution #4 - I am resolved to sleep whenever the opportunity to do so is presented.

Allison and Rebekah (over Al's left shoulder) sleeping in the Madrid Airport

I was laying on the cold marble floors of the Madrid airport at 4am local time when this resolution popped into my mind. I had a small travel pillow, a flannel shirt as a blanket, and had put my boots back on just to keep my feet warm.

Allison and I had made a campsite in a small corner of the terminal next to the duty free liquor store. At the time it was a nice, quiet area. Allison lay next to me, and Rebekah was sound asleep on a makeshift pallet of airplane blankets and her super fluffy "blankie". We all three drifted off, when I awoke about an hour and a half later, the marble floor had literally drained all the body heat from me.

I got up and walked around just to get the blood flowing again, and then just stood watch over my girls for the rest of the time. I've never missed my bed like I missed it then.

Late that night when we arrived home, as I got in bed I literally could not believe how soft my own bed was. I even checked to see if someone had put one of those memory foam covers on it for us. I slept like a baby.

So, no, I will not be staying up late, and, yes I will be taking a nap...

Carport Gym Tour

2010-04-30T22:14:00.011-05:00

I spent the afternoon assembling my Home Depot axle and then taking it for a test spin, along with a few yoke pickups. I decided to take a few pictures and give all (both) of my readers a quick tour of my home gym setup. I also train at SWAT Gym in Auburn, Alabama for most of my barbell/dumbbell training. On the weekends though my training partners and I usually break out the toys at home and make the neighbors stop and stare.

I got a 1 and 1/2" inside diameter galvanized steel pipe from Home Depot cut to 7'6" and put pipe clamps 17" from the ends. Then I took a chainsaw file and marked the center and the rings 16" from center, just so I would have a reference point. My cheap bumpers fit nicely, as the outside diameter is just under 2". The total cost was about $35 dollars. Now, it isn't a heavy duty, press 450lb. kind of axle, but right now, it's all I need.

Next up is my tire collection. From left to right: 385lb., 540lb., 650lb., 750lb. The 540lb. tire is my go-to conditioning multi flip tire. The 650 is a loaner from my training partner and difficult to flip due to lack of hand holds. The 750lb. is ridiculous, and the day I can bang out a dozen flips on that things is the day I'm somebody. This is actually also a good shot of my yoke that I had made a few years back. It's not adjustable, as it was made for me and my height, it handles 700+ lbs. with ease.

A few stones, a stone mold I should be taking better care of, my homemade frame that has easily taken 650lb. or better for a ride, my homemade tire sled, and my black treasure chest of goodies.

In the treasure chest are a collection of 15kg red Panatta Sport plates (Bill Kazmaier's old equipment company). I bought these from Sue Kazmaier when Kaz Fitness Center closed down in downtown Auburn (boy, that was a good gym). I'm assuming these were some of Bill's collection from back in the day. I've also got my rolling thunder and various other bits and pieces of things in here.

Inside the carport closet I've got a Keg of Sand (~250lb.), a nice stack of 45lb. plates, 50ft. of 1.5" manilla rope, 3 bars, my log and a few other small plates. All in all, I have no excuses for being as weak as I am. It is a pretty good setup.

Finally, here is all my adoring fans. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you Gracie The Wonder Hound. She is 1/3 Bassett Hound, 1/3 Yellow Lab, 1/3 Human Being. And without a doubt the best dog in the world. If the door is open she'll sit and watch until she gets bored, which usually doesn't take very long.

So that's my home gym setup. I feel like I've got a good little place to train. Now if I can just find the time....

Resolution #3

2010-04-26T06:29:00.002-05:00

Resolution #3 - I am resolved to never learn a foreign language, no matter how practical or useful it may be.

This resolution is both a compliment to and a consequence of Resolution #1. If I keep Resolution #1 this resolution should be a natural by product, or at least it should be... Unless I go to Texas...

It got old using a primitive monkey sign-language to try and convey to stern, impatient Russians what it was that you wanted... Couple that with just trying to talk louder and use precise diction and A-NUN-SEE-ASHUN hoping that it was not the fact that you both spoke completely different languages, but rather that the person you were trying to communicate with simply had a hearing impairment or that you were a mumbler. It was ridiculous, but we survived.

And I think there was something inside me that just plain felt dirty using the Russian words for "hello", "goodbye", and "thank you"... I felt like a traitor... Everytime I said "Dasvidaniya" I'm sure I felt the same guilt as if I had just lit flame to an American flag.

No more. I'm an American. I speak English. I've got a million other things I would rather learn before I would want to learn how to easily ask somewhere where the bathroom is in Spanish.

Amazing Grace

2010-04-25T15:35:00.004-05:00

I woke up early this morning and was in the mood for a little Scottish Pipe Band music. I stumbled across this video of pipe bands from several countries playing Amazing Grace as a finale to a concert in Moscow. It is chilling, but I am certain no finer a song has ever rung out from the courts of Red Square. Enjoy.

Resolution #2

2010-04-23T06:13:00.006-05:00

Resolution # 2 - I am resolved to take advantage of as many "all you can eat" wings nights as possible while I do live.

I essentially live in a college town (well, technically in the town adjacent to a college town). Now being so near a major university provides one with almost as many pros as cons. For example, Con - good luck driving anywhere on a Fall Saturday when there is a home football game (War Eagle!), but you have to take the good with the bad. So, I'll tolerate things like mad traffic in exchange for other things like.... Large quantities of cheap delicious food intended to draw college students in to spend money on alcohol. So, in Auburn, Alabama on just about any night of the week you can find some relatively inexpensive all you can eat food specials from the local eating establishments. The most common (and in my opinion delicious) AYCE special is that from the humble lowly chicken wing... I salivate as I type this...

I spent many a Russian evening with my stomach gurgling from hunger wondering why in the world I did not more frequently exercise the opportunity to tee-total stuff myself with the fried, sauce-covered best part of a chicken.

At times I felt like a guy in a movie, maybe trapped in a cave, realizing that death is eminent asking himself why he never married his high school sweet heart, then promising himself if he made it out alive, he would... Fortunately, I married the best woman in the world... So, on those nights, as I wasted away from hunger, all you can eat chicken wings became my high school sweetheart, and I promised myself I would never take them for granted again.

So, save a little bleu cheese and celery sticks for me, Daddy's coming.

The Resolutions - Resolution #1

2010-04-23T05:40:00.007-05:00

I'm going to start a new series of posts called "The Resolutions". You may have seen my twitter updates where I began listing various resolutions of things I will or will never do again now that my wife and I have finally returned home from Russia with our beautiful daughter.

While in Russia for a month I was daily taught lessons on how wonderful life is here in America compared to other countries. So this list will serve as a reminder of insights, lessons, and just things that drove me crazy while away. A lot of the have to do with food, and for that I apologize. I lost 23lbs. in Russia, not because I was trying, but because the food was that bad.

Now, this is also a lighthearted take on the Puritan theologian Jonathan Edwards and his 70 resolutions , which are much more edifying and noble than these resolutions will be. Still, I hope you enjoy.

Resolution #1 - I am resolved to never leave the borders of the United States ever again.

Dear Other Countries,
You are not as good as mine. I do not care to see you, your historic landmarks, your tourist attractions, your detailed architecture, your beautiful landscapes, or subject myself to your corrupt government in any way. If I wish to see mountains I will drive to the North or West, and if I wish to see ocean I will drive South. If I wish to experience history I will turn to the appropriate channel on my television or open a book. Finally, I will gladly embrace the label of being narrow-minded and unenlightened by making this resolution.

Sincerely,
Zachary E. Boman

Easter and Fatherhood Eve

2010-04-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

We stood in the Moscow Holiday Inn lobby and waited on our driver, Vitali, to pick us up and head to the airport. We were to catch our flight to Astrakhan, Russia to see our daughter for the first time in three months and finish the process of bringing her home. Like I usually do I looked through the big rack of tourist brochures while we waited. I noticed several pamphlets for “gentlemen’s clubs” and “escort services”. And I guess it was the daddy welling up in me, but I couldn’t help but ask myself “wonder how many of those girls were orphans?”

Had Rebekah remained instutionalized and never received a family, she would be turned out on the street at 16. A reality that could keep me awake at night. The little girl we have loved and cherished for the past three months, years from now, alone in this dimly lit place. Now, some will tell you that after the age of 16 there are opportunities for housing and further education and a variety of other benefits available to the children, but I doubt seriously that there are many successful transitions into the world outside the orphanage through those means. In all reality, prostitution or organized crime is a likely destination for the young men and women that institutions produce, not because the Russian government steers them there, but because a lack of parenting does. I am so thankful that God has brought us here to rescue her from things like that.

My heart is full and overflowing with emotion that our “gotcha day” for Rebekah will coincide very nicely with Easter. We were hoping we would get her on Good Friday, but in a way I find it fitting that her new life will follow the celebration of the resurrection, and not before. Adoption is in so many ways a resurrection. Our adoption and salvation in Christ is the crucifixion of our old self, and the being raised to new life in Him. An event not at all possible had Jesus Himself not been raised.

Tomorrow will likely break Rebekah’s little heart and she will be removed and separated from the only safe and stable thing she has ever known, Baby Home #2. She will be with us forever and she will never again see the wrinkly faces of the Russian caregivers, or the belligerent orphanage director, or the bubbly social worker, all of whom kept her emotional life support until God could bring us to her. Her old life will pass away and a new life will begin, and if she could only know what waits for her on the other side of the Atlantic. The family, the friends, the warmth of her quiet home on Crossley Avenue, and two parents that love her and will pursue her little heart as long as it takes. When that plane lands, an earthly resurrection will be complete.

When Allison and I came here on our first trip in December we went through hell. I have never known fear, trial, and fatigue like I knew it then. We faced many challenges and were subject to many attacks by the enemy. And we came frighteningly close to saying “this is too much” and walking away. And it was only through wise counsel and support of family and the light of God’s grace that we had the clarity to do what God had called us here to do, begin the process of bringing this child home. Now it is my shame that we almost failed to stay the course, but praise be to God that He did not allow us to fall. The Grace of God came with every lost hour of sleep, every frightening diagnosis, every meal missed, every blister on our feet, every tear shed, and every night we lay awake in our own personal Gethsemane asking God “If you are willing, remove this cup from me…”. And that same Grace sits here with me now. Praise be to God Almighty who ushers us through when we are too afraid to go any further.

When we left from that first trip, we left a small picture album, with pictures of Allison and I, and Family, and even Gracie the hound with Rebekah. We wanted her new home to at least be familiar to her in picture. We were told when we came back this trip that it had become her favorite thing. That she would sit in the corner and look at it again and again and again. Allison and I fought back the tears on the playground that day, I have never been filled with more love and heartbreak than I was that day. Oh how I wanted to pick her up and tell her “precious girl, if you only knew...” Little does she know that with those pictures she is merely looking at a mirror dimly, but soon she shall see it all face to face. It will be real, the past will be gone, and she will receive a new life. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

And now Allison and I stand together, holding onto each other and a Resurrected Savior. I am fearless about tomorrow, it will be hard, but in the end we will see the Glory of God unfold in the life of this beautiful little girl.

So, this Easter is special, we will celebrate Christ’s resurrection today, and in a practical way we will celebrate it tomorrow as well. Rebekah will leave everything behind, and we will dress her in new clothes and finally we will step, as a family, beyond those rusty iron gates forever.

Rebekah Grace Boman will walk out of an orphanage tomorrow, because Jesus Christ walked out of a tomb today.

Russia

2010-03-30T12:18:00.009-05:00

I'm in Astrakhan, Russia. I can't believe it.
On March 23rd my wife and I stood before a Russian judge and for three hours were questioned and berated over why we would want to adopt this child, our daughter, Rebekah Grace Boman.

At the end of that day we were awarded custody and are now waiting the required 10 days before we go and pick her up from the orphanage and begin the process of bringing her home. On Monday, the day after Easter, she will become ours permanently. We will get her passport, then fly to Moscow and get her Visa at the US Embassy so that she can come home and be a United States Citizen.

By clicking on any of the pictures below you will be taken to my Facebook Picture Album and can see some of the sights we've seen and my beautiful daughter's face. Thanks for looking, keep praying.

Today, from where I sit.

2010-03-09T20:04:00.003-06:00

Training has been... well... boring. Honestly, I'm in cruise control. A little log and tire flip and frame carry on Sunday. Some box squats today... Eh.

Frankly, I just just want to keep my back healthy and make it to Russia to bring my daughter home. So I'm not taking any risks.

The older I get the less important laying it on the line to get stronger becomes. The more important staying healthy, mobile, and pain-free becomes. I've got a few more years to work on pulling that 800lbs deadlift or push a 400lb. log, but in the mean time I'm focused on becoming and dad and spending time with my family.

The long and short of it is, a man's got to have priorities, and right now training is about 5th on the list. And the way I look at it, I'm not going to get to the end of my life and think to myself, "man, I sure do wish I had spent more time in the gym".

Some might call me uncommitted... They would be wrong. I assure you that the things worthy of my commitment are now receiving my full attention.

I forgot how to be strong

2010-03-02T20:46:00.004-06:00

Today was weird. It was my first day back from catching my death of illness which has had me with a fever, sore throat, sinus, etc.

I squatted. Well, I tried to.

Nothing fancy, just wanted worked up to a beefy double. My beefy double turned into a way to hard single. I couldn't believe how hard that squat felt.

I had a teacher in high school that once jokingly told me "I've forgotten more than you'll ever know". I think as I get older I'm starting to see what she meant.

After squatting I moved to the plain barbell good morning. Nothing Fancy, but by my third set of warm-up weight my left hamstring almost cramped up....

Ridiculous.

I've forgotten how to be strong. I've forgotten what it takes. I've become a schizophrenic in my training.

Focusing on to many goals at once will only ensure that you reach none of them.

What do I do? More good mornings for one. Heck I think just more in general. I can't not do GM's for three years and expect keep the strength that that exercise provided. The same thing goes for all the other things I've left behind in an effort to be more "specific" in my pursuit of strength. Hard lessons to swallow when I remember where I used to be.

So, There you go. Let the perpetual Massive Overhaul continue...

Sick Day

2010-02-24T16:29:00.003-06:00

I left work today a few hours early. My throat hurts and I've got a low-grade fever.

Sick days aren't as much fun when you're an adult as when you were a kid. Thundercats and He-Man doesn't come on TV anymore, and even Sesame Street lost what little innocence and appeal it had. My wife is gone out doing adoption errands, so I don't even have someone to fix me Spaghettios or chicken noodle soup or PB&Js...

So here I sit, wishing I had the clarity of thought to type something profound, but I don't. I'm sitting in a quiet house watching my dog nap on the couch she's not supposed to lay on, and wondering if the sting in my throat will let up enough to allow me some sleep tonight... So much for pressing in the morning.

I guess I should put on The Princess Bride and try to enjoy it, but I think I may just lay back down.

Mark Rippetoe interviews Shane Hamman

2010-02-17T19:45:00.003-06:00

If you haven't already seen it. Mark Rippetoe did an interview for Starting Strength with Former Olympic SHW Shane Hamman. Very interesting and insightful on the life of the Olympic athlete and the current state of Weightlifting in the USA.

Click Here For the Shane Hamman Interview

I can't help but love some of Mark's insights on strength overcoming technical error in this interview. Simple and Profound, gotta love a Texan.

Hard Things

2010-02-08T21:47:00.013-06:00

I've got a beer keg filled with sand. It weighs about 250lbs. My training partner Tim and I took it down to the street and set up a little strongman medley yesterday. We would pick up and carry the keg 50ft. down, then pick up a 550lb. frame and come 50ft. back. Tim went first, picked up the keg, kept it high and walked it down the course, then stepped in the frame and made it back down the course. He set the frame down and between heavy breaths that "this seemed like a better idea on the drive over here". He was right. My turn came... There is special kind of anxiety that I get when I know I'm about to have to dig deep and do hard things. I finished the course with room to spare, but it just reinforced what I already knew; I hate medleys. Strongman medleys require resilience, endurance, monumental levels of intrinsic motivation and just a touch of crazy. I possess all four in extremely limited quantities.

We finished the second round of this and almost had to flip the switch (more on flipping the switch later) to get it done. I laid down in the yard heaving and panting and stared up at the sky and questioned everything in my life and most especially why in the world this, of all things, was what I did on Sunday afternoons.

The answer never really came. It's just what you gotta do to do what you want to do... But I got to thinking about it...

The last thing in the world I wanted to do after carrying that frame was to pick up the keg and head back the other way...

Nobody ever chooses the hard way on purpose. Sure, sometimes they do because they have to, but rarely. In fact, when it comes to our day to day lives I would say most people never intentionally choose to put themselves through Hell physically or, much less, emotionally thinking in their head "this will develop my character and make me a stronger person, and ultimately be for my good". Nope. Those thoughts never enter the brain while you are handcuffed to your very own personal tragedy.

I am thankful for a loving and infinitely wise God who puts us through the hard things, even when we go kicking and screaming. The lessons you learn in the dark hours are the ones that will carry you the rest of your life. They are the lessons that, God willing, you attempt to convey to your family, friends, and children... even though they'll have to their own hard lessons ahead of them. They are the lessons that fill you with right indignation. They are the lessons that flood you with resolve. They are even the lessons that make you want to love so deeply and purposefully that it will take death itself to peel you away from those on whom you've set your affections. In other words, these lessons are important.

I don't claim to have endured much, or know more than I really know, or (Heaven forbid) be wise. What I do know is that every day I am being molded and hammered out by The God of the Universe into what He ultimately wants me to be, He'll do the same to you, and without your permission... And sometimes, regardless of the circumstance, you have to pick up the keg and just keep walking.

Getting Old

2010-01-30T22:23:00.010-06:00

My back hurts. It is clamped up like piano strings. My knees hurt. Squatting off the couch makes me concerned for my patellar tendons. I'm getting old. I feel old. I feel like a dad. And to tell you the truth, I kind of like it. Now, not the knee / back pain thing, but there is something in me that is feeling, I don't know, mature. I guess there a few reasons I could feel this way…

I waved a sad goodbye today to my old '97 Dodge truck, Rosie. She wasn't "just a truck"... Those are fightin' words... No, Rosie was a friend of mine. We were together for ten years. I sold her for $1200 dollars to a man from Valley, AL. Never thought of Rosie as a Valley girl, but oh well. Alot of my youth left as Rosie drove away, the older I get, more I have to let go. I’m not 20 years old anymore, a lesson I must relearn daily.

Perhaps it was the baby furniture I assembled for my daughter (who is still in Russia, God willing not much longer). Putting together the crib (not hard) and the dresser (intensely hard) was a labor of love for me. It scarcely felt like work when I considered the precious girl that will grow to love the home we are preparing for her. I would put together a thousand dressers for that precious little one.

It could just be the rain, but today was different. On the one hand the letting go, on the other is the promise of great gain in bringing Rebekah Grace Boman home… I need to grow up, so I can love her and help her do the same.

…I’ve never been a big fan of “adolescence” , the male species should be boys or men. There is a real danger in embracing adolescence as a stage of life. Perfectly good “would- be” men can get stuck here and with the enabling of mothering wives find themselves trapped perpetually playing video games, whining, and shirking various responsibilities…

In regards to a time when the transition from boy to man occures, I’m sure ages vary. For some it is when they turn twelve or fifteen or maybe when they watch the last remaining token of their youth drive away without them in it (like me).

So tomorrow is going to be a new experience for me, genuine manhood. I’m glad it coincided with strongman training, I’m going to take my painful back and knees and train until I’m lying on the grass trying to talk myself out of vomiting... I’ve got to get some stuff out of the basement. Goodnight everyone, I guess we gotta grow up sometime.

Eugene Sandow Books

2010-01-25T20:54:00.007-06:00

Lately I've been trying to gather a few resources from some of the more notable "Old Time" Strongmen. I stumbled across two PDF books listed on Archive.org by Eugene Sandow:

Strength and How to Obtain It
and
Sandow on physical training : a study in the perfect type of the human form

These are free to read/download, but caution: he is pretty naked in most of the book.

Where I've Been

2010-01-20T20:41:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted in a while. Honestly, I had nearly forgotten about the old blog. My training has been, due to more important endeavors, nearly not worth mentioning since the start of Football season, then into Thanksgiving, and then I never get anything done between Thanksgiving and New Year's. So now here I sit, typing this and Tivo-ing through The Biggest Loser.

There was a four week stretch where I didn't touch a barbell, or a dumbbell, or a tire, or a stone. And now that I'm a little older, and hopefully a little wiser, I'm going to make it an annual habit of doing very little in the Month of December. So, from here on out I'm going to take a month off every year, it's good for me.

I've been back in the gym for two weeks now, and every drop of strength has returned. I'm focused. I'm looking forward to moving the weight and I just feel fresh. A step back, has turned into a step forward.

During that month off not only did I spend alot of time with family and friends, but I took a trip that will forever change my life. My beautiful wife and I flew to Russia and met our daughter for the very first time. We have been in the adoption process for two years now, and experienced nearly every high and low imaginable, and finally in early December we took a 10 day trip to Russia and got the ball rolling on bringing this little one home. She is a precious little two year old with blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She has endured more Hell in those two years than most people experience in a lifetime. There is alot to undo in her little heart, and we are resolved to complete the task. As my sister says all she needs is a little love and vitamins and she will be just fine. Given my wife's fantastic cooking skills at preparing some calorie dense, down home southern soul food, she is gonna plump right up. In late February we will travel back to Russia, go to court, and then bring her home. I could go on and on about our trip, but let me just say, if you're a praying person, please pray for us. Also, if you have the desire to adopt, do it... You will never be the same.

So that's it for me. I was on sebatical from training, now I'm back. I'll try and post more often.

Right now here is what I call the "Not as Young as I used to Be" training routine

Sunday afternoon
3-4 events

Tuesday morning
Squat (low volume, mostly dynamic)
Front Squat
1 Hamstring exercise (~30 reps)
1 Ab exercise (~30 reps)

Thursday morning
1 Pressing exercise
1 rowing exercise
1 bicep and 1 tricep exercise

Friday Morning
Deadlift (low volume)
1 low back exercise (GM's or hyperext.)

My gym days are pretty standard and low volume, stuff that I can recover from easily, then on Sunday afternoon I kill it and work 'til exhaustion on 3-4 events. Sleeping and eating like a Grizzly Bear is also in the mix... maybe some Advil too.

New Training Split

2009-08-05T21:08:00.002-05:00

I'm going to give this a try,

Day 1 events
Day 2 Rest
Day 3 Deadlift, Upper Back, Biceps
Day 4 Rest
Day 5 Press / Shoulders, Triceps
Day 6 Squat
Day 7 Rest

I'm mainly implementing this because football season is fast approaching and my Saturday's will be mainly fixed on tailgating. Plus I've always typically been a three day a week person, but lately I've realized that I can't train my squat and deadlift on one day. So, on Day 6 all I'm doing is squatting, that will likely be the only exercise I perform that day. We'll see how it goes!

Doing It All Over Again

2009-08-01T20:14:00.005-05:00

I stood heaving leaned over my bar on my last set of squats on Friday and watched a young man (maybe 19) walk into the gym and over to the squat rack adjacent to me, load the bar to 95lbs. and begin what would be the first set of many barbell curls.

Now, I have nothing against the barbell curl, in fact, I could stand to do a few more of them. I have a nagging left bicep injury from a run in with a tire in 2007. And, I try not to get discouraged when I see people like him, just wanting some beach muscle. Those type of people who lift strictly for fitness or "buffness" have as much right to the squat rack as I do. But it got me thinking...

As a beginner, I used to read bodybuilding magazines from cover to glossy cover, and digest every single word of their supplement selling garbage articles. I thought about all the time I spent wasted on eating like a bird, supplementing like a OCD chemist, and trying to get strong simultaneously. I thought about how if I were 17 again I would do it all differently, and build everything on the deadlift, squat and overhead press. I would have been there for the small scale NASS contests, when amatuer strongman was in it's infancy, and people were just figuring this sport. I would have gained experience regardless of strength level, or having never touched an implement before. In other words, some of the things that seem almost un-do-able to me now, I would have been able to grow into had I done a lighter version of them then.

But... Had I been there for all that, and fixed myself on such dedication to strongman... I would have missed out on a whole lot of living. And I've got memories with me now I wouldn't trade for millions of dollars, or hundreds of pounds on my deadlift.

So, maybe my hobbie will amount to somthing one day, maybe it won't. Maybe I'm doomed to be the natural nobody, or maybe my aging body will still let me turn pro by age 40, who knows...

I do know this. The path to strength is not paved by reading glossy magazines, or internet "experts", or taking supplements that only make your urine more expensive. There are no "secrets", magic beans, or miracles to be had, especially here. The only trick is years of steady, thoughtful, consistent training.

By the time all these things went through my mind, the young man was done defiling the squat rack, leaving his plates on the bar, he began wasting his time somewhere else. Had I been him, I would have curled that bar one time, to place it in the J-hooks, and put it on my back where it belonged.

Short and Sweet (Tea)Training on a Sunday

2009-07-26T20:12:00.006-05:00

After church this morning my dear wife and I went and stuffed ourselves at the Mexican Restaurant. I drank about two gallons of sweet tea (my favorite), ate about a basket of chips and salsa, and got this Chicken Burrito, Flauta, soft taco combo the I woofed down like I had spent the last month in a concentration camp... That my friends is just one of many examples of the poor food choices I've made over the last week. Thursday I went to the Chinese Buffet for my nephews birthday and pigged out there and drank another two gallons of... you guess it... Sweet Tea.

Anyway, upon returning from The Lord's House and then Durango's Mexican Restaurant I slept like a grizzly bear for about two hours. Then drug myself out of bed and managed to do some training despite my severe lack of motivation. Here's how it went down, short and sweet.

Log Press
empty x 8,135 x 5 x 2, 175 x 5(strict), 195 x 3,
235 x 1,
205 x 3 x 2,
175 x 5(strict)

Tire Flip
545 x 6, 750 x 4

- It's interesting how two similar tires must be flipped with totally different technique. The 545 I can "snatch grip deadlift" up and over, The 750 you have to drive forward using your shoulders like a football sled, gotta work on that technique, overall I was pleased with how it felt.

After that I took a 40 minute walk with Gracie the Wonder Hound, and my sister's Boykin Spaniel Angus (who we are babysitting), and my lovely bride, it was a great afternoon.

I sweated like 4 pigs, and I'm still thirsty... You know what sounds good about now.... Yep you guessed it.

Seriously though, I can tell the dieting is affecting my strength, I might have to just be pudgy. We'll see what I weigh tomorrow after squatting, there is a slight chance I lost a couple of pounds... Maybe?

Mark Felix Interview

2009-07-20T22:06:00.006-05:00

I discovered this interview with Mark Felix that I thought would pass it along. It's short and sweet, not to in depth, but still interesting.

Mark Felix Interview

You can follow Mark's updates on Twitter : http://twitter.com/Markfelixtv

You can also see video of Mark including his bicep tear recovery on his YouTube channel : http://www.youtube.com/user/MarkFelixTV

The more I learn about him, the more I like him. I've always had a special place in my heart for the older strongmen... Especially since I'm becoming one. ;-)

Sunny Saturday Strongman

2009-07-18T07:31:00.006-05:00

Well, today was it. Back to work, and back to the events. My strategy right now is, as you may have read, to keep the main thing the main thing (Deadlift, Stones, Press). So that's what I did today. I started out with a clean and press / push press with a barbell and some bumpers. With the heavy floor presses on Thursday I kept the volume low on the pressing and really wanted to get back into moving a barbell quickly so I lightened up on the cleans. Squat cleaning a barbell is just about the most difficult and un-natural movement in the world for me to perform. I tried a few at 135lbs and just wasn't feeling it. So I went back to what I do best... doing a barbarian high pull/upright row and hoping it lands on my shoulders just right so I can press it. It worked.

I performed the frame deadlift with zero back pain, and even got the 620lb. deadlift that I missed 12 days ago relatively easily. Good form no back rounding, stayed tight, I'll take it. Tim wanted to give yoke walking a try, so whilst I deadlifted he walked up and down the driveway with my old trusty yoke, worked up to ~600lbs with relative ease (not bad for a first timer, but then again he is a big mac daddy powerlifter).

Last was the stones... a little on the light 215lb with no tacky, then 240 with tacky... now we also have this stone that my training partner and I tried to pour with some styrofoam in the middle. Well, the string anchoring the styrofoam down came loose, the foam floated to the top and we ended up Jerry rigging a stick in there to hold the thing somewhat in the center. then the mold came apart and now we have a ~300lb egg shaped reminder of what not to do when making a stone... But being that it is the only intermediary between 240 and 335 we gave it a shot. Tim likended our stone situation with having to train your bench press and all you've got is 100lb. plates, never the less he got the egg in his lap a couple of times, I got it off the ground, but nowhere near my lap. We managed to make a nice big mess in the carport gym this morning, I Kept my back healthy, trained my weanesses, I was good with that.

This afternoon me and the wife got out and tried to declare war on the Wysteria that has taken over our yard... I'm counting that as my cardio.

Rainy Days and Mondays

2009-07-06T19:27:00.007-05:00

I took off work for a whole week, and we are headed to the beach tomorrow. It picked today to rain and that was fine by me. Hopefully, it will get it out of it's system before we arrive on the Alabama Gulf Coast tomorrow.

I wanted to get in a "main thing" workout today and then take off a few days before getting back into a regular training schedule in the coming weeks. As you read previously, my primary weaknesses are stones (from lap to platform) and side-handle deadlifts. I tackled both today in sort of a primer for the coming weeks just to gauge where I'm at.

I stacked up my bumper plates on a loading pin to do some keg squats. This really reminds me of those ring stacker toys for babies... This is the strongman version. Here, I simply wanted to replicate the transition from lap to platform involved in stone loading. I also felt like this was a good accessory to the front squats. I worked up to 220 x 2 sets of 3 (all I could do to hold onto it).

Next I did some frame deadlifting. There is somthing about a side-handle deadlift that ties my lower back in knots. I broke out my frame that I made up to practice for GSM (turns out it was almost the exact dimensions)and I worked up in sets of five. I've got a dozen red Panatta Sport 15kg plates that Sue Kazmaier sold me when Kaz Fitness Center closed in downtown Auburn. I have no doubt these were some Kaz had made when he was in the fitness equipment business. Likely, from his personal collection. I always wondered if I should Ebay them...

Anyway, I loaded it up to 480lbs for 5 then went for 620 for 1, couldn't budge it, could have knocked me over with a feather. So I dropped down to 580lbs pulled for 1 with excellent form, pulled again, my back rounded, back tied in a sailor knot, and I was done for the day. Good form is going to be key in keeping my low back healthy, and I went totally raw on all sets because I wanted to work on tighness and not rely on a belt. I've likely pulled my last heavy single on these for a long time. Now I'm just going to work in sets of five and eight until I get my strength back.

It was a rainy day under the carport, but I got alot of work done. My old faithful hound was my only audience as she sat behind the storm door as she usually does and watched me work. Apparently all that watching made her tired she's slept on my foot the whole time I've typed this. So tomorrow I'm headed to the beach and I'm going to take a few days off. Much serious training is ahead of me in the coming weeks, but, for now, this strongman is going to get some sun, listen to the waves, eat some seafood, and take a few dozen naps. Thanks for reading, have a great week.

Front Squats and Tomato Sandwiches

2009-06-29T20:16:00.012-05:00

Today was a day of firsts. It was the first time I front squatted in at least 5 years (and you could tell). Today was also the day I walked to my garden on the side of the house and picked my first red, ripe, juicy big boy tomato. Now, well get back to the training here in a minute...

I'm born and raised in the south. In addition , I'm a connoisseur of fine southern cuisine. The finest of that cuisine may just be a tomato sandwich.

Now, I'm going to make a bold recommendation to Southern (and all ) Strongmen everywhere - Eat more tomato sandwiches. Here are some easy steps you can follow.

get a red, ripe, (not store bought) tomato.
get two pieces of white sandwich bread (unfortunately all I had was wheat)
get some mayonnaise
slice the tomato
apply the mayonnaise to the bread
make the sandwich
feel the molten hot surge of strength go to your muscles and go deadlift like a Gillingham.

So, back to training. I front squatted and my vastus medialis's are feeling the burn. I plan on alternating these with my band squats. My back has really been giving me fits since the contest, so after my front squats I did some leg pressing just to take the heat off my back. I also threw in some heavy abdominal work just to see if some muscular imabalances might be the issue with the back pain, I'm going to keep these steady in the routine.

Now, go eat yourself a Tomato Sandwich... and some biscuits, and some grits, and some fried chicken, and some watermelon... Feels good to be a Southern Strongman...

Out of the hole

2009-06-23T21:16:00.006-05:00

Competition is the only means by which a strength athlete really discovers their limitations and weaknesses. With my second contest behind me, I was quickly able to identify areas that need attention. I could have made a list a mile long, but I can't fix a mile long list before October. So, instead, I picked three things. These are the three things that cost me a decent placing at GSM and since they are applicable to my next contest (I think) they are the three things I will address most heavily in the coming weeks.

Log Press / Overhead press strength

Stones

Axle / Sidehandle deadlifting

Simple enough. Let's start with #1. Traditionally I have been a poor presser, but that is no excuse. Being that my next contest features a Max log press, I can put the notion of pressing for reps out of my head and focus on getting a respectable maximum lift. I have always been able to move anything off my chest, the bottom portion of the lift has never been an issue. Lock out and mid range strength has been. I likely will abandon bench pressing in favor of floor pressing with a shoulder width grip, just to work the top portion of the lift and my triceps. I also plan on including Heavy weight low volume log pressing in my weekly routine and plan on being a technician in regard to the push-jerk technique, which means I'll have to be comfortable catching a heavy log overhead in a half squat position (and not just during warmups). Something I find difficult to do. So, to summarize, Log press alot, Triceps alot, and put some Olympic in my log press. Goal = 300lb. press in October.

#2. The stones cost me and I failed to finish strong. So Saturday I'm going to pour me a ~290lb 21" stone, because, as someone told me, it's not necessarily the weight as much as the diameter that matters. I need to get used to a larger stone as well as a heavier one. Also, sigh, I guess I'll start front squatting. I tried to avoid it, but I think it's necessary if I'm ever going to get out of the hole. What I am doing right now instead is box squats to a 9" box with medium bands. I'm going to rotate these into my front squats until I can go heavier on them. I can lap a very heavy stone, I just can't get started up. Other accessory exercies are going to be keg squats (probably going to use a loading pin and bumper plates), handle squats standing in a tire, and Svend Karlsen presses. Goal = 4 out of 5 stones in under 30 seconds

#3 If you had told me at the beginning of the GSM contest that I wouldn't have been able to budge a 650lb. frame I wouldn't have believed you. Three weeks prior I picked up a 670 frame and held it for a several seconds. My deadlift strength, in any regard has always been hit or miss, So I'm going to work good form sidehandle style deadlifting and axle deadlifting. To help we these I'm going to go back to my old friend the good morning. I haven't done these in a while and it shows. My hamstring and erectors are obviously lagging and out of shape, so in addition to the deadlift, the good morning is going to be my bread and butter. Goal = 600lb axle deadlift, 750lb frame deadlift.

So there it is, my big three. The things that seem most important to me right now in terms of showing well at the October contest in Tennessee. I'll be establishing baseline numbers in the next few days so I'll know where to start. Stay tuned.

Let the Overhaul Begin

2009-06-17T12:20:00.008-05:00

As I mentioned earlier, back pain, foot pain, and fatness were some of the problems I wanted to deal with after the contest was finally over. So today it began, sort of. The Overhaul must a happen or I imagine by the time I'm forty, I'll have a host of other problems to deal with.

I decide to spend the next few weeks working on barbell strength and overall conditioning before going back to the heavy events days in prep. for the Contest in TN in October. The only two events I plan on working on during this time are the Log and Stones, my worst two events. I plan on including lots of dog walking, swimming, and stretching and sled pulling for conditioning work. At least that is the plan. Plus I love a barbell, and sometimes the stark cold simplicity of a heavy bar that resists movement is a delight to hold.

I got to the gym around 6:30am and ran into a friend of mine that's done a couple of olympic weightlifting competitions. We talked about the GSM contest, how I came in last, and how it might best be prevented next time. He joked about how at his first Oly. contest last summer he got beat by a girl... Granted that girl went on to place at Weightlifting Collegiate Nationals, but she was still a girl.

I kept things light today, I didn't realize how sore my sinews still were from Saturday's show until I grabbed a hold of that barbell.

AM:

Axle barbell complexes40lb X alot of rowing, upright rows, presses ect.

130lb. x more of the same, several sets of overhead press x mult. reps, and rows of various kinds, I even praticed my continental clean a little, rainbow presses ect.

Lying dumbell tricep extensions 35lb x 15 x 3sets
Hammer low row 180 x 10, 240 x 10 x 2, throw in a few DB curls for my sore lt. bicep 25 x 15

PM:

Walked into Chinese Buffet x 50 feet

Filled Up Plate with Chinese Goodness x 3sets

Fork to Mouth x 247 reps
Pulled handle on Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine x 2

did I mention I needed to deal with the fatness?....

Georgia's Strongest Man 2009

2009-06-14T07:13:00.024-05:00

We arrived at the Fitness Depot on around 9am Est. yesterday morning, the sun was already getting hot as we were setting up our canopy next to the venue. I was as anxious about this as I have been about anything. My goals for my second outing in strongman were simple; set personal records, don't scratch on any event, fight to the end, and don't come in last place. I got three out of the four, but considering the talented group across the board, I was happy to hang in there.

After going through some warmups on the equipment and playing around on the Conan's Wheel, Scott Helms(the meet promoter) and Tom Kaufman (Head Judge) gathered us all together for the rules meeting, And then we were off to finish warmups and get ready for the contest.

The log clean and press for reps with 255lbs. was up first. And I tied my best log press on the first press with a good lift. My second press attempt I lost control of when it drifted behind me, forcing me to drop the log, after that failed attempt I cleaned it again but just didn't have it in me to get it overhead. Lonny Fehr, who holds the amateur world record in the log press, came up behind me a tried to talk me through getting one more good press, but it just wasn't in me. Lonny, who was also competing in the SHW, consistently did this for many athletes during the day, taking time to motivate, coach, and contribute to the success of the other competitors. I can't say enough good things about him, Mark Cummings (LA State Chair for NAS) and all the Louisiana crew that came to the show. Lonny, Jim, and some of the other guys got up and showed how it was done as their reps on the log dang near entered the double digits.

The Conan's Wheel, which I had been apprehensive about, turned out to be not as bad as I thought, I actually beat a few folks on this one, but it was a beast.

The Medley is where I had a meltdown. The 270lb farmers never felt comfortable in my right had so 8ft. from the finish the I dropped the weight, it rattled me. I then did a second pick with the farmers to get it to the finish line, and ran over to the frame only to find it glued to the ground. My new friends Brad Stanford and Jim Whisman both got the unwieldy frame off the ground and went a considerable distance with it. One of the highlights of the day, came with Mac McAllister finishing the medley of 270lb farmers./650lb frame/~350lb tire sled drag. In talking with Mac shortly before the event I said "I've been dreading this all day", and he said "I've been looking forward to this". He no doubt came prepared and knocked it out. In the picture to the right you see Master's winner Cedric Woriax chalking up for a great medley run himself.

The tire flip was the fourth event... I hate a tire flip. But the tire they used for the heavies was a 750lb beauty that is nearly identical to the one next to my carport right now. So I managed five flips and was glad to get 'em, another pr for that big a tire, I'm sure plenty of folks got all ten flips. I know Jim "oak tree" Whisman did.

The stones were last, I taped up and slathered my self in tacky and waited my turn. I had run out of steam, but I just had to gut out one more. I loaded the heaviest stone I've ever loaded by putting up the 290lb second stone. I got the 310lb third stone in my lap but just didn't have the juice to put it up. Fellow strongman Jim Whisman had the gas in the tank to make it through four stones and secured his second place spot while 1st place Lonny Fehr and 3rd place Mac McAllister looked on.

I've spent the last few months training for GSM '09 and I knew I wouldn't be the strongest, but was glad to hang in there and have a good time. At the end of the day it was time to pack up and head back to Sweet Home Alabama. Now to rest up, go back to the gym and get ready for the next one. I want to thanks Scott Helms and Dane Garreau for running a smooth, entertaining, efficient show. Thanks to Tom Kaufman for spot on judging. Also thanks to Lonny Fehr, Mark Cummings, Jim Whisman, Brad Stanford, Kevin Morgan, Cedric Woriax and all the other competitiors for all the advice and motivation before during and after the contest. It was a great day, and what strongman is all about.

Last Day of Training

2009-06-09T17:27:00.005-05:00

Well, today was it. I'm managed to escape my training without any crippling injuries. Now only to eat and sleep and wait for Saturday.

Today looked like this
squats- bar x 10, 135 x 5 x 2, 225 x 5 x 2

2" bar Bench Press
Bar x infinity, 135 x 15, 185 x 10, 225 x 10

Push Jerks 2" bar
bar x 5, 135 x 5 x 2, 185 x 3

Parallel Grip Lat Pulldowns
135 x 15, 180 x 12, 225 x 10

The Week Before

2009-06-08T19:40:00.003-05:00

Two weeks ago I couldn't bend down to tie my shoe without a bolt of lightening ripping down my back and left leg. The second toe on my left foot is killing me and goes numb if I stand up too long. Both my knees ache pretty much all the time, a recent development ever since my Earth suit turned 30. And I haven't slept through the night in quite a while due to the fact the to lie down is to drown in my own fat, a phenomenon amplified by the fact that I can sleep no other way than on my stomach, my ever growing stomach...

I am a strongman.

It takes a special form of insanity to put your body through this. An insanity more dignified, noble, disciplined than all the others. Eight months ago I was a svelte 263 pounds, sporting a 40 inch waist (one more size and I could have shopped in the normal people section), my double chin had faded, and I would even get compliments consistently on my weight loss...

Enter the posting on NAS for Georgia's Strongest Man 2009. This was it, my chance to get in the game and do it on a shoestring budget. So training began shortly after New Year's and since then it has been a steady diet of "all you can eat" combined with gym lifting and events training on Saturday's. Twenty Seven Pounds later here I sit, winded from typing, limited to clothing with drawstrings and elastic waistes, only four days from my second debut (we won't talk about my first).

I don't expect to win, I'm realistic about my abilities. But one thing is for sure, I'm stronger now than I've ever been, older than I've ever been, and more excited about the challenge in front of me than I've ever been.

So before I go guzzle yet another Protein Shake here is a rundown of my last events day. Saturday the 6th of June, just wanted to do a dry run and take it easy:

Log - empty x gagillion, 135 x 5, 175 x 3 (working on push jerk>), 205 x 2, 225 x 1, 235 x 1
Frame Carry - 210 x 100ft, 340 x 50ft. x 2 (set down turn around pick up), 480 x 50 x 2 (held it a few extra seconds did some shrugs)(also, did a couple extra deadlifts with it)
Tire Flip (540lb.) flip x 2,flip x 15
Gasped for air and tried not to vomit x 5 minutes
Stones over 54" bar 215lb x 1, 240lb. x 3 x 2
Tried to close my friend's #2 CoC gripper x unsuccessful, wow that is tough

Tonight:
Walked dog x 45 minutes
Watered Tomato Plants x 5 minutes