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bblazer
Banned
For the past few months, I have had the privilege to be included into the "inner circle" of the Bergman strongman training facility. For a while now, Jason Bergman has been my training partner/coach in the gym as a powerlifter, and one day he invited me over to their place to see what I thought of the whole strongman thing. There, they are set up for nearly every strongman event except for Conan's Wheel and the Keg Deadlift.
While I'm not sure I would ever convert totally to a strongman style, I will say that it has a lot to offer those looking to build strength and anaerobic capabilities.
It may be my ego, but I would consider myself to be in the upper 20% of masters level powerlifters, at least regionally. If it weren't for a crappy bench, I believe that I could easily get 2k lb totals. But I am a complete pussy when it is strongman day at the Bergman farm. Those guys are the epitome of real strength.
So what has this additional training done for me? A couple of things.
1) It has taught me how "to be strong." What I mean by that is how to find more strength through directed activation of additional muscles. In other words, recruiting anything I need to get the job done.
2) Weight stability. For example, walking the squat bar out of the rack. Balance, and awkward movements with heavy weight is much more controllable.
3) Emphasis on form. Strongman events have a lot more complicated form than you may think. Many of them come close to Oly lifts when complicated form movements are compared. Take for example the classic log press. First, you need to pick it up to your knees, then "sit down" with it in your lap, then "roll" the log up your chest as you stand up, and finally the press. If any one of those goes wrong, you are in trouble. Don't even get me started about atlas stones....
4) How to take pain. No other "exercise" causes more pain than the strongman events. Thanks to the atlas stones alone, I have no skin on my forearms, and my chest is raw. Pick up a little 250 stone after you have applied sufficient tacky to your hands and arms and get back to me with your thoughts on this one....
In short, I think that if you have the opportunity to workout with any strongman, take them up on it. It doesn't matter if you are a BBer or a PLer, or something in between, there is a lot to be gained from it. Trust me.
B-
While I'm not sure I would ever convert totally to a strongman style, I will say that it has a lot to offer those looking to build strength and anaerobic capabilities.
It may be my ego, but I would consider myself to be in the upper 20% of masters level powerlifters, at least regionally. If it weren't for a crappy bench, I believe that I could easily get 2k lb totals. But I am a complete pussy when it is strongman day at the Bergman farm. Those guys are the epitome of real strength.
So what has this additional training done for me? A couple of things.
1) It has taught me how "to be strong." What I mean by that is how to find more strength through directed activation of additional muscles. In other words, recruiting anything I need to get the job done.
2) Weight stability. For example, walking the squat bar out of the rack. Balance, and awkward movements with heavy weight is much more controllable.
3) Emphasis on form. Strongman events have a lot more complicated form than you may think. Many of them come close to Oly lifts when complicated form movements are compared. Take for example the classic log press. First, you need to pick it up to your knees, then "sit down" with it in your lap, then "roll" the log up your chest as you stand up, and finally the press. If any one of those goes wrong, you are in trouble. Don't even get me started about atlas stones....
4) How to take pain. No other "exercise" causes more pain than the strongman events. Thanks to the atlas stones alone, I have no skin on my forearms, and my chest is raw. Pick up a little 250 stone after you have applied sufficient tacky to your hands and arms and get back to me with your thoughts on this one....
In short, I think that if you have the opportunity to workout with any strongman, take them up on it. It doesn't matter if you are a BBer or a PLer, or something in between, there is a lot to be gained from it. Trust me.
B-
