MUSCLE CHURCH: Our Father, the Iron

I went in with every intention of doing some deadlifts but my good friend Sciatica had other ideas. The problem with being and old war horse is that sometimes those old war wounds dictate your future battles! However, I managed to shift to a shoulder routine that would keep me from standing so much, but ultimately pain won the day and it got cut short. No regrets though, shit happens and you have to improvise, adapt and overcome. I'm not quite at the level where I can 'redesign, rebuild and reclaim' but I'm getting there. Hoping to post a new video this week and update the columns on the site.With that, enjoy this moderately heavy shoulder workout! Stretching 8-10 minutes Elliptical 20 minutes Side Raises 15/12 reps x2, 20/12 Seated Overhead Press 105/15 x2, 155/12, 195/10, 215/8, 230/4 Shrugs (Neutral Grip Apparatus...I'm sure there's a better name) (add about 30 pounds for the apparatus) 270/20, 360/15, 520/15, 660/15 (with a reverse grip) 270/15 ...

I can't put it into words most of the time. Sometimes when people give me that look that says, 'why do you put yourself through all that' I just don't have an answer. I just smile back and say 'it is what it is' and the conversation falls away. I even had the idea that I'd create a website to try to tell the world why I do it but the truth is I really couldn't tell you. There are moments that stick out. I can remember workouts from years ago like they were yesterday and I remember how I felt and the moments when I broke through a barrier or in some cases, and perhaps even more rewarding, helping others break barriers. I guess in a way I look back at my lifetime in the gym thus far and I feel like it's a career of sorts and there are times when I realize that my life has been more defined by my time under the weights than anything. I remember the first time I loaded six plates on the military press and how it was so easy and looked so impressive! ...

An old pic of the guy I used to be! There's the old saying, 'the more things change, the more things stay the same.' Sometimes I think it's true because we don't venture too far from our roots, and when we do, we come back when things go haywire. Maybe not even haywire, just when things get to be sightly off-center we revert to what is learned because there's comfort there and something proven. That familiarity allows us to settle down, regroup and still feel like progress is being made. If you follow my post you know that I'm in a weird sort of limbo right now, and it looks like my career as a strongman is on hold for a wee bit. However, that doesn't mean I can just give up training, and in fact I need to get in even better shape to help me take care of the situation I have now. So I found myself thinking, 'what kind of training should I be doing?' The answer came to me quickly, and it was Jeet Kune Do. Now to be fair, I don't have a...

Thor's shirt really makes a statement! Hey everyone I’m back with two updates today, both featuring 2 time Europe’s Strongest Man, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson AKA The Mountain. What a lucky guy to get such a cool nickname…and the paycheck that surely comes along with being on one of TV’s hottest shows! Well, while he is strolling around collecting paychecks and challenging for World’s Strongest Man later this year, I am trudging along in my gym getting ready for my next contest in under 4 weeks! I’m not a huge fan of publishing my training journals because the pounds you lift in the gym don’t always correlate to what you can do at a contest. Oh let’s say a 700 pound squat in the gym when you're fresh and rested might only equate to 600 at a contest held outside in the summer and after a truck pull! I’d like to start sharing some more of my specific training theories though, but after this first contest when I can really sit down and analyze how my preparation related to m...

Sometimes talking about strength gets to be a little too self-serving for my taste and well, sometimes it gets to be a bit much. I'm not one to boast or brag because there is always someone bigger, stronger or faster but every now and then you find yourself in a situation where you just need to do something silly to get the job done. I present to you Exhibit A, "the stack!" I'm a big fan of using cables for assistance work, namely working my triceps and biceps. On my bench day I typically do one cable exercise for my triceps Today I was doing pressdowns with the V bar which I love but there's never enough weight on the stack. However, I found this tiny chain...(which I promptly forgot at the gym, but I digress...) And suddenly this stack that only goes up to 250lbs, became a much better stack that I went up to 295lbs on. However, not everyone understands that this stack doesn't fit my needs and next thing I know I got two of the so-called "trainer...

  John Skyler's Store at Pro Wrestling Tees  RAW AUDIO Episode 1... John Skyler AKA "The Southern Savior" has been red hot on the independent wrestling scene and is fresh off an appearance on WWE TV. He is a regular fixtures in WWE's developmental promotion NXT and have competed for various wrestling promotions all around the globe. I've known John since before he first entered the squared circle and we've spent countless hours dissecting the wrestling business but this is the first time we've recorded it! And this is as RAW as it gets, featuring some cogent discussion about the future of independent wrestling, his hectic schedule and a visit from a surly and unprofessional parking attendant! The Official John Skyler Twitter Feed! RAW AUDIO Episode 1 John Skyler...Click Here!

...something else! I had good speed squats and deadlifts (keep in mind me week begins on Saturday) around 405 and 500 respectively. Poundages moving up like I plan so I'm well pleased. My goal is to pull 650-ish at the contest in July as its a single rep event and the squat portion will be for reps so I'm not the least bit worried about that, I think the weight is about 450. Maybe the other guys should be worried... Got my harness in from the fine folks at www.prowriststraps.com who have the BEST customer service in the world, so there will be lots of truck pull practice coming along! Planned to post more this week but I got busy and then tonight I was going to add one or two posts but I started watching the Eddie Hall documentary (available on Vimeo) and it brought me to tears. I'm definitely a big supporter of his but now having seen his life a little more intimately...well, it got to me. Some of his struggles really hit home. Instead of being sad, I'm gon...

I love the sled leg press. With a burning, intense passion! No shame in my game, I love it and as I have progressed in terms of strength over the years I’ve found it to be an indispensable part of my leg training routines. My latest trip to the sled leg press, 1288lbs for 9 reps. Now there are some among you, general the less hardcore or perhaps those nursing injuries, who sing the praises of the leg press over the back squat because it is easier on the knees…allegedly. On the other side of course you have the hardcore strength athletes who never met a machine they liked and think the leg press just takes away from your squat time. Well to be clear I’m not advocating ANYTHING over the back squat, which is the 2nd best exercise known to man, after the deadlift of course, but I am advocating for greater inclusion of the leg press to the hardcore lifters and perhaps a reevaluation of leg training for the squat-less. My focus these days is strongman and will be for the foreseea...

How's it going out there everybody??? I want to talk a bit today about specificity and why it's important to you as an athlete and how you communicate certain things to a non-athlete. It's important to make that distinction here because A) I don't know how many people come here who compete and who doesn't and B) I think sometimes we get tunnel vision when we talk to non-athletes and alienate people who would otherwise be interested in what we're doing. For instance, I give you the King of Exercises, the deadlift! And by 'deadlift' I mean 'Conventional Floor Pulls with A Standard Bar.' I posted on Facebook a few weeks ago (link is to your right, btw) that I failed at this weight which is 485 and why I thought that was and how I planned to not fail the next time I tried this exercise. Now, to the average person they might think I 'deadlift' every week, and they'd be right, but I won't be doing these again for a...

Dig, if you will, a picture...of iron and steel so cold! That was my terrible homage to Prince (RIP) while I welcome you to my inaugural post here and talk about things being HEAVY! Now that might sound a bit silly considering this blog is about weightlifting and bodybuilding, specifically my journey into the world of strongman, but allow me to elaborate... What you see below is a wee bit over 900 pounds situated on the wonderful Nautilus branded deadlifted platform. I love this machine when I'm getting ready for a contest because the handles mimic how one would deadlift a car and they are about mid-shin level, so not too low and not too high. The day this picture was taken I was working deadlifts, specifically THESE deadlifts. My goal that day was to work up to as much weight as possible. That's about as much programming as I do these days, but I digress... The most I'd ever done on this apparatus was about 630 I think, so this day, I wanted to push 700 ...