Chris Rider, One Of My Top Students!

December 03, 2009

Specialty Tearing

November 26, 2009

TRUTH

November 26, 2009

An Alternative Conditioning Sunday

November 24, 2009

Sunday I decided to do a little “roadwork” so I hit various terrains with a few of my training implements.
First I grabbed a pair of eighty-pound dumbbells (roughly my weight) and walked on a flat surface until I nearly dropped, then pounded off a set of shrugs.
Next, I carried a 65 pound large homemade Globe Style kettlebell with a thick revolving handle up the 219 steep steps of Mount Baldy- also known as prayer mountain. There was also added difficulty, as the handle wasn’t fixed in placed – it was attached by a carabineer which caused it to swing in every direction and bang against my legs with every step I took. And if that wasn’t enough, I had to walk up with a bend arm so that the implement didn’t hit the steps.  Plus- I had to come back down!
Then, as a finale, I went for a walk with a large solid block on my shoulder while carrying the same homemade kettlebell. This became tricky as I walked across a wet dam and through a portion of a field that was both rocky and uneven, causing my body to have to fight to keep balance the whole step of the way.
It was a beautiful day and a great alternative conditioning workout! Next time I will incorporate my Gripbell Dumbballs.  

WRESTLE YOUR WAY TO BETTER CONDITIONING

November 24, 2009

For all of you into the so-called New Ways to get conditioned, get off the Ellipticals and those inflatable balls, and go back to one of the best old-school ways of training- Wrestling!
Even if you are not a grappler, wrestling against another man is a sure fire way to get in great shape. How do you think many of the oldetime greats got into shape? - By doing Roadwork and Wrestling of course.  As wrestlers, they needed to keep their timing up and the best way to do that was to wrestle.
All-out wrestling matches for just 5 minutes will make you feel like your body got hit by a Mack truck. Your heart will be pounding, you'll be sucking in air like a fish out of water, and your whole body will ache. All you have to do is get on the mat or in the ring and have at it.
Here are a few things that you can do to ensure a great workout:
  • Face your opponent, with your hands on each other’s chest. Began pushing and pulling as you attempt to take each other down.
  • Next, pull down on the back of each other’s head, pushing on the shoulders, as you try tripping and lifting each other until one of you goes down.
  • Starting with one man down, take turns as each of you try to keep the other from standing up.
You will find that wrestling is a great builder of functional strength. Plus, you will burn fat, gain insane tendon strength and feel 100x better- building a healthier and stronger you!
The famous strongman known as the Mighty Atom (pictured) got his start in the wrestling arena while traveling for 18 months with the wrestling champion Volanko and the Issakov Brothers Circus. The rest is history!
-Mike “The Machine” Bruce

Remembering John G. Marx

November 17, 2009

R You Ready?

November 17, 2009

Working Your Neck ...

November 16, 2009

He Bent A Quarter Mile Of Steel

November 05, 2009

Two areas of training that many aspiring oldetime-style strongmen and strongwomen overlook is cardio and building muscular endurance. Most feel that as long as he/she works on the feats that they wish to become proficient at, and supplement that practice with a heavy weight training routine, they are on their way to great success. Unfortunately, they are overlooking two crucial areas that will not only keep them from obtaining their personal best, but will keep them healthy and alive.
Cardio training is important and should never be overlooked. It will help alleviate stress, tension caused by the buildup of Lactic acid, as well as strengthen your heart and lungs. I get my cardio by jumping rope and from rapidly climbing the side of a place called Prayer Mountain (which consists of well over 200 steps up the side of a steep hill). My friend, celebrity Strength and Conditioning Coach, Tim Hallmark, gets his from running the rough terrain of the Hill Country, Master Strongman- Pat “The Human Vise” Povilaitis get his by mountain biking – ok…. I think you get the point.
Then there’s muscular endurance: Muscles so conditioned that they don’t want to quit- even though they have been hammered repeatedly. Having great muscular endurance has definitely accelerated my success. To be able to perform feat after feat without exhaustion has ushered in an array of positive comments from spectators as well as some of the best athletes in the world.
Grip Master and renowned professional strongman, John Brookfield is no different. He is not only strong, but he is one of the top athletes in the world when it comes to having muscles that just won’t quit. Just take a gander at only a handful of his accomplishments- which I’m sure you will agree, not only took some tremendous strength, but some off-the-charts muscular endurance:
  • Tore 60 decks of plastic-coated poker cards in half in exactly one minute.
  • Tore 100 decks of plastic-coated poker cards in half in two minutes and fifteen seconds.
  • Performed 302 snatches in ten minutes using a 53-pound kettlebell.
  • Did 1200 snatches in one hour exactly using a 53-pound kettlebell.
  • Bent 520 60 Penny nails into a U-shape in one hour and forty-two minutes.-Rolled up one-quarter mile of steel nonstop in 59 minutes. This world record was done by using 62 twenty-foot steel bars, which were 9/16" in diameter. Each bar was lying on the ground and had to be rolled up so tight that it fit into a small suitcase.
Amazing don’t you think? I think you will agree, John knows his stuff, so you might want to take a minute to check out his newest Secret Weapon.
-Dennis Rogers