Just wanted to let you know…
If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on a real book to read this is what you’ve been waiting for. We’ve got 100 in stock.
I don’t think we’ll run out soon, but who knows. Its already been super popular since the ebook version came out last month. Go ahead and grab it today.
Friday kicks off the annual sale of Girl Scout Cookies. So after you’ve purchased 10 boxes of Tagalongs and Thin Mints, hid behind the powerack and gorged on them, you’re going to need to find something to do with the excess calories and the crumbs that make an awesome organic chalk.
There are many things you can do in training out there and I think everyone should be doing some incredible combination of bodyweight exercises, weightligting with barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells as well as odd object lifting with barbells, barrels, rocks, sandbag type implements and tires. Combine that with some crazy conditioning with kettlebells, sledgehammers, clubs, maces, cables and everything else in between. I think there’s no reason to use a base set of exercises as well as many other exercises for variety and for training the body from every other possible angle and for every possible challenge.
One of the greatest ways to train the body is to train strongman feats. Dennis Rogers has a base set of six feats, I myself have six to eight feats that I train on a regular basis that I believe work the body from just about every angle and build a real world applicable to show publicly as well as applicable to use in any situation. Here’s how it breaks down:
Bending steel builds ferocious hand and arm power, driving nails builds incredible striking power, bending long bars builds incredible upper body musculature, scrolling bends builds phenomenal abdominal power as well as strength from many angles, pressing of people or odd object from overhead builds incredible upper body as well as total body unification, massive weightlifting or walking for instance back lifting large loads or picking up and carrying barrels or yokes builds tremendous strength, phone book and card tearing builds astonishing different level pinch grip, hand and grip strength. Horse shoe bending builds abdominal strength as well as a grip that’s ferocious and upper body pushing and pulling power. Spike bending builds that same pushing, pulling, crushing power.
All of these together build your body and build your ability in a way that’s almost impossible to attain through traditional training methods. They build a quality of muslce that’s improbable to develop with those traditional methods. They take extended contractions, contractions from different angles, isometric level contractions, that build quality into the muscle, burn fat, and destroy myths of useable strength. You can do anything when you build this level of strength. You can use your body in ways that most people never thought possible.
So after you’ve found your local Girl Scout Cookie dealer, head on over here, grab these DVDs and start bending your way to phenomenal power, strength, fitness: Feats of Strength DVD
So if you have ever worked out, told anyone you worked out, look like you work out, have any reasonable set of muscles, ever spoken about weightlifting or strength training in any capacity, you inevitably get this question:
“How much do you bench press?”
That to me has become one of the most annoying questions in the world, because the bench press is simply not the best gauge, or even remotely close to being a good gauge of true whole-body strength. It is simply the default motion that everybody understands and knows. We are attracted to upper-body strength as human beings. We’ve come to see the bench press because its gained massive popularity, as the badge of strength. There’s nothing wrong with the bench press. Not everybody can do it for a lifetime, but it’s not a bad exercise like some of the strength writers say. On the flip side its not the end all be all of strength, not even close. It’s a great upper body exercise. Is it the greatest one? I don’t believe so. But it is the inevitable question of every ridiculous thing that the average uninformed person has as far as strength or fitness.
I have a friend who is a female bodybuilder. Extremely muscular woman. She got that question so many times over the course of her life that she began to answer it in ways to amuse herself telling people amazing things and they believed every word of it. For instance she was about 140lbs – a very thick and muscular woman, but not any massively huge individual and while she did legitimately bench near 300lbs during her powerlifting career, but she would tell them 400 or 500lbs or whatever she decided to make up, because she was so annoyed by the question and it was amusing to listen to her tell people these extreme answers.
So how do you stop the question? First of all you can’t stop it – it’s pervasive in our culture. It’s like trying to stop people from talking about pop stars or Facebook. However I think you can answer it in some creative ways. I have been asked that hundreds of times and at least several times in every strongman show. My answer is always the same: “I don’t bench press.”
Now I do occasionally bench press, however I don’t use the exercise as a massive part of my normal training repertoire. Here’s what I tell people – “It doesn’t help what I do therefore I don’t do it regularly.” If you want to really answer the question bend them a spike, a nail, a bolt – “I don’t bench press, but here’s what I do.”
There’s an old story in wrestling that talks of two men coming to a meet, they were having a pre-tournament press conference and one man was renowned as a bench presser/weightlifter and the reporters asked the other man, “What do you bench press?”
He answered, “Not much,” and then walks over to his bag, opens it up, grabs a pair of pliers, sticks a bolt in the jaws of the pliers, squeezes and snaps the pliers in half simply by his grip. The idea being that there’s a whole other world of strength and another way to expose people to that. Building hand strength, building bending strength, building that kind of ability, which you should be building anyway for real world ability and the best total strength you can possibly have. This defeats the bench press question.
“I don’t bench press, but I can do this.” That generally stops the question and it stops people in their tracks. Answer the question with what you can do, because that makes people understand the concept of strength much better.
If you want to learn more about bending steel and strongman then check out our Feats of Strength DVDs
Well it’s 2012! I cannot believe 2011 went by so quickly. It was an amazing year for us with the release of multiple new products, finishing a tour of the United States and we’re set up to tour again. We’re prepping some many cool new things. This past year I made a bunch of new friends and met some amazing people. Thanks to all that 2012 is starting with a great new business plan in general.
Here’s the thing – You get a brand new start every year, every day. What are you going to do with it? If you wanted to get stronger make a plan and follow through with the plan. If you want to get in better shape make a plan, follow through with the plan. You want fat loss, you wanna get leaner then make the plan and follow through with it. You don’t have to make it crazy complicated but you’ve gotta be committed to what you want and seeing those goals to fruition. There’s no turning back on the goals in your life if you really want to get things done if you wanna be successful, whether that means to get stronger, be more enduring, have great fat loss, wanting to build athletic ability and get into incredible shape.
Do you want to get out of pain, have more money, have a better life, better relationships, a better marriage, better everything? Then make the plan and follow through with the plan. Life is a continual learning process and one of the things I learned a long time ago is that when you get ready to do these things and accomplish your goals you don’t let the day to day upsets derail you. When it’s a real goal, something you really want to do no matter what you nail yourself to that goal and there is no stopping, no turning back no matter how long, how hard, how crazy it is.
The thing is – most of the things we talk about are absolutely easy. Getting better at the things you want to do is conceivably one of the easiest things you can do. Just make a plan and follow through with it. Do you know how simple it is to get strong? Read our books, you can find out – it’s very simple. Pick a big exercise you want to get strong in, work it once to four times per week, moderately hard for low repetitions and add weight on a regular basis. It’s not hard. You want to get enduring, grab a kettlebell or a bodyweight exercise and then start knocking it out for repetitions and don’t quit until you’ve got massive endurance. You want fat loss? Do those things and eat better. Eat your vegetables and protein and cut everything else down to a minimum. Drink lots of water and reduce your stress. You want better sex? Get better love with your partner/spouse. Be smart about it. Build a better relationship and work on your Qi Gong related to buiding your sexual ability. You want more money? Have a business plan, a better business plan and have a plan that doesn’t rely on the econcomy or the downturns of life and business. Do what you love, that’s where the real money is.
If you want to have a better life make those goals count – then nail yourself to those goals and don’t quit. You’ve got a brand new year – what are you going to do with it? Are you going to get more vitality? Get our course. Do you want to be made of iron and burn fat off like you never believed? Get our course, “I WIll Be Iron.” Do you want to get super strong, check out our other materials. Learn what it is you want to do, because whatever goal you have you’ve got to have the knowledge to take care of it. We’ve given you most of that – now go do it. Don’t quit and challenge yourself every day.
What are you going to do? Are you going to make the most out of this year? Then make a plan and jump on it!
Happy New Year and all our best for 2012!
We truly appreciate all of you and hope that your holidays have been richly blessed and full.
I had intended to put up a holiday message before now, but in the words of Bob Cratchet, “I am behind my time. I was making rather merry yesterday…”
This year has been an monumentous for us with the touring the US doing a strongman show for school assemblies, the first of many training seminars with Logan and myself, DragonDoors launch of, “I Will Be Iron,” and the release of my newest project, “Super Vitality,” it was a productive, busy and amazing year for us.
In everything you do, while you’re celebrating this time of year remember to take time to appreciate and live in the stillness and peace of the season. You should take time to do this throughout the year, not just during the Christmas season, because while productivity and business of life is good, it’s just as important to be still and appreciate all that’s around you, celebrate your accomplishments and those of your family and simply rest in the joy of life.
I wish you all well and pray your year and holidays have been outstanding!
We’re going to talk to you about the brand new Super Vitality course. 3 CD’s, 8 DVD’s and a giant workbook to give you everything you could possibly learn, how to build energy for every part of your life. So if you want to make the best of your potential and you absolutely can, you’ve got to know how to build that vital energy, that lasting energy. The spirit that conquers the planet, that spread us all over the world. Its there in you but you’ve got to learn how to unlock the energy to get it out.
Trees grow towards sunlight. Your natural inclination ought to be moving towards energy. If you look at most people they’re incredibly lacking in vitality. They can’t get out of bed in the morning. Now if they can’t get out of bed, they can’t concentrate, they can’t get their stuff done, they can’t keep it together. Any little challenge, a sniffle, a rain storm, 105 degree heat like this is today, might stop them. It does stop most people. I’m about to turn 38. I see most people my age talking about their aches and pains. They’re decrepit. They don’t feel good. They don’t want to jump out and conquer the world.
Listen you ought to be getting better, tougher and stronger in every area of your life. If you’re aching at 38 or even 58 this is going to show you how to fix it. The tree grows towards the sunshine and you can grow towards energy if you just do the work. You’ve got to make the decision to do it and part of making the decision is learning. That’s something we talk about in the course. Listen you need to absolute decide that you can and will have that energy and vitality no matter what. And if you want to learn how, you make the due diligence, you make the decision to get the knowledge to gain new vitality and energy. This course will help you do it. Its an incredible value and incredibly thorough.
Did you know that Qi Gong is one of the incredible ways you can build vital energy? Vital enough to not be rattled by anything. In fact, I’m doing this DVD promo in a 105 degree heat and a rain storm and I just don’t care. Why? Because I’m in shape. I have incredible vital energy and the reason I have is going to be taught to you in this Super Vitality course.
I’ve really gotten into Qi Gong. Why? Because it helps you release stress, calm every part of your body, as well as open up the channels of internal energy, throughout the body, and you can learn to put that together with every type of other physical, hard style energy. You can get incredible energy that lasts. One that drives to the other. Hard style energy that builds your internal energy. And the internal energy that keeps your hard style energy going no matter what. Yin and yang together. Its not a religious philosophy, but simply a universal truth. Everything has balance and you need both of those to release stress.
In our DVD’s, CD’s and workbook we’re going to have an incredible amount of info on de-stressing, on building all the physical things you need and everything else so make sure you check it out.
God bless you all on this thanksgiving! If your not in the USA then be blessed wherever you are. We can all take a moment to reflect and be thankful! We’re almost all more blessed than we realize. Take a moment to say thanks to God and those you love and those who keep us safe.
Wanted to also say thank you to all our friends, customers and subscribers for reading and supporting us! Thank you for making this site and our strength, fitness and life missions possible.
I also wanted to say that no matter what you hear from the fitness guru world to have some fun and real life perspective during these holidays. You’ve probably seen messages telling you to keep dieting and not eat this season. I say that’s hogwash! Yes always do what you can to eat the best most natural food you can. However if your doing that and working out regularly the holidays are time to relax. Don’t be stupid and don’t eat 10 lbs of candy every day for the next 6 weeks. What I’m advocating is a realistic long term perspective. Fitness and diet isn’t what you do by suffering on the holidays, its what you do all year. Feeling deprived regularly is how and why people fail to get fit. Don’t make it a thing that leaves you no enjoyment of life! Do the work regularly and then get the most out of life when its time to celebrate!
One thing I’m celebrating is the release of my new book in ebook form from Dragondoor and here on Strongerman.com. Its called “I Will Be Iron” and it details how I lost 120lbs and remade myself and got superhuman endurance while keeping muscle and super strength by training the kettlebell swing. In fact from now on “black friday” will now be renamed as “Iron Friday!”. Enjoy you holiday, eat and then get I Will Be Iron and learn how to live a real life and with just a couple hours a week achieve all you fitness and fat loss goals!! Enjoy and be blessed.
BUD
I want to talk to you for a moment about the brand new entire training course that we’re putting out on vitality, on super human energy. I want you to have that energy for life and you can have it. Now one of the things that I did to help with vitality is I lost 120 lbs. Now I was never lacking in energy even at that time but I got in super human shape.
One of the things I did to do that was the kettlebell swing. And I’m going to start swinging here and keep talking to you at the same time. Why? Because I want to prove to you that you can be in shape, not just to do hard exercise, but to talk at the same time, and that’s real vitality.
I began to train the swing in a way that replicates the old style of heavy hands, or 3rd way cardio, which is something that Marty Gallagher has espoused. Its an incredible style of training. It gives you a level of vitality, of strength, of energy that you simply cannot match any other way. And one of the things that’s so incredible about it is it saves muscle. I lost nearly no muscle even though I lost 120 lbs. That’s an incredible thing especially for a high level athlete.
You can do that kind of training and never lose anything. You’re going to get incredible energy for every area of your life. You might even be able to see that I don’t care that its 105 degrees out here and raining. I don’t care. I have the energy to do anything I want. Part of the reason I have it is because of exercises like this and the training that I’ve done that I’m going to tell you about in this course. A very special, specific training to build every type of physical vitality to help you along the way. You can get incredible energy, but you have got to do the right stuff.
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The Freedom of Strongman
People ask me what I do professionally I have answered, “I am a powerlifter,” or a fighter or a highland games athlete or a football player or a grappler or a strongman. I can even say a professional and old time strongman when I’m answering the question about what I do and why am I big and strong, but what I’ve come to tell people and the word I like best in defining myself is “strongman,” because I believe that term implies freedom.
I think if you train strongman and especially if you train it in the way and the style that I like to do which is a combination of all the things that I’ve talked about. This includes lifting, throwing, odd object movements, grappling movements, conditioning, power, show feats and competitive feats and any type of real world strength you can think of. You build real strength that you can use in every situation so when you say you’re strong, you’re not joking, you’re not kidding and you’re not pseudo-strong.
You have the freedom to any type of strength that you want to train any way that you want. If you look at the strongman that are out there you see amazing different types of strength. Some of them are phenomenal at pressing yet they’re still pretty good at everything. Others are good at bending but again still pretty good at everything. Other strength athletes are good at stone pressing, but again good at everything. Some of my friends are even great bodyweight guys, yet are still pretty good at everything else inclusive of bending steel, doing strongman feats, stone lifting – you name it. In terming yourself as “strongman,” you need to have the overall strength to really carry the title. Seriously – don’t say you’re strong if you’re not strong.
With that being said you can still call yourself a strongman even if you can’t deadlift 1,000 pounds. Here’s why: There are different types of strength and many, many differnet styles. Build real strength to earn the term, but realize there’s freedom in it that’s not possible in almost any other way. You’re not locked into any other vein. In fact I’ve pulled from every other vein of strength to make myself better, to make myself stronger and carry that title. And take the “man” part seriously even if you’re a woman. In one of my favorite John Wayne movies he says, “To be a gentleman you have to be a man first, then you can be gentle.”
I think in being a man – having integrity, having personal power, personal magnetism, a purpose, a real direction in life, that physical and then mental and spiritual strength that you build form the training to be a strongman flows into it. It builds you both freedom to do what you want in life as well as the power to carry through and be a real person as well as a real man. Take that freedom and run. Pull from every vein of strength, be as strong as anyone in anyway you can, find your specialty and be incredibly strong. Do what you want but take your freedom seriously and get truly strong in all aspects.
Pick up your copy of “I Will Be Iron,” and begin applying training principals to gain your greatest strength.