I love training with Sandbags. They are simple and brutal. Overall, they are an all in one gym and you can mimic a lot of barbell lifts with the sandbag along with old fashioned farm boy work; carry, throw, loading on platforms, etc. Of course, thanks to the sensitivity of the internet, there are coaches who are crying over who started to train with sandbags first. Or, they think they invented this or that exercise. They can finally SHUT UP, that would be great. Before any of us were … [Read more...]
A Day at DeFranco’s – The Strongman Challenge
Yesterday I made the one hour trek up north to my homeboy Joe D's gym, and damn, what a gym it is, I'm in heaven there. The atmosphere is always high octane and steel is always clanging together or being dropped on the floor. It was our 2nd year competing in Joe D's strongman contest, and this year we brought 1 high school athlete and 5 college athletes. Unfortunately, 2 were unable to attend due to injury and family vacation. I had a wedding to attend yesterday and I was big time pressed … [Read more...]
It’s FREE and Awesome!
Ya gotta love these...they're FREE and they get you freaking strong! My motivation all began when I visited the tire yard in town, and I spent about 30 seconds wrestling a tire to flip it over, which damn near killed me. Then, the "Tire Yard Freak" walked up, took a few puffs of his cigarette, threw it down, and flipped the tire 3 times in a row....no knee lift, ALL power. Just a pure FREAK! His strength shook me up and woke me up. Why? Because he wasn't a guy "lifting weights" in the gym, he … [Read more...]
LIFT STRONG Fundraiser – You In?
This Saturday, our LIFT Strong fundraiser is going down. The competition will be heated and anyone who doesn't have the eye of the tiger is lunch meat for the rest, it's that simple. Predator or Prey. Your training will tell the truth at LIFT STRONG. The training has been hard, but maybe not hard enough. The Competition will tell us if we have done our work or not. There will be lots of spectators, so remember, you're also invited :) The Events Will Be: … [Read more...]
You’re invited to my gym!
In case I forgot (which I think I did....) On Saturday, May 10th, at 12 Noon, I will be holding my annual LIFT Strong fundraiser, a strongman contest for my athletes who are raising money to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Feel free to come and watch. Looks like we have approx. 15 competitors attending. This event is done out of respect and admiration for my close friend and mentor, Alwyn Cosgrove who created the product at http://LIFTstrong.com. There is no fee to come … [Read more...]
Modern Day Milo
If you've been visiting my Blog for a few weeks you may recall my old post about our young Football Player / Wrestler who carries a 100 lb sand bag on his back after every workout at The Underground Strength Gym. Well, as simple as it is, he is getting to be one strong mofo! His box squats are getting better and bigger.... His tire flips are looking meaner and more explosive..... His traps are starting to stretch through his t shirts.... His competition is paying the … [Read more...]