Among weightlifters you see psyching up fairly commonly. Among people that do bodyweight training you don’t see it nearly as much. Why is that? Do you know? If you go back in the sports psychology research from about 30 or so years ago one of the things they often talk about is “Arousal …
Gus Hill
Gus Hill was a strongman most famous for Indian clubs performances born in 1858 in New York. Gus was rather slim by today’s standards, as he stood 5’8″ weighing 148lbs. Apart from mastering Indian clubs, Gus was involved in wrestling and boxing and that’s how he made his first public …
How to Get Freaky Strong and Cut Fat
A lot of people are wondering how to cut fat and get freaky strong at the same time. Lets talk about basics first. For cutting fat, before anything else you’ll want to focus on your diet. You’ll need to eat less, so your body can burn fat instead of relying …
What Drives Me? – Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
I’ve received an interesting question the other day. This person wanted to know what drives me to push myself further than a normal gym-goer to become a strongman. Below is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which I already talked about before, but I thought it would be good to include it …
My First Grip Competition
Even though I’ve been doing grip training off and on for a number of years I’ve never competed in it. Part of the reason for this is I just didn’t want to travel the long distances that were often involved in order to be able to compete in this relatively …
Tromp Van Diggelen
Tromp Van Diggelen was a strongman, author and teacher born in 1885 who endured a sickly childhood like many old-time strongmen. He actually almost died three times as a child, from pleurisy, pneumonia and bronchitis. However, his mother was determined to have a healthy kid and she decided to set …
Diet for Strength
Does it really matter what you eat for building strength? First of all, if you are looking to reduce fat or build muscle, then proper diet is essential for those specific goals. Nonetheless, what most people do not realize is that building strength doesn’t have to go hand in hand …
Pre-Workout AMPLIFICATION
The nutrient I talked about yesterday also has a certain effect which has helped me to significantly increase the results in my workouts. But it must be used in the RIGHT way and in combination with a few other things. When I first started physical training I was bodybuilding in …
The Old School Dumbbell Swing
I recently wrote an article for BreakingMuscle.com on Dumbbell Swing by Arthur Saxon, but since it was described in text I thought it would be a good idea to make a video for it since most people haven’t seen this lift before. Dumbbell swing is rarely practiced these days, but …
The Mighty Atom
Joseph Greenstein, better known as The Mighty Atom, was a strongman from Poland born in 1893. He weighed only 4 pounds at birth, born prematurely with additional health issues which made doctors believe he won’t live longer than a couple of hours. Against all odds, Greenstein survived this ordeal, only …
Vertical and Horizontal Presses and Pulls
I received a question regarding the balance between vertical presses and horizontal presses and pulls, with vertical exercises like pull-ups, overhead barbell press or handstand pushups versus horizontal presses like bench press, dumbbell rows, inverted rows and similar horizontal movements. Do you really need to do all of these to …
Each Sport Has Big Lifts by Jedd Johnson
This is a guest article from Diesel Crew’s Jedd Johnson. In every strength sport, there are one or two lifts or events that ALL the competitors look forward to testing themselves on and that the audience can’t wait to see. In Powerlifting, it’s the Bench Press. In Strongman, it’s the …
David Blazer
David Jacob Blazer was a sailor and strongman born in 1886. He was most popular between 1914-1918 as a strongman performer, but David also for appeared in numerous ads for the Maxalding course as Seaman Blazer. Furthermore, David Balzer was featured in “History of the Iron Game” by a well-known …
Top 5 Strongwomen
Even though oldtime strongmen are the ones who are most recognized for their incredible power and ability to execute extraordinary feats of strength, many strongwomen have also performed in circus shows, music halls and carnivals on a regular basis throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, showcasing their strength. They did …
Louis Uni
Louis Uni was a strongman born in France in 1862, most popular for his grip strength. Before he became Apollon the Mighty, Louis ran away from home when he was just 14 to perform for Caramagne circus, but a couple of policemen spotted him during a performance and brought him …