Missing Biceps

  Before I write any of this, I want to be clear: Jim Wendler is the owner of this program, and his work is fantastic. If you haven’t picked up a copy of 5/3/1, you should. It’s a great read and explains the principles of 5/3/1 better than I ever could. It’s 22 dollars, which compared to the useless supplements you are probably spending money on, is worth a buy.  https://www.jimwendler.com/products/5-3-1-for-powerlifting-ebook-version Why 5/3/1? I started my strongman journey believing I was a higher level than I was. Combine arrogance with being 22 years old (or the byproduct perhaps) and an undeserved ego, I rightfully got my ass handed to me in numerous shows. The issue? I simply wasn’t statically strong.  My legs were weak.  My back was weak.  My upper body? Weak.  My initial solution was to jump to complex ideas… “I have to press with chains and against bands, and sleeveless!”  This is all nonsense.  Not that bands and chains don’t have a pla...

  You Don’t Train to get Smaller and Weaker When I started this journey, I had cut from 250 to 175 after my high school season of football. My mass at 250 was sloppy, and what I really wanted was 6-pack abs. What I became was an eating disordered mess. Fortunately, strength training saved me and gave me my desire to be strong back.  I was on a podcast with my friends from Valor and Venom, when Paul Leonard said something to me that really resonated. “You don’t train to get smaller and weaker, you train to get bigger and stronger”. This sat with me for a bit after the podcast. It was one of those quotes that's so obvious yet eloquent, it makes you reflect on your own journey through training.  For me, I severely hindered myself during my first 4 years of serious strength training. I believed I belonged to the u80 class in strongman. I thought that I was too short to ever be a dominant u90 or u100. Truth be told, this wasn’t the case at all, and I was merely lying to myself...