Charles Bean
Interviewed by Sean Katterle
Sean Katterle - What competition options are there for lifters in the northwest who are looking to try out as strongmen? What organizations and federations exist and who's specifically doing the promoting?
Charles Bean - Great question! The NW has a good deal of contests each season, although most tend to be in Washington. The governing body for competitive strongman in the US is North American Strongman, Inc. (NAS) run by Dione and Willie Wessels. Most strongmen get a NAS membership card for $35/yr and it allows them to compete in and set records at any NAS-sanctioned contest. I'd say at least half the contests in the NW are NAS-sanctioned, and the other half are put on by strongman enthusiasts and/or athletes. There's a great deal of work that goes into putting a competition together (as I'm sure you know better than anyone!), and it can be useful to have the support of NAS, but that comes with a price of course.
The best places to look for upcoming contests are:
NAS Upcoming Contest Page
The Anvil
The Marunde Muscle Contest Page
Sean Katterle - How does a typical strongman competition work in regards to weight classes, divisions, ect? Is there usually prize money involved? Trophies?
Charles Bean - The bare minimum a competition will have is a lightweight and heavyweight men's division. Lightweight is under 231.4 pounds and heavyweight, of course, is everybody 231.5 and up. Most competitions will also have lightweight and heavyweight women's divisions, as well as teen lightweight and heavyweight. If there are enough competitors or interest, the show is likely to have 3-4 men's divisions: under 200, 200-250, 250-300 and possibly SHW/300+.
^^^155 Pound Single Arm Snatch w/ an Over Head Squat Finish^^^
Unless the competition is of the pro variety, it's very unlikely to have prize money awarded. Much more common would be gift certificates to some awesome places like Egg Whites International, US Wellness Meats (formerly Grassland Beef.) Ironmind is always a great supporter of the sport as well, offering lifting straps, gift certificates for Captains of Crush grippers, etc. If the meet promotor is a good hustler and builds up the competition they can usually get Bodybuilding.com and/or local supplement shops to donate gym bags filled with supplements, bars, shakes, etc.
As for trophies, I've only been to one contest that didn't have some form of take home prize indicating a podium finish. Trpohies are the standard, but people can get creative and have mini sculptures, framed certificates and swords/axes/misc. I also see a lot of medieval cutlery given out as awards. I just recently won a framed picture of myself competing in the log deadlift at Mt. Rainier's Strongest Man and Woman III - it was an outstanding prize and I give kudos to Kurtis and Laurie Bowler for putting on such a great show!
Not to be too corny, but the best prize is the feeling you have after you've spent your last reserves of energy competing against a field of athletes, and competing against yourself, and knowing you did your best. Knowing that you're walking away having put your heart and soul and guts and willpower into the competition.
Sean Katterle - What are the most typical lifting events at a strongman competition? What can someone do on their own to train for these specialty events? Where does a person learn how to properly flip a tire? Or load a stone onto a raised platform?
Charles Bean - You'll almost always find a deadlift of some kind, an overhead press, farmer's walk and usually a tire flip. You HOPE to find stones! Haha Most comps will fall into one of two categories: lighter weight/higher rep/speed-based or heavy weight/low rep/static strength-based. Make sure to pick a competition that's appropriate for you.
The best way to train for strongman is to get as statically strong as possible on the gym lifts and then to apply that strength to the implements over and over and over again, until you know what technique works best for you; there are usually several that could be applied to any given event. There are certain gym lifts that can be done to help carryover strength to the implements. One of which is Deisel Crews faux stone loading exercise:
Another great exercise, excellent for tire flip starting position, is Karlsen squats:
Sean Katterle - If you had to design a training program for a competitive strongman, that was based solely on implements found in a regular gym, what would that training program look like?
Charles Bean - I'm going to keep this relatively simple, with the understanding that people can feel free to contact me if they have further questions or want some refinement of their program.
For a competitive strongman, I would divide their training into 4 days:
*Event/Deadlift/Back
Off
*Shoulder/Overhead/Event/Chest
Off
*Legs/Light event
Off
*Olympic lifts
For the events, I'd keep the reps specific to whichever competition you have coming up; if you know you have a 100 ft, 275 lb farmers walk in your next comp, then that's what you should be training for. Actually, I'd reccomend training with 10% over the weight you'll use in the competition. Between game day adrenaline and being used to 10% more than the original weight, you'll fly with the contest weight.
The the big lifts - squat, deadlift, overhead press - I'd have them follow a pyramid based warm-up and then, depending if we're working max strength or not, work up to a 1-3 RM, followed by a weight they can barely get for 7 reps. It's important to learn variations of each of the big lifts; e.g. - RDL's, deficit deadlifts, speed deads, suited deads, snatch-grip deads, etc. You get the idea. Don't move on to a new variation until your form is lock-down solid. It shouldn't take a competitive strongman more than 3-4 weeks to learn or refresh a variation on one of the big three.
^^^Charles Spotting Joe Mazza at The Kings of the Bench II^^^
Sean Katterle - How does cardio and conditioning training play a role in strongman competition preparation?
Charles Bean - This depends on which kind of competitions you want to do. If you favor the higher-rep/medley stuff, you're gonna need more cardio endurance. But there's a huge difference between endurance like running or doing crossfit and flipping an 800 pound tire 14 times as fast as possible. It's a whole new level of endurance that involves maintaining a decent level of strength while in a huge oxygen defecit, and the only way to improve it is to experience/do it.
Sean Katterle - I've seen you hit a 500+ raw bench in the gym at around 230lbs bodyweight. What's your current benchpress training program?
Charles Bean - Much like I described above - on a typical day I'll come in, warm up the shoulders and stretch out the biceps and lats. Then something like:
Bar*8
135*6
225*5
315*3
405*2
495*1
535-565*1 (depending on the strength that day)
405*7
^^^700 Pound Log Deadlift for 18 Reps^^^
Sean Katterle - Nutrition plays a very important role in any competitive sport. What are the nutritional keys to success in strongman?
Charles Bean - The only time a strongman needs to worry about their nutrition is if they're close to a weight class limit. Otherwise, it's a see-food diet. With the kind of volume + static strength training we do, it's important to keep calories as high as possible to help our performance in the gym and our recovery from the workouts. There's obviously no point to being 20% bodyfat and obese, but it also isn't bodybuilding - we don't need to be sub-10% bodyfat to feel good. We feed our ego other ways...haha
Obviously getting adequate amounts of carbs, fats, proteins, and water is essential. A steady intake of calories and hydration will mean that our bodies always have the fuel they need to push through, set after set, when other people might stop. I like to use at least two shakes a day to help keep my calories up, and drink a minimum of a gallon of water a day. For me, simple is key. To that end I buy endless amounts of those prepackaged chicken breasts and Uncle Ben's rice packages. I thrown them both together in tupperware, microwave for 90 seconds, and have a nice 560 calorie meal, 2-3x/day.
{/html] ^^^353 Pound Behind-The-Neck Jerk^^^ Sean Katterle - Though a lot of strongman lifting events involve lifting straps, there's usually at least one specific competition round that involves grip strength. What are your favorite grip strength building exercises? Charles Bean - You know, this one can really sneak up on you. I actually won a grip competition in 2006, and I've got a pretty damn good grip. However, to focus on using the big weight for deads and shrugs, etc. I started using straps on almost everything. In early June, Grant Higa put on a great competition up in Washington that I did. Unfortunately, it had 4 high rep, grip intensive events in a row. I found out the hard way that if you don't keep your grip up to par it can cost you big time. That said, the main thing to do is literally ditch the straps unless you need them. If you can deadlift 605 with no straps but are more comfortable using them, go for it. But that also means DON'T use them on 315 and 405 and 495, etc. Second, the Captains of Crush grippers are second to none for developing grip strength. If you haven't tried them, check out IronMind and pick up a Level 1. Lastly, doing farmer's walk will greatly improve both your max grip strength and your grip endurance. Sean Katterle - What are the best sources of information for a lifter looking to learn more about competitive strongman? Websites? Books? Magazines? Federation officials and their contact information? Ect. Charles Bean - There are a TON of websites out there that offer great resources for the up-and-coming strongman. I'm a big fan of using interactive forums for several reasons: feedback on program design, lifting technique, and a million other things; getting inspiration from people who have been where you want to go, "Quod sum eris," - "I am what you will be." We all need people to look up to! For forums I really like The Sherdog Strength and Power Forum I reccomend that everyone who doesn't have a training log go there and start an online training log. There's a huge level of accountability when you get 10-20 guys asking you how your workouts are going and checking in to your log to see your progress. Also, the www.Marunde-Muscle.com forums are a great resource for strongman of all levels to get help and share ideas and interact.
A book that I go back to again and again is Julie Havelka's "Personal Best." I also like Powerlifting USA magazine, because it keeps me motivated knowing there are 165 pound guys who can out-squat me, even if they are using a suit to do it.
[html]^^^400 Pound Stone Load^^^
Sean Katterle - What's your competition history to date? Strongman events? Benchpress competitions? Best competition lifts?
Charles Bean - I've competed in 9 strongman and two benchpress competitions over the last two and a half years. A few 1st's, a bunch of 2nd's to Mark and a couple fifth place finishes from early on. I'm lucky enough to train with Mark Wechter (700+ lb raw deadlifter at 230 bw) who's one of the best lightweight strongmen in the country. Unfortunately that also means I'm usually second to his first...for now. At our last competition I almost had him though. I was .5 point ahead going into the Atlas Stones which was the final event. He was able to pull out the win, but only took first by that same half a point. There really is nothing like competing in strongman.
Charles Bean's YouTube Video Account
^^^54" Box Jump After a Tire Flip and 635 Pound Deadlift^^^
^^^405 Pound Raw Squat for 15 Reps^^^
Charles Bean is a personal trainer and strength coach in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. His email address is TheStrongestMan@gmail.com
His best gym lifts are the following: 565 pound raw bench, 605 pound raw squat, 700 pound suited deadlift, 280 pound strict overhead barbell press, a 355 pound clean and jerk and a 37" vertical jump.
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( 2.9 / 125 )
Jay Papish
2008 NPC Masters National Bodybuilding Champion
Written by Sean Katterle
Like most of you out there I’ve been diligently following the Olympics. Thanks to NBC’s additional coverage via internet streaming video, for the first time ever I was able to watch hours and hours of Olympic lifting and the other sports I prefer over what airs on prime time. At thirty five years of age, what occurs to me is that a lot of the competitors were a decade or more younger than me and most of the athletes who are my peers in age were described by the commentators as being in the twilight of their peak performance years. That observation and that statement made me think about how rare it is to find a sports practitioner beyond the age of forty who’s not only impressive in the masters division, but in the open class as well. When you come across a staunch competitor who’s still swinging for the fences in his sixties, it’s truly an inspiration.
Jay Papish spent the first half of his life with jogging being his sports pursuit of choice. In the 1980s and 90s, jogging was very much in vogue and a lot of people were caught up with how many miles a person ran per day, what their average mph was and if they had the latest and greatest pair of running shoes in their closet. Heart disease runs in Jay’s family so he felt that, as long as he ran and kept his body weight down that he would be fine. So, he diligently put in his seven miles a day and only casually exercised in the weight room.
“Running, in regards to building fast twitch muscle tissue, really doesn’t do anything for you.” Papish observes. “Distance runners are cardiovascular dynamos but, other than that, they don’t have the look I decided I wanted to create for myself.”
So Papish, a respiratory therapist by profession, joined the Sunset Athletic Club in west Portland and began his transition from runner to lifter. “I met a fellow who was a huge guy, a powerlifter.” Jay explains “He got me involved and it happened so quickly that the lifting just took off. The next thing I know, I’m competing in the WABDL powerlifting federation in the 54-60 year old deadlifting division.”
Jay would go on to compete four times over the course of three years and his 501.5 pound pull is still ranked as the 9th best pull of all time in his the 181 pound 54-60 age division. “I loved powerlifting” Jay proclaims “and the people I met were fascinating. It was great to break through the five hundred pound barrier, but when I went for 600 pounds at a particular show, I bent my arm during the lift and that technical error cost me a biceps tendon. I thoroughly enjoyed powerlifting but I also realized that what happens is your tendons and ligaments don’t enjoy the heavy weights when you’re in your late 50s and older. A lot of the training I did back then was more haphazard too. Had I trained smarter and more scientifically I might have had a longer powerlifting career. If I’d started my powerlifting specific training at a younger age, I would have focused on strengthening my connective tissues so they could better keep up with my muscles.” Jay concludes.
Papish ended up moving downtown and that move would inspire him to join Maverick’s Gym which later became Gold’s and finally L.A. Fitness (who owns it to this day.) Back when it was still Gold’s, the franchise allowed independent personal trainers to work out of the club and one trainer in particular began encouraging Jay to try his hand at bodybuilding.
“At the time I thought that the idea was absurd because I didn’t see myself as a bodybuilder. I was just a sixty year old guy who liked to lift weights” Papish explains. “Sometimes I don’t have a very clear picture of myself. I need to get feedback from other people. Now that I’m immersed in the sport, I see a lot of guys in my age who are in great shape, but who probably shouldn’t be on a bodybuilding stage. Everybody has their own reality and self delusionment is a way we protect ourselves but that doesn’t mean a person should put on posing trunks and submit themselves to stand in front of a panel of judges under bright stage lights.” It took some time and additional encouragement but Jay finally gave in and made the commitment to try out the sport of bodybuilding by entering The NPC Emerald Cup.
“I thought maybe I’d do pretty well” Jay recollects. “At that stage in my training I was pretty muscular but also on the bulky side. When I was powerlifting a lot of the other lifters made the remark that I looked more like a bodybuilder. So I guess I had the genetics for it. I started training with much younger guys and, me trying to be competitive, I let them push me and that was really to my benefit. So I switched over to bodybuilding and my training changed to some degree. I still wanted to stay strong and I still wanted to lift heavy weights but I had to do it with some forethought and with stricter form. Talking with really good bodybuilders, form in lifting is everything and with a powerlifter, they’ll do whatever it takes to get the lift. They’d use their eyebrows if they could. The bodybuilders told me not to worry about the weight and to focus on getting the proper form down.”
Over the course of a person’s competitive years, they’re bound to suffer from illness and injury if they’re pushing the pace as hard as they can. In that instance, Jay’s no different and he’s had some serious obstacles to conquer in order to remain in the game.
“Besides the torn biceps tendon, the first big injury I had to overcome was my bypass surgery.” Jay replied. “Looking back, I think my heart problem was genetic and unavoidable even in this day and age. My father had a heart condition and my brother died at forty four of a heart attack in New York. Hypertension, this and that. So, getting back to my heart situation, I was in the gym at that time working out (powerlifting) and I was starting to feel tightness here and there but not during training sessions so I tried to look past it. I kept telling myself that it was something else, that the heart problem that plagued the other guys in my family wasn’t happening. I mentioned the symptom to one of the cardiac surgeons at work and I asked him what he thought it was. He said that he wasn’t sure but the next thing I know he made an appointment for me and I got a call from one of the cardiologists from our hospital saying that I needed to come in and see her. I recall being very nervous because I dreaded being told what I already suspected. They ran a whole battery of tests on me from a treadmill stress test to an angiogram. They wanted to do a bypass because it was a difficult part of the heart to get to, but I insisted on a stent. It was a high risk procedure but I didn’t want to have my chest cracked open so I asked my cardiologist and she warned me that going ahead with trying a stent would really be nip and tuck and so she had the open heart team on standby. I was nervous as hell until they administered the sedatives and then I was the happiest guy in the room and I couldn’t figure out why everyone else was so serious.
So they were doing the stent and everything was going well and then the last thing I heard the cardiologist say was “Oh my God, Jay, I’m so sorry” and then the next thing I know I was waking up on a ventilator and even though I was still heavily sedated I realized that one of my worst nightmares had come to pass. I was really sick and I had a hard time dealing with my situation. I had this new scar down the middle of my chest and I was really, really weak. I’d get exhausted walking up a flight of steps and I thought to myself that it was all over. Luckily, my weight lifting buddies came to see me every day at my home and they’d either take me to the movies or to the gym and they’d put five pound weights in my hand. There were times when I’d say I was too weak to train and still they made me go. I went from being able to deadlift five hundred pounds to having a hard time working with ten pounds but, thanks to my friends’ encouragement and insistence, I slowly came back. When I had my surgery the doctor was wise enough to put me on an anti-depressant for three months too to help me deal with the disaster and slow healing process. It was a quadruple bypass. Really though I’m lucky that the open heart surgery team was there and that they were able to perform the procedure that saved my life. That happened on New Year’s Eve of 2001. I ruined everybody’s New Years Eve, including the surgeon whom I apologized to.
My next medical problem happened in 2007. I was going to compete at nationals last year but I ended up going to Mount Hood to ride on the Alpine Slide. Being competitive, I thought I wasn’t going fast enough down the hill. So my buddy told me to ask for the 200 pound cart so I could increase my pace. So I asked and they gave it to me. The first time I made a run with it I got pretty fast and got fired up about it so I told my friend “OK, best time down is King of the Mountain.” My strategy was to not touch the break and to steer the cart with body English. I hit this one turn and the cart flipped. The next thing I know I’m sliding down the track on my own and I’ve separated the clavicle, tore my rotator cuff and shattered my wrist. The hospital had to put an external fixator on my forearm so it could heal properly. That injury was pretty depressing too and I was like “Oh God, now what?” I did manage to shlep myself back into the gym with all the hardware sticking out of my arm. Some physical deficits remain but with work we can still improve.
My rotator cuff still hurts but I elected not to have the surgery because I’m working out around it. I’m working out to the pain basically. If I feel a lot of pain, I back off. As long as I’m not in serious pain I feel like my training is not doing a lot of damage. I also worked with a physical therapist and he’s got me working some rehab exercises as well. I’m up to 225 pounds on the incline bench despite the bum shoulder. Any kind of pulling motion doesn’t bother me at all. I don’t have full range of motion with the one arm so it’s hard for me to use a straight bar when I curl so I just rely on an ez curl bar. So, even with the injuries, I want to see how far I can take it. I won the masters nationals this year so I’d like to take a shot at getting my pro card because I was just one spot away this time around.”
“But still” I reminded Jay “winning the NPC Masters Nationals is nothing to sneeze at!”
“You’re right and thank you for saying that. I was really hoping to win a pro card there but it just didn’t happen. I was planning on coming in as a middleweight but I’d dieted and dehydrated down so much that I made lightweight. So I figured OK, it’s no big deal. I found out that there’s more competitors in the lightweight class than in any other. There were nine of us in just my class alone. The heavyweights didn’t look too threatening. They were big guys but they weren’t as conditioned and I really wasn’t worried about them. The middleweights were very formidable and in my class there were one or two guys I seriously had to contend with. I try and not look at the other competitors and my friend who accompanies me to the event keeps reminding me not to look directly at my competition. I felt confident as we stepped out under the lights and it turns out I wasn’t delusional that time because I won.
When it came time to compete for the overalls, the winner was the best middleweight who’d just turned sixty and entered our division. Tony, the overall winner, was a really nice guy and he looked very good and in shape. So when we went out, he got the overall title. I really do think he deserved the win and that’s why I’m going back and building heavier legs and deeper grooves in my abs.”
In life, we start out with what our genetics give us and we each begin with a physical baseline from where we must work from. Some people elect to let their physical gifts and shortcomings greatly effect their lives and some choose to focus instead on improving and maximizing as much as possible while maintaining a positive but realistic self image. I asked Jay about his thoughts on genetics and the role they play in bodybuilding.
“Your genetics determine the shape of your muscles but your training makes them larger (or smaller from lack of training) and your diet and conditioning work removes the body fat from around the muscle tissue. How you train doesn’t affect how your muscles will be shaped as they enlarge. People will ask me how I got my biceps to peak the way they do and I tell them I have no idea. I do the same basic bodybuilding training as everyone else.” Jay explains.
“I think that genetics is a huge part of the sport. The factors that contribute to a person’s bodybuilding success are their genetics, mind set, diet and work ethic in the gym. What fascinates me personally about bodybuilding is the muscle size. Size to me is the most impressive aspect of bodybuilding. Sixteen weeks out from a contest you can rip it all up but basically that dieting phase is where the genetics come into play. That’s what separates the Nasser El Sonbaty’s from the regular big guy in the gym who only thinks he’s at the level a pro is. Very few people can obtain a top level of size, shape and symmetry.
Because I’ve suffered a serious shoulder injury I rely on heavy preacher bench curls to build my biceps and with the preacher bench I can get really heavy. The bench takes the load off my shoulders. If I did the same weight with a standing barbell curl then I’d have to cheat to get the weight up while protecting my shoulder. I judge my workout by how I feel. If I get a great pump then I’ve had a great workout.
You can make a muscle larger, smaller, dryer, tighter but you can’t change the overall shape of it (just the size.) Another important role genetics play is a person’s waist size. A guy with a 28" waist and a 56" chest has an advantage over the guy with a 34 inch waist and the same 56 inch chest. There’s not a lot you can do about it because dieting will bring your waist down a bunch but your skeletal structure, hip size etc. is not affected by diet.
You have to be realistic” Papish reminds his peers. “Competing in my age group, there are a lot of sixty year old guys who are not realistic. They can look fit around the swimming pool but they’re not a bodybuilder, a real bodybuilder by the pro standards. If you’re not qualified to step up on stage then you really shouldn’t do it.”
On the note of the aging iron athlete I inquire with Jay about his thoughts on hormones and hormone replacement therapy for masters lifters and builders.
“That’s a great question” Jay says in approval “because every time I meet with an athlete who’s in their forties or older, that’s the first thing I tell them is to get in to see their doctor and to have their levels checked. If your doctor won’t work with you, you need to find another doctor. There’s such a unfounded bad rap on hormone therapy. It’s bizarre at this point. They’ll prescribe a drug for osteoporosis which is laced with side effects but nobody wants to give you a steroid, which mimics naturally occurring hormones, to treat low hormone levels. This advice is for the average guy on the street who’s just looking to optimize the way he feels and performs.
Your body stops producing growth hormone and your body slows down its productions of testosterone as you age. A good doctor will be willing to work with you to get your hormones back up to a normal level; where you were in your 20s. This advice has nothing to do with competition. This is just life and the quality of it. I believe in HRT whole heartedly. I competed against an oncologist at the nationals so that shows that other medical professionals believe in it too. Getting your levels back up to optimum makes a huge difference. I tell people that when you’re my age getting out of bed in the morning hurts whether you’re training or not. When I’m at the store and they ask me if I need help out with my purchases I say “no, but keep asking” Jay jokes.
“Now, talking about HRT and competing, that’s a whole nother level and a whole different situation. You have to be smart with your chemical supplementing because it’s very easy to lose control. You make a choice. Other people can judge and say that’s a bad choice but it’s still your choice to make. Because of the heart condition I’ve had and still have you know I don’t fool myself and say that it’s gone. But I want to burn as brightly as I can. If I keeled over right now I’d be happy. If I lived a sedentary live up until 75 years old I wouldn’t be so much. One of my biggest fears is being the old guy in the gym who’s really not doing much anymore but, every time I see the younger guys lifting I say “hey, you know, when I was your age yada yada yada.” Please, shoot me when I get to that point. My goal right now is to look like one of the strongest guys in the gym, just “look” that way and that’s all that matters” Jay concludes.
I’ve spent over half my life working out in gyms all over the west coast and it’s been my observation that the majority of men who train with weights are hardcore while they’re in the weight room but then they fold like a deck of cards once they’ve left the training center. Diet and lifestyle choices beyond lifting the iron greatly limit the progress they make and most don’t change that much appearance and performance wise from their exercise efforts. Jay on the other hand, has dramatically altered his physique thanks to his making a serious commitment to go from recreational runner to national caliber bodybuilding competitor.
“I try and stay in condition all year round” Jay states. “I have a workout ethic so I’m in the gym quite a bit. I don’t do a lot of cardiovascular training. Instead, what I think works for me is maintaining a high protein, high fat, low carb diet. My fats come from healthy sources like organic peanut butter and fish oils. When I choose my cuts of beef at the butchers I try and go for the leaner cuts and then I trim off any additional fat when I get home. I try and stay clean and I try and stay within five to ten pounds of my class’s weight.
I eat six smalls meals per day. The first thing I do in the morning when I get up I have a protein shake and then a cup of coffee. Sometimes I may have some oatmeal too and a spoonful of peanut butter. I prepare my food to take to work so I’ll have maybe ten hard boiled eggs, then some chicken breasts and then some tuna. I keep my carbs low all day long but I’m not too concerned over the source of those limited carbs. I’m not hung up on whole grain this or that. I often use fruit as my carb source. I have no problem with eating whatever I want to when I go out to dinner. Otherwise I go mad. I want to live my life. Dieting in a fashion stricter than what I just outlined is too much for me. I have a life outside of bodybuilding and working with a nutritionist who would have me on carb wave cycles and such is just too much for me. I try and take in about 300 grams of protein per day but I don’t count my fat and carb calories. One does need a balance of fats, carbs and proteins for optimal health and performance. At the very least, someone should be aware of what they’re eating on a day to day basis and they should take some time to research basic sports nutrition.
In regards to nutritional supplements I use MHP’s line of products ( www.MaxPerformance.com ). In addition to my HRT and basic nutritional program, I rely on MHP’s products to give me an additional performance and recovery boost. Their Secretagogue One is a natural hgh booster and I stack it with their T-Bomb II to further optimize my hormone production and base levels. For protein powder I go with their Probolic SR because of its high arginine, glutamine and BCAA content. Probolic also has a patented twelve hour time release factor which makes it a very effective anti-catabolic. A person has to maintain a positive nitrogen balance in order to build and retain muscle. Perhaps my favorite supplement is MHP’s A Bomb because it has the best combination of actives I’ve ever seen in one formula. It’s got HMB, BCAAs, alanine, AKG, GKG and ABCDEFG, ha! Seriously, A Bomb supplies me with everything I need to maximize my workouts and to fuel my muscles for growth. MHP’s line is by far the best I’ve used and I’m very happy to be working with them in my quest to obtain my bodybuilding pro card. I’ve got the financial resources to go out and by whatever products I choose and I choose MHP because I’m results driven and they help me to meet my progress goals.”
When asked about sharing his iron wisdom with lifters just starting out Jay muses “My advice to younger gym athletes is to be aware of how they affect the people around them. Bodybuilding and powerlifting can become very self consuming which can be very stressful for a person’s friends, girlfriend/boyfriend and family. Marriages can come apart because of bodybuilding. You need to find a balance between your bodybuilding and the rest of your life and you need to fight the urge to become too obsessed with your training and diet. This is hard advice for me to give because I don’t always practice what I preach. The other piece of advice I have is that lifters should try and stay injury free for as long as possible. Don’t take jumps in weight that you’re not very confident you can make and really learn proper lifting techniques. Try and keep a handle on who you are and where you’re going and when you train, train with a focus and be intelligent and self aware. Don’t forget the people around you as you go on your iron culture journey.
It’s also a very smart move to develop your base through old school powerlifting. Powerlifting builds tremendous core strength and it’s like building a cement foundation on your bodybuilding physique house. If you don’t have that foundation built properly, then you aren’t going to go anywhere in pro bodybuilding. You may be able to be the most buff guy at your school or college or be impressive walking around the swimming pool but you won’t have the raw materials you’ll need to get your pro card. World class bodybuilding is easier attained after a few years of focused, concentrated powerlifting training as a base. Olympic lifting is also a good starting point if a person has access to a good instructor. Lots of deep front squats, close stance squats, clean and jerks, etc. If a guy like Pudzianowski decided to go into bodybuilding he’d be very tough to stop, even on a pro stage. A lot of people mistakenly think that powerlifting makes your waist become wider but that’s not true. Poor diet and genetics are what can cause a wider waistline. And if your waist is wider, build up your upper back and side delts to accommodate it. Powerlifters who eat super clean have some of the most impressive physiques. Only in the squats and Olympic competition lifts does a wider waistline pose an advantage for the competitor.
Your best source of information often isn’t the personal trainers. Most of them are far less educated than they put on. I’m sad to say. They pass minimal certifications which are acquired via mail order courses and very brief lecture series. Where a new lifter should be looking is on the magazine rack for training information and advice. There are many, many good publications out there; Planet Muscle, Milo, Powerlifting USA, Muscular Development, Flex and so on and so forth. There’s a lot of ads in the magazines but there’s also a lot of great nutrition and training advice. Also, don’t be impatient with waiting to see a physical change from your diet and exercise program. It can easily take half a year before you start to see some noticeable results. But you need to dare to carry on and to follow a routine with discipline and the results will come. Organize yourself and map out a plan that sets you on the right path. Meet with your doctor, work with an experienced bodybuilder or powerlifting, learn proper lifting form, figure out a successful diet plan. Don’t sacrifice form for bigger weights. I like to use a mix of machines and free weights. Free weights are best for mass and power building but machines are good for detail work and for rehab or working around problems you’re recovering from. Build your base with squats and deadlifts. If I could only do three exercises, it would be squats, deadlifts and dumbbell presses” Papish advises.
When asked about what the future holds for him, Jay predicts “I’ll do my next show in six to twelve months and I’m going for my pro card again. I turned 63 years old this September and I think I’ve got two more years of competing left in me. Two more good years and then I’d like to get into training older athletes, bodybuilders and master lifters who are serious about getting back into shape. I will go back and take some refresher college courses too. Re-learn the muscular skeletal system and some nutritional courses. I already have a good background as a respiratory therapist. I know quite a bit about electrolytes, cardiovascular and over time a person builds up a mass of experiences from both academia and on the job training.
Hopefully I can light some fires under people who are still striving for an overall sense of well being and maybe even interested in becoming competitive again. I want to see people elevate themselves. It’s a thrill to watch and help someone obtain a personal best in their chosen sports field. I don’t see myself as retiring but rather morphing from competitor to coach. I love being in the gym. I love the people I meet in the gym. I have a passion for it. I hope to be making some money from it someday.”
As a final piece of wisdom Jay advises “When you go into the gym, don’t worry about who’s to the left and right of you. Focus on improving yourself and make it a meditation and enjoy your time in there. A whole world will open up for you.”
Click Here to Get the 2 Color Tribal T Jay's Wearing in the Pictures Above
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( 2.8 / 157 )
Ray Hickman
Interviewed by Sean Katterle
Ray Hickman began wrestling in grade school at age five like many other kids in rural towns but his ability and affinity for it was quickly recognized and his coaches soon began grooming him for a shot at a college scholarship. The hard work paid off and Ray made the Division I team at Boise State as a true freshman (which is a very uncommon accomplishment.) As a true freshman, Hickman made a mark for himself by placing fifth at the Pac 10 conference that first year on the squad. The following season Ray was red shirted, which meant that he was counseled to not compete but instead to spend the entire season training and improving for a run at a national championship his third year as he was ranked 5th in the country for Division I. But life doesn’t always move along as planned and Ray met Tracy, his now wife, during his sophomoric summer and soon wedding bells were chiming, his son was on the way and his competition days on the mat were over.
It was at that time that Ray looked for another sport to compete in. He’d always done well in the weight room during the off season so he started focusing on his benchpress while he apprenticed with the journeymen electricians. Within a few years, he was going against, and losing to, Joe Luther in the WABDL federation. A true competitor is rarely satisfied with a string of second place finishes so once his electrician union status was secured, Ray turned even more of his focus towards pressing heavy iron and he also began coaching wrestling at Joseph’s only high school to keep himself in fighting shape. Ray soon began to out distance Luther on the bench, thanks in part to Ray mastering the bench shirt while Joe never really spent much time training in one.
Hickman went on to win three WABDL open division world championships and to even beat Mike Hara . At his one meeting with Hara, Ray took the WABDL open record, for a time, from him with a competition 536 in the 165 pound class. In fact, Ray became so dominant in that class that promoter Gus Rethwisch put him and Hara in their own “elite” division so people didn’t shy away from paying to compete in the open category in fear that they’d never get anything better than third (gosh forbid that someone in powerlifting doesn’t get a first place trophy at every outing.)
Sean Katterle - If you’re working with a power bencher who wants to become more competitive by dropping a weight class without losing any of his/her pressing power, what would be your training advice?
Ray Hickman - I would shorten their rest time between sets. We’d train heavy benchpress normally once per week but then with every other exercise we’d reduce the rest periods to 1-2 minutes so their intensity would increase greatly. Also, everyone should be training some version of cardio just to be “in shape.” When I wrestle I’m actually a better power bencher. I feel stronger and more prepared when my cardio ability is up. In addition to grappling I also work the heavy bag. I go as hard as I can for a minute and then I rest for a minute and I repeat this 2 minute cycle nine times in a row every morning. Slugging away at a heavy bag for nine minutes out of an eighteen minute period is more difficult than it sounds.
Katterle - Since you’re almost as good a wrestler as you are a bencher, what would be the flip side of your advice. How would you train a promising grappler who’s looking to increase their absolute strength without compromising their abilities on the mat?
Hickman - In the off-season my wrestling team trains two body parts per day and three different exercises per body part. Out of those three exercises, two are heavy and one is light. During the season we rely more on circuit training. We work a whole body circuit if we’re lifting twice a week. We also focus on a lot of body weight resistance exercises during the season. Lots of pull ups and push ups to condition the arms, chest and back and a lot of leg lifts, crunches and resistance work on the mat for core strength.
Katterle - You manage to keep within 90% of contest condition year round and you’re one of those rare lifters who can stay ultra lean and yet retain and build on your strength levels. What does your nutritional program look like?
Hickman - When I first wake up I have a breakfast that’s high in protein. I’ll drink an MHP Trac Extreme followed up immediately by a MHP Probolic protein shake and maybe a bowl of oatmeal and some eggs. The protein shake and eggs give me the amino acids I need after being asleep for 8 hours (which tends to put a person in a catabolic state.) The Trac Extreme and oatmeal give me the energy rush and carbs to sustain me through my workout. I don’t have to drink coffee in the morning anymore since I started using Trac Extreme because it really gets me amp’d up.
Right after training I drink an MHP Dark Matter recovery drink. Dark Matter gives me everything I need to recovery from my lifting and heavy bag punching; creatine, more aminos and it’s got an ingredient called waxymaize which spikes my insulin levels. Then I start my day working as an electrician. I keep a container of MHP Probolic and a box of MHP Macrobolic protein bars in my truck. That way, if I need a snack while I’m working I know what I’m drinking is high in protein and doesn’t contain junk. I eat a huge lunch every day that’s loaded with protein, carbs and healthy fats. We don’t have any fast food restaurants out here in Joseph, Oregon so it’s pretty easy to eat a high calorie meal that’s not garbage. After work I make sure and have either an MHP protein shake or a protein bar and then I go and coach my wrestling team. When I get home from practice I eat a lighter dinner, which is usually a salad and a good source of animal protein and then I drink one more Probolic shake just before bedtime so I can better recovery from my crazy schedule while I sleep.
It’s really a very basic but effective diet. Lots of protein shakes, protein bars, animal source proteins, quality carbs, quality fats for lunch, creatine and some pre-workout energy supplements. The other side of the coin is that I avoid tobacco products, I only drink a couple of times a year, I abstain completely from any kind of recreational drug, I never eat at fast food restaurants and I keep my simple carbs and saturated fats intake very low. I also consume a medium amount of calories in the morning, a lot of calories in the afternoon and a light number of calories at night and most of my evening calories are from protein sources.
Katterle - What got you started working with MHP ?
Hickman - The only bencher I haven’t been able to beat at a contest yet is Joe Mazza . I took second place to him at BenchAmerica 3 and at the second MHP Kings of the Bench . Joe’s been an MHP sponsored lifter for years now so I decided to get set up with the same supplement line he’s connected to. To date my best contest raw bench is a 435 at 168. Next April, at The Kings of the Bench III , I’m on track to hit a 475 - 500 at 175. Also, I’m going to be calling up my gear sponsor and getting myself a double ply poly so I can go after a 600 pound shirted bench. I’d like to get up there with Mazza in the shirted bench game too. I’ve gone as high as 536 in the 165 pound class with a single ply so I think I can get at least a hundred pounds heavier if I train in a double ply.
Version A (1 day version)
Exercise # 1
Benchpress (5 minutes between each set)
135lbs x 10 reps
225lbs x 18-25 reps x 2 sets
315lbs x 3 reps
420lbs x 2 reps x 5 sets (adding weight if a set is too easy)
Exercise # 2 (Either a 3, 2 or 1 board depending on where Ray is in his training cycle. Please read notes below.)
3 Board Benchpress
405lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets (adding weight each workout until the bar weight gets to 600lbs)
(After reaching 600lbs x 3 reps off a 3 board in the training cycle)
2 Board Benchpress
405lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets (adding weight each workout until the bar weight gets to 550lbs)
(After reaching 550lbs x 3 reps off a 2 board in the training cycle)
1 Board Benchpress
405lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets (adding weight each workout until the bar weight gets to 500lbs and Ray can hit 1-3 reps with a pause on the boards each rep)
(This eight month mega cycle is leading up to a 500 pound raw contest bench from a 435 pound contest bench starting point, at 175lbs body weight. So, over an 8 month period, Ray will go from 5 sets of triples off a 3 board with 405lbs to 1 set of 1-3 paused reps with 500lbs off of a 1 board.)
Exercise # 3
Incline Bench (5 minutes rest between each set)
225lbs x 6-8 reps
315lbs x 2 reps x 5 sets (adding weight if a set is too easy)
Version B (a 2 day alternative workout)
Exercise # 1
Benchpress (5 minutes rest between each set)
135lbs x 10 reps
225lbs x 18-25 reps x 2 sets
365lbs x 5 reps x 5 sets (adding weight if a set is too easy and, as the contest time draws closer, lowering the number of reps per set but sticking with 5 working sets)
Exercise # 2
EZ Curl Bar Close Grip Decline Bench (5 minutes rest between sets)
315lbs x 4-6 reps x 3 sets (adding weight if a set is too easy)
The Following Day (before DOMS sets in)
(5 minute breaks between sets on all exercises)
Exercise # 1
Dumbbell Kickbacks
25lb Dumbbells x 12 reps per arm x 4 sets
Exercise # 2
Skull Crushers with EZ Curl Bar (to the forehead)
115lbs x 6 reps
165lbs x 6 reps x 3 sets (adding weight if a set is too easy)
Exercise # 3
Full Range Body Weight Dips
Bwt x 50 reps x 2 sets
In competition Ray Hickman has benched his bodyweight (165 pounds) for 72 full range reps, he’s posted a 435 pound raw bench at 168 pounds bodyweight and a 536 pound shirted bench under single ply gear and drug tested conditions. In the gym, Ray’s also pressed 225 pounds for 42 full range reps and at 170 pounds bodyweight. Look for Ray Hickman to return to MHP’s Kings of the Bench III. Ray was the runner up at the 2nd Kings of the Bench, losing to Joe Mazza by 10 pounds, so he’s looking to break through the 500 pound raw bench barrier at the next pro show. MHP’s Kings of the Bench III will take place at The Ronnie Coleman Classic which will be held at The Mesquite Convention Center just outside of Dallas, Texas on Saturday, April 18th ( www.MetroFlexGym.com and www.HardcorePowerlifting.com ) Ray Hickman is currently sponsored by MHP ( www.MaxPerformance.com ), by House of Pain Ironwear ( www.HouseOfPain.com ) and by Ken Anderson of Anderson Powerlifting.
You can watch Ray compete at the 2007 MHP's Kings of the Bench II online by clicking on this link.
MHP's Kings of the Bench II Complete Contest Video
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE FLEX BANDS RAY'S USING IN THE PICTURES ABOVE
LINK TO THE HOUSE OF PAIN TRIBAL TANK TOP RAY'S WEARING IN THE GYM PHOTOS
CLICK HERE for HOP Beanies in a Wide Array of Styles and Colors
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( 2.9 / 167 )
Mike Miller AKA Lex Lethal
Interviewed by Sean Katterle
Sean Katterle - Mike, if it wasn't for your tattoos and MHP apparel, I would have had to do a double take to recognize you at last year's Olympia Expo. You've really done a great job improving your body composition and I'm sure that you feel miles better for it. What was your heaviest bodyweight prior to your starting your diet?
Mike Miller - Well my highest weight was 447.
Sean Katterle - What's your current bodyweight?
Mike Miller - 275
Sean Katterle - What diet, exercise and supplement tips can you offer to other super heavyweights looking to drop down 100 pounds or so?
Mike Miller - Stop eating so much...Seriously, I went to more of a bodybuilder's diet. My buddy, Brian Ulrich, put me on a plan 2 years ago and has been helping me ever since. It's more or less a high protein low carb diet with a re-load day. I eat whole foods (nothing processed), green vegetables 4 times a day and I use MHP's ( www.MaxPerformance.com ) Simple Whey protein powder and Macrobolic meal replacement powder before and after my workouts.
Sean Katterle - Who got you started in pro wrestling? Who have you been working with and what are you doing in the gym/ring to prepare for the rigors of pro wrestling?
Mike Miller - Not sure. I guess I would have to say my wife. I was looking for a change and had grown a little tired of strength sport, so Deb talked her way into the WWE talent office and got me an appointment with the director of talent. They sent me to Atlanta and then to Allentown to train at the Wild Samoan Training Center.
Click Here to Get an Inzer Leviathan Double Ply Canvas Squat Suit
Sean Katterle - What pro wrestling federation are you currently grappling for? What's the process to get in the top 2 organizations and what are the top organizations?
Mike Miller - The two top organizations are the WWE and TNA. I wrestle for the WXW which is more or less like Triple A baseball. The process involves a lot of time and work and a lot of waiting until they are ready for you. It's not one of those things were you just walk in and say "Hey! I want a job." The talent list is always full and you spend years training and preparing for a call that hopefully comes.
Sean Katterle - At the first BenchAmerica, you benched 730lbs in a denim bench shirt. Some people forget that at that show you beat out Gene Rychlak, Thomas Skiver and John Galligan in the SHW class and only Mendelson out pressed you with an (at the time) 825 pound all time world record. You also out benched everyone else in every other class too and that line up included pro bodybuilder Ben White, Vincent Dizenzo, Tom Manno, Paul Meeker, Joe Ladnier, Paul Key and so on and so forth. There's no question that you have really figured out the denim shirts. For the benchers still using denim shirts in competition, what advice can you offer in regards to customizing a denim for a maximum artificial boost?
Mike Miller - Thanks for reminding everyone about that Sean. I forgot what a stud I really am!!! I still have my ring LOL. The fit is huge with any bench shirt. If the shirt is too tight or too loose you won't maximize it's potential. When I wanted to learn how to use a shirt, I went to Bill Crawford. He is the best without question in a shirt. The guy can bench 700 anytime he feels like it with or without training and he can do it in a double that looks like it belonged to your grandpa. When you start with a bench shirt, go see an expert and take your training partner with you. Learn how to put it on properly and how to make it fit the right way.
Sean Katterle - What training advice can you offer in regards to training with a denim shirt specifically?
Mike Miller - Use it often and work lots of triples and board presses. We used to do a warm up to around 80% or so and then we put the shirt on and do set after set with a full range of motion. That's how you learn to work the groove.
Click Here to Check Out an Inzer Grid Stitch Double Denim Bench Shirt
Sean Katterle - In April of 2006 you squatted 1,220 pounds at an IPA meet in Pennsylvania. There's no question that the lift was higher than "below parallel" but the s**t storm you received on the internet forums was way out of proportion in comparison to other lifters who've gotten questionable lifts passed. Since that squat, 3 other lifters have gone over 1,200 and in my opinion their squats were high too and yet they hardly received any criticism. On top of that, most of the 1,000 pound suited squats have been a few inches high and yet that seems to be the acceptable norm in those federations over the last couple of years. So, my question to you is, if you could go back in time, would you have squatted less weight but buried it so there was no controversy?
Mike Miller - At the time it really bothered me. I was hurt, upset and disappointed. Now I realize that the internet is full of a**holes who pretty much talk trash. Plus, squatting 1200 and a nickel will get you a cup of coffee. So does it really matter what anyone thinks? What can you say except "I got three white lights.I'm the man!!!"
^^^Mike Miller with MHP's Sophia Parnachelli^^^
Mike Miller (continued) - I received a s**t storm because I was the first guy to do it. I did it in less time and I destroyed it. It took me less than a second to stand back up with it. Dave Tate even said to me "Mike, people should be asking you how the hell you move so fast with that kind of weight." The lift was good. It was judged and it passed. Say what you want. I was and I am, without question, the strongest squatter out there. When I decided to go back to squatting after being a bench specialist it took me 14 months to break the world record. I opened with 1150. I was 380lbs I think when I squatted 1220. Which at the time was the 2nd biggest by formula.
Sean Katterle - Looking back, would you have even bothered with canvas/denim suited squats or would you have just stuck to limited gear or even with raw squatting?
Mike Miller - I think if I could do it all over again I would have worn my sponge bob underpants. I'm not one of those guys who has a big gear opinion. If I had lifted in a raw fed I would have lifted raw . Limited gear is kind of like feeling a tit with a rubber glove on. I mean, why would you do that?
Sean Katterle - Why do you think it's suddenly become "OK" in some federations to 2/3 squat? Who started that trend? Garry Frank? You? Rychlak? Bolton? The officials? The contest organizers? The all time lists in PLUSA? What can the sport do to reverse this trend?
Mike Miller - Sean, this is a silly fu**ing question. Do I think high squats get passed? Yes. Do I think some federations are stricter than others? Yes. Do I care? No. The rule of the squat is you drop your ass until you think you're low enough and then you stand back up with it and the three judges say whether it's good enough by signaling with a red or white light. It's a pretty simple concept. Please dude. I mean, s**t happens in sports all the time. Bad calls blah blah blah.
Sean Katterle - Back in 2006, you lifted at the New England Record Breakers. At 387 pounds bodyweight and without a power suit, bench shirt or knee wraps, you squatted 600 pounds, benched 500 pounds and deadlifted 710 pounds for a total of 1,810 pounds. To be fair, those numbers didn't truly represent your lifting potential at that time, right?
Mike Miller - No. It was kind of a rough time for me. My daughter Nica had just had open heart surgery, I had bronchitis and a double ear infection and my shoulder was full with tendonitis. I was a mess. My heart wasn't in that meet but I did it because I promised the promoter and my agent that I would.
Sean Katterle - Was it tough to go from canvas and wraps to no suit and no wraps?
Mike Miller - No. I never used wraps until the day of the meet.
Sean Katterle - Did you have a tough time knowing when you were hitting proper depth (since the show was judged far stricter in comparison to most multi-ply gear meets)?
Mike Miller - No I just went down until I couldn't go any lower. I had kind of a big ass so it did get in the way at times.
Sean Katterle - If you did a raw powerlifting contest again, would you have started focusing on raw squatting months earlier than you did for the NERB?
Mike Miller - No. I was plenty strong. I just didn't have my head in the meet.
Sean Katterle - A 710 deadlift is a very good pull though for any weight class. Now that you've competed at geared and raw national level competitions, what's your training advice for guys who want to compete in both types of events?
Mike Miller - Don't do it. Pick one and stay with it.
Sean Katterle - Where on the internet can people go to learn more about your pro wrestling career and your powerlifting gym projects?
Mike Miller - http://www.myspace.com/mule2625 Hot girls welcome, LOL. Jeezus, don't tell my wife I said that.
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Sean Katterle - Maybe you can help to settle a long running internet debate. You've trained off and on with Gene Rychlak for years now. There has to be at least one occasion where you saw Gene Rychlak hit a full range of motion one rep max raw benchpress. I know that no one wants to discredit their friends, but I'm relying on you to be 100% up front and honest with your reply. The haters say that Rychalk can only raw bench 500 pounds and I know that he can do more than that. His die hard fans claim that he's the strongest of all time (716+ pounds) and I'm not buying that either. My guess is that with a pause, Gene can full range of motion raw bench 575 pounds. What's the real scoop on this greatly contested story?
Mike Miller - I really think you should ask Gene.
Sean Katterle - Interesting answer. Chalk one up for the critics I guess. Hardcore Powerlifting's next pro lifting competition will be at The 2009 Ronnie Coleman Classic (Clash of the Titans II and Kings of the Bench III.) MHP ( www.maxperformance.com ) will again be our title sponsor. It would be great to have you come down and help us run the show (we need a giant for a back spotter doing the squats so how about it?) Are you up for coming down and rocking the house with us in Dallas next April?
Mike Miller - Sean my man anything for you ,the great people at the House of Pain, and my Family at MHP!!!!
Mike Miller's official MySpace page is:
http://www.myspace.com/mule2625
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( 3 / 125 )
Interviewed by Sean Katterle
Joe Luther has been a force in the benchpress world for years. He came up through the amateur ranks in the WABDL federation (World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters.) For those of you unfamiliar with the WABDL, it consists of over 4,000 registered lifters, mostly from North America but also hailing from Europe, Australia and South America. It's world championship is something to behold, with over 500 competitors and 700 entries over the course of 6 full days of lifting.
Luther began his benching career in the 148 class but soon moved into the highly competitive 165 pound junior and open divisions. While briefly lifting at a 148 pounder, Joe hit the 24th biggest bench in the history of WABDL with a 365. In the 165 pound class, Luther won numerous junior and open division national and world championships and his best shirted competition bench (single ply and drug tested) was a 480.6 pound press at 165 pounds bodyweight, which still stands as the 6th best bench in WABDL history for that weight class.
Moving into the pro ranks, Joe competed at the first BenchAmerica competition which took place in Chicago and which aired nationwide on Fox Sports Net. He also competed at one of the WPO's Arnold Classic benchpress championships. Though a very impressive shirt bencher, Luther's real forte is competition raw benching. At the first Kings of the Bench Olympia Expo competition he benched 420lbs at 165lbs bodyweight which tied him with Joe Mazza for a gold medal. In the strict reps challenge, Luther also hit 225 pounds for 30 full reps!
At The Kings of the Bench II Joe broke the Hardcore Powerlifting federation 165 pound class record with an astounding 425 pound effort.
Currently, Joe's training for The Kings of the Bench III which will take place at The Ronnie Coleman Classic expo in Mesquite, Texas in April of 2009. He took a few minutes out of his busy day to talk training with me and so the House of Pain BLOG readers could see what Joe's been up to in the gym.
Sean Katterle - You've developed one of the best arches in the sport. Over the years, what in your sports training background do you attribute to your flexibility, lower back strength and muscular coordination? What drills have you worked to build up your arch?
Joe Luther - I was in gymnastics, wrestling and Olympic lifting when I was younger and I gained a lot of flexibility and coordination, which has been a key part in perfecting my arch. The way that I arch takes a lot of muscle control and pain tolerance, due to the cramping and sharp muscle spasms that can take place during the lift.
Joe Luther (continued) - I strengthen and stretch my lower back with full movements (straight leg deadlifts and toe touches.) Obviously everyone's body is different and there isn't just one way to get a good arch. Without training with someone it is hard to say what will work for different people.
Sean Katterle - For the benefit of all of the raw power benchers out there, give us the breakdown of what one of your heavy bench days looked like going into The Kings of the Bench II pro competition.
Benchpress Warm-Up (1-2 minutes rest between sets)
135 pounds x 20 reps
225 pounds x 10 reps
315 pounds x 5 reps
375 pounds x 2 reps
Benchpress Workout (2-5 minutes between sets)
405 pounds x 1 rep
415 pounds x 1 rep
425 pounds x 1 rep (This amount of weight was what Joe was training to lift at the competition.)
435 pounds x 2 reps (This set was done with the spotter's assistance and each rep was performed so it took 3 seconds to lower the bar to Joe's chest and 3 seconds to press it back up to lockout.)
415 pounds x 2 reps (Again, with the spotter's help and at a pace where each rep took 6 seconds to complete.)
Note: The spotter needs to let the lifter do as much as they possibly can and make sure that the bencher keeps good form throughout the set.
Benchpress with a 2 Board (2-5 minutes rest between sets)
3 sets of 4 reps with 405 pounds
Benchpress Recovery Set (to fill the muscles with blood)
225 pounds x 10 reps
Joe Luther - This is the heavy bench workout that I do. I use this workout to get used to the weight and to push my body to its maximum potential. When I do this workout I make sure that I have a spotter that I have a lot of trust in and who knows exactly what they are doing in the gym.
Sean Katterle - Are there any sponsors you'd like to mention and/or people you'd like to thank for assisting with your sucess?
Joe Luther - I am sponsored by O.L. Luther Company, Titan Support Systems and Linda Madison of Sports Performance. I would like to thank my parents, Joe and Susie, for all of their help and support throughout the years. I'd also like to thank my brother Lee for being a great spotter and for everything he has done to help me mentally and physically with my benching and I'd like to thank my wife Kendra for all of her support and encouragement.
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( 3 / 153 )
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