PowerSport Blog

Thaddeus

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 19:11:42 GMT

My guardian angel

This happened to me a few years ago. It’s a deeply personal story and one that I’ve held pretty tight to my chest this is until now. I’ve been reluctant because some out there will mock me but if you know me then you understand that I have always been true to who I am, there are 2 Crosses tattooed on my body for a reason

I had just finished a hard training session at Hyde Park Gym in Austin and of course I was hungry so I decided to go to HEB’s Central Market to get lunch and grab some goodies to make for dinner. I got lucky and found a great table outside in the sun and settled in to enjoy my lunch. I swear I had just started eating when the sky opened up and pissed down rain sending me and everyone else scrambling for a spot under the covered patio, I got lucky and grabbed a table close to the edge so I could enjoy the sun shower that’s typical for South Texas. I watched as people selfishly spread out on the limited number of tables, but it seemed like everyone that I offered to share my table with declined, as they hurried on past me with their heads down, when this old dude accepted my offer and sat down. We chatted about innocuous things when he looked me dead in the eyes and I’ll never forget his words,

“God is here for you and He knows that you are waging a battle against the demons in this world. He wants you to know that He is here for you and wants you to keep fighting in His Name.”

“Ed, you understand that there is evils in this world, you have always been a Warrior in God’s Army. Never despair for God is by your side and so am I”

“I have always been there protecting you”

“I am Thaddeus”

“I am your Guardian Angel”

I swear not but a few seconds after he said that the sky cleared, he stood up and smiled and said

“Remember, that God loves you and He is always by your side and so am I.”

“Be Strong and Courageous.”

I just sat there stunned, not able to say a word as I watched him disappear into the crowd, seriously I couldn’t move…trust me I tried to get up to chase him but I couldn’t even get to my feet, I just sat there with my face buried in my hands with tears streaming down my face. I have truly fought some fierce battles in my life both in my past and right there in that moment.

As I collected my thoughts I realized something, I never told him my name, at no point in our 15-20 minute conversation did I ever tell him my name or anything personal but he seemed to know everything about me.

I wear a thin bracelet on my right wrist, last year of all people amazingly with everything she’s put me through, Sally gave it to me and it simply says,

“Be Strong and Courageous”

My Start in Powerlifting

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 13:33:24 GMT

wrote this in 2015 ... wanted to share it again

The other day I decided to tag along with Sally to Austin so I could get a strong and undisturbed workout in at Hyde Park Gym. Lately, she's been asking about my career in competitive Strength Athletics and it seems since my recovery from triple bypass surgery that I have been thinking more and more about returning to competing both on the platform and out in the throwing field. As we headed out towards Austin I talked about my first ever powerlifting meet, and according to Sally she could not only hear it in my voice but she could feel the passion and love for a sport that she just hadn't sensed in me before. Sure I'm like most 'Old Strong Guys' in that I love telling stories about my past glory and exploits in the Iron Game hell, just ask some of the kids I train but for some reason this time it was just different. Not only could I remember so much more of the path I took to my first powerlifting meet, I could just feel it so deep inside of me that it almost brought me to tears. So we stopped at Buc-ee's in Bastrop for some food and coffee on this beautiful cool Texas morning I told her this story and if you don't mind I'll tell you....oh what the hell it's my blog....

Let me tell you a story.........

My buddies and training partners Rodney Serpa, Dan Deweese and I rented a car and headed out towards Austin, Texas and I doubt we were very far out of Corpus Christi when I yelled from the backseat to STOP .... there in the field stood the biggest damn cow with the biggest horns I had ever seen in my life just standing there out in a field, and YES my Yankee ass now knows that it was a Longhorn but it was the first time I had ever seen anything like it!!! Rodney and Dan almost died laughing as I got out of the car to take a picture and the damn thing decided to charged at the barbed wire fence, didn't think I could scream that loud!!!

We were headed to Bastrop (ironically where Sally and I were when I told her this story) to compete in the Region 9 Powerlifting Championships. I was competing in the 198 pound class in the Novice Division!!! There's a story about not just why I was in this weight class but how I stayed in the class that I promise to write very soon.

It's a beautiful Saturday morning in April and I'm enjoying breakfast when my Powerlifting Coach Rick Gaugler comes to the table and scolds the hell out of me because I still had to weigh in and I was too close to making weight to be eating. Welp breakfast proved to be a bad idea because when I stepped on the scale I was 4 pounds over so its off to the car to bundle up, turn on the heater and chew some sour gum so I can sweat and spit off 4 pounds and I've only got 2 hours to do it!! Yeah back then you not only had weigh-in 2 hours before the competition, you had to have all of your gear inspected and marked not like the shit is now!! Since I'm out in the car trying to make weight the 'story telling' side of me is gonna get a bit off track.... in 1985 they are no bench press shirts, maybe 2-3 guys making lifting suits (Thank You Pete and Titan Support Systems) and there was 1 guy in the USA making the best powerlifting belts so you ordered it and waited for Bob Morris to send it to you. Actually you cut the order form from Powerlifting USA and sent it in with your money order and you'd check the mail every day hoping it would come because there was no tracking your packages or anything like it is today!! While I'm at it your wrist wraps were an ACE bandage (2" wide) that was cut in half...well to be honest we never cut the things instead you'd stretch it out on a weight tree and beat the shit out of it with a 2.5 pound plate until it was cut in half and our knee wraps were nice and soft (you can see mine in the picture and they are still the office at my gym). These were from Marathon, I finally made weight and kinda got warmed up but I was in the wrong area and not paying attention because I never heard them call my name in the lifting order but what I do remember was Rick coming and grabbing me by the hair and shoving me in a chair and he wrapped one knee while giving me instruction and Stan wrapped the other and with a slap on my back and a shove towards the correct platform where my opener of 551 pounds was waiting for me. I had a great day in the squat hitting my goal of 606.5 pounds (275kg) but the squat is my favorite lift and now we move on to my least favorite the damn bench press!! I did get a nice 352.75 (160kg) and we finally eat the traditional Texas Powerlifting lunch... its Whataburger Time!!! Shit I think Whataburger should be sponsoring Texas Powerlifting since we seem to eat it at every meet!!

It's time for the deadlift and a lift that I was really starting to love and because of that pathic bench press I had there were a few people closing in on me. I love the damn brutal mindset you have to possess to walk up to a heavy ass weight, snort an amonia cap and pull that damn thing off of the floor while gravity is fighting like mad to keep it on the ground. I proved to myself that I did indeed possess that mindset.

I finished my day with a winning pull of 578.75 (262.5kg) and won my class with a total of 1528 pounds (697.5kg) and I am hooked on the Sport of Powerlifting!!

Well the meet is over and now it's time to eat and drink a beer!!! So we head out to find somewhere to get a couple of pizzas and buy some beer when we happen to drive by a couple of cops stopped so we pull up and ask them where we could get some beer .... they looked at us like we were idiots and told us Austin!! Bastrop was a dry county and there was no beer sales....what the crap is that!!?? So we got a couple of pizzas and headed back to our motel room where Rodney and I decided we were sore and needed to soak in the hot tub WITH our pizzas!! I can remember floating the pizza box back and forth to each other and why do I remember this....because we both got sick as dogs. Yeah it was a great trip home laying across the back seat of the car dying!!! I'll tell you honestly that I would not change any part of this story for the world.

A huge thanks Rodney Serpa and Dan Deweese for inviting me onto the platform at Bradshaw's Gym to train with them.

And also thanks goes out to Rick Gaugler who not only coached me but taught me the History of the Sport that I still love today, Rick got off work at 2am from the club and drove 4+ hours to coach us then turned around and drove back going straight back to work... getting no sleep!!

The biggest THANKS goes to Pete Alaniz who supplied me with (and continues to sponser me) not only my gear but a friendship that has lasted since we met back in 1984. Pete owns Titan Support Systems the #1 company in the world for all of your gear. What an awesome introduction to a sport that has taught me many lessons in competition, in life and now in coaching.

Always find love and passion in whatever you do. For me STRENGTH has taken me all over the world to train, compete and coach, it's also given me a heart full of memories and friendships that have stood the test of time.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Dave Spadafora

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 21:32:00 GMT

It was my birthday in 1985 and I’m at my second ever powerlifting meet in Arlington Texas and it’s a big meet being held at a fancy hotel that’s connected to The Ballpark at Arlington and you can see the outfield from the windows of the hotel restaurant. I’m there with my coach Rick Gaugler and my two training partners Russell and Hank and all of us competing!!!

Now try and understand that this is a big deal for me because I’m fresh out off the Army all of 23 years old (turning 24 that day), I'm just a kid from the east side of Detroit, I've never flown somewhere just to compete. I'm not gonna lie I walked in to see the venue and admittedly got a little wobbly in the knees at the prospect of being on an elevated stage in front of a huge crowd.

Having won the Novice division back in April at my first meet I was entered into the Open Class. I had what I hoped was a decent opening squat of 611 pounds but we will come back to that squat in a few. Remember this is 1985 and we are in single ply suits and have equipment check AND we weigh in 2 hours before competing.

Rick says that until I total 1650 my ass is staying in the 198 pound class, mind you it’s one of the most competitive classes in powerlifting at the time!! Of course I’m over by a few pounds so I’ll be watching what I eat, well in reality Rick will be watching like a hawk and if you’ve ever heard me tell stories about Rick then you’ll know that he will slap that food out of my hand before it even gets close to my mouth!!

We don’t have a scale in the hotel room so I head to a gym nearby to sit in the sauna then back in the room where we turn up the heater and wrap up in blankets to sweat off someweight since all 3 of us needs to drop weight, Rick has his own room and ain’t struggling with his weight so I’m sure he’s sleeping comfortably.

Saturday morning and we head to weigh in before we eat so I step on the scale and I’m 194…OH GOD panic sets in as I think that my squat suit won’t fit right because I’ve lost too much weight so off to the fancy buffet I go and I eat everything in sight and I’m not kidding when I say I’m eating everything that’s not nailed down!!! Prtetty sure I had a solid 20 pieces of French Toast, bacon and eggs. Afterwards we head to the rules meeting and equipment check then to the warm up room…. I started to feel a little queezy from the food… someone told me to have a sip of Sprite ... NOPE that’s not any better!!! Getting queezy sitting there listening to the rules meeting, looking for somewhere to my guts out AND not let Rick know!!!

side note: still to this day I cannot drink Sprite

So lets come back to that 611 opening squat…. Nice and easy but as I’m coming up so is all of that French Toast… I'm about half way up … and out comes my breakfast right in the Head Judge’s lap!!! I’m standing there waiting for the “rack” signal and once I get it I ask if it was a good lift? The Judge comes back with ‘

I’ll tell you when you clean up your mess’

Funny thing with this story is in 1987 I moved to San Antonio and walk into probably the best gym there is in the World of Strength. Bob and Mary Dickson’s Olympic Gym and there behind the counter is Dave Spadafora who was the Head Judge I puked on just a few years before….he jumps up and yells

“OH NO DON’T PUKE ON ME” and the entire gym erupted in laughter, me included!!!

Dave was one of the toughest powerlifting judges in Texas if not the USA. My training partner Milo and I use to say that if we could get Dave to pass our squats then we’d have no problems getting white lights at the national levelmeets (side note here; we didn’t want someone to tell us our squats were good only to get to a big meet and find out we’ve been squatting high) .

We knew Dave worked nearby so we decided that during our 12 week cycle to a meet we’d get Dave to come to the gym on Squat Day and judge us. We'd go Zito's and get a sandwich with all the goodies (sure as hell wasn’t gonna ask him to give up his lunch time to help us without buying him lunch). We’d set Dave right in front of the platform and had it timed perfectly that we’d be at our final 2 warm up sets then into the work sets… we’d get done and Dave would give us some additional feedback and off he went back to work.

It’s been a long time since I’d seen Dave but I have never forgotten the impact he’s had on not just my powerlifting career but on me personally. We’ve run the back stage area for Bob and Mary at the South Texas Bodybuilding Show… he and the rest of the Powerlifters gave me lots of shit when I decided I wanted to compete in a few bodybuilding shows and cheered the loudest…. when I became an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Antonio Spurs he told me how proud of me he was!!!

The other night Sally and I went to Little Italy to eat and this guy comes walking through the restaurant and I immediately recognize my old friend. It’d been at least 20 years since I’ve seen him but when we stood there introducing our families it was like we had just seen each other yesterday.

Sometimes you never know the impact that you have on a person until many years later… Always make sure the impact that you have on people is positive!!

Play Hard… Train Harder… NO EXCUSES

Bitten by the Iron Bug

Sat, 10 May 2025 19:59:15 GMT

this epic journey lit a fire that still burns hot in me 40+ years later

Not too long after I got stationed in Germany in 1980 I was out in a field near the German Army Base that was by our Base throwing the shot and trying my best to teach myself the hammer (damn that shit is hard!) when a couple guys came up and introduced themselves, in German and were quite surprised when I answered back in German. We really hit it off since they too were throwers and lifters, so after training together we headed down to 'Little America' as it was known in downtown Hardhiem for lunch and people watching. They invited me to come with them the next day to Würzburg where they threw on a local Track Club... HELL YEAH I jumped at the opportunity!!

I hardly slept that night in anticipation of finally getting around some like minded people and not the guys I was stationed with that just wanted to drink to oblivion and act like fools to a point the local Germans didn't want to interact with them. Even though I had the bad Army haircut since I could speak German and I didn't act like an ass (well sometimes .... but ...) so I was treated differently by the Locals. (we'll come back to this later)

In the morning I grabbed my gym bag and with a bounce in my step I headed to the train station to meet up with my new friends. Once we got to Würzburg it was a short but beautiful walk the Track Club's Training Center, a walk that I'd make 3-4 times a week for the next year and a half or so. Of course we stopped at a nearby cafe for a quick meal and the Throws Coach came in to meet me and talk before training. He laided out his rules and expectations for me to be in his Club, he was very matter of fact and reminded me lot of Coach Gleeson, my high school track coach who had a huge impact on my life. I was so excited and egar to get to training that my buddies just laughed but they understood the emotion in me when I was given my training uniform and shown my locker with my name already on it!! Sometimes we forget how important it is to belong to something special like a team.

Over our time training and eating meals we all became (and to this day we still are) good friends, sadly we lost Peter in 2018. Over the years we've gotten together the last time was 2011 when the 3 of them traveled to a Highland Games in Germany I was throwing in, I was the only one in the group still throwing but we were all still lifting. We had a blast eating, drinking a few beers and trading stories of our past glory!!!

Was even better that my friends in my new sport of Highland Games heard the stories.

Cue Bruce Springsteen's song Glory Days!!! haha

One day on our train ride home from training I told the guys that I was thinking of heading home for leave when Claus says, "why?"

I responded with, "you know to see the family and all that stuff"

He starts laughing and says, "Really? But you don't really get along with your family and if you think about it you'll be home soon enough, anyways we were thinking of all of us taking leave to do a little traveling and you need to come with us because you're one of us!!" Finally I was part of a team!!

Peter and John both told me to "be ready because its the start of off season training and we are gonna lift heavy, eat big and drink some damn good beer and wine and chase girls... fuck we might even catch one but I doubt it!!"

sidenote: Peter met his wife on this trip and were married in 1986 raising 4 amazing kids. Yes we were all there for the wedding.

A few weeks later we met at the train station like we had so many times over the past year only this time we got tickets for Frankfurt when we got there we purchased our Euro Pass which would allow us to travel all over Europe via busses and trains. We got some food, found our seats and closed our eyes and woke up in Paris where we stayed for several days with a friend of ours we knew from throwing. Next stop was Barcelona there we decided we needed to head to Rome and see the ruins while exploring everything Gladiators. We had a blast in Rome then we dropped down to Naples to see John's girlfriend and crashed on the floor in her flat then bringing her along we headed for Venice for a few days then as Christmas was getting close we all decided that we wanted to go to Münich for our last 5 days to explore the Christmas Markets where we sadly boarded our final train home to Hardheim where we all lived, we left Peter behind in Münich with his new sweetheart.

It's funny to think back that in each place we stopped we did the same things, find a gym, somewhere to stay close to the gym, eat and laugh then we always seemed to find a museum or historic park to explore (Peter became a university professor teaching history). At night we'd eat good food and stay out until who knows when laughing and drinking beer but we always woke up early for breakfast and of course to train!!! Hell I even found a few girls to talk to.

This trip changed my life!! I thought I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up but this trip changed those plans and I could not be happier with the way life has turned out. Like many I have made some mistakes along the way, getting burned by people I trusted but that's the way life goes.

I was bitten by the proverbial "Iron Bug" and to be quite honest I am still just as passionate some 40+ years later at 63 years old as I was back then as a still wet behind the ears 19 year old.

STRENGTH would become my life's pursuit and it's taken me all over the world to train, compete and coach. It has also given me a heart full of memories and friendships that have stood the test of time.

I still get emotional when I think about all the wonderful memories that STRENGTH has given me.

Comfortable in Your Own Skin

Sat, 25 Jan 2025 20:39:51 GMT

Do you have the 'nuts' to go it on your own?

What does is 'Comfortable in Your Own Skin' mean to you?

I know this concept is different for everyone, for me this was a lesson that quickly turned into a way of life. Funny, its a lesson that I learned a long time ago, back when I was a young man but I never really realized it until one day when I was talking to someone that most people would think to be most unlikely person to teach them or anyone else a life lesson.

Little Richard was a busboy at Dick's Last Resort and part-time wanna be gangster!! He and I had a good relationship because I talked to him and treated him with respect (and I tipped out generously). Our friendship started when him and the other busboys were sliding cases of matches down the stairs from the street level and when they went to get a dolly to take them to the storeroom and I decided to toss them all back up the stairs to the street level. Now these were 40-50 pound boxes and there were probably 30 of them. OH MAN you should have seen the look on their faces when they came back saw all of the boxes back at the top of the stairs as I stood there laughing and sweating up a storm... dammit it was hilarious!!!

One day Little Richard saw me sitting writing on the big ass pieces of butcher paper we put on the tables and he started talking to me and I was telling him about some of the Payton's Place bullshit happenings of Olympic Gym where I trained when he said "Who do you train for, you or everyone else?" I immediately wrote that down in the notebook that I carried ... yeah I've been carrying a notebook everywhere I go usually in a backpack all the way back to the early/mid-90's when this story took place.

I have always been comfortable going at it alone in pursuit of my goals and dreams mostly because for most of my life my goals and dreams were very different than other folks that I knew and so that usually had me feeling like I was all alone stranded on an island and for the longest time that's not just how I felt that was my everyday reality. It wasn't until I joined the Army that I found guys that loved lifting as much as I did and even more when I left the Army and moved to Corpus Christi Texas. Anyways, I can think back to when we moved up north away from Detroit and the guys up in Rogers City that I played football with would pick me up from home (we lived 18 miles from the little town of Rogers City). Back then the big thing was to 'Tool Main Street' which meant driving up and down the 2 mile stretch of the Main Street in town passing each other time and time again usually tipping up a beer or a pop (yeah that's what we called it up there!!) and there I was tipping up a quart of milk that I had bought at the corner store probably washing down a peanut butter sandwich!!! There were never any high school parties or many dances for me (just ask Sally how great I can dance... still trying to figure out how I landed her) because I was (and still am) extremely uncomfortable in many social situations but also my parents would never let me use the car and honestly I really didn't want to go and end up staying out late and drinking too much which is exactly what they did and since most people that know me now know that my Dad was a mean ass drunk that beat me and my Mom way too often so yeah drinking wasn't something I wanted to do. Besides I had my own 'scared straight' moment I first moved up there, a bunch of us met at a wrecker yard to look at a wrecked car that was driven by a classmate who lost her battle with a big ass oak tree because she was driving drunk!! While we were looking inside the car I saw brain matter on the driver's side door... yeah that was a combination of the old 'scared straight' they use to do.

Always left feeling like I was on the outside looking in.

I learned to focus on a goal somewhere or from someone but I really couldn't tell you where or who. During the school day when everyone else was eating the hot lunch there I was with a big brown grocery bag full of sandwiches, a thermos of soup, fruit and anything else I could pack up for a day of eating. There was always a joke or three sent my way but I had goals that were on notecards pinned on the wall in my room and since I was the least gifted athlete in the world I had to work my ass to achieve my goals and dreams, also my family really couldn't afford to provide me lunch money to eat at school. Back then just like today most of my goals and dreams were based in Strength Sports and getting the hell away from home so you can say that Strength Sports were my avenue for a better life and one that I desperately wanted.

Strength Sports and its history has always made me happy and that's what has me thinking and writing today. I went to visit a friend that's known me a long time, a really long time as in late 1985 when I went to Austin to watch a powerlifting meet at the Villa Capri Motel (YEAH Brother Yox you know the place) and I went to his gym The Texas Athletic Club to train. Mike Graham would go on to judge me in the late 80's in bodybuilding shows and I'd see him when I would travel to Austin JUST to train at his other gym Hyde Park Gym . I'll write more on Mike and his amazing wife Carol and my visit at his badass old school gym soon because it was so inspirational that I when I texted Sally I was leaving Lockhart after eating BBQ at the original Blacks BBQ and was headed to Austin I just couldn't contain my enthusiasm in my messages and she messaged back that she was happy that I had a good visit and that she liked seeing me get back out there and reconnect with people that know me and respect me (which by the way started last year when we loaded up on a whim and headed to Corpus Christi to visit Rick Gaugler and his awesome wife Nancy ... but back to my story). I told her that I was finally once again getting Comfortable in My Own Skin and had stopped constantly comparing of myself to my old self, everyone else or wondering "what if". I told her that I realized that I am living MY best life.

After I read her message and responded my thoughts struck me so hard that texted her that I had to pull off the highway and write (this is why I always have a notebook in backpack that I carry). As I was writing I remembered some deeply personal things and I told Sally this... "you know I can remember as a kid being so beaten up (not physically but emotionally) by my family and so-called friends that I would come home and head straight out the garage and lift weights. I never wavered in what I wanted to do or who I wanted to become. I've always loved Strength Sports but it was when I met Rick in 1985 and got some real guidance on my journey that my love and passion for Strength really took hold of me and my life. Just like when I was a kid I haven't strayed from my path and while I'm not a loud boisterous asshole I have always had a little swagger and to go with that swagger is a look of confidence and strength and that was evident when I'd go to NSCA Conferences or Clinics people would listen to to what I had to say .... hell the Grand Daddy of the NSCA Boyd Epely once came up to me and grabbed my goatee and slapped my shoulders saying "way to look the fucking part" in front of a large group of coaches!!

Over these past few years I seem to have lost some of that and my way. Look I don't care the why or make the excuse of the absolute shitstorm I've been through these past couple of years ... Hell I've been through shit my entire life and always had the mantra of NO EXCUSES but finally I've found myself once again Comfortable In My Own Skin.

Honestly, I'm very happy that I have once again found my love and passion for Strength and her glorious history but I've also found my voice once again. You know, I think back over the years that I have in the Iron Game and realize that I have lived and experienced more of the History of the Iron Game while I traveled the world lifting Iron and Stone than most Strength and Conditioning Coaches have years on this planet so just like when I was at the 1995 NSCA Conference in Phoenix and jumped up onto a plyo box and gave an impromptu talk about using strongman exercises in training and in circuits for conditioning not giving a shit about the looks or comments I got and I'm feeling that same way again in talking about how I train myself and my athletes for Strength and Power. Oh shit.. someone bring me a soapbox so I can once again preach a little from the Squat Racks and I don't want to hear shit from someone who looks like 'their shirt is still on a wire hanger' ... I have lived my entire life in Strength Sports so if you've got something stupid to say it'd be best to keep your ass moving and your mouth shut because if you say something stupid you'll quickly find that I have a sharp tongue, quick whit and my words will hurt you!!! (I don't care what the old childhood rhyme says... my words will fucking hurt you).

There was a reason I made a lot of money waiting tables at Dick's Last Resort on the San Antonio RiverWalk and I can tell you that it damn sure wasn't because I was a good waiter!!!

So ask yourself these two questions: Are you Comfortable in Your Own Skin??

"Who do you train for you or everyone else?"

Thanks Little Richard and thank you for reading!!

Play Hard ... Train Harder ... NO EXCUSES

From the Pews

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 02:10:32 GMT

of Holy Spirit Church in San Antonio Texas

I was trading messages with my friend Steve who I know from both Olympic Gym and Holy Spirit Catholic Church and it got me thinking and reminiscing in my mind about sitting in the pews and what I'd pray for and of course what I was thankful for from the Good Lord.

HEY... let's jump in my time machine and go back... way back in time back to when I'd go over to my training partner's house for Strongman Training then I'd clean up, put some nice clothes on (nice shorts and a collared shirt is enough when you drive a Jeep in South Texas) then head to Church for Sunday evening Mass. I loved going to the Sunday evening service they called the Youth Mass because the Youth Choir did a wonderful job singing and the dress was a bit more casual which worked well for me pulling into the parking lot with Metallica playing!! I sat in the same area all the time... myself and it seemed every other single person all spread out but we will get back to this in a second.

Father Tony was usually the Priest for the service and he and I had our own story that I'd like to share. I had seen Father Tony one crowded Friday night at my favorite Italian restaurant, Little Italy so I invited him to share my table. He was an interesting man and every bit of what you'd think a Catholic Priest would be complete with the Irish accent and a dry sense of humor. He said that he'd seen me at Church saying that there was no way to miss me!! I'll tell you that we had a blast sitting there for a couple of hours talking about everything under the sun.

So one Sunday Father Tony's Homily was about "Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover" and it started off good until he said, "Now take Big Ed back there in the singles section of the Church" to which I started sliding down the pew trying to hide and the others who sat there looking at me when Father Tony laughingly says "Come on Big Ed you can't hide that big ole sunburned head!!" Now everyone in Church was snickering and turning around looking for me!! Good Lord I could feel my face getting red from embarrassment.... Then Father Tony proudly exclaims "I had dinner at Little Italy with Ed a few weeks ago and if you only judged him by his looks you'd run the other way if he came towards you but if you did that then you'd be missing out on an amazing human being. I'm not kidding he's obviously big and strong but he's also so much more than just that. He's intelligent, driven, passionate about so many things and has a huge caring heart!!"

Now it's time to receive Holy Communion and Father Tony makes sure he's handing out the Communion Wafer in the line I'm in and when I come up he proudly says " You like how I weaved you into the Homily? I'm on a mission to get you a good Catholic girl to marry!!!" I smiled at him and just said "I told you who I wanted back in my life!!" He told me to pray on it and if it was God's will then He would take care of it.

One of the best memories was bringing Father Tony to a San Antonio Spurs game. So after the game I brought him back to the weight room and locker room to meet some of the players when Jerome Kersey, Felton Spencer and Terry Porter decided to asked him how he knew me and Father Tony was proud to say that he was the Priest at the Church that I regularly attended when the players turned at looked me I yelled out "I only look like a heathen gentlemen!!" Since Father Tony had their attention he decided to tell them the story I just told you and then the players decided to tell him some stories!! Thankfully they didn't tell ALL of the stories!!

In 2006 before I left for a coaching gig in New Zealand I saw Father Tony and told him that God had indeed answered my prayers and that I was very happy. I went to Church when I got home from New Zealand but Father Tony had moved on to another Parish.

I find myself thinking about him quite often and all of our interactions at Church or when I'd meet him for dinner and we'd talk...

I miss him that's for sure he was a great man and a positive influence in my life.

Big Ass Tires.... OH MY

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 18:16:15 GMT

be still my heart ...

Way back in 1987 not long after moving to San Antonio I started training at Olympic Gym.

After a partially hard training session I decided to walk over to Fuddruckers and eat a big damn yummy burger and some onion rings (great … now I’m hungry again). Bob told me about a short cut down the alley behind the gym to get there quicker. When I got to the end of the driveway I discovered something that was just beautiful … big ass tires everywhere!!!

Forgetting for the moment how hungry I was I asked the guys working if I could flip them and tried to explain why I wanted to flip these monstrous tires … the look these guys gave me was was absolutely priceless then I was told “Yeah crazy white boy knock yourself out” while they laughed and just shook their heads.

Later I learned that the owner of the store was a long time gym member and knew why I was back there wanting to flip his tires. He had his guys tell me about how much some of the tires weighed and the guys enjoyed showing me how to flip them and I'm sure laughing as I struggled to flip them. Here I am a strong ass champion powerlifter weighing 265+ pounds and these skinny dudes are moving them around like nothing and I’m cussing up a storm from being frustrated whiles I'm sweating my ass off and trying to catch my breath.

Just another lesson in ‘you can learn something from almost everyone’

#powersportstrengthconditioning #oldstrongguysrule #3xlstout

Happy Birthday Dad

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 21:32:00 GMT

I miss my Dad.... Every. Single. Damn. Day.

If you know me then you know that my Dad and I never had the normal 'father/son' relationship that so many of you out there enjoy with your fathers and so when I see the young men that I coach struggle with the dynamics of this important relationship I share with them stories from own personal struggles. First off, my Dad was a great provider for his family and he worked hard as a Detroit Cop then on a production line at Ford Motor Company spray painting whatever came down the line. This was at a time of very little work place safety and I know my Dad inhaled enough lead paint to kill him several times over. He also grew up in a rough time in an even rougher city, the East Side of Detroit. He shared few stories and when he did they involved alcohol, mischief, and the beatings of so called discipline he'd get when he got caught. Unfortunately when that's what you're taught that's what you share...my Dad was quick tempered with the beatings he'd give me. Not saying I didn't deserve punishment for some of the shit I did but I did not ever deserve to be beaten like I was, most times leaving me with marks all over my body but at this time in the world that was saw it as punishment and most folks concluded that I must be a bad kid. I remember that was the reason I was given when I was kicked out of Boy Scouts. I also remember finally getting into a basketball game in the 6th grade, man I was so excited when Coach called my name I stripped off my warm ups and ran to the scorer's table then Coach called me back and told me to put my warm ups back on, you see I had done something wrong I don't remember what it was but my Dad had taken his weightlifting belt to me and I had so many belt marks on my body that the Coach concluded 'I must be a bad kid' (I walked away from the team because I was embarrassed and humiliated). I didn't have any family there watching of cheering me on so no one ever knew, hell I don't think anyone even knew I had made the basketball team.

I have too many memories of no one protecting me, no one helping me, no one asking me what was going on at home or maybe I could have shared with them the stories of the drunken bastard that I tried to escape every chance I could. My Mom and sisters did but not me, I was left there even when my Dad tried to commit suicide on the side of our garage using his Detroit Police revolver when he was served with divorce papers. Not my teachers in school, not the coaches in the CYO where I played sports, not my Pastor at church, not the cops I came in contact with, not our neighbors, not my own family, not anyone

NOT ONE DAMN PERSON ... so I guess maybe they were right and I was just a bad kid who deserved the beatings that I got.

Trust me when I say that that pain has never gone away and every so often that pain will rear its ugly head in my life and leaves me thinking that I was a bad kid so I must have grown up to be bad man.

My mom finally had enough and left but that's her story and this is mine. My dad continued to drink until one day driving his drunk ass home he got in a car wreck and somehow talked his way out of it with his old Detroit Police ID, yep he had been a Detroit Cop at one time until he had seen enough. Anyways, he was woken to the sound of the Baptist Church next door, a sound he complained about waking him up on Sunday mornings only this time he didn't complain he got up looked at himself in the mirror and was disgusted at the man looking back. He cleaned himself up and walked next door and asked God to forgive him and was he Baptized that day and from that day forward my Dad never touched another drop of alcohol again and became a man of great faith believing in the same Bible that he once told me was the most beautiful piece of fiction ever written.

I still carry the Bible he gave me while I in the Army. He gave it to me as I prepared to go undercover and he helped me understand my feelings from having killed a person in the line of duty.

With Sally's help over the years my Dad and I slowly repaired our relationship. I worked hard to set aside my anger of him never once being there for me to accepting the man he had been and the man he was working to become and one day I just decided to forgive him and put it all behind me. Not one person that knew my story could believe that I did that especially Sally who heard many of the stories but some are too traumatic for me to share.

I loved it and looked forward to his and Carol's visits to Texas. Some of the funnest times were watching him and Sally interact. Ooh that stories I could share there. I really loved my Dad and dammit I miss him so much that some days it just fucking hurts deep down inside of me. Those days I find myself holding tight the Bible he gave me and reflecting on the good and caring man that he became and some of the comical "Bob-isms" as Sally called it.

Unfortunately, in September of 2015 the battle against his demons got to be too much for him as he had injured his hip and was getting no relief from the doctors. He was afraid to loose his battle and fall backwards into the bottle so he decided that his only option was to take his own life.

I have so many memories both bad and good but I choose to think about the good and I share the bad as lessons in overcoming and of course forgiveness. God tells me that I must forgive to take my place in Heaven and I have but I will never forget because sometimes those memories truly haunt me. Occasionally I stop and wonder if he understood what he did to me, the life sentence of fearful to show pain or weakness and I really wonder what he thought of the man I became in spite of never having a good male role model in my life... I really wonder if he's proud of me.

So those of you who's Dads have always been there PLEASE give them a thank you and some love.

And yes Dad, Peace really does comes from within.

Stories from the Platform

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 20:19:00 GMT

A Hard Lesson Learned... once Again

There’s more to me than most people think or really seem really care. Too many are set in their own minds and assumptions and one thing that I was taught early in life was that

“Assumption is the Mother of All Fuck Ups”.

Today, I once again got the proverbial ‘kick in the balls’ and now Sally has told me this before and she just reminded me again that I try way too damn hard to change people’s opinion of me and worse than that, I actually get bothered when I just can’t get someone to understand….

I've started sharing more of my personal journey back to the World of Physical Culture * from not just my heart surgery but the 3 achilles ruptures and the serious life threatening and life altering 9 month battle that I waged JUST to walk again after the doctor fucked up my achilles and ankle surgery (it would take another 8-9 months for me to consider myself whole again in the gym) which the sepsis I battled was also part of the damage to my heart that landed me heading to bypass surgery early in the morning of 10 June 2014.

I want to do is use my journey to tell the story that lead me to where I am today so others in the World of Physical Culture might learn something and/or be motivated by my own hardheaded fuck ups to take better care of themselves BUT also maybe they'll understand that if something does happen to know that it’s not the death sentence to their strength training journey that they or that some doctors think it is because I’m standing here as LIVING proof that it damn sure isn't a death sentence.

I'm writing this today because I got subtle message from a supposed friend for sharing my journey telling me that I was doing it for attention but that coward didn’t have the balls to tell me to my face. So I’ll say this…maybe I'm finally listening to what Sally has said (please don't tell her I'll never hear the end of it!! hahah!!) ‘I have spent too damn much energy and time in my life worried more about what others thought of me and not ever thinking of what I THINK OF ME’ and the ugly truth has its roots way before social media but it seems that when you’re at a low point in life (we all have the highs and lows of life’s cycle… its inevitable) you worry more about what others think of you and that will cause you to hesitate and doubt yourself or your goals in your life.

When I was a kid I honestly cared more about what others thought of me and worse I had to constantly work for my Dad and Mom or even Step Dad’s approval that I never got as a kid or honestly never ever got for that matter. I left home for the Army in 1980 as soon as I graduated from high school and I hardly returned except for a few visits which quickly reminded me of why I had left in the first place.

I have nothing but the memories in my head from growing up, my mom gave away the most important things that I had in my life like my weights and Strength and Health magazines along with any trinket from growing up. In 1996 while I was waiting tables at Dick’s Last Resort, we were all watching the Opening Ceremony of the Atlanta Olympics while I got called up the cashiers station to the phone and my Mom was on the other end. That day she apologized to me for never listening to, or believing in or even helping me in the dreams and goals that I had growing up. It's not like she didn't know I had them, HELL they were written on notecards tacked on the walls in my bedroom. I worked hard towards those dreams and goals but without help or support I had no choice… I had to leave home and never come back and that's exactly what I did. My Dad never saw his lack of support as anything of importance even when Sally pointed it out to him just fucking oblivious to the facts. Once while he was visiting and we were eating, I got up to use the restroom and the table next to us commented on my physical size. My dad overheard them and went on to describe many of my accolades from competition and coaching so when I returned to the table Sally asked him, "Are you proud of your son and all he's accomplished in his life?" he said "Yes I am" and all she said was.... "Well have you told him?" Awkward silence!! The man only told me one time in my life that he loved me and he was drunk going through pictures when my Mom and sisters were away as they were getting a divorce. He never once told me he was proud of me.

Now here's something that no one in my family or any of my high school friends ever knew (Sally knows from my stories) but they will all know now. During the 2 years we lived up in Rogers City Michigan I competed in AAU Juniors for Shot Put and Weightlifting. A friend of mine and his Dad would cover for me saying that I was spending the weekend at their house and instead he’d drive me 60 miles to Alpena where I’d catch a Friday night bus some 6+ hours to Detroit to compete and then take a late Saturday night bus ride home where he’d picked me up in the early morning hours and bring me home. One summer I asked to spend a couple weeks with my dad down in Detroit and stay my my Grandma Betty’s house but in reality what I did was fly with the folks on my AAU team to Sacramento California to compete at the AAU Junior National Track and Field Championships. I saved the money needed by working on my friend's farms or babysitting. Thank God no one asked who I was staying with or where my parents were. My friends on the team who knew about my home life just put me in a room with them with no one the wiser.

The shit part of all of this is that I had to leave my trophies at my friend’s house and unfortunately I never retrieved them when I left home for the Army and when my family moved away they had no clue about what I had done so... I don’t have the trophies or medals I earned and no pictures because unlike everyone else I had no one there to cheer for me but what I do have are unbelievable memories that can never be taken away from me.

Now don’t get me wrong I’m glad that my Mom finally came to this realization and even more that she told me and even though it was 16 years later it still was nice to hear. I have to say this though up to that point I had to that point a pretty damn decent life in sports but it sure would have been great to accept that half scholarship I was offered to throw shot put and discus and go to college (yeah back then they could offer half scholarships to sports other than football) but I didn’t have the financial help or to be honest the grades to go so it was ‘Off to the Army’ for me and not a better decision I could have made!! The Army was the first step in guiding me towards the man I am today, I say the first step because I finally had the time to stop and discover things about myself but I also was blessed to have a couple great people enter into my life and provide me some guidance.

What I learned was that I really had a deep love and passion for Strength. While stationed in Germany I would travel about 20 miles to a good gym but if I got off duty late and missed the only bus from base I was left to hitchhike, which I and others did quite a bit. A few times I would take a few days leave and travel to a gym somewhere just to train and hang out in the towns while staying on American bases. I traveled to France, England, Spain, Italy and even Portugal just to train. I enjoyed traveling by trains and busses back then. Yep it was as simple and glorious as it sounds!! When I got stationed at Ft Polk in Louisiana I discovered a whole new world of strength training and having a good base gym within walking distance of my barracks was amazing. The NCO who ran the dining facility I was assigned to was a competitive powerlifter so I became one of his training partners when one day he told me that there was a big powerlifting meet happening in Austin Texas (about 5-6 hour drive) so I put in for some leave time and headed with him and a few others to Austin. I brought along my book Inside Powerlifting figuring that maybe I’d see Terry Todd and ask him to sign it along with get some advice on becoming stronger. I did get to meet him and talk to him, I remember him being ‘Larger than Life’ and really nice. Many years later I was able to tell him and thank him but anyways, back to my story, he told me that I should go to Corpus Christi and find his cousin Rick Gaugler and learn from him. Now I’ve said this so many times I don’t think Terry realized I was only visiting Austin that I was stationed a long way away but what’s a 6-7 hour drive if there’s lifting and of course the beach!! I made that drive on my motorcycle every other weekend for a couple months until my unit was deployed half way around the world but when I got back to Ft Polk I only had 6 months left on my enlistment and no damn way I was going to re-enlist that’s for damn sure but that’s a story for another blog… so I couldn’t be deployed in my job. I bought a used CJ-5 Jeep and was assigned to CQ duty, if you’ve been in the Army you know but basically I was on duty from 6pm to 5am on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday so soon as I got off duty on Thursday morning I’d eat a huge breakfast (remember my buddy ran the mess hall) then I’d pack up and head out returning to base just in time to clean up and be in PT formation on Monday morning at 6am (it was the only PT I had to make for the week). I did this drive 2-3 times a month finally meeting Rick and being able to train with him so it was a no-brainer that when I was discharged I packed up and headed down the long road to Corpus Christi Texas one last time and never looked back.

Stay Tuned … I’ll share more of the Stories from the Platform in the near future until then

PLAY HARD … TRAIN HARDER … NO EXCUSES

* I use physical culture for lack of a better all encompassing word of strength sports and its beautiful history

Showing Off at Muscle Beach

edcosner@gmail.com (Ed Cosner) — Sun, 22 Sep 2024 17:32:26 GMT

in a Different Way Than You Think

We were playing the Los Angeles Lakers in a playoff series and dropped a heartbreaking game on Sunday afternoon on NBC. Coach Pop had already decided that we were gonna head to LA after the game for our next two games in the series which wasn't until Tuesday late night on TNT and Friday night to limit the distractions and get some controlled downtime and practices in out there. On the flight we had a coach's meeting and Pop being the master of player management WITHOUT any fancy devices just his "Coach's Eye" told us that once at the hotel we would announce to the players that we had a breakfast meeting and then they were free all day Monday until shoot around on Tuesday morning. YES!!! That means that from 8-10am myself and my boss Brungy had to be in the room to talk with players and report back to Will our Athletic Trainer with any nagging injuries or player concerns then we were free for the day!!

I swear I ate the entire 2 hours down there... soon as I'm done I grab my trusted IronMind gym bag and head on a nice cool walk to The Pit at Muscle Beach and of course I'm in Spurs gear and getting hell from every local that I pass. It's a $5 fee for the day and I bought a shirt and of course proceed to cut the sleeves off and even though it's Monday there are people walking around.

I drop my gym bag at at open squat rack (imagine that) and go in search of 45 pound plates. After a good stretch I start squatting working up to a few easy sets of 5 at 495 pounds, that's 5 plates a side and to answer your question... YES I was too lazy to go in search of a pair of 2½ pound plates to make it an even 500!!!

I take the bar back down to 225 and begin to do Behind the Neck Push Press ... WOOSH the bar goes up and BAM it comes crashing down on my traps. Well now some of the folks training stopped what they were doing and started to watch me so 275 is next then 315 and before long there's 365 on the bar and I'm feeling good so I take a few small jumps and now I'm at 405 and I'm just sitting on a bench watching people go by and getting ready when some big old man goes walking by and slaps me on the back and just walks off!!!

Well I get up and tighten my belt, put on my wrist wraps and just stare at the bar sitting on the racks and as soon as I feel some rage grow inside of me I chalk my hands and grab the bar standing there I take a huge breath and BAM I drive it overhead then let it come crashing back down on my traps. I return it to the rack and when I look up there is a crowd of people that have stopped to watch me when some lady walks up the fencing surrounding the lifting area and says... "Do it again we want to get a picture!!"

Holy shit lady that was tough BUT sometimes you just gotta give the people what they want!!! So I tell her sure but I'm gonna go down in weight and do some reps (doubt she understood or even cared) so as I sat there for a moment and more people gathered I spotted a couple Spurs players standing there watching me ... Yeah remember that notion of going down in weight ... that just flew out the window!!! So its 405 once again just to show off a little ... say what you want but that's exactly what I was doing... so what!! What would you have done? Gone down in weight or gone down in glory at least that was my thought as I gathered my stuff and readied for another go at it!! Now this time I thought I'd have some fun and play a little to the crowd while I'm putting on my belt and wraps and as I walk back with the weight I let out a nice big yell and to my surprise it went up easier than it did before and as soon as it crashes back down on me I decided to make it a double and I hold that second rep at 405 pounds at the top for a few extra seconds and show off a little!!!

I think about this and all the other times when we were in LA where I'd go to Muscle Beach or my friend's gym The Yard to train and in reality every road trip I took with the Spurs because I always had my IronMind gym bag and Powerlifting belt with me and I'd find a serious gym to train at Every. Damn. Time!!

I love to train and I really love to lift heavy and freak folks out especially when I start to do jumps, medball throws or other explosive lifting and YES sometimes its just damn fun to show off a little!!!

Great thing was by the time I got back to the hotel several of the players were there in the lobby waiting for me wanting to take me to dinner since they had heard about what I'd done and wanted to hear the whole story and of course give me some shit!!! Loved those guys to death, they always cheered me on and like most thought I was absolutely crazy .... which ain't too far from the truth!!

The Power of the Mind

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 14:52:59 GMT

Fear Can Be a Powerful Motivator ...

This is a story that happened early in my Powerlifting journey and showed me the Power of the Mind or in reality the Power of FEAR !!!

It's Tuesday and that means its DEADLIFT DAY!! I get to Bradshaw's Gym down in Corpus Christi and start stretching out and getting everything set up for training when I see my training partners Rodney and Dan come in with this absolute look of terror on both of their faces and before I could ask why... THE WHY came barreling through the door in the form of bigger than life itself... it's Paul Barbee and he's blowing a damn whistle as hard as he possible... why is he blowing a whistle?!

Everyone is looking at him and clearing the hell out of his way and he's headed straight for the platform where Rodney, Dan and myself were warming up and he bellows out ....

"Rick sent me to make sure you fucking pussies are training hard!!"

We get warmed up and stretched out (YES even in 1985 we started out our training by warming up and getting stretched and for all of you pseudo experts we were static stretching and moving more weight that any of you can even imagine ).

The start of our training session is light squats and Thank the Good Lord ole Paul gets distracted and disappears so we think that we are in clear but as soon as we drop that bar on the platform to begin our Deadlifts we can feel Paul coming over before we hear his whistle and yelling ....

" Put some weight on the fucking bar you pussies!!"

I thought he was gonna have an aneurysm his face was so red while he yelled instructions and for us to work harder. Once we are done Deadlifting we moved to rack pulls from below the knee. We load the bar to 100 pounds over what we deadlifted and we can use training straps. I tell Rodney that not only have I never done this exercise before I've never used training straps either!! So when it was my turn Rodney showed me how to wrap them around the bar and was telling me what to do and all I can see is Paul pacing like a Silverback Gorilla in his cage and getting frustrated that we were taking so long... I set up and pull hard ... nothing happens the bar just sits there on the pins mocking me ... I try again with the same results. I looked at Rodney and whispered "I can't do this " when Paul comes roaring towards me yelling

" What... motherfucker what did you say... can't... what the fuck is that you pussy"

All of the sudden I got this boost of strength and BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM... 5 reps done!!! Paul wraps his huge arm around my shoulder and tells me

"Don't you ever fucking doubt yourself again, you hear me?"

It was an impactful lesson that day back in 1984 and one that I still carry with me today and close to my heart with my memories of Paul.

Stories I've lived and lessons taught to me by the Iron Gods and the Men that I was blessed to have shared the platform with ... these are some of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my life and I carry them all in my heart.

Until next time...

Healthy Athlete

Wed, 01 May 2024 16:39:27 GMT

Be STRONG and Resilient

“Healthy Athlete” is definitely an oxymoron.

If you’re an athlete you damn better be pushing your body in relentless pursuit of your goals and sometimes YES even Strong Things Break!!

It's how you respond that’s what’s important.

This is something I've preached my entire career as a Strength Athlete and now as a Strength and Conditioning Coach. You're gonna get injured but if you're strong and you get injured you will rehab faster and return to playing. I don't need some scientific mumbo-jumbo to tell me what I already know. I've lived it and responded to the challenge.

Had a high school basketball player, 7'1" tall basketball player, come down awkwardly in a game and said he heard something "POP" inside his knee and of course it hurt. He called me all in a panic because he was out in Las Vegas at a big tournament. When he got home I got him in to see Dr Schmidt who was the San Antonio Spurs Team Doctor and Doc told him that if hadn't been as strong as he is from the work that I had him doing he would be doing an ACL Reconstruction not a simple repair of some damaged cartilage!!!

Doc smiled at his parents and him and said "STRENGTH MATTERS"!!! 2 weeks later this kid was back running sprint on the track ... he never missed a strength session. That's Resilient!!! That's what Strength does for you.

Found this picture from back in 1993 when I had knee surgery in the morning and by afternoon I was going crazy sitting inside of my apartment so off to the gym I went…to get my training in. Luckily I had a great training partner to help load the bar and Olympic Gym had an amazing array of equipment to train on!!

side note for any pseudo medical professionals reading this.... everything I did and do training/coaching wise is done with real medical guidance

Big Honor for Doc

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 01:24:10 GMT

Always Be Ready to Perform

A HUGE HONOR for NOLA Gold Tighthead Prop James "Doc" Irey who started training with me when he joined NOLA as a practice squad player because he got stationed at Belle Chase.

He was an older player who was (and still is active duty Navy). By his own account he was fat, out of shape, not that strong, and body beat up from Deployment so when COVID locked the world down he expressed a desire to get better.. here he is at 37 still playing at the professional level in the MLR!!

I’ve always preached for my athletes to be ready and fit so when you’re number is called you can shine and force them to never forget you!! I have witnessed players get buried down at the far end of the bench because when the team needed them they weren't ready.

I remember Brungy, my Spurs boss having guys who didn’t play 20 minutes do conditioning for 20 minutes after games or prior to the next day’s practice... I was in charge of those players.

Doc had to go in at the 13th minute and played the entire game (80 minutes).

Made player of the week at 37 years old!!!

Maybe I’m on to something making my athletes strong but they have to be fit as well!!!

He does work capacity circuits inside of his strength training and even though he’s in-season he will do 1 strongman circuit a week and for speed conditioning he does a lot of build ups (short shuffle into sprint or multi directional jogs into the sprint for speed instead of starting from a 2 point stance and putting too much of a beating on his achilles.

I told my brother Fergus Connelly that if I had an accent like his I would be coaching Rugby especially in the USA!! I mean I only trained some of the studs of the world in sports like Rugby, Basketball, Bobsled, Throws and so much more!!!

You can check out who I've trained by clicking here !!!

The First Stop in my Coaching Journey

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 03:18:32 GMT

do you think you could keep my schedule??

A long time ago I got reminded of how I was back when I was at The University of Texas at San Antonio and when I say how I was I'm talking how dedicated and motivated I was back then and I had to be...

Newsflash I am still dedicated and motivated

You see I was the first Strength and Conditioning Coach at UTSA WHILE I was a full time Undergraduate Student!!

Yeah you read that right.. .

In January of 1994 I was walking around UTSA's Campus after paying for my tuition and stopped in to watch basketball practice when the Head Coach Stu Starner walked over and spoke with me then his Assistant Coach Mark Olberding who was a former San Antonio Spur came over and told Coach that I had trained David Greenwood who played for the Spurs and had won a NBA Championship with the Detroit Pistons, that's right "The Bad Boys"!! I told them that I wanted to become a Strength and Conditioning Coach and was starting school here in a week. They asked me if I'd like to volunteer with the Basketball team and I immediately said YES

Mark took me and introduced me to Jerry Greenson the Athletic Trainer and the rest was history!! Unfortunately the Basketball Coaches were fired at the end of the season (in March). I had an opportunity to speak to the new Head Coach Tim Carter offering my services and he said yes but that he wanted to make sure I got paid!! He and the new Volleyball Head Coach Katrinka Crawford lobbied the Athletic Director Bobby Thompson to hire me as the student weight room manager and that each sport that wanted to use me had to put in money that Coach Carter made sure got into my paycheck!!

I remember that 12 of the NCAA D1 Sports used me, now remember I said I was a full time Undergrad Student so on top of the athletes from those 12 sports I had a full class load of 12-15 semester hours. The pay wasn't all that great so I also waited tables at Dick's Last Resort on the Riverwalk which means I went to work at 5 or 6pm and got off around midnight or 2am and I had to be at a UTSA before 6am to open the student weight room and I had teams starting at 6:30am so there were days I would just drive to school and sleep in the parking lot. On days I didn't wait tables I'd do my school work and design training programs for the sports teams and throughout everything I NEVER MISSED ONE OF MY TRAINING DAYS!! In fact I won 3 Texas State Powerlifting Championships.

I would also attended both the NSCA Coaches Conference (Jan), National Conference (July) and the Texas State Clinic and any other clinic I could get to in addition to visiting with professional and college coaches to learn more about what I needed to do to achieve my goals. UTSA didn't pay for any of this so I traveled on my own dime.

As hard as I worked coaching, studying and training I'll tell you that I enjoyed Every. Single. Minute. Of. It.

One thing that I did do was become a 'creature of habit' as I was battling back from a brain injury that had me hospitalized in France for more than 2 months. I had to re-learn what most people take for granted every day, I know that I did!! The girl I liked that later I would fall in love with pointed out how I acted and how she felt (funny it's no different than she would later make me feel!!) anyways I tried to explain to her that the proverbial asshole voices in my head were responsible for that attitude of mine back then and that those voices were assholes indeed!!! No real voices ... just really focused on achieving a goal.

I came home in April of 1993 and jumped right into waiting tables after landing a job at Dick's and to tell you the truth Dick's both saved my life and has given me the death sentence that I am currently living with and am engaged in a daily battle against.

Let me explain, working in the high paced atmosphere of Dick's with the music blasting and long tables that you could have 20+ open tabs on I never once wrote any orders down forcing my brain to get stronger like my muscles while I lifted. No one told me to do this I just thought it sounded like a good idea and I really believe that it helped my brain heal the rest of the way BUT and here's a big BUT this was the mid-90's and even though they knew second hand smoke was bad they still allowed smoking in restaurants and bars and to think that Dick's was located in the basement of the Nix Hospital. That second hand smoke combined with my sleep apnea caused me to have high blood pressure which of course was untreated because ain't no one giving a waiter any health insurance and I was blissfully ignorant once I got health insurance at UTSA so I never knew or really understood that damage that I was doing to my heart but I do now in hindsight which we all know is 20-20!!

I'll share more in the future

The 5 for 5 Deal for GROWTH

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 02:20:15 GMT

Both In the Weightroom and Out

So just what in the hell am I talking about and why is there an old school Arby's sign in this post!!?

Well sit back and listen (well read) this story from way back in the day and I'm taking the mid-90's. I was waiting tables at Dick's Last Resort on the Riverwalk in San Antonio; Coaching at UTSA full time and if that wasn't enough I was also going to school at UTSA full time and still training hard and winning Texas State Powerlifting Championships!!

Back then the girl I was dating would bring me 5 Arby's roast beef sandwiches down to Dick's and here's the best part... it was only $5 back then!! Of course now that I look back I can see how this probably wasn't the best thing with the amount of sodium that was in those 5 sandwiches along with the horseradish sauce I would put on them but man they were good and so was the pint of Häagen-Dazs chocolate and peanut butter ice cream that she brought for me too!!!

NOW THAT'S HOW YOU GAIN WEIGHT!!

Back then I struggled to gain weight and now like every one else my age I struggle to get it off!!

So there's another part to the 5 for 5 story and it goes like this... one of my favorite sessions is

5 Behind the Neck Press + 5 Overhead Squat and I do this before I squat!!!

The first time I met Aaron Ausmus of Pen and Paper App fame and Sorinex we talked about training and I told him about my 5+5 I did before I squatted and he had this huge smile and told me that he loved doing 5 +5 and we both used the $5 Arby's special to put on that body weight!!! He was jealous of the ice cream and the fact the girl I was dating use to bring it down to me all the time!!!

It was a wonderful and simpler time and to be completely honest ... a time that I miss dearly

Well time to head to bed!!!

Titan Support Systems

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 17:35:42 GMT

Always the Innovator ... Never the Imitator

Came home the other day to an amazing “care package” from Titan Support Systems!!

Pete has been someone I’m proud to call a friend and Brother in Strength since I met him when he measured me for my first powerlifting suit in late 1984 as I prepared for my first Meet which you can read about by clicking here !!

Titan Support Systems started off in his Parents house in Corpus Christi Texas and has blossomed into the leader in Powerlifting Equipment in the WORLD!!! “ Always the Originator … Never the Imitator” isn’t just a tag line to Pete it’s what he lives by.

They make all of the equipment that you need to be successful in the sport of powerlifting and so many other sports right in the warehouse in Corpus Christi Texas with everything Made in the USA!! I’ve always sent my athletes that have needed wrist wraps, belts, knee sleeves, and more. I’ve used the RAM to get Rugby Front Row players with beat up shoulders benching with a full range of motion or briefs when coming back from hip/groin injuries!!!

So if you ever need anything give the best in the world a call and tell Pete or Matt that Big Ed sent you!!!

2005 Masters World Championships

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 22:12:45 GMT

Did You Really Keep Throwing...

YES I damn sure did and in fact if you had to ask then you really don't know me that well at all...

It was the 3rd event at the 2005 Highland Games Masters World Championships at Loon Mountain and one of my favorite events, the Heavy Weight for Distance. I must've been a little too amped up and jumped in too far on my first turn because I ran out of room on my second and stepped on the edge of the trig. Seriously, I can still vividly remember that it felt like it was happening in slow motion but in reality it damn sure wasn't. I can also remember telling myself to get off the damn trig and then I heard SNAP !!! I swear that it sounded like a shotgun going off and I fell to the ground with only one thought on my mind... G etting my Kilt back down and stop showing off my bright red compression shorts!!

I can still see Sally's face asking me if I was alright while I'm watching my foot flop around uncontrollably and feeling my heart sink into my stomach. All of the hard work over the past year ... gone ... gone in an instant ... or so I thought!! One of the guys competing was a Physical Therapist so he came over to examine me and he grabs my achilles and says "welp the achilles is intact so you must have just torn your calve" Yeah sure... just!! O f course I didn't think back to my anatomy lessons so I said "shit that doesn't sound too bad let's just tape it so it can't move it and I can keep throwing!!!" I got up, dusted myself off, got a kiss from Sally and went out and did a single turn with the Heavy Weight placing pretty high with a hell of a throw of around 46 feet. We headed over to the Hammers and I'll admit that it was damn tough to walk and of course Sally had begun to further question my sanity in my decision to keep throwing. I tried to explain to her how important this competition was to me and I reminded her of all of the work that I had put in during the past 10-12 months (we had been dating only for 6 months). All of the hours spent lifting, jumping, throwing, technique work and don't forget all of the traveling I did to train and compete in different Games around the USA. Add in the long drives to work with my Throws Coach James Parman who lived about an hour away or the days I headed to Austin to train in the University of Texas weight room with my buddy Mike Baab or all of the extra work I did on my own in a dusty field in the South Texas summer heat. I reminded her that the time I was training took away from our time together. She did see some of the work that I put in when she'd come train with me at Olympic Gym or when I dragged to different games which if you ask her she reluctantly went to but she did enjoy herself at many of the games.

Speaking of the training in San Marcos or Austin since she worked at night I use to borrow her car so I didn't have to drive my Jeep with no top or AC and as hard as I tried I still got tacky on her steering wheel!!! I'M STILL SORRY!!

But let's get back to the field at the MWC and it seemed she was resigned to the fact that I was NOT coming off the field but I did make her a promise that if she saw me start hurting where she felt I was in danger of making the injury worse then I would then walk away... which only seemed fair to me!!!

We walked over the Caber event area (then thankfully got a ride) it seemed more and more people came up to me to talk to me and encourage me. I looked over to Sally it seemed like she had started to understand a little of my drive and determination to continue throwing but it was during the Caber that she really seemed to understand. She watched as I tired to run on my first attempt and while I got a turn the judge, Art McDermott, had to score me lower than I really earned (the Caber is judged by an imaginary clock face on the ground). After my attempt Art told me that I didn't need to run to just stand there and Braemar the damn thing!!! So on my second attempt I did just that scoring a perfect 12:00. While waiting on my third attempt I went over near the crowd to get some encouragement and love from Sally when the announcer started 'playing it up for the crowd' telling them that if I turned another perfect 12:00 that I would place 3rd in Caber and that I had been competing all day injured with a torn calve which is why they saw me limping... I got a hug and a kiss from Sally and headed to take my final attempt when people from the crowd began cheer for me, shouting encouragement and as I headed off this older lady came up and gave me a little hug for luck and she smiled over at Sally and her sister Sandra. So I limped over to the Caber and as I got ready for the pick I turned to Sally and gave her a smile. I bent down and picked the Caber, it was a clean pick and as I stood there balancing it I really did think about all of the work that I had put in not to just be there but to be competitive on this big stage at the Masters World Championships ... I took a deep breath, gave the Caber a little nudge with my shoulder and pulled hard while letting out a big ROAR and as the Caber settled I looked back at Art who was holding his hands high over his head signaling a perfect 12:00 turn.... I walked over to Sally and as people congratulated me I just hugged her tightly while folks from the crowd patted me on the back and congratulated me ...now I will admit as I buried my face in her neck that I had a few tears I think about rolling down my cheeks and she knew that I was emotionally spent and hugged me tightly and told me that she was proud of me. I really don't think she understood just what I had done but she was there for me 100% and that's all that mattered to me then and right now as I write and share this story.

We gathered out stuff and headed over to the final event the Weight Over the Bar.

I could hear Seven Nations, my favorite Scottish Rock Band starting to play as I warmed up then Sally looked at me and shook her head and said "NO"!!! She told me that I was leaning to the side and that I was gonna hurt myself worse so I took my throw at the opening height, made it and just as I promised her I walked off the field holding my hand up and my head up high and said "Alright guys that's it I'm done"

A promise is a promise and I promised her that if she felt I was close to getting hurt worse that I'd listen to her and I did. I walked off that field proud of what I had accomplished and with my head held high and vowed in my best Arnold voice ' I'll be Back!!'

We headed over to the tent to listen to the band and found a table and Sally and Sandra went and got me a beer and to get us something to eat when Seven Nations asked me to stand up after they had heard that I had kept competing after being injured ... everyone under the tent clapped and I as looked over at Sally she just smiled. I sure hope she was proud of me then and I hope that if ever she reads this story and thinks back that day that she's still proud of me for perseverance that I showed!!

Now back at the hotel she was not as nice to me (hahaha) because she had to help remove the tape from my ankle, think they used a can of tape base spray and 2 rolls of tape and as she pulled the tape off and all of the hair on my ankle with it she just laughed at me and said "Come on now .... you threw all day with this injury and now your whining!!" About half way through when I couldn't take it anymore she suggested that I take a shower and then she'd finish taking it off and I was thinking OH HELL I'll just leave it on as a fashion statement!!! Man that hot shower felt so good and as I stood in there the tape got wet it just fell off when she said "Oh yeah the water will make it easier to pull the tape off!!" She just smiled a devious smile and told me that I should have known that....

When we woke up my foot was a beautiful black and blue and was nice and swollen where I could only get my hippie sandals on (Birkenstocks). We still had a couple of days left up in New Hampshire to explore and Sally and Sandra would be walking nice and fast and every so often turn to me and remind me that I had thrown the whole day while I was hurt and so no one had any sympathy for me and you know to this very day I can't blame them!!! "You competed all day yesterday so get your big ass up here and stop whining!!!"

SideNote: I didn't keep throwing because I thought I was some kind of bad ass but you can see in the gallery at the bottom the screenshots of what some of the guys who were judging thought of my performance on the field. I worked really hard after having a shit performace at the 2003 MWC and that performance really stuck with me. Thousands of kilos lifted along with even more reps throwing and doing technique work. I've never been a 'gifted athlete' and I have worked my ass off for every accomplishment I have ever achieved. 'Last picked for recess in 6th grade to elite strength athlete' ... yeah that's me so they were gonna have to carry me off the field for me to leave it. I walked off that day ... okay I limped off on my own terms which unfortunately I didn't get to do years later when I was forced into retirement.

Next Blog we will talk about that health insurance stuff that I didn't have... even though Sally said I needed it... I've never been seriously injured throwing... I don't need that shit... OH YES YOU DO!!!

Comeback...

Sat, 17 Feb 2024 00:35:14 GMT

I Don't Think So...

Now listen to me closely this ain't no pity piece. I've got so many wonderful memories of competing in the Highland Games and of the men that I was blessed to share the field with and afterwards a meal and even a beer or two and not just around the USA but all over the World. HEY... I even managed to win a few championships and set some records along the way.

It always makes me smile when I look back over my athletic career and think that I seemed to have had a much more competitive career as a Masters Athlete than I ever did as an athlete in the Open Class... well I know I damn sure had a hell of a lot more fun as a Master Athlete!!!

I am very proud of my career and hope that I always carried myself with Honor and Respect for the History of the Scottish Highland Games and all of those who competed with me and those that came before me. It was the history that intrigued me so much and partially what drew me to the Highland Games.

Unfortunately after competing in the 2021 Masters World Championships I realized that I just didn’t have the same concentration and focus while competing nor with the training and I doubt that I ever will again.

I will not leave Scottish Heavy Athletics nor will I ever forget it, I don't think I could even if I wanted but I doubt that I will ever again return to it as I once had nor will it ever possess me as it once did. The sport provided me some of the happiest times of my life. I am always asked how and why did I push myself in a sport where there was no monetary gain and very little publicity but I’m telling you that those were the happiest times for me throwing the weights and stones, picking a a monstrous caber and giving it a little nudge with my shoulder and taking off running then the elation after turning it.

Even more personally gratifying to me was the training; explosively lifting heavy weights , throwing medicine balls and jumping and you can add in the hundreds and hundreds of drills that not only had to be done but had to be done correctly….each and every rep done to perfection. Let’s not forget the hours spent alone in a field throwing or the long early morning drives to different games and of course stopping for breakfast at Cracker Barrel to fuel up!!

In my life as an Athlete I never had anyone in the crowd cheering me and so I was lucky that Sally was able to come to some of the Games but of course if you ask her way too many Games and see me compete. One of the biggest highlights for me was her watching me win the US Caber Championship in Pleasanton and then being congratulated by Jim 'Big Chief' McGoldrick who told me that I had beautiful technique but even better was driving around the Wine Country afterwards or when I stayed on the field continuing to compete at the 2005 Masters World Championships after rupturing my achilles and then as her and her sister dragged me all over New Hampshire telling me "you competed all day yesterday so get your big ass up here and stop whining!!!"

So with all of this in mind (and a little more that I haven’t shared yet) I have concluded that it’s time to move on to something different in “The Wide World of (Masters) Strength Sports” and this next challenge is something that I have talked about and dreamt about since the early 90’s when I got a book from IronMind called “Of Stones and Strength” by Peter Martin.

There’s a feeling inside of me that I just can’t describe (trust me I’ve tried) when I look at a stone laying there in the tall grass thinking about the men that came before me and knowing that it’s telling me to move on, I’m not here for you to lift but if you want to try you better be prepared for the challenge.

There’s a short writing that I read many years ago from Steve Jeck that sums up my thoughts closer than I can so I’ll share that writing with you so maybe you will begin to understand that feeling when passing by a stone and wondering how far you can throw it or if you can lift it!!!

The Choice by Steve Jeck

“There’s something about a stone; something intrinsically alluring. I’ve never been able to walk past a stone without trying to lift it or see how far I could throw it (or at least silently ponder such efforts if actually attempting them would seriously jeopardize others’ perception of my stability). I do, by the way, realize that the more sound members of society have little difficulty driving past or transversing such challenges. . . . pity.

I see the stone as a challenge, obvious enough, yet I view it in a different light than even the barbell. The barbell is designed to be lifted. The diameter of the bar, the knurled grip, the aerodynamic design of the plates - all of these features lend themselves to one ultimate purpose: to be lifted. Certainly, when one throws enough 25-kilo plates on a bar all this design crap flies right out of the window. And still I feel as if I’ve accomplished something just deadlifting the type of poundage Taranenko rams overhead. No, I’m not saying that lifting barbells is easy. The distinction I’d make is that barbells are heavy while stones are defiant. To the prospective lifter, a stone seems to say, ‘I’m not here to be lifted. You have gyms and such to satisfy that need. Now, if you still care to proceed, then be ready to pay.’ What’s more, should you be blessed enough triumph over the stone, the only adulation you’re likely to receive will come from the local squirrels and millipedes, for most big stones are still resting obscurely in nature right where God put them.

Ultimately, a man is challenged and bettered by facing any task that exceeds his current abilities. Some choose big stones. Others drive or transverse past such challenges. . . . pity.”

I have decided that it's best for me to start dropping the excess weight that I put on because as we all know 'mass moves mass' and now whether that's true or not it needs to come off and stay off!!!

I think that it's time to coach and teach something I love.... Old Strong Guys Rule

I've begun to write a Training Manual for Masters Strength Athletes and even create seminars so I can teach the things I've learned over the years to stay healthy and out on the field or platform doing what you love.

Do We Ever Fall From Athletics Gracefully?

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 02:36:03 GMT

Well I damn sure didn't

I ask the simple question to you… Do we ever “Fall from Athletics Gracefully?”

Being forced into Retirement is an issue that is deeply personal to me. I never really accepted being forced into retirement and it truly distorted my thinking and destroyed some of the joy in my life especially if you feel like I do as if your entire existence is based on the sport you play and/or what you look like. Like so many athletes I developed an unrealistic expectation of returning to sport by making a miraculous comeback from my injury… you know the kind that tear jerker movies are made from but that wasn’t to be

So, I'll ask you again … Do we ever “Fall from Athletics Gracefully?”

Hell everywhere you look there's help for us to get into sports but no where along the way is there anyone to show us a graceful way out!!

Just when I felt that I had become successful in sport the the proverbial rug was pulled out from under me and I was forced into retirement. Even more unfortunate this happened twice to me and both times I was completely unprepared for what was to come next.

Retirement usually occurs from many reasons.

For me as you can see in the picture it was an injury coupled with an incompetent surgeon that ended my career throwing in the Highland Games which of all of the sports I have participated in was my absolute favorite. I excelled in it, loved every second of it and it allowed me to travel the world competing.

It was a real kick in the balls because the career you worked so hard on for so many years can and will feel like it’s been ripped from you at the drop of a hat and leave you standing there wondering "what do I do now?!" I had no clue and no help dealing with the feelings I had and unfortunately I never did get help dealing with the aftermath of destruction, trust me I tried but it seemed like no one had any idea how to deal with an overachieving masters athlete.

For me, I loved the training that I did for the Highland Games and I mean every single aspect of the training. From the hot ass South Texas Summer Days throwing alone in a dusty field or driving (usually begging Sally to use her car with AC instead of my Jeep to throw with my Throws Coach who lived about an hour away), the strength and power training done in the mornings lifting, box jumping and throws technique drills and I’m talking about 100+ reps a week. I’d find myself coaching my athletes and in between their sets working on my throws technique…. to me it was awesome!!!

Even better than the training was competing!! It didn't matter to me if there were 5 people in the crowd or 5,000+!! I absolutely LOVE competition and I have my entire life going back to when I was a kid and first stepped onto a lifting platform. Competing for me is an every day thing and it can be in a contest or just simply lifting hard at a gym or out in a field throwing or lifting stones and if I'm gonna be completely honest showing off a little!!

I find it hilarious that I struggle to speak in front of crowds (don't even get me started on my social anxiety). My anxiety will climb to an all time high but put me on an athletic field or a platform and I am nothing but Confident, Driven and Focused!!! I had to take a Public Speaking course at UTSA to graduate and of course I left it for my final semester so I had to do it. Told the professor that I had a fear of public speaking and he told me that he had seen me waiting tables at Dick's Last Resort one night and it was some lady's birthday so I sucked helium out of a balloon and sang Happy Birthday to her at the top of my lungs while I was standing on a chair!!! "Sure you have a fear of public speaking"!! I just laughed and went to sit down and thought about that night and remembered there was a whole lot more to go with that story!!!

I've spent most of my life training for sport and when sport was no longer the reason for my training it seemed like I had nothing to focus my training on and I began to ‘floundered around’ seriously struggling to find a purpose for my training. Even though I have always loved to train for so long I focused just on training for sport and I seemingly lost the love and passion I once had for just lifting. I quickly discovered there were other aspects of training for sport that proved extremely difficult to loose and the big one was my nutrition or should I say lack of. You know the old adage of ‘mass moves mass’ so when you're throwing in Scottish Heavy Athletics that's one thing but when you retire you might want to be smart and drop some of that tonnage and I had a huge mental lapse in that. My ego struggled with the idea of not stretching my 3XL shirts, after all I do have an unbelievable collection of t-shirts (just ask Sally). The struggle with my weight was pointed out to me by 2 people whom I really respect and both Ben and Sally were on my ass about my weight and 2 years later it proved to be one of the factors in my heart attack and triple bypass surgery but you couldn’t tell me anything because remember

I was gonna make that miraculous comeback from the injury!! Trust me when I tell you this is still an ongoing struggle that has definitely left some collateral damage.

I think it's time that I write more on what I went through as I continue to try and gain some perspective on things and while its great to pursue goals in sports you need to keep a balanced perspective on it in our lives. No one ever told me that. I didn't grow up with anyone in my family being an athlete nor did anyone along the way teach me to live a balanced life. Instead I threw everything I had into sport and I didn't think about the future. To this very day I teach my athletes especially my high school and college athletes to be well rounded individuals and prepare for when you have to walk away from sport. Trust me it's harder than you can ever imagine especially if you're anything like me and I really struggle with it to this very day.

It really sucks that I’ve been forced to retire from two sports that I loved and as I've already said was unprepared for the end to happen the way it did or at all. I’ve definitely made some mistakes along the way and maybe by me sharing my journey I can help others on their own journey, you know the help that I never got and Lord knows I wish I had some help/guidance or at least had someone to talk to that actually understood what I was going through ...it's really hard for someone that's never experienced the raw emotions to understand.

I'd like to think that just maybe things would have been different for me and I would not have lost myself and oh so much more that I've lost in the process.

I asked … Do we ever “Fall from Athletics Gracefully?” Well in my case and many others that have already reached out to me the answer is a resounding NO!!! Not only no but HELL NO!!

Funny I had already posted this and asked my friend Elda to read it when all the sudden I wanted to edit something in the story.

Now I'm gonna share a story about Houston Gym because it just came flowing out... there are so many more stories like this I have in my head and want to get out so others can read and hopefully enjoy them!!! I really think that I need to do this for myself so I can remember just how much I love the Iron Game. A few of you know it's been a really rough last couple years for me so I think that I just need to sit down and do that like my friends Ben Franks and Zach Evan-Esh have always encourage me to do...share my stories about my Love and Passion for the Iron Game. Maybe then I'll realize that I've lived a wonderful and passionate life. Yes I got distracted a few times usually it happens when I struggle because I can't live my life on my terms and fulfill the purpose that I believe God has Blessed me with but I'll tell you this... I plan to share my stories and most of them involve Heavy Lifting and Preaching from the Platform!!!

Time to find some food....I'm hungry but first I will share this story!!!

I remember one day visiting Sally when she was living in Houston before I moved up there and there was this personal trainer talking shit about her training... yeah I wrote that program you fat little fuck!!! Anyways she always wanted me to go to Houston Gym with her and after I heard he was talking shit I decided that it was a good day to lift really heavy and make the entire gym STOP and WATCH ME and that's exactly what I did!!! Hang Cleans with 315 pounds... High Pulls with 365 pounds then Squats with 625 pounds and for good measure I used the 200 pound DBs for RDLs after I knocked the dust off of them and for even more enjoyment for Sally who was training with me and watching everyone's reactions I decided to finished with some Box Jumps on the 36" box!!

The little wanna be personal trainer that had talked shit about her training program to where Sally could hear it was standing there with his mouth hanging open and then walked up to say something to me when Sally came up and said "you talked shit about the program he wrote for me and now you think he's awesome!!!" I looked at him and asked "Why the fuck are you commenting on my training programs?" Think the dude's balls shriveled up right then and there but he never said anything to Sally again!!

There is a book by Dr Robert Pankey titled "To Fall From Athletics Gracefully" and that title got me thinking and asking the question of myself and others!!! One of my favorite professors from UTSA Dr George Taylor shared the book with me so I could read it back in the mid-90's while I struggled with my forced retirement the first time!! I remember the title because I've asked myself that question over and over again!!

The Duty of the Strong

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 22:32:54 GMT

Honoring the spirit of "The Duty of the Strong" with Ben Franks from the New Zealand All Blacks

The Duty of the Strong

Is to know honor and pride

To carry benevolence

In each step of their stride.

The Duty of the Strong

Is to blaze their own trail

To conquer the challenges

Where the normal world would fail.

The Duty of the Strong

Is to know where they stand

To not abuse the power

That they hold in their hand.

The Duty of the Strong

Is to lead and to teach

To believe what they strive for

Is well within reach.

by Joseph D. McGregor

Developing Explosive Strength and Power

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 16:06:38 GMT

.3 seconds

Have I got your attention?

.3 seconds... Really doesn't sound like much time does it? You're asking yourself what the hell is Ed talking about has he lost his mind...what about .3 seconds. Well, if you want to be an elite athlete that had better be your reaction time!! I'm talking about change of direction, exploding out of your position, creating or closing seperation, and so much more and it all happens in .3 seconds or less.

In Sport Performace we define Power as the product of Strength x Speed (distance) / time

Each of these components must be part of your overall training plan. Of course there are different emphasis not only during each train cycle but also within each training session.

The best ways to develop Explosive Strength and Power is by adding Olympic Weightlifting movements, Plyometrics and Medicine Balls into your training. Let me address the Olympic Weightlifting movements because they seem to get the most grief from some "coaches" so let me be the first to tell you that any coach says that the lifts are too technical, too difficult to teach, we just don't have the time, and/or there are other exercises that just as good, or that they are dangerous...Seriously??

Let's explore a few reasons for why I think the way I do. The Olympic lifts produce the highest output of power and rate of force development. The "dip and drive" phase of the press or jerk and the "jump and pull" phase of the clean or snatch take .2 to .3 seconds. Consider that maximal strength takes .7 to .9 seconds or more to develop and in sports that's an eternity.
The lifts also help in the systematic and coordniated movements of the body and aid in the development of force production (the initial movement from the ground into extension) and force reduction/stabilization (the catch). This will strengthen and prepare the athlete's body for change of direction, jumping and landing, the explosive release of an implement, and the impact of a collision in sports.

The peak power development of the Olympic Weightlifting movements are:

4-5 times more than the squat or deadlift
11-15 times more than the bench press

*from John Garhammer Journal of Strength Condtioning Research 7(2): 76-89 1993

Let's get some real examples:

800 pound squat produces 765 foot pounds per second
500 pound bench press produces 420 foot pounds per second
280 pound power clean produces 1885 foot pounds per second

*from Mike Clark: Director of Player Performance for the Detroit Lions NFL

Stay tuned as I will cover the role that maximum strength plays in the development of Explosive Strenght and Power.
Then later we can go through the use of plyometrics and medicine ball training to "bridge the gap" so we can take the gains made in the weightroom and have them show up in the sport you play!!

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

And Then There Were 3

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 15:23:09 GMT

Celebrate The Small Victories

And then there were 3!!

When you wage a daily battle against Heart Disease you celebrate the small victories that you’ve worked hard to achieve.

Today I achieved one of those seemingly small victories but honestly a HUGE victory to me.

Had my 6 month check up with my Cardiologist. As he examined my EKG, blood work and other test results he made the decision to take me off one of my blood pressure medications telling me that my heart is doing great!!

As I walked out into the Texas heat I could barely contain my emotions as I reflected on everything and I found myself driving to the Church in Memorial Park that I’ve written about before in my blogs to give thanks for my continued strength and healing.

In November I will be doing a treadmill cardiac stress test with nuclear dye tracing. They will take me all the way to 100% of my maximum heart rate and then monitor my recovery watching my heart and blood flow to insure that my heart is continuing to work properly and that all of my blood vessels are free of any blockages.

I plan to video as much of the procedure as I can shed a little light on this battle. I have this test done every 2 years because the doctor feels its necessary because of the way that I continue to train.

I am going to do this for those of us who share the long scar down our sternum so that they and their loved ones will know what to expect when it comes their turn for this testing. There are a lot more of us out there than folks think that share the ‘scar’ and the battle but unfortunaly not always a lot of information

Play Hard ... Train Harder ... NO EXCUSES

#powersportstrengthconditioning #oldstrongguysrule

My Calling in Life...

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 21:46:14 GMT

Love What You Do...

I have been asked this question so many times... "What got you into coaching and more importantly why become a Strength and Conditioning Coach? Well here's my answer: Ever since I was about 15 years old I have known and I let everyone know that being a Strength Coach was my #1 Goal in life. But what you have to understand is that this was back in the mid 70's and there sure as hell weren't many Strength and Conditioning Coaches out there and in fact most sport coaches frowned on lifting weights since you know it made you 'muscle bound' whatever in the hell that means!!! Of course you tell your family, teachers, coaches or even your buddies this and I can guarantee that you will be mocked and made fun of hell I even had a teacher tell me that with dreams like this (not goal a dream) I would amount to nothing in life and trust me the responses at home sure as hell wasn't any better!!

Where did I get such a crazy notion (and that is exactly what I was told this was) that one could be a Strength Coach and make an athlete better by lifting weights, you ask? Strength and Health magazine was the 'shit' back then and it covered the sport of weightlifting (notice I didn't say Olympic weightlifting), powerlifting and a little bit of bodybuilding. One day I got a copy and there it was 'my motivation' in the terms of a big old dude standing in the doorway of the weight room at St. Bodaventure University in New York. I can still see the picture of him standing there all 70's Big and the article that went with pictures of that weight room created in a boiler room. The article talked about how he had coached with the Buffalo Bills in the AFL and worked as a lifeguard at Jones Beach in New York and how he had brought the idea of training with weights to improve athletes performance to St. Bonaventure where he was also the Cross Country Coach. WHAT?? Did you say a guy that likes to run long distances though the woods also advocates strength training for athletes!! NO WAY that doesn't work I'm gonna have to take your Strength Coach's card away from you!!! Well now there are a few people out there promoting this very thing and promoting it like it's something new and just discovered by them sorry boys that shit was thought of long before you came on the scene!!!

Anyways, I promptly tore the pages out and put them the wall in my bedroom right by my Farrah Fawcett Majors poster that every boy in America had back then!!! Later, as my life took me from Michigan all over the world and finally dropped me down in South Texas and I am telling this story to the Head of the Kinesiology at The University of Texas at San Antonio as I am finally beginning to work towards my degree. He listens to my story as he roots though his desk and then produces the very Strength and Health magazine I had been talking about and turns to the page and asks me if this was the article? Hell YES it is and then I look again at the nameplate on the desk of the man I am standing in front of who's the Head of the Kinesiology Department and now my Advisor and his name is Dr. George Colfer...that Strength/Cross Country Coach in the magazine that inspired this wonderful journey of mine is George Colfer one in the same.

So when people ask me 'Why I do what it is I do' I just smile at them and tell them that this is simply

MY Calling In Life ... It Is What I Was Destined To Do.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

A Great Snack

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 21:11:54 GMT

Get In My Belly!!!

Here’s a great snack Sally and I started making: Egg Bites!!!

To make this tasty and nutritious snake we use Egg Beaters egg whites, spinach and ground chicken breast.

Wilt the spinach for :30 seconds in the microwave and brown the ground chicken breast.

Put a small amount of spinach and ground chicken breast in each silicon muffin liner then add egg whites to the top of the liner.

Bake for 30 minutes on 375 degrees.

Let them cool for 10-15 minutes

Take them out of the liners

Douse with Frank’s Hot Sauce (Sally likes Cholula)

All you have left is to ENJOY!!

Play Hard ... Train Harder ... NO EXCUSES

Baseball

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 20:34:26 GMT

Another Chapter in How You Carry Yourself Matters...

Been watching baseball the past few nights and remembering some great times as a kid sneaking into Tiger's Stadium to watch games or afternoon games back in the 80's when the Cubs didn't have lights at Wrigley Field and WGN broadcast the games at 1:05pm and we listened to Harry Cary belt out "Take Me Out to the Ballpark" during the 7th inning stretch and so many more baseball memories.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's I use to go out to the San Antonio Missions games that were played at St Mary's University, this is back when they were the Dodgers AA affiliate team. I always got a first base side ticket which is the visiting team's side so there were always lots of great seats to choose. One day I was watching the game and satisfying my own curiosity by timing the hitter from the batters box to first base or other base running, as I was engrossed the game and my stop watch writing down the times I didn't notice the guy that decided to sit next to me nor did I notice that he wasn't watching the game he was watching me!! After a few minutes he asked me if I was a scout or college baseball coach... I smiled and told him that I wanted to be a Strength and Conditioning Coach but hadn't quite made it to the classroom just yet!! We talked about what I was doing and about some of the ideas I had in training baseball players but when it came to grip I went on a tirade explaining not just the importance of grip strength but wrist, hand and finger dexterity, strengthening the extensors as well as the flexors and when you do that you get a bonus with strengthening the forearm muscles and in turn the elbow extensors. He asked about exercises and if you know me... I not only had an IronMind Gripper with me but talked his ear off on everything from wrist rollers to rice buckets to sledgehammer and leverage bars and everything in between!! Then I told him that the using the leverage bar to stretch the bicep muscles and shoulder was an amazing stretch and then I demonstrated the stretch on him. We talked so much that we completely forgot the game that was going on!! When the game was over and we both got up to leave he said he wanted to continue our conversation but he had to head out and he told me to give him a call in a few days and handed me his card. I told him that I would and he was gone and it wasn't until I was in my Jeep ready to leave that I looked at his business card... He was the Director of Minor League Scouting for the San Fransico Giants!!!

Holy Shit was about all I could think. So I called him on the day I said and he asked me if I'd be interested in coming out the San Fran for a few days to talk to the Coaching Staff and Athletic Trainers!! I said YES so quick I think it took him by surprise... a few days later someone from the Giants called me with my flight, hotel information and itinerary. It was an unbelievable trip from start to finish... they flew me First Class and when I landed and was walking to baggage claim there was a dude holding a sign with my name on it. I walked over to him and he quickly grabbed my bag and we headed to a limo that was waiting on me. He took me the scenic route telling me about everything I saw out of the windows all the way to my fancy ass hotel in downtown San Fran near the ball park. When I checked in the lady at the front desk gave me a note that said I'd be picked up at 5pm for the game that night. When I got the stadium I was met by the Director of Scouting and a few others (I wish I remembered his name) where they took me to meet Roger Craig the Giant's Manager after that we headed to the dining area to eat then to a private box to watch the game!!! What an experience it was but the next morning when I got picked up and brought to the stadium to talk to the Coaches and Athletic Trainers and a few players poked their heads in to listen and watch. I had a blast sharing information and especially when I noticed that everyone was taking notes and asking me questions, here I was 'just' a Powerlifter with no degree or certification but I had a lot of knowledge that they wanted. It was then I knew that I really wanted to make my dream of being a Strength and Conditioning Coach become a reality and even though it would take me until 1996 to finally get my degree and certification it didn't matter to me!! I had another day left in town and the team was heading out so I asked them to drop me and my IronMind Gym Bag off at The Sports Palace even though it was a Olympic Weightlifting Gym and I was a Powerlifter complete with a thick ass belt Coach Jim Schmitz welcomed me because HEAVY Squats are a universal language!!

A few weeks later I was at a Missions game when the Manager came over to me to give me a hard time about going out to San Fran to share my knowledge but not to the team I was there to watch... he then told me that the Dodgers wanted me to come out to talk to the Coaches and Athletic Trainers which I did and they took just as great care of me as the Giants did!!!

Meeting and having the opportunity to sit and talk to Tommy Lasorda was the highlight of that trip for sure!! Well that and going to Venice Beach.. . actually Muscle Beach to lift was an unbelievable experience. It would be another 10 years before I'd get a chance to train there again but this time as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Antonio Spurs

Dennis Rodman

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 17:24:20 GMT

How You Look Matters ...

Yeah you read that right and I'll repeat it How you look and carry yourself matters!! More than the pencil necks over on Strength Coach Twitter want you to believe!! Here's my question ' Why is it the ones that say it doesn't matter always seem to have the same look... like their shirts on a wire hanger!!?

Back to my story. Dennis signed with the Spurs in 1993 and promptly made Coach Pop and the ownership of the Spurs aware of what was to come. First he was late for the press conference announcing his signing and when he came in the world knew why he was late... he'd gone to the hair salon and dyed his hair blonde!!! That afternoon David Robinson and a few others brought Dennis down to the Riverwalk to show him around they landed at Dick's Last Resort because the Spurs players got a $50 off card.

Dennis walked past me then just stopped and walked over to me and said .... "I know you don't I?" Lord you should have seen the faces on my co-workers and the people around!!

I said "Yeah we met a couple times when I was at a few Detroit Pistons games including a couple play off games during the 1989-90 NBA Championships". I continued "I trained David Greenwood who played on the Pistons with you?"

He smiled and said " How the hell could I forget you... Look at the damn size of you. I remember thinking that you were a huge dude then I saw you working David and training yourself lifting heavy and box jumping but it was when you were messing around and threw a ball from the baseline and hit the opposite backboard so hard the boys on the team thought it was gonna break!!!"

As I think about it now I smile because it's not the first time I've heard this that it wasn't just my size but my ability to do something with that strength and size!!

Dennis was a workhorse and a blast to train. We always trained late at night at Olympic Gym long after it closed then we'd go eat!!

His work capacity was unbelievable and Brungy who was the Spurs Strength and Conditioning Coach and later would hire me as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Spurs use to tell me that Dennis would ride the bike for 45 minutes and lift before the game and as soon as the game was over he'd be back on the bike for another 45 minutes!!!

I've got a few stories about the harassment Dennis got from some of the idiots that came in to Dick's but Dennis just wanted to eat and listen to the band for a set then he'd head out. He ordered the same thing every time he came in... 2 orders of Fried Catfish and Iced Tea!!! He came in early before any crowds and would always sit in my section so he could be left alone to eat.

Play Hard ... Train Harder ... NO EXCUSES

Reflections

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 17:50:06 GMT

Why? I don't understand how this could have happened

I’m not supposed to be here, that’s what the doctor told me during my first check up after bypass surgery. Your heart was in real bad distress and you should not have made it!!

WOW what a smack in the face of reality or is it facing my own mortality

Late in the night on June 6th and into the early morning hours of June 7th Dr Morris worked hard to place a stent in the artery behind my heart then explained to Sally and me that I need bypass surgery… I yelled NO …. I thought that that surgery was a health sentence but he calmly told us (at 4am) that with the blockages that I had left all in the Window Maker that he’d normally tell the person that ‘we’re going to make you as comfortable as we can’ meaning you’re not leaving this hospital alive!! He smiled and said with all of the confidence in the world ‘You… I’d say that you’ll be back in the gym lifting heavy shit in 12-16 weeks with a cool scar running down your chest!!!’

On June 10th they wheeled me into surgery and gave me a new lease on my life…

Why was I left here… that was a question I had been asking over and over again.

One day my question was answered… I was having a shit day when Sally called me from work, if you don’t know I’ll tell you that depression is a reality after bypass surgery. When you get put on the bypass machine during surgery your body knows that physiologically you were dead!! That’s right… dead… the heart is stopped and the bypass machine is doing its job while the amazing surgery team does theirs but the bottom line is… heart stopped = death.

Anyways Sally asked if I had gotten cleaned up and dressed which I replied that I hadn’t just yet… she sternly said “Dr Morris said to get up every morning on time and clean up and not just sit around… he said you can drive now so get your ass up and get out of the house, take yourself to eat something healthy and go for a walk at the park… NOW” and she hung up!!!

Welp that’s exactly what I did that day!! After I ate I decided to go to Memorial Park near where we lived in Houston but instead of parking near the tennis center where we’d park to walk I found myself in front of the small church so being a tough guy… as I kicked the door open and said ‘Oh you wanna talk…. Good I’ve got some questions for you’ and with that I immediately felt weak and fell to my knees finally stumbling to a pew and for the next couple of hours or I switched between crying and talking. In the end I left the church and haven’t really had many bad days since.

I believe in my heart that God spared me that day so that I could guide others in their own journey through heart surgery and be a guide and motivation in their recovery. Over the past 9 years I have helped many guys about my age with more similarities to me than you'd believe, didn't think there were so many just like me out there!!

I want to use My Journey to tell a story of perseverance and strength AND the Blessings of my Faith in God and his plans for me.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my heart attacks and surgery and I’ll be writing about it and my recovery because my recovery is different than most have experienced.

Sorinex Summer Strong 16

Thu, 18 May 2023 15:43:57 GMT

IT'S A MEATHEAD PICNIC

Sitting at the airport heading out to Sorinex Summer Strong 16.

This was the shirt from SS2 back in 2009 when it was a small gathering of “like minded” strength enthusiasts gathered (or should I say crammed into) in the small showroom/gym to celebrate Richard’s Birthday and our love of Strength.

It was just as simple as it sounds!! We lifted heavy weights and cheered others on as they lifted testing themselves against the Iron. Then we headed outside to the hot as f@*k asphalt parking lot (in the middle of June) to eat BBQ and share stories then it was time to start throwing Highland Games implements into the dark hours before passing out back at my hotel in a bathtub.

I have only missed Summer Strong a couple of times and I really enjoy hanging out with folks I've met before and making new friends that all seem to share a passion. When I'm asked about Summer Strong my reply is always the same... "You've got to experience it for yourself"

#sorinex

#oldstrongguysrule #powersportstrengthconditioning #3xlstout

Highland Games

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

I was a Graduate Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Baylor University and was conditioning the softball teawhen saw a guy throwing stones and weights so I asked my girls about it and they told me that was Coach Boynes the volunteer throws coach and that he competed in something called Scottish Highland Games, they didn’t know what it was but they knew that he wore a kilt.

They must have thought I had lost my mind when I just walked down to the bottom of the hill telling them that I'd be right back then smiling and telling them that training was over!! It was as we were just stretching and talking about the next day's training plan.

I’d been a faithful and passionate subscriber to MILO magazine since the very first edition and saw article after article about the Scottish Highland Games and I had asked so many people how to get into these games but couldn’t find any information. I was leaving competing in powerlifting and wanted something new to challenge my competitive spirit so to see this man at the bottom of the hill that we were running thawing weights and stones I just gravitated towards him.

I introduced myself and Coach Boynes invited me to train with him taking time to teach me and explain the events and history of the Games. I remember this was a Tuesday night and he told me there was a Highland Games competition that weekend not too far from Baylor and that he could get me into the games to compete. I told him that I hadn’t thrown in some 15 years or so and he just looked at me and said “Yeah so…. You want to compete or not?”

Now it’s now early on a Saturday morning and the field still has its morning dew on it and the bustling of the festival getting ready to open had my senses on high. I was introduced to Earl Linza who was the Athletic Director (throughout Texas, Louisiana & Mississippi) and he was more than happy to take my $20 entry fee and tell me Good Luck and YES I had a kilt because …. well because doesn’t everyone own a kilt??!!

What a day I had and at the end of it I was hooked. I came into work on Monday morning and began planning my training exactly like I did for so many of my athletes. I went right to my MILO magazines to see what weekends games were usually on and I wrote to every athletic director for an entry into their games for 1998!!! Yeah back then you either called the AD or you wrote him to get an entry form that you filled out and mailed back with a check!!!

I competed until 2014 when injury robbed me of the joy I felt every time I laced up my throwing shoes and wiped the morning dew off my stone. I’ve struggled since then not just working to recover from 2 Achilles tendon ruptures and heart surgery but because my training has no focus, no motivation, no direction and Lord knows I have tried everything to soothe my competitive spirit that runs deep inside my heart and soul but I always come back to Scottish Heavy Athletics where I enjoyed every bit of the training and competing along with sharing the field with great friends and of course sharing a meal and a beer or 3 after the Games were over...truth be told if I had 3 beers I'd be face down on the floor!!! Yes I am a cheap date!!

I’ve grown tired (and a little angry at myself) of allowing my injuries to define or dictate what it is I want to do in my life…. I feel like I’ve lost my way a little for not doing what it is that I love to do.

I have decided to come out of the retirement that was forced on me and take my place on the field once again. I will be competing a few times this summer and early fall and then in November 2021 I will be compete at the Masters World Championships in Austin Texas, ironically not that far (in Texas driving standards) from where it all started in November of 1997 in a field in Salado Texas.

Now I don’t expect many of you to understand what goes on in my heart or head… hell I barely understand at times!! Especially when the voices in my head start arguing with each other!! I have other physical goals in mind as well all of it working towards Raising Awareness to Heart Diease in Strength Sports. There was always something missing after my recovery from bypass surgery and for me maybe not you, but for me it’s always been the training and the competitions. There has always been something special about getting on the field early in the morning feeling the grass beneath my feet and the weight in my hand or the stone pressed up against my head.

I refuse for another day that is left in my life to allow the injuries or circumstances that I have no control of to control my life!!!

You can cheer for me and/or follow my training on Instagram or here on my website where I'll post much of my training or you can do like most timid souls and not even try to understand and talk shit about my decision .... of course that' crap has never really worked on me

PLAY HARD... TRAIN HARDER... NO EXCUSES

The Squat

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Down this road, in a gym far away,

a young man was heard to say,

“No matter what I do, my legs won’t grow.”

He tried leg extensions, leg curls, and leg presses too

trying to cheat, these sissy workouts he’d do.

From the corner of the gym where the big men train,

through a cloud of chalk and the midst of pain,

where the noise is made with big forty fives,

a deep voice bellowed as he wrapped his knees.

a very big man with legs like trees.

Laughing as he snatched another plate from the stack

chalking his hands and monstrous back,

said, “Boy, stop lying and don’t say you’ve forgotten,

the trouble with you is you ain’t been SQUATTIN’.

-Dale Clark

If you were a powerlifter in the 80’s & 90’s then you have a shirt with Dale’s poem on the back... I still have mine!!!

Play Hard… Train Harder… NO EXCUSES

#oldstrongguysrule #powersportstrengthconditioning

Story Time

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

On today’s date in 1980 I entered the US Army headed to Ft McClellan Alabama to start Basic and AIT.

And also on today’s date in 1999 the San Antonio Spurs won their first NBA Championship becoming the first ABA team since the NBA/ABA merger. Why is that special to me because I was an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach on that team!!!

At my wife’s instance and best mate’s prodding I’m gonna start sharing stories from my life. I honestly never thought anyone would really care about my journey but when I do tell stories I get so many unbelievable responses that motivate me to share more.

That and after some of the concussions I’ve had maybe I can go back and re-read the stories when my mind is fuzzy and realize that I lived a great life!!! It’s not been all rainbows and unicorns…. Actually far from it but I’ve managed to do some amazing things and meet some wonderful people along the way.

It’s often been said that “I write or tell stories of training fiction to make a point about training reality” which is close to the truth although much of what I talk and write about is truth but the names, dates and places have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty alike.

Stories are how we use to share history and stories are the best way to learn. I’ve always been a huge fan of the stories that I’ve read though the year not much of a fan of boring ‘matter of fact’ tellings so I’ll do my best to keep things interesting. Now anyone that knows me know I love to tell stories but I’ll tell you right now that they won’t be in any specific order, sorry my brain just doesn’t work that way!!

Please feel free to go back through the blogs on my website and read some of the stories I’ve already shared.

Let's get to looking back at a life well lived. I hope y'all enjoy.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Man in the Mirror

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Just who is this person looking back at me?

Looking back at my journey especially over this past decade, I may not be where I expected to be nor where I wanted to be and like many others I have made some critical mistakes but I’m trying not to beat myself up over them. I look at my dream board that I haven’t updated because I have been too busy helping others achieve their dreams that it seems I have left no energy for my own. What a decade its been!! It’s definitely been tough but the past couple years have truly tested my resolve but while I may stumble I will never ever quit.

To be honest I’m a little embarrassed at this because it’s something that’s never happened before to me. I’ve always taken care of my own dreams and goals while of course working to help others to achieve their goals and dreams.

Several years ago I heard NFL Football Player and Coaching Legend Mike Ditka read a poem on an inspirational video that resonated with me.

The Man In The Mirror By Dale Wimbrow

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,

And the world makes you king for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that man has to say.

For it isn’t a man’s father, mother or wife,

Whose judgement upon him must pass,

The fellow whose verdict counts most in life,

Is the man staring back from the glass.

He’s the fellow to please, never mind all the rest,

For he’s with you clear to the end,

And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test,

If the man in the glass is your friend.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But the final reward will be heartache and tears,

If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

Yes, now I recognize the man in the mirror looking back at me and while I may not happy with him right now I do love him and I do trust that he will right the proverbial ship and achieve his goals and dreams and make the most out of what’s left of his time here on earth. I understand that I have cheated the man looking back at me and that man looking back at me is my friend.

Over the course of the next blogs I’m going to share more of the journey over this decade of 50 I’m leaving so share the struggles and triumphs as I work towards my goals and more. This will keep me accountable but putting it all out there in the universe for everyone to see.

A dream written down with a date becomes a goal.

A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan.

A plan backed by actions makes your dreams come true.

Play Hard…Train Harder…NO EXCUSES

I'm Ready for a Fight

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

I have decided to share more of the journey of my rehabilitation and also to go back and share the battles I waged in 2012 & 2014 because this is MY STORY OF MY PERSONAL BATTLES TO GET BACK TO MY PLACE IN THE WORLD OF STRENGTH SPORTS and LIFE and if it helps one person then its damn sure worth getting out of my comfort zone and sharing.

Throughout my life and especially over these past years I have persevered though so much because I just do not know any other way to do it. I love pushing my body well beyond any conceived limitations and injury is just part of the journey. When people ask me or learn of the battles I have waged they usually walk off shaking their head. Shit I’m not going to lie, sometimes I stand back myself and wonder just how in the hell I have not just survived this long but have succeeded where most have failed.

As I shared over on social media, it's been 12 weeks since the surgery and about 15 weeks since rupturing my Achilles. As I have had plenty of time to look back at this journey and the first thing I realized is that I had been in pain for well over a year to a point where it began to effect my training and coaching then my daily life when walking became so painful I would be forced to limp and those changes to my gait patterns lead to additional problems with my hip, knee and ankle. Shit, a couple hour drive would have me crying out in pain then because of the inflammation and swelling of my Achilles, ankle and foot the skin on my heel began to crack and bleed this went on for 7 months where it certainly began to affect my quality of life. Imagine sitting on the edge of the bed and just the simple task of your first steps would have you in so much pain that you would damn near be in tears not wanting your heel to touch the ground but you can't walk for even a short distance on your toes because your Achilles won't let you. I also had an impressive big ole knob right where the Achilles attaches to the heel that I swear I bumped 20 times a day and that pain would send me to my knees, hell it got so bad that that there were times I couldn't wear shoes.

More than enough times I got told to go see a doctor.... yeah no shit geez why I didn't think of that!!! I saw the doctor that saved my ass back in 2012 after my other Achilles surgery had gotten infected and a couple other orthopedic surgeons about my problem and solutions that friends over in the UK and in New Zealand had found for the same basic type of injury but I got the same response over and over again... Oh that's considered experimental here in the US so the insurance company won't cover that. So my option was to simply wait for it to rupture and pray it didn't rupture at a bad time like walking back with a heavy squat or trying to run across the street... by the way I'd like to offer a sincere FUCK YOU to UNITED HEALTHCARE and the rest of you insurance assholes for not covering jack shit but you have no problem collecting the premiums every month!!!

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Creation of Tight 5 Performance Training Group

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

The response has been overwhelming and makes me even more excited to offer this program.

The Program cost is $300 for the 12 weeks.

This Program of General Physical Preparation will be 3 Blocks each lasting 4 weeks and building towards PreSeason Training.

Off Season is when we get Strong, Powerful and Fit BUT also working on being a ‘Complete Athlete’. It does no good to make gains that don’t transfer to the rugby pitch so you MUST continue to work on your rugby skills and rugby IQ. Fitness is important but it’s more than just mindless running especially for the ‘BIGS’ of the Tight 5, so there will be Work Capacity Builders within the program that are sure to get your heart beating!!! Mobility and Flexibility Training is also built into the program.

Block 1 - Building Strength and Body Armor (building lean muscle mass)

Block 2 - Building Explosive Strength and Power

Block 3 - Building Athletic Strength and Power

We will chat twice a month to make sure that you are progressing and you’ll also be able to send me videos of your lifting for coaching analysis. In addition we will do a group ZOOM Call once a month to discuss training and I am trying to line up a few of my former/current athletes to join us. Once we start the training we will find a day/time that works and I will record it for those that can’t make it.

All this for $300!!! Payment will be collected via PayPal.

The program is yours forever, you can come back to it anytime.

Any further questions please email me at edcosner@gmail.com

YEAH BABY I'M BACK.......

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

It’s been a long time since I’ve sat down and written anything besides training programs so please bear with me as I get back to something that I really enjoy.

I’ll write about the athletes that I work with and those that I have worked with (and where they are now), my travels spreading my love and passion for Strength and Power Training and those that have had an impact on my journey and finally my time with NOLA Gold Rugby (giving folks an inside look at professional rugby in America and how Americans are treated when it comes to positions on the coaching staff)

BUT what I will write about the most is my coaching and training for the Tight 5 Rugby Forwards which will, of course include those loose forwards who understand the importance of being strong, powerful and explosive whether its in the scrum, lineout or rucking and tackling and my own personal passion of Old Strong Guys Rule because unless you’re on ‘Old Strong Dude’ working to stay strong and powerful still training with passion through everything that life can throw at you AND competing in sports NOT content with sitting on the couch yelling at the TV while telling anyone who will listen your tales from middle school … then how the hell can you tell me how a Masters Athlete needs to train.

Play Hard… Train Harder… NO EXCUSES

So let’s get started………

The Beginning of my Lifelong Journey in the Iron Game

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

In 1983 I travel 6 hours from Ft Polk Louisiana to Austin Texas where the USA Powerlifting National Championships were being held. I went hopeful to get a chance to ask Terry about getting into the sport of powerlifting and for him to sign my copy of Inside Powerlifting. I got a chance to talk to him for a few minutes and he told me about his cousin Rick Gaugler who lived in Corpus Christi Texas and suggested that I travel there to learn from Rick. Maybe he thought I was from the Austin area but then I told him that I traveled some 8+ hours from Ft Polk LA that I was currently Active Duty Army … but hell I drove all the way to Austin JUST to watch the lifting and meet Terry so why the fuck not drive to Corpus Christi so a couple of weeks later armed with what Terry had told me I jumped on my motorcycle and headed the 6+ hours or so to Corpus Christi Texas.

Now, I had absolutely no idea how I was gonna find this Rick guy or even where I was gonna stay but I had earned a 5 day pass from passing an IG Inspection so why not spend it near the beach and find a gym and this Rick Gaugler guy!!! Now remember this is in 1983 so there ain’t no ‘Google Search’ so you actually gotta work for the information you’re seeking. I found a great gym called America Health owned by Rex Kelly and his brother Tom and asked them if they knew Rick and of course they did and told me to go to Bradshaw’s Gym and asked Phil Bradshaw about how to find Rick and to tell Phil that they had sent me over there. Phil was awesome and said of course he knew Rick and would introduce me to him. I spent the next few days lifting and hanging out at the beach wondering when i was gonna meet Rick.

Since I was getting close to getting out of the Army so I was assigned to CQ Duty which had me working Monday 6am - 6pm; off on Tuesday; then Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 6am so I decided that every other Friday I’d drive the 8+ hours to train at Bradshaw’s and hope that ‘this would be the weekend’ that I’d meet Rick. I’d return return to base just in time to clean up and report for duty riding my Honda 750 all night long through the swampland otherwise known as Louisiana!!

Finally I met a couple guys, Rodney and Dan that were powerlifters being trained by Rick and they agreed to introduced me to Rick at the club they all bounced at!!! This happened at a good time because 3 weeks late I got out of the Army. I decided that I wanted to move to Corpus Christi instead of going home to Detroit, yeah honestly it was not a hard decision!!

Now I really didn’t know anyone nor did I have a job I just had the money in my pocket tht I’d been saving. Hell I didn’t even have a place to live or any idea how to get an apartment so for a couple of months I slept in a park on Ocean Drive. I joined Bradshaw’s and landed the typical meathead job…. Bouncer!! I started training with Rodney and Dan, so one Saturday they invited me to ‘the garage’ to spot Rick on heavy squat day but first I had to meet all of them at Luby’s Cafeteria where Rick ate every day but we all ate there together at 11 on Saturday then Rodney, Dan and myself went to Bradshaw’s to squat and after we were finished we headed to the garage where Rick trained.

The impact of that the invitation to the garage gym had on me was HUGE and although I’d been lifting and competing in weightlifting and throwing since I was 14, it was in the Army where I had gotten bitten by the STRENGTH bug and being around and spotting Rick who weighed all of 175 pounds was squatting well over 600 pounds for reps that day that really started me on this journey, this absolutely wonderful journey in the Iron Game.

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

Week in Review

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Ryan Vierra

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Everyone knows that I competed in Scottish Heavy Athletics otherwise known as the Highland Games for a long time before I was forced off the throwing field because of an incompetent doctor who repaired my Achilles. If you want to read the story then please scroll down the blogs and read the story.

Later I’ll write about my time traveling the world throwing heavy shit and turning big cabers but this is about a man that had a huge impact on my career today I want to write about Ryan Vierra and his impact on my throwing career. In a field on a cold Texas winter’s day in February I was competing at my buddy Shadow’s games held on his huge property with some serious colorful characters like Shadow’s brother Mayhem who was later killed while he was a bodyguard for DimeBag Darrel (former Pantera guitarist), athletes from as far away as Canada and as close as Austin and there was a huge physical presence with professional Highland games athlete World Champion Ryan Vierra now let’s just say it …… a damm stud and top of the proverbial food chain. He was there to judge on Saturday and then the next day armed with his observations he held a throws clinic. Coaching us with drills to correct our different issues that he saw and then talking about strength and power training that would help take each of us to a new level. Yeah he did all this for $50….$50 damn dollars for a day long clinic and ended with Ryan out there throwing bombs that had us just standing there with our mouths hanging open and shagging his weights like ‘giggling school girls’!!! I would go on to form an unbreakable bond and friendship with Ryan. I talked to him often, back when you actually called people, I’ve gone out to California to be coached by him and like all athletes that went to see him we stayed as a guest in his home. Ryan picked you up at the airport and took you to one of his favorite restaurants that served huge portions of Polynesian food then the next morning you’d get up and eat a huge breakfast then spend hours upon hours throwing before lunch of a huge burrito that if you finished it you’d get it for free before lifting weights, jumping and throwing medicine balls then doing throwing drills until you got it right before being fed steaks and enjoyed a few beers while watching videos and being coached even more until the early hours of the morning….. you’d do this for a few days before going home not just a better thrower but a better person. Every time I was on the same field as Ryan he would take a minute to watch my throws and remind me of what I was doing wrong or what I was doing right…. think more wrong than right at some competitions!!!! Hahaha!!!

Just as important as the throwing were the meals after the competition then of course the quest to find some ice cream and snacks for the hotel room to be ready for the next day’s throwing!! Because of Ryan Vierra I had a wonderful career throwing stones, heavy weights and turning big cabers while traveling the USA and eventually the World. Besides his personal coaching Ryan and either Kurt or Jason Pauli (I can't remember and I'm too lazy to get up and look) put out some great instructional videos on VHS with drills and old 70's porn music!!! I still have them....hahaha!!!

It's through massive tears running down my cheeks that I will tell you that my mentor, my coach, MY FRIEND is battling prostate cancer and is currently in hospice so please say a little prayer for Ryan, his wonderful wife and daughters. FUCK CANCER - the medical, research and pharmaceutical community can find a way to get rid of wrinkles on a person's face, find a vaccine in a couple months for COVID-19 and more but can't unlock and find a cure for cancer or maybe it's such a money maker that y'all just don't want to find a cure.

Thank You Ryan for everything

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Steve Watterson

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

In continuing along with my 'people who have influenced or helped on my journey..'

Today it’s Steve Waterson who I met when the Houston Oilers were practicing at Southwest Texas State University and Yes I’m aware its called Texas State now but it wasn't back then and the Houston Oilers became the Tennessee Titans!! But back to my story, I was sitting on a picnic table as the team was heading out to the practice fields when Jerry Glanville

I just there sat in my Jeep looking at the big ass bag of gear thinking about what just happened. What an experience!!! I went to 3 games that season and stood on the sidelines each game and I'd called Steve several times in the months up to the next year’s training camp. I was waiting tables at Dick’s Last Resort so Steve use to tell me that if he came into his office and the message said ‘received at 3am’ he knew it was me!!! I use to just call so he didn’t forget me but I didn’t want to bother him while he was coaching so he’d call me when he could and if I wasn’t home he’d leave me a message of a good time to call AND he’d always remind me to get my ass to school so I could become a Professional Strength and Conditioning Coach.

The next season there was a change with Jeff Fisher becoming the new Head Coach and training camp was moved to San Antonio at Trinity University and true to his word Steve had my credentials and another big ass bag of gear!!! I worked and learned AND filled my notebook that I always carry to this very day you will NEVER see me without a notebook and mechanical pencil (0.5 Pentel to be exact) if you see me go ahead and ask to see my notebook and I'll show you...Yeah I'll show you the cover of it because no one sees inside.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned was to always make yourself valuable to the players and to the organization. If you know me and my approach to coaching then you know that I took this lesson to heart!!

When I was with the Spurs I had the pleasure of bringing Steve to a game and while him, me and Brungy (my boss with the Spurs) were visiting after the game I learned from both of them that Steve had told Brungy he was crazy if he didn’t hire me as an assistant after I left Baylor University…. and that is another story and a damn good story at that and it deserves it's own blog. I've also got some great stories from training camp that I'll be sharing as well

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

#powersportstrengthconditioning #oldstrongguysrule

The High Pull

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Throwing in the Highland Games is a different beast and my goal is producing as much power as possible to turn a big caber, get a 56 or 42 pound weight over the bar or the 16 pound sheaf over the bar.

Yes I do cleans and at 60 years old I still snatch and that's with my sternum glued and wired together after heart surgery and get this with 3 achilles injuries I still jump and anyone that knows me knows I love me some medball throws. Add to all of it I also do hundreds of drills per month training working on the technical aspects of 9 events that are contested.

My sport is The Highland Games also known as Scottish Heavy Athletics and I do what is necessary to become a Champion…. It’s as simple as that.

I’m looking forward to going into my Off Season Training and maybe even stepping back on the field for a few local games after having to take a break from competitions. I really miss the training for the Games.

Last year I jumped back into competition too quick and the injury to my hamstring and hip have taken a bit longer than I thought or expected it to heal. Of course combine that with our move back to Texas and the mental and emotional beating I took from the absolute toxic shitshow that I was coaching with the New Orleans Gold…. It’s taken it’s toll on me but as the old Dick’s Last Resort logo said…. ‘You can’t kill a man born to hang’

This was written in response to a strength and conditioning coach over on Strength Coach Twitter hating on the high pull which just shows that the person doesn’t know what they’re talking about and probably thinks you can only power clean or power snatch with the barbell too…. but in future posts I’ll continue giving the high pull some love and bring some focus to other strength and conditioning coaches who use it like Al Vermeil…

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

#powersportstrengthconditioning #oldstrongguysrule

Tight 5 Performance Training

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Well the first month of the training program and judging by the emails and text messages that I've been receiving the training is going very well. Athletes are loving having a dedicated program that they feel is making them better and that was in the first 4 week block just wait until the next block is completed. It's been going so well and I've gotten quite a few inquiries about starting another group that I'm going to open the training up to another group of dedicated and hard working Rugby Forwards!! If this is you then scroll down the page a few for the particulars on getting started. I will make the same offer and the timing will be good for you Forwards ending the program about the end of September just in time for a little PreSeason Training leading into the start of the real 15's season which is generally in January. So what do you say.... wanna join in and take your game to a whole new level?? If you do then drop me an email at edcosner@gmail.com

PLAY HARD...TRAIN HARDER... NO EXCUSES

Strongman Training

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

To all of the “Strength and Conditioning Coaches” I see posting on social media or that I hear about from the athletes that I work with…

If you want to add Strongman Training or Strongman Conditioning Circuits into your athlete’s training programs that’s great BUT at least understand what it is you’re adding and how to do it safely and effectively.

Here’s an idea instead of just copying shit…. learn to use them by asking someone that actually does it. The

Trust me there’s more goes to it than you think… selection of exercises, weight of implement, time limits, technique and so much more. Take the time to learn before someone gets injured and you blame the exercise instead of blaming YOURSELF!!

I took the time to learn from and train with the very best in the world before I ever had an athlete do any strongman training.

I’m not exaggerating on this and here’s a little taste of the action…. I was at Sorinex Summer Strong and Bert has the original stones from strongman with the MacGlashen Stones and I was taught to lift the stones by World’s Strongest Man competitor Dave Ostlund and a few years later I was outside lifting the #2 stone and a voice asked me if I’d like him to help me to lift the stones and I turn around and standing there is non other than one of the greatest strongmen / powerlifters in history Bill “Kaz” Kazmaier. Still at Sorinex Richard Sorin the ‘Grip King’ worked with me on grip training…. I couldn’t grab my fork or my manhood to pee for days my hands and forearms were so sore and fatigued. Again more information that you think when it comes to something like Strongman Training.

Back at my gym back in Houston Travis Ortmayer would come in to train and invited me to train with him at my place as well as his storage shed where I learned more stone lifting, log clean and press, farmers carry, yoke walk and much more. I’ve listened to and trained with other Worlds Strongest Man competitors as well AND the people that coach them!!!

Here’s another and a biggie too …. Dr Terry Todd who as a kid I watched talk on the late 70’s version of Worlds Strongest Man back on CBS and of course his book Inside Powerlifting but that’s an entire other story so back to my rant, I visited with Terry and his wonderful wife Jan at The University of Texas where they are professors and Terry explained in great detail how to choose exercises and everything that went with that but down to the scientific reasoning…. Bet your ass you didn’t expect that shit!!!! Yeah a lot goes into this….. more than you think!!!

The biggest impact on me was actually training and competing in Strongman contests!!! Back when I was a kid and it was on CBS I’d head outside and try my best to recreate the events, later when I was in the Army and stationed in Germany this type of training was all we had to do at times. Fast forward to competing in Scotland doing a Highlander Challenge (a combination of Heavy Athletics and Strongman) but in 1997 Bill Holland started an amateur strongman competition in a field in Azle Texas I went on to compete for 5 years before concentrating on the Scottish Highland Games.

There’s more to the story and it’ll continue in a later blog…

Old Man Rant Over!!! ?

(actually this has been brewing inside of me for a long ass time probably around 2006, I don’t know how I kept it bottled up inside me!!)

#oldstrongguysrule #3xlstout #powersportstrengthconditioning #tight5performance

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Thick Bar Training

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Grabbing a thick barbell or dumbbell will have you feeling like you're grabbing a damn telephone pole!!! Safety first here.... always and I mean always do your pressing inside of a power rack because of the thickness and the fact that it will roll out of your hands you have to protect yourself. Usually the thick bar work is performed starting on the pins set at various points but DO NOT let the bar simply crash back to the pins this will for sure get you kicked out of most gyms and honestly there ain't enough gyms out there that cater to the more hard-core lifter. I'm telling you this from personal experience, as much as I travel for coaching I can attest to the difficulty in finding a gym with the equipment that I need to train.

Using thick bars will develop unparalleled open hand grip strength, forearm, wrist, finger and thumb strength. If you've used a thick bar then you know the thumb is hard at work for sure while the barbell or thick handled dumbbell like the one you can find at IronMind which brings me to another benefit and that is and that is the FEAR FACTOR.. don't drop that damn thing on your chest or head!!! I'd also say that there is a mind-body connection beyond the fear factor, when you grab that Fat Bar and lock in your grip to start the pull on a power clean or just a pull that damn thing is fighting you all way..... to me it's a ME vs YOU and dammit I'm determined to win that battle.

You want to make sure that you strengthen your body not damage it so you be best to follow a few simple rules. 1. Set your body tight 2. Do not just press the bar off the pins, you have to flex your shoulders and elbows then you drive into to until it begins to move then you can jam that damn thing up 3. When lowering the bar back to the pins you want to control it the whole way so I play a game and that is to set the bar back on the pins as quiet as possible. I really emphasis this on the final rep coming down super slow and this is more of a fuck you to the bar because I refuse to let it beat me!!! 4. Set up for the next rep exactly the same do not get in a hurry.

For Pressing I'll usually set the bar right at my chest or chin and perform 5-4-3-2-1 working to the heaviest possible single for today. This requires some thinking on your part to plan out the weight to use on those first sets so it can help you as you learn to challenge yourself for the number of reps that you have assigned. I don't miss reps very often in training, I plan out what I'm gonna do for the reps that are written. I'm challenging myself to get stronger and more powerful not to stay the same.

I do a lot of barbell rows in my training so I like doing 2 weeks on a regular bar then I'll throw in the fat bar for a week before going back to the barbell. Don't be scared.... get some power cleans with the Fat Bar. I also do double arm and single arm holds.... why do that with a regular barbell... same goes for curls!! Challenge Yourself and grab a fat bar!!!

PLAY HARD...TRAIN HARDER... NO EXCUSES

Ode to my Powerlifting Belt

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

I do have other training belts that I’ll use but the other day I was looking at that beautiful black and purple belt just sitting there and I began remembering so many of the heavy lifts done with this belt of mine. (cue "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen) so I gabbed my belt and headed to the gym to train.

Picking it up off the squat rack (I’ve never put my belt on the ground) then wrapping it around the squat rack to get a good pull to perfectly tighten it… a true Powerlifter’s belt has a permanent bend from doing this!! Then I rub my middle finger across the holes to make sure it’s in the right hole before adjusting it into the perfect position on my waist. It always seems to slips into groove like it was made to just fit perfectly in that spot.

Maybe I stopped using it because my current lifts don’t come close to what I’ve done before, back then (was it really that long ago?)

I was regularly hitting 160-180kg push press behind the neck, 100-120… hell 140kg seated press, 250-300kg squats and deadlifts (no wraps or sleeves) 300-350kg tire flips and YES even 100kg power curls (cheat curls) and this shit was done for multiple sets and reps not any “just hit a heavy single” bullshit!!

Guess that's just the cold hard fact about getting older and still being in love with the Heavy Iron. I was in my mid to late 40’s the last time I hit these numbers and now as I quickly approach 60 I still have strength goals that require me to be at the strongest that my body can be at whatever age I am.

And YES after all the years I’ve been training ... I still love the Heavy Iron .

Thank You Pete Alaniz of Titan Support Systems for my belt!! I got this beauty back in 1995 after I had moved up a few weight classes and out grew my old Bob Morris belt.

Huge thanks to my Dad who started me on this journey, Terry Todd who I would later become friends with but in 1978 through his book Inside Powerlifting he was the first to inspire my passion for Strength and Power and a very special thanks to Rick Gaugler who didn’t just introduce me to the sport of powerlifting, he ignited a passion and love within me and then coached me to heights that I could never have dreamed of when I first started this journey in 1976.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

My Battle Against Heart Diease

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Low intensity cardiovascular training to strengthen the heart!!! NO WAY… it’ll take away my GAINS!!! Why does our ego think like this until it’s too late, the damage has been done.

No one wants to face their own mortality... especially a fucking strength coach!!! I’m not mortal I have to be PUMPED UP for the next group!!! I’ll just eat a little at my desk before the group comes in... shit I had a good hard workout this morning.... even though I slept like crap from snoring so bad that I woke up more tired than I was before I headed off to bed… Funny thing about my sleep apnea and its not the damage that it did to my heart … actually it’s more sad to think that when I was with the Spurs the athletic trainer, doctors or anyone else never said anything to me and never intervened even when the players would not allow me to sleep on the same floor as them because they could hear me though the doors or walls!!! Not one person spoke up and said shit to me that I was doing irreversible damage to my heart. Sally sure hell did that’s for sure and she didn’t give me a choice in going to get a sleep study done and then using my CPAP machine once I got it but by then the damage to my heart could not be undone.

Fast forward 6 years and I can add more to the cause of my heart diease with the asshole Dr. Marvin Brown of San Antonio Orthopedics and Associates who fucked up my Achilles and ankle surgery leaving me with infections that caused me to have an additional 9 surgeries in order to save my life, almost dying twice from septic shock or that I came damn close to having my left foot amputated and the 20+ weeks of seriously nasty antibiotics that were given to me through a PICC Line. That PICC Line was inserted into my brachial vein and it went all the way to my heart so those antibiotics that destroy the organisms or should I say all organisms (you can actually feel them burning as they run through your veins) can get straight to the heart and pumped out to where they need to be!!! I could tell you more but you’d probably want to vomit…. I know it leaves me feeling that way. It was barely 2 years later that I suffered my heart attacks. Oh and a side note to the asshole politicians, lawyers and lobbyists that rewrote Texas’ Tort Laws making it next to impossible to sue for medical malpractice because the piece of shit lawyers can’t make enough money since they capped the payout!!! Never mind the lifelong damage that was done to me from now having only 20% of an Achilles attached or the ankle ligament that was eaten away by the infection. I’m left with permanent weakness and a limp….but i still have 2 feet so I guess I’m supposed to be thankful for that tidbit.

I know the scenarios... I know the excuses.... I lived them and used them and now I have the damn +12” scar that serves as a reminder of the “prize you get for not taking care of your heart”!

It all came to a head, 8 years ago late on a Friday night (6/5/2014) after coaching and training all day as I sat on the edge of the bed “bartering with God” looking into my wife’s beautiful eyes and said good bye to our bulldogs because I honestly didn’t think I was gonna be coming back home... and yet I still acted like I was invincible because I was taught throughout my life to never show weakness. I’ve battled through a childhood of violence to become an Airborne Ranger, Champion Strength and Power Athlete all while bouncing in some shit clubs and I never once showed weakness or fatigue, it’s just not in my DNA or I would have been eaten alive.

10 June 2014 I believe that God answered my prayers to not take me just yet as I finally had a family to call my very own, blessed to be loved by Sally and our Furbabies but God had something in store for me, something that I feel is why he spared me that late Friday night into Saturday’s early morning hours. I know this because the doctor told my that my heart was in bad shape, I coded twice before he finally got the stent inserted giving me a fighting chance by stabilizing me while I waited to have triple bypass surgery on 10 June.

I felt compelled to write this after several of my friends and people I know from lifting have died from heart disease and many more have had bypass surgery. I always reach out to them to prepare them for the journey ahead.

I’ve had a lot of folks reach out and ask me questions on how I developed heart disease. I know that all of this that I’ve written about contributed to it along with that old strength athlete adage of “mass moves mass” so even though I was lifting heavy, regularly jumping on a 30” box and throwing heavy shit really far being 5’10” and weighing 286 pounds (130kg) and more probably wasn’t the best thing especially at the Masters level.

In the coming weeks I’ll be writing and sharing my journey from barely able to walk to squatting and yes…. at week 16 I started snatching again!!

Until then…..

Play Hard… Train Harder… NO EXCUSES

Don’t Ever Assume

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

When I was in Ranger School in the Army I learned a very valuable lesson that I have always held close...

"Assumtion is the mother of all fuck ups!!!"

Heard the announcers of the Scotland v England rugby game at 6 Nations describe a player who is 6' and 19 stone (266 pounds for us here in the USA and 120kg for everyone else not in Scotland) asking

"How can a player look like T-Rex but move like a Belly Dancer??!!"

Big Boys you better be training to be exactly this..... no excuses to not be able to move like an athlete

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

Decisions... Decisions... Decisions

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Early in my coaching career, 1995 at the NSCA Conference in Phoenix AZ to be exact, I heard a well respected strength and conditioning coach and researcher say, “You’re either a powerlifting guy or a weightlifting guy” when referring to training ideology and I sat there in the audience just thinking… here I wasn’t even certified yet and hadn’t completed my bachelors degree as my own professional sporting career had just ended and my coaching career was just beginning and here was someone that everyone seem to respect saying that you had to be one or the other.

Now I know you’re thinking to yourself, why did this matter so much? Welp, even though my coaching career was just beginning didn’t mean I hadn’t coached anyone because I damn sure had in fact I worked with David Greenwood for 2 years first when he was with the San Antonio Spurs then when he was member of 1989-90 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons and a couple guys from the San Antonio Missions (Dodgers AA Club) who’d go on to have Hall of Fame careers in the MLB, as well as volunteering with the Houston Oilers (for summer training camp in San Antonio) and the San Antonio Riders and if that wasn’t enough I had just begun to develop the Strength and Conditioning program at UTSA (they didn’t have one, I was the first Strength and Conditioning Coach in school history) in conjunction with the new Basketball Coach, Softball Coach and Volleyball Coach eventually taking on all 16 NCAA D1 Sports … so yeah you can say that I had a little invested here….

I sat there thinking in the audience thinking ‘What the hell… I’m screwed if I have to choose between JUST those 2 because I have always been taught to use every available tool possible while training for my sporting career and in my coaching career.

I’m thinking about this because with the creation of well I’ll just call it what it is ‘Strength Coach Twitter’ there’s always someone on there yammering about their own beliefs with ‘absolute statements’ on training methodology… well here’s a NEWSFLASH for y’all … I’m training athletes to become better ATHLETES I’m not training them to become weightlifters or powerlifters or strongman or bodybuilders ... no matter how much I love each of these sports.

Next Blog I’ll continue with this rant…. but until then

PLAY HARD… TRAIN HARDER… NO EXCUSES

Necessary Adjustments

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

End of the year meetings with the Head Coach are always a little stressful as you walk in and sit down wondering if you're coming back nest season or looking for another team or worse a job!!!

One year as the Off Season was set to begin and I was heading home to Texas I walked into my end of year evaluation with my coach and before he could say anything I asked him what I needed to work on to become a better player for the team and to see more playing time?

He leaned back in his chair sipping his espresso from the tiny cup in his large hands staring at me... all the sudden he lerched forward slamming his chest into the desk and looked me dead in the eyes and says

"Are you prepared to make the necessary adjustments"

I asked "What adjustments are those?"

He replied "Whatever adjustments are necessary!!!"

I went home and had one of the best off seasons of my life and one that would become the template not just for that off season but for my life... YES I made the adjustments that were necessary and to this very day I continue with the thought of making the necessary adjustments

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

Grip Training

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

When the scrum laws changed in rugby New Zealand All Blacks props Ben & Owen Franks asked me to find a way to train his fingers to have a stronger grasp the opposing props jersey. We trained the fingers, wrists, forearms AND biceps because all of that is necessary for them when they scrimmage and lift in the line out.

Once the coaches noticed the improvements that were made (because improvements made in training must show up in the sport) those “grip games” as I called them became required by Scrum Coach/Guru Mike ‘Crono’ Cron. Many of those grip workouts are still going strong with the New Zealand All Blacks Forward Pack.

Back in the late 80’s very early 90’s Mike Piazza and Alex Karros came to workout at the gym where I was training, before they were with the Dodgers they were with the San Antonio Missions MiLB. Anyways they saw me doing grip/forearm work and came over to talk to me asking a million questions and writing stuff down, they invited me out to a game which I of course accepted.

They wanted me to come early so I could watch batting practice and had given me seats by the on deck circle. They and others kept coming by the screen to tell me how they were loving the work I talked to them about. Next thing the manager comes over to talk to me then the general manager comes over to talk to me and a month later and I’m being flown out to Los Angeles to speak to the Dodgers players and training staff at the invitation of Tommy Lasorda!!

There was a guy sitting next me and he’d been listening in and he started talking to me and was extremely interested in the grip/forearm training ideas I had. He says, well if Tommy wants to talk to you then I damn sure I want you to come out and talk to our boys and he hands me his card, he was the Minor League Scouting Director for the San Francisco Giants!!

Those are just 2 of the many personal examples I can share…. I’ve got many, many more from my athletic and coaching career in Scottish Heavy Athletics, Football, Aussie Rules, Basketball, Wrestling, Softball, Volleyball, Hockey, Judo, Lacrosse, Bobsled (driver), Fencing, and even Badminton. By the way these are sports that I have worked in at all levels including professional and the Olympics.

PLAY HARD... TRAIN HARDER... NO EXCUSES

Toxic Culture

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

A heartfelt Thank You to those of you who were there for me over this past year or so as I worked to heal from an unbelievably toxic environment that tired to kick my ass BUT that toxic environment LOST when it tried to claim THIS GUY.

Donnie Maib hit the proverbial nail on the head with this slide!!

I'll be sharing much of the fight that I had with that toxic environment that I battled with the hope that if anyone is going though some tough shit that you can find strength to keep fighting.

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

San Antonio Riders

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Does anyone know or even remember the World League of American Football?

The San Antonio Riders were owned by Larry Benson (brother of Tom Benson RIP who was the owner of the New Orleans Saints) and the GM was none other than Tom Landry (maybe you’ve heard of him?) and Head Coach Mike Riley. Here’s a nice footnote Jason Garrett was one of the 3 QBs on the roster!!

A few of the players trained at the same gym as me and I would join in on their training. I learned a lot those 2 years about training athletes by listening to the players and coaches.

In 1992 I helped out at the league’s combine and Coach Riley told me I could come out and learn any days I wanted and I took him up on that offer damn near every day. I learned so muc'h from several of the coaches but mainly the Offensive Line Coach (there were no strength and conditioning coaches in that league).

Great memories and I can’t believe I still have the sweatshirt and really can’t believe it still fits… just a little tight!! Hahaha!!

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

#powersportstrengthconditioning #oldstrongguysrule

Stories from Coaching

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Fact: the Spurs DID NOT even have one squat rack when I joined the team in 1999. We did have a decent selection of DBs a couple of machines and not one but TWO Smith Machines!! WHY!!??

I laugh now but I was the squat rack for the players that wanted to squat. I’d actually clean the weight up and put it on their traps and let’s be honest here we all know I might be all of 5’10” and my short arms ain’t helping me hand that bar up that high…. I’d stand on a 24” box and hang clean the bar and hand it to them!!

After that season the equipment that was to go in the new training facility was ordered and just before the 1999-2000 season started we got in a beautiful set up complete with platform for our little closet of a weight room at the Alamodome where we played and practiced most days.

During the season when players who were with us for the Championship Season of 1999 that were now with other teams would come to town and my boss would bring them through to show them the new stuff… one day he brings a player in and he’s bragging and showing off the stuff and the guys sees me in there working with someone prior to the game (yes some guys lifted prior to or right after playing - but I’ll get to that another time) anyways he sees me and yells….

“I see you Big Ed…now motherfucker this is your shit here doing what you always said we should be doing”!!!

YEP… as year two starts I’m already in the dog house with the boss!!! Hahaha!!!

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

Comeback... I don't think so

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:32:00 GMT

Now let me first explain myself because I had an amazing career since competing in my first Highland Games in Salado Texas on a cold November morning in 1997 before an injury forced me into ‘retirement’… well the asshole doctor that screwed up my surgery and ignored the infections but that’s a story for another day. It does bother me that I didn't go out only own volition but that's life in Athletics and you have to accept it.

Now listen to me closely this ain't no pity piece. I have so many wonderful memories of competing and the men I was blessed to share the field with and afterwards a meal and even a beer or two, not just around the USA but all over the World and I managed to win a few championships and even set some records along the way.

It always make me smile when I look back over my athletic career and think that I seemed to have had a much more competitive career as a Master than I ever did as an athlete in the Open Class and I know that I damn sure had a hell of a lot more fun as a Master Athlete!!!

I am very proud of my career and hope that I always carried myself with honor and respect for the history of the Scottish Highland Games and all of those who competed with me and those that came before me. It is the history that’s intrigued me so much and partially what drew me to the Highland Games. Unfortunately after competing in the 2021 Masters World Championships I realized that I just didn’t have the same concentration and focus while competing nor with the training and I doubt that I ever will again. I will not leave Scottish Heavy Athletics nor will I ever forget it, I don't think I could even if I wanted to but I doubt that I will ever again return to it as I once had nor will it ever possess me as it once did. The sport provided me some of the happiest times of my life. I am always asked how and why did I push myself in a sport where there was no monetary gain and very little publicity but I’m telling you that those were the happiest times for me throwing the weights and stones, picking a a monstrous caber and giving it a little nudge with my shoulder and taking off running then the elation after turning it.

Even more personally gratifying was the training; explosively lifting heavy weights , throwing medicine balls and jumping you can even add in the hundreds and hundreds of drills that not only had to be done but had to be done correctly….each and every rep done to perfection. Let’s not forget the hours spent alone in a field throwing or the long early morning drives to different games and of course stopping for breakfast at Cracker Barrel to fuel up!!

I was lucky that Sally was able to come to some of the games, of course if you ask her way too many games and see my compete. I will say that one of the biggest highlights for me was her watching me win the US Caber Championship in Pleasanton and being congratulated by Jim 'Big Chief' McGoldrick but even better was driving around the Wine Country afterwards or staying on the field competing at the 2005 Masters World Championships after rupturing my achilles then as she and her sister dragged me all over New Hampshire telling me "you competed all day yesterday so get your big ass up here and stop whining!!!"

So with all of this in mind (and a little more that I haven’t shared yet) I have concluded that it’s time to move onto something different in “The Wide World of (Masters) Strength Sports” and this next challenge is something that I have talked about and dreamt about since the early 90’s when I got a book from IronMind called “Of Stones and Strength” by Peter Martin.

The Choice by Steve Jeck

To the prospective lifter, a stone seems to say, ‘I’m not here to be lifted. You have gyms and such to satisfy that need. Now, if you still care to proceed, then be ready to pay.’ What’s more, should you be blessed enough triumph over the stone, the only adulation you’re likely to receive will come from the local squirrels and millipedes, for most big stones are still resting obscurely in nature right where God put them.

Ultimately, a man is challenged and bettered by facing any task that exceeds his current abilities. Some choose big stones. Others drive or transverse past such challenges. . . . pity.”

I have decided that it's best for me to start dropping the excess weight that I put on because as we all know 'mass moves mass' and now whether that's true or not it needs to come off and stay off!!!

I've also begun to write a Training Manual for Masters Strength Athletes to teach the things I've learned over the years to stay healthy and out on the field or platform doing what you love.

It's my time to teach and coach something I love

Play Hard… Train Harder… NO EXCUSES

Hello World.... I'm BACK!!!

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

WOW it sure has been a long damn time since I've written anything on here and for no other reason other than just being lazy. I just realized its been over a damn year but I guess with the convenience of social media its easy to make small posts but hard to convey more important or longer thoughts or ideas. So in 2019 I am making a bigger effort to come back here to my own website to get more information out there. I enjoy writing and have several blogs in various states of completion. You'd think with the downtime I had after surgery while trapped on the porch here in New Orleans I would have more blogs published but after 3 weeks of intense pain and discomfort trapped in the house a little depression starts to set in since it was my right achilles there was no driving. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I was allowed to remove the boot to drive.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Time Management

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Kind of a simple idea but oh so difficult to implement at times!!! I've become a victim of some success here at PowerSport Strength and Conditioning and I have certainly been a bit absent in updating the website with all of the exciting things I have been doing, the places I have visited, clinics I have attended and/or spoke at, and putting up pictures!!! All it takes is to manage your time....again sounds easy but DAMN!!! So look for several updates to the website and it's content in the next coming weeks!!!!

Until then... Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Training Philosophy

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

One of my favorite exercises

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Today I saw a video of the Hurricanes using an exercise that I taught head coach Mark "Hammer" Hammet and strength and conditioning coach...

A Day in the Park

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

And some thoughts on Strength Training for Basketball. Today Sally and I went over to Memorial Park to do a little running!! That's right...

Professional Strongman Travis Ortmayer gets some training in

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Spencer Nealy signs with the Detroit Lions

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Sorinex Summer Strong 9

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Team Texas Weightlifting

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Strength

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Congrats Chris Barnes

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Training with the Hurricanes

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

2013 San Antonio Highland Games

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Well it is that time of year for the San Antonio Highland Games. Head out to the Helotes Fairgrounds and cheer on these athletes. We've...

Darren Williams wins Bronze at Masters Pan American Championships

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

30 Years

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

The other week I decided to tag along with Sally to Austin so I could get a nice undisturbed workout in at Hyde Park Gym. Lately, we've been spending a lot of talking about my career in competitive Strength Athletics. It seems since my recovery from the heart issues I have been much more driven towards returning to competing both on the platform and in the field. So as we drove towards Bastrop and I talked about my first eve r powerlifting meet and according to Sally she could not only hear but she could feel the passion and love for a sport that she just hadn't seen before in me. Sure I'm like most 'Old Strong Guys' in I love telling stories about my past glory and exploits in the Iron Game hell just ask some of the kids I train but for some reason this time was different. Not only could I remember so much more of the path I took to my first time to walk onto a powerlifting platform but I could feel it so deep inside of me that it almost brought me to tears. So we stopped at Buc-ee's for some food and coffee and there on this beautiful Texas morning I told her and if you don't mind I'll tell you....what the hell it's my blog....Let me tell you a story.........

Great start to the trip for sure because I doubt we were very far out of Corpus Christi.

I was headed to compete in the Region 9 Championships in the 198 pound class!!!

It's Saturday morning and I'm enjoying breakfast when Rick comes to the table and scolds the hell out of me because I still had to weigh in and I was too close to making weight to be eating and well breakfast proved to be a bad idea because when I stepped on the scale I was 4 pounds over so its off to the car to bundle up, turn on the heater and chew some sour gum so I can spit off the 4 pounds and I've only got 2 hours to do it!! Yeah back then you not only had weigh-in 2 hours before the competition but you had to have all of your gear inspected and marked not like the shit is now!! Since I'm out in the car trying to make weight the 'story telling' side of me will get a bit off track....1985 they are no bench press shirts, there was 1 guy in the USA making powerlifting belts so you ordered it and waited for Bob Morris to send it to you and wrist wraps was an ACE bandage (1 1/2" wide) that was cut in half...well to be honest we never cut the thing we'd stretch it out on a weight tree and beat a 2 1/2 pound plate on it until it was cut in half and our knee wraps were nice and soft (you can see mine in the picture and they are still the office at my gym). Well I finally made weight and got warmed up but I guess I was in the wrong area but because I never heard them call my name to tell me where in the lifting order I was but what I do remember is Rick coming and grabbing me by the hair and shoving me in a chair and he wrapped one knee, Stan wrapped the other and with a slap on my back and a shove towards the correct platform my opener of 551 pounds was waiting for me. I had a great day in the squat hitting my goal of 606.5 pounds (275kg) but the sqaut is my favorite lift and now we move on to my least favorite the damn bench press!! I did get a nice 352.75 (160kg) and we finally eat some lunch a traditional Texas Powerlifting lunch... its Whataburger time!!! Shit I think Whataburger should be sponsoring powerlifting the way we seem to eat it every meet!! Well the meet ends with the deadlift and it's a lift that I was starting to love and because of that pathic bench press I had a few people closing in on me. I love the brutal mindset you have to possess to walk up to a heavy ass weight, snort an amonia cap and pull that damn thing off of the floor while gravity is fighting like mad to keep it on the ground. Well, I finish my day with a winning pull of 578.75 (262.5kg) and won my class with a total of 1528 pounds (697.5kg) and I am hooked on the sport of Powerlifting!!

Well the meet is over and now it's time to eat and drink a beer!!! We head out to find somewhere to buy some beer and we happen to drive by a couple of cops stopped so we pull up and ask them where....they looked at us like we were idiots and told us Austin!! Bastrop was a dry county and there was no beer sales....what the crap is that!!?? So we got some pizza and headed back to our motel room where Rodney and I decided we were sore and needed to soak in the hot tub WITH our pizza!! I can remember floating the pizza box back and forth to each other and why do I remember this....because we both got sick as dogs. Yeah it was a great trip home laying across the back seat of the car dying!!! I'll tell you honestly I would not change any part of this story for the world. I must thank Rodney Serpa and Dan Deweese for inviting me onto the platform at Bradshaw's Gym to train with them, Rick Gaugler who coached and taught me the sport that I still love today, he also taught me how to be a man in this world and his friendship I cherish to this very day. Rick got off work at 2am from the club and drove to coach us then turned around and drov e back and went straight back to work... getting no sleep!!

Also Pete Alaniz who supplied me (and continues to sponser me) not only my gear but a friendship that has lasted since we met back in 1984. Pete owns Titan Support Systems the #1 company in the world for all of your gear. What an awesome introduction to a sport that has taught me many lessons in competition, in life and now in coaching. Always find love and passion in whatever you do. Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

My Calling in Life

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

I have been asked this question so many times... "what got me into coaching and more importantly becoming a Strength and Conditioning Coach? Ever since I was about 15 years old I have known and I let everyone know that being a Strength Coach was my #1 Goal in life. What you have to understand is that this was back in the mid 70's and there sure as hell weren't many strength and conditioning coaches out there and in fact most sport coaches frowned on lifting weights since you know it made you 'muscle bound' whatever in the hell that means!!! Of course you tell your teachers, coaches or even your buddies this and I can guarantee that you will be mocked and made fun of I even had a teacher tell me that with dreams (not goal a dream) like this I would amount to nothing in life and trust me it sure as hell wasn't any better at home!!

Where did I get such a crazy notion (that's what my teachers, friends and family called it) that one could be a Strength Coach and make an athlete better by lifting weights. Strength and Health magazine was the 'shit' back then and it covered the sport of weightlifting (notice I didn't say Olympic weightlifting), powerlifting and a little bit of bodybuilding. One day I got a copy and there it was 'my motivation' in the terms of a big old dude standing in the doorway of the weight room at St. Bodaventure University in New York. I can still see the picture of him standing there all 70's Big and the article that went with pictures of that weight room created in a boiler room. The article talked about how he had coached with the Buffalo Bills in the AFL and worked as a lifeguard at Jones Beach in New York and how he had brought the idea of training with weights to improve athletes performance to St. Bonaventure where he was also the Cross Country Coach. WHAT?? Did you say a guy that likes to run long distances though the woods also advocates strength training for athletes!! NO WAY that doesn't work I'm gonna have to take your Strength Coach's card away from you!!! Well now there are a few people out there promoting this very thing and promoting it like it's something new and just discovered by them sorry boys that shit was thought of long before you came on the scene!!!

Anyways, I promptly tore the pages out and put them the wall in my bedroom right by my Farrah Fawcett Majors poster that every boy in America had back then!!! Later, as my life took me from Michigan all over the world and finally dropped me down in South Texas and I am telling this story to the Head of the Kinesiology at The University of Texas at San Antonio as I am finally beginning to work towards my degree. He listens to my story as he roots though his desk and then produces the very Strength and Health magazine I had been talking about and turns to the page and asks me if this was the article? Hell YES it is and then I look...the man I am standing in front of the Head of the Kinesiology Department and now my Advisor is Dr. George Colfer...that Strength/Cross Country Coach in the magazine that started this wonderful journey of mine is George Colfer one in the same.

So when people ask me 'why I do what it is I do' I simply smile at them and tell them that this is simply

MY Calling in Life and it is what I was destined to do.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

PowerSport is finally open in Houston, Texas

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Deer Park Coaches' Clinic

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Headed out early in the morning to Deer Park to attend their Coaches' Clinic. Doug Bull puts on a GREAT clinic. Huge auditorium with...

Got Strength?

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

A letter from Detroit Lion's player Spencer Nealy

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Andrew Schwartz commits to Goucher College

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

( Andrew and SMH Lacrosse Coach Collin Guy)

Looking the Part

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

My Journey in Strength

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

While this phenomenon of 'Throw Back Thursday' always amuses me, today it has me thinking and wishing I had more pictures from my this Journey in the Wonderful World of Strength that I have been on. Since everyone loves posting pictures of themselves I decided to post one of the entire gym set up that helped create my love for strength training and to reflect on my Journey in Strength.

This was at my first duty station in 1980, I was a Military Police Officer at a Nuclear Missile Defense Battery in West Germany, I say 'West' because this was during the Cold War and the Berlin Wall was still standing and Germany was divided into East and West.

The gym you see in the picture just happens to also be my barracks room and this massive weight set was passed down from meathead to meathead and was probably 5-8 years old when I got it. About 30 miles away in Wertheim there was a larger base a decent gym but I could only get there a couple of times a week and getting there was an ordeal in itself!!! We worked 24 hours on duty and 24 hours off duty guarding the launch pads and missiles so when you finally made it back to the barracks at 6am all you wanted to do was shower, eat the nasty gruel they tried to pass off as food and get some sleep. Now the bus that went to the base in Wertheim left at 11am so if you missed the bus and didn't have a ride you'd be forced to hitch hike which back then was very popular and you could generally get a ride then just catch the bus back to base when it left at 4pm. There were a few other guys that enjoyed training as much as I did and since our base was at the top of a big ass hill we had a great training schedule set up. On off days we would head to Wertheim and do our cleans, squats and pulls then head back to base and get a jeep or load up a wheel barrow and take turns pushing it up the hill. On days we would be on duty we did our presses and pullups then we would carry each other up the divider berms between the missile pads or lift the big ole stones we had found or our duffel bags that we had loaded with sand.

Here we are in 2014 and I still train the same way as I did way back in 1980. The lessons of hard work, sacrifice, dedication, motivation and passion still live deep within my soul as they have for almost 35 years. I am blessed with my very own awesome gym and to be able to pass on my training philosophy to others that are not afraid of the hard work and sacrifice it takes to become a CHAMPION.

While I never claim that my buddies and I invented our way of training it sure helped form my own philosophy in strength development that continues today. With that in mind, I will say what I find less than amusing is reading or listening to some of the fakes, frauds, and snake oil salesmen out there that like to create the image that they invented all of the training that people have been doing for generations. NO YOU DID NOT!! Maybe you put a different name to it or a little different approach or maybe your own twist on it but it is still strength training and it has been happening long before you and will continue long after you have left it behind so just because you recently became exposed to it does not mean that you invented it.

I sit here at Revival Market enjoying a flat white coffee and have to smile as I think back to 1980 when after training my buddies and I would head to the little town of Hardheim at the bottom of the hill to enjoy a coffee and pastry and watch the world go by. Although I have been very successful as a Strength Athlete, I have to wonder what type of athlete I could have become had I had someone like me coaching me way back then or had access to the gyms that are out there now. Maybe it's part of the reason I am so passionate about not just the training but the journey as well. I guess its always something to ponder while I enjoy my coffee and watch the world go by.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Coach of the Month

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

The Greater Houston Strength Coaches Association has awarded me the honor of 'Coach of the Month. This is not something that I expected...

Owen Franks and Program Design

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Do you have a program that you follow?

Who wrote it? What qualifications do they have? Practical or Educational?

What evaluation did they do, ask questions or observe and test you?

Did you discuss your goals? Short and Long Term?

Do you have any ideas what your goals are? If not how do you know if your training is headed in the right direction.

What are the things you enjoy doing in training? Exercises? How much time do you have to devote to training? I am asking for the time you have to devote 100% of your concentration to the task at hand.

Do you keep a training log? Again, if you are not charting your progress how do you know if you're indeed making progress.

These and so many more questions are what I ask my athletes through out the training year. Play Hardâ€¦Train Harderâ€¦NO EXCUSES

USA Bobsled Drivers School

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Chris came to PowerSport Strength and Conditioning after 'training' at or meeting with several other supposedly Sports Specific facilities around Houston, needless to say he wasn't impressed with any of them....not one of them had any idea about how to properly prepare him for the goals he wanted to achieve. They wanted him to train like everyone else at their place...in other words... bullshit cookie cutter programs put together by someone who calls themselves a coach!! Since he was a member of the Auburn University Rowing Team and had already been to the USA Bobsled Combine he knew exactly what he needed to improve upon and that he needed a real coach...not someone that thinks they are and that is where I came in!!

Chris is dedicated, motivated and consistant in his training and because of that he has made huge improvements since beginning his training with PowerSport. A great testament to his hard work is being invited to Drivers School!! When he comes back we will begin our next training phase towards the next goals we have established.

pictured is Chris' 125kg power clean and 42" box jump Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Merry Christmas

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Merry Christmas to everyone and their familes on this special day. Please remember our brave military members who are serving our great nation in harm's way and are far away from their families. Hope Santa was good to everyone!!

Birthday Training

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Saturday was my 52nd birthday and I spent part of it in the gym training and I would have it no other way!! A very long time ago back...WAY BACK in 1973 my dad took me to the YMCA in Detroit. All I wanted for my birthday was to go with him to lift and thus began my journey and obsession with STRENGTH. Back then you had to be 12 to lift weights at the YMCA so I spent all summer learning the Olympic Weightlifting movements with a stick and empty bar so I would be ready when I went with him. He and everybody else in the gym had me loading and unloading the bars for them as my "warm-up"!! Someone would call out a weight and I had to load it...had to earn my way onto the platofrm. Boy I sure could add weights on the bar by the time I started my training!! 40 years later and I am still training hard and heavy as I continue my journey.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Congrats Darren WIlliams

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

I want to extend a big CONGRATS to Darren Williams for placing 1st in the 105kg+ Class in the Masters Division at the 2014 Texas State Weightlifting Championships!! In addition to winning he also posted a qualifying total for the Masters Pan American Championships on June 21st in Canada.

Physical Development Training

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Several months ago Ben Franks and I discussed him competing in a powerlifting meet prior to Hurricanes' Training Camp. Well this past Saturday we did just that and yes I said WE.

PowerHouse Gym here in Wellington, New Zealand put on a special Invitational Meet so Ben could compete and then he broke the news to me that I would be competing too. Well since my last powerlifting meet was way back in 1998 it was time to reach out to my friend Pete of Titan Support to set us up with the gear we needed. As usual they did an awesome job!! There's a good damn reason that Titan is the world's leader. Maybe I didn't hit the numbers I once had in my powerlifting days but I was on the platform competing and that was important to not only me but to Ben as well. Look let's be honest here, you're asking your athletes to train hard to be strong and powerful but also to trust that you know what you're doing. To me there's no better way than to show them. Understand that being a strength and conditioning coach is not just my career, it's my love and passion as well and it shows. It's a career that you live and wear everyday, if you don't think so then maybe you need to find another career. Like I had said it was a long time between powerlifting meets and in between I've not only competed but I've been very successful in strongman, weightlifting, and highland games. Anyone that knows my training philosophy knows that I use blend of all things strength, power and fitness in order to create my very own brand of Physical Development Training and the athletes I train have been very successful at all levels of competition....and I mean ALL LEVELS!! Okay off my 'soap box' and onto the meet. I decided to only use a loose singlet, 1/2 knee wraps and no bench press shirt and to treat it like just another day training. Of course that 'day of training' came after about 20+ hours of traveling. Remember when I said it had been a while? I wasn't kidding!! Started my warm-ups for squats too early and had to not only slow down but start over and if that wasn't enough proof then walking up to the bar for my second squat attempt and looking down only to realize I had forgotten to put my belt on surely was. I went 8 for 9, missing my final deadlift. I ended my day with a 230kg (508 pound) squat, 155kg (342 pound) bench press and a 200kg (440 pound) deadlift. In retrospect it showed me where my own training has been lacking on this long road to recovery I've been traveling and it will serve as guidance when I design my next training cycle. I had a blast at the meet competing and becoming friends with so many great guys and even more fun after at a BBQ at Big Costa's house. Many thanks for the hospitality, great food and the Kava!! Thanks to Warren Trent of PowerHouse Gym for putting on the meet and an even bigger THANKS for doing a live stream of the meet it was so cool to receive text messages from Sally while I was competing. A big thanks to Ben for the motivation (as in kick in the ass) and my training partner Darren for the help in training. Of course a huge bit of gratitude goes to Pete and Matt from Titan Support but my biggest thanks and gratitude goes to Sally. She is forever in my corner and is my biggest supporter in this crazy life of mine. There is no way I could do this alone and I love you for it. Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

My Highland Games Amazing Demonstration on San Antonio's Great Day SA

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

As we begin the countdown to the San Antonio Highland Games I wanted to put this up here from last year. We had the biggest turnout of...

Next stop...Wellington NZ

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Time to go home.

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Spencer Nealy signs with the NY Jets

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Words to Train By

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

picture is copyright protected and property of Ed Cosner and may not be reproduced without written permission.

The Inner Voice

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Merry Christmas

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Butters got to visit Santa courtesy of English Bulldog Rescue Houston

Texas Weightlifting Championships

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

The Mythical Man

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Do you know a man... Who gives you the same respect he demands? Who understands your motivations and goals? Who knows your limitations...

All Blacks Rugby

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

So tonight I am staying up way past my bedtime to watch the last Aotearoa test match of 2013 with the All Blacks facing the Wallabies...

Life's Lessons Learned through Training

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Wellington, New Zealand

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

An Ominous Anniversary

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Dear Dad...I miss you

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

More of Ben Franks

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Some time ago I posted a picture and a blog about our in-season strength training and while most of the responses I recieved were great I had a few of the normal BS comments like; just how strong do you have to be, I don't need to be that strong to be successful, he didn't squat deep enough and a couple more. Watch the video from 3 News in New Zealand of Ben's try score against the Highlanders and tell me again that you don't you need to be strong or that you are strong enough already. Ben's score starts at the :15 second mark and watch him destroy the Highlander trying to tackle him at at :20 second mark. Pure Strength and Power!!! So now ask yourself does your training stand up to this test?? Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES (it's a way of living your life not just a saying)

http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-HIGHLIGHTS--Highlanders-Vs-Hurricanes-Dunedin-Super-Rugby-2013/tabid/317/articleID/290451/Default.aspx

2013 San Antonio Highland Games

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

NASGA site where the database goes way back and look...it's amazing. Every time I go and throw in a game, no matter where it is I am proudly promoting the San Antonio Highland Games working on making it a premier game in the US and the World. We've had competitors come from all over the US, Canada, Switzerland, and Japan!! We've had kids as young as 14 out there...guys as old as our hero Dean Ross who is over 70 and still kicking ass!!! We've got men and women out there putting on a show while throwing in 9 different events over 6-8 hours of competition. We've had Field Records shattered and National and World Records broken. While these athletes are out there working hard, I have a support staff working even harder to make sure this "organized chaos" looks like it's all going according to plan. First is my sweetheart and love of my life Sally who is my official scorer as well as my problem solver and my do anything I need, even if I don't ask so nicely!! Helping her is her awesome sister Sandra, David Anderson and her friend Christina. It's not easy keeping the scorer tent operations going smoothly as they go back over the score sheets from the judges trying to read the writing and wondering if the judge had the pen in between their teeth when they wrote the scores in!!! Then they log all of the distances/heights and placing on the master sheet all the while they've got athletes coming up to ask what their scores are (which is a thorn in my side to put it nicely). Next is my awesome association president Jenny May-Dennis. I'm telling you there is not enough room here to list all of the hard work and thankless hours this lady puts in to make these games the success they have become!! I can't forget Lisa McQuade who makes sure I have all the volunteers I need to run my area and Terrah Shaw who is always checking on us to make sure we have all we need....like my daily COKE!!! There are so many that make up the San Antonio Highland Games association that work tirelessly behind the scenes to put on this event!!! We were rewarded with the largest crowd we've ever had.....CLAP...CLAP...CLAP as I give a standing ovation to all that make these games possible. I don't want to forget the companies that help athletics out as well!!! OZ Highland Farms who keeps my judges and me fed (that's really important). Larry Brock's Tacky, Professional Highland Games World Champion Matt Vincent , IronMind and Titan Support who I get my awards from and they always include extras for the athletes. See you all next year as I celebrate my 10th year as Athletic Director. April 5 & 6, 2014

US Heavy Events Invitational Championships

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Let me thank my dear friend Anthony Lordi who used his 'air miles" to fly me to San Fransico, Big John McClure who first asked me if I thought I would be healthy enough to come out and judge, and Steve Conway who not only invited me to judge but took great care of me while I was there. Sally and I are already planning next years trip!!!

This is what Kel Mulrey, the Assistant Athletic Director said on the NASGA message board about me: "Ed Cosner has had a rough go of it this last year and we like this guy so much as a competitor that we wanted him to come up and judge for us. He did an Awesome job for us as a Judge he was everything we had hoped for, he had a big class of masters (who do move slow) and he had those guys in order and rolling smoothly all weekend. Ed was a great addition to our crew and we could not ask for a better guy, thank you for your time and service to our game, and great job."

Play Hard...Train Hard...NO EXCUSES

Kick Some ASS Boys

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

All Blacks have named their squad that will take pitch against Australia on Saturday in this epic battle. When the All Blacks are victorious they will become the first ever back-to-back Champions. PowerSport Strength and Conditioning will be well represented Saturday as Ben and Owen Franks have been named to the squad. It will be the final time for the boys to take the field as teammates. After World Cup Ben will join his new team London-Irish and Owen will head back to Christchurch and begin his off season training in preparation for the 2016 Rugby Super 15 season. I have been coaching for some 20+ years and for the past 5 years I have been involved in the strength training for the boys and I will tell you that you will NOT find 2 athletes that are more dedicated professionals in every aspect of their lives than they are and that's one of the reasons for their continued success on the rugby pitch and in life. Add to it that they are damn fun to train and even more fun to train with!!! Eager to embrace and understand the proven old school methods and not mesmerized by the pseudo-scientific bullshit that seems to have infected the strength and conditioning field. Now before some of you start your whining and crying I am not talking about the legitimate scientific advancements that have been made I'm specifically talking about the fakes, fraud, & snake oil salesmen that are out there peddling crap training as the next greatest advancement in performance training. I refer to myself and so do others as old school but I'm not a dumbass either I just choose to stick with what works!! I have been using both scientific ideas and practical experience as a basis for my training principles my entire athletic career. We can discuss and debate training principles and the science behind what each of us believes at a later time. I'm always up to defend what it is that I believe and why!!! Luck is for the unprepared and the All Blacks are without a doubt PREPARED to meet this challenge head-on. I know that the Wallabies will be bringing their best game as well but.....ALL BLACKS are going to kick some ASS!!! Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Hammer Strength Clinic

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Hammer Strength Clinic here in Houston at Klein High School (which ain't all that far from my gym). As always it was a great clinic with awesome speakers and in the audience coaches that care enough to give up a Saturday to get better and in turn make their athletes better!! Back when I first joined the NSCA we had several State Clinics that were awesome. Small and very personable where you could not only listen to the speaker but interact with them as well. My first one a very long time ago I was talking to some of the greatest strength coaches around and around noon we broke for lunch and since I was not at their level of coaching(YET) I assumed that I would be going to lunch alone when Mike Clark of Texas A&M looked at me and said "hey...you coming?!" To me THAT is what is missing from the NSCA but they are working hard to improve but I'll tell you right now....it is going to be hard to beat a HAMMER STRENGTH CLINIC.

They had several great speakers but the highlight of the cinic was having a couple very good and successful coaches speaking. What a treat to have Kevin Yoxall of Auburn University!! He gave a great talk on structure of a training program with quite a bit of information as I filled up a couple of sheets of paper while listening. I also realized that I have always been doing things the right was in terms of my coaching programs. I had a chance to talk to him for a few hours and found that we have traveled parallel lives right here in Texas though powerlifting all the was back to 1983 and in coaching. He referred several times in his talk to strength & power athletes which is what I specialize in developing here at PowerSport Strength and Conditioning!! Texas State's Blake Cundif and University of Houston's Antwan Floyd both gave riveting talks that I throughly enjoyed and got plenty of information from.

Congrats Kacy "Princess" Griffin

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Kacy was named a first team Academic All American as well as the 2013 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Academic Player of the Year. She carried a perfect 4.0 GPA into her senior season and is graduating with her Bachelor's Degree in Business Management. It's difficult enough to graduate with Honors but to achieve such high success in the classroom while playing a collegiate sport with all of the additional demands on your time is a true testament of how hard this remarkable young lady works and yet she still finds time to live her life to the fullest. Something I always preach to the young athletes I work with is that if you are able to continue to play your sport in college especially as a scholarship athlete make damn sure you leave college with a degree that will help you become a successful person in the next phase of your life. Kacy has wonderful family support in life, the classroom and in sports. Her father Paul played in the NBA and is a successful businessman, brother Ryan played basketball at Sam Houston State University achieving high honors both in college and in his professional life, brother Cory played basketball at St. Edwards University and is a basketball coach in the San Antonio North East Independent School District. You can't forget the glue that holds this family together and that is their mom Kim!! CONGRATS KACY!!! We are very proud of you.

picture is of Cory, Kacy and Ryan Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Titan Support Systems

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Took a little trip down to Corpus Christi to visit one of my dearest friends Pete Alaniz who is the proud owner of Titan Support . For those of you who don't know Titan is the manufacturer of the best powerlifting gear in the world!! In my travels around the world its their gear I see on the lifters.

picture is Matt, Pete,me and Isiah of Titan Support Systems

Peak Experience

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Peak performance in sports is a rare personal moment that remains etched in the athlete's consciousness. It serves as a reminder of the great intrinsic satisfaction that sports participation can provide. Peak experiences during an athlete's career are relatively rare but their intensity acts as a standard, or qualitative reference point, for subjectively evaluating future performance. Characteristics of an athlete's peak experience: focused awareness; complete control of self and environment; transcendence of self. Here are a couple of world class athlete's take on peak experience. from Tennis great Billy Jean King

"It's a perfect combination of violent action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquility. When it happens I want to stop the tennis match and grab the microphone and yell...'this is what's it all about'...because it is!! It's not the big prize I'm going to win at the end of the match or anything else. It's just having done something that's totally pure and having experienced the perfect emotion. I'm always sad that I can't communicate that feeling right at the moment it's happening. I can only hope people realize what's going on." from Russian Weightlifting great Yuri Vlasco "At the peak of tremendous and victorious effort, while the blood is pounding in your head, all suddenly becomes quiet within you. Everything seems clearer and whiter than ever before, as if great spotlights had been turned on. At that moment you have the conviction that you contain all of the power in the world, that you are capable of everything, that you have wings. There is no more precious moment in life than this....the white moment and you will work very hard for years just to taste it again."

Titan Support Systems

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Titan Support. A new lifting belt to help me in my quest to regain my strength and size lost because of the incompetent doctor in San Antonio and also because Ben Franks of the New Zealand All Blacks made a big order for the team...so partly my thank-you!! Now this is no ordinary belt as when Pete was telling me he was sending it to me I was told to "think outside the box" just didn't think that far outside of it. I opened the box and there was a beautiful Bison and South Texas Rattlesnake hide belt with a gold buckle!! This thing screams out...TEXAS BELT!!

If there is a product or company I write about or promote you can damn sure expect it to be a quality company with superior products and support. Just like what you get when you train at PowerSport Strength and Conditioning. I'll tell you that Titan is all of that and more!! I've known Pete, the owner, since 1984 when the entire operation was in his mother's living room now he has a complete manufacturing center in Corpus Christi, Texas!! For those who don't know Titan Support is the original powerlifting gear manufacture and the best! Always the Originator, Never the Imitator is their logo and they live up to it everyday.

Thanks for everything Pete and Titan Support Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Spencer Nealy finds a new home with the Vikings

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

I am very proud and happy for him because he truly worked hard to put himself in the best possible situation by showing up in shape and ready to rock!! It has been great for me too in how he keeps telling me how that the conditioning I have him do is far superior to anything he has ever done in college or in the NFL. He talked to his coaches about my conditioning model for him and they were quite impressed. As a coach who is always in the background you have got to like that!!

I preach to my athletes that you must always be prepared because you never know when your opportunity will come. You get so few opportunities in sports to impress your coaches and the fact is you may only get ONE opportunity....you have to make the best of it!! Are you prepared to make the best of your opportunity when it comes? Train Hard...Play Harder...NO EXCUSES. Spencer after driving up to Houston from San Antonio for a training session. I hear all to often the excuse about how far it is or how long of a drive it is to my gym here on the Northwest side of Houston... YOU WANT TO BE THE BEST THEN YOU MUST TRAIN WITH THE BEST SO YOU WILL BE PREPARED FOR YOUR OPPORTUNITY!!

NSCA Midwest Regional Conference

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

National Strength and Conditioning Association's Midwest Regional Conference is right here in Houston this Friday and Saturday. I was honored when asked to present...now I'm downright excited!!! However I am not really all that comfortable speaking in public but it's something I am working on as I continue to present and look forward to more opportunities in the future to share my love of training. If I was standing on the weightroom floor I'd be good but standing on a stage in front of my peers...damn scary!! I'll be looking in the audience for my friend and colleague Raymond Tucker to keep me focused and on topic. I have been a proud member of the NSCA since 1989 and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) since 1996. I will be presenting on Sandbag Training and NO I am not talking about the pretty sandbags that are balanced with handles...I am talking about heavy, awkward to pick up, grab the damn thing and create a handle with your grip or hug it and get it from point A to point B or pick it up and load it on a tall box or just hug it and start squatting!! Guess if you want to find out why and how I use them in my training programs you will just have to show up and find out!! I will be presenting on Saturday at 2:30-4:00. Afterwards you can find me at the USA vs Ireland Rugby game at Dynamo Stadium.

World Heart Day

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

I AM A SURVIVOR!!!

I'd like to give you a little insight of when I rolled into Memorial Hermann Hospital at Memorial City here in Houston Texas about 2am on 7 June 2014 and when I say rolled' I mean on a gurney and not because I called EMSâ€¦nope not me I had Sally drive me to a MedClinic' because there was no way I was having a heart attack. Nope not meâ€¦.I looked that shit up on Google and only had a couple of symptoms!! Of course as we got going and I told her to hurry because I didn't think I was going to last much longer as reality began to slap the shit out of me as I pounded on my chest in an attempt to keep my heart beating since it felt like it was about to stop beating a few different times on the drive. Sally found a MedClinic and we pulled in and within a couple of seconds of being hooked up the the EKG the doctor comes in with the look on his face that told me something bad was about to happen. He asked me how I was feeling and I told him a little out of sorts and his answer was 'out of sorts? You're in the middle of a serious heart attack' as he handed me some pills to take then told me that they were sending me across the street to the hospital. I said okay and started to stand up and he asked what I was doing and I told him..'going to the hospital'. He said we've got an ambulance coming for you!! "Well shit it must be serious then" was all I said. Please let me begin by saying that the nurses, doctors and staff in the Emergency Room of Memorial Hermann at Memorial City are unbelievable and bottom line in spite of my stupidity and ego they managed to saved my life. Within seconds of being wheeled in I was stripped naked and put in a hospital gown, blood drawn, IV in my arm and had these professionals calling out orders and responding quickly all while calming my fears and anxieties. I'd like to go back and give each and every one of them a hug and my sincere thanks.

Then Dr. Morris walks into the room and asksâ€¦

Doc: "what's the pain feel like?"

Me: "like a damn Rhino sitting in the middle of my chest"

Doc: "have you had anything like this before?"

Me: "WELL".....(the long pause sure wasn't for dramatic effect it was more out of embarrassment) yeah so 4 days ago I was running to catch a flight in Dallas and I had to stop a few times to catch my breath as I was sweating though my shirt."

Doc: "okay"

Me: "hold on Doc that was just the first time!!"

Doc: "the FIRST TIME!!"

Me: "well yeah then it happened again when I realized I lost my boarding pass and had to go back to my gate and again when they announced a gate change, HEY but that was a few hours apart. Come to think about it while I was in Laredo speaking I took a late night walk to HEB for some stuff and felt the same way walking back to the hotel"

Doc: "so 3 times at the airport and it happened and a couple days earlier as well, so what hospital did they send you too?"

Me: "hospital? no Doc I got on my flight and came home"

Doc: "you got on your flight?"

Me: "well here I am ain't I?!"

Doc: You shouldn't be!! Listen, those were heart attacks and by all means any or all of them should have killed you and then you board a flight and come home the simple change in pressure should have stopped your heart"

Me: no words spoken by me just a prayer, a tear and a desire to hold Sally's hand!!

Doc: (with all the confidence in the world) "Ed, I think it's the artery behind your heart that is blocked but I won't know for sure until we get you upstairs to the Catheter Lab and your heart is in distress but we have to try and wait until the Heparin you were given at the clinic clears your system because we don't want you bleeding out"

Doc to Sally: "so do you guys have a Cardiologist?"

Me: "hell no Doc that's for old people"

As Doc hands Sally his card..."well you do now!!"

Me: "what are you selling used cars on the side?"

Doc: "it's 2am I got to get something out of this"

Me "shit Doc I like you!!"

Now to the more serious part of my story. In the elevator on the way to the Catheter Lab I don't remember much but I can vividly remember fighting to keep my eyes open and talk with the guys. It's difficult to think about it as you fight to keep your eyes open but you have no control and you can feel them beginning to close and you fight because in the back of your mind you know that you just might not wake up so you fight and dammit you fight hard. I remember the techs, nurses and Dr. Morris telling me to stay with them and to keep talking and to keep fighting. A couple of times I awoke to them tapping my chest telling to to stay with them. Dr. Morris prepped me to cut into my femoral blood vessel as he reassured me and I told him to hurry because the Rhino now had a couple of friends join him in the middle of my chest and I think they're drinking beer and eating BBQ. I struggled to breathe and the nurses and techs applied more Nitroglycerin paste, talked with me, held my hand and gave me a sternum rub as my heart struggled to keep beating while it was being suffocated from the blockages. Lord my eyes were heavy and I fought to keep them open.

I began to pray and to ask for forgiveness because I truly felt that my time here had come to an end. I told God that if he was ready to call me home I was ready to follow Him and take my place but I asked for more time on this earth but not so I could do things I wished I had done. Nope, I prayed and told Him that for the very first time in my life I felt that I was unconditionally loved. I finally had a family of my own with Sally and our Bulldogs Butters and Marsha Mellow and also our cats Miss Pissy Bitch, Miss Fatty and Mila. After such a long time being alone in this world I had a family that loved and needed me and to tell you the truth I needed them.

Finally the stent was inserted into the artery behind my heart but it takes some time for you to start feeling the weight coming off of your chest and while you're laying there fighting for your life it seems like time is standing still!! Finally, the Rhino took his friends and got off my chest. Dr. Morris began to explain that there were a few more serious blockages that he couldn't stent and that I was going to need bypass surgery. I really didn't hear much after that and the only thing I remember is asking for him to bring Sally in and explain it again. We were devastated but Dr. Morris looked at me and said, "usually with these kind of blockages especially the Widow Maker I tell the patient I'm going to make you as comfortable as possible' which means you probably won't be going home from the hospitalâ€¦.he told me "with you, you'll be good in 4-5 months and in 8-9 months you'll be back lifting with a cool scar down your chest."

Dr. Morris would later tell me that my heart was in some serious distress and the only real option was to stent that artery and hope it stabilized me so I didn't need emergency bypass surgery and they could wait and be better prepared for such a surgery. He told me my heart tried to stop a couple of times but I was one tough dude and he asked about my background and I proudly told him that I have been a Strength Athlete for the past almost 40 years and Strength and Conditioning Coach for 30 years but I am also a former Army Special Operations Solider and I've been known to throw some weigths, lift even bigger stones and lift some really big damn weights although that was some time ago. We talked about all I had endured in my life and how much I love lifting heavy weights and why I loved it so much. He looked at me and told my that I survived where others do not and it was because I was physically strong but more importantly I was mentally strong and the strength I have from a lifetime of perseverance is why I am still alive.

In private I am often left to wonder and pray asking God why He choose to spared me. I am learning that there is so much more on this earth left for me to do and through the His Good Graces I will do His work. I have discovered that I was left here to bring awareness to Heart Diease to us old dudes in the Strength World that refuse to give up or give in or do cardio!!! I am learning there are more of us' out there than the doctors and associations think and mainly that we are a different breed. We all don't fit into the same neat little box some of us are busy busting the seams of the box and out of our shirts!!! We simply don't have time to slow down when we feel like crap and we think that cardio is a few sets of 8 in the squat because if you can't get in shape with squats what the hell is the world coming to!!! If there were more doctors like Dr. Morris out there that understood not everyone wants to loose weight and go for a walkâ€¦.some of us love to lift heavy things and feel if you take that away from us we'd rather be dead. Lifting heavy weights, stones and throwing heavy stuff is simply part of my DNA and it's what I truly love to do.

In future blogs I'll share more of this journey to recovery I have been on since I took my first wobbly walk in the halls of the hospital 2 days after my bypass surgery. I'll also share the stupidity of not taking care of your heart and health beyond lifting weights, it really doesn't take much time or energy away from what you love like lifting heavy shit. We will talk about not self diagnosing by looking up symptoms on Google and then delaying medical attention because you don't want to bother anyone because it might just be indigestion not a heart attack!! How the delay in seeking medical attention could have and in all honesty should have cost me my life and how I survived in spite of my own male ego. Also the depression that is common from the heart and lung bypass machine that is used during the surgery to keep you technically alive while they stop your heart to repair it with a vein they rip out of your leg!!!

I AM A SURVIVOR!!!

Before I go and get back to living life on my own terms I have to tell everyone that while my Cardiologist Dr. Morris, my Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr. Gibson and the unbelievable staff at Memorial Hermann saved my life the real strength and leader of my recovery was Sally. Beyond my best efforts I survived and healed because of her. She rarely left my bedside often catching small naps in the chair next to my bed in CICU and if I moved she was right there to make sure I was okay. Hour after long agonizing hour she was there. She'd go home and take care of our family and try to sleep but when I opened my eyes in morning she was already there going over things with the nurses and doctors. When I was discharged 8 days later that's when the real recovery began for me not just the physical but the mental and emotional recovery. Sally would wake up after working all night and make me breakfast and we'd eat and talk then we'd go for a small walk but when we got home instead of relaxing and getting ready for work she had to help me shower and clean up as I could barely lift my arms to shave or wash. She'd then make me lunch and organized my meals for the day in the order when wanted me to eat them. I'd walk her to the car and once back inside I'd take my nap and she'd worry while at work until I texted her that I had indeed woken up. I know that this has been tougher on Sally than on me as she had to be strong for both of us. If I had succumbed to my heart disease I would have simply slipped into unconsciousness and been with God leaving behind my grieving Sally. That is what usually happens and why they call the artery that was blocked the widow maker'. I wonder if my using a CPAP saved me as it pushes air into my lungs while I sleepâ€¦guess it saved my life in more ways than one!!!

I don't think that I can ever repay Sally for the strength, love and encouragement as we continue on our journey together. She knows exactly what I need like when I needed a swift kick in the ass one day while I sat around depressed at what I was going through. She told me that wasn't the man I am and to pull my head out of my ass, get off the couch and move like the doctor told me. That day I decided to go to Memorial Park and just sit and watch people go by but as I drove into the park I somehow ended up in front of the Church and being the tough guy' I am I said "sure God you wanna talk then let's talk" as I kicked opened the doors to the Church I was hit with a feeling that took me to my knees and as I looked at the Cross on the Alter though the tears in my eyes I understood that God has a plan for me and that I am truly a blessed man. I have not had another bad day since that day at the Church. Ask me again why my Faith is so strong.

I have a very special place in my heart for David Anderson who dropped everything to bring Sally's sister to Houston from San Antonio. Sandra was Sally's rock and help throughout all of this. They'd be right by my bedside making sure I didn't need or want anything but when they'd leave the hospital and go home Sandra would help Sally with everything but mostly by being the big sister and friend that she is. She's another that I don't think I can ever thank enough of what she did. Don't tell her but I really love and admire her.

There were so many others that visited me in the hospital like Andy Vincent and Spencer Tyler who flustered my CICU nurse and of course made me laugh with their comments as they removed the catheter from my groin.

My dearest friends Dan and Dana Burk who came just to spend time with me giving me strength but also taking care of Sally. Sally said Dan's face when he was able to visit with me right after my surgery was one of serious concern to see me laying there.

My training partner, brother and friend Darren Williams who Sally called early in that morning after I was stabilized and by 5am Darren was roaming the halls of the CICU and when the nurses told him he wasn't suppose to be there he said "I'm looking for my brother". Darren was in the middle of training for Masters Pan American Weightlifting Championships but he was right there every day and when Sally thought I needed to rest Darren cleared the room!!! When I had my bypass surgery he took Sally and her sister Sandra to eat breakfast and for a small moment while I was in surgery they were able to somewhat relax and talk and he was there to listen, of course he had a plate of bacon while I was in surgery!! Back in my room he'd have us laughing especially when the Cardiac Rehab Nurse came in to talk recovery...anyone for checkers or knitting?!

Then there is my brother Chad Crawford who helped Sally so much by visiting and keeping all of my friends up to date on what was happening via social media and set up a GoFundMe to help us out. I still want to thank every person who helped us by donating. It's something that was, and still is, seriously overwhelming to us.

All the way from New Zealand in the middle of his All Blacks season my mate and brother Ben Franks and his awesome wife Genna and my cartoon buddy Annabel who checked on me via email and Skype making me laugh as Ben told me that there was nothing so bad that could happen to me that I needed to do cardio!!! I looked forward to his emails and messages and the care package they sent with my favorite puzzles, pictures colored by Annabel and a stuffed lion that is still next to my bed and of course they remembered Sally with New Zealand chocolates. What an honor it was for me only 6 months later to be asked to stand in their wedding in New Zealand.

My San Antonio Highland Games brother Larry Sears who came up from San Antonio just to sit with us to talk and pray. Our dear friend Cristina who would go by and check on the dogs and cats during the day for Sally. One of the wonderful young men I am blessed to have trained Edwin came by to visit and a couple of my oldest friends Rob and Nancy Kamman who both scolded me for not calling EMS then were joined by my CICU Head Nurse and I was educated' on the importance of calling EMS and not just showing up at the ER!!! Once in normal room my weightlifting buddy Mike Calley came by to brighten up my day and maybe he was gonna bring me some food and maybe Sally told him NO!!! I like to think he was going to if I had asked!!!

I want to Thank each of you for reading my story but it doesn't end here. My next blog will be about what I did to get back to the gym and start lifting in week 8 of my recovery and the support of my Brothers and Sisters in the Strength Community that made it all happen.

pictured is the man who saved my life Dr. Randall Morris of Memorial Cardiology Associates

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

ANNOUNCEMENT: Now Offering Online Training

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

First I want to catch y’all up on something very special and that is for the first time ever I will be offering Online Training programs. This is something that I have been reluctant to do because I never wanted to be one of those ‘Internet Gurus’ but I see the training programs and information that is available for the Tight Forwards in Rugby and… well I don’t care who gets their feelings hurt…it is ridiculous and actually disgusting to see the absolute bullshit that is passed off as ‘training’. There is so much more than lifting weights like a weightlifter or powerlifter and mindless running that goes into creating a dominate Tight Forward.

I will be offering several levels of programming depending on training age, if you’re front row or second row (maybe we will offer training to the tougher loose forwards that are out there!!!) and of course based on the needs of off season, pre season or in season training for the most physically demanding positions on the rugby pitch. They will include multi directional speed and quickness drills, building explosive power and strength, packing on ‘mass that lasts’ so it doesn't simply wash off in the shower an hour after you train and of course fitness/conditioning because none of this matters unless you can actually move around the pitch.

There will be programs that are generic but extremely effective and much more specific to the needs of the Tight Forward on the pitch than the bullshit that’s currently out there. I also offer personalized training programs like I already do for some of the greatest Tight Forwards in the game of Rugby.

Now, I said I was always reluctant to do this and if you think I’m kidding just ask the folks from Train Heroic where I have had an account for over a year and have dragged my feet in putting anything up while I continue to see the monthly charge hit my credit card account. If you really want to hear about it just ask Sally my wife and she will fill your ear like she has mine!!! She understands what I have to offer and what is out there currently. So why now you ask, well I’ll tell you, a few months ago I started Tight 5 Performance on Instagram to just to show some of the exercises, drills and more that I have been using to help create some monsters on the pitch. Since then I have been inundated and honestly a bit overwhelmed with training program requests and questions since I put up the first post. I just wanted to get some information out there in the world of training since I get asked about my training philosophy so often. The questions and videos of training I see along with finding out what/why folks are doing them made me sick to my stomach. I don’t care how much you polish a turd…it’s still a turd, its just got a prettier wrapper on it now and that's all some of these folks that call themselves ‘coach’ are offering.

Another reason for ‘why now’ was last November when the All Blacks came to Chicago and I had a chance to sit down with All Blacks Scrum Coach Mike “Crono” Cron and share my philosophy. This was after Head Coach Steve Hansen barreled his way though the crowd in the hotel lobby to introduce himself to me and thank me for what I have done with Owen!!! Talking to Crono in his room about specific exercises and the reasons I do them and showing him videos and more. I told him that being strong doesn’t mean shit if you are not strong in the correct biomechanical position only for him to exclaim “Why don’t strength and conditioning coaches in New Zealand think like you do?” This is the exact quote I have been using for years, “In world of Athletics: Strength means nothing if you are not able to hold a position in order to create power”. Let’s talk adding muscle mass…insure that you are not only adding quality muscle mass but that you are not adding too much upper body mass and making yourself top heavy which will have a poor influence on your ability to change direction because you will change your body’s center of gravity. You also want to avoid the old “look like Tarzan and play like Jane” or about speed….now this is a particularly sensitive one for me….when you’re talking Tight Forward play why all of the emphasis on speed when it should be on Multi Directional Quickness.

So you can see a little of the way I think and the programs I will offer. Now if I can get a few free hours I can get this all written and uploaded on Train Heroic so you all can have access to it.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Hard Work with a Deliberate Purpose Creates Champions

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Am I talking about the building of the Cathedrals or the building of an Athlete?

Today's blog is something that I have been thinking of writing for quite some time now and it really is quite personal to me. As I step back and look over my own personal journey as both an athlete and a coach and see that long before I knew about Deliberate Practice I was living it in my daily pursuit in becoming a champion. I also look at the success of so many of the athletes at all levels that I have been blessed to coach both past and present and I am proud of each and every one of them no matter where their athletic talents took them. Many of them have their own stories of success that I am happy to have had a small part in but unfortunately not all of my athletes have achieved success in their athletic endeavors that they thought they'd have and many come back to me later and accept the blame for their own failings. "I am but a guide on this journey." is what I tell them.

In the book "Talent is Overrated" the author makes a great statement. "It is more than apparent that in order to become significantly good at almost anything is extremely difficult without the help of a coach or teacher. Without a clear and unbiased view of the subject's performance then choosing the best practice activity will be impossible for reasons that may be simply physical or psychological. Very few of us can make a clear and honest assessment of our own performance." (Big Thanks to LeCharles Bentley of OLine Performance for the book recommendation and Ben Crookston of Train Heroic for even more insight on Deliberate Practice)

On my Coaching Journey it seems too many people I come in contact with want the prize without doing the work . They want to rush the process and can't seem to get out of their own damn way. They want to achieve success right away and don't want to do the work month after month and damn sure not year after year but that's exactly what it takes. This really is a Journey and to those that understand and embrace this philosophy well, they are the ones that put themselves in a position to achieve success. Now, I'm not saying if you simply do X' you'll be guaranteed a championship but if you do you will achieve your' success whatever that success may be. Of course there are many factors that influence The Journey just don't let your ego be one of them.

My Masters Weightlifter Darren Williams had a great quote concerning ego the other day that had me laughing and thinking at the same time. He says "I make sure that I keep my ass off my shoulders so I can always be coachable" and he damn sure does he's one of the more coachable athletes I have ever worked with.

If you're wondering what's got me thinking about all of this is its an email I got from Owen Franks of New Zealand All Blacks Rugby expressing that our training together the last couple of years has been an eye opener and pretty much has gone the way I told him. He feels the best and is healthier, moving and playing better than anytime in his career and he is at his heaviest bodyweight and is in his 8th season with the All Blacks. He is looking towards playing in the 2019 Rugby Word Cup in Japan. Owen and I began training together in 2014 at the suggestion of his brother Ben who was also an All Black (started training Ben in 2011). Now, understand that each of these boys were at the top of their sport and considered the absolute best at their position on the pitch when I came in to train them. They are now 2 time Rugby World Cup Champions and elite athletes and with that in mind so many other coaches go into training guys at this level with the adage of just don't fuck them up' and to keep doing what they've been doing because of the level of success they have already achieved'. I come in with the idea of what can I do to make them even better!!! After all, isn't that why I was brought in? Honest assessments, effective communication and a lot of work not just designing a program but making sure that program evolves and continues to grow. This is a process that is years long not weeks or months but YEARS LONG!!

Let's go back to Masters Weightlifter Darren Williams who walked into my gym over 2½ years ago to improve his lifting and to learn to catch his lifts in the squat position instead of the split technique he had been using. Think about it here he was at 54 years old and wanting to relearn technique. We spoke at length about the work both in the gym and on his own that this would take to achieve. He was more than up of the task. Fast forward to today and he is stronger than he's ever been in his life and with that increase in strength came increases in his lifting abilities and the poundage he moves combine that with the ability to hold more effective positions and you have a better weightlifter. Did this come easy or quickly? NO it didn't!! It did come with a big dose of pain, sweat, frustration, and mind numbing drills. Even though we've achieved a level of success he is still not satisfied and continues to do the work that is required to achieve the championships he wants so badly.

What am I trying to tell you is that this is process and no matter how badly you want it or how much talent you may or may not have you just simply cannot rush he process. Deliberate Practice by definition is not fun and it is not flash. It is hard and it hurts but it works and more of it equals better performance and tons of it equals great performance. I am often asked well if its not fun why do it?' My answer is always the same, "Don't get me wrong I love training but it's just work. You want to know what is really fun? Winning championships is really fun" and like my logo says and I believe it to be true.

Play Hard...Train Harder... there are NO EXCUSES

Question for you: Are you willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve your success?

My Journey Back to Strength

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

I've posted a few pictures and videos to my Instagram , Facebook and Twitter pages and I always get awesome and inspiring messages from people all over the world (along with a few messages warning me to be careful....yeah I think I know the limits of my body a little better than you.) When I first started to share my story I was touched by the people that reached out to me with their own stories of recovery and how I was an inspiration to them but in their words every one of them shared the same thing and that was a desire to go back to lifting the way they had been before and wanting to know how I talked my doctor into letting me go back to strength training at week 10. News flash.....He told me to go back to lifting!!! I learned there are guys out there that are 8+ months post surgery and only allowed to use rubber bands or light weights while I'm at 5 months and I'm in the gym doing snatches, cleans, pulls, presses and tons and tons of squats.

So I began to ask myself and Sally

What makes me so different? Why did my body heal so quickly? (believe me it sure as hell doesn't feel that way) How am I able to do everything in the gym that I had been doing prior to the surgery? and now my biggest question....Why did the Good Lord decide it wasn't my time? As I progress in My Journey I am getting a better understanding that the Good Lord spared my life for a reason and believe me when I tell you I was begging him for a second chance as I struggled to breathe during my heart attack but also during the 3 days I laid in CICU leading up to my triple bypass surgery. I feel that the Good Lord wanted me to remain here on Earth to inspire others in the same boat as I am in and to challenge them into getting back to the gym but also for others to know the importance of strength training in combination to the cardiovascular fitness that is so important in recovery and the battle against Heart Disease. I also want to challenge the world of medicine into accepting the fact that not everyone that has a heart attack and/or bypass surgery is the same. There are some of us out there need to get back to the gym and feel the iron again. I will warn you right here and now that it is an unbelievably humbling experience that not everyone's psyche can handle. It was very difficult for me to accept the fact of where I had to begin and how hard things were but also how damn heavy the empty bar felt in my hands. I reluctantly went all the way back to square 1 so I could progress safely and not injure myself but I worked hard and there were times I wanted to quit and just sit my fat ass on the couch but thankfully I have Sally who wouldn't hear any of that nonsense and helped me work through these times. I am truly blessed to have her at my side. I also spent and continue to spend time on my knees in prayer and that has given me strength as well.

Today, I am 5 months from my heart attack and triple bypass surgery. The sternum that was glued and wired back together is healed (and yes the wire is still in there), the scar on my chest has healed so well that I will need to shave my chest and get a tan just so you can see the scar but the scars in my mind are still there and healing and yes when I'm lifting and running I am a little afraid sometimes but I drive on and push myself. I am not doing this because I think I am some badass or anything I am doing this because I have to heal so I can live my life on my terms. Strength Training has always been my love and passion....I can remember back in Kindergarten lifting the end of the long class table spilling everyone's milk because I wanted to prove how strong I was!! I have many goals that I will accomplish in the World of Strength and I will also continue to challenge the thoughts about recovery and rehabilitation from this nasty disease. Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Heart Diease and the Strength Athlete

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Are you like me and always say "I train so hard and heavy that there is no way any plaque could build up in my arteries are you kidding me.....I'd blow it right out"? Yeah....really.... well I'm lucky to be here today to tell you my story but will you listen? That's the bigger question.

See, 5 weeks ago after hitting one of my favorite training sessions, heavy cleans, pulls and squats (what else) and then for some 'cardio' work I did 120kg sandbag carries. I came home, ate dinner and enjoyed a nice evening with Sally then it hit me....it seemed like a rhino sitting on my chest and that bastard would not get off!!! Let's backtrack a bit, I have noticed more than a few times this same feeling and chalked it up to 'damn I need to do get in better shape and drop some weight...wait a second remember I train hard and heavy I don't need to get in better shape....I'm strong'!! Well the fact is I even looked up heart attack symptoms on Google a few times and would do it again this night of June 6th but HEY I only had 1 of the symptoms so maybe it was just indigestion, so off to Valero went Sally to get me a soda, well that didn't work maybe a cold shower will do the trick...no that didn't work either....well maybe I ate like crap, again with the indigestion so I'll just try to throw up....nope not that either. This would go on for about 2 hours....what a dumbass!!! All the while I know it's a heart attack I'm having I just won't admit it...that happens to other people....old people and I'm NOT old people!! Denial almost killed me!!

So, after dealing with enough Sally loaded me up in the car to take me to a 24 hour 'Doc in the Box' becasue she was dening I was having a heart attack too!!! Well the doctor took 1 look at the EKG and confirmed I was in the middle of an acute heart attack and I was going accross the street to the hospital via an amblance. WHAT!! No I'm not old people this can't be happening I want to go to the USA vs Scotland rugby game I don't have time for this crap!!

We came into the Emergency Room of Memorial Hermann at Memorial City and BAM the doctors and nurses were on me in a second, before I could think I was hooked up to a EKG, had an IV in, blood drawn, clothes off and stupid hosptial gown on!! Then I met Dr. Morris who would now become my Cardiologist, who told me he knew right where the blockage was and not to worry he'd take care of me and with a quick kiss and an I love you to Sally I was headed to the Catherter Lab. The guys there are awesome

Congrats to Ben Franks on his 100th Super Rugby cap

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES Genna created the picture of Ben's professional career.

World Heart Day

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Let me tell you that the doctors, nurses and staff at, Memorial Hermann Heart and Vascular Institute-Memorial City ,were amazing.....unbelievably amazing!!! With an increase in the number of Masters Level athletes and competitions ,out there specifically targeting the masters or senior level athletes along with a large increase in the population of active and fit older folks. Finally people are realizing that the need for strength training in your later years is important to your overall health and how you will live out those 'Golden Years'. I have spoken to several Strength Athletes and all of them have the same story about how great the Cardio Thoracic Surgeon's skills and the unbelievable advancements in the surgery but the rehabilitation process treats everyone the same with no regards to the lifestyle before surgery we are all treated like an 80 year old who has done nothing other than sit chair all day. I'm not stupid in that I understand and even more importantly I have personally experienced each and every day leading to my recovery but seriously not everyone is the damn same and the people that are responsible and researching better start waking up to this fact!! ,Once you repair our hearts the job is only partially finished., Stay tuned as I start to share my journey back!!! Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES ,

Road Trip

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Time to take this show on the roadâ€¦.PowerSport Strength and Conditioning is heading to New Zealand for the next 3 weeks to start the Off Season Training for Ben & Owen Franks of the All Blacks.

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram , Twitter and of course right here on the website (for much more content) on the training of two of the best rugby props on the planet as we head into what could be the most important off season of their careers with Rugby World Cup coming in 2015 and we all know the All Blacks are the defending CHAMPIONS.

Watch how the greatest train for the toughest sport on the planet while playing the most physically demanding position on the pitch. You'll be surprised at the Meat and Potatoes approach to training there's no fluff or bullshit happening here just Hardâ€¦Basicâ€¦Disciplined Training.

Cheers all and I'll see y'all in New Zealand!!!

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Off Season Training with the Franks Brothers

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Sunday, Ben and Genna are heading to Nelson for their wedding where I have been asked to be part of the wedding party as one of Ben's groomsmen an honor for me. I am headed to invade Emma and Owen's house for the next few days before we head to Nelson ourselves. Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Hyde Park Gym - Austin Texas

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

is the former owner of Hyde Park Gym and I'll tell ya it didn't take us long to catch up. Alright its time for his lifter to get to the recovery phase of the day and that includes a trip to the original Whole Foods Market then head to Zilker Park to eat and watch people do that 'running thing' hahah I had a great workout and it's one that seemed to help me 'turn the corner' mentally in my training. It really is a great gym and 25 years later it still has the atmosphere and equipment necessary for success in the Iron Game!! You're in the right place when the benches and racks are heavy gauge steel and painted Nautilus Blue!! Thanks Hyde Park Gym....I will be back soon for another training session!! Actually I'll be back next Thursday!! Old Strong Guys Rule

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Sean Elliott's Memorial Day Miracle Shot

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Tonight I was watching the NBA Playoffs and thinking back to my first year as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach with the San Antonio Spurs. Today is Memorial Day and Steve Kerr,(a former Spurs player) is coaching the Warriors and that is what's gotten me thinking way back to 1999. ,We were doing well in the playoffs.....in Western Conference Championships after only dropping 1 game to the Timberwolves in the first round and SWEEPING the Lakers out of the second round while closing the Great Western Forum....yeah I'd say we were doing just damn fine!!! We are up 1-0 on the Blazers and fighting our asses off in Game 2 and we finally take the lead on an unbelievable shot from #32 Sean Elliott with 9.0 seconds left in game and the shot will forever be known as the Memorial Day Miracle !!! It's been 16 years and it still gives me chills to watch and I remember it like it was yesterday but to me that was only part of the miracle. What not too many knew,was that Sean was in the battle of his life against kidney failure and only a short time after we would go on win our first NBA Championship Sean's brother would donate a kidney to his brother's life. I could tell you stories about being in the locker room before, during and after games....on the floor and in the weightroom everyday during practices....and of course sitting right behind Coach Popovich,for every game but I don't want to take away from the story of perseverance ,and toughness that is Sean Elliott or a message I'd really like to SCREAM from the rooftops..... ORGAN DONATION.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Training of a Champion

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

So the month of November finds me at the bottom of the earth here in Christchurch, New Zealand. Of course getting here was quite the ordeal thanks to the horrible "customer service" that was offered by Continental/United Airlines or whatever they call themselves. Thanks to Air New Zealand for making my 14+ hour trip from LAX to Auckland a wonderful experience. Note to self...always fly Southwest Airlines or Air New Zealand when you can.

However, I am not here on vacation, I am here to train Ben Franks of the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup Champion New Zealand All Blacks. So why did Ben bring me here all the way from the USA you ask? Simple he wants to become stronger, more powerful, more explosive and quicker and he knows I am just the right man for the job. I've been training him since February and he trusts me to get the job done. Even if that means moving me into his spare bedroom for a month...poor guy just didn't realize how much I can eat!!!

I did come bearing gifts so I'm not that bad; from Ironmind Ben got the #2 gripper, a copy of Milo, and training straps and from Titan Support a great new belt, wrist wraps and the Ram!!! From Ben I got an autographed All Blacks jersey, an autographed rugby ball both from Rugby World Cup and All Blacks shorts. Also a place to stay and food!!! He and Genna are great hosts opening up their home to me.

Now this is Strength and Power Training, my passion, my life's pursuit...it is going to be heavy and it is going to be hard!!! This ain't some bullshit training plan designed by some pencil neck geek that has never lifted a heavy weight...this is MY training plan!! It is simple and it is basic not some flashy fad training...it's called a workout for a reason. He ain't alone in this I am training right there with him and pushing him to his body's limits. He is a committed athlete and a blast to work with!! He does all the right things to be successful.

So I got in and got some food and we were off to the gym where we will spend almost every morning training, sweating, suffering, and getting strong and powerful...the very reason I am here. Eastside Barbell/Gravity Gym is an awesome place for some real training. It has jerk boxes, squat racks, benches, and plenty of bumper plates. The afternoon training sessions will find us at Linwood Rugby Academy for agility work followed by rugby skill training with Scotty or you can find us at Canterbury Crossfit the gym the Frank brothers own with their dad, yes scary there are 2 of these beasts playing for the All Blacks. There we will be doing our medicine ball training thanks to all I have learned and stole from Vern Gambetta one of my mentors and hereos in Athletic Development.

Please check back and see how our training is going. Got some pictures posted in the gallery go check them out!! Until next time remember Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Developing Explosive Strength and Power

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

.3 seconds...that's all the time you have in sports

Got your attention? Doesn't sound like much time does it? You're asking yourself what the hell is Ed talking about has he lost his mind...what about .3 seconds. Well, if you want to be an elite athlete that had better be your reaction time!! I'm talking about change of direction, exploding out of your position, creating or closing seperation, and so much more and it all happens in .3 seconds.

In sport we define power as the product of strength x speed (distance) / time

Each of these components must be part of your overall training plan. Of course there are different emphasis not only during each train cycle but also within each training session.

One of the best ways to develop Explosive Strength and Power is by the use of the Olympic Weightlifting movements in your training. First let me tell you that any coach that says that the lifts are too technical and/or difficult to teach, there are other exercises just as good, I don't have the athlete long enough, or that they are dangerous...Seriously?? Then find a new job!!

Let's explore a few reasons for why I think the way I do. The olympic lifts produce the highest output of power and rate of force development. The "dip and drive" phase of the press or jerk and the "jump and pull" phase of the clean or snatch take .2 to .3 seconds. Consider that maximal strength takes .7 to .9 seconds or more to develop and in sports that's an eternity. The lifts also help in the systematic and coordniated movements of the body and aid in the development of force production (the initial movement from the ground into extension) and force reduction/stabilization (the catch). This will strengthen and prepare the athlete's body for change of direction, jumping and landing, the explosive release of an implement, and the impact of a collision in sports.

The peak power development of the Olympic Weightlifting movements are:

*from John Garhammer Journal of Strength Condtioning Research 7(2): 76-89 1993

Let's get some real examples:

*from Mike Clark, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Kansas City Chiefs NFL

Stay tuned as I will cover the role that maximum strength plays in the development of Explosive Strenght and Power. Then later we can go through the use of plyometrics and medicine ball training to "bridge the gap" so we can take the gains made in the weightroom and have them show up in the sport you play!!

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Franks the Tank

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Invictus

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Way back in 2003 while I was training boxer "Jesse" James Leija we traveled to Melbourne, Australia as he prepared to fight for the World Championship belt held by Kostya Tszyu. Our training gym was an awesome place called "Underworld" where they made us more than welcome. Anyways, the owner Matt Trihey gave me his business card and the poem Invictus was printed on the back. I had never read it before and for some unknown reason after I did it really seemed to speak to me and to this day it continues to do so. Now I have had one hell of a life and like most people I've suffered though hard times and at other times was on the top of the world. No matter what life has thrown at me I have always survived and come out on top. I do not and I will never compromise my integrity nor my philosophy. I thank God for my unconquerable soul.

Invictus by William Ernest Henley Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find me unafraid, It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Proper Technique

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

I am sick and tired of reading and hearing "trainers" talk about "getting after it", or "we were in beast mode" and then you see the video and the exercises are performed with technique that is sure to get the athlete hurt...it's not a matter of "if" but more like "when" the injury will occur. Is it all about intensity and/or weight on the bar and not about proper technique? How about the idiot mentality among some coaches in saying, "I don't care what it looks like I only care how much they do".

If it's always about proper technique on the sports field and in drills then why not make sure that during strength training proper technique is used at all times.

Training of a Champion Week 2

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

We ended another great week of training the other day and now that I've had an opportunity to observe and test Ben we have a better feel for how the training program will evolve.

Now I already knew that this is one strong dude!! I mean come on look at the sport he makes his living at and then look even closer to the position he plays. He is athletic and he is strong but there is something missing for him and he knows it or I would still be in San Antonio not here. Before I came Ben already had a list of goals for the off season training. Together we broke those goals down into goals for each training cycle and each training session. Do you have goals that guide your training? Are you secure enough to be one of the best in the world at your sport yet sit back and evaluate yourself honestly? Without goals it's hard to have focus in your training or in your life. How do you know that your training plan is working? Write them down and put them where you can see them. I heard a quote once and it applies here, "When you write down your goals you own them"

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES Photo: James (Red) McLeod; Whero Films

Strength Philosophy

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

“Maximal strength is the foundation that maximal power is built on” Nick Winkleman; Athletes Performance. “If you want to be quick and powerful you had better be strong” Rick Gaugler; National and World Powerlifting Champion "A strong athlete always has the advantage over a weak athlete" Al Vermeil; Strength and Conditioning Coach Chicago Bulls NBA

Guess these quick statements about sum it up!! You take a look at some of the best athletes and yeah they are fast, quick, powerful and they are STRONG!! I think at times too many strength and conditioning coaches out there have forgotten how important strength is in the overall development of the athlete. They are too busy trying to entertain and WOW the athlete!!! Now I’m not gonna sit here and go in depth about it because that would make this way too long. It does seem that training is coming full circle back to more strength and power based training. I’ve never left this training because it works. My training philosophy is from a lifetime of training to be strong and powerful. There seems to be too many “trainers” out there working with athletes that change their training philosophy anytime something new comes out...WHY? How do you change what you believe in? Because they don’t have the “time in the trenches”!!! I have paid my dues so to speak and my training philosophy is a direct result of that. As we’ve talked about before Power is defined in sports as Strength X Speed / Time. Not only is strength important in explosion off the line or in a jump but it is equally if not more important in the deceleration of your body. Strength maintains correct body position when landing or stopping. It’s strength that allows the body to decelerate the arm when hitting the volleyball or throwing the baseball. All components have their place and time in performance training but you must continue to train to be strong and powerful if you want to have continued success in sports. It also must be trained properly and within the periodized training plan. Failure to make a well designed and carefully thought out training plan will result in not achieving your goals. I’ve heard this quote and have taken it to heart, “Failure to plan is planning to fail” Do you have a training plan?

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

My interview with New Zealand's TVNZ

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Just when I thought things couldn't get better, I was blessed to be singled out for a short television piece during my stay down here.

The news station TVNZ learned about my training a couple of New Zealand's favorite sons, elite rugby players and brothers, Ben and Own Franks. The piece aired on the evening news and covered some basics of training such high-level athletes as well as exposing the sad fact that I am not a shy eater.

The people at the station were professional and way more than gracious to put my bubble head on their airwaves.

Have a look.

Click here or on the picture below

Weightlifting and Food

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Dealing with Injury

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Coach Mike Burgener

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Not too often do you get an opportunity almost 20 years later and about 7500 miles away from home to visit with and thank a coach who not only taught you but who also influenced your coaching career as well. Today I got that chance, Coach Mike Burgener is in Wellington New Zealand to teach an Olympic Weightlifting course for CrossFit International and he came out to visit Hurricanes training. I had the chance to thank him for his teaching at my USA Weightlifting Club Coach course way back in 1995 and for several of his talks at NSCA conferences. It was at the Club Coach course that he not only taught the lifts, how to coach them and how to program the training plan but also how to apply them in strength and conditioning training. I told him that I still have my notes from that course and I refer to them from time to time. We talked about training, coaching, rugby, and my coaching philosophy. He complimented me on my dedication to Physical Development Training (which is what I call my philosophy of training) both in my coaching and in my own training. Told him I had moved to powerlifting after a major shoulder injury sidelined my competitive weightlifting and he looked at me and said. "Hey you're lifting and doing what you love"!!! He is a class act and I love to see someone so excited and passion for coaching and life!!!

Yes sir....it was a good day today!!! Thanks for your time Coach.

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES

Forgotten Strength Work

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

So I'm going to attempt to cover some areas that seem to be overlooked anymore in training. I've become sick to my stomach seeing some of the "finishers" that so called experts come up with!! That would be a very long blog and will really piss off some of them when I attempt to write that!!

First up for us....neck and traps. I can remember when I joined the Army and was training at the base gym in Würzburg, Germany this guy comes over to me and says "Hey boy you better be training that stack of dimes you call a neck!" I believe training the traps falls right in there with neck training. Look at a good strength athlete, an athlete that plays a contact or collision sport they will have neck and traps IF they are training correctly. As far as I'm concerned after reading, visiting strength facilities and observing the training being done not enough coaches are programing this critical area into their training plans. You know, it really wasn't that long ago that neck training was a priority for all football players from high school, to college all the way to the pros. Most facilities had the plate loaded 4 way neck machine (even the commercial gym I trained at in San Antonio had one). Now there are ways around the expense of this machine if the facility or team is on a tight budget. Here are some other options...neck harness, old football helmets with a rod in it to load weights on, wrestler bridges(for more advanced athletes), I've discovered a way to use stretch bands for a 4 way neck workout, partner resisted work and finally one of my favorites placing the plate on your forehead and the back of your head to do the work!! While I don't agree with some of the old HIT Training methods they always did neck and heavy machine shrugs in their training. Look up old articles from Dr. Ken Leistner and you'll discover a whole new world of information!! I love reading his articles and I will admit they influenced me quite a bit and they still do!! Beisdes the "look" of a strength athlete there are important other factors in training the neck if you indeed play a contact or collision sport it had better be a priority in your training. In fact properly training the neck can help even so called "normal" people as well. Ever think that some of the chronic neck problems you have from sitting at the computer could possibly be from having a weak neck. So why not finish your training off with some neck work and shrugs but watch out and be warned.....buldging traps and thick necks are the result of this!! pictured is Bill "Kaz" Kazmaier one of the greatest strength athletes ever!! Train Hard...Play Harder...NO EXCUSES

Believe in Yourself

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

I look back on my life and I can't help but to think about this path I've choosen. I can't remember a time in my life that I did not want to be a strength coach even when I was told that it was a stupid "dream" (not a goal but a dream) and that I would probably amount to nothing in life if I choose to pursue this. Funny how things turn out!! I work really hard and have sacrificed much to ahieve my goal and I will admit at times I've lost a little belief in myself but never for very long before the Good Lord would gently (and sometimes not so gentlly) remind me. Now I know that there have been people in my life that have helped and guided me along the way and I have never forgotten any of them. This is posted in my gym and a copy is also in my training log. I wish I could remember where I got it but I try to live by it daily. Believe In Yourself

FACE IT. Nobody owes you a living. What you achieve or fail to achieve is directly related to what you do or fail to do. No one chooses his parents or childhood but everyone can choose their own direction. Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome but that too is relative to each individual. NOTHING IS CARVED IN STONE, You can change anything in your life, if you want to badly enough. Excuses are for losers. Those who take responsibility for ther actions are the real winners. Winners meet life's challenges head on, knowing there are no guarantees, and give it all they've got. And never think it's too late or too early to begin, Time plays no favorites, and will pass whether you act or not. TAKE CONTROL OF YOU LIFE. Dare to dream and take risks... Compete. If you aren't willing to work for your goals, don't expect others to.

Making the Training Count

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

Throughout my coaching career I've preached that nothing matters in in training if it doesn't show up on the sports field. That's why I believe the way I do about perfect technique in ALL aspects of the training. This weekend during the Hurricanes game against the Blues Ben Franks once again proved that the training we are doing WORKS!!! Nice to get more proof that the training is doing it's job. I believe it is always a "team" effort, with that I mean the support team, coaching staff and the athlete. Hurricanes' Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Dave "Davie" Gray, myself and Ben stay in constant contact to insure that this is happens. Told Ben that this combination works: my training + Davie's conditioning + Ben's work ethic & passion = one of the greatest rugby props in the world!! So here is another example of the training working. During the start of the game Ben had a good hard tackle, one of many but more impressive is him chasing down Frank Halai of the Blues who is arguably one of the quickest wingers in rugby (playing both 15's and 7's)!! This happened at the end of the first half when most props are ready to head in the locker room. There are no shortcuts or magic bullets and it won't happen over night.

It will only happen with SIMPLE...HARD...BASIC TRAINING!! NO BULL#*$T...JUST HARD WORK!!

Play Hard...Train Harder...NO EXCUSES!!

You can't fire a cannon out of a canoe

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 21:31:00 GMT

I fully believe that you are a product of your enviroment. So you must choose the enviroment that will best develop you towards your...

Gainsville (Texas) High School Strength Clinic

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 14:51:00 GMT

On March 4th I have the immense pleasure to speak at Gainsville (Texas) High School Clinic that my mentor and friend Dan Burk is putting on with an unbelievable list of speakers. I will be speaking on Strength / Power Development for Basketball and sharing things that I have incorporated in my coaching throughout my many years training basketball players (and more sports than I could possibly list). I started training basketball players in 1988 when then San Antonio Spurs player David Greenwood asked me to work with him and a few other Spurs players. Since most of you are not old enough to know who David was I share a little information on him. He was the 2nd overall pick of the 1979 NBA Draft coming out of UCLA where he played under legendary coach John Wooden but more interesting to me was when I learned that Coach Wooden didn t allow his players to lift weights fearing that it was mess up their shot!! I later learned that he and several other Spurs players had been watching me ...

Screwed Over

Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:10:00 GMT

Several years ago I was at Sorinex s Summer Strong and met a guy battling through some nasty infections from surgery. He was obviously a strength athlete but I didn t know who he was but as I watched him interact with people you could tell that he was upset and a little depressed at his current dilemma and that's understandable with the athletes and coaches that are at Summer Strong every year. Since I'd just recently battled through from my own multiple surgeries from infections of my Achilles and ankle and another more intense battle that unless you;ve been through it most just wouldn't understand and then there's the deep personal battle with your psyche while you're watching all of your hard work for strength and muscle just vanishing AND if you're any kind of strength athlete you want to jump in and lift with everyone!! I decided to go over and introduce myself and share my story of perseverance. He thanked me and told me the story on what he d been going through and that talkin...

I have Endured

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 15:59:00 GMT

I have endured

I have been broken

I have known hardship

But, here I stand.

Still I move forward each day.

I will never forget the harsh lessons in my life For they have made me stronger.

Just a little reflection on the battles through some major injuries over the past 10 years. In 2012 Ruptured Achilles and Ankle doctor fucked up and it got infected multiple times and had to have 3 additional surgeries and it was still infected so I I got a new doctor and he saved my life (from septic shock) and my leg but had to perform 4 more surgeries but the damage from highly effective antibiotics going through a PICC Line straight to your heart (combined with the side effects of untreated Sleep Apnea got a CPAP in 2006 you can't undo the damage to the heart) lead to 2014 Triple Bypass Surgery (had cardiac stress test/scan in 2012 prior to my 4 additional surgeries at Texas Orthopedic) then in 2018 the other Achilles ruptured (had an amazing doctor).

Play Hard... Train Harder... NO EXCUSES

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