MAINE'IAC PRIMITIVE MOVEMENT

Last Saturday I competed in the 4th Annual Bath Heritage Day’s Strongman and it was an absolute BLAST! I was in the light weight division (231lb’s and under) I weighed in at an astonishing 170lb’s:) I have an ankle that i’ve been re-building for the past two months due to a severe fracture so this event was also dedicated to see what it could handle. I’ve lifted heavy a few times throughout the rehab process but mostly i’ve relied on moving primitively using just my bodyweight and dieting to be as light as possible for the least amount of pressure on the joint… I’m a NYC trainer, I walk A LOT!

For each event we had 60 seconds to complete as many reps as possible except for the yolk walk which was a 90second time limit and we were competing for the fastest time. Here are the events listed:

1 arm clean and press at 110lb’s

425lb dead-lift

150 foot yolk walk– walk 50ft with empty yolk at 200lb’s, load two 75lb kegs for another 50ft walk at 350lb’s, load last two 75lb kegs for the last 50ft at 500lb’s

Truck squat at 505lb’s

 Stone over bar, which consisted of lifting a 280lb atlas stone and clearing a 52inch bar. 

My approach to the competition was simply just to see what I can do and see how stable my ankle is lifting and carrying heavy loads. I simply treated it like a lift day and man was I sore after, the day after, and the day after that. I find the human body so amazing what it can handle in certain situations. Whether it be in a competition or real life situations. This is why I move like primitive man… NATURALLY.

I train using the “Natural Method” which prepares you for cold starts. Meaning your body is ready to react at anytime no matter the situation. For example the (L) train from Brooklyn to Manhattan was out of service and I needed to be on the East River for my 7am client. Who is a woman and trains year round weather it’s 90+ degrees, raining, or freezing and snowing… just sayin’.– Instead of waiting for the train or canceling my appointment, instinct kicked in and I started running. I didn’t have time to stretch, warm up, none of that. Moral of the story I made it to my client in time to train. An influencer of mine, Erwan LeCorre say’s “this way of training makes the most sense.” I couldn’t agree more.

With that said I didn’t exactly just show up and start lifting and loading weight more than 2.5 times my body weight. Preparation for the competition started with eggs & bacon, a small iced coffee with a triple espresso shot in it followed with some dynamic stretching to break a nice sweat and WATER through out the competition. Here is my training regimen 5 day’s prior to the competition:

TUESDAY- Double session- A.M. Bailing hay with Mom. Lifting, Carrying, and Throwing:) P.M. Couple hundred jump shots, heavy TGU’s, clean n’ press’s, 1 arm dumbbell snatches, and dead-lifting.

WEDNESDAY- A mile swim, static holds(using only bodyweight), and stretching/posture/alignment work.

THURSDAY- Double session- A.M. shocked the body by lifting heavy. I worked up to a 1 rep max dead-lift and clean n’ press. Dead-lift: 425lb Clean n’ Press: 195lb… alternating between the two… #unconventional P.M. about a 1/4 mile swim to do some climbing and cliff jumping, then proceeded to swim another 1/4 mile off Cape Small to deeper water to do some contrasting and breath work. This consisted of bouts of treading water, breath work, and diving to depths for as long as I could handle the chilly temp’s and pressure of the Atlantic. Surfacing was a relief and made the water feel like a heated pool. Lastly I swam back to shore, hopped out and started heading back to camp letting the hot sun warm me and my joints back to room temp;) Half way back to camp I spotted a piece of driftwood that would make an excellent stool for the yard, so I finished up with some carrying which warmed the body back up quickly.

Friday- Day before competition- Double session- A.M. a spontaneous route along the coast of Cape Small where I walked, lifted, carried, swam, climbed, and jumped. P.M. met up with everyone competing and helped load the equipment for the competition.

I didn’t exactly taper for the event:) Anyone who knows me would say you didn’t even train for the event… and I would agree with them. I prepared for the event. This is my life-style and has been my life-style. MOVE PRIMITIVELY & LIFT UNCONVENTIONALLY.

#savage