Some aches and pains never hurt...right?

Thor's shirt really makes a statement!

Hey everyone I’m back with two updates today, both featuring 2 time Europe’s Strongest Man, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson AKA The Mountain. What a lucky guy to get such a cool nickname…and the paycheck that surely comes along with being on one of TV’s hottest shows! Well, while he is strolling around collecting paychecks and challenging for World’s Strongest Man later this year, I am trudging along in my gym getting ready for my next contest in under 4 weeks!

I’m not a huge fan of publishing my training journals because the pounds you lift in the gym don’t always correlate to what you can do at a contest. Oh let’s say a 700 pound squat in the gym when you're fresh and rested might only equate to 600 at a contest held outside in the summer and after a truck pull! I’d like to start sharing some more of my specific training theories though, but after this first contest when I can really sit down and analyze how my preparation related to my performance.

I can say that the ‘nagging injuries’ are starting to pile up though.

Unfortunately massage, rest, ice, heat, work or any combination thereof hasn’t helped much either. My left Achilles tendon feels like it’s ripe to burst any day, my left knee feel like a rope sausage hanging in a butcher’s window, my left elbow not only hurts but is significantly weaker than my right and my back…well, my back is now equal parts concrete and equal parts creaky old lumber.

But…nothing good ever gets made easily and nothing worthwhile ever gets built without some cost. If the cost of glory is a little blood, sweat and tears well I can’t complain and I lose a few good night’s sleep along the way well that’s fine too. It takes a lot of pain and discomfort to outweigh the guilt and regret that comes with not striving to be your best!

Maybe my best is good enough to win, maybe it isn’t, but no matter how well I finish on a warm summer day in West Virginia next month, I’ve already won in my head and my heart because I know how much I’ve sacrificed to make the best version of my possible.

Make the best of every training session, every meal, every rest period and every day off-the best you is yet to come!

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The New York Pro 2020: Florida, the Temporary Empire State

New York Pro 2020, held in Tampa, FL this year. L ast weekend we were blessed enough to have an IFBB Pro show go off without a hitch this year, as so few things have gone hitch-free during the COVID Pandemic, as the New York Pro was held in Tampa, Florida. As restrictions are not uniform and the state of Florida continues to be welcoming of all manner of gathering, the event was moved south this year and we have a brand new winner in Iain Valliere who beat out a handful of IFBB stalwarts and qualified for this year’s Mr. Olympia. Since winning his first amateur show in 2010, the Canadian heavyweight had powerful start in the world of bodybuilding winning six amateur shows and earning his Pro Card in 2014. While earning a Pro Card in four years seems good enough, Valliere won every amateur contest he was in during that time in his homeland before traveling south to Mexico in his campaign to get the elusive Pro Card at the Amateur Olympia. Life as a pro has been more of a steady c

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Mr. Olympia 2020: The Welsh Dragon Joins the Battle

On the surface it would be easy to dismiss anyone competing up into a bigger or more competitive pool of contestants, especially for their first time doing so. Of course, to dismiss Flex Lewis, the “Welsh Dragon” and seven time winner of the 212 Mr. Olympia title for any reason, might be a poor bet to make. But is this year’s Olympia the best place for the Dragon do tread into open water? Maybe it’s the perfect time. This year’s contest is stacked, and while the favorites are the defending champ Brandon Curry and returning seven time champion Phil Heath, the last two years have shown us that the static that once held the Sandow in place for years and year, might have lost its grip. With two new champions in the last two years, the rise in competition could be the perfect place for a dialed-in Lewis to not only make a splash, but make history. Though he ran roughshod over the 212’s for years, he was almost always among the largest contenders-or at least those appearing to be the l

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What's the Deal with Cedric McMillan and the Olympia?

Most of us proud meatheads fall into two categories with bodybuilding, we love the freaks like Ronnie Coleman or Roelly Winklaar or we champion the classic physiques of Frank Zane or Dexter Jackson. In the history of the Olympia we’ve seen that the judges tend to prefer a mix of both from year to year, but when the points get added up-they often don’t reward competitors with physiques in the middle. Such is the case with Cedric McMillan, the man who wins EVERYWHERE except the Olympia and there really isn’t a good reason why. Cedric McMillan, champion bodybuilder and proud member of the United States Army McMillan came on to the scene a little over a decade ago winning his pro card in 2009 and won his first show in 2011. Since then he has competed in thirty IFBB Pro League shows and won eight of them, including winning a little show called the Arnold Classic (Columbus) in 2017. In fact, other than two early outings at the New York Pro, McMillan hasn’t finished lower than sixth place a

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MUSCLE CHURCH: Our Father, the Iron

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