The Long Road to Strength
By
Paul Vaillancourt
I feel pretty fortunate to be in my current situation. My wife and I own two
gyms, and I have a great crew of guys to train with on a regular basis. My
training partners and I also have a fully equipped Strongman facility that
allows us to train year round. (Strongman events during the winter are tough
here in Canada.) Our core group has been experiencing great progress over the
last year. I’m pretty much as close as you can get to living at the gym and
being able to train whenever it suits me.
But that is not enough. Becoming a big fish in a little pond is a dead end to
progress.
On the journey to great strength, many miles must be traveled. I remember the
first time I read about Matt Rhodes having to drive two hours to train. I
thought, “Hey, I do that too.” Before I owned my first gym, I used to drive one
hour just to train in a commercial type gym. When I first started competing in
Strongman, I often drove over two hours to train in events with a group of guys
who knew more about it than I did. Traveling to the equipment is the first step.
But now I have all the equipment and travel to where the “strong ones” are. I
travel to the people who know what I want to know and who can do things that I
want to do.
The first time that I made a long trip for a competition was in 2005. I drove
nine hours from Renfrew, Ontario to New Haven, Connecticut to compete in a
Strongman competition. I drove nine long hours and got my ass kicked. Then I
traveled home sick as a dog puking out the car window all the way. But this trip
was a very important lesson to my success. I learned that I wasn’t anywhere near
as good as I thought I was, and it got me completely focused on kicking ass in
Strongman. (Although the trip to New Haven was pretty long, it should be noted
that travel time to 99 percent of the competitions that I’ve competed in was a
minimum of two hours.)
Another long but very productive trip was our trip to the DeFranco seminar last
July. I’ve already outlined the details of why this was an important trip in my
“What I Learned at the DeFranco Seminar” article. I feel this was the first, big step in the direction of traveling to
find success. We didn’t care how far or how long. We just wanted to learn and
get better. Well, we learned, we made good contacts, and most of all, we got
motivated to take action. (The DeFranco training facility is a pretty motivating
place.)
There are many great powerlifting meets in the province of Ontario. The catch is
that they are all a minimum of six hours away from where I live. This isn’t a
big deal. My wife competes, too so it’s a family trip that we both enjoy. Just
make sure that you get a separate hotel room if your handler snores like a
diesel engine. I traveled six hours to bomb out in the bench, but again, I had
fun, made good contacts, and learned a lot.
During the cold and snowy months of the past winter and despite having a heated
indoor training spot for events, I felt it necessary to take a trip to Montreal
(three hours) to train with a few guys who we don’t get to see much during the
winter. Although the place we were training in was crammed into a tiny garage
and we even had to do our farmer’s walks outside, I still had a standout
training session. This was a case of just needing to be in a different place
with different training partners. A break from the norm. I plan on making this a
regular occurrence this winter.
During the first Strongman competition of the season this past April (lucky for
me it was only one hour away), I was hanging out with a fellow competitor who
had driven 10 hours to this particular competition despite knowing that he
wasn’t ready for it. It had fairly small cash prizes. He told me that it doesn’t
matter how much money is on the line. He just loves to compete and traveling
long distances is part of the game. That same guy has been traveling a minimum
of 12 hours almost every weekend to compete in the 2008 Quebec Pro Cup (the
premier Strongman circuit in Canada). His dedication to his sport is paying off.
He’s having the best season of his career.
To further my education in strength, I barely batted an eye when it came time to
pack up the car and drive 12 hours to none other than the EliteFTS compound to
attend the VIP seminar in London, Ohio. This trip was a phenomenal experience.
Again, we learned, made good contacts, and got really motivated to succeed. As a
bonus, I smashed the Prowler challenge and brought home a
Prowler. (It has
become a huge tool for my competitive success. Thanks again Dave and Jim.) This
trip was also a learning experience in travel. I will now fly whenever possible
if the trip is longer than eight hours. I will also never rent the smallest
economy car for a long trip. The fuel savings don’t make up for the two weeks of
low back and hip pain.
My willingness to travel any distance is starting to pay off. I traveled 12
hours this past June to Ontario’s Strongest Man competition and finished in
second place. The second place finish has earned me a spot at the Canadian
Strongman Championship, which I am very proud to be competing in. It’s a big
step up the Strongman ladder for a guy like me to be at the Canadian Qualifier
for the World’s Strongest Man. Of course, the trip to the Canadian Strongest Man
in Quebec City is only five hours away. And to top off a great summer of
traveling, I’ll also be traveling across the country to the 105 kg Strongman
Nationals in British Colombia. But not to worry…I’m flying.
It would be uncharacteristic for me to have an eloquent conclusion so I’ll just
put it out there plain and simple. Traveling to the places and the people who
will help you improve is a good
investment in your success. Sometimes just a change of scenery can pay big
dividends. Every time that I’ve taken a trip related to strength, it has put me
closer to my goals. Don’t become the big fish in a little pond.
Paul Vaillancourt is the co-owner of UltimateFitnessGyms.com with his wife
Sarah. They train athletes (mostly hockey players) and the general public in
Renfrew and Arnprior, Ontario, Canada. Paul is starting to get “okay” at
Strongman competitions.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
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