The MONSTER GARAGE GYM/MAROSCHER COACHING LOG is a weekly Coaching Log by MGG owner, 2-Time WPC World Powerlifting Champion, Eric Maroscher, and is one of the Featured Coaching Logs at EliteFTS.
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Monster Garage Gym/Maroscher Coaching Log: (Log number LXXXV). 5 HUGE STRONGMAN TIPS Part II.

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5 HUGE STRONGMAN TIPS, Part II...

This coaching log is PART II of a IV part series where I have invited Pro-Strongwoman Kristin Johnson of the MONSTER GARAGE GYM to share with your via EliteFTS, her TOP 20 HUGE STRONGMAN TIPS. Part I of this series can be found right here: https://www.elitefts.com/coaching-logs/5-huge-strongman-tips-part-i-hd-videos-included/

MGG Kristing Pro Card Strongman14184300_10210289735466957_5472496051076647656_n

Fun after the meet with Pro Strongman middle weights: Dani Schwalbe (left), Kristin Johnson (center), Liefia Ingalls (right). Photo courtesy of: Liefia Ingalls

 

Each week of this four part series will highlight 5 HUGE STRONGMAN TIPS that both Kristin and I hope will help you in your training as a strongman competitor, a powerlifter who incorporates strongman into his/her training, or any strength athlete who sees the value of functional strength as it relates to their own strength and power goals.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaZlKIR9I_M]

This, PART II of IV begins with a quick reiteration of of what got us here, then dives right into Kristin’s 5 HUGE STRONGMAN TIPS. *If you have not looked at Part I, stop right here, and click the link above to catch up. If you already have, you can re-read or by-pass the reiteration (in bold below) and go right to Kristin’s portion of the log. As I mentioned in the PART I, Kristin is our guest log author for this four part series and we feel this will be of great insight and benefit to you.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdjUm43wY6E]

Reiteration:
The family of Strongman competitors is a close knit group. These individuals are a kindred spirit who cheer one another on during competition, pick one another up in defeat and encourage and motivate one another during training.

Within this Strongman group is an even smaller group, a sub-culture of a sub-culture. This group are the Strongman athletes who have attained their pro-card, and compete within this smaller group for pride, self-fulfillment, and as they are pro, maybe even for a little bit of cash. Kristin Johnson of the MONSTER GARAGE GYM is one of the newest members to this group, the professional branch off of the Strongman strength tree.

Most recently, Kristin Johnson was known as the #5 ranked women’s amateur strongman in the middleweight division. This was a label she earned at the 2016 Arnold Expo. Prior to that, Kristin was the NAS Kentucky State and NAS Illinois State champion strongman in her division. As a competitive powerlifter Kristin has pressed over 300LBS RAW and 450LBS (shirt) also at a bdw of 181lBS and finds herself routinely in the TOP five and TOP 10 rankings world-wide in her division as a powerlifter as well.

With regard to Strongman, it no secret that reaching the professional level in the strongman game is a huge personal benchmark, one that the majority of strongman competitors would love to reach, but only the smallest of % actually achieve this pinnacle of success.

As EliteFTS and MONSTER GARAGE GYM are about Live, Learn and Pass on, this coaching log is PART II of IV as we want to take advantage of what Kristin has achieved through her hard work and partnering with some of the sports best teachers in an effort to provide those striving for this elusive card to learn from one of the true up-and-comers in the world of strongman.

So, at this time, I am going to turn over the keyboard to Kristin, as she will be doing the heavy lifting (pun intended) in this coaching log to share with you, 5 HUGE STRONGMAN TIPS!!!!

These are 5 HUGE STRONGMAN TIPS (a total of 20 over this IV part series) that have served her well as she set her sites on, created a plan for, executed the plan for and achieved the goal of becoming a pro-card carrying Strongman competitor.

So, as they say, without further ado, I present your coach for this series (Part II of IV) of EliteFTS/MONSTER GARAGE GYM coaching logs….Kristin Johnson…….

15. The night before comp day...

“So it's the night before your first strongman show, and you're kind of freaking out. Don't worry, you're not the first and you won't be the last. "What do I wear? What do I eat? What do I bring? Will there be food to buy? What about water?" These thoughts will be flying through your mind as fast as you can say, "what do you mean no tacky??"

As a novice competitor, you may not have three different pair of shoes for different events, your own chalk, multiple belts, etc and that's okay! Pack the things you've been using in training and try not to veer too far from what you've trained with. Comp day isn't the day to try a new pair of Oly shoes, just because someone suggested it. Bring water, a couple changes of clothes, any wraps/belts/straps you've been using in training and a positive attitude! Lastly, get rested! It's going to be a long, dirty day!

14. Comp day

The day has finally arrived, the day you've trained for, the day you've put blood sweat and tears into. For some people, the first thing they do is eat breakfast, fuel for showtime. For me, personally, I can't eat much, if anything, the morning of a competition. I'll stress again, do not try something new today. If you haven't done it in training, don't try it today.

Upon arrival at the venue, find a spot where the athletes can store their stuff for the day and set up camp. Make sure you're still able to see and hear the competition field and the announcer. Soon after arrival, there will be a rules meeting for all athletes, going over any last minute event changes and clarification on rules for each event. Now is not the time to be shy. If there is something you don't understand, ASK. You don't want to zero an event because you didn't understand the directions.

Once the show is rolling, after your first event, your nerves will have calmed down a little. Now it's time to start getting your head in the game but also to have fun. Get to know your competition. I am incredibly grateful to have such awesome competition, but I'm also grateful to call those same women my friends.

At the end of the day, no matter where you placed, you did something most people will never do. And for that, you should be proud!

13. I did my first comp, what now?

Now that your first competition is over, it's time to decide what your next move will be. Assuming you had a blast and want more, find your next show! Find a show to go to with one of your new friends or find a show in a different state.

12. Learn from your mistakes

Look back on your first contest and analyze the things that you think went well and the things that didn't go so well. Being honest with yourself is important here too! If you had a teammate or friend at the competition, you might want to ask them their opinion as well. Once you have your lists compiled, take a close look at the things that didn't go well and delve deeper into why. Really try to find the antecedent, then make a plan to correct it for your next show.

11. Nutrition

This one is simple. Eat.

Being a strength athlete requires a caloric intake to fuel the body for optimal performance. I am, by no means, saying this is an excuse for all-out binges five nights a week, but we do require a bit more intake than the "average" person. I've seen athletes use everything from Paleo, to Keto, to IIFYM, to "if it fits in your mouth." I am not an expert with any of these, but for myself, I find that high protein, moderate carb and low fat works best for me. On training days my carbs will be slightly higher than non-training day, but I keep things pretty even for the most part.

What it comes down to is what works best for you and your body. I highly suggest tracking your food, via an app or a food diary. Weighing and measuring food may not be of importance yet, but start tracking what you're eating and how you're feeling, in order to make adjustments. What a lot of people fail to remember is that results from proper nutrition are often not seen immediately, and will fall off the wagon too quick. Stay the course!” Pro Strongwoman, Kristin Johnson

*Over the next three weeks we will cover the X additional tips Kristin has to offer, V per week. Wishing you all the best in your training. You can follow Kristin Johnson’s strongman journey on your IG page: @thekristinj

Ever onward. Eric Maroscher: Monster Garage Gym

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