History

I first lifted weights in high school, mostly as a biproduct of wrestling and football. I quickly found that I enjoyed lifting more than I enjoyed those other things. I trained hard and often using a very broken program that was handed out to every athelete. I read the muscle rags and tried to follow their advice as best I could. During College I started off strong and trained hard, I over trained, I got to the point I would rather train than go to class or eat. Eventually I broke under the strain. I quit training and eventually bombed out of school too. I struggled and floated around a bit. I ended up in Greeley, Colorado and ready to go back to school. I decided the one thing I had done right in school was working out and I needed it back.

February of 2004 marked the turning point. The time I first got back into the gym, consistently, for the first time since the end of 1997. I quickly found myself readdicted. This time I tried to learn all I could and train smarter rather than harder. This was when I found out how wrong I had trained all along. I began my education with a few basic books and a popular bodybulding website called T-nation. I train at the University of Northern Colorado’s gym for students and faculty. My first training partner was Peter, and English masters student and body builder.

It wasn’t long before I knew I could no longer train at UNC and Peter was too injured to continue. I moved on to a local gym call Workout West (WoW). I didn’t entirly appreciate WoW for how wonderful it was, but I certainly enjoyed training there. While there, I decided powerlifting was the sport for me. For those of you unfamiliar, powerlifting is an activity in which you try to lift the most weight you possibly can in the Bench Press, Deadlift and Squat, one time each. While at WoW, I also discovered Gripboard.

Gripboard is a site literally dedicated to the strength of the lower arm. This includes all kinds of strength but the end result of it is primarily (but not only) a firm grip, very firm. Through this website I met all manner of people who were interested in all manner of training, not just grip. I learned about more and varied types of training that I would have never concieved on my own. It was on Gripboard that I started my first blog in September of 2005. That blog represented the first time I was even remotly successful at keeping a training journal. The first months of it detail grip training only but eventually I used it to track all manner of training. It is from that log that this is born.

In October of 2005 I moved to Baltimore, MD and kept my log going. I also met my first training partners since Peter. Two strong men, Dan and Luke. Both train a variety of ways but Grip, Strongman and Kettlebells are stongly intergrated in their systems. It was from them that I learned much of what I believe I know today. I have not limited my knowledge to what they have taught me, I have read and trained and learned but I have long time before I catch up to what they know today, and by then they will have moved on to know more as well. Fortunately they are giving people and allow me to use their knowledge and tools as a step ladder to my own training and education.

Everthing that happens after that is contained here….