Written by Kalle Beck
I apologize for being absent recently with my JTS logs.
My training has been down in the dumps since the Arnold due to injury, and my body just being a mess in general. Limping from contest to contest thinking I needed to do it NOW caught up with me.
I am happy to report I am no longer in pain, which is a huge step! In addition in injury, an increased focus on life has really halted my training at the moment. As some of you may know, last October I got fired from my full time job of 8 years for….. competing, I got invited to compete in China and it was either: 1) be paid more than I make in a month to go to another part of the world I would never experience otherwise for a week all expenses paid or 2) stay at a job I hate going nowhere.
Well the choice was pretty obvious, but it was scary. I had no savings or back-up plan, just the money I got from competing in China to tide me over. I’ve been talking for years about quitting my job and making a living doing what I am actually passionate about: getting more people into Strongman and growing the sport. Now was the time to sink or swim.
Starting Strongman was born and it is great! Like any start-up it is a labor of love and takes a lot of resources, time especially, but everytime I get a message saying someone just signed up to get their NAS card or they found a gym from the Strongman Gym Directory, it makes it all worthwhile! The Facebook group has over 4,400 members and there are 300+ gyms on the map now, so the first step of getting the community connected is happening and I would have never expected it to take off so quickly.
Of course something had to give, and that has been my training. It has been infrequent at best, and less-than-spectacular when I get it done, but I would like to focus on the positives
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I can do squats, deadlifts and log C&P without pain now
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the weight IS going back up
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I am helping others accomplish their goals in the absence of my own.
I have decided to take the rest of this year off competing and will not be competing at NAS Nationals. This was a hard decision for me but, if anything, Chad Smith just proven you can take a year off from competing after injury and come back stronger than ever! His last performance at Super Training really gives me hope!
Right now I am following basic linear periodization plan based off of Ed Coan’s templates with severely lowered training maxes to give me some sort of structure without doing too much. I also plan to do a lot of sled pulling in the coming weeks with a truck pull simulator I just got, which seems fantastic so far. I definitely need the cardio of truck pulls and arm over arm pulls!
In this log I hope to bring some tips for everyone curious about starting strongman and help give you the information to do it right. For more info visit www.startingstrongman.com
Kalle Beck has been competing in strongman competitions for 6 years. A veteran in the sport with dozens of competitions under his belt he has gained a vast amount of knowledge on strongman training. 2012 was his break out year where he lost 35 pounds transforming his body to compete in the new 175 pound strongman class.
With highlights including 2012 California’s Strongest Man, 2012 Washington’s Strongest Apple, top 10 at America’s Strongest Man and qualifying for the 2013 Arnold World Championships. Best lifts include a 600lb deadlift, 505lb back squat and a 290lb log press.
