“We are all different animals, It’s about working out what sort of animal we are” Derek Boyer

“We are all born with different gifts, by using these gifts to their fullest potential, for the inspiration and good of all is how we thank “God” for his blessings”

A blast from the past. Beating Magnus ver Magnusson on the stones of strength in germany for the strongest man on earth grand prix.

"Sometimes it feels like you carry the world on your sholder"

6 Kilo’s of Body Weight in 1 Week

Whilst on the comeback trail to compete in the International Strongman Competition I secured an entry into the “United Strongman Series” Final in Bangkok Thailand. I weighed 130kg at the time and really felt like I needed an edge (drugs were not an option)

I made a trip to Jon Davie at Musashi on the Gold Coast and walked away with a supplement program.

• Musashi recovery (4 servings/day)
• Musashi Mass (4servings/day)
• Musashi Joint Support (4 servings/day)
• Multi Vitamin (2 servings/day)
• Flax Seed Oil (4 capful servings/day)
• Magnesium (2000 mg per day) Combining these supplements I took 4 servings per day for a week alternating between 4 high protein meals and wow!!!!

One week later I weighed a hard 136 kg with a considerable strength gain. ( I had been training farmers walk with 140 kg in each hand and could only do 45 mtrs to start, but soon after extended this mark to 80 mtrs) and felt strong as a bull. I kept going and three weeks later I arrived in Bangkok weighing in at 139 kg and felt great!!! I competed strongly and in a field of 10 internationals I placed 4th overall with consistent performances in all events.

Job Done!!!

I kept on the supplement program and 2 weeks later won against the best strength athletes in Australia. I felt the “Musashi Recovery” was the cornerstone for mass gains and strength gains and is truly a great product..

Why Strongman?

I am often asked by media, concerned family, friends and curious spectators, why do I involve myself in such an extreme sport involving the lifting back breaking poundages, flipping cars, pulling trains etc.

The Strain Game. Pulling a train on the Zambezzie Bridge in Zambie for a world strongest man comp. (ex W.S.M. Champion Jpoka Ahola helps)

My general answer is this; "When a person is dead they have no strength at all. In fact they simply fade away. When a person is close to death, they have little strength to use. So it stands to reason that when a person is at their strongest and most capable they are most alive!!! That is why I push myself to the very limits of strength and power. TO FEEL ALIVE!!!"

Feeling alive in K.L. Malaysia on conans wheel. This event takes you to the very limits of endurance and beyond!

Legendary icelandic strongman Jon Paul Sigmasson used to cry out "It's good to be alive if you can dead lift heavy"

Training Qualifications

• Registered Personal Trainer VIC - FIT Reg.

• Level 1 Strength Coach.

• Level 2 First Aid.

• My greatest qualification comes from experience; Trial and error and a constant exposure to W.S.M. Competitions and other world class athletes.

Contents

Biomechanical solutions to the deadlift (part 1)

Out of all the possible strength tests available, what better way to test a mans strength than to deadlift. Giants - O.D. Wilson, Kazmier, Kuc, Kiri, Badenhorst, ver Magnusson, Ahola and Mesaros have bent down coiled their callous hands around enormous loads and blasted them upward to stand erect, signalling to their competitors that they are the truly strong.

In my own quest to increase my pulling strength I have found it important to evaluate and constantly reassess my stratergies in this movement. Here are some of my thoughts.

*natural deadlifters have long arms and a short torso. This allows for a more erect pulling stance, means more leg drive out of the hole and less work to do on the lockout. Long arms mean a shorter pulling stroke and a stronger pulling action on account of a short working lever. U.S. world champion lama Gantt is a great example. His torso is almost erect in the starting pos and the bar finishes barely above his knees in the lockout.

*You must utilise your own biomechanical advantages. ie if you have relatively short thighs in relation to your torso this will allow you to keep your hips closer to the central axis Point(.ie a vertical line drawn from your heels directly up through the middle of you body) whenever you displace the weight or the working levers away from this point in any direction you will make the lift harder.

Derek Boyer - Deadlifting

I have quiet long thigh levers so I throw my knees over the bar pulling my hips closer to the central axis giving me a much stronger pull off the floor. Secondly by slightly pointing my toes out this opens up my hips increasing mobility, again contributing to a stronger pull off the floor.

*I find by throwing my knees out over the bar I am now pushing more through the balls of my feet rather than the heels. When this happens there can be minimal contact with your heels and the floor when you start to pull. This will mean a decrease in power. To remedy this I use and recommend the use of slightly raised heals (I use 7 mm)--this will now increase your overall contact with the floor- dramatically improving driving force through the floor. (Olympic weight lifters use heels for the same reason, to increase leg drive and increase posture.)

*If you have a long torso it is important to keep it as upright as possible at the start so that you do not overstress your back in the initial pull and find it very hard to lockout. Conversely if you have a short torso you can carry you hips a lot higher in the starting position and bend over more to reach the weight. Higher hips (increased leg leverage) will give you a great start, but often puts your upper body in a poor position to finish. However if your torso is short, then you should be able to crank the weight up to completion. Short torsoed Joako Ahola virtually stifflegged 385k easily in w.s.m 99 and had more in him.

Long Live the Dead Lift - for Back Development

*Stance is very important deadlifting greats like fin Velie Kumpuniemi says that if he changes his foot placement slightly the bar stays on the floor there are many different schools of thought on where best to stand. I find by standing quite wide I am able to set up with my torso more erect keeping my hips closer to the bar in a conventional stance my hands are covering the bench knearling although considered quite wide it works for me! I have pulled 352k in comp and a current 360k in training. I am working very hard at the moment to increase this mark to well over 363k(800k).

*It is important to remember that of the best handful of deadlifters in the world it is surprising to note how differently they set up. Consider your own application, and experiment with different postures, foot and hand spacings. You will find this may change as your strength increases.

*In the next article I will explain the forces involved in blowing up a big deadlift and uncover a few secrets that the big boys use.

Strongman Training Set Up

I will utilise 3 main training days of the week. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This is where I will push my body to it's limits with very intense work. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday I will incorporate cardid and core workouts to facilitate recovery and conditioning. On Sundays I rest completely. I believe this is the best weekly schedule to train intensely for competition and recover sufficiently to maximise performance.

I split the body into 3 groups, upper body - trained on Mondays, middle body - trained on Wednesdays and lower body - trained on Fridays.

I always start workouts with Event Training because they are most demanding and relevant to competition. I will pick 3 special events from the list to train, and after a good warmup and stretch I will complete each event once, as hard as possible at a particular setting. This setting will increase each week to a comp or test day. E.g. 120 kg farmers walk 60mtr for speed. Next week it will be 70 mtrs for speed, each week increasing distance to around 100mtrs.

Note: It is important to have a "control" or test days outside of competition to identify your current strength. From this information you will be able to calculate precise weekly increments to competition so that you can peak at a competition. Usually I will try for a 5% to 10% increase from test days results to competition. This will happen in a 8 to 9 week period.

Next on the workout is the Power Movements. Strongman relies heavily on explosive power, from flipping events, throwing events, stones, static power events and events needing a sharp burst of momentum.

The power movements I have listed are compulsory for a good reason!! I will cycle intensely, 3x3 on heavy days and 3x5 on moderate days.

The final facet of my workout is the body conditioning or strength phase of the program. The core components of this are: standing dumbbell military press on Mondays, deadlifts on Wednesdays and squats on Fridays, these are compulsory. I choose 2 to 3 other exercises on the list to facilitate a strength gain in that part of the body. I will use 3 sets of 5 - 10 reps to complete these sets.

Finally a note on conditioning. I have seen so many super-strong athletes in the past fall short of the rest of the field because they had no conditioning. You must train hard at this! I train Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday in a cross training schedule using: running hills, swimming, biking and track work to build stamina.

I will also incorporate my core/abdominal work on these days.

Note: core/abdominal strength is paramount in keeping the right posture in events and also there is a distinct correlation to increased hip flexion endurance.This will increase your ability to walk great distances whilst carrying heavy loads. I try to spend 90 minutes on these workouts. 45 min cardio/45 min core.

Island Roar! Watch out - Anything is Possible

Strongman Program

My Powerlifting Program

Powerlifting Program Set Up

This program is similar to the Strongman Set Up. I cycle the 3 classic lifts; bench, deadlift and squat on a period basion theme and I choose a hand full of changing auxillories to compliment the 3 classic lifts using the congegate method.

This is the general outlay of the program. In the coming months I will illustrate a more detailed description of Set & Rep schemes that I use.

These are my best competition lifts unassisted/raw using only a weight lifting belt.

*Mission: I believe it is possible for me to total 900kg + in the coming months unassisted/raw. My best deadlift with a supersuit on is 352.5kg. Using the program I have described with back breaking poundages I believe it is a matter of time until I break 363.5kg/800lbs in the deadlift.

 

Stay Tuned. . .

From the Vault - Bill Lyndon and myself locking out 700kg

Martial Arts Training

Over the years I have had some experience in several different fighting arts;Muay, Tai/Kickboxing, Boxing, Judo and Karate.

I've also mixed it up on the streets as a doorman for many years in many different venues.

The only discipline I train now is Machado Brazilian Ju-Jitsu under Tony Morris. I train 2 nights a week as part of my schedule. As I approach a competition I will increase sessions to 5 nights a week.

Note: Brazilian Ju-Jitsu is considered the foundation of both "extreme fighting" and U.F.C. cage fights. All fighters now need to be experts on the ground and in the clinch otherwise success will be extremely limited!!

90% of fights that I've had on the streets involved grappling clinches and ground fighting. That is why I train Machado Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. B.J.J. is the most formidable and comprehensive grappling discipline in the world!!!

Just mucking around with trainer Tony Morris after winning a Machado Brazilian Jujitsu Tournament.

Training for the Beginner

I am constantly being asked by many young men for training advice. Here is a program and some pointers to get you started.

Note: Make sure you get a physical form your doctor, and make sure you do not have any medical problems that would prevent you from exercising intensely.

Stay Focused

You will gradually build up your intensity as you become more familiar with your workouts.

Note: It takes time for your body to adjust to new levels of stress. Too much too soon will not build your muscle mass - it may cause injury.

Great things in life do not come quickly or easily they take time, practice and committment.

This in mind concentrate deeply on creating perfect reps in perfect sets.

Once you are able to acheive this, you will feel a great sense of satisfaction and your senses will be flooded with euphoria!! I guarentee you will be hooked for life!!

Stay tuned: Next month I will outlay the best ways to recover and restore your body. Also I'll give you some tips on super nutrition! How to explode into new growth!! And do this drug free.