The Norse tale goes that Fenrir was betrayed by the gods, the mighty Dwarves having created the strongest chain known in the universe to hold this powerful wolf down. During this betrayal, Fenrir the wolf took the hand of the God Tyr and was shunned into isolation where he was bound to a boulder by this unbreakable chain. When it seemed things couldn’t get worse he was further crippled with a giant spike placed inside his jaws to prevent that terrible weapon from ever being used again. In that wallowing moment of rage and pain, the tears of Fenrir were said to have created the River Va´n (translates to ‘Expectations’) that would flow til the end of time until Ragnarok, where Fenrir would break free of his chains and exact his ultimate revenge…

Lessons, Scars and Revenge:

Take these stories for what they are. Many times they were created to teach, instill courage or even fear but more importantly, they were told to help you weave your own lessons from them. The Gods I had created in my head were iron and strength sports. I let these Gods grow in strength and greed and they had become full of hubris. Sadly, in their moment of betrayal they cast me aside broken and chained. It was my own hand I had chewed off, it was my bad decisions that had created my own indestructible chain. Yet… in doing so I created my own story of revenge and redemption. The river of expectations that ran through me had created such a fervor to return it drowned my ability to quit. It created such a furious trail of rage that I would, without a doubt, live up to these dreams and to absolutely destroy them. I had become the jaws that took my own hand but I had also become the teeth that would break me free to devour the Sun and the Moon and end the world I once belonged to. Vengeance has been tainted with negativity in past stories but not in mine. I will not allow rage and revenge to by my road map back to Strongman but after 18 months of sitting idly by to get a green light to push myself, rest assured that it is absolutely the fucking fuel.

Front Squat:

I haven’t been able to front squat a heavy single in 19 months. The last time I was able to come into a workout with the mental FREEDOM of going for a decent single was in November of 2016. After being pain free and having a great quality of life, Brian green lighted my ability to take an aggressive single with front squats. Elation was an understatement when I read that email. The ability to come into a gym and push myself was something I had truly taken for granted many years ago but never again. I decided to approach  my attempts beltless to keep myself honest and practice perfect form. What proceeded were some of my best front squats to date and although I remind myself that these aren’t my heaviest they are most certainly the hardest earned squats of my life. My first training session being let loose from my chains is one I’ll never forget and if you are identifying the story above as a bit crazy and grandiose… then you are most certainly correct. It’s this mindset, these tales, these fabricated stories of myth and legend that kept my nerd ass going through the darkest times. It’s this bit of insanity that whispered in my ear that I would be back one day with all the rage that I fucking earned.

Warm up:

• Big 3
• Banded goblet squats 5×3
• Thoracic stretch
• Band flies

Work Load:

• Front Squats (225,275,300,315,335,350!! for a post back and bicep PR)
• Deadlifts 6×1 245 (still babying my bicep)
• GHR 5×6
• Single Leg RDL 4×5/5
• Band hamstring curls x 25
• Sled pull 4x200ft

The rain has always been a good Omen for me. I playfully believe it brings me good fortune in competition. From my fighting days to rugby to Strongman, I have always greeted the rain with an enjoyable grin knowing the rain was falling just for me and that the “Gods” were going to watch my battle. On this day, after a long day of radiant Miami sunshine as I prepared to go the gym, I couldn’t help but smile… it looked like rain.

Never Stray from The Way

MDLP