Man, I almost started to tear up reading this. I can see how important Big Mike was to you. I just lost my grandmother this past Monday and I dedicated my leg day to her, the day after she passed. I seriously almost had to crawl out of the gym. She was a huge motivation of mine, along with the rest of my family, while I work out.

I started training because I wanted to pass the physical fitness test for my local Sheriff’s department but I was too fat to run or even do a sit up. So I trained for 2 years with the help of Scotts videos to lose the weight and build the muscle. It was always my family pushing me and motivating me to reach my goals. Well a month ago I passed my exams and interview! It was such a huge accomplishment in my life to pass that test. I never thought in a million years I'd be able to run miles across a track, or do 38 sit ups in 40 seconds. 

The first thing I did when I passed the test was called my sick grandma to tell her that I had finally passed. That all my hard work and her kind words had finally paid off. She said she was so proud of me and that she knows my grandfather would have loved to of been here to see me reach my goals.

She may not be here physically to cheer me on but I keep her in my heart always. I know her and my other grandparents are keeping an eye on me to make sure I reach my goals and to never give up. I have been so lucky to be blessed with a family that constantly pushes me to be a better person in all aspects of life. 

Joey! You're the man! Best of luck to you with things at pd/sheriff's department - I think you're gonna be a great cop :)

Believe it or not, this is actually a topic that’s really hard for me to write about. This week in particular. For those of you that don’t know, the world of strength athletics lost one of strongman’s finest on Thanksgiving day (11/28/13), Mike Jenkins – 2012 winner of the Arnold Strongman Classic and one of the World’s Strongest men. He was 31. A gentle giant and a true inspiration that I had the pleasure of learning from and watching compete. I’ve been a huge fan of the sport of strongman since I was kid. People pulling fire trucks and planes, deadlifting cars, squatting 1000+ lb apparatuses, loading 300+ lb Atlas stones onto podiums for the best time? Freakin’ incredible. I credit the late Jesse Marunde for sparking my interest in the sport. But I blame guys like Mike Jenkins and Derek Poundstone for making me love it.

 

When Jesse Marunde passed away in 2007, the first thing I did was buy basic gym equipment for my garage. Then I promised myself, one day, I’d commit myself to the sport of strongman, just like he did. He’s the reason why I started working out. And he's also the reason why I want to pushy myself to be the best strength athlete I can possbily be. However, over the years, I strayed away from that promise and I dabbled in anything that’d spark my interest. But when I heard about Big Mike the other day, I immediately went back to that promise and said it’d be different this time around. This time, I made myself realize that it’s a goal to work towards. I have to build a foundation that I can build off of to set myself up for success. Jumping into strongman without a decent base for conditioning, overhead presses, squats, deadlifts, and explosive power is a recipe for disaster.

 

I talked to my coach about it the following day and got him to scrap whatever workout he had planned for a heavy day instead. I amused him with 1-2 sets of his plans so he could gauge what would be optimal for me, then we switched up the game plan from there. (I haven’t tested for a max in 2+ years so I don’t train based off calculations from my max. It’s not relevant to me when I’m fortunate enough to have a coach that knows me so well he can gauge my max effort everyday based off how I feel, previous performance, and 1-2 warm up sets) He asked what had me so fired up and I told him, “It’s a tribute workout (to Mike)." Last night, it finally hit me – why only do tribute workouts after tragic events? Why only commit myself to a higher standard after I lose an idol? The answer? I shouldn’t. Tribute workouts aren’t about burning myself out and getting beat down because I think Big Mike would’ve wanted me to push myself. Tribute workouts are about finding inspiration to go all out, max effort, while still training optimally. It’s about getting stronger. It’s about focusing on your goal and it’s about getting better. And yes, for me, it’s about keeping certain people in mind, not only to remind myself about why I’m doing what I’m doing, but also to make sure I don’t forget the people that have inspired me.

 

So this revelation renders me to ask, Nation – what keeps you guys inspired? What keeps you working towards your goal?

Thanks! I'm still going through the hiring process but I'll definitely keep you updated.

 

Sorry for the grammatical errors. I just woke up lol but I edited it :).

Great post Connie.  I really feel for you.  I think the reason why we train harder or focus more after a tragic event is because they remind us how precious life is and how short it can be.  We need to always be on our A game, celebrate life, and push ourselves to the max day after day.

 

I am glad you have a coach that understands you as well.  That must make things so much easier when you train.  Also means he pays attention to you which is VERY important! :)

 

What keeps me inspired?  Not to sound cheesy but all of you.  Seeing the community grow and it's members becoming better athletes makes me so happy. 

 

Keep pushing hard Connie!  #HTH

Connie, it is so nice to see you posting on the SHF forums! I want you to know how inspired I am about this particular post! As you know, I lost Tommy last year, and since then, I've tried to stay motivated at the gym, but my mind and body haven't been in synch. So now that I have come to a point where I felt like I needed to do more on a physical level to make myslef feel better, and after reading your post, I am ready to kick it into high gear! Thanks sweetheart! Love ya, Cliff

 

Believe it or not, this is actually a topic that’s really hard for me to write about. This week in particular. For those of you that don’t know, the world of strength athletics lost one of strongman’s finest on Thanksgiving day (11/28/13), Mike Jenkins – 2012 winner of the Arnold Strongman Classic and one of the World’s Strongest men. He was 31. A gentle giant and a true inspiration that I had the pleasure of learning from and watching compete. I’ve been a huge fan of the sport of strongman since I was kid. People pulling fire trucks and planes, deadlifting cars, squatting 1000+ lb apparatuses, loading 300+ lb Atlas stones onto podiums for the best time? Freakin’ incredible. I credit the late Jesse Marunde for sparking my interest in the sport. But I blame guys like Mike Jenkins and Derek Poundstone for making me love it.

 

When Jesse Marunde passed away in 2007, the first thing I did was buy basic gym equipment for my garage. Then I promised myself, one day, I’d commit myself to the sport of strongman, just like he did. He’s the reason why I started working out. And he's also the reason why I want to pushy myself to be the best strength athlete I can possbily be. However, over the years, I strayed away from that promise and I dabbled in anything that’d spark my interest. But when I heard about Big Mike the other day, I immediately went back to that promise and said it’d be different this time around. This time, I made myself realize that it’s a goal to work towards. I have to build a foundation that I can build off of to set myself up for success. Jumping into strongman without a decent base for conditioning, overhead presses, squats, deadlifts, and explosive power is a recipe for disaster.

 

I talked to my coach about it the following day and got him to scrap whatever workout he had planned for a heavy day instead. I amused him with 1-2 sets of his plans so he could gauge what would be optimal for me, then we switched up the game plan from there. (I haven’t tested for a max in 2+ years so I don’t train based off calculations from my max. It’s not relevant to me when I’m fortunate enough to have a coach that knows me so well he can gauge my max effort everyday based off how I feel, previous performance, and 1-2 warm up sets) He asked what had me so fired up and I told him, “It’s a tribute workout (to Mike)." Last night, it finally hit me – why only do tribute workouts after tragic events? Why only commit myself to a higher standard after I lose an idol? The answer? I shouldn’t. Tribute workouts aren’t about burning myself out and getting beat down because I think Big Mike would’ve wanted me to push myself. Tribute workouts are about finding inspiration to go all out, max effort, while still training optimally. It’s about getting stronger. It’s about focusing on your goal and it’s about getting better. And yes, for me, it’s about keeping certain people in mind, not only to remind myself about why I’m doing what I’m doing, but also to make sure I don’t forget the people that have inspired me.

 

So this revelation renders me to ask, Nation – what keeps you guys inspired? What keeps you working towards your goal?