Silent Bob & Nick RP
By Jen Banks
When my daughter was roughly 2 ½ years old, I was still doing the same-old-same-old thing. Working out, but without any real goal or purpose other than to not be a fat fuck and give me an outlet. I was working a job I pretty much hated & I needed to do something different. Derek Wilcox had introduced me to Renaissance Periodization and I made the hair-brained decision to contact them. Which, given some of my ideas…just kidding, RP was a great foray into a different world for me. It was a much, much smaller business then & I worked directly with Nick Shaw, the founder. I also talked to a buddy of mine from college, Joey Kirkman, who is a professional photographer. I set up a date with Joey so I’d have a do-or-die date and Nick set me up on a training & nutrition program in that time frame (going on memory, I think it was roughly 10 weeks). The goal was to get shredded; in that amount of time I knew I wasn’t going to get “stage lean” but it was going to be a pretty serious cut all the same.
The job I was working was at complete odds with the available hours for childcare at the Y, so my training was limited to my lunch breaks (by the time I left the office, drove to the Y, changed, and then gave myself time to change back into work clothes & drive back to the office, I was down to 20 minutes of actual lifting. Seriously); the company couldn’t be bothered to set up direct deposit for our paychecks so once every-other week I had to forgo even that scrap of time to go to the bank & do all that necessary bullshit. My parents watched the kiddo for me on Saturdays so I could go in for one long lifting session. Nick took my time constraints into account and set me up. This was also my first experience with having a really disciplined diet – weighing, measuring, counting macros, etc. If you’re not familiar with RP, I cannot recommend them highly enough for nutrition or physique-oriented programming/coaching.
The day of the photoshoot came & Bob, a friend of mine who lives in Colorado but happened to be passing through North Carolina on a rambling trip around the US went with me to meet up with Joey. I followed Nick’s day-of protocol to a “T” and Joey worked his magic. Afterward, the 3 of us hit up a Chinese buffet and never has General Tso been so freakin’ glorious.
As an aside, Bob’s real name isn’t Bob. It’s Daryl. But everyone calls him Bob because he looks EXACTLY like Silent Bob from the Kevin Smith movies (eg, “Clerks” & “Mallrats”). Joey is entirely passable as Jay…so the two of them together made a perfect Jay & Silent Bob.
Anyway, the photoshoot was cool; I am/was pretty proud of the condition I got into for it. I also learned a lot about nutrition through Nick & RP.
Follow Jen Banks
Instagram - @i_aim_to_misbehave82
@brutalityoflifting
Take the Time
by Ferrell Banks
How often have you been between sets, and seen the solo lifter looking around, trying to figure who they can ask for a spot. We all know this look, because we have all done it. The person is looking around to see who is free at the moment, trying to see who will make eye contact, hoping to get a head nod. Yes, we have all been there and done that.
So why not just offer to give the person a spot? I mean how long does it really take to do it, maybe a minute? Isn’t this what our community is all about, helping others out in the gym? Most of the time, the only thing you get out of it is a thank you. But, it’s a very sincere thank you. Who knows, you might even pick up something new from this person. True story, my work out partner offer to give a give a guy a spot, this guy then offered him one hundred dollars a session to train him. Just goes to show, you never know who you are helping out. Not a bad deal for offering to spot a guy. I know this is a very rare thing, but it happened because he was nice enough to offer his help.
We have all been there more than once, and will all be there again. It only takes a minute to make a difference.
The Bar Is Loaded
Follow Ferrell Banks
Instagram - @fhbanks1705
@brutalityoflifting
Why I Switched From Crossfit to Powerlifting: pt.2 - Powerlifting & Pregnancy
By Jen Banks
Like I was saying, when I first got into powerlifting, I had exactly ZERO idea what I was doing; I just knew I was having fun with it. Great example of my stupidity…it may have been my 2nd meet ever, where I met who was to become one of my best friends ever, J Robinson, a denim-shirted SHW bench specialist. I was there by myself; in addition to competing, J also coaches a Special Olympics team so he was in the warm-up room with some of “his kids” while they got ready to squat. He recognized that I was flying solo and he & some of his guys helped me load and all that. We started chatting & it turns out he lived about an hour and a half from me (lucky break since this meet was in a different state). He was just super helpful and an all-round good guy. It turned out there was another meet in the city where he lived the following weekend. So what did my dumb ass do? I mean, why WOULDN’T you do meets 2 weekends in a row? HAAAAAAAAAAAAH. Right. So, yeah, I did it and as you can probably guess, got sick the following week; my body was just absolutely trashed. Live & learn…
At some point, I’d quit working and training at the CF gym and had started going to the local Y. There’s a bulletin board where people can post (approved by staff) stuff – babysitters & other odd jobs, puppies/kittens free to a good home, 5K training group, etc. And then there was one…a powerlifting team called TRIBE. There were 2 phone numbers listed, one for a Steve Maxson and one for a Buddy Nichols. In my mind, this Maxson guy sounded kinda mean (in my head I was picturing some huge Viking-esque motherfucker), but Buddy? Yeah, I’ll call him instead because he sounds nice & cuddly, like a teddy bear. HAHAHAHA. OMG. He seriously about hung up on me because he thought I was a telemarketer. But, the call was made & I started training with them.
Between J’s influence & that of TRIBE, I made my way to the Dark Side…yes…equipped lifting (insert a huge boom of thunder & diabolical laughter). It started innocently enough, with single ply. But soon I was squatting/pulling in multi-ply (never benched in anything other than single tho). I loved it & trained with those guys every week, religiously. I went to meets & other events with them; for example a gym an hour or so from here had a “Pull-Fest,” where everyone just showed up & did their best to hit a new deadlift PR. One of them set up a private forum online & everyone would post their training, ask/give advice, and give equal parts support & shit to one another. Good times. I rode motorcycles with Buddy; my then-husband & I would go watch UFC at his place on the weekends.
The last meet I did was here in my hometown, at the Y. It was November of 2009. Derek Wilcox was one of the judges; on my 3rd pull, I hitched. I remember fighting the bar and I made eye contact with Derek & he gave me a barely-perceptible shake of the head, saying “nope.” If I had gotten that last pull, I would have totaled Elite. A few weeks later, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. I continued training with them (reducing loads as needed as the pregnancy progressed) until it was no longer advisable for me to lie flat on my back & until my belly started to interfere with my setup and general movement patterns. I went to their meets to support them and enjoy the company. I went to one of J’s meets and got a photo of us standing belly-to-belly. But at some point I started just working out on my own because I couldn’t do what they were doing & just felt like I was in the way. I was able to do other, modified movements to try to stay in decent shape.
Post-partum obviously I couldn’t just jump back into training; it took me a few weeks to get back in to the gym in general, but then my marriage came to a sudden, disastrous end. And, just like that…I was a single parent. The Y had free child care but only during certain hours (which, shockingly enough, did not happen to perfectly coincide with TRIBE’s training schedule),so I kept doing my own thing. With everything I had going on in my life at that point, getting stronger really wasn’t my goal in the gym so much as just not turning into a fat lump of shit and also trying to give myself some balance between Mommy Duty, my job, and the rest of “real life.” But I did keep in touch with the guys & when my daughter was 3 days shy of 9 months old, she took her first steps….at Buddy’s place.
Time marched on & other than a couple totally random sessions, I never trained with TRIBE again. Now it’s kinda split up and Buddy trains with one group of people at one gym and Steve trains with another group at one of his guy’s private gyms.
I wish I could say otherwise, but I really don’t have any photos (at least not that I can find) of my time with TRIBE. This was back in the day before smartphones; some meets would have a photographer but you’d have to pay for photos (and ummmm beer money > photo money). I’m sure there are some floating around out there somewhere, but none known/available to me at the moment.
Follow Jen Banks
Instagram - @i_aim_to_misbehave82
@brutalityoflifting
Stop Overthinking it
By Ferrell Banks
How many times have you talked yourself out of a lift attempt? How often do you sit there and question yourself? Have you ever seen or been the person who loads a bar up, and just sits on the bench, never making the attempt? It is easier said than done, but stop over thinking this stuff.
I’m not saying don’t think about your next lift, you should always run through your mental cues for each lift. For me, on every lift, I start with my feet and work to my head. This will set my form up properly; Next, I’ll picture myself executing a successful lift. This will set up proper technique. Once these two things are done, its go time. This is easy mental stuff and it set up a positive attitude for success.
Now it can get mentally challenging. Now we are thinking about the weight on the bar. If your programming is in order, this should not be a problem. But what about a PR attempt or you are on the platform at a meet? In my opinion, it should be no different. These too, should be planned lifts. If you fail to plan, plan to fail. If you have a solid plan, you shouldn’t have to think about anything except your form and proper technique. Easier said than done, I know, but with time it does get easier.
Have you ever seen this person in the gym? They will warm up and does all that stuff. Next you see them load up the bar, walk around a bit, and sit on the bench or just stand in the squat rack, never attempting the lift. This is what not having a plan looks like. With no plan you will over think the lift, and talk yourself out of making the attempt.
Moral of the story, have a solid plan and stick to it. Over thinking will paralyze you.
The Bar Is Loaded
Follow F. H. Banks
Instagram - @fhbanks1705
@brutalityoflifting
Why I Switched From Crossfit to Powerlifting pt.1 - Competing 2008 Crossfit Games
By Jen Banks
Borja asked me to write about how I got started in powerlifting. It’s really not a particularly interesting story, but I’m at work sitting in the shade so why not, right?
Back in I guess it was 2007-2008, I was doing CrossFit. I mean REALLY doing it. Certified and worked part-time as a trainer at the local (I say “the” local because that’s back when there was only 1 CF gym in the city; now there are…hell, I don’t even know. Can you even throw a rock without hitting a CF gym nowadays?) CF gym. The owner and I were both getting ready to compete in the CrossFit Games (once again, mind you, this was back in the day before CF was a big deal – this was prior to the Games being on ESPN and there wasn’t crazy money involved in it or anything yet). At the time, the “CrossFit Total” was a pretty big deal to them (and it may still be, I have no idea – ain’t my baby); that’s the total of squat, deadlift, and OHP (don’t know if there’s any specific order or not, so just listing them as they scroll through my brain). The owner and I both started working on those 3 lifts pretty hard in the anticipation of the CFT being one of the big events at the Games.
I had grown up playing a lot of sports but they were all team sports – soccer (er…football for any non-Americans reading this), volleyball, basketball, softball, then in college I played some ice hockey – but I had never competed in any sort of individual sport. No tennis or golf (NOT that I consider golf a legitimate sport, but bear with me here) or anything like that. I had no idea how I would react/handle to being the only one up there all by my lonesome doing something, as opposed to having teammates/opponents all doing stuff at the same time and being just one of the many moving parts at any given point in time. I do NOT do well being the center of attention; it makes me extremely uncomfortable. Would I freeze up? Would I choke? Well, I guess there’s one way to find out, eh?
I found an upcoming powerlifting meet (USAPL in case you’re curious) and signed up for it blind. I mean…no clue what to expect. I found out you had to wear a singlet so got one; I can’t even remember where I found one, but I did. I had no idea about rules or procedures or anything. What’s a flight? I was completely oblivious to the existence of equipment (meaning bench shirts and squat briefs/suits; yes I was aware of belts at least!). When I say I was flying blind, I mean, REALLY. After I got all my lifts in, I just left because I didn’t even know the awards came after. But, I did enjoy myself and immediately had the “next time” train of thought, as in, what I’m going to do differently/better next time.
Not too long after competing in the Games, I quit CrossFit. I was just burnt out with it (especially since I was working a full-time job PLUS putting in 20+ hours/week working at the gym) and needed a change of scenery, stat. I did some more powerlifting meets, meeting some people who I’m still friends with to this day.
TL;DR? CrossFit-0, Powerlifting-1.
Follow Jen Banks - @i_aim_to_misbehave82
@brutalityoflifting
Reality Slap: It Is Your Fault
By Ferrell Banks
Let me know if you have heard this from a lifter before, “my coach stinks and their program is trash, because I am not making the gains I should be making”.
Reality Slap; It’s your fault.
Yes, there are some bad coaches out there that just want to take you hard earned money, there are also some very good coaches that just want their clients to succeed. But with hiring any coach, did you do your homework? Did you ask them a few basic questions? Some example questions are, what are their accomplishments in the sport, who else to you coach, who coaches them, ask them for references, what is their preferred training methodology, how many other clients do they have, how long have they been coaching?
It is pretty simple, would you really hire a powerlifting coach that has only competed for a year? What if they won’t give you a reference list. Do you really want a coach that says “I have 150 clients and you will get your weekly program on Monday morning”? Do the math here, 7(days)x24(hours)=168 total hours. If each client gets one hour of the coaches time, the coach has 16 hours in a week for personal time, it doesn’t add up. All I am saying is do the math, and see how much time the coach can devote to you.
If you didn’t do your homework, It is your fault.
Let’s say you did your homework, and found a coach. He/she has asked all of their questions, and you answered honestly. Now, the coach has set up your program, based off of your answers. I am going to say that again, your program, based off of your answers. It is up to you to follow your program. The Coach has set the program up for you to succeed.
It is now up to you to put in the time and do the work. You must be committed to putting in time at the gym. Again, there are 168 hours in a week. If you can’t find ten hours during the week to get your work done, it’s your fault. The time is there, it is up to you to find that time.
In order for you to be a success, don’t pick over the program and only do the lifts you like. You are only as strong as your weakest lifts. Your coach should have picked your weak points out from the answers you gave them, and set up your program accordingly. If you aren’t following the program, your coach will be able to figure that out because you aren’t making the gains you should be making. When you send your training video, if you are having issues, they should be able to see it and fix the problem. Coaches are not mind readers, you have to be able to communicate with them, and vise versa. You must be honest with them. Tell your coach what is going well for you and what is not. If you are not honest about your training, you will be setting yourself up for failure, and that is your fault.
Bar is Loaded
Follow Ferrell Banks
Instagram - @fhbanks1705
@brutalityoflifting
Just a Minute : Prepare Your Mindset For A Heavy Lift
By Ferrell H Banks
This week I want to discuss the aspect of focusing on the lift you are about to make. We all spend various amounts of time in the gym, depending on the training session for the day. Some days it might take an hour other days two hours; it all depends on what we are doing that day. On competition days we might be there eight hours, it all depends on how fast the meet is run. Over the span of your training day or meet day there are a lot of distractions, music, friends, other lifts going on, the list is huge, but you get the idea here. Now let’s break all that time down to the lift you are about to make. That is just about one minute of time. So, all you have to do is focus for minute per lift. That shouldn’t be too hard, should it?
We all have our own way to prepare for a lift. Some people get all hyped up and jumping around and going crazy, others are calm and methodical to their approach and are almost in a trance like state. I have no doubt you have seen both types. Every experienced lifter has a mental focus check list, or mental cues, that they go through before each lift. These check list are based off of sound lifting techniques for the particular lift. Some examples are breathing and bracing, foot placement, head position, hand placement, back arched and tight, shoulders locked in, elbows tucked, to name a few. But the experienced lifter goes through this mental focus and set up the same exact way before every lift. Let me say that again, every lift. They treat the bar the same as they treat their maximum weight. Why do they do this, it prevents injury and it gives them the mental confidence to execute the heavy lifts. Isn’t one minute of your time to focus and prepare for the lift worth it, if you can prevent an injury? It’s only 60 seconds.
So what happens when we just can’t seem to get the focus factor going for the day? In my opinion, the focus factor is always there, you just aren’t trying hard enough to concentrate on what it is you are doing. If you have a solid checklist, it should not change. All you have to do is get into the right frame of mind, block out all the background noise, run through your list, visualize the lift, get locked in, and focus. It might take a few tries to get there, but you can do it. Think about this, when you get locked in and your focus is on point, the lift seems to go smooth, and you have a big smile on your face when you rack the bar. Now when you aren’t lock in and the focus is not there, the lift feels like a struggle, and you are shaking your head after the bar is racked. Why is this? Your focus and technique is either solid or its not, simple as that. If you lose your focus, your technique will be lost, and proper technique is solid injury prevention.
It only takes a minute
The Bar Is Loaded
Follow Ferrell H Banks
Instagram - @Fhbanks1705
@brutalityoflifting
How Did You Get Here: A Powerlifting Retrospective
By Ferrell H Banks
Powerlifting is something people can do for the vast majority of their lives. It’s an all-inclusive sport. The bar does not know, nor does it care about: your age, race, financial situation, job, handicap, sex, etc, etc, etc. You do not have to be athletically gifted, coordinated, or even popular; the bar doesn’t care. All you have to do is put in the work and effort to get stronger, and embrace the “The Brutality of Lifting”.
So my story is pretty simple. It starts in 1983 I was 13 years old. I come from Small Town USA. In order to play school sports back then, it wasn’t your ability that mattered, it was who you parents were. My father was in law enforcement for the state, so he wasn’t in the clique, so to speak. The reason I couldn’t make the team was because I was too slow. Now, that is very true, I am not a fast runner, so I gave up school sports. Now I have always been naturally strong, so I had another plan. If I couldn’t make the team because I was too slow, I was going to be the strongest SOB in the school. So that is what I set out to do. There wasn’t a local gym, so I had to lift at the high school. We had a squat rack made out of volleyball posts, one leg press/hack squat combination machine; the bench was wooden and made by the carpentry class, one power bar, and 500 pounds of weights. Even then I knew the equipment sucked. But it was what I had, so I went after it. My guide and coach was “Muscle and Fitness” magazine. So my workouts were based off of whatever was in that month’s issue. I was making crazy gains; my bench was 135 pounds, my squat and deadlift both were a huge 225 pounds. Yes! I had made it the big plates. I pound through another year and my numbers were still going up. My bench was now 215 pounds, my squat was at 305 pounds, and my dead lift was at 295 pounds.
The summer of 1984 was when I got my first taste of what powerlifting is truly about: helping others to get stronger. I am at the high school lifting, and in walks Jimmy Cofield, defensive end at a nearby college, and his big brother Timmy Cofield, linebacker for the Buffalo Bills; by far, the two biggest guys to ever play for the school. I am awestruck to say the least; then they ask if they can work in with me. My answer: “no, you guys can have it, I can’t lift the same weight as you two”. I was ready to walk out of there. But, they wouldn’t hear of it, they insisted that I work out with them. I can still feel the goose bumps from that day. It didn’t matter to them what my weights were. We stripped and loaded the bar for two hours solid. That blew my young mind, that someone benching 450 pounds would strip and load 205 pounds for my sets; to me that was just amazing. When the workout was done it got really crazy for a 14 year old: they gave me their work out sheets, my first real powerlifting program, I couldn’t believe it. Why would they do that, especially for a 14 year old kid? But, isn’t this what powerlifting is all about? So I thanked them, profusely to say the least. Jimmy then says, “If you are ever in Elizabeth City, let’s work out,” and he gives me his phone number. I am saying to myself, “yeah right,” but I am really blown away by how they treated me.
Jimmy and I did workout together as time allowed. He continued to provide me with programs throughout high school. Through hard work and commitment, I achieved my goal of being the strongest person in that school. It was because of Jimmy and his brother that the fever hit me and has never left. My advice! Do something for a newbie lifter, and give them the fever. So, what is your story?
The Bar Is Loaded
Follow Ferrell H Banks
Instagram - @fhbanks1705
@brutalityoflifting
Who You Are Going To Be
By Ferrell H Banks
“Who are you going to be”? That is a motivational cue I have heard before and it stuck with me.
A lifter was doing a deadlift session and it was a grinder. This guy was giving his all: he was about wiped out, you could see that he was digging deep for that last bit of energy. His partner says, “two more sets and we are done”. The look on his face was utter defeat. His partner just looked him in the eye and asked him, “who are you going to be”? The look that came over him left no doubt that those last two sets were his.
We all know that we have good days and bad days during a training cycle. The good days of a training cycle are awesome, aren’t they? The weight are feeling light, the speed of the reps is fast, you don’t have any aches or pains in your joints, you back feelings great, and you are happy to be training. It is one of those days where you want to jump off of the program and set a PR. It was the kind of session that took little or no effort to complete. If you have been lifting for any amount of time, you dream about having a day like this, because we know how often they happen. So, who am I going to be tomorrow?
In my opinion, it’s the bad days that define how strong we are, both mentally and physically. You look at the clock and realize it’s almost time to go train, you are feeling like you got kissed by a truck, you have zero energy, and can think of ten reasons not to train. But yet, you go to the gym and grind through the training session. It’s the kind of day where everything feels super heavy and sluggish, and you feel like you aren’t making any progress. You then start thinking about skipping reps and a set or two, maybe even the accessory work that was programmed for the day. (Let me know if you have never been in this frame of mind? My only question to you would be, “how long have you been training”.) But you somehow find the mental strength and end up getting all of you programmed work in. Even though you felt like it was a bad training session, you still had the physical strength to hit your target numbers. So, was it really a bad session? I think not. It’s these training sessions that make you stronger, because you have to dig deep to get through them. You have to ask yourself, “Who am I going to be today”.
Who are you going to be?
The Bar Is Loaded
Follow Ferrell H BanksInstagram - @fhbanks1705 @brutalityoflifting