Follow Your Dreams as a Hobby or Career?

If you pop around Instagram, Facebook, Pintrest, or any other social media outlet. You will inevitably come across motivational quotes like: "Follow your dreams!" with a picture of a fit body or a Lambo.  Maybe you are in a job that you aren't a huge fan of. Maybe you love lifting and want to do that full time and hit the pinnacle of your sport. That's all fine and dandy but you need to think about what your dreams truly are and what it takes to get there without committing financial suicide or losing your marriage. I can speak to this from personal experience on both of the above. We are going to take my life as the example here where lifting and competing in powerlifting and strongman became my dream and life's focus. There's definitely a few good ways to do this and a few bad ways. Come along and let's break it down.

So I decided I love training and working out. I thought, "man if I could workout as my job that would be awesome!" So how do you pay the bills as a pro worker-outer? Being a pro athlete pays pretty well in the sports world but not in the barbell world. Even CrossFit pays out it's top people but that's like 4 people out of everyone competing. So what do most people with this mentality do? We either become personal trainers or we open a gym. I went the open a gym route. Disclaimer: There's nothing wrong with either of these paths but you need to understand a few things. First if you just want to train people and not have annoying adult responsibilities like business insurance and bookkeeping then get ready to make $12.00/hour for the rest of your life or until you can't do your job anymore because you are old and decrepit. So if you want to focus on lifting and are willing to live that Spartan minimalist lifestyle then go for it. You will train clients in the AM, workout in the early afternoon, and finish with clients in the evening. Eat up and lift your face off. Just don't try to add in a social life or a meaningful relationship.

If you are ok with the adult responsibilities associated with gym ownership and management positions then go for the business owner route. You will learn what working on 100% commission is like. Some people thrive on it, but now in order to pay bills you need to focus on your business as a primary and your lifting dreams as a secondary. It will be slow going at first and will take a while before you start actually making money. Welcome to a start up business.

Now let's go back. Your primary goal was to be the best lifter in the world right? I basically went both of these routes and realized that I didn't mind training some people, but hated training people who aren't willing to put in the work that it takes to improve. Further more I really enjoyed my own lifting and seeing my numbers go up the most since that was my actual goal and focus. That means that you are still doing a job you don't really love just to pay bills so you can keep getting those gainz. I wasn't a fan of the administrative stuff either so, but did it as a means to an end. Well geez, in following my "dream" of a fitness job I basically just ended up with a normal person job that doesn't pay as well as an actual standard 9-5 job. Only now my hours sucked to the point I had to neglect my social relationships. hmm...

So here's my two recommended solutions:

1. As soon as you are done with your schooling and before you are married with kids get a part time job doing whatever it takes to afford a crappy but super cheap living situation and spend the rest of your money on food. Live that Spartan life and hit as many athletic goals as you can. Heck you never have to stop doing this. Just keep life super simple and work for what your goals are. The issue is that most people want more out of life than a shanty. They want a life with stuff and people in it. If that's you then check out #2.

2. Get the best paying full time job you can. Hit the gym really hard 1-2 hours 4 days a week. Stay single or find someone who is willing to put up with your gym crap long term. (Mine did for 10 years). Get a real adult person dress shirt and tie sort of job. In the gym ownership path you would have to do the not fun stuff anyway so you might as well get paid better for it. Nothing says you can't train a few online clients on the side. That's what I do. The best part about this approach is that if you get a client that sucks you can just fire them since you aren't counting on the income from this part of your life. You will also see that you will get more out of your workouts since you are not at the gym 10 hours a day training people.

Now just remember this is only one man's opinion. I know people out there killing it on the gym owner and personal trainer side. That just wasn't me though. I'd rather grind and crush a work day unrelated to my kick ass hobby as an aspiring Pro-Strongman. This doesn't mean I gave up on my lifting goals. I will be at World's again this year and will absolutely molest USS Nationals in June, but now I will be able to afford to go the competition, have a roof over my head, and even eat food!

Train hard but don't be dumb.
Talk soon,

Dan Mason

Strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes and a pro Powerlifter in the RPS 275lb class. Dan is also an Elite lifter in the USPA/IPA. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Dan has been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004. For other fun stuff check his Instagram @RoninStr

Thankful for the Barbell

Well folks it's thanksgiving time again and that means time for reflection. Instead of the family and health rout although I am very thankful for them, I'm going with: I'm thankful for the barbell. 

It has forged me into the man I am today. Not sure if that's good or bad but I think I'm pretty cool so I'll take it. It has taught me both success and failure. It has taught me how to throw a tantrum then get back up and try again. It has taught me how to build people in both body and mind. It has been there to take the frustrations of life out on. It's always there ready to do battle. To be battered and to wrestle back. It has taught me that effort, consistency, and patience are the keys to achieving anything you want in this world. It's made me a better role model and father. It gives me purpose and a sense of accomplishment. It provides me with comradeship, friends, and big ass muscles. 

Thank you barbell from the bottom of my heart. I'll be there to whoop your ass on Saturday. That's right. You'd better be scared.

Dan Mason

Strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes and a pro powerlifter in the RPS 275lb class. He is also an Elite level lifter in the USPA/IPA. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

Mistakes to Avoid in Competition

This article is based off of my most recent competition at USPA World’s so will have a bit of a bias towards that meet specifically. There will be nuggets regardless of your barbell sport though. So off to the races!

For me a big hurdle at this meet in particular was a few injuries I had coming into the meet. I tweaked my back a couple of weeks prior and the month before banged my shoulder up pretty bad. If this is a similar situation that you find yourself in then you need to check your ego. My goals were a 625lb squat, 500lb bench and 705lb pull at the beginning of the cycle. If I was still wanting those numbers I likely would have bombed out by the time I got to bench press. So Tip 1 is to be realistic when evaluating your attempts, and always open light. For powerlifting I wouldn't open higher than 90% of what you want for your third attempt. No one cares that you attempted an 800lb deadlift if you don’t get it off the ground. Remember this is specific to Powerlifting. In strongman where we see rep fest situations, be smart with how many reps are realistic. Don’t get hurt for a local meet. In Weightlifting I have no idea what you should be thinking for attempt selection. Maybe a bit higher than 90% but remember you need to get something on the board so be smart and don’t go too ham too quickly.

A second issue that surfaced for me was judging. Our meet in particular was held on Sunday. The judges have been at it since Thursday. They are only human and you can’t expect perfection after three eight hour days of non-stop judging. A bad call or at least close call is going to happen. Really the best way to avoid this is to go to a meet that happens on only one day or be in a lighter weight class. Us big fellas always go on a later day. If you get called on depth of your squat but it was close then you need to work on leaving no doubt. If it could go either way then be ready for the call to go against you. Get your butt down and don’t be a sore loser.

Listen to the calls! If you have to wait for down command on a jerk, log press, or deadlift then you need to get your head right and LISTEN! I was guilty of this on my second squat attempt. I started my squat just before the command and it cost me a podium finish. That’s a dumb thing to lose a meet on. Don’t be stupid. Pay attention!

A final thing that gave me a bit of a mind-screw was my first deadlift attempt. It was supposed to be around 620lbs but they loaded it to 606lbs. I lifted it anyway then checked in at the desk to double check. It was loaded wrong and I should have checked before I lifted as it changed what I did for my second attempt and may have played a part in my 3^rd attempt miss. But hey, I didn’t call them on it so that’s my fault not theirs. Always check your equipment and make sure everything is set up exactly how you want it to be. You are there to perform at your best and you need to make sure all variables are set

to give you the best chance at success. So in Powerlifting make sure everything is chalked like you need it to be and double check the weights. The same is true for Weightlifting. In strongman you have more to mess with. Make sure your kegs and sandbags are set up how you want them to be. Make sure the log handles are facing the right way, and for the love of God, pre-tacky your stones!

I hope at least one of these tips helps you out in some way or at least gets you thinking about how you compete. As always feel free to reach out if you have any questions or want to chat about training.

Talk soon,

Dan Mason

Strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes and a pro powerlifter in the RPS 275lb class. He is also an Elite level lifter in the USPA/IPA. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

You can follow Dan on Instagram @RoninStr
For training and nutrition advice and tips email roninstr@gmail.com

Your Body Lies! (At least at first)

If you listen to your body you will never get better. At least at first. This is a bit of complex issue and is very dependent on how long you have been training and how big of a pussy you are. So let's examine the various stages starting with someone just entering the barbell life. So you've hit the weights hard for a few days. The next day is an off day then you are supposed to get back at it. You wake up and your body feels like it aged about 3 decades. You make an old person noise as you struggle to get out of bed and you can't even get on or off the toilet without a serious "heave ho" kind of effort. Should you take another day off and wait until you feel fully recovered? This is a common experience for my newer clients. If you listen to your body you will be wasting days that could be filled with progress and accomplishment. If you get yourself into the gym then you will hit a few warm up sets and be totally fine. At first your body doesn't like change and it will punish you for making it put in work it is not used to. If you give it a month though you will feel way better going into that workout after a rest day. Part of it is that you body is getting used to the strain and getting stronger in response. The other part is you now have experience and know that you will be fine and that feeling is kind of normal. So Experience Level: low Pussy Level: high makes for a rough month. Experience Level: low Pussy Level: low makes for a painful but amazing month of progress toward your goals. So do that one. Things change with experience though.

You will become an intermediate lifter after a year or so. As an ever progressing barbell aficionado you are way past that wuss out because you are sore stage. Your body now will complain a lot less further you are starting to have a mind made of the same iron that barbell is. If you are sore but it's a work out day you go and train. That's a good thing on most days. It's at this stage that you need to listen a little harder though. No longer does your body complain about muscle soreness but it will let you know about tendinitis and tendons and ligements that are angry due to a year of less than perfect form. These are the cues you need to pay attention to. This is the stage of training where you need to start hitting some kind of prehab so you don't need rehab. This can be stretching, mobility work, and/or warming up a bit more intentionally. Gone are the days where you can just start in on your working sets cold. You are hitting better lifts now so you need to make sure you don't screw everything up. Do yourself a favor and do some walking lunges before that squat or deadlift workout. Do some push ups or dips before you bench. Your shoulders, knees and hips will thank me. Experience Level: medium Pussy Level: Lower than it probably should be.

Last we hit that advanced lifter that we all aspire to be. When you bench all the bros look. Putting your deadlift down makes the gym rumble and the children run in fear. When you squat the guys refuse to take the rack next to you for fear of looking weak. (There's a whole other article on that one I'm sure.) This is the goal. It is also tough to stay at this level due to the amount of dedication it takes to keep hitting it as hard as you need to and the chance of injury from many years of lifting and the toll it takes on your body regardless of form. Here is when listening to your body is absolutely one of the most important things you can do. This is where your shit breaks if you aren't paying attention. This is also where you tend to have the biggest goals and are pursueing them most aggressively. You are no longer lifting for health you are lifting to trade in your health for numbers. That's fine and don't let you friends and family convince you otherwise. They likely just don't understand since they have never really lifted or they are jealous of where you are at. (I'm looking at you 22 year old college dork on IG that ways a buck thirty five and is giving me lifting advice on back and knee injuries). That being said you will know when somethings not right and it's ok to pack it in for the day if you feel that you can't get into a good position. Do some bodyweight stuff get the blood flowing and stretch a bit. While it's totally fine to die on the platform, getting hurt in the gym is dumb. Experience Level: High Pussy Level: Non existent but needs to be higher.

So if you paid attention through my tangents the main point is if you are knew suck it up. The more advance you are the more you are allowed to puss out.

Train Hard. Be Safe. Talk soon,

Dan Mason

Strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes and a pro powerlifter in the RPS 275lb class. He is also an Elite level lifter in the USPA/IPA. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

You can follow Dan on Instagram @RoninStr
For training and nutrition advice and tips email roninstr@gmail.com

To Hype or Not to Hype

It doesn't matter what sport you look at but there are two distinct kinds of people: Those who get super amped up and the calm/focused looking guys. So which is better? Is there one that improves performance over the other? There are a some things to consider regardless of which style you like. Powerlifting for example probably has the highest amount of pre lift hype going on and there's a good reason for it. The lifts are less technical and there's a lot of nose torque sniffing going on. Since the power lifts aren't as fancy and magical as the Olympic lifts you can get more excited and fired up while still maintaining solid form. Compare that to a clean and jerk or snatch. It's a brave man that snorts some ammonia, screams a battle cry, then smokes a huge lift. Usually the competitors who go a bit crazy will save it for after they stand up with the bar or after they slam it down. In strongman it's very dependent on what event is happening since it's basically an FMF (fat man friendly) CrossFit competition there is no set group of events at any given comp. So if the show is full of 1 Rep Maxes like 18" deadlift for max or max log press you will see more hyping up. If on the other hand it's a rep fest you tend to see the yelling a lot less.

On to performance factors. Honestly it depends on the lifter and the competition. Flipping your shit will get you an adrenaline dump which is great from a strength standpoint on 1 Rep Maxes that could mean hitting a lift you may have not been able to get otherwise. Some Powerlifters to check out who get crazy amped up are Blaine Sumner and Pete Rubish. They hit huge numbers and are probably a few of the best guys out there. On the Weightlifting side you have to Youtube Jon North. Honestly I LOVE watch all of these guys lift. It's a high risk high reward style and, in my opinion, is super entertaining. They make me care about sports that are super boring to watch. The downside is that as you are super pumped you are more likely to screw up your technique and miss the lift. This is especially true in the bench press and to a lesser extent the squat. It's a huge factor in both of the Olympic lifts. In strongman there are a few places it could break down for you. First would be on pressing movements, especially the log press since the bar path is so tricky already adding a bit too much adrenaline and the resulting lack of focus it causes could result in missing a lift you may have otherwise made. A final factor on this would be that there's only so many times your body will get jacked up over the course of a meet. If you get super jacked on every squat and bench attempt you will be exhausted for deadlifts.

On the other side we have the serious, focused, and seemingly chilled out athletes. It's a bit of a misnomer here from my experience. I tend to be more this way and I promise that the adrenaline is pumping but to a lesser degree. The upside being that you can think when you are lifting and can feel positions better. The downside is less pump factor resulting in potentially a lower max lift. That being said if you are stronger but have no control you will miss as well. Some guys that exemplify this would be Chad Wesley Smith in Powerlifting or Big Z in Strongman. In MMA just look up Fedor walk out and you will see the perfect example of this.

On paper in an ideal world the person who can get super jacked up and still keep form will have the best results. Assuming they can get hyped up while not crashing hard afterward. For me personally I want to be the fired up guy but am naturally more of the calm technician guy. My current plan is to get used to getting hyped up like an ass for my last heavy set and see if I can harness the rage like Blaine and Jon. In the end you will have a natural bent toward one method or the other. Don't fight it unless you just want to be the other way. There are plenty of top level guys that do both. My mantra is "if it helps then do it." So try it and see.

This is just one man's opinion. What do you think? Comment below.

Talk soon,

Dan is a top 10 ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes and a pro powerlifter in the RPS 275lb class. He is also an Elite level lifter in the USPA/IPA. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

You can follow Dan on Instagram @RoninStr
For training and nutrition advice and tips email roninstr@gmail.com

Negativity: The Good The Bad and How to use it.

Negativity is usually thought of as, well, negative. A lot of the time this is definitely the case. We miss a lift that used to be easy before an injury and we get down on ourselves. You don't get along with a coworker and all you do is bitch about it. The list is endless, but if we put our thinking caps on I bet we can figure out how to leverage this destructive mindset. 

Let's take the first example. You were squatting four slabs of beef but hurt your back and had to take a few months off. Now you are stuck at 225lbs. That sucks compared to where you were without a doubt but what if you used how pissed you are about your situation to drive progress? Instead of saying, "Geez! I'm a weak sack of crap!" And stopping there, you could follow this thought up with, "I am going to work my tail off and crush my former PRs!" The first thought is short term wallowing. We need to realize that if you were off for months it may take months or more to get back to where you were. That's okay. What's a few months or even a year in the grand scheme of things?

Always have the long game in mind while taking the steps now that will let you hit your smaller goals now in the near future. It's the same in all of life's circumstances. Take your negativity and strangle it to death while achieving your goals. Use it to motivate you. Don't let it be a crutch or an obstacle. No excuses. Just incremental progress until you have achieved what you were shooting for then find a bigger better goal to pursue. Do some research and you will find that the most successful people typically had big set backs and short comings. The difference between them and the people who are still failures is hitting the grind again harder than ever and time.  Dedication and time breed success.

Talk soon,

Dan is a top 10 ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes and a pro powerlifter in the RPS 275lb class. He is also an Elite level lifter in the USPA/IPA. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

You can follow Dan on Instagram @RoninStr
For training and nutrition advice and tips email roninstr@gmail.com

Sponsorships and You

In this crazy day and age of Social Media. It seems like everyone is a star, wants to be a star, or thinks they are one. Delusions of grandeur abound. Maybe it's just because I am in the iron game, but this seems to be on another level when it comes to lifters. I'm Not saying that I haven't been guilty of this as well. Heck I likely will be in the future. That being said, "Hi I'm Dan. I have 19k followers. You should give me free stuff and/or pay me to post your product. etc...." Probably isn't how you should approach a potential sponsor even if you have 100k followers. So I am going to come at you straight. There's a good chance (like damn near 100%) that if you are asking for sponsorships then you aren't in a place to get one anyway.

We are a want it now society. Immediate gratification is all there is. That's why people look at you weird when you tell them if they want an 800 lb squat they need to train for 10-15 years, have great genetics, eat to build strength, and probably take some drugs. That kind commitment of time and effort just isn't palatable in most people's minds let alone in reality. That's why there aren't 1000's of 800 lb squatters out there. So let's touch on a few pitfalls you don't have to fall victim to and some actual constructive steps to getting a sponsorship.

1. Build your following: This is the last thing the quick fixers want to hear, but if you are saying you are a powerlifter and you are approaching brands that have pro powerlifters and other strength and physique athletes then you better be on their level both in ability and outreach potential. If not then get ready to grind. Don't bother messaging companies when your time could be spent improving yourself. It's just a waste of your time and theirs. There's an exception to this, but you are probably not going to like it.

2. Show the company what you can do for them. As with most things in life, IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU! This flies in the face of how we operate today, but look at it from the business' stand point. You are asking for free product, money, or possibly both. Regardless of the company's mission statement it's main job is to turn a profit. How does giving stuff away to you help their bottom line? So instead of DMing them asking for a hand out like a pan handler in the city how about you approach them with an offer of what you want to do for them? "Hey guys. I'm xxxx I love your company and would love to help you grow. I have xx followers on IG and rep you guys all the time. Can I write a blog or throw a discount to my people on IG?" Notice I am not asking them to hook me up and then I will help. I am asking to add value to them in the form of content and more sales. I know I know....you're asking what's in it for me? Getting noticed. That's what's in it for you. You are building trust and rapport. If the article you write is solid and gets a great response from readers they will probably reach out again. If not you can always follow up. After all they gave you a chance once. As for the discount code. They will be able to see who used your code and can see if you will actually be helping them or if they are just throwing money away. Hit the grind. Tell your friends about the code. Make sure this company sees you as a benefit. If it goes well then you get a chance to negotiate from a strong position. You just made them money!

3. Pay attention to what you post. Have a theme running. If you are wanting to be a fitness person then post fitness type things. Motivational quotes, fitness memes, workout pics and videos are all good. Avoid whining about your life and inappropriate pictures (depending on the company). If you want HTFU to sponsor you it's probably ok to drop a few F Bombs. Be mindful of your posts. Don't just take a picture with your shirt off with the caption of "am I hot ladies." Actually just saw this one yesterday on an account that was trying to get a sponsorship out of me. Once again IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU. Be thoughtful, educational, and inspirational. No one cared how cool you thought you were in high school and no one cares now.

4. Don't pretend. There's a few things I want to touch on here. First don't lie. All it takes is a Google search to figure out you have a pretend apparel company and you sponsored yourself. Worse yet you were too lazy to do even that and you are just straight up lying. Along those same lines, although not really lying, are the supplement companies that will let you be a "sponsored athlete" in that you get product at 50% off with your special team code and then you get a percentage of profits if people use your other code to purchase. Some companies do this right and refer to you as an ambassador but others play on your vanity and refer to you as a sponsored athlete. If you are really sponsored then you are going to be getting things not paying half price for them. On the flip side this is a genius business model and if I had a supplement company that's exactly how I would grow my brand.

5. If you are smaller in your following then approach smaller companies. Find an apparel or supplement company that has more than 1000 followers but less than 10,000. This company is new and gaining a bit of traction but still needs help getting the word out. You get an actual sponsor and they get some exposure. Also they may be too new to realize your 2000 followers and 30 likes are probably not worth the 4 shirts they will send. It'll be a good learning experience all around.

6. A final thing to consider is whether or not you want to help build someone else's kingdom when you could be building your own. As you can see in points 1. and 2. it's a decent amount of work to actually get a sponsorship that matters. If you are trying to hit up an apparel or supplement company and you are willing to do that much work why not just put in a bit more work and start your own? It's  nice. You get to keep all the money and get to see the other side of the world. After the first 10 or so beggars you will probably be shaking your head at your past self. I know I did.

Assess yourself honestly. Get someone other than you to evaluate your IG or Facebook. Be okay with constructive criticism. Most importantly create value for others before worrying about what's in it for you.

PS. Alternative steps for success.
1. Start and IG
2. Say you are going to start working out
3. Put "Fit" or "Physique" somewhere in your username
4. Workout for 2 months
5. Compete in the bikini division
6. Offer "expert" online coaching
7. DM Nike for a sponsorship

Talk soon,

Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb and 275lb classes and a pro powerlifter in the RPS 275lb class. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

You can follow Dan on Instagram @RoninStr and @RoninStrApparel
For training and nutrition advice and tips email roninstr@gmail.com

Positive Mind Positive Life

One of the things I love most about the barbell is that the same habits and mentalities that bring you success in the gym will give you success in life. When approaching a PR attempt if you are messed up in your own head and not confident then there's a damn good chance you will miss the lift. When you doubt yourself there is no doubt. (Put that on a shirt!) Think about how this applies to something as basic as asking a pretty girl out for coffee. It isn't always about if you are good looking enough it's so much more about how confident and comfortable in your own skin. This is why you see some really ugly dudes with some inexplicably hot ladies.

In the gym when you do miss a lift or have a bad work out it's huge to be able to realize you still had a training day where you hit some numbers that will help you get stronger in the long run. You don't have to PR every day. Heck PRing every day will eventually break something off your body which is less than ideal. This mentality will help a ton with your career and business goals as well. Realizing that you aren't going to set the world on fire with sales and profits every single day or that if you make a mistake and totally screw the pooch on a project is extremely helpful. Know that it wasn't your best day but that you learned something from your mistakes. It all goes in the sweat bank.

So take a moment and think of what other ways gym philosophy applies to life. I know there are a ton more.

In the end it comes down to: Positive Mind Positive Life. Negative Mind Negative Life.

You get to choose your mindset.

Talk soon,

Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes and a powerlifter in the 275lb class. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

You can follow Dan on Instagram @RoninStr
For training and nutrition advice and tips email roninstr@gmail.com and stay tuned here.

Training Solo or in a Group?

 

 

Now this is a fun topic. I have found myself on both sides of this topic at times. Spoiler alert I lean toward the group side these days. That's not to say I don't enjoy the solo side at times. It definitely feels more meditative and I pretend that I'm way more hardcore than people who rely on people to perform. Honestly for me though it's just not the case. If your training is tough enough that it produces great performance results then it definitely gets easier to skip workouts or do less sets than you are supposed to. Accountability brings success in so many avenues of life why wouldn't you want it applied by default in your lifting life. 

Also I am a freaking show off so having people around to be amazed by my awesomeness is kind of nice. It sucks really bad when people stronger than you are there if you are a straight ego lifter. The flip side is that if you are surrounded by people better than you it tends to raise the bar and you will progress way faster. The little fish in a big pond gets bigger or gets eaten. Be the little fish and grow your ass off.

A final thing that's pretty beneficial is coaching and keeping you honest. If you are squatting high and you are solo it's pretty easy to convince yourself it was a good rep. If you are with a crew they can and should call your butt out.

Yep after my last trip to the Mash Compound I am having a really hard time being okay with flying solo. Find a crew and start progressing.

So what's your experience? Solo or Group?

Talk soon,

Dan is a nationally ranked amateur

strongman competitor in the 242lb

and 275lb classes and a powerlifter in the 275lb class. He holds instructor level ranks in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He as been training people for strength and martial arts since 2004.

You can follow Dan on Instagram @RoninStr
For training and diet plans email roninstr@gmail.com