Greatness

1st Annual PTS Strongman Competition

Thursday August 7th was our first annual Phelps Training Systems Strongman Competition. The athletes were divided into 2 teams, our morning (AM) training group vs our evening (PM) training group. There were 5 events: Bench 225lbs for reps, Tire Flip reps in 30 seconds, 15lb Med Ball Toss for distance, 315lb Trap Bar Farmer’s Walk for distance, and a 25 yard Timed Prowler Sprint. Points were awarded as follows:

1st: 10 points
2nd: 8 points
3rd: 6 points
4th: 4 points
5th: 2 points
6th: 1 point

We want to thank everyone for participating in the 2008 Phelps Training Systems Strongman Competition. Here are the complete rosters for each team:

Team AM Team PM
Chris Gray Kyle Macey
Dan DePuccio Chad Cassidy
Matt DePuccio Chris Sawyer
Steve Brink Everett Tune
A.J DeLago Obie Silue
Joe Paratore Andy Lyman
Brian O’Donnell Derek Foster
Kevin Smith Nick Ranali
Chris Okonski Vinny Falzo
Tyler Mulvihill Kyle Hendrickson

Congratulations to the Evening Training Group (Team PM) for winning the team competition which came down to the final event. Below are the scores, and be sure to scroll down to view recaps and results for each event.

Overall Team Standings

Team PM: 80
Team AM: 72

We also awarded prizes for outstanding individual achievements. Below are the individual results for the competitions

Chris Gray (AM)- 34 points
Chris Sawyer (PM)- 24 1/3 points
Kyle Macey (PM)- 18 1/3 points
Everett Tune (PM)- 18 points
Matt DePuccio (AM)- 18 points
6. Chad Cassidy (PM)- 9 points
6. Kevin Smith (AM)- 9 points

Event #1: 225 lb Bench Press
The event got off to a strong start in the 225lb Bench Press. The PM group, behind strong performances from Kyle Macey (16 reps), Chris Sawyer (16 reps), and Chad Cassidy (18 reps) jumped out to an early lead. The AM team appeared to be in a lot of trouble until Dan DePuccio matched Macey and Sawyer with 16 reps of his own. Everett Tune patiently waited, stepped up to the bar and proceeded to pound out 19 reps for the PM group to take over 1st place. Desperately needing points, team AM turned to Ithaca Guard Chris Gray, and he rose to the occasion with a PTS record 29 reps!

Video of Chris Gray repping 225 29 times!

1. Chris Gray (AM)- 29 reps
2. Everett Tune (PM)- 19 reps
3. Chad Cassidy (PM)- 18 reps
3. Chris Sawyer (PM)- 16 reps
3. Kyle Macey (PM)- 16 reps
3. Dan DePuccio (AM)- 16 reps

Event #2: Timed Tire Flip
With a lead after 1 event, the PM team looked to extend in the timed tire flip. Riding the efforts of Macey’s 11 flips and consistent performances from Sawyer, Cassidy and Derek Foster (each performed 10 flips) the PM team put together another strong event. But the AM group rallied behind Steve Brink, A.J. DeLago and Kevin Smith who posted 10 flips of their own. Once again, needing points, the AM group turned to Gray and he pounded out 12 flips in 30 seconds to win his 2nd straight event and cut into the PM group’s lead.

Video of Kyle Macey and Chris Gray Tire Flips


1. Chris Gray (AM)- 12 Flips
2. Kyle Macey (PM)- 11 Flips
3. Chris Sawyer (PM)- 10 Flips
Derek Foster (PM)- 10 Flips
3. Chad Cassidy (PM)- 10 Flips
3. Steve Brink (AM)- 10 Flips
3. Kevin Smith (AM)- 10 Flips
3. A.J. DeLago (AM)- 10 Flips

Event #3: 15 lb Med Ball Toss for Distance
Needing a strong performance, the AM group got just that when Matt DePuccio unleashed a huge throw to take over first place. Initially planning to sit out the event due to a weakened shoulder, Chris Gray decided to give it a try with his team needing the points. Using just his strong arm, Gray launched his throw over 50 feet to secure the win and bring his team even closer to the PM group.


1. Chris Gray (AM)
2. Matt DePuccio (AM)
3. Chris Sawyer (PM)
3. Nick Ranali (PM)
5. Derek Foster (PM)
5. Kyle Macey (PM)

Event #4: 315 lb Trap Bar Farmer’s Walk (25 yard distance)
Backing up his strong performance in the Med Ball Toss, Matt DePuccio stepped up and walked over 140 yards with 315 pounds to win the event for the AM team, and Brian O’Donnell’s 4th place finish helped bring the team even closer. Sawyer and Macey scored once again for the PM group to help preserve a slim, 2 point lead heading into the competition’s final event.

Matt DePuccio (AM)- 5 2/3 lengths
Chris Sawyer (PM)- 5 lengths
Kyle Macey (PM)- 5 lengths
4. Brian O’Donnell (AM)- 4 1/3 lengths
5. A.J. DeLago (AM)- 4 lengths
6. Chad Cassidy (PM)- 3 1/3 lengths

Event #5: 25 Yard Prowler Sprint
Fittingly, the competition came down to the final event with the PM team clinging to a slim 2 point lead in the overall team standings, a margin that got even closer when Kevin Smith through the 25 yards in 5.34 seconds to tie Chris Sawyer and give the AM team the lead with just one man left to go.

With the team title hanging in the balance, and his team needing a huge performance, Everett Tune ripped off a 4.87, by far the fastest time of the night to clinch the title for the PM team.

1. Everett Tune (PM)- 4.87 (All times in seconds)
2. Chris Sawyer (PM)- 5.34
2. Kevin Smith (AM)- 5.34
4. Chris Gray (AM)- 5.59
5. Steve Brink (AM)- 5.63
5. Kyle Macey (PM)- 5.63

Video of Everett Tune winning the Prowler Sprint.

Last Week

This is our last week of training the rest of our high school and college football players. We lost about half of our crew last week to training camp, with the rest to follow. While we will certainly miss those who have left us for the season, we look forward to cheering you on this fall! This summer was a blast, with endless laughs, intense moments, and bonds that were forged that will last for a long time.

Kick ass in training camp!

Rules

I love reading Zach Even-Esh's stuff (http://www.zacheven-esh.com/) because he constantly reminds us that rules in the strength training world need to be closely evaluated, and many times broken. I have broken so many "rules" this summer that I cannot even begin to count them.

-We have done overspeed training before ME Lower Body days.
-We go to failure (or what our athletes perceive as failure) on virtually EVERY set we do (except neck, core, and certain warmup sets).
-We have trained the same muscle groups on back to back days while performing a Metabolic Training circuit the day after a Repetition Upper Body Lift.
-We have trained Upper and Lower Body ME lifts on consecutive days.
-We have not done one single Hang Clean this summer as a part of our program.

I was told that all of these things were bad ideas, but sometimes the circumstances require you to bend the rules a little. And you know what? Sometimes when you bend the rules, you find that they were kind of silly to begin with. We had a training facility on M-Th this summer, which dictated what we trained, and when we trained it. We got it done, and got A LOT stronger, and significantly faster in the process.

I am so proud of our guys, because they demonstrated the POWER that an insane training environment has on strength and speed development.

Am I saying break all of the rules? Absolutely not, I am simply saying that if you are questioning something try it for yourself.

There is only one rule that I will never waver on, and that is SAFETY. I will never compromise the safety of my athletes during a workout.

Get Jacked!

Matt

Environment

Training environment is HUGE...A vastly, vastly underrated component of training. I am only going to ever train in a commercial facility again if I:

A.) Am out of town.
B.) Want to get really, really depressed and unmotivated to train.

Tonight we had one of the best lifts I have ever witnessed. Chalk lathered the floor. Guys had their shirts off, proud of the work they have accomplished over the summer, and were screaming their hearts out in support of each other. A bunch of rap music and Linkin Park blared in the background, and I could not have been more proud. 17 college football players, under one roof, many of them from rival schools, enduring the pain, putting forth the effort...EARNING a spot on the travel squad, or the starting lineup, or the special teams unit.

Our guys have gotten stronger, and it doesn't have a thing to do with me, they MADE an environment where anything other than 100% intensity was unacceptable. Jim Wendler of Elite FTS said it best, when I heard him say that it doesn't matter what program you are on, it is what you put into the program; basically he was inferring that a crappy program performed with 100% heart and effort is better than a great program that is half assed.

And you know what? I couldn't agree more. The next time you go to work at Gold's, ask yourself, am I REALLY getting stronger? Bigger? In better shape? Get OUT of your comfort zone, and find a place to train that has some actual training environment; trust me, you won't regret it!

Get after it,

Matt