Do You Possess Bull Strength?
by Joe Hashey, CSCS author of Bull Strength Conditioning
I wrote the Bull Strength training manual (www.bullstrength.com) to address many of the problems I see in athlete training. As a high school football coach and a gym owner I have noticed that many athletes work extremely hard…but have no idea what they are doing. The unfortunate thing is, for the most part, these athletes just do not know better. They are willing to do the work, but do not know what work to do.
Bull Strength Beginnings
When I was a high school freshman my older brother was one of the top tier players on the varsity team. The coaches, a former All American from West Point and another from Alabama, claimed he had this natural "bull strength." He wasn't a gym rat, but was just strong. A game into the season, they brought me up to varsity for the same reason, but I didn't quite understand it at that time.
Looking back on the situation, it is now obvious where our strength came from. Our father was a mechanic and a furnace man. Since my brother and I were in middle school, we would help carry furnaces up and down basement stairs, lift heavy odd objects, and turn wrenches. This kind of "labor" turned out to the best kind of training for us. We were able to push lineman around and perform extremely well at our positions.
After that I got into the gym, but my father used to say, "You want a real workout, turn pipe and hang it all day!" That was the kind of man he was. His friends in the business were all big and strong, but never performed a curl or a leg extension in their lives!
Bull Strength Concepts
Of course I'm not going to have athletes hang pipe to become better at their sports, but there are a few concepts that need to be applied to successful athlete programs. Here are the general principles of creating Bull Strength:
- Lift Free - I am a huge proponent of athletes lifting with free weights. They need to create the proprioception required for athletics. I do not agree with the argument "sports aren't played on a machine, so you shouldn't lift on them." If you used that reasoning, there is no reason to perform a squat, dead lift, bench, etc, since they aren't exact replicas of an athletic endeavor. However, free weights require the lifter to stabilize and control themselves and the weight. Body control and stabilization is essential in athletics. With the exception of rehabilitation, the vast majority of lifts should be performed without machines.
- Use Odd Objects - This concept applies two-fold - to both mental and physical training. Odd objects include things like sandbags, kegs, stones, BUT ALSO include regular gym equipment used in a creative way. This is one of the strengths of the Bull Strength Manual. If you have the odd objects, use them, if not I explain ways to use gym objects in creative ways.
The objects train your mind to get used to working in different situations. Whether it is a football lineman trying to secure a block, a baseball player trying to make a diving catch, or a basketball player trying to box out, they all require use of their body and coordination against odd objects (person, ball, closing space, etc). It prepares them for dealing with different scenarios. Additionally, they help train the musculature to handle varying forces.
- Train Hard AND Smart - Too often I see strength coaches beating their players' bodies up until they actually get weaker. There is a distinction between hard training and hard plus smart training. Pushing athletes to throwing up is one of the most catabolic things a coach can do. Soon their players will be weaker and hurt, and they wonder why.
- Recover hard - To achieve Bull Strength you need to rest and restore with as much attention as you lift. Restoration will allow you to push more weight, feel better, and avoid injuries.
I actually heat my foam roller sometimes to relax the muscles.
My restoration includes: foam rolling, contrast bathing/showering, contrast hand dexterity work, lax ball "poor man's massage," active release techniques, Thera Cane use, massage with "The Stick," stretching, mobility work, eating, and sleeping (the last two are my favorite, but it's all important!) If you neglect this phase, you will never achieve your strength potential.
Conclusion
Authoring the Bull Strength Manual has been a pleasure. I have been able to meet many of the top athlete trainers and discuss serious training with them. If you apply the above principals to your training, the results will be outstanding! Good luck, and keep training.
 Joe Hashey's Bull Strength Conditioning
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