The Dying Art Lives Again At Coney Island

           Strongmen have been apart of American Culture since the early 20^th century and have performed countless feats in various cities across the country. One of these areas however holds a special place in the heart in some of the modern strongmen today and that’s the infamous Coney Island Strongman show in Coney Island, NY where legends like Warren Lincoln Travis, Joe Greenstein aka The Mighty Atom and others performed some of the most awesome feats in history. For many decades after the vaudeville shows were diminishing and slowly dying out, there have been a small group of people to help bring back the one show that got people’s attention way back as far as the 1920’s or earlier.

                       

            Imagine being able to perform or even witness a strongman show that just has so much history it hurts to think about at times. Your best feats performed at the very same spot where a little man stood out more than men twice his size and opened up his heart by performing feats that gave people hope and love for an awesome show. Ever thought of performing at your best with the best by your side?

            Think of what you can create to put on a show that makes people’s jaw drop, cheer loud and see your passion at hand right in front of their very own eyes. Perform at a level unlike anything you’ve done before and learn the very secrets of how to hone your creativity to perform better than at any other time. You have a passion to do wicked awesome feats like Bar Bending, Tearing Decks Of Cards, Rolling Frying Pans, Tear Phone Books like a piece of paper and other feats that will be shared.

            The man that will teach you these very same skills, techniques, crowd control and other facets of the Strongman game is Chris Rider; a world-renowned strongman has performed some of the craziest feats and not just bending steel and tearing phone books but doing feats with his hair and has coached some of the strongest performers today. He is hosting a seminar that will teach you various feats that you can perform in a show and will give you insights on what materials to use, technique, develop showmanship, how to train for your feats and much more in one 8-hour workshop. Here at the Coney Island Strongman Spectacular Seminar you will find out more details on where this awesome seminar will be and perform at a whole other level.

            Will you rise up and become a better performer? Chris and his friend Adam Realman will show you key ingredients to take your strength and your mind to the next level in a way that only Rider & Realman can do. It is your opportunity and your chance to shine and amp your potential even higher. They’re looking for up-incoming strongmen to go even further not just in strength but as a performer and show the real deal in a show. Better hurry up because this will go out fast so jump on the bandwagon and hone your skills to greater heights.

A Phoenix: The Story Of The Rising Generation

My name is Jarell Lindsey, age 20 circa August 16th. Strength has been a lifestyle for me since youth. It may not have been my strength, and it may not have been physical, but strength was always surrounding me. My father was a man who had great endurance; he worked long hours in order to provide for my brother and I, albeit there was not always enough to sustain us properly. Even when suffering a series of strokes and heart attacks, he kept his naturally sarcastic demeanor and vitality. He was my hero, and I looked to him for my own strength. Even when he passed (I was age 10), I felt that his pure endurance kept his spirit around to protect my brother and I. 

My mother was a woman who had great mental strength. She possesses a series of unfortunate ailments, the most distinguished being diabetes and multiple sclerosis. By the time I reached age 4, her legs could no longer support her and she had to use a wheelchair. Steadily, she lost the ability to write or feed herself, her speech deteriorated, and her overall health just went south. Yet her mind, amidst all the turmoil she faced, stayed fresh. There was rarely a moment when you could not catch her smiling. All other troubles began to feel trivial to me; what troubles, I wondered, could I truly have when this woman has looked multiple times in the eyes of the reaper and smiled! All of her intelligence, incredible memory, and wisdom stays with her even to this day.

My brother-in-law and uncle were men of great physical strength. My brother-in-law is a man of average stature (around 5'10”, 180) with the capability to lift the rear of a car, perform incredible sets of pushups without a notion of tiring, and enduring a baseball bat strike to head and shaking it off. He refused to allow limits to be associated with him. He actually introduced me to some isometric exercises young, way before I knew what they were or their capabilities. Furthermore, my uncle is a man of almost equal stature. He performs morning runs often, and has the capability to bench press upwards of 240 lbs. He is also 80 years old this day. He refused to allow the supposed limitations of age prevent him from having the strength and physique he desired. 

So what did this mean for me? I was not the weak and sickly child turned superman. My entry into this world was rather lucky; I was a month premature and suffered from chronic sleep apnea and asthma, but I grew out of both into an averagely healthy young child. Yet, seeing such instances of strength around me, even in sickness, gave me the drive to pursue the world of physical culture. But, where would I begin?
When living with my uncle, I attended the local YMCA with him quite often. I would lift weights there, but I disliked that I would perform such taxing exercises with very gradual strength development. I put my all into the exercises, but I felt that there could be more. I did as any kind in the modern era would do for a problem: I consulted my friend Google. The results that I found were endless, but I understood what I wanted; I wished to have a great level of strength without adding too much bulk to my stature. Reading about Bruce Lee gave a lot of insight on having a small stature, yet with power and strength. 

My uncle taught me to search for the definition of words I didn't understand, so I did so for this one word I saw: isometrics. I couldn't fathom the results I found. A man named Alexander Zass could snap chains across his chest? This diminutive fellow called the Mighty Atom could drive nails with his hands? There was an Indian catch wrestler with over 5000 matches, no losses? Considering all of these men performed isometrics, I felt as though I'd found a jackpot. It didn't seem I even needed to spend money I didn't have on training equipment for this. By coming across Paul “Batman” O' Brien's website (Isometric-Training.com), I was able to learn many training methods and transform my physique in a short amount of time. Yet I sought more. I read Chinese philosophy texts. I read Shaolin training manuals. I read the Yi Jin Jing and qigong books. I even came across Maxick (my personal favorite strongman) who possessed complete control over every ounce of muscle at his disposal. Upon discovering the Power and Might blog, I learned about all of these things and more at once, fueling my thirst for knowledge even further.

Perhaps I have performed more knowledge amassing than actual training, as my physique is nowhere near my goal in strength (having a similar level of muscular control as Maxick). However, if I can manifest just a fraction of the strength of the people who have impacted my life, I'm sure that those goals are less than impossible. If you have any interest in learning the things I've learned along my strength journey, visit my website at www.muscularstrengthsystem.com

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at jarell@muscularstrengthsystem.com