By Dave Bellomo

In the mid-1990s, my wife and I were living in North Carolina. I was in my early twenties at the time and was making great progress in my own strength training — competing in powerlifting contests of various levels regularly. During this time, I found myself interested in the Highland Games, which are particularly popular in the South. More specifically, my interest was in the caber toss, Scottish hammer, and weight throwing, collectively known as the Heavy Events.

During that time, my friends and I would also watch a local strongman, named Steve Jeck, give strength training tips on his public access television show, called Cellar Dwellers. Mr. Jeck also happened to be a professional Heavy Events athlete. So, I took a chance and reached out to him. I explained I had a background in strength training and was interested in learning more about the Scottish Heavy Events. He was very gracious and invited me to train with him at a local park where I would be able to see him in action. This was not only the beginning of my exposure to these particular events but was also to change my perspective on what was and was not, important when it came to actual strength training.

I was then, and am still, focused on practical matters when it comes to fitness. Sure, we all want to look good, or at least what society’s notion of beauty is, but to me, that is far secondary to being able to easily move, work, and lift heavy objects. At that time, I thought I had a good handle on practical strength training, as I focused on basic barbell movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench press. While these are still staples in my training, my experience with the Scottish Heavy Event athletes showed me that my training still had deficiencies concerning functional strength.

It must have been comical watching me try to toss a caber for the first time, which is a 20-foot-long tree trunk and weighs approximately 175 pounds. Sometimes these logs are soaked in water to add weight. Not only was I trying to throw a heavyweight, but I had to wrestle it to my chest where all but a few feet of it were above my head then balance it. Only when I had control of it was I to run and then toss the weight end over end.

Other events we practiced that day were weight throws for height and distance. Watching Steve throw was like poetry in motion. This big, 270-pound man moved with the grace of a cat and put the rest of us to shame. I was hooked.

Over time, my skill developed, and though I decided not to enter into Scottish Heavy Events competitively, I was able to use the things I had learned. I continued my basic barbell lifts but now added power and throwing movements as well as the occasional stone lift, which is also part of traditional Heavy Events training.

Simply put, we get better at what we practice. From an exercise science perspective, this means that we adapt specifically to the stresses to which we are exposed. If you want to be able to perform a certain type of work or lift heavy objects, you need to practice those things. Over time, your body gets stronger as you incrementally add repetitions, weight, or a novel exercise.

To this day, I still make it a point to think in very practical terms and do not allow myself to get caught up in the latest craze. I think of how our bodies were meant to move, then work with exercises that are very similar to those basic movements in a planned and progressive way. In addition, I make it a point to build odd objects into my lifting and generally prepare for anything. While this means that I do not squat or press the same weight that I could when I was younger, it still allows me to develop strength and stamina that is practical to real-world situations and not useful only in the gym.

For more information on developing a fitness program or if you are interested in online personal training, feel free to email me at dave.bellomo@gmail.com.