Today, I have an Iron master that I have wanted to put up for a long while. It is Joe Mugovero from New London, CT. I first met Joe at Stronger Than All, a Strongman Contest in New Haven CT, in 2005, and he hasn’t stopped impressing me yet. The things that have impressed me the most since I first met him are his domination of two of the most widely recognized Grip Strength challenge implements, the Inch Dumbbell and the Blob, and his love for helping others enjoy strength training and fitness as well.

Today, I give you the most recent Iron Master, Joe Mugovero.

Joe Mugovero is a retired mailman with more than 41 years in the Post Office hails from New London, Ct. His early days had him competing in local fairs in the clean and jerk and then moved into powerlifting. One time 27 years ago he competed in a C&J contest on a Saturday and won the U.S bench press championships the next day as a sub-master.

Always attracted to strength in its many forms Joe tried bodybuilding, armwrestling, weightlifting, powerlifting, and some strongman. He considered himself a “jack of all trades, master of none“. After numerous injuries or lack of elite level ability Joe concentrated on the bench press and set numerous records in age group competition (40-55) all drug free. With more than 200 awards under his belt he permanently injured a disc in his neck which cut his left arm strength by 60%, days after setting yet another Ct. state record age of 52 with 445lbs.

It was only then that Joe turned to grip strength as a goal in it’s own right. Most of his life his left arm was more powerful than his right. Now with some serious training this would reverse…

After reading Milo magazine about a person from England who trained to lift the Thomas Inch Dumbell, Joe at about 58 started his quest to master the beast. He has fully deadlifted the INCH 687 times, sometimes doing doubles and once a triple. Every lift was witnessed by one or more members of the Breakfastclub Gym. In 2005 and 2006 he won the Rolling Thunder Championships at the Massachusetts State Strongman, beating guys half his age.

Joe on the Table with Tim Bresnan. Joe didn’t beat him, but it was a good match, he says.

Big benches are long gone now but he recently did a 330lb raw bench which he says took more hard work than the 500(single ply shirt) when much younger. Now he levers hammers, toys with the BLOB, pinches plates and does some hub lifting. Farmer’s walks with 235 lbs and a 200lb Atlas stone for 12reps over a 52″ high bar just last week.

Joe warming up on the Atlas Stones. He owns 28 of them.

Joe has been the meet director in four local strongman contests. He won the 2012 sledgehammer event against all age groups this year at the “Bash at the Beach” at Ocean Beach Park in New London, Ct.

Joe recently table curled a 123-lb dumbbell for 12 reps and preacher curled a 90lb dumbbell for 15reps. He has beat every member of the Breakfastclub Gym who put his arm on the table.

Joe closing the #3 Gripper. Can’t wait to see him certify in the future!

The only goals Joe has not achieved is pinching 2-45′s(has done 3-25′s)and certifying on the NO 3 gripper. He recently pinched 35′s w/16.35lbs extra so maybe soon and did close the NO 3 once a year ago.

Joe was the A.P.A chairperson for Connecticut from 1990-1995. He has been the meet director for at least 90 contests in weightlifting, powerifting, bench only, grip strength and strongman. He runs and owns the Breakfastclub Gym in New London , Ct. A small semi-private gym where the chalk flies, lifters curse and move big weight.

His biggest claim is not his own lifts but encouraging and making available strongman/grip equipment to Southeastern Connecticut trainees who have excelled in their own right. Joe won’t be remembered as the strongest guy walking local streets but just may be remembered as an ambassador of Powerlifting/Strongman/Grip strength promotion to the general public.

DIESELS, as I finish off this post, I have a grin from ear to ear because I’ve finally gotten the chance to post this up. Joe and I email back and forth regularly and he is always updating me on his Inch Dumbbell Domination, and I can’t wait to get the next one!

Now, it’s time for you to send in your Iron Master nominations.

It can literally be anybody, from a Fitness or Strength celebrity, to someone in a small town nearby, to even a relative. If they have inspired you in your training or have done so with others, send them my way. I can’t wait to hear from you.

All the best in your training and have an awesome weekend!

Jedd

P.S. I am traveling to Rhode Island tonight to meet up with Matt Ellis. I met him two weeks ago at a seminar and he is as passionate about helping people accomplish their goals as I am. I at breakfast with him one day and we hit it off right away, so we are going to be shooting a DVD together this weekend. If you are a “Thrower” or know someone who does, make sure you stay tuned.

• Iron Masters Recognition – LTC Nathen Acree Jr
• The New Conquest – The Iron Grip Monster
• Making Hard Feats Look Easy – The Inch Dumbbell
• Home Made Equipment to Help Lift the Inch Dumbbell
• Bi-Polar Training: Inch Dumbbell Plus Kettlebell Flip

Got something a little different for you today.

It started out like any other race…

I recently saw this video on Facebook somewhere and the thread it was on was blowing up. There were over 100 comments on the damn thing.

At first I did not know what the hell the big deal was. Why is everyone so excited about a 600m Race?

When I watched it, it became clear right away.

Check this out, it’s 2.5 minutes long but it’s worth it.

Big 10 Indoor Track Championship Heather Dorniden’s 600m Race

I’m betting there are not a lot of runners that come to my site, but that does not mean there are not some good take-aways here.

To me, this is the perfect example of being a MENTALLY STRONG athlete.

Could you imagine training your ass off for months and then right when your performance mattered the most, something like this happened to you?

It would have been so easy for Heather Dorniden to just roll around on the ground, start moaning about how “it’s not fair,” start blaming the other runners for tripping here, or any other number of excuses.

But instead she got back up on her feet with less than a lap to go and ran her ass off.

So, you need to remember this video. Whether you are doing a competition, a workout, etc – you need to go into it ready to finish even when the worst possible scenario takes place and rips your feet right out from under you.

By the way, even if Dornidan hadn’t won, this would have been an exemplary video of killer mental attitude, because if you watch the video again, immediately upon falling, she righted herself and just started digging for the pack.

She didn’t “jog into it.” She didn’t just “try to finish.”

She got back on her horse and went for the win!

That’s what it’s all about.

I hope you have a fantastic Fourth of July!

Jedd

I’d love to hear any stories you might have where you or someone you know came back from a huge setback and “Dornidened It” to come back and still do well. Leave a comment below!

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Hello Diesels!

Several months ago, I put up a post here about having the right mindset for success in strength training, called Misses are Just Warm-ups. Go here to read it => Mindset of a Strength Training Warrior.

In that post I talk about why you can’t just give up if you fail to do something or miss a lift. You have to keep trying several times, because sometimes you’re only a few attempts away from success.

Success in Strength Training is based on many things, but one of the most important things is right inside your head.

And no, I am not talking about the brain as a part of the central nervous system, I am talking about the little conversations you have in your head before and after you attempt something.

What you tell yourself inside that little head of yours can have a profound effect on what you are capable of doing.

If you stroll up to a lift and say, “Man, I’m not sure if I can do this today,” I can just about guarantee you that you will not be successful at it.

Ray-Zor…Ray-Zor

Fatman Blob (Original Style Blob)

    
Second Generation Blob

    
Fatman Blob Clone

In that original post, I tried to lift the Fatman Blob Clone after several months of not touching it. It is very wide, slick, and had gathered some rust, so I knew it wouldn’t be like lifting one of my smaller, rougher, second generation York Blobs, but I was still able to lift it like 4 or 5 times right-handed, even after several failed attempts, because I approached that feat with the proper mindset.

Remember, some people consider the York Blob Clones impossible to lift, just because they’ve never seen anyone lift them. I actually think more people would be lifting them simply if there were more of them around and if a couple more people broke them off the ground.

Speaking of impossible feats, anybody remember Roger Bannister? He’s the first 4-minute mile dude.

Before he motored his ass around a track four times in less than four minutes, scientists thought that your heart would explode and your legs would fall off at the hip joint if you tried to break the four-minute mile mark.

Then Roger Bannister stepped up to the plate (damn right, a baseball reference) and lifted his figurative Fatman Clone and then people all over the world started making the 4-minute mile their outright bitch.

Quote that I love from this clip: “Bannister, a superb technician, has suffered some criticism in the past for adopting his own rather unorthodox training methods, but they’re paying dividends now…”

Now, let me ask you this. Do you think Roger Bannister had thoughts like these swirling through his head while at the starting line…?

• Oh man, nobody’s ever done this before…
• Oh boy, I don’t know if I can do this
• Oh, might know, it’s windy today – now I have that going against me
• Maybe my unorthodox training methods won’t pay off after all
• I don’t think anybody here thinks I can do this…

Hell no! None of that crap was going through his head.

He was focused. He had a strategy. He was a freaking Diesel-Powered Savage!

If you want to be successful in a lift, you need to go about it like Roger Bannister. You need prepare wisely, you need to start out at a solid pace and when it counts most, you need to finish strong.

If you miss or if you fail, don’t let that crap bother you – don’t let it get in your head.

Especially when it comes to Grip Training, you can not stop trying to lift something if you don’t get it the first time.

Oh, you missed that Gripper close? So what – your hands are better warmed up now. Get it next time.

Oh, you missed again? Readjust your hand placement and go again.

Oh, you missed again? Go squeeze a harder gripper and then come back to it and try it again (thanks, Paul Knight)

Whatever you do, don’t just give up after you miss. Misses are Just Warm-ups.

I can’t tell you how many people have written or called me since the first Misses are Just Warm-ups post that I put up telling me how big of a difference this simple concept has made in their training.

It really is all about mentality, and recently this proved to be true in my own training like never before.

As you know, I seriously messed up both middle fingers in the middle of February. I could do almost no Grip Training during this time without serious burning pain. Hell, I couldn’t even turn a door knob without serious pain, so I had to modify a lot of my training.

I won’t lie, I was afraid of what would happen to my numbers due to this lay-off.

But after this session that I filmed recently, I am not nearly as worried about it as I was before…

Pinching Two-45′s, for me, is a feat that I often struggle with. I normally have to train on it several times over the course of a couple of weeks in order to be able to pinch them. Even when my Two Hand Pinch is solid, I might not be able to do Two 45′s. So to be able to do it after not doing any static pinch training at or near this thickness made me extremely happy…

And as you’ll see, just because I didn’t get it the first time with both hands, I kept going until I got it.

MISSES ARE JUST WARM-UPS. Live it, Diesels.

Jedd

• Diesel Mindset – Misses are Just Warm-ups
• DIfference Between Blob Types
• First Blobs. Now Globs? WTF???
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• Grip Training: The Fatman Clone Block Weight

My absolute favorite band of all time is Faith No More. The image above is the album cover for one of their albums, Angel Dust (1992).

Faith No More is famous for their song, Epic (The Real Thing, 1989), but they had many more outstanding songs, including the one I have posted below called, A Small Victory (Angel Dust, 1992).

Faith No More did not produce a lot of flashy videos as they were pretty much ignored by MTV due to the inability to categorize the, and A Small Victory is probably the video they put the most work into, using much imagery, costumes, and employing a storyline that fell in line, partially with the song lyrics.

It even shows Thick Bar Reverse Curls performed on a set of antlers in the first 30 seconds of singing, if you watch closely…

(Of course, since I want to show you one of my favorite music videos, embedding is disabled, but you can watch the actual video here = > Faith No More – A Small Victory)

The reason I am posting this song is not to try to prove to you that Faith No More actually did other songs besides Epic (It’s it, What is it?). The reason is because sometimes in your training, Success is Built on Small Victories.

In a previous post, I told you that just because you miss a lift, you should not give up = > Misses are Just Warm-ups. In that video/post, I tried to change your way of thinking about missed lifts. Instead of being all-out failures, think of missing a lift as a warm-up. After all, sometimes you just aren’t ready yet to set that PR and you need a bit more time to get everything right.

Sometimes, try as you might to lift something, it is just not in the cards. And while by definition this is a failure, it is not to say that you should not be happy with what you are indeed able to do.

For instance, I was recently sent the picture below from my friend, Mike Rinderle.

4″ by 5/16″ O-1 Drill Rod (Fastenal Brand)

This is a piece of 303 Stainless Steel from Fastenal. At first glance, you might think, “Why is this anything special to look at? It’s not even bent to the required 2-inches between the ends of the stock?”

What you have to understand is that this piece of Stainless Steel is only 4-inches long and 5/16-inches thick.

To give you an idea of how extremely difficult this is to bend, the IronMind Red Nail is 3-inches longer, at the same diameter and made of Cold Rolled Steel, which is appreciably easier to bend than this Stainless.

When you consider that only one person has ever officially bent Steel at this level of difficulty, you can be damn sure that Mike is not looking at this as just another piece of steel he failed on. This is something he is damn proud of, and he will use this as a mental stepping stone toward bending this and other more difficult pieces in the future.

So, next time you train, if you miss a lift, don’t get hung up on that crap. Find the Small Victory that you obtained. Use that as a positive motivator for the next time you try it and eventually you will own the feat.

All the best in your training.

Jedd

Diesel Branded Skull Shirt

Matt Hunt sent in pics of his new Diesel Branded Skull Shirt. Thanks Matt!

To get one, go to this link = > Diesel Branded Skull Shirt

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Hello Diesels!

I’ve got a very cool interview for you today. Check this out.

Today I am interviewing a truly awesome strength sport athlete – Nick McKinless.

And, I am proud to say that as a surprise to Nick, I actually lined this interview up so that I could make him the latest Diesel Iron Master.

At 40 years old, Nick is in better shape than post 20 year-olds I know. His dedication to strength and high performance in Grip Sport over the years inspires me and several other participants in the sport I know, so here’s to you, Nick McKinless, Diesel Iron Master!

And what else makes Nick so awesome?

Not only is Nick a highly competitive Strongman and Grip Sport competitor, but this bad ass is also a STUNTMAN!

That’s right, Nick not only pushes his body to the limit in the wight room and on the competition platform, but this dude takes SERIOUS BUMPS in some of the biggest action movies on the big screen.

Check this out…

Jedd: Nick I have been following your blog and your activities in Grip Sport and other endeavors for years but for those who may not have heard of you could you tell us a little about yourself?

Nick: Hi Jedd. I’m 6ft, 215-220lbs, 40 years old and have been competing in strength sports for 20 years. I did my first grip competition back in 1996. I’m a Professional Stuntman/Stunt Coordinator for Film and Television and I also work as a a Strength Coach. I have been running the Beyond Strong blog/website for nearly 4 years now to promote the type of training I truly believe in. I live in Australia but I work in the UK.

Jedd: What is your athletic history?

Nick: I was a national standard long and triple jumper as a youth and I sprinted at county level. I swam for the county and competed in everything from rugby to snooker! (NOTE TO DIESEL UNIVERSE: If you are not familiar with snooker, and it is a billiard game using 22 balls – one cue ball, 15 red balls, and 6 different colored balls with different point valuations. Okay, back to the Interview…)

Jedd: What strength sports have younger competed in and how did you find out about serious grip training and Grip Sport?

Nick: I was an athlete during my teens but I started rock climbing at 14 and it was wanting to get stronger at this that drew me to weights. I was also a huge Bruce Lee fan and read everything I could about him from his classic book Tao of Jeet Kune Do to articles and of course I watched all his movies. I went to my first gym in the same year, a place above a sports store called Bodyshapers in Cheltenham. I had also done a little Judo and Karate but I wouldn’t class my self as a martial artist.

It was from reading Bruce Lee’s forearm routines that I began doing serious grip training. After that it was around 1993-94 when I first caught the ad in Hardgainer magazine for David Horne’s Original Grip Course. I subscribed and not long after I met up with David at his gym in Stafford. Pretty much since then we’ve been great friends. I’ve been trying to beat him ever since, haha.

Jedd: What are some of the craziest feats of strength you have done?

Nick: Pretty much my best lifting comes with others around. Anytime David Horne and I train together we set personal records. I swear he breathes fire sometimes he gets so psyched up! Talking of psyched, we were particularly impressed with your Spanish inspired psyche – great stuff!! (NOTE TO DIESEL UNIVERSE: If you want to see what Nick is talking about go here = > NUEVE, PINCHE NUEVE!)

I’ve also spent a lot of time training with World’s Strongest Man finalist Laurence Shahlaei. He is another one that brings out the best in me.

I’ve never been that great in the gym. I’m still chasing that 400lbs bench press. Some of my best feats and accomplishments though are:

• 1996 British All Round Weightlifting Champion
• 1998 Lifted the Dinnie Stones and the Blue Stones of old Daily
• 2001 COC #3
• 3 Time Australian Grip Champion
• Twice Runner British Grip Championships
• 2nd Place Champion of Champions
• 2006 Multiple Strongman wins and British Strongman Champion (under 105kg)
• 2010 3rd Place World’s Strongest Hands

I’ve done most of the classic grip feats…

• I’ve high pulled the Inch to shoulder height but was no where near turning it over
• I’ve lifted blobs and all that kind of thing
• I’ve done Farmer’s Walks with 180kg in each hand
• I pinched chinned on rafters for 11 reps
• I Table Top Wrist curled 600lbs
• Plate curled a 20kg plate for reps back when it was thought to be impossible

General Strength Feats I’ve accomplished…

• I’ve put 350lbs overhead
• Deadlifted 640lbs
• Squatted 500 for reps
• Dipped with 220lbs for a few reps
• I’m currently chasing that 400lbs bench press and a 200lbs chin (200lbs plus my bodyweight so 420lbs or so).

Jedd: Have you or do you hold any records in Grip Sport?

Nick: I’m not sure. Last year was kind of a come back and I think my records have been surpassed now. I used to hold the One Hand Barbell Deadlift record with 221kg and a few other strange one’s like the One Hand Pinch Clean and Press. I think I may have a record with David’s Wrist Developer too (Level 11?). I know I can match David on almost everything, something’s he’s better and vice versa. The difference is he’s just that bit better in competition!

Jedd: Nick you have one of the most interesting careers. Could you tell us a little about that? How did you get involved in this?

Nick: I’ve been a stuntman since 1996 and got into film and TV work in 1998.

It’s something I trained for and took very seriously. It’s not something you can just fall into (no pun intended). Even since I have been doing it the level of athleticism has increased. I trained in many disciplines including rock climbing, martial arts, gymnastics, boxing, swimming, hang gliding, rope work and rigging, trampolining, racing cars and much more. It was a full time job but I had to work as well. It wasn’t easy.

I learned a good deal in Australia performing week in and week out on B grade TV shows like Beastmaster and The Lost World. The school of hard knocks is never truer than in the stunt world. I was also able to score a gig on the last Crocodile Dundee film and the Matrix films as they were shot in Sydney. Not long after that I did a job with one of my favouite 80′s and 90′s action heros, Jean Claude Van Damme. He was great.

Then I did a big budget movie called Troy with Brad Pitt. Since then I have worked with famed directors such as Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Guy Ritchie, Chris Nolan and great actors like Robert Downey Jr, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Danial Craig, Nicole Kidman and Geoffrey Rush. It’s a privilege to be around such talent.

Over the past year on the film front I’ve been active in the final two Harry Potter movies right up until last November doing re-shoots and additional photography. I have a fight scene with Johnny Depp in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie coming out later this year and I was involved in the pre-production stage of Captain America. I was the stunt and fight choreographer for a lot of video games and music videos last year as well. One of the best projects I was involved in last year was Ralph Fiennes’ (Schindler’s List, Red Dragon) directorial debut, Coriolanus, as his fight choreographer and personal trainer. I also performed a rather large bus explosion stunt which is featured in the movie.

Jedd: What are some of the movies and characters you have played?

Nick: Most of my work is rather fleeting. I’m usually too big to double for actors although I doubled Brendan Gleeson on Troy and as Mad Eye Moody on the Harry Potter films. I am also the opening fight scene in Sherlock Holmes. All those hits are real and were done maybe 30 times on a super slow frame rate camera called a Phantom. That was a rough day! You can see me in Munich, lots of old re-runs of tv shows and recent ones like Merlin, usually getting beaten up. My job is to make the actors look good so you don’t see me winning that often.

Jedd: Any particular painful spots/bumps you have taken?

Nick: I have some chronic back pain and some years ago had some paralysis from a hard fall onto rocks. Last year was a tough year. I broke my elbow but had to continue working and it just kept swelling up all the time. I am due a few surgeries that’s for sure!

Jedd: What else do you have coming up?

Nick: I’m in the very early stages of starting a new business with Strongman Laurence Shahlaei. We should be opening our first custom coaching facility in this year. Small but effective, compact but brutal! I’m also taking Beyond Strong to the next level with many changes to the look of the site. I’ll be continuing to champion the greatest athletes on the planet whilst also providing innovative ways for anyone to train in the same manner and get dynamic results. Beyond Strong and it’s spin offs will kick in this year!

In April last year I was part of a 24 man Stunt Charity Fight night in London. We stepped up and got in the ring with seasoned fighters and fought for two charities close to our hearts. Firstly is Stanmore Spinal Unit. Harry Potter Stunt Double David Holmes was badly injured on set and is now in a wheelchair due to the serious nature of his injuries. Stanmore Spinal Unit were instrumental in his recovery. He is a personal friend of mine and many of the stuntmen who fought. The second charity is Children’s Cancer. Two of my fellow stuntmen lost their teenage sons in the same month a few years ago. They both fought at the boxing fight night, showing true heart.

In addition, Marvin Campbell, a former gymnastic Olympian (1992) and award winning stuntmen has produced a calendar showcasing all the fighters and the charities. If anyone is interesting in owning one of these totally unique and collectable calendars they can contact Marvin through Beyond Strong or at the details below. Your support and generosity would be greatly appreciated. To find out more, go here => Charity Calendars

Jedd: Nick thanks for taking time out of you’d schedule. We enjoyed the interview and look forward to hearing more about your projects.

Nick: Anytime Jedd, look forward to catching up with you in the near future!

You can nominate someone for Iron Masters

Is there someone 40 or above that inspires you to keep on training hard? Your parent? Your coach? An on-line inspiration?

If so, shoot me an email at jedd dot diesel at gmail dot com and I will put them up on the site.

I look forward to plenty more Iron Master Nominations.

Jedd

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