Author Archives: Thom Van Vleck

Hating to Squat, Part II

by Thom Van Vleck

I really appreciated Dan’s article. I’ll name drop a little here myself. I used to train with John Ware. He broke Bill Kazmaier’s total records and O.D. Wilson broke John’s record just weeks later as I recall.  As Dave Glasgow would say, “WHATEVER, TOPPER”.

I have never been a great bencher. I remember maxing out after a year of hard training and getting a 5lb PR.  I went from 360 to 365. It was so disappointing after so much work. A week or so later John Ware was spotting me on a set of 10 on the bench. He made the comment, “Not a single one of those reps looked the same”. His observation cause me to think.

I had no “groove”.  I had been a serious practitioner of the singles, doubles, and triples.  I rarely did more than 5 reps in a set.  What I realized was I was not getting and keeping a “groove”.  My bar path was all over the place as a result.  My solution was to go unconventional and do 10 sets of 10 with a focus on keeping the same bar path on every rep.  I did this for three months.  I then maxed out and I benched 405!  So one year of training had led to 5lbs of progress and 3 months led to 40lbs of progress!

I had fallen into that same trap.  I had not been focused on my form.  Just trying to lift as much weight as possible every set and every rep.  I figured out in that 3 months I got in 1200 reps.  In that year of low rep training I had gotten in maybe a 1000 reps.  I’m not saying 10×10 is the best power routine but I think at the time I needed the reps to reset my groove.  And it worked!  I remember hitting 370, 390, and 405.  I’ve never had a 40 lb PR on any lift before or since.  I was literally jumping for joy!

As a Highland Games thrower I video myself all the time.  Most every throw.  Because I find that over time, no matter how much I try to not let this happen, my form degrades.  I think it’s from trying to throw too hard to feed my ego.  Same goes for the weights.  Feeding my ego led to a degrading in form.

So find that love again, like Dan said!  And if you don’t have an O. D. Wilson or John Ware to check your form then set up a video.

Wilbur Miller November 12, 1932 – August 5, 2020

By Thom Van Vleck

Wilbur was all around strong but he was perhaps most famous for his tremendous Deadlift made all the more impressive with the double overhand grip.

Wilbur was all around strong but he was perhaps most famous for his tremendous Deadlift made all the more impressive with the double overhand grip.

I bring sad news today.  The great Wilbur Miller has went to join the other strength greats in the big gym in the sky.  To say that Wilbur was a great strength athlete would be an understatement.  Here are some of his lifts.  Remember, these were in the 60s and Wilbur was a drug free athlete!

Wilbur’s best lifts in competition were: 725# deadlift, 320# clean and press, 320# snatch (split-style), and a 385# clean and jerk.  Wilbur often competed in the 240-250 lb bodyweight range.  He often gave up over 100 pounds bodyweight to his competitors!  His 725 pound deadlift was an World Record at the time, and was done in 1965 in York, Pennsylvania.  He weighed 245 pounds in that meet.  Even more impressive was that Wilbur had a competitive lifting career that spanned over 50 years!  At age 79 he deadlifted 457lbs!

My connection to Wilbur dates back to the 1960s.  He and my uncle, Wayne Jackson, had a long standing rivalry on the lifting platform.  But off the platform they were the best of friends.  When I started lifting as a teen I trained with my Uncle Wayne and he often would tell stories about Wilbur.

Wayne had great respect for Wilbur.  Back then in the Olympic lifts they did the Clean & Press before the Snatch and Clean & Jerk.  My Uncle Wayne always beat Wilbur on the Clean & Press.  But Wilbur, being a very competitive man, would come back and beat Wayne in the Snatch and Clean & Jerk and win the overall.  As a kid it elevated my Uncle to hero status in my book that he could best the great Wilbur Miller at anything.  It was like throwing a strike against Babe Ruth.

In 1984 I was lifting in a meet in Wichita.  My Uncle Wayne came along and we contacted Wilbur.  Wilbur came by and hung out all day.  He and my Uncle Wayne laughed, told stories, and Wilbur was very polite, open, honest and had little of the ego many lifters of his status have.

The next time I saw Wilbur was about about 20 years later when I did an article on him for Milo.  He was still in Medicine Lodge, Kansas with his wife.  I stopped by for a visit.  You’d think we had been friends our whole lives.  He was still training in his garage on a set of York weights from the 60’s.  He took me to his “trophy room” and told me stories about each of the mementos, photos, and awards.  The whole time he had a smile on his face.

His obituary is as follows:

Wilbur D. Miller, of Wellington, Kansas, passed away on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at the Glen Carr House in Derby, Kansas at the age of 87.
He was born the son of Howard and Flossie (Brewer) Miller on Saturday, November 12, 1932 in Gray County, Kansas. Wilbur’s grandparents homesteaded the family land and he continued farming the land for many years. On February 5, 1966, Wilbur and Janet (Falkingham) were united in marriage at the First Presbyterian Church in Fredonia, Kansas. Together they celebrated over 54 years of marriage. He was an outdoors-man that enjoyed hunting, fishing and backpacking. Wilbur took up weightlifting as a young man and continued lifting well into his 80’s. He held several national competitive weightlifting records and was a member of the National Weightlifting Hall of Fame. Wilbur loved books and was an avid reader of Louis L’Amour. Additionally, he was a talented musician who taught himself to play the ukulele and harmonica simultaneously and loved to play with his dad and brother. His family remembers him as a great father and grandfather whose calm, steady nature served as the rock of the family. He will be missed by all that knew him.
Survivors include his wife, Janet Miller of Wellington, Kansas; son, William Parker of Tekoa, Washington; son, Robert Parker and his wife Karen of Raymondville, Missouri; daughter, Nancy Fischer and her husband Andy of Golden, Colorado; daughter, Julie Carey and her husband Jeff McGuire of Wellington, Kansas; son, Christoper Miller and his wife Ann of Inman, Kansas, grandchildren: TJ Mensch, Staci Miller Ulrich, Jason Parker, Alexander Parker, Angela Collins, Amanda Ray, Stephen Hoyt, Tricia Halling, Matthew Hoyt, Parker Hoyt, Jeffrey McGuire, Rachel McGuire, Lily McGuire, Kristin Miller, Andy Miller and Anabelle Miller along with numerous great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Howard and Flossie Miller; brother, Duane Miller and a great-granddaughter, Kennedy Hoyt.

There are many great stories about Wilbur.  All show a man with great strength and greater character.  I am hoping those who knew him will share one on the message board and we can send them to his family.  Additionally, I wrote an article on Wilbur in Milo Strength Journal and if you want a copy let me know.  Al Myers wrote a great article on Wilbur that you can find on this website by using the search box.

So take a minute to remember Wilbur Miller.  And let’s try to be more like him as well.  Strong of body, strong of character.

Cold Weather Training

by Thom Van Vleck

It's cold outside!

It’s cold outside!

I have always enjoyed cold weather training….up to a point.  Fall is my favorite time of year and I do my best lifting in the 50 to 65 degree range.  When I built my new house I even put in a heavy duty air conditioner so that I could keep my gym at 68 degrees even on the hottest day.  I’m a big guy and hot weather is NOT your friend.

I started out lifting in the old Jackson Weightlifting Club.  AKA my Grandparents barn.  The club had kind of fallen apart after a good 20 year run that saw membership approach 30 lifters, a couple of team state championships in Olympic lifting, and numerous state Champions, as well as my Uncle Wayne winning the teenage Nationals.  Now only a handful of members remained and it was often just me and my Uncle Wayne.  Just as often it was just me!

That barn was old.  It was wood with no insulation and had tin roof.  That tin roof would turn it into an oven in the summer.  In the winter there were single incandescent bulbs that hung from the rafters and a small space heater that didn’t even begin to touch the temperature in that barn.  All it was good for was warming your hands. I remember warming my hands in front of it one time next to a bucket full of frozen water!

Most of the time I enjoyed it being in the 50s, 40s, and even the 30s and 20s.  While I can’t say I enjoyed it being colder than that I did look at it as a challenge.  I had a routine and I was sticking to it regardless of the weather. A day off was unacceptable.  No matter what the weather.

One time I was working out at 2am.  I was working at a pizza place and when I got off at closing time it was workout day and I wasn’t missing it!  It was a back workout and I was doing power cleans.  I had three layers of sweats as it was literally below zero.  Nobody was out so it was extremely quiet except for the weight hitting the platform after every rep.  I remember my breath turning to ice crystals and floating to the floor.

At one point I was actually getting a bit of a sweat going.  I addressed the bar, pulled, and racked the weight. It was then I realized my neck was wet and as the bar pushed down the collar of my layers of sweats it made contact with the bare, wet skin.  It was like the kid from “A Christmas Story” that stuck his tongue to the frozen, metal lamp post!  I stood there for a moment, contemplating my fate.  Finally, I dropped the weight along with the top layer of skin on my neck!

Another time I had been working out at a nice, heated gym for a time and traveled home for Christmas.  I was in the Marines at the time and took a couple weeks leave.  Of course, I didn’t want to miss a workout so I went to the old barn.  My cousin had started working out and had also been working out in a nice, heated gym.  He had really been training hard and showing progress.  I thought he was really serious and hooked.

We went to the cold, cold gym.  It was about 10 degrees out.  I went to work and about 15 minutes in my cousin was shivering and said, “I can’t take this. It’s too cold, you can’t get in a decent workout in this weather. I’m going home. See you later”.  I finished my workout and I remember thinking, “He may be right about a decent workout but it’s more than building muscle sometimes.  It’s about building a work ethic and dedication.”  I also remember thinking, “He won’t last”.  A couple of months later he quit weight training and took up bowling. Nothing wrong with that….wait….yes there is.

I once read where the perfect temperature for weight training is between 68 and 72 degrees.  Ideally, I would train between 60 and 65 degrees.  But sometimes you can’t.  I think training in extremes can still be good.  Maybe not for purely building strength, but for building perseverance.  Right now the thermometer is reading 2 degrees here.  Time to work out….in my heated gym where it’s currently 65 degrees!

The Goose Neck for Stronger Forearms

by Thom Van Vleck

Many remember Slim “The Hammer Man” Farman for his insane ability to lever Sledge Hammers.  He was amazing at it.  He credited his ability to three things.  One was working in a quarry swinging a sledge hammer all day long.  The other was working out with the sledge hammer adding weight and doing progressive resistance with the hammer itself.  The third was about the simplest exercise you could imagine.  The Goose Neck.

Step one: Hand and forearm relaxed

Step one: Hand and forearm relaxed

Step two:  Flex forearm down while simultaneously squeezing the grip as hard as possible holding for a two count (or longer).

Step two: Flex forearm down while simultaneously squeezing the grip as hard as possible holding for a two count (or longer).

While my forearms aren’t anything that are going to win prizes I feel like I’ve developed a pretty good grip over the years.  The beauty of this exercise is it can be done almost anywhere and at any time.  Slim used to do hundreds of reps of these a day.

Do 50 of these and see if your forearms don’t feel it!

Sledge Hammer Levering: Part 2

by Thom Van Vleck

Loadable Sledge Hammer

Loadable Sledge Hammer

So I wanted to be able to train to lever a 16lb sledge maul like Slim “The Hammer Man” Farman.  A potentially dangerous thing lowering an axe blade with 16lbs of steel behind it to your face!  I needed a way to train!

The loadable sledge opened up and the one pound weights that can be loaded inside.   This can loaded from 4lbs to 20lbs.

The loadable sledge opened up and the one pound weights that can be loaded inside. This can loaded from 4lbs to 20lbs.

Regular readers will notice that I’ve featured this loadable sledge before in my three part article on the Gada (or Mace) training.

I knew from looking at Slim’s hammers he had done two things.  He had added weight to them.  That part was obvious.  The part that wasn’t so obvious is that he had marked the inches on the handles.  I assumed that was for training purposes.

So the difference was my hammer had added weight on the INSIDE.  And then inches marked off on the handle like Slim’s.  That way I could add or subtract weight and move my grip progressively further down the handle.  I could quantify the sets, reps, weight, and leverage distance.

I used this training device to eventually do the 16lb sledge maul.  It always amazed me how impressed people were watching this event.  Or maybe it was like watching Evel Knievel waiting for him to wreck!  But out of the hundreds of times I performed that feat I never once dropped it on my face.

Slim giving  me the "Ice Clamp".  He was in his 70's and still had a steel grip.

Slim giving me the “Ice Clamp”. He was in his 70’s and still had a steel grip.

I can imagine how sledge hammer levering started.  A group of guys swinging them for a living having an impromptu contest.  Of course, that probably applies to everything involving lifting!

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