BEYOND STRONG

Interview: Kevin Nee

First time I heard of Kevin, was in a show from MTV called True Life. Some of you may have seen him there as well. Nowadays there is no hiding from Kevin and he is a rising star in the Strongman scene. Kevin was kind enough to have a little chat with me, so: Here it is, the interview with Big Kevin Nee!

By Theo Burggraaff

Beyond Strong: Hello Kevin... BEYOND STRONG would like to thank you for taking the time to talk to us.

Kevin Nee: Thanks for having me!!!

BS: Firstly Congratulations on your stunning performance at this years Mohegan Sun Grand Prix. Was this one of your best performances yet?

KN: Once again, thank you and yes this was definitely one of my best contests.  I was a little disappointed in a few things, but I'm still young and I have time to correct these mistakes.

Mohegan Sun Grand Prix '07

BS: We have no doubt you will Kevin. Let's go back a bit. You're still very young Kevin but were you always strong?

KN: Yes, for some reason I was always a little stronger than most and even when I was small, I still had strength that you wouldn’t think a 180 pounder would have.   I was also very fortunate with the help I received at such a young age.  I had 3 pro strongmen and two of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the US helping me out for free at 15 years old.  I was extremely lucky and was in the right place at the right time.  I certainty owe a lot to them and will always love them for it.

BS: What other sports did you do?       

                                    

KN: Growing up I played soccer and basketball, but as I reached highschool years, I drifted more towards basketball and actually became pretty good.  I was MVP of my league senior year and was top 20 in the state of Massachusetts.  I won many awards for my basketball career and will always miss it.  I actually started lifting seriously for basketball.                                             

BS: When did the idea of strongman first hit you?

KN: When I was 13 I started lifting at a gym for basketball and I was extremely dedicated and motivated to become better and stronger.  A local pro strongman Bruce Tessier also worked out at the gym and by the time I was 15 he realized how dedicated I was and how much I improved and asked if I would like to try the sport of strongman.  I said yes and I never stopped since.

BS: Can you tell us your current stats? Height, weight, age...

KN: I am 6’1” and 282lbs as of now.  I am 21 years old and some of my best lifts include a 370 lbs log, 865 lbs deadlift, 550 lbs front squat, 700 lbs back squat, and a 490 lbs bench (but I don’t bench anymore) and a 500 lbs * 2 log floor press.  All these lifts were done raw and with only a belt except the deadlift I used straps.

BS: We have a lot of people who want to do strongman but don't have access to the event equipment. What would you say are the most important gym lifts for strongman?

KN: I would say the most important gym lifts would be deadlifts, front squats, back squats, snatches, and clean and jerks.  Obviously there are other lifts as well and I could go on forever, but these are the main lifts I stick by.

BS: Without giving away too much can you tell us what does your training schedule look like?

KN:  Like you said, I don’t want to give away too much but I will tell you this:  I have three days where I go for power movements and mix them up.  These days consist of at least one Olympic lift, two power movements, and one auxiliary exercise.  Two days are used for speed and conditioning. And one day is used for pure strongman events.

800lbs Deadlift!

BS: Has your golf game improved? Haha...we saw you on the Making of the World's Strongest Man at the driving range. How was that whole experience?

KN: Haha that was interesting.  That was actually the first time I had ever even swung a golf club.  The experience of being at WSM is unbelievable and to say I have reached one of my goals at such a young age is just awesome in my eyes.  It is just so awesome speaking and competing with some of the greats and being able to sit back and learn from the best.  It is truly an amazing experience!!!

BS: What do you enjoy the most since being a strongman competitor? The travelling, maybe the attention form the ladies?

KN: I absolutely love the traveling and the life experience gained.  I have traveled the world at 21 and have learned so much from so many cultures and it is truly an honor to have been able to do so at such a young age.  And I can't lie…I do love the attention also hahaha.

BS: What's the craziest thing you have experienced in your travels?

KN: I would have to say the culture shock of being in China.  I have never felt so distant from home then when I was in china.  It is truly a different world and it was an amazing experience.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it was a bad thing; it was just crazy in general being there.

BS: The sport has a rich history now. Who are your favourite strongmen from the past?

KN: I would have to say my favorites would be Jouko, Kaz, and O.D. Wilson (he was ripped off).

BS: How about today? Who do you admire most in the field of strength?

KN: I truly look up to MP, Misha K, and Big Z.

BS: Your back strength is legendary. How far has your deadlift come from the early days of your lifting career?

KN: Well thank you, that means a lot to me.  For some reason my deadlift has always been good, even when I was real young.  I think the first time I ever deadlifted I pulled either 455 or 495 at like 16 years old.  For some reason I have just always had it.  Hopefully I just continue to improve.  I would love to hit the 1000 lbs mark someday.

BS: How much accessory work do you do such as stretching, prehab work, GPP etc?

KN: A LOT!!!!!!!  This is so important and is the most underrated part of our sport.  If you want to become strong and stay strong with minimal injuries, you must partake in these activities.  They are essential to ones development!!!

BS: Are you going to be competing in Europe at all this year?

KN: I don’t have anything confirmed yet, but there is the possibility of England, Russia, and Poland in the summer time.  Hopefully this happens but sometimes it’s hard to get invited to shows when you haven’t really established yourself yet.

Beyond Strong: We wish you the very best of luck Kevin in everything you do and your achievements already speak for themselves.

Kevin Nee: Thank you so much and I really enjoyed doing this interview.  I would love to write more for your website so certainly keep in touch.  Take care and stay strong,

-Kevin Nee                                                         

Interview with: Stefan Falke

Stefan Falke is the winner of the German Grip Championship last year, and also one of just 3 persons who certified on the Ironmind #3 gripper. Coming from a powerlifting background, hitting some pretty high numbers, he is now focussing on Kettlebells. He gave me quite a few tips on training with kettlebells, and at the recent MGC in Germany, we had time for a little chat:

- Theo

                                                                                    

Beyond Strong: How long did it take you to close the #3 gripper?

Stefan Falke: To close the gripper # 3 under official conditions took me about 6 months. After three months I could close it with a deep set. Until there I follow the plan of Nathan Holle which I read in the book " Captains of Crush: what they are and how to close them."

 

BS: How did you get into grip training?

SF: It was in Moscow at a kettlebell competition. I was told to do something for the hand strength because I stopped working after 90 reps in snatch/ 32kg and had such a pump in my forearms that I could not even close my hands. Later I realized that it was a question of adaptation. Now I can work the whole 10 minutes without any problems. (The so called Long Cycle in Girevoy Sport/ kettlebell competitions)

BS: You were a competitive powerlifter, what are some of your best lifts?

SF: On competition : 270 squats, 222,5 bench press, 275,0 deadlift.

BS: Right now, you train a lot with kettlebells. How did you make the transition from powerlifting to kettlebell training?

SF: I train a lot with kettlebells but in the background I still train squats,bench press and deadlifting,I just take medium weight. I do regular weight training about once or twice a week.

BS: Can you tell us, how do you incorporate/ fit kettlebell training in to a strength training program?

SF:  I think that strength training and strength endurance can complement eachother. For example if I want to do 200 reps in snatch with 24kg: I start with swinging. Then 10 minutes snatch followed by a general strengh training. I recommend the book " Power to the people" by Pavel Tsatsouline and the DVD. A very basic routine to work up to more snatches/ endurance:

Things to remember:
1. always work nice and easy
2. the movements must be fluent
3. get a breathing rythm: inhale on the way up,fixed the kettlebell on top then breath in and out, exhale on the way down.
4. never count your reps,always work with the time.

Here's a sample:
1.we start working 1 minute right / 1 minute left = snatch
2.after a short break 2 minutes right / 2 minutes left
3. after a short break 3 minutes right/ 3 minutes left   

BS: If someone is starting with kettelbell, how should they go about? What weight? Which exercises?

SF: I recommend to start swinging with a light weight 8 kg/12 kg then learn the basic technique of snatch/clean & jerk/long cycle.
Only if you master the technique you can benefit from all the advantages of kettlebell training.

BS: Before we end this interview, do you have anything you want to share with the readers?

SF: If somebody starts with kettlebell training don't be discouraged if you feel a strong pump in your forearms.This phenomenon disappears after a while when your body is adapted. Kettlebell is very suitable for a cardio training,as a light training in the off season,as an addition for strength training or just as a sport itself. The benefits are: loss of body fat, better strength endurance, better flexibility and coördination and, last but not least a better grip.

All the best and best of luck with you training,          

Stefan Falke                                           

 

Jimmy 'the Beast' Laureys: Belgian's Strongest Man

Interview by Theo Burggraaff:

At just 26 years old, Jimmy Laureys is currently Belgian's strongest man. He came from a powerlifting background, and is just a plain strong guy. He is an admirable and humorous guy, and dealt with some major setbacks in his life. But this didn't stop him!

Time for an interview with the Beast!

                         
BeyondStrong: Hello Jimmy, first of beyond strong would like to thank you for taking the time to talk with us. You have an impressive list of performances already at the young age 26. Have you always been strong?

Jimmy Laureys: If i must believe my parents yes :) . I always had a nag for strength . I started training when I was 15 years old , but it was for fat loss (I already was a big boy ) Starting  with the gym programs for a year. I never followed a  program, I just trained chest 2 times a week, arms 2 times, shoulders once and some abs, almost no legs. Well, maybe once a month and then only leg presses , leg extentions and leg curls.  Food program? " Whats that....? " I ate what my mother cooked, nothing more, nothing less. I didn't even know about the excistence of supplements, I just took a shake from the gym   (I believe it was a protein shake ). But still, I was strong bencher, pressing 150 kg raw , barbell curl 50kg, military press 105 kg , not bad for a young guy right?
One time a man came up to me and asked if I wanted to train with him ( Tierry De Ryke ) , he trained me to be like Franco columbo , he learned me the basis strength training (bench press, squat, dead-lift , c&j , snatch , and so on.... ) At 18 years old,I won my first power lifting competition in belgium, with a 280kg deadlift, a 200kg bench and a 275kg raw squat. I didn't use a suit or belt. I got the buzz, and I wanted more! So Thierry introduced me to Patrieck De Wiest (he was known to be te best trainer for body-builders in Oost-Vlaanderen ). They talked and Pat was very interested, but he didn't know much about strength or power-lifting. Eventually he learned all there was to learn, and put his knowledge on me and at the age of 19 I was at the next level! 330kg squat, 220kg bench and a 320kg deadlift and all done raw. 
I  was growing quick without suplements and good food and I was doing things that most people didn't believe..

BS: What other sports did you do?

JL: I did 2 years of karate, then some boxing. Now I only do some sparring at the gym ones or twice a week with a friend who is into all kinds of different combat sports. You can learn a lot this way!
On tuesday I practice American Wrestling in Antwerp, and occasionaly on saturday. It is just for fun with some friends. I know it's show but it's hard work! The hardest part is not to get hurt by your partner that you are up against. In 2008, around easter time I'm thinking about entering my first competition. But I'm hooked on strongman and that is what comes at 1st place :D

BS: When did you first start with strongman?

JL: When I was 19 years old  I entered my first strong man competiton, the 2001 Strongest Man of Vlaanderen (Flanders). Pat did this to test my capabilities and see how I would come out of it. I was the youngest together with an other guy ( Tom ). 12 Competitors were all above 28 years, the oldest being 38. It was a strong field.. There I did a car dead-lift that was loaded to 650kg,  no one believed what they saw, not even myself! I was amazed at what I did. Pat just stood aside and smiled...
I came in second place with 1,5 point short (damn!) but in 2002 I was back, but still no luck. I came 2nd again with just 0,5 points short.. Then something happend that I didn't expect, I had a motorcycle accident, and had to go into surgery. 4 Operations and 1 year of total rest, then 6 months rehabilition to learn how to walk again.. The doctors told me, with my right leg being so banged up, that I wouldn't be able to do any more sports again.. ( power-lifting and others strenght competitions ) .
1 month total meditation and consulting with friends and family.. My girlfriend was a big support and me to go back to the gym and there I was! Within two weeks I was squating, dead-lifting and everything else. I built myself up again with my trainer Pat and the help of my girlfriend Kelly.In summer 2004 I competed agian in strong man, in the Strongest Man of Ridderkerk in The Netherlands. Why Holland? In Belgium it strongman was dead, there were no competitions for 2 year..  I was reading articles of how to become strong and so forth and came across Real Dutch Power, a Dutch strongman site hosted by Jan Haaring. They were kinda talking down on the Belgian athletes. Are there any strongman left in belgium? do they still have competitions? If there are, do they dare to enter a strongman competition in Holland???  So I picked up the glove and came in 2nd place, again..:) I started to grow a strong urge to compete and win, to go on a long quest and try to build up strongman in Belgium, and I did.

BS: Can you tell us something about your current stats? Weight, height, etc.

JL: Height: 1.93 m. Weight: 148 kg. 3 Times Strongest Man of Belgium. (no one is my equal in Belgium so far..) and Strongest Man of Vlaanderen (Flanders). I have some titels in holland as well, but then u must check out my site ;)

http://thebelgianbeast.atspace.com/index.html

BS: What are some of your best lifts?

JL: Dead lift: 365 kg, partial DL: 405 kg, Squat: 345kg, bench: 230kg, C&J: 165kg, push press behind the neck : 205 kg.  ( I will put it on youtube later on )
Hammer curls: 50 kg, leg press: 850 kg, log lift: 165 kg (150 kg 1 leg like Jarno Hams, did that on a demonstration) car dead lift: 750 kg. Too much to tell you everything, you should just come and see my lift!

BS: A lot of people want to do strongman, but don't have acces to all the  equipment. What do you think are some of the most important lifts?

JL: You have to look at what they use in most strongman competitions, DL, farmers walk, log lift, stones, yoke, medley, trucks, tire flip, carry and drags. A strongman must be extremely strong but must also have a great endurance and spirit. You can do a lot in the gym, but not everything. Look around and ask around, some people are happy to get rid of some stuff, for example a farmer or garages have big tires we can use, they have to pay to get rid of them, so the are very happy to give them away for free. Or construction sites, look trough the scraps (iron bars ,big and small , big rocks or boulders ). A car graveyard is also a cool place to plunder hahaha!! Or just ask the man that is walking around. For some things you have to pay but it's not expensive , mostly it's for free ).

BS: What does your current training schedule look like?

JL: I'ts a mixture of power-lifting and body-building  (I respond best to this.) 2-3 Strength exercises and 2 mass and 1 isolation exercise. 3 Times in the gym and 1 time at home doing event training ( we have build a lot of stuff ourselves haha!). So  4 times of intense training ( I always go all out even in training).
I always try to keep changing my gym and event training schedule, so that your body doesn't get used to the exercises and always gets shock therapie, hahaha!

BS: Who is your favorite strongman from the past?

JL: Like most people Jon Pal Sigmarson and Bill Kazmaier. But I also was fond of Manfred Hoeberl and Hugo Girard, as well as Svend Karlsen. (I love these guys, the karma and power they bring is great to see).

BS: How about today? Who do you admire in the strength field?

JL: Zydrunas and Mariusz (simply wow !). There are other guys too, but they come and go, so I'm not sure of them. 

BS:How much accessory work do you do? GPP, cardio stretching?

JL: Once a week cardio at the gym for 30 min, but most of the cardio comes from my medleys ( it's breath taking..OUCH!) Stretching I do a lot, it is inportant to be big and strong, but also flexible. Grip training, I almost do not do this , but I toy with weights a lot, like deadting 300kg and let the bar rest only on finger tips. I know this gives me a great grip. I'm good with Farmers walk , and it improves my grip as well. I just toy with weight to see how far my grip can go and what I can indure , no special exersises for the grip ,just for lower arms some wrist rolling and reverse barbell curls.

BS: What will be the next event where we can see you in action?   

JL: 17th of June in the Dutch Grand Prix 28th of July in the Strongest Man of Vlaanderen, 19th of August in the International Strong Man Competition the Schweizer Meistershaft. Maybe there will be more we will see.

BS: Before we part, do you have any advice for our readers who want to become a strongman?

JL: Keep doing the hard work and the basis of strength is still the best way to gain strength, eat good , and take care of your supplements. Look at what you are taking in and what it does to your body. Keep your mind on the job, do you want to be strong or just go with the flow? For no heart comes only the sun, for the rest sweat and blood brothers. Thanks Theo good luck to you and the readers of this blog!

Greetz   Jimmy " The Beast " Laureys      

 

Dries Willaert

My friend, upcoming strongman and top powerlifter Dries Willaert has been knocking on records from the young age of 16 years. Now 19 years old, it was time for an interview!

 

   !BLOOD and GUTS!                                                                          

How did you get into working out with weights and at what age? As a young teenager I was a little obese, so I started to diet. One of my school buddies told me he went to the gym, and he asked me if I wasn'€™t intrested to go with him because his old training partner had stopped. I first entered the gym on the 6th of june 2003. The first weeks we only trained upper body and from time to time we would use the leg press but that's it. I was 15 at that time, and weighted 63kg

 

What made you decide to start with powerlifting?

After a few weeks I noticed a sheet with the Belgian records of squat€, €œbench-press, deadlift and €œtotal. The only thing I had ever heard of was bench-press, I didn’t know what the other three things were. Then somebody explained the movements of squat and deadlift to me, and made clear that total is the total of the best lifts from each movement. That same evening I stepped on the platform, loaded 90kg and pulled it like it was nothing. I got some help with technique and after only 3 weeks of training the deadlift I pulled 150kg. My bench-press and squat were really lacking behind at that point, with 50kg and 80kg respectively, so I knew I was a born deadlifter. The gym owner was also very impressed by my pulling power, and asked me if I wasn'€™t intrested in competing in the Belgian Championship Single Deadlift in octobre. Obviously I entered and pulled 170kg. Two weeks later I competed in a full powerlifting championship from another federation, where I lifted 140 -€“ 70 -175 kg in the 13/15 -67.5kg class. That was the start of my journey :)

Already at a very young age, you had quite a few accomplishments in the powerlifting scene. Could you tell me what kind of records you have achieved?

  I'm two times world champion in the GPC. My best competition lifts (all -110kg class): Squat: 290kg Bench-Press: 200kg Deadlift: 300kg Total: 780kg In training I have done squat 325kg, bench-press 215kg and deadlift 315kg. Note that all my powerlifts are geared maxes. A few other gym feats are 135kg push press and  a front squat triple with 175kg.

I also have a few international records in the GPC:

World Record Bench-Press with 200kg @ 16/17
-110kg European Record Bench-Press with 190kg @ 18/19years
-110kg European Record Deadlift with 300.5kg @ 18/19
-110kg European Record Total with 780kg @ 18/19
-110kg European Record Squat with 290kg @ 16/17
-110kg European Record Deadlift with 280 @ 16/17
-110kg European Record Total with 745kg @ 16/17
-110kg European Record Squat with 270kg @ 16/17
-110kg European Record Bench-Press with 200kg @16/17
-110kg European Record Deadlift with 260kg @ 16/17
-110kg European Record Total with 702.5kg @ 16/17
-110kg European Record Deadlift with 216kg @ 16/17 -75kg

You are now also a strongman competitor, what made you decide to do so?

During the summers of 2005 and 2006,  I competed at the Strongest Man of Merchtem, a local C-class competition, because someone from Merchtem invited me. 2005 was really great, because it was a very nice competition. I finished 6th that year I think. I wanted to compete again next year, and try to compete in the Strongest Man of Flandres as well. But then It went all wrong :) during a deadlift training at the end of June 2006, I injured my back really bad, mainly because of a muscle inbalance. I almost couldn'€™t move for 2 weeks and I couldn'€™t train for 7 weeks, so the only thing I was doing during the Strongest Man of Flandres was watch and hope my back would be better for the other competition. About one week before the Strongest Man of Merchtem 2006 I was able to train again, so with not much hope up I went to compete, totally unprepared, and finished 4th. Strongman was still not important at that time, my focus still laid 100% on powerlifting. Mind I had never done any kind of event training then. Novembre 2006 was the world championship powerlifting, and to make things short, I hated it. I didn'€™t like powerlifting anymore, I was tired of the suits, shirts, strict rules, all the categories, :). (note: no federation in special, i'm talking general powerlifting). I wanted a new challenge, something that is pure: raw lifts, less rules and less categories. So it'€™s obvious Strongman was the new challenge I was looking for. I began to gather a few implements to train events at home and I met Jimmy Laureys (Strongest Man of Belgium) again at that point. I knew him from my early days because he was also competing at my first powerlifting competitions, but I haven'€™t heard from him since. He was the strongest guy I had ever seen! He has helped me alot with technique on the events, I consider him as my mentor. I usually go train with him every last week of the month. So now I only train for strongman, powerlifting isn’t the goal anymore.

Psyching up!!

Could you explain us your training schedule?

Monday: off or some grip work Tuesday: Bench-Press + Deadlift + assistance Wednesday: off Thursday: Overhead + Speed Deadlift + Olympic Lifts + assistance Friday: Squat + Front Squat + assistance Saturday: off Sunday: Events This is my routine very briefly. The exercises can sometimes be slight difference, rack pulls instead of deadlift for example. The most important thing is that I change between HEAVY and REP every week (except events). A heavy week consists of lots of singles and triples, and some low rep work on the assistance exercises (6 or less reps). During rep week I do lots of volume, 8 rep benches and deadlifts for example. Assistance work is also higher in volume then (8 to 12 reps). Every last week of the month I deload, so I only do some assistance work then. The olympic lifts on Thursday don't follow the rep scheme, I always do triples or doubles on them, but on heavy weeks I do clean & jerk, and on rep weeks I do snatches. Assistance work is most of the time: Tuesday: biceps, triceps, chest Thursday: shoulders, triceps Friday: legs, back, calves On Sunday, I always go heavy on the events, so this is different from the gym training. I always try to do some overhead, some walking, some flipping and some loading. I usually do 4 or 5 events. These days are very good to work on technique and speed.

You have also told me about your interest in grip, and that you are close to getting the #3 gripper. How do you fit this into your schedule?

As you can see in my routine, I try to train grip on Mondays, but it isn'€™t always easy because my hands can be very sore after event training, especially if I used the axle. But if it is possible, I try to do some sets with a filed down #2, a few with a SuperMaster (Baraban) and maybe some negatives with the #3.

I know your girlfriend is also a powerlifter, is she also your training partner? Or do you train with other guys as well?

It may sound weird to some guys, but my girlfriend is indeed my training partner. Her name is Erin Vermeulen, she is a very strong at just 16 years old. Her best lift is the bench-press, she can triple 65kg (raw!!) only weighting 53kg herself! We have trained on the same routine for some time, but she isn't really interested in event training, so we decided that a separate routine would be better for her. She is concentrating on the olympic lifts at the moment, and begins to be good at it too. Damn I'€™m so jealous of her snatch technique! ;) I like training with her, because I can't fail when my girlfriend is watching, right? When I don't feel like doing some exercise, she slaps me in the face and forces me to do it, so I have a lot to thank her for. Also because of the training I wouldn'€™t be able to see her a lot, so it'€™s very nice to see her every day, at home or in the gym. And the most important thing I love about the fact that she'€™s working out: she has one hell of a squat ass :D Besides Erin, I sometimes train with Kenny (Tuesdays) and Jimmy (some event days).

What are your future goals, in powerlifting/ strongman?

In short time, I'€™m focussing on the Strongest Man of Flandres this summer, where I hope to be in the top 3, to qualify for the Strongest Man of Belgium next year. In the future I hope to earn a pro card and compete in international IFSA competitions. For the moment, I have no plans for starting with powerlifting again. But I'm still young, everything is possible. Never say never!

Do you have any advice for the readers of Beyond Strong?

Get yourself a girlfriend as training partner ;) I would like to thank Theo for this opportunity, my girlfriend for all of her support, love and motivation, and my sponsor www.prometeus.nl for their trust in me.

Thanks you for this interview, Theo Burggraaff

  Dries Willaert

Born: 15/01/1988
Height: 184cm
Weight: 114kg
Occupation: Student Accountancy – Fiscal Law

Website: Team Forza