Using odd objects in training isn’t reserved for just the old time strongmen. In fact, research has just been confirming what the great Paul Anderson knew about partial training and other effective means of increasing strength from years ago. Nonetheless, coaches in the trenches have long been ahead of performance studies. Show me the research!” But, there isn’t any research. You may be thinking, “Josh, this doesn’t sound all that scientific.

You worked the “heck” out of the stabilizers” (Kubik, p. You got into the muscle areas you normally don’t work. In the famous book Dinosaur Training, the author, Brooks Kubik states, “You feel as sore as you do because the bags (sandbags) worked your body in ways you could not approach with a barbell alone. Therefore, you can expect a greater carry over to your lifting performance. The biggest difference between odd object lifting and functional training is that with odd object lifting you train these muscles in a similar manner as you do in your lifting. What would be more effective is to change the dynamics of the lift slightly to stimulate new recruitment patterns and increase the use of often neglected muscles. But performing a military press while balancing on a Swiss ball seems to do very little for both the trunk and shoulder stabilizers unless you are a complete newbie to training where anything will work. What made functional training such a buzz was the idea that it trained stabilizers and used movements that are hard to replicate using just standard methods of training. However, various aspects of strongman training are a perfect compliment to any training routine. I’m not suggesting that you drop barbell and dumbbell work. The obvious questions come up: “Why can’t I just use dumbbells/barbells?” and “How does this make me any stronger or bigger?” Some may roll their eyes at the idea of another fad coming along. However, more and more people are adding strongman training to their routines.

To get strong, lean, and, dare I say “functional,” you must squat, deadlift, lunge, press, pull, and carry weight. In an industry of fads and gimmicks, we have to ask ourselves, “What’s next?” The future seems to hold many of the same lessons the past has already taught us. People have found that what has been deemed “functional training” for the past fifteen years does not produce the results it promises.

Slowly but surely, it seems the age of bouncing on big, beach balls and dancing on whoopee cushions is coming to an end.

Dinosaur deadlift program