Interview with Brent Barbe

Towards the end of 2010, I approached some of the strength enthusiasts, writers, strength coaches and personal trainers that I knew and asked them to do interviews.  Little did I know how much I would gain from doing this.

Without exception, I was simply blown away by their generosity.  They all gave freely of their time and expertise in discussing all manner of training tips and issues and I learned a great deal from them.

If you missed any of them, you can find them here:

• Tim Henriques
• Bret Contreras
• Eric J Moss
• Rob Russell
• Steve Kamb (Nerd Fitness)
• Josh Hanagarne (World’s Strongest Librarian)

So I am both pleased and proud to announce that I am starting 2011 with a number of similar interviews, including this great interview with Brent Barbe, a multi-talented strength competitor.

Introducing Brent Barbe…

I find Brent incredibly instructive to correspond with, since, as well as being a seriously strong grip, strongman and highland games athlete, he is an extraordinarily level-headed and pragmatic competitor.  He has a unique and wholesome approach to competing and values competition in its own right as a way of improving as well as measuring progress.  I believe that he has a maturity in his approach to competition that you might otherwise expect only of a professional athlete.

CB: Brent, we’ve been corresponding about a few things for a while.  You seem to manage to fit a lot of different things in, including Highland Games, Strongman, grip competitions and preparing for lifting the Husafell Stone.  What is more, I know you have a demanding job.  How do you fit everything in?

BB: This last year I competed in 3 Highland Games, 2 Highlander games, 1 Strongman, 7 Grip competitions, and acted as support for my wife during 3 trail races.  I keep getting better and better at juggling everything but, it isn’t easy.

As far as work goes I still manage to get my training in largely by ignoring a seven day week.  What I mean is that I try to get to the gym as possible and needed rather than on a rigid Mon, Wed, Fri schedule.  That way I have more flexibility to recover from a comp or move things around for work.

Something else that has been very hard for me to accept is the idea that missing the gym because of work is a good thing.  I have a hard time getting myself to back off or deload.  So, if work prevents me from going a couple of nights then I look at it as extra rest.  I also think that putting something like that in a positive light helps in the long run.

As far as the focus of my training goes, I’ve tried to optimize things as much as possible to benefit all of my pursuits.  At the same time I have to force myself to admit that if I focus on one sport the others will, to some degree, suffer.

The one constant has been that getting stronger and staying healthy helps everything.  I put soft tissue and mobility work at the beginning of every gym session and have been hitting my deloads faithfully.  I think the the soft tissue and mobility work has helped keep me from getting injuries as often and recovering from them more quickly when they do happen.

CB: That seems like an incredibly mature approach to training.  I doubt I could ever be so logical and sensible!  I also have a bit of OCD in that I really like to train the same thing on the same day every week.  I am with you on the soft tissue and mobility work, though, as I find that when this is done frequently everything gets better.

Anyway, as I said in the introduction, I think you have a very individual approach to competing so let’s talk a bit about your competitions.  Before we do, though, I confess that don’t know much about the Highland Games.  Can you explain what is involved and what it is you like about it?

BB: The Highland games started in Scotland and have spread around the world.  Here in the US they are all over the place from spring to fall, usually combined with a festival of some sort.  Normally in the US a game will feature 5-7 of the 9 events.  The events are open stone, Braemar stone, heavy weight for distance,light weight for distance, heavy hammer for distance, light hammer for distance, weight over bar, sheaf toss, and caber.

The throwing events are just lots of fun.  It’s a completely different kind of strong than grinding out a dead lift.  When you finally get the movements down and you have a good day it’s like the weights throw themselves.  As far as the competitors go, I can’t say enough good things about them.  It’s one of the best crowd of athletes I’ve ever spent time with.  Everyone supports and pushes everyone else and the competitions are a blast to be part of.

CB: So I’ve heard.  But, as you’ve noted, Highland Games isn’t the only thing you compete in.  In fact, you compete in grip more often.  You recently competed in David Horne’s World’s Strongest Hands 2010 competition, taking 13th place.  Was that a good result for you?  Can you take us through that experience?  Are you planning to do more grip competitions in the future?

BB: I wasn’t thrilled with the 13th place but, I can’t complain.  Since I was really concentrating on the Husafell stone at the time I wasn’t able to put as much energy as I wanted to into my grip training.  I also wasn’t able to come into each leg as fresh as I might have liked.  Also, there were a lot of strong guys showing up and putting up good numbers.  If anything it just makes me look forward to next year and gives me a goal to shoot for.

The World’s Strongest Hands series was really an amazing event.  I can’t begin to imagine how much energy David had to put into that to make it happen.  Initially I had planned to only do 2 legs since I was so busy.  After the first I realized I was going to compete as long as I could complete the events.

Also, my wife Mary Ann was able to compete with me.  That was nice since we rarely get to do things like this together and it would make all of the travel more bearable.  With the events going on at different locations it made strategy different from a normal comp as well.  While you might be able to move past someone at your location you had to think about what had happened in Europe and what was going to happen in the West.  It made for a very interesting competition.

I just recently competed in Chris Rice’s Gripmas Carol competition on the 4th of December taking second place in the open class.  I managed to set a new PR in the two hands pinch lift with 230.42 lbs and 14th on the all time list.  I already have 2 competitions in the spring I plan to attend including US nationals.  I was able to take 3rd this year and would like to move up at least one more place  and I will be doing the World’s Strongest Hands series again at the end of the summer.

CB: Great stuff.  And competing seems to draw you very strongly but you have an unusual approach to competition focus and pschology.  You said to me recently that you don’t see competition as an aggressive act but a cause for great happiness.  Would you care to explain a little more about this?

BB: I love to compete.  At some point I realized that it wasn’t even about winning, it’s about getting together and trying to be your best.  At most competitions I’m enjoying myself regardless of where I’m placing.  I remember this really became clear to me when I heard another guy talking about how he needed to hate someone at a given competition so he could focus on that to drive him.  I thought that would just make for a miserable day.  For me competition is an opportunity to measure myself and push myself and others.

CB: But it’s not just competitions that motivate you, clearly, as you are currently training to go to Iceland to lift the Husafell Stone.  You wrote a post on Diesel Crew about how you came to have that goal.  How is the training going for that?  What kind of routine are you following?  Where is your head at regarding the lift at the moment?

BB: My training suffered a bit of a setback with a back injury.  Two weeks after that cleared up I was in a car accident on my way home from the gym and suffered some back issues as a result.  I don’t think I’ve ever focused as much on recovery and rehab as I did after those 2 accidents.  Except for that little blip I think my training has been going well.  I’ve gained some weight and a good bit of strength and my focus hasn’t wavered.

My routine is pretty simple,  I alternate lower and upper body days.  Within that I alternate between a dead lift and squat day for the lower body and a overhead and bench press based days for the upper body.  Recently I started doing my rows before the bench on bench day.  After all, I’m going to be hugging the stone, not pushing it.

For the main exercise I work 5 x 5 and only do the same exercise 2 weeks in a row. For my accessories I hit about 3 sets of each changing the reps from 6-8-10 after a week.  The variation has really been challenging and I think it’s kept me constantly moving forward.

As far as my thoughts on the lift right now, I wish I was a lot stronger and in better shape.  I’ve noticed that my conditioning has really suffered since I’ve started gaining weight.  I’m concentrating on bringing it up but, I do worry that it will be an issue.  As the date gets close I am getting nervous and excited.  I know that no matter what happens I killed myself in training and I am as prepared as I can be.  Also, the support I’ve gotten has really helped with keeping my head right about the lift.

CB: Well, I am sure that with your focus and level-headed approach you will be successful.  You seem to have made very consistent progress over the last few years and have moved onwards and upwards.  What do you attribute this continued success to?

BB: I think that my progress is in part focusing on so many different things.  By changing my goals and working on different things I don’t suffer from burnout.  I also think that the different styles of training have helped me avoid some of the more chronic injuries.  

CB: Speaking of injuries, you mentioned back injuries a moment ago.  I recall that you suffered a severe back injury in 2008.  Does it still affect you?  How did you stay motivated while laid up?  How do you work around it now?

BB: I have 2 severely herniated discs in my lower back.  The most important thing I learned, eventually, is that those discs will always be an issue.  I almost always wear a Rehband belt to keep the area warm when I’m training.  I’ve made changes to my work station to try and remove some of the stress to my lower back.  I’ve always got a rehab/prehab element in my training even if my back isn’t bothering my at the moment.

Also, I don’t let pride get in the way of backing off.  Backing off in a group training or competition setting can be the hardest part to do.  Sticking to all of these has kept me largely pain free.

When I do have issues I’ve now got enough experience under my belt to handle it a little bit better.  I know what rehab exercises I can start right away to relieve the pain and get me moving again.  I have found that bed rest is the worst and I try to keep moving however I can.  Mentally I have to focus on the long term.  Everyone has setbacks and loses training time to injuries you just have to accept that if you’re going to compete or push yourself. 

CB: Once again, this sounds incredibly pragmatic and sensible.  You are able to take the ego out of the equation in order to achieve your overall goals better.  So, finally, if someone is interested in getting more involved in grip or strongman-type training and competing, what would your advice be to them?  What kind of training would you suggest someone start with to build a base?

BB: One of the best things you could do is contact someone who’s been in the scene a while and train with them.  There’s no need to reinvent the wheel and it will keep you from developing bad habits.  In the US Highland Games aren’t that formally organized.  If you’re in the US, you can visit NASGA and make a post that you’re looking to start and you should be able to find a group not too far away from you.  For grip training you can checkout the Gripboard, Gripsport and Diesel Crew.

Training wise I don’t think you can go wrong with the basics.  Squats, dead lifts, and some pressing will get you started.

One thing I can’t emphasize enough is that competing is part of training.  I’ve heard a number of guys say they aren’t strong enough, or they’ll compete when they can do better.  If you wait until you can win to compete you might be waiting a long long time.  Actually stepping up will help focus your training, expose weak spots you didn’t know you had, and drive you to train harder.  It’s also a good opportunity to learn technique and strategy.  Putting yourself out there will only help make you a better athlete.

CB: I knew you’d say that.  Thanks for the great interview, Brent, and best wishes for Iceland.