Seasons of Strongman FAQs
If you are new to strongman or moving up the ranks from just getting started to preparing for wins that count, I know this book will help to get you there but let me set your mind at ease.
Why Seasons of Strongman?
This book has been the culmination of many years of learning about and applying all of the factors that go into making someone successful in the sport of strongman along with a very long time of letting the ideas marinate before the structure of the book came to mind.
In Canada, the sport of strongman/strongwoman is mostly seasonal because of the weather and the fact that most competitions are outdoors, which means that not much goes on competition-wise between November to April every year. This is where my original thoughts on the seasonality of strongman came from.
The purpose of the book and training programs is to serve as your guide through the seasons of at least 2 years in the sport. Year one follows the journey of you going from learning about and discovering the sport to trying out your first few competitions and taking that information to learn and grow. The second half of the book, which might be year two for some athletes or might take a bit longer for others to reach, is how to take the experience you’ve gained and turn it into winning at competitions.
I see this seasonal trend existing for most strongmen and strongwomen even though some parts of the world allow for year-round competition, usually the athletes who become champions and have the best longevity in the sport allow themselves an offseason where they train a little differently and allow the body some time to recover. Hence the name, Seasons of Strongman.
It’s also tied into the journey that we take when we get started in the sport.
I can wax philosophical all day about the whole seasonal theme and the Hero's Journey that this book takes you on an represents, but I’ll save that for another time.
Who’s This Book For?
This is a very good question as I want to address something that you may have already noticed about how I refer not only to the sport as strongman but also strongwoman. Because I coach both male and female athletes in the sport and strongwoman as a category is becoming more widely available and popular, I didn’t want to exclude a rapidly growing population of athletes in writing this book. This book is designed with the modern era of athletes looking to get started and advance their skill in the sport. That means that I’ve designed the training program to work with as many athletes as possible and I’ve included tons of info on customizing the training to suit your specific needs either for a lighter weight class or for strongwoman.
Plain and simple, Seasons of Strongman was written for all beginners in the sport looking to get started on their journey and then take the sport all the way to winning at shows.
Just as important as who this book is for, I want to make it clear who this book is not for.
It’s not for the weekend warrior who’s just competing to try something different by dabbling in the sport of strongman/strongwoman. You may not know how far you want to go in the sport but if you’re picking up this book you need to be ready to accept strongman or strongwoman as one of the top few priorities in your life for the next couple of years to do anything meaningful with the information in this book. If you’re not ready to prioritize your performance in the sport, I would suggest that you make use of all the free information online and just focus on having fun and staying safe.
The book also isn’t for advanced athletes. While I coach advanced nutrition and sports psychology and those sections in the book will be a benefit even to more advanced competitors, I haven’t written this book specifically for those athletes and the training is geared specifically towards getting novice competitors ready to compete and then ready to win once they’ve gained more experience.
Why should I buy this program book over any other program?
People who like to read as much as they can get their hands on about training, nutrition and sports psychology are going to love this book. But I think that you should choose whatever information style resonates most with you. If that means you think someone else’s training program will help you more, go for it. If you’re not sure, contact me at rj@rjkayser.com and I’ll help you find the program that’s right for you.
I’ve painstakingly gone through the process of writing this book like an actual book because that’s what I saw was lacking in the vast majority of training manuals out there and when I buy a program I want something worthwhile to read along with it that at least explains the rationale and thought process that went into it so that I can make adjustments if need be. Unfortunately, I’ve been disappointed too many times by paying for a training program that ends up being only 50 PDF pages long with wide margins and lots of photos to boot. While part of the process for writing the book was doing justice to that and writing for quality and lots of detail, simply writing about the journey from the beginning stages in the sport to winning in higher level competitions were going to make this into a proper length book the way I saw it.
Another thing that I’ve learned over the years of training and learning about the sport of strongman is that you don’t always want to go to someone who is a world-class athlete for advice because they were going to get to the top no matter what. There’s no denying that world-class athletes often have the genetics to facilitate their climb to the top, even if they also possess the grit and determination that it takes the rest of us to rely on. I don’t have all the answers in this book for becoming the national champion or World’s Strongest Man because I’m still working on my own journey to get stronger and win at higher level competitions and it has not come easy for me. I’ve had to put everything into big wins which I why I know all of the factors that other determined but inexperienced athletes need to take into consideration if they want to win as well.
In seeking out athletes to write about in his books, Tim Ferriss wouldn’t immediately go to the best in the world, but rather those who were one step down from that because those athletes were most likely to have spent more time studying the greats above them and had to work that much harder to get where they were at because they often don’t have quite the same genetic gift.
What format is the book in?
This book and it’s contents are entirely in digital format and will be delivered to you immediately upon purchase. While the size and quality of the book enticed me to publish it in a physical format, the best way to include all of the training programs and bonus content in the most accessible way possible was to package it all digitally. I put a lot of effort into designing the book to be perfectly compatible in ePub format and I’ve also included the PDF version for anyone that wants to print the book or just read it in that format. I’ve yet to find a book on training that isn’t published through the mass market channels like Amazon do this. The ePub format of the Seasons of Strongman book itself reads perfectly on a tablet or eReader just like an actual book and you can highlight it and jump to the different sections as you apply the information to help you through your journey.
The training programs and bonus content are packaged as PDFs but I’ve also included the original spreadsheets for anyone that likes to record their training right on a spreadsheet.
Any special equipment needed for the training programs?
The beginner training program works best if your gym has some open space to move around in, even if that means clearing a path between some equipment to have a straight run of 20 feet. Other than that I’ve designed the beginner program to work in any kind of gym that you go to. It’s meant to develop the specific strengths you will need when it comes to competing without relying on strongman equipment, which not every athlete has readily available to them. There have been several years throughout the seven years that I’ve been competing in strongman that I had to train in a regular commercial gym without access to the implements I would be facing in upcoming competitions and I had to get creative with my training in order to prepare and win at these competitions.
The intermediate / pre-competition program that is also included is a sample program with the instructions on how to design your own because every competition is different. I can show you how I’ve structured training for my biggest wins, but I can’t predict what the training you’ll need to include will look like so instead I broke it down step-by-step so that you can repeat it for your own needs when you’re ready to select a competition to be victorious at.
Is there a meal plan included?
Over the years of working with nutrition clients, I’ve learned that very few people will adhere to a meal plan because everyone’s food preferences are so individual.
Instead, the nutrition in the book practices the habit-based approach that I’ve seen be most effective and which I’ve learned over a dozen years of studying nutrition and being a Precision Nutrition certified coach.
Nutrition is one of the four pillars of a champion athlete that we work on building up in the book. Much of the practice will be in developing the habits that you’ll need in order to eat to get stronger and perform optimally come competition day. As you discover the nutrition strategies that work best for your recovery and performance, I’ve included the lists of foods that I recommend you base your diet around as you go from a beginner perhaps with very little understanding of nutrition, to an accomplished athlete using nutrition as one of your most critical performance-enhancing weapons.
While I encourage you to get as much of your nutrition from whole foods as possible, the book also includes an in-depth supplement guide for different key times throughout the year like in the offseason as well as the supplements that are backed by science to give you a performance boost on competition day.
What if I don’t like the book?
I’m extremely confident that you will love Seasons of Strongman and everything included with the program. My beta readers and editors for the book were extremely happy to read a book on training that flowed the way a book should and wasn’t just blocks of information placed together. The athletes that I had test out the training programs saw great strength gains as well.
I have no doubt that this book will be an invaluable guide to you over the next several years of your journey in the sport, which is why I’m giving you a risk-free 12 weeks to test out the training program and read through the book and additional material. I’ll even help you with customizing the training if you need some assistance of ideas of modification if you email me.
If you’ve put in the effort and given the training and information your best shot, I’ll return your money 100%.
What Is All Included In the Seasons of Strongman?
Along with the massive Seasons of Strongman book, I’ve created the following content to be included with the book and to help you on your journey to becoming a better strongman or strongwoman:
12-week Beginner Strongman/Strongwoman Training Program
Beginner Training Guidelines - Tips for the lifts in the program.
Sample Pre-Competition Training Program
How To Plan Your Training for a Specific Competition - Design your pre-competition program around the lifts you’ll be performing.
Bonus: Globo Gym Strongman Training - Lifts that mimic the strongman events you can do in any gym.
Bonus: Complete Pre-Competition Checklist - Don’t forget anything behind. Everything you’ll ever need to pack for a competition.
What if I don't want all of the beginner or intermediate content?
You asked and you shall receive.
I've received this request enough from lifters who either classify themselves as just starting out or advanced enough that they don't want the more advanced or beginner information, respectively, in the book.
With this in mind, I split Seasons of Strongman into two volumes for those of you inclined to save some money and get straight to the point with what information you're looking for. You can find Year 1 and Year 2 on the Seasons of Strongman landing page.