Recently I had the opportunity to talk with Chase Karnes on strongman implementations, overtraining, and nutrition for a heavy training load. For those of you who don’t know Chase, he’s a strongman, strength coach, and trainer that gets amazing results with his clients. He has a strict lead-from the front policy that I love and agree with. For those of you who do know him, you know that you’re in store for some awesome information.
–Chase, thanks for taking the time to do this interview. I appreciate it and I hope both of our readers can will get some great information out of it. First, what are your current personal goals? I know you’ve been recently working to bring your deadlift up, and I’m sure it has to do with bringing up your competitiveness in strongman comps. What specifically are you going for?
First of all I appreciate you asking me to do this interview, Mike. I love talking training and everything related – especially with like minded people. As for my current personal goals I have quite a few. I’ve definitely been bringing my deadlift up and luckily it still seems to be on the rise. I’m planning to pull 650 sometime this spring/summer and my ultimate goal is to hit 700+. And you are correct; it definitely has to do with bringing up my competitiveness in strongman. At 2010 NAS Strongman Nationals I bombed the deadlift event and scored zero points. I tied with a couple of other guys for last place which was 19th place or so I believe. That wasn’t acceptable and then and there while still standing at the car deadlift I told myself that wouldn’t happen again. Fast forward to 2011 NAS Strongman Nationals and the outcome was much more acceptable, although still not where I want it. I tied the 2011 National Champ, Carlos Reyes, for 5th place on the car deadlift. Huge improvement over the year before, but I still haven’t reached where I know I’ll end up on that event. As for other goals I’ve got specific numbers for most major lifts and some strongman events that I want to reach this year:
Yoke Carry – Consistently carry 700 pounds effortless.
Log Clean & Press – 330
Axle Press – 340
Deadlift – 675
Back Squat – 500
Bench Press – 400
Atlas Stones – Load a 360+ stone
Axle Clean & Press – 300
Another goal of mine is to total Elite raw in a powerlifting meet in the 198 class.
My biggest goal for 2012 is to win the NAS Strongman National Championship in the lightweight 200 class.
Chase NOT lifting heavy stuff.
–Can’t wait to see you there, Chase. What sort of strongman implements do you use for training your clients? Obviously it depends on the goals, but could you give us some examples?
This is definitely one of those “it depends” questions. I do incorporate strongman implements into some of my clients programs, but honestly it’s probably less than some may think. One of my rules while training clients is, “Do no harm”. With that being said strongman is an inherently dangerous sport.
The events you’ll find most often incorporated into my client programs are:
Farmers Walks
Log Clean & Press
Axle Press/Push Press (Out of rack)
Deadlift
16-18 inch Deadlift
There are also exercises that some people consider “strongman training” that I incorporate such as:
Prowler pushes
Sled Drags
Car pushing
Sledgehammer swings
I do have some select clients that either possess the mobility/strength/flexibility and mental capabilities to perform some more “advanced” or “dangerous” strongman lifts. They also specifically request incorporating some strongman movements into their workouts. For these clients I’ll sometimes include:
Tire Flips
Atlas Stones
Conan’s Wheel
Yoke Walk
Yoke Walk: Try doing these and staying small.
I’ll keep my athletes off of the majority of strongman equipment with the exception of farmers walks, log clean & press, axle press (I actually now use Fat Gripz a lot for this) and the deadlift. The risk is too high. Even if little Johnny wants to flip a tractor tire it’s not worth taking a chance of him tearing a bicep or straining his back (both can easily done on a tire flip if done incorrectly). His mom and dad aren’t going to be too happy, he’s going to be out some playing time and most of all I just broke my rule of “Do no harm”.
I do train some strongman competitors and I have had some former athletes I train get into strongman after they were done with their chosen sport. At this point they will do all strongman events they are capable of.
–What are some fundamentals that your clients expect to see in his/her routine? For example, I rarely (if ever) take the squat out of a program, however altered it may be. What are you go to movements?
For the most part every client I train is going to deadlift, squat, press, pull, hinge and carry (or a variation of each of those movements). I’ve worked with kids as young as 6 and people as old as 74. They all do those movements. Some of them may not be loaded, but they still train the movement pattern whether it’s in a warm up or workout. There are always exceptions to the rule though, but these are far and few between.
–Having dabbled in strongman training, I know for a fact the calorie expenditure is pretty substantial. What’s your take on this, and how does one engaging in these movements adjust accordingly?
You are correct. Strongman training can really increase ones calorie expenditure. The way someone would adjust to this is really dependent on their own personal goals. If we are talking a competitive strongman then the process begins the day before. I normally recommend taking in 300-500 grams of carbohydrates the evening before an intense training session. It’s the food you’re eating the evening before that’s actually fueling the session, not your breakfast on the day of. Some days I train completely fasted with the exception of some BCAAs. Other days I’ll train on a couple scoops of protein in some unsweetened coconut milk. I never have a large breakfast before strongman training days. After a training session I’ll follow it up with a protein shake, but other than that I normally eat fairly light through the day. Mainly because it’s a Saturday and I’m busy doing other things and not worried much about food. That evening though is a different story. My go to meal is normally 12-15 oz. Steak, baked potato or sweet potato loaded, bread and a salad. Sometimes I’ll follow that up with some junk food and a protein shake.
For someone who’s just throwing in some strongman for fun or even fat loss it’s really just going to depend on their current caloric needs. As a general rule I’d say those who are doing it just for fun should increase calories slightly the day before and/or the day of. For those after fat loss I would continue eating for that goal.
–It seems that many strongman competitors seem to have the “inside scoop” on true training capacity. Beyond years of practice, what is your secret/methods to building a very high work capacity, or do you tend to veer toward the ‘easily overtrained’ mentality?
It’s funny you ask that. Just today I was driving and started thinking about “overtraining” and all the different opinions, theories, etc. While I don’t think one is overtrained easily, I make sure every part of every training program I write has a purpose and never program things without reason. Work capacity is going to vary from individual to individual on a needs basis.
If I’m not currently training for a competition my main focus in the gym is increasing overall strength. My event days are focused on setting PRs with times, weights or reps normally. Event days aren’t as structured as my “gym lift” days, but there is a general template I abide by when not preparing for a specific competition. I always try make sure to hit a medley (2 events back to back without rest. Ex. Tire Flip 50 ft. immediately to Famers Walk 50 ft.). This helps keep my conditioning at an acceptable level.
When I have a specific competition coming up I’ll analyze every event and my training will reflect it exactly. Everything I’m doing in the gym then is specific for a certain event (or to help keep things in balance and prevent injury). Depending on the competition some will require a very high work capacity and others won’t. As long as I have a good base when the events are announced for the competition (usually 8 weeks before), then getting conditioned for the competition is normally simple. Simple, not easy though.
As for the “easily overtrained” mentality, I don’t think it’s that easy. I know it’s possible, but with smart programming it’s not going to happen. Everything should be programmed according to goals. When this is coupled with proper recovery methods overtraining should be nonexistent.
–Your name has risen relatively quickly in this industry, and I expect to see a ton more from you on a regular basis. Is there anything we should be watching out for from you in the near future?
As of right now my main focus is getting my clients the best results possible. I’m currently also working on a book on programming for strongman. It’s definitely going to be geared towards the strongman competitor, but there is also going to be some great information that can be applied to anyone’s training. I’ll be speaking in May at Denison University at the “Central Ohio Strength & Conditioning Conference”. I also plan to attend and possibly speak at a few more seminars/conferences this year. I’ve also got an article coming up on EliteFTS on how I added 100 pounds to my deadlift in less than year. Other than that I’m sure I’ll have some more articles and interviews popping up from time to time. I also keep a training log, nutrition log (occasionally), links to articles and blog post when I have the time at ChaseKarnes.com.
If you want to see Chase smashing big weight on Deadlift go here.
