When we added Jim Hoskinson to the staff, the collective resolve and determination of Team EliteFTS increased dramatically. This is because resolve and determination are what Jim is about – so much so that he’s been making a noticeable difference on our Q&A since the very first day he was added to it.

Several years ago, while performing various feats of strength for a Christian power team, Jim horrifically tore both quadriceps muscles and ruptured his patella tendons. Since this injury took place in rural Alabama, the nearest hospital was a two hour ride away. Jim sat in the hospital for more than thirteen hours with no pain medication, and he wouldn’t enter surgery until over twenty-eight hours after he was hurt.

Following surgery, doctors gave Jim little chance to walk again. Lifting, they said, would be completely out of the question.

Today, Jim has totaled over 2,500 pounds in the 308 lb. class, is both an APF Senior National and WPC World Champion, and has competed in the WPO. Jim’s message to all is very simple: If there is a will, there’s a way, and it can be done. Jim is the owner of Ironworks Gym, Stand Strong Training and Strength Equipment, and Huge Iron Distributing.

The APF Alabama Pro/Am Recap

I went to the APF Pro-Am this weekend. My meet was a little bittersweet, but I've never had such a great learning experience or left a meet with such excitement to get back to training.

I would like to first say that it was great to see some of my good friends in powerlifting. Garry Frank, Greg Therriot and John Ewing were there. Greg helped handle me. I’m truly lucky to have such good friends. I also saw Kara B, who is a great lifter and person. I also saw fellow Team EliteFTS member Chris Clark -  who is an absolute monster - and he was also very helpful. I didn’t realize how knowledgeable he is, and learned so much talking to him. Buddy McKee has become a good friend, and he went out of his way to put on a good meet. It was an honor to be part of it and I will return next year. Gadsden, Alabama is a truly beautiful town with beautiful lakes and mountains. The APF vice president and his wife were there, as well as my good friend Ricky Lawrence. They were extremely professional and made the meet run very smoothly.

My wife could not join me at this meet which made things feel like they weren’t exactly the same. However, my training partner Keith helped me drive there and handle me, and made things go as smoothly as possible. For a sport we compete in alone, it's funny how we couldn’t do it without our friends. Now, on to the meet:

I finally wore my Metal Ace Squatter. I squatted 1107 on my second attempt, and I took 1140 for a ride for my third. I lost my balance with the 1140 coming up. This happened because the bar was too high and my weight shifted to my toes at the top. I'm actually more excited about this than my successful second attempt, because I know I can get it. In the bench, I wanted to use my old shirt to get an opener to keep my record squat. On my opener I dropped the weight (644) to ensure I would get it. When trying to touch, I felt my shirt starting to rip in the seam and I told them to grab it. I went up just a little bit (661) and made the shirt looser. We checked the shirt and it was just a little torn on one layer under my arm.

At this point, I was thinking that since my opener was light for me, I would keep the same shirt to ensure that I stayed in the meet, using my new shirt for my third attempt. On my way down, the shirt blew and I dumped the weight. This left me in a strange situation. My new shirt was a backup. I had done 720 in the gym with it, but I was extremely nervous and was unsure how to set it since it felt a lot tighter than it had in the gym. I elected to go with 705, keeping the collar up and not securing the back. The weight felt light in my hands. I've done this several times before, and I felt good about it. When cutting my elbows to touch, I cut too much for this shirt. It went too low and I dumped it, experiencing my first bench bomb out.

After four years of use, my old shirt is in the trash can. I'll be getting a new, larger Metal Scoop Neck to open in from now on, using the other one for my second and third attempts. I learned a lot and, as of this writing, my next bench day is tomorrow. I want to get an official bench in my new gear before my next big meet this summer, so I’m going to do the Gulf Coast Classic (bench only) on April 12. I'm going to treat it like a workout.

I do want to mention that several people at the meet came up and thanked me for my logs. This caught me by surprise, and it was extremely important to me that they would say something. Their comments were very positive. This has made me even more motivated to put even more time into this. I want to thank these people for their comments.

Never Retreat - Never Surrender

This is Frankie Harper. I have been helping Frankie at the gym here for the last few months, and his story is nothing short of miraculous. You see, Frankie was diagnosed four years ago with stage 4 throat cancer. He went through the most painful and intense radiation and chemo treatments imaginable. Through surgery he lost his saliva glands, the lymph nodes on his left side, and part of his neck. They did all they could do except for prayer.

Now, whether you are a religious person or not, there are times in life where you can find a sense of faith through another man’s spirit. Frankie never gave up or doubted his purpose. He would not give in, and slowly got stronger on his own. Even though he went from 198 pounds to 113 pounds in six months and had to rely on a feeding tube for over a year, he fought to learn how to talk and eat, and eventually returned to his job on light duty. That is when he honored me and my gym by asking for my help in regaining the strength he once had and the quality of life he is determined to have again. He is making incredible strides and has now returned to work full time. He's made commitments to good nutrition and daily workouts that have helped him put on weight and regain much of the feeling he’d lost. He truly believes there are no limits for him and I must say, after working with him, neither do I. His friendship is something I am proud of. I find myself training with a more determined focus and sense of gratitude since I've worked with Frankie. I can only hope, after meeting him, that his story has the same effect on you.

A Story of Hope

Something very cool happened at work. A person showed courage to me and I am very thankful. I've received several phone calls and emails over the past few days. All of these were encouraging, and I appreciate every one. One in particular stood out, and I would like to share it with you.

I received a call from a man in Minnesota. For such a big man, this gentleman seems to have equally as big a heart. He had let his weight go to a point where he had to seek medical help, and, as I understand it, had given up on himself enough to let himself go. He's a strong man of faith, but he’d lost his faith in himself. I listened as he told me his story. I was wondering why he was telling me these things, and why he would call me. He asked me to listen. As I did, I have to admit that part of my mind was on my own problems at the time. Then he shared with me the fact that he was a powerlifter and knew my story.

He said that he was facing some major health hurdles and had wondered if he had what it took to fight the way he should for the quality of life he deserved. I started to listen more intently to his words, because I could hear in his voice that his words were heartfelt. Then he said he would like to thank me for the logs that I have written, and talked about how much this website and the people on it had given him new hope. He said that by applying the information that this website provides he has lost the weight he needed to, that he is no longer at risk, and that hopefully he’ll soon be competitive in powerlifting again. Then it hit me. We all have a responsibility and duty to do what we can to help others. You see, this man called me to thank me for helping him - a man I don't really know. In reality, he was helping me so much more.

I absolutely love this sport that I’m in and the good it can do on all levels. I also think that the way we handle adversity can help everyone around us. Don't we all owe it to ourselves and others to absolutely, without waiver, never give up?

A New Tattoo

When my son was about a year old he was still having some health issues that stemmed from being born prematurely. I told my wife that I knew he was strong and would grow out of it – and that when he did, I'd get a tattoo to honor him. Well, it's been a while and he is doing great. I decided that his handprint would be the tattoo I would want. He is four now, and I thought having him write his own name and having that put with the handprint would be perfect. I was gonna get it over my heart, but after talking to the tattoo artist, we thought it was better on my rib right below my heart. Here is a picture of it a couple of hours after it was done. It is his exact hand print in ink, with his writing transferred to a tattoo. I am very proud of it.

Two Iron Warriors

This is Carolyn. I have mentioned her before. She came in a year ago and could not walk without the use of a walker. She has fought Cerebral Palsy her whole life. Three months ago, she reached her goal of walking a mile and being able to pickup her grandchild. CP took over her life at 42. Now, in her fifties, she’s walking better than she has in years. After a two mile walk on the treadmill and a circuit workout, I interrupted her while she was motivating some of the morning members to take this picture. We call her the “Fallen Angel.”

This is Jack, who’s on his sixth week with me. He comes every day. He made it 150 steps today while stepping up on a brick - with no help and a twenty-five pound chain around his neck. Some people stay after their workouts just to watch and root him on.

It's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get up that counts. I'm honored that they are my friends, and not just my clients.

Over the last few years, there's been a young man who has pretty much grown up in the gym. He always seems to be hanging around somewhere, but never really acting comfortable like he wanted to be there until four weeks ago when he asked me to help him get bigger and stronger.

He had been around the gym for a while, and I had always hoped that he would have an interest in lifting weights. He's a very smart fifteen year-old kid who’s extremely bright, with a good heart and a strong sense of right and wrong. His mom had gotten divorced when he was young, and had remarried. Even though she was very happy, I had always hoped that he would be happy too. He was quiet and small for his age. I have known him for a good long time now. He is the most honest kid I know, and as he has gotten older our friendship has grown and we've always hit it off. I never wanted to push weightlifting on him, because he’s always seemed kind of intimidated at the gym.

People have always thought he was younger than he actually was. His friends were always into athletics more than he was. So when he was hanging around the gym I always thought it best just to make him feel at home, hoping one day he would just pick up some weights. Well, that day came four weeks ago. We pull the sled together and he's already gained almost ten pounds now. The other guys at the gym are encouraging him. He's starting to come out of his shell, and people are seeing what a cool fifteen year-old kid he is. In fact, he's box squatting, doing banded bench presses and flipping tires. We work out four days a week, and I was so impressed with him that I hired him to help out around the gym and gave him his first real job. He works part-time two days a week after school. I have known him for the past seven years, and this last month is the most positive I have ever seen him.

You see, he is my step-son and one of my dearest friends. When I met him he wasn't sure how to be a step-son, and I wasn't sure how to be a step-dad, so we made a deal with each other to never lie no matter what and the rest will take care of itself. I never knew if the example I was setting was good enough or made a difference until these last few weeks, when every day he pats me on the back and says, "Thanks, Pops.”

Q&A

You’ve stated in the past that the sled is better than any elliptical. Why do you feel this way, and how do you use the sled for this purpose?

When I said it was better than any treadmill, elliptical or stair stepper, I want you to know I have not been dragging the sled or powerlifting for more than five years. I've owned a gym for sixteen years now, and for years I would do morning conditioning on a elliptical and a bike. I’ve even taught spinning. I sometimes, because I enjoy it, ride a spinning bike now. This is what I have experienced. Please keep in mind, I did not say that about the elliptical sarcastically.

There is a need for machines like that because not everyone is capable of doing the cardio that the sled, Conan's wheel, weighted wheel barrow, etc, provide. When we do the sled for cardio and knee and leg rehabilitation, we pull it a few hundred yards, trying not to stop, with as much weight as we can handle. Even when we do have to stop, we do not let ourselves stop for too long. Therefore, your heart rate stays in a target range for well over thirty minutes while building strength in your lower back, hamstrings and hips, and strengthening the patella tendons in your knees. There are other forms of what I call functional cardio, but I feel the sled is the best. I hope I have answered this clearly enough and hope it can help.

Can you give me some advice on helping one of my athletes recover from a ruptured ACL?

I would be glad to help in any way I can. Please keep in mind, my injuries were two quad tears and two patella replacements. These are different than the injury you have spoken of. However, a lot of similarities in rehab will be there. As I understand it, the ACL is a ligament and ligaments connect bone to bone in the body. Tendons connect muscle to bone.

Let me share some rehabilitation techniques that I have had success with over the past few years with several clients. Remember, I do not know when your athlete got hurt, yet I assume he is mobile and can do basic movements. With this in mind, four days a week he will drag a sled at least 200 yards forward and 200 yards backwards. At the end of this he will do leg extensions, for whatever weight he can do, for at least 3 sets of 50 reps without stopping and then sitting calves for whatever weight he can do for 3 sets of 50 reps. For now, in an additional once a week workout, he will do step-ups to a bench knee high for sets of 10. If it gets easy, add weight. Right after that, when the step-ups are done with confidence and the sled dragging has increased in weight, start him wide box squatting with mini-bands for sets of 3. Each week go lower, and make sure you do 10 sets. From there you’re off to the races with plyos and explosive movements.

I hope this gives you some fresh ideas and can help this young man. I wish both him and you success.

After your injury, did you have to train or rehab it in a special way? Or did you just let time heal you?

There is so much involved in answering this question properly, but I would like to sum it up in the following manner:

The answer to your question is yes, but it wasn't just my body I had to heal. It was also my mind and my attitude. In short, with Louie Simmons’ help and support, I decided, once I got myself able to walk as best I could, to pull the sled one mile 183 days in a row at noon or as close to noon as possible - listening to the same music and wearing the same hat. During that time I healed my mind, my body and my belief in myself. I appreciate the interest.

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