The Jim Hoskinson Story

By Jim Wendler

For www.EliteFTS.com

Jim Hoskinson’s story is amazing. It’s akin to something you would read in some motivational book or something that would air on a Dateline NBC. It’s these kinds of stories that keep you positive and let you know that good things really do happen to good people.

Several years ago, Jim was working for a Christian power team, performing various feats of strength and helping to preach the word of God. While performing in Alabama, Jim tore both quads and ruptured his patella tendons. Being in a rural part of Alabama, Jim took a 2 hour ambulance ride to the nearest hospital that could treat his injuries. As he arrived in the Emergency Room, a young man who was in a motorcycle accident arrived as he did and received immediate attention. Jim stayed in the hospital for over 13 hours with no pain medication. It was over 28 hours until he would enter surgery. The diagnosis was not good.

Needless to say, Jim was devastated. The doctors gave him little chance to walk again, let alone being able to lift. Being confined to a wheel chair and wearing leg braces only motivated him more. This is where powerlifting came in.

Jim had competed once before in powerlifting, but really had no idea about the sport. He entered his first meet years before on a whim and did ok. Now he was prepared to go at it full steam. But not as a bench specialist – he wanted to squat and pull.

One of the first things that Jim did was call Louie Simmons. He told Lou about his situation, but failed to mention the exact extent of his situation; namely that he could barely even move. Lou told him that sled dragging every other day would do wonders for his rehab. Jim asked him if he would get results from dragging the sled every day for a mile. “It will either heal you or kill you.” Jim chose for it to heal him.

Lou told him in passing that box jumps also helped some people increase their deadlift; obviously not directed at Jim. But that didn’t stop Jim. For three weeks Jim tried desperately to jump on to a 2x4. Yes, a 2x4. After many falls and near accidents, Jim finally did it. This was the turning point for him. All of his friends were there and both he and his wife were almost in tears.

Once he began walking, Jim took to the sled. He dragged the sled for one mile every single day! Forwards and backwards, Jim worked up to 3-4 plates on the sled. He would train his mind to deal with the pain.

In October 2005, Jim lifted in the WPO’s in Chicago. He squatted 1102. This is how he did it.

Jim’s Training Philosophy

• Train harder than the meet; make the meet easy. Jim’s training is brutal and this is how he likes it.
• Jim believes in bands and thinks they are the one of the biggest reason why his squat went up.
• Train your mind; this goes hand in hand with the first statement. Jim makes it a point to push his body to the point where he has to rely on his mind to get through the workout.
• Jim trains alone, although he does have some friends that hang out at his house and help run the Monolift for him. Believe it or not, he serves them food and drinks and when he needs a spot, they are there for him. Jim believes that training alone is good for him. Why? Because no one is telling him what he is doing wrong. As you will notice from his workouts below, he does a lot of things “wrong” if you listen to the experts.
• Jim is a former wrestler and fighter. He believes that his body has adapted to high volume work because of this.

Day I: Power Day for Squat/DL

Weeks 1-3

• Box squat with bands – 10 sets of 3 reps; all sets done at the same weight; improving each week. These are not necessarily speed reps but done fairly heavy.
• Max Effort DL Movement – This is usually high end deadlift work, usually consisting of rack pulls. On this movement, Jim works up to a 1RM
• Deadlifts against bands – 5 sets of 3 reps (with no belt); band tension is extremely heavy.
• Good Mornings – 4 sets of 5 reps; all sets are done without a belt
• Reverse Hyperextensions – 5 sets of 10-12 reps
• Seated Calf Raise – 4 sets of 100 reps

Weeks 4-6:

• Box squat with bands – 6 sets of 2 reps; all sets done at the same weight, trying to improve each week.
• (all assistance work after squatting is the same)

Weeks 7-9:

• Box squat with bands – work up to a heavy single each week, trying to improve
• (all assistance work after squatting remains the same)

Week 10

• Work up to a heavy single, no box, just briefs

Week 11-12

• Work up to heavy single with equipment

Week 13

• Deload

Day II: Accessories for Squat/DL

• Hack Squat – 8 sets of 10 reps as heavy as possible
• Leg Extension – 6 sets of 50-80 reps
• Seated Leg Curls – 5 sets of 10-20 reps
• 45 Degree Back Raise - 5 sets of 10-20 reps
• Reverse Hyperextension – 5 sets of 10-12 reps

Sled Dragging

• Sled dragging is still done 4 days a week at 4 AM. Jim will drag on grass with 4 plates for 700 yards. This is not easy by the way.

When talking to Jim for the past few years, I have gotten to know him very well. When I told him I wanted to write something on him, he was happy to oblige. But he kept reminding me that he did not want to come off as being cocky, arrogant or wanting to bring attention to himself. He just wants to people to realize that anything is possible. This was reiterated several times over the conversation. He is as humble of a person that I have ever met and consider him one of the nicest, most gracious people in the sport of powerlifting. I did this article out of respect for Jim and so that he could get his message across. Best of luck at the Arnold Classic for Jim; he deserves it.

Copyright© 2005 Elite Fitness Systems. All rights reserved. 
You may reproduce this article by including this copyright  
and, if reproducing it electronically, including a link to  
www.Elitefts.com.