Super Training
with Mark "Jackass" Bell
A series by EliteFTS.com
Mark Bell needs no introduction to anyone
familiar with this site – unless, of course, you haven’t been
here for a while and think his life and lifting career are still
defined by the “Jackass” sobriquet. If you are under that
impression, you’ve a lot of
catching up to do because Mark, by dint of brutally hard
work and dedication, is no longer the novelty act he was brought
aboard this site to be. Not by a longshot.
Can a man with a 2502 total in the 308
lbs. class still be considered a joke?
If you know Mark, and you know his
oft-inappropriate sense of humor, then maybe. When it comes to
lifting and preparing other lifters for competition, however,
then the answer is a definitive no. The “Jackass” tag may have
to stick for now, but with everything he’s accomplished in the
powerlifting game, Mark Bell is no joke. No joke at all.
What’s been going on with you lately?
How’s life?
Let me start out by handing out insults to
all my fat little fans out there. Now that I’ve gotten that off
my chest, here’s what I’ve been up to:
First things first: I have a three year-old
son named Jake and a three month-old baby daughter named Quinn.
My wife Andee works from home selling advertising space for a
magazine called Fitness Management. When her work
schedule gets hectic, as it often does, I take care of the kids
during the day. I take little Jake to school, to gymnastics, or
to the park. If Jake is occupied at one of his activities, I’ll
take Baby Q for a walk. I’m like fucking Mr. Mom and shit
driving down the street in a minivan. Seriously, I drive a
minivan.
Editor’s note: We know everyone
would love to see a picture of Jackass driving a minivan, but
he’s ignored our repeated requests for photographic evidence.
In any case, I love my wife and my kids,
and will always do my best to provide for them in whatever way I
can. My wife is like Superwoman at times, with the way she
juggles everything. Because of this, I don’t mind watching the
kids while she goes out with her sister to a movie or to get
some drinks. The woman likes her wine, so what can I say?
On top of all that, I own my own gym. It’s
called Super Training, and we’re located in Sacramento, CA.
Super Training is my home away from home, and it’s where some of
the strongest guys in California train. EFS team member Scott
Cartwright is a perfect example. He trains here. The gym has
only been open for a year, and we already have two 1000 pound
squatters. We also have two 750+ benches and two guys totaling
well over 2400 lbs. And of course I can’t forget my own 2500+
total.
On days where I’m not lifting, coaching, or
with my kids, I’ll sneak in some time to work with Jim McDonald
– who shoots about 95% of our stuff - on the production of our
DVDs. Jim and I have a passion for these DVDs, and a lot of work
goes into them. When we’re working, we’ll sit down and discuss
what we want to do with the footage we have or what sort of
footage we need next. We’ll then edit it together and watch it.
If what we’re watching makes sense, I’ll lay down a voiceover to
it. The voiceovers are done by simply watching the footage. I
take very few notes.
Our bench DVD is almost done. We’re
dedicating it to a friend of Jim’s who passed away recently.
It’s a very sad story – the guy was just forty-four. Not to get
all mushy and shit, but I suggest you make every day count. My
grandfather once said, “If you died, who would be at the
funeral, and why? Or, if you didn’t show up for work today, who
would notice, and why?” My grandfather had well over three
hundred people at his funeral.
Okay, no more morbid stuff. Sorry!
The movie Bigger, Stronger, Faster
will be playing at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It’s a
documentary, and my two brothers and I are featured in it. This
is a hard-hitting film that everyone can relate to, and I think
it’ll be bought for mass distribution at the Festival. This
movie is going to take the nation by storm!
My gym, Super Training, has been selected
by Men’s Health magazine as one of the Fifty Best Gyms in
America. I’m working with them on an article right now. They’re
taking fifty tips from the fifty best training facilities. To
their credit, they were looking for places like my gym, where
people train for something and not just “work out.” I’m
also in the process of writing some interviews for the EFS
website. Two of these are already finished – one with my good
friend Nino Feliciano, and one with world record holder Shawn
“Helmet Head” Frankl.
Not much is going on with my training right
now. I just hit a 200 pound PR by getting a 2502 total on
December 1st at Diablo Barbell. My next meet will be
the WPO Bench For Cash.
Hmmm…anything else? Oh yeah, December 10th
was my birthday. I’m 31!
Q&A:
Since you used to be a professional
wrestler, who would you choose to wrestle from the EFS staff,
and why? Also, please estimate how long it would take to win,
and what means you would use to beat them…
I'd wrestle The Thinker because I hate his
guts and because I'd smash him in a matter of seconds. It would
be fun to pound on him as he cries about how he’s drug free. The
only drawback would be that he'd wrestle RAW!!! To be honest, I
don't like him in that kind of way.
Just so everyone knows and so I don't get in trouble, I value
what The Thinker has to say, and he is a friend of mine. A
different kind of friend, but a friend nonetheless.
Response from The Thinker: Jackass
thinks that pro wrestling equates to the streets. While he's
looking for a turnbuckle to perform the Triple Lindy off of, I
would throat his ass. The trachea has the consistency of copper
pipe. If it is crushed, blood will fill the subject's lungs and
drown them.
The most committed wins.
Can we get some more information on your
brother’s movie?
Bigger, Faster, Stronger is a documentary
directed by my brother Chris. The official information describes
it as, “A filmmaker explores America’s win-at-all-cost culture
by examining his two brothers' steroids use...and his own.”
For the Sundance Film Festival, 64 films
were selected out of 3,400 submitted, and only 16 documentaries
were selected out of 620. The powerlifting segments in this
movie will knock you on your ass. Yes, powerlifting on the big
screen! More info to come. I’m so proud of what my brother has
done with this film.
Should someone who wants to be a
personal trainer or performance enhancement specialist concern
himself with every training system or only with the that offer
the best results (such as Westside methods)? If so, what are the
other systems in which one should be educated?
I think if you can grasp Westside, then it
helps you understand other methods. When I started doing and
learning Westside, it opened my eyes. Bodybuilding methods and
partial range of motion training suddenly made sense.
For now stick to what you know and get feedback from your
clients.
”Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the
principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it.
Obey the principle without being bound by it. LEARN, MASTER AND
ACHIEVE!”
-Bruce Lee
You’ve referred to using foam a lot
during the course of your training. Is it okay to use it on
dynamic effort squat days?
Yes, use the foam on DE day. Use it for two
weeks, then on the third week go back to a regular box. When you
use the foam, make sure your box height is three or four inches
shorter than normal. The foam made me a lot stronger.
What are your thoughts on deloading for
elite level powerlifters?
Are you making progress? Is it the kind of
progress that you want?
Quick words of advice:
- I do not like or believe in deloading.
- Rather than deloading, why not reload and move to another
exercise or another set or rep range?
- Why not just take a day off if you feel run down? Why would
you plan it? To me it seems like people plan stuff they don’t
even know they need.
- Deadlifting heavy every 10-14 days gives you a decent amount
of time to recover and make improvements. If you are doing speed
pulls under 80% you might be able to get away with deadlifting a
little more often.
- If you shirt up on a Thursday does it really make any sense to
push your speed bench 3 days later? I'd say no. Why bother doing
any benching unless you feel you can get something out of it?
- If you work up on DE squat day is there a reason to do a big
box squat on your ME day? No.
Those were some random notes but I think they should help.
Ultimately, better planning will help you avoid deloading
altogether. The purpose of our sport is to lift weights, so why
take a break? If we were lifting for football I could understand
pulling certain movements out and working on other attributes,
but we’re powerlifters. We lift. That’s what we do. If lifting
makes you too tired, you’re in the wrong sport.
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