The MONSTER GARAGE GYM/MAROSCHER COACHING LOG is a weekly Coaching Log by MGG owner, 2-Time WPC World Powerlifting Champion, Eric Maroscher, and is geared to the new to intermediate powerlifter. LIVE, LEARN and PASS ON.
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THIS WEEK’S Monster Garage Gym/Maroscher Coaching Log: FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME
*NEW MGG COACHING LOG POSTED HERE EVERY WEEK!!!!
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Weekly Coaching Log:
I am not sure when this log gets posted on EliteFTS FB page, but it is being written during Super Bowl Sunday. For us at the Monster Garage Gym, this Super Bowl is a little more exciting than most. Although each year’s Super Bowl has its own mystique to it, for us, this one is special because the gentleman who co-founded the Monster Garage Gym with me is Philadelphia Eagles assistant defensive line coach, Phillip Daniels. When Phil and I opened up the gym together (Monster Garage Gym) Big Phil was playing for the Redskins and it was with the Redskins with whom he finished out his career as an NFL defensive end (15 seasons in the NFL).
Phil and I met when he was nearing the end of his NFL career and he looked me up as he was looking to do some powerlifting training in prep for his last couple of years in the league. It was great having Phil train with us because he was incredibly competitive and he loved the iron game. And it was perfect timing because he was training for his NFL season, I was training for the 2008 WPC Worlds and the guys were training for their USAPL meets as well.
Monster Garage Gym co-founders: Maroscher/Daniels
Phil’s entire job off season was prepping for the NFL season, so four days per week he would train for power with us, then in addition he had days devoted to agility and conditioning. There are a number of reasons lifters from that time-frame at the gym loved Phil and still do. First off, big Phil is an awesome person, he is a devoted family man and he is grounded in his spiritual belief system. But beyond that, we also loved his passion and excitement for serious powerlifting training. During the season he is on his NFL team, but during that off season, he is a powerlifter on our powerlifting team, and in each case he gave it his all.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5ADRcXl-UI&feature=youtu.be]
Phil and I and my team trained together for a few years in our original location, (M.G.G. 1.0, then to 2.0, 3.0 and now we are at 4.0), before he moved onto his gig in Philadelphia. Our original location was a 2 and a half car garage. Eventually the space was just too full of guys training with us so the two of us decided to open a gym, what is now, the Monster Garage Gym. Although it has turned into much, much more, initially we were simply looking at a small warehouse unit, just large enough to fit us and our buddies in.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ndRqss-3-k&feature=youtu.be]
I recall the two of us going to the property owners unit and filling out the mandatory financial papers for the unit we were going to rent. I remember Phil and I were both filling out the financial papers (which were in essence papers determining if we could pay the rent if the thing went belly-up) and we were separately filling our monthly incomes for the lease. I recall the rental owner looking at the number Phil had put down as his monthly income and the guy just looked at the number, kinda frozen in time. In that Phil was a player in the NFL, his salary was a reflection of that lucrative career. I remember that moment because it was a tangible indicator that the NFL is an industry that pays well, very well. Don’t get me wrong, it is not that I didn’t realize that the NFL salaries are substantial as we all know that, but you never thought about Phil in terms of money, because Phil to us, was a powerlifter and he never spoke of money, was never driven by money and never flaunted money. You just never thought about it because he was covered in chalk dust and baby powder and trying to put up that extra pound just like the rest of us. Phil was a warrior on the field during the season and a warrior in the weight room during the off season. When we trained together we spoke about powerlifting, when we were at a restaurant eating together post-workout, we spoke about powerlifting, and when we were in meet prep, we spoke about powerlifting.
The point I am making is that the salary is the after-effect and the sport is the cause to that effect with regard to the NFL. But if the NFL didn’t pay as it does, Phil is a guy that would have played regardless.
Point being, Phil was never compelled to play in the NFL for money, Phil played in the NFL because he loved the game, loved to compete, is a warrior and the money is the bonus. And as a powerlifter reading this, you don’t train and compete for money because frankly there is no money in powerlifting, and please don’t give me that sponsored business either. That is unless there is someone who can pay their mortgage, health insurance and support your family with their $250 a month allotment in protein supplements and a handful of t-shirts. I used to joke that when I traveled to Cape Town, South Africa to compete at the 2001 WPC Worlds that it cost me a couple grand for a $15 gold medal. The reality is, and all jokes aside, that experience was worth every penny and I would have paid double that amount for the experience of competing overseas and competing against powerlifters from all over the globe if I had too.
Bottom line is, you do what you in the weight room and on the meet platform because it is a part of who you are and because you are really in-it-to-win-it, you couldn’t stop training and lifting if you tried. So be you an NFL player getting paid to the tune of many zero’s and commas, or you are a powerlifter, bodybuilder or strongman paying to compete, eat, travel, and train, we do what we do because life is short and we want to pack as much training and meets into the time we have as we can because life is about the journey not the destination.
So, I am going to close out this coaching log so I can get back to watching the game, and selfishly rooting for my friend Big Phil and his team to win. Win, lose or draw, we at the Monster Garage Gym we will be happy and proud of Phil as we want the best for him and wish him luck….but truth be told, we really want him to win because winning couldn’t come to a harder working and better human being that big Phillip Daniels. Good luck Phil!!!!!!!
The accompanying video(s). Video #1: Big phil and the gym some years back from a Buzz Feed feature. Video #2: is from this past Saturday where lifters on the team at Monster Garage Gym are prepping for their meets just like you. Prepping behind the walls of a warehouse gym knowing that they, just like Big Phil are doing what they love to do as they continue to try and become the best and strongest version of themselves that they can be and living this journey that we call powerlifting.
Wishing you the best in your training and competitions. Ever Onward, Eric Maroscher, Owner: MONSTER GARAGE GYM
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