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 one of the Featured Coaching Logs at EliteFTS.
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Monster Garage Gym/Maroscher Coaching Log: WHEN THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING
*NEW MGG COACHING LOG POSTED HERE EVERY WEEKEND!!!!
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...when the crowd of a thousand cheers at the ARNOLD can’t seem to drown out the sound of the silence from the single voice that is missing. It is during these times in our lifting journey when lifting can be a savior...
You know the quote, it goes something like this… “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” The older I get, the more I realize this is true. I am not a big social media person, but it is a nice way to follow meet results when you can’t be there in person. If only it was just meet results and training information, but alas it is not. Most times when I open up a page I read someone complaining about something, the line at Starbucks, RAW vs gear, someone squatted high, yadda-yadda-yadda. When someone takes the time to post something like that, aside from being a little irritated, I mostly feel good for them because if their biggest gripe is waiting an extra 10 minutes for their cafemochagrandeschmondechokablahka, then they are doing pretty well.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF86Odh6z6A]
For those fighting a battle you don’t know about, well, they would love to be able to gripe about something that useless. But when your energy is wrapped up in true strife, you don’t have any energy to spare for useless. All of your energy is going toward the battle you are fighting, be it a health issue, a loss, or internal battles within oneself that can suck one's life energy dry. It is during these times when training and/or competition can be so very important.
This coaching session or log or whatever you choose to call it is is one of adversity, struggle and loss but also of victory, success, rebirth, bringing an end to an old journey and breathing life into the start of a brand new journey.
In this EliteFTS/MAROSCHER coaching log, I am featuring one of my good friends Kristin Johnson. Kristin is a fellow educator (in our “real lives” we are a teacher and an assistant principal) and one of the strongest lifters ever to train at the MONSTER GARAGE GYM. In brief, Kristin is a pro-strongman athlete/competitor and currently placed in the Top 7 at the 2017 Arnold. Below is a story of a hidden battle, leading to ultimate triumph. Not only did Kristin not succumb to this battle, but Kristin used that battle to catapult forward and to use that forward trajectory to enhance the positive journey in these epic travels we call life.
Many of you reading this might be quietly fighting a battle that nobody is aware, while others simply whittle away yet another precious day, or spend priceless energy casting dispurgence online. I hope that Kristin’s story of a quiet battle helps give some inspiration to your private battle should you need a little today. So, at this time, I am turning the keyboard for this coaching log over to my good friend Kristin. Wishing you the best in your training and competitions. Ever Onward, Eric Maroscher, Owner: MONSTER GARAGE GYM
Adversity. Merriam-Webster defines adversity as, "a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune." The words that stick out to me, in that definition, are "continued difficulty." Adversity isn't bad luck, adversity isn't a mishap, adversity is on-going, it's that thing inside us that keeps trying to hold us down in our weakest states. As humans, we have all been down the adversity road; however, it's when we get to that fork where we decide how we're going to face it. For myself, specifically, I have faced these choices my entire life, for one reason or another. I credit my mom, the only person I had, for teaching me to be strong, to be resilient and to take the situation I was given and try to make the best out of it.
As an athlete, my training is dual-purposed. My training makes me stronger physically, as well as stronger emotionally and mentally. Moving to Florida, in October of 2015, I moved away from the most important people in my life. I moved to a new state, taking a chance and following my dream, without a job, not knowing a soul and not knowing where I'd be training! I had just competed in my first National Strongman competition, right before I hit the road, where I qualified for the 2016 Arnold Amateur Strongman Championship. The Arnold came and went, and I placed well enough to get an invite to my next show, that happened to be in Jacksonville, Florida. The JAX show came and went, and I didn't get an invite to the 2017 Arnold Pro show due to my placing.
Meanwhile, while all these competitions were coming and going, nobody knew what was going on behind the scenes, the dark side of my life. Social media is wonderful at portraying an image that is a complete fallacy. Nobody would initially think that a strongman athlete would be in an abusive relationship, living in a state without anyone else, feeling totally ashamed and helpless. After the JAX show, things took a turn for the worse at home, leading to many calls to the police and eventually a restraining order.
It was close to a year that my entire life was dark, despite now living in the Sunshine State. In September of 2016, I was blessed with someone that would truly turn my life around. This person, my rock, supported and encouraged me, through one of the hardest times of my life. When I decided to compete at Florida's Strongest, in December 2016, I decided it was going to be my come-back show, the big "f-you," to anyone and everything that ever hurt me. I competed as a heavyweight that weekend, a weight class up, and I managed to take first!
Now that winter break was upon us, it was time to get out of town for a little bit. A trip to Chicago, my hometown, was planned for NYE. I had also made plans with my dad, George, to have beers at his favorite, local bar-The Donkey Inn. December 29th, five hours before leaving for the airport, I received a call from my mom, saying that George had passed. Collapsing to the ground and crying so hard that a sound couldn't be heard was all I could do. "We had plans tomorrow night, we were supposed to have beers," was all I could think. Flying to Chicago the next day was bittersweet, and the entire trip took on a different meaning.
On January 6th, I was given the honor of helping to carry my dad, casket draped with an American flag, to his final resting place. Hearing Taps, the three-volley salute and the final, "so long, comrade," made this real. Very real. Sitting at lunch, about an hour later, I happened to check my email. I was sitting next to my mom when I yelled, "holy shit!!!" There it was, the official invite, for the 2017 Arnold Pro. There is not a doubt in my mind, that my dad was looking down, saying, "I'll be damned if that was the last heavy thing you carry."
I had seven weeks to train for the biggest show of my life. I didn't use specific programming like I normally would, I just looked at the events and trained as well as I could! Traveling to Orlando, to train with Alan Colley and his team at Iron House, was a bi-weekly occurrence; and I'm grateful to be a part of their family.
Going into the show, I knew my dad would be with me, as he is everyday. I wore his dog tags, just like any other day, and I debated on taking them off, before the stone event but decided not to. It was after that event, when I was the first to load the whole series, that I had a minor freak-out, then pointed to the sky, not realizing I did it. This moment was perfectly captured by Michele Wozniak.
All in all, this was the most incredible show I've ever been a part of, for MANY reasons. Being up on stage, with nine other amazing athletes, was the perfect closure to one hell of a journey. So many years of hurt, so many years of pain, yet through all of them, I never stopped pushing forward, working towards a better me. This chapter in my life may have concluded, but this isn't the end of my story. It's time to focus on me. I have given myself permission to live, and my new journey is just beginning!
This definitely isn't a "good bye," strongman world, this is a "to be continued."
-KEJ
You can find ALL of the prior EliteFTS/Maroscher Coaching Logs/articles HERE:
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