I had another great Christmas season spending time with the family, eating too much, and putting many miles on the truck. One of the annual Christmas events that I always look forward to is the family broom ball game on Upper Whitefish Lake. The game is played at night, on a shoveled off area of the frozen lake, under portable lights. This year the game involved about twenty family members between the ages of 10-72. With the wide range in ages, we let the younger kids play hard, and the older adults start out about ¼ their speed. The competitive nature of the older broom-wielding adults generally takes over by the end of the game. I have learned over time that weighing 325 lbs. and moving around on ice is not a good mix so I keep myself in the goal. Unfortunately, my goal keeping was not up to standard this year and my team lost 3-1. Great family fun and no casualties to report. Already looking forward to next year’s game.

Training Goals for 2019

Every year at this time, I like to establish training goals for the New Year. Setting new goals is important to maintain a purpose for your training. Setting goals is what drives us all to put in the extra work to make those tough gains.  My most important 2019 goal is to stay healthy. It has always been a goal of mine to train smart and stay physically healthy, but I have started to think of “staying healthy” from more of a general overall health and longevity standpoint. In 2019, I am going to pay more attention to eating healthier, getting more sleep, cardiovascular fitness, and spending more time on mobility. Of course, my number one strength-training goal is to get my deadlift back over 800 lbs. It is time for everyone to set some 2019 training goals!

Garage Wall Ramblings

My Father, Gale Gillingham, (Oldman) developed a training method during his Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame playing career that primarily consisted of training very heavy partial power rack movements at various rack heights in the squat, bench and deadlift. He continued to train this way the rest of his life. He would keep track of his personal records (PRs) at each rack height, and when he was chasing a particular PR, he would sometimes record his workouts on the walls of his garage gym. This is the reason behind “Garage Wall Ramblings”.

I started on a quest this past year to try to duplicate some of the Oldman’s > 50 power rack training PRs. The reason I am starting with his >50 PRs is that there is no possible way I could ever come close to his PRs he hit in his younger years. I am making some progress towards his 1260 lb. ¼-rack squat. I lifted 1050 lbs. early in December, and I plan to attempt 1100 lbs. by the end of January. With the cold weather, I have abandoned lifting in the garage using the Oldman’s original 1970 power rack until the weather warms up this spring. At this time of the year, I am completing all of my training in Jackals Gym. Fortunately, I have SMSU Wrestling Coach Nelson addicted to moving the heavy weight. He is always ready to crank up the power rack intensity at Jackals.

Have a great year in 2019! Continue to keep up the good fight! Stay Strong!