Q&A Articles of Eric Todd

Question: "My lifts have been stalling, what can I do to start increasing weight again?"

 

Watch this video as I share some tips to help you increase your strength in the gym!

Question: "How is one able to cut weight while maintaining or gaining strength? Any advice?"

 

I share my experience with cutting weight for competitions in this youtube video!  Check it out!

Question: "If you're needing to cut a few last minute pounds before a competition what do you recommend doing?"

 

Tips on what I do when I cut weight are in this video!

Well, it has been a little bit since I have posted a blog. There have been ups and downs since my last one. First of all, I finally got surgery on my elbow in August. It was long overdue, and I am glad to be recovering. They had to remove some ridges of bone that had developed due to...

Question: "How do you get psyched up for a heavy lift or heavy press?"

 

Here's my take on what I do before a heavy lift

Question: "How do you prepare for a strongman contest when you do not have all the implements?"

 

Find out my suggestions in this video!

Question: "Is there a certain build you need to have in order to be competitive in strongman?"

 

I address this question in this youtube video.

It has been a busy time around here the past month, and particularly the past week. Every year we put on Missouri's Strongest Man: The Gus Lohman Memorial Challenge. It is a benefit for Camp Quality, a camp for kids who have been diagnosed with cancer. It was our ninth one we’ve don...

This past weekend, I traveled to Bowling Green, Ohio to compete in the USAWA Heavy Lift Nationals at the Black Swamp Old Time Strongman picnic hosted by Atomic Athletic. I had heard about this picnic in the past and was intrigued. The picnic did not disappoint. There were kettlebell ...

Question: "If I'm doing both cardio and lifting in one session, which one is best to do first?"

 

Find out the answer here.

Hey all. The past couple months have been full of highs and lows. It was awesome to get to go to the Arnold Classic again this year and talk to so many of you about the benefits of HMB. I get a great deal of enjoyment discussing something I believe in. It was also awesome to see fel...

Question: "What's more important when it comes to lifting, how much weight you're putting up or reps?"

 

Follow the link to find out the answer. 

On Saturday, I competed in one of the most grueling competitions I have ever lifted in. It was the Zercher Classic at Clarks Gym in Columbia. Thirteen lifts contested in one day. Not counting warmups, I lifted over 22,000lbs over 8 hour’s time. Here is how the day went: Verti...

This week past was an interesting one. I trained upper body on Tuesday, and did a heavy deadlift and high volume squat workout on Wednesday. I talked to my buddy Scott Tully on Thursday about coming over to Salina, KS, to pick up some equipment over the weekend. He mentioned a push/pull compet...

When life gives us lemons, we should make lemonade. Isn't that how the saying goes? In trying to get ready for the ASC nationals, I sustained a knee injury, a tear to the MCL of my left knee. Unfortunately, I have reaggravated it a couple times, trying to come back too quickly. It is an issu...

It’s been kind of a roller coaster ride since my last blog. Competition wise, I served as the MC of Kansas Strongest man, and as head judge for NAHA nationals. Both were well run competitions, and I was honored to be a part of them. Training wise, I have been rehabbing a few injuries, wi...

The last month has been an interesting one. Our daughter Phoebe celebrated her first birthday. It is amazing how much she has changed, and how the time has flown. She is an awesome little girl, full of personality. She has a temper like her dad though. On June 25th I went to compete ...

Well, it has been another busy month. A few weeks ago, I traveled down to Joplin to compete in the Joplin Highland Games. While my throwing was definitely subpar (I was dealing with several nagging injuries), I still tied for first place, so I cannot complain too loudly. Then on June 11, I...

I went down to Warrensburg this past Saturday to compete in the Highlands in the Burg. I was competing in the B class, and had a pretty successful day overall. We started off with the Braemar stone, which is like a standing shotput with a 22 pound stone. I had a throw of 30'2" which was not a...

The past month has been quite busy with me starting to coach track practice. HMB really helps me continue to push my training, particularly during busy, stressful times. It was great to go to the Arnold Classic again this year, hang out with fellow Team HMB athletes, and discuss HMB with th...

February has been an interesting month with more snow, missed school, and lots of shoveling. However, I haven't missed a workout because of it. Training is going great. I have been doing the 5-3-1 program since the new year, and am seeing great gains off of it so far. This Saturday past...

This past Saturday, a couple of my training partners and I headed out to Big Al's Dino Gym in Holland, Kansas to compete in the first ever USAWA Old Time strongman meet. The USAWA is a drug tested federation that specializes in lifts that are not contested in Powerlifting or Olympic weightlifti...

I went to compete in my last meet of the year this past Saturday, the Omaha Open powerlifting meet. Initially I had a few goals in mind: First - Getting to go compete with my dad. Starting a few years ago, my dad and I started working out together once a week and trying to compete together onc...

I recently competed in a highland games in Kirksville, MO. The day started offfantastic. Event 1 was the sheaf. In this event you use a pitchfork to hurl a burlap sack over a horizontal bar. This event used to be my nemesis, but last year (at this same meet) something clicked and I have been...

As I went into this contest, I knew I would leave with no regrets. I put it all out there. Training has been fantastic, diet perfect, and conditioning hadn’t been this good in years. Made weight with no problem, then fueled back up and felt fantastic. Unfortunately, the day didn’t go as planned....

School is back in session, so life changes pace yet again. Little Phoebe is growing like a weed, and is strong as can be. She was rolling over at about two or three weeks old. And when I balance her, she will stand for ten minutes supporting her full bodyweight. Being a dad is incredible. ...

On July 2 at 12:29 PM, Miss Phoebe Lorene Todd was born into the world at 7 pounds 13 ounces and 20 and 3/4 inches long. Mamma and baby are doing great, and dad is on top of the world. A couple days later we made the trip home to start our adventure as a family together. It was time to start ...

Life has been pretty busy, but very good since my last blog. We are still getting things ready for our little girl, and we are counting down the days until she is here. We are very excited to welcome her into the world. The seventh annual Missouri’s Strongest Man: The Gus Lohman Memo...

Even though the sport of strongman is my first love, I am a fan of all different types of strength sports. I have dabbled in several of the disciplines over the years. I have done some powerlifting, an Olympic lifting meet, some all-round lifting, highlander, and Highland Games. Though I trai...

Well, it is a very busy time of the year for me, and really seems to be extra busy this year. I am working my way back from the back issues I was having, and things are going pretty well with that. I am starting to put up some decent weights again, and things are feeling pretty good for the mo...

This past month since the Arnold has been an unfortunate one training wise. I was gearing up for the Show of Champions in Florida next week. I pulled a personal best in the trap bar deadlift. Form was rock solid (as I have had to keep it since my original back injury). Afterwards everything ...

Hey all-I just got back from a weekend at the Arnold and it was a blast. It was great to meet so many new people and get the message out about HMB! We had lots of great people stop by, so I was able to share my experiences using HMB with quite a few. I am currently in training for the Euro...

This past month has been a great month for strongman for me. First of all, we have our annual KCSTRONGMAN Challenge and Banquet. The KCSTRONGMAN Challenge was moved to the Belton Hanger this year due to the adverse road conditions, where the competitors competed in sub zero weather. The forma...

Well, another year is coming to a close and it is time to evaluate the goals you set for the year and how well you did in attaining them. Since 2006 when I suffered a severe disk herniation in my lower back, I have struggled to get my deadlift back to where it was. This year, many of my goals i...

I am currently preparing for a powerlifting meet in less than two weeks. I will be competing in the push/pull portion in the open division. Training is interesting going into this one, as I am trying to maximize these two lifts, while trying to increase my strongman stuff as well. In addition ...

This past month has been very rewarding in the way of training and competing. After 3 years of only being able to hit "post injury PR's" in the deadlift (I badly herniated a couple disks several years ago), I finally hit an all time PR a couple weeks ago, with some left in the tank! Training h...