Who's King of the Zoo?

Who's King of the Zoo?

So now that we have covered the "zoo" and all the players, the obvious question is, who is the strongest?

Drum roll please ........... I don't care!!!

Sorry to disappoint you, but I actually don't care. To much time has been spent over the years and decades debating which strength sport is the "True" champion of strength. We are all missing the point. 

I am an Olympic weightlifter. I want to do well at Olympic Weightlifting. I don't care about What people are doing or lifting in the other strength sports, I want to do well in my sport. As they do not care what we are doing or lifting in our sport.

Here is where I am going to contradict myself a little. While I might not care who is the "true" champion of strength, I do follow and like to keep up to date with what those in other strength sports are doing.

Why? Because we are all in the same game. We all want to be the best that we can be. To dismiss one as better than the other is naive. And to believe one is superior to another simply by our allegiances is just plain stupid.

Let me give you an example. My training partner in NYC is a former competitive Powerlifter and current Brazilian Jujitsu practitioner Harry Hanson. Harry Is the owner of what is probably the most respected and well established Private training studio in New York City, Hanson Fitness. As well as being one of the strongest 50 something year olds I have ever met, I consider him a Mentor, and a friend.

I have learnt more about strength training with Harry in the past two years than I have in a lifetime. This coming from a former international Weightlifter. 

I have learned the benefits of a Powerlifting Low bar squat, the correct technique for the Bench press , and much more from Him. Do our styles differ, of course they do. He does a sumo dead lift, I do an over grasp, narrow grip dead lift with straps. Again because I am a weightlifter this is the most beneficial style for how I lift. I don't dismiss his style, or opinion simply because he trains for a different sport than me.

I was always told that weightlifters should not do bench press. It will tighten up your shoulders and be detrimental to your Olympic lifts. Yet since I have been benching with Harry, the only change I have seen is an increase in my Clean and Jerk. 

There is something to be learned from all sports. Stop fighting and bickering, and start listening. Open your ears and minds. Weightlifters can learn about strength from Powerlifters, Powerlifters can learn about dieting and weight loss from Bodybuilders. We can all learn about dedication, team work and comradery from Crossfit. 

My point: We can all learn from each other.