Saturday, February 26, 2011

Seattle Animal Barbbell Club at "Imperial Fitness" (Kent, WA)










Another awesome "Seattle Animal Barbbell Club" today!  Mahalo to Ryan Riess of "Imperial Fitness" and Allen Velasco of "Imperial CrossFit" for letting me host an ABC today at their wonderful facility!
7 days until I lift in The Cage at "The Arnold" and I can't wait to tear that place down with the 500 lb deadlift for reps.  20 minimum...no excuses.

Aloha,
Grant Higa Bulky Boy strongman team

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

HIGA MONSTER & Zack Nims workout at "Imperial Fitness"




Fun workout tonight with Zack Nims & Tyler Scott at "Imperial Fitness".

Aloha,
Grant Higa Bulky Boy strongman team

Friday, February 18, 2011

HIGA does some Deadlifting




My back was pretty tired after pulling the 675 lbs, but I'm confident 20 reps is possible for me at THE CAGE in 2 weeks with a fresh back.

Aloha,
Grant Higa Bulky Boy strongman team

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

HIGA introduces "Imperial Fitness & CrossFit"



Check out the new home of "THE HIGA MONSTERS" and where we will get some serious training.  For more information, check out the gym's websites:

Aloha,
Grant Higa Bulky Boy strongman team

Monday, February 14, 2011

Eastbound Bar & Grill Beer Belly Contest Lakeside, CA


This past Saturday was the 1st annual Beer Belly Contest at Eastbound Bar and Grill in Lakeside, CA. A great crowd showed up for the festivities and they got there early, as the bar was also celebrating its 1 year anniversary. KSON-FM, San Diego FOX News, as well as other small media outlets were on hand to report the contest, as well as the best fricken clothing brand in the world was there to hand out shirts and hats to stoked contestants who were busy wolfing down burgers and guzzling various brews in anticipation of getting there bellies in tip-top shape. A east county band, most appropriately called the "Love Handles", were there to play some tunes after the contest and a beer garden was erected outside so beer could flow freely to contestants and willing patrons. Eastbound Bar and Grill had a great family atmosphere and the employees were very nice and helpful. We plan on helping with the event next year and there should be no excuse for members of the brotherhood not to attend and compete, because there's beer to be drank, burgers to be eaten, and beer bellies to show off and I know you guys would kill it! Anyway, mahalo to Eastbound Bar and Grill for letting us participate and mahalo to all who showed up. And for people who missed the event, we'll see you next year. Aloha and start working on your beer bellies for next years event!!!!




Saturday, February 12, 2011

The HIGA MONSTERS last day at "The Warehouse" (Kent, WA)




It was a somber day for me and my training partners today. We had to move out of Chipman Relocations due to a corporate decision that they wanted to downsize their operations, and sadly my strongman equipment was part of it.
If it wasn't for Marv Michaud, I wouldn't be the strongman Pro I am today. This man would be at the office at 6am to open up the Warehouse for us because we had an upcoming strongman contest. How cool is that?

He would set up a semi-truck pull because I had that event in a contest, so he hung around for an extra 2 hours to rig that up for me.
All he would ask for was that we did well in our competitions. So we would bring him some Bud Light every once in a while, or a contest t-shirt.  He loved the Bulky Boy decals I gave him and immediately put them on his car.

Many people have trained with us: Jesse Marunde (R.I.P.), Corey St Clair (Pro strongman), Odd Haugen (Pro strongman/promoter) "Sarge" & Breck Gault from the Sequim Crew, Adam Keep (LW Pro strongman), Marshall White (Pro strongman), Peter Rundberg (Sweden), and Stan "The Rhino" Efferding.

Zack Nims won the Teen HW Amateur National Championship, then his LW Pro card last year.
Kristyn Vytlacil Whisman won the Women's Lightweight & Middleweight Amateur National Championship.
Rocco Liogghio won the Master's Amateur Strongman National Championship.

All of these people came from the Warehouse. If you asked anyone where HIGA MONSTER trains and they would say "Oh, he's at that Warehouse, right?"

We were there when it was awful hot in the summers that the concrete would "sweat" while doing tire flips or sled drags and it would suck to do those events.
We were there in the middle of winter when it was cold as a mutha and it took you 40 minutes to just break a sweat. The cold metal would sap all the heat from your hands as you tried to warm up with Farmers walks.

My training partners would drive from near or far to train, and thats what I love about my fellow HIGA MONSTERS. We bled and sweat together. No matter what the environment tried to throw against us.

Alot of people have showed up once to workout, then said they would be back. Yea right...not too many returned. Talk is cheap, but my crew would show up to train no matter how far. I love that! They make me a better Strongman.

Thank you Marv Michaud for all you have done for me and my crew. We love you and will miss seeing you on early Sat mornings.  You have sacrificed a great amount of your time in order for us to succeed, and we will never forget that.

Grant Higa Bulky Boy strongman team

Friday, February 11, 2011

Are you the next Bulky Boy Sales Rep......?

Do you have what it takes to be the next Bulky Boy Sale Rep in your territory!?
Bulky Boy Brand located in is expanding rapidly. We are seeking experienced sales representatives and/or sales agencies for distribution with multiple accounts for a variety of US territories to grow along with us.


Bulky Boy Rep Qualifications:

• Must have 2+ years of apparel industry outside sales experience along with other complimentary accessories lines
• Motivated & driven individual with a strong feel for the essence of our brand
• Existing relationships with specialty and mainstream retailers
• Proven history/ability to sell and grow sales within a specific territory

Requirements:

• Detailed planning and execution of positive growth plans within the territory
• Creating and manage product assortment plans for each assigned account
• Act as liaison for local events and tours to ensure brand presence
• Attend regional and national industry related tradeshows
• Identify target market
• Communicate market trends; sell thru data and sales forecasts
• Manage all sales activities pertaining to territory; including, but not limited to , the establishment of new dealer accounts, order processing, implementation of business plans, and travel schedules
• Developing and maintaining strong relationships with key retailers by in-store visit and service calls on a     regular basis
• Seasonal product showings and order pre-booking
• Generate and increase sales, market share and brand awareness within the assigned
• Maintain distribution and increase Bulky Boy Brand awareness in your area


Please email your cover letter and resume through info@bulkyboy.com.

Due to the volume of responses only qualified candidates will be contacted.

Bulky Boy, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer

Check out http://www.bulkyboy.com/ to learn more about us.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Bulky Boys Next Top Model of the Month Contest

Post a picture of yourself, or someone wearing Bulky Boy gear, on the Bulky Boy Facebook page and enter to win $50 worth of Bulky Boy swag and be Bulky Boys top model for the month. We will decide which pictures to throw into a pool of finalist on our Bulky Boy blog every week and on the week of March 7th, we will decide which picture was the most creative and give the winner some killer Bulky Boy swag. By creative I mean funny, artsy, or any clever ideas that may come to mind. We do ask contestants refrain from submitting pictures that are xxx or morbid, because here at Bulky Boy we preach honor, respect, and ohana, and there is no place for that junk here in the brotherhood! Be sure to give contact info in the caption when posting a picture. If you have any question, please feel free to message us via Facebook. To post a picture, please click on this link to our Facebook page: Bulky Boy Model Contest


Slim Gillian rockin the "Crusade"

Kelley Thomas rockin the "Tribal" T

Creighton Felise rockin the "Tappa"

Edgar Asuncion rockin the 23@19

Patric Pacolba feelin it in the "In Our Blood" T

Anthony Ellis sporting the "Athletics" T

Ken Nowicki, 300kg Reverse Band Deadlift

Went upto a 240k squat for a belt only triple and followed it with some reverse band deads yesterday. The bands took about 30kg off the bottom and nothing off the top; previous sets were 60, 100, 140, 180, 220, 260kg all for 5reps a set.

I started work on my Arnold's video today, coming together nicely just need to getsome good footage the next few weeks to hopefully make it a great video!

Here's the reverse band video:

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

HIGA MONSTER visits Chris Cabasa at HFD.



Visited my bro, Chris Cabasa, at the Honolulu Fire Dept Training Center this morning!  Always good to see him and his work was only 5 minutes away from my Grandparents house.

Aloha,
Grant Higa Bulky Boy strongman team

Ablaze this Friday February 11th at Soundwave

Ablaze Concert Friday February 11th at Soundwave/Wavehouse

Come Support Bulky Boy and our friends ABLAZE  this Friday the 11th at Soundwave( the old Canes)in Mission Beach.  Look for them to rock Bulky Boy Gear and play some irie jams.  You don't want to  miss this event! Come out and support the brotherhood!


Ablaze, Revival and Anson
Live at Sound Wave on Friday, February 11, 2011

Doors open at 8pm, 21+ show
Check out ABLAZE
Ablaze Website
Ablaze Facebook

HIGA works out at Pearl Harbor Naval Base (Hawai'i)





Hooked up with my friend Anthony Harris yesterday for a workout at "The Bloch" on Pearl Harbor Naval Base.  I have not been there in years and it was great to workout in a old school gym like that.  Hot, humid and thundershowers outside.
All the plates were rusty too from the salt air of Pearl Harbor.  I loved it!

Aloha,
Grant Higa Bulky Boy strongman team

HIGA MONSTER visits "Razor Concepts" (Pearlridge, O'ahu)



Sunday, February 6, 2011

Ken Nowicki, Arnold's Traning Peek

Been lazy with my updates recently and thought that it'd be good to post up a wee insight into my training for the Arnold Am's and also the Brit GP two weeks later.

Due to the proximity of these shows I've split the events into two sessions. Week 1 I do log, yoke and stones; Week 2 is car deadlift, farmers sled medley and some loading.

Been suffering from very bad bicep tendonitis (lateral epicondylitis) the past month or so and it's reached the point where I am actually struggling to do menial stuff like holding a plate, and it has started really affecting log today. No matter how much I icing I do or how much I rub it out nothing seems to be fixing it. Seeing my physio on Thurs to try and get it sorted.

6/2/11

Log Press- 60/6/6/6, 100/3/3, 120/3, 130/2, 140/f All reps from the floor, felt like I had zero in the rack position. Just going to work with 130kg in prep for the Brit GP to work on conditioning a bit and hopefully I'll be nailing bigger numbers once this arm is sorted.

Yoke- 70/20m/40m, 150/20m, 230/20m, 310/20m, 350/20m, 430/10m PB All sets execpt the 430k were done no drops apart from the turn at the 10m mark.

Stones- 80/1/3, 110/3, 127/3, 160/3 When I first picked up the 80k I was doubting if this was a good idea or not, but once I put some tacky on the arm was playing ok.

Going to film some stuff the next few weeks and debut it before the Arnold. I should have some free time from the intense project work in a few weeks to allow me to do a good editting job, so there will be a nice video to look forward to on the 1st of March before I head to the Arnold on the 2nd.

Friday, February 4, 2011

Yoga, Yes Yoga, For Big Bastards



I know what you're thinking. "Yoga? On Testosterone Nation? This is a joke, right?"


Yoga isn't for real men. It's for soy-boys, the "weeds and seeds" crowd; those skinny fat Nancies that wear lycra pants and sit around sipping wheatgrass smoothies after their light and invigorating "core circuits."
It certainly isn't for guys built like Silverbacks that can deadlift school buses, guys that consider eating two cups of oats and a dozen whole eggs as skipping breakfast.

No, real men are way too "alpha" for yoga.

Besides, ever take a look inside a yoga class? What could possibly be fruitier than hanging around a room full of limber young women in various states of clingy undress, each bending, twisting and grunting away until they achieve physical positions that you haven't seen since before your girlfriend made you install that draconian porn site blocker on your laptop?

Imagine the humiliation of being the only 250-plus pound guy comfortable enough in his own manhood to bend, stretch, and downward dog in a room full of sweaty, hormonally charged women?

How utterly emasculating would it be to have these women steal glances and occasionally wink at you as they whisper to their friends at how limber you are for such a big, strong guy?

Oh, the humanity.

Friends, I'm here to tell you that yoga is a powerlifter or strongman's best friend, and I don't just mean as a way to meet women. A little yoga can improve your workouts and maybe even extend your lifting career – and you don't have to ditch your current training or join a patchouli-scented yoga studio to take advantage of it.

Let's Get to It!

Before I get into the program, let me begin by saying that I'm not the type of person who implements a strategy into my arsenal unless it meets a few criteria.

• It has to be simple to understand. You know how often I follow a program that requires me to do descending sets of quarter reps with mini blue bands at an 0301 tempo? That's right, never. I lift heavy shit and progress accordingly. I like things simple, but never easy.


• It can't require a bunch of equipment. I like everything in my arsenal to be easy. Yes, I do compete in strongman and it does require specialized equipment, but I only do that type of training once a week. The rest of my program revolves around the staples, i.e. squats, deadlifts, etc.


• It has to make me a better athlete, overall. Enough said.


• It has to work. Considering the world of strength and conditioning has so many systems that are time-tested and proven effective, it baffles me why anyone would waste their time doing something that's basically a crapshoot. Yet every day it seems, a new internet guru emerges promising rock hard abs and amazing strength gains in 30 days for only $9.95.

Let's just say I'm a bit of a skeptic. If I don't know someone who uses it and swears by it, then I more than likely won't give it a second glance. Yoga has been around for thousands of years. If it didn't work, you'd think someone would've called bullshit on it by now. I doubt that you could say the same thing for the Shake-weight.



My Story

I started using yoga because of horrible lower back pain I developed from training and competing in strongman, on top of the other 14 years that I've been training heavy.

Now, when I say back pain, I'm not referring to an annoying "tweak" like the one you got when you set up for deadlifts the wrong way; I'm talking about glued to the floor, not able to walk for three days kind of pain.

I had no clue what was responsible other than I may have been "overusing" my lower back because of how often I trained.

What a line of bullshit that was.

The reason I had lower back pain had nothing to do with my back, rather with tight hamstrings and quads, horrible hip mobility, and tight piriformis. In other words, my ass and hamstrings would spasm, and pull on all the other muscles in my posterior chain, thereby leaving me a cripple for a weekend.



Back Pain = Body Pain

When we're talking about lower back pain – or any pain for that matter – we tend to forget that our body works as a whole, and certain antagonists can either be direct or indirect.

One major cause of lower back pain is sacroiliac misalignment, and since the piriformis originates on the sacrum, when it's tight, this can cause a variety of problems. Also, your sciatic nerve runs through, or close to (depending on your personal anatomy) your piriformis, and dysfunction of the piriformis muscle can cause signs and symptoms of pain in the sciatic nerve distribution; that is, in the gluteal area, posterior thigh, posterior leg, and lateral aspect of the foot.

Another major cause of lower back pain can be from excessive pelvic tilt, whether anterior or posterior. I personally have issues with anterior pelvic tilt from tight hip flexors and quads, but also from week glutes and hamstrings. Stretching out tight muscles and strengthening the weak ones will help with pelvic tilt tremendously.

Enter yoga, which is really just fancy talk for stretching. I started doing a few certain exercises that focused on opening up my hips, strengthening my core and glutes, and limbering up my "big movers."

The result? I can guarantee that I'm one of the most flexible 320-pound guys you'll ever see and since implementing yoga into my program, my pain is virtually gone, my lifts have all improved, and I don't feel like such a train wreck every morning.



The Six Moves

Without further ado, here are six basic yoga moves that you can implement today to help you become an overall better athlete.



The Pigeon Pose



This position is great for stretching the piriformis and opening up the hips. I do these often and they've helped tremendously with my lower back pain.

To begin this stretch, you're going to begin on all fours. Extend one leg straight back, while keeping the other leg bent. The foot on your bent leg should be close to the opposite hip flexor. You should feel a good stretch going right across the middle of your ass on the leg that isn't extended. Stop there and hold.

If you can, try to bring your leg underneath your body, so you can achieve an even deeper stretch. This also works on your IT band. Hold it for about 20 seconds.


Hero Pose





This pose stretches the quadriceps, anterior tibialis, and patellofemoral joint, a.k.a. the knee.

You're going to get into a kneeling position, pushing your knees out as far as possible. Try to get the tops of your feet flat on the floor behind you. Let the hips sink down. You should feel a stretch in your quads and anterior tibialis (shin). If you can't keep the tops of your feet flat on the floor behind you, widen the distance between your knees.

Your hips should be sunk low and your ass should be touching the back of your lower legs.



Belly Twist



This stretches the lower back and is supposed to hydrate the spinal discs (that's a good thing). This will also stretch out your chest, shoulders, and arms.

Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet close to your ass. Let your knees fall over to one side, making sure they stay together, and keep your alternate shoulder flat on the ground with your arm fully extended out to your side. You should feel a stretch from your hips to your lower back and all the way up to the forearms.



Upward Facing Dog



This pose will open up the chest and stretch the abdominals, as well as the hip flexors.

Lie flat on your stomach, fully extended in the prone position. Bring your hands up to your sides like you're going to do a push up. Push up, but keep your pelvis on the floor and raise your chest and head as high as you can. Squeeze and hold for 30 seconds.



Prayer Squat





Just like it sounds. It's basically a squat, except a little different.

You're going to squat down so that both feet are flat on the ground. You're then going to bring your arms in between your knees and push your knees out with your elbows, bringing your hands together in the middle. You should be able to feel a good stretch in your groin. If you don't, push your knees further out with your elbows until you do feel the stretch.



Bird Dog



This helps to strengthen the core because you're using alternate stabilizing muscles to stay balanced, and it's a good warm up before heavy deadlifts or squats.

First, get on all fours and fully extend one leg behind you. Next, lift your alternate arm straight out in front of you. In other words, if you extend your left leg, you also extend your right arm. Hold this position for about 20 seconds and then switch.



The Set Up

I do all of these poses everyday, especially before a heavy training session.

Start with some calisthenics to get your heart rate up and get some blood flowing, then go right into the movements. Here's what it would look like:

Warm up by walking on a treadmill or jump rope.

Prayer squat: 30-60 seconds
Hero pose: 30-60 seconds
Pigeon pose: 30-60 seconds
Bird dog: 30 seconds each side
Upward facing dog: 30-60 seconds
Belly twist: 30 seconds each side

Focus on getting deeper into the more basic poses before moving onto the more advanced ones.



Wrap Up

Yoga may be a four-letter word for a strength athlete but it shouldn't be. You may be as big as a house and strong as a bull, but if you lack flexibility your training, and eventually your quality of life, will be compromised.

Don't be that big guy we all know that can hammer PR's but has to bribe kids to tie his shoes for him. Get good at these moves and I can guarantee that you'll become a better overall athlete, lifter, or bodybuilder.

And for you guys brave enough to attend the "girly" yoga classes: Don't forget to send me a thank you letter for your ever-growing panty collection.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

"All American Strongman Challenge" (Los Angeles, CA)

This contest did not go well for me. I got hurt on the first event. Heard something "pop" on my right adductor in the 352 lbs Farmers Walk when I went to pick it up. No bruising occured on my right leg but I think I strained it or tore some fascia.

This really affected me for the rest of the contest because it was very uncomfortable to squat down and pickup things, but I was able to finish the rest of the contest.

2 other guys got hurt worse than me and had to drop out of the contest so I'm glad my injury wasn't that severe cause I was able to compete for both days.
Very tough field of 22 competitors.  Here are a few videos...





It was frustrating to get an injury on the first event but oh well, thats life.  My leg feels better already and I will be back to training tomorrow for the next contest.

Thanks for the support!
Grant Higa Bulky Boy strongman team