Strong Trainer = Strong Man
An Interview with Danny King

by John Izzo, NASM-CPT, PES

I’m always intrigued with speaking to real trainers. Guys and gals that are really working…working with real people…not the online BS that I always hear you can make millions from. I like the guys that actually sit in front of a troubled client and are able to transform them from coach potato to gym fanatic. That is not an easy task and for those that do it day in and day out, I have an infinite amount of respect for. 

How does he do it? Well, I contacted Danny for some one-on-one questions.

John: First off, let's tell people more about you. No need for date of birth or social security number, but let's tell everyone about your life in athletics, fitness, and training. What are you involved in? Where are you located out of? Who do you primarily train?

Danny: Hi John.  Thanks for the opportunity for the interview.  To start with the about me, I have been a Personal Trainer for a bit over 4 years now, spending all of the time in regular commercial gyms.  I hold a NASM CPT and PES.  My start in fitness is much different than a lot of trainers.  I was a terrible athlete growing up.  My peak of athletic success was 3 years of JV Tennis in High School.  I got started strength training as something to keep me in shape and give me something to do after school. 

 I am located in St. Paul, MN and currently divide my time between training full time for a YMCA and starting a private studio.  Despite my background in Strength Athletics I spend most of my time working with Fat Loss clients.  I realized fairly early on that just about everyone in the gym wants to get leaner and look better and I better focus my attention there.  I have also recently gotten into training a lot of endurance athletes, specifically inline skaters and a few cyclists.  I find that they are a great group to work with because they are willing to listen 100% to me in the gym and will do just about anything to get better.

John: I've worked with the YMCA and over the years have worked with tons of fat loss clients. What do you find is the constant barrier that blocks their success? And what would you say is the constant trend that helps them reach success?

Danny: This is something that I have thought about a lot recently.  I think that most people miss the middle ground.  Everyone is either over or under training.  Either they eat 1000 cals or 5000.  It’s not easy to work out with a lot of intensity, but not too much.  I find that most often with people who are going to the gym but not seeing results is that small tweaks in there program really change things.  Taking their 45 minutes on an elliptical and changing it to 25-30 minutes of intervals can go from no progress to quick progress.  It’s pretty amazing actually. As cliché as it sounds, the constant trend that I see in my successful clients is that they are ready to change.  No matter what it always comes back to that.  If you are mentally and emotionally ready to change, you are going to succeed.

John: Let's talk about your training philosophy? Who do you admire? Whose principles do you follow? Who are you are a big fan of?

 Danny: I have a very hard time defining my training philosophy.  I guess you could say my philosophy is finding the right tool for the right job.  I can say that I am a huge fan of compound lifts, mostly free weights, and individualized workouts.  Each person is a bit different and has different needs. 

From a training perspective I can say that the two biggest influences on me have been Bill Hartman and Alwyn Cosgrove.  Bill has given me a ton of advice over the last few years and I have come to realize that he is never wrong.  It’s actually kind of scary how much he knows.  Alwyn really helped me learn that you can learn from anywhere and regardless of the source you need to take what you have seen and make sure that it works in your world.  I am also a huge fan of Gray Cook, Eric Cressey, Mike Boyle, Mike Robertson, Rachel Cosgrove, Brian Grasso, Jon Chaimberg, and just about anyone who is willing to publish their stuff where I can read it.  If someone takes the time to write something, I will take the time to read it.

Two other people who I feel the need to mention are people who really helped me early on decide that training was what I wanted to do with my life and were truly role models for me are Jean Paul Francour of JP Fitness fame and Lou Schuler.  I owe a ton to both guys and can't say enough positive things about them.

John: You are a trainer, so what inspired you to become a trainer? You stated that you were thinking about opening your own business. What inspired that? How far along are you on that dream?

Danny: I started as a trainer for really the wrong reasons.  In my head it made sense that since I love being in the gym than a job that has me in the gym all day would be awesome.  What I didn't account for was that the majority of the people I will work with all day hate the gym and that’s why I am there.  Luckily for me I have always been a people person and quickly learned to love working with a wide variety of people.  I don't think I could take a job that didn't have the day to day variety I get.  There is no better feeling than helping someone achieve a goal.  I not only get to celebrate my achievements, but I now get to celebrate the achievements of everyone I work with.

I am still in the early stages with my business.  The main driver for starting my own business is because I feel that commercial gym atmosphere is not always the most conductive atmosphere to success.  My end goal is a semi-private gym where all of the members are focused on training and goals.  So far it has been great and has only made me more determined to it going.

John: Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the strongman competition recently...let’s have you elaborate as to why you decided to enter such a competition.

Danny: I decided to start training for and competing in Strongman comps mostly because I was looking for some focus with my training and needed something to train for.  I found out about amateur strongman competitions randomly on the internet and got lucky and found guys pretty close to me to train with.  Once I went out for a training day once I was hooked.  There is a huge amount of support from other competitors and the feeling you get in training for and competing is amazing.  I have never been that athletic so I feel that for me strongman has finally been a competitive outlet that I am really passionate about.

John: About your strongman experience...I hear ya on the competition aspect of it. I think we all need to release our competitive sides to understand more and more about ourselves. Why did you choose strongman, as opposed to another contest like bodybuilding, marathon running, or cycling?

Danny: I have never been an endurance guy.  Long term steady state stuff just bores me to death so running or cycling was out for sure.  For some reasons that I don't even fully understand I have always been much more interested in strength than size or leanness.  Moving heavy things just holds a special appeal to me.  The best part of strongman in my eyes is that you need to be good at a lot of things.  Not just static strength, not just pressing strength.  If you aren't well rounded you are never going to win a contest.  I have actually seen a person never win more than one event and end up winning a contest simply because they didn't have a weak event.

Another huge factor in keeping with Strongman is because it’s one of the most supportive sports I have ever seen.  I have seen guys cheering hard for their direct competition in an event and have never seen someone who is willing to come out and give it a go not get help and support.  There is a huge amount of respect for anyone who is willing to step up and compete.

John: You posted some great pics of your recent competition. Like the get-up. Did you do anything special in your training leading up to your competition?

Danny: The socks tend to be crowd pleasers.  Putting on my long miss-matched socks is like flipping the on switch for me.  The biggest changes training wise for me are that my calorie consumption jumps up about an extra 500-750 cals per day and the intensity of my workouts increases quite a bit.  I almost always follow a 4 day per week upper/lower split.  When I have a contest coming up something changes in my mind and I feel like I have unlimited energy and focus during my workouts. 

John: Sort of like Sly Stallone in Over the Top. As soon as he flipped the cap, that was the switch…heheh..

Danny:  I also make time to get out and do some event training with other strongmen on the weekends.  Being technically good at events is huge.  I have beaten a lot of stronger guys than myself by being better at an event than they are.

John: What was your favorite strongman feat during the competition?

Danny: My favorite event is probably atlas stones, mostly because loading events are typically my best event in a contest.  I hate anything pressing overhead.

Danny: The first thing I would say to anyone contemplating it is to DO IT.  No matter how you do, you won't regret it.  Lifting in a competition setting will teach you a lot about yourself. 

To prepare, you need to find strong people around you who can help you learn events.  With strongman getting more and more popular this is getting easier and easier.  The easiest way to find a training group is to contact your states State Chairman.  You can find this out at www.nastrongmaninc.com.  Once you have some event time under your belt you will know what your weaknesses are.  Train those.  People, me included, love to do the things we are good at.  To be good in Strongman, you need to start doing the things you are bad at.  For me it has been trying to build a respectable overhead press.

John: Lastly, do you feel that will incorporate some strongman training with your fat loss clients in the future? If so, what specifically?

Danny: I love to get people doing different sled pushes and pulls, so that definitely has its place, especially as an alternative to regular interval cardio. 

The other thing that I have taken from strongman training and used a lot with fat loss clients is the idea of doing things for time.  I found that I worked way harder when I had to do a timed event, like maximum tire flips in 60 seconds or maximum deadlift repetitions in 60 seconds.  I always got more reps or went further than if I were to just have a rep range or distance.  I now use a lot of that with clients.  We will focus on max exertion from anywhere from 30 seconds to 2 minutes.  Besides the awesome calorie burn this really helps teach people how strong they really are and how far they can really push.

John:  Danny, thanks for taking the time to share your experience with my readers. It is definitely a big help for other trainers to keep their eyes open for opportunities in business and personal growth.

Danny: Thanks John, it was my pleasure. [END]