Ironclad Performance LLC

Here's the livestream link for tomorrow's competition.

Spring Into Strongman - Novice Only Event 2025 Ironclad Performance87 Executive DriveAurora, IL 60504

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Spring Into Strongman! - Ironclad Performance It’s the beginning of February already and that means we’re just over a month out from our next competition, Spring Into Strongman! Which is our Novice only

We want to give a giant "Thank You" to everyone who made the Ironclad Strongman Classic V a terrific success!

with gratitude - Ironclad Performance Right now, I am sitting in our gym a couple of days after hosting a Strongman competition and reflecting on the weekend. Fitting that Thanksgiving is about a

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Belly-Breathing for Better Strongman Performance. - Ironclad Performance One of the first things I tell my athletes is that their breathing is the most important thing. You can live days without food and water but only minutes

There's a new term out there that's been getting popular in the literature, "exercise snack." This refers to very quick bouts of exercise performed throughout the day instead of a full workout all at once. These have been shown to be incredibly effective when volume is equivalent. Doing something is better than nothing and taking breaks throughout the day to add some exercise can really help build up some areas that might get neglected otherwise in your training. Take a few minutes to get some core work in. Start your morning with some pushups and pullups. Do some of the corrective exercises you got from a Physical Therapist or coach. Build up some armor over time with "snacking" and see what it can do for you.

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Should a beginner cut weight? - Ironclad Performance Over this past weekend I was talking with an athlete about potentially doing their first competition. One of the questions he had was about weight-classes in

Approximately 1/4 of the bones in your body are located in your feet. They are vital to human performance. Strengthening your feet will only help you become a better athlete. Here are a few practical ways to help develop your feet for better performance;

1. Roll them out with a Lacrosse Ball. Take a minute per foot and roll them over a lacrosse ball to work the fascia and relax them.

2. Ankle Floss. Wrap your foot and ankle with a compression band for a couple of minutes per foot and while wrapped move the foot/ankle complex through all available range of motion. Put some weight on the foot and walk/squat too. This will help with ankle mobility and blood flow.

3. Warm-up Barefoot. Take your shoes and socks off while you're doing your general warmups. Let your feet absorb forces and feel the proprioception available in your gym if you can. Arnold was a big fan of lifting barefoot, need I say more?

4. Use minimalist shoes/bare feet in training. There is a time and place for everything so when you are in lighter/earlier blocks of training do some of your work barefoot or wear minimalist shoes where you can. Start with a little bit of this and add more volume over time as your feet become conditioned to training without support.

5. Throw some toe spacers on. In off-times throw on some toe spacers to open up your toes so they can be used effectively.

Add one or two of these tips in throughout your week and see how your hips and knees feel better over time.

Just put up a new Blog post. Been leaning into some more philosophical underpinnings of what we do, check it out!

Love is more powerful than hate - Ironclad Performance The light overcomes darkness whenever they are in the same room together. I think that everything in the weight room applies to life outside the gym in a

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Train to Win - Ironclad Performance The difference between training to win and training to complete an event has been an ongoing conversation that I have been having with myself as well as some

Coaching is so much more than the Xs and Os of fitness. Coaching is an ongoing process of communicating what an athlete needs to get to their goals. Meet people where they are, lay out the plan to get them to where they want to go, and draw the performance out that will build the athlete to that level.

We're big fans of loaded carries for all our athletes. They are a great way to build overall strength as well as endurance. We typically use a moderate weight for 300-400 feet with our Adult Athletes.