Your formative years

[pbmax]

^ Country strong really did mean something back in the day.

[Harlan Huckleby]

^ Country strong really did mean something back in the day.

In my favorite sport of wrasslin it was real tragedy when they decided to split competitions into school sizes. The small school farm kids were usually the best wrestlers, and it was the "Hoosiers" movie every tournament. Maybe now that weight training is so prevalent the city slickers have caught up with the hay balers.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I just remembered something. When Jim Gibbons, the wrestling analyst for the Big Ten Network, wants to say a wrestler is strong, he calls them "prison strong." So I guess weight lifting has in fact replaced country strong.

[Patler]

I just remembered something. When Jim Gibbons, the wrestling analyst for the Big Ten Network, wants to say a wrestler is strong, he calls them "prison strong." So I guess weight lifting has in fact replaced country strong.

A few years back when we discussed hockey players, we called some "country strong" and others "weight room strong". The country strong kids (many from from northern Canada) were strong in all situations, off balance, whatever. The weight room strong kids from the prep schools, AAA programs in the big cities and the like were strong in line, but not always when extended, reaching, etc. You could see it during action in front of the net, etc. In open ice, there wasn't much difference.

Maybe it was just differences in attitude, but their backgrounds seemed to be involved too. Maybe it was just being stronger on their skates; but kids who were naturally strong from their life styles seemed to fare better than kids who developed their strength in the weight room, even if they were equals in testing.

[Fritz]

That kid playing "safety" in a pickup game was simply a prima donna who didn't like to be made a fool of.

You and your helmets would have been resisted in our games. In the end it would only matter how many players we needed.

It was always easier to get kids to play baseball.

Well, the roundabout point I was making or trying to make was that our parents made us wear those helmets as a safety issue, yet nobody ever thought about how safe it was to play football with a helmet but no other pads, or that some kids had helmets and some didn't. Or that spearing kids with your head might be unsafe.


But that was also back in the days when nobody had ever heard of the phrase "stay hydrated." We just drank water from the garden hose when we got thirsty.

As for Patler's recollection, it sounds like a good time and place to grow up. He probably played against Letroy Guion's grandfather.

[Harlan Huckleby]

A few years back when we discussed hockey players, we called some "country strong" and others "weight room strong".

Jim Gibbons grew up on a farm in Iowa, and four of the Gibbons sons became championship wrestlers, two earning Olympic medals.

So if Jim Gibbons respects prison strong, why that's good enough for me.

[Patler]

Jim Gibbons grew up on a farm in Iowa, and four of the Gibbons sons became championship wrestlers, two earning Olympic medals.

So if Jim Gibbons respects prison strong, why that's good enough for me.

Damn pig farmers! You really need to up your standards HH! (You might have to be a WI dairy farmer from the mid last century to get that!)

I wasn't demeaning his evaluation, just mentioning another category we had years back. I haven't looked seriously at hockey players for 20 years or so, and I think the fact is that training methods have improved. I suspect if I looked at players now I might not see the same distinctions that we saw then. Athletes train their fine muscle strength (is that term still used?) better than the did, in effect better emulating the hard physical lifestyles that made kids "country strong".

[Fritz]

Jim Gibbons grew up on a farm in Iowa, and four of the Gibbons sons became championship wrestlers, two earning Olympic medals.

So if Jim Gibbons respects prison strong, why that's good enough for me.

I thought "prison strong" was a reference to someone's sphincter.

[George Cumby]

Ain't no strong like Country Strong.

Throwing hay bales, lifting from awkward positions, rotational lifting, lifting in unstable environments, long hours.

There's no substitute. I would wager that "training" in that environment results in more motor unit recruitment when compared to power lifting or the Olympic lifts.