Strongman, trainer Andrew Durniat shares his training secrets

Wouldn’t it be great to have an opportunity to pick the brain for fitness tips of a world-record setting strongman and highly successful personal trainer.
I had that opportunity recently when I sat down for an interview with Andrew Durniat, 32, of Ohio, who’s a personal trainer on weekdays and competitive strongman and fitness lecturer on weekends.
Durniat’s basic principles for strength training don’t change much whether he’s preparing for a Strongman show, or leading a 50-year-old man trying to improve his conditioning through a personal training session.
He has even beginning clients perform Olympic style lifts, albeit with very light weights at first.
"My basic principles utilize fundamental training with squats, deadlifts and derivatives of Olympic lifts such as the clean and jerk and snatch," he said. "The body works as a collective unit, so people should train life that.
"We want people to be able to move. It's not so much how you look, but how you perform."
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Although with Durniat's knowledge and energy, most people perform and look better after training with him.
"It's phenomenal to work with him," said Josh McDonald, one of Durniat‘s proteges in the Strongman world. "It's good to see someone like him around here.
"You don't need just the barbells or dumbbells. It's definitely not as simple as three sets of eight to 10 reps of everything. He knows how to use all the aspects of training. He has lots of sports specific knowledge across the board -- it's been an educational ride for me."
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Durniat has made a name for himself nationwide and even worldwide as a strongman, with his specialty kettlebell lifts and grip strength.
Although Durniat has about as many strongman accomplishments as he has weight plates in the gym, three competitions this year really stand out.
"I set the single-arm deadlift world record in my weight class (105 kilograms/231 pounds) by lifting 519 pounds with my left arm," said Durniat, of a mind-boggling feat performed at the Atomic Athletic Old-Timers Strongman Picnic in Bowling Green May 14. "The previous record was 479 pounds.
"At the Los Angeles Fit Expo I placed second in the Vice Grip Viking Challenge," he added. "There I was going up against a handful of professional strongmen. I came in second overall behind Mark Felix, who's 6-3, 320 pounds, and I beat him in a few events. And at the Arnold Classic in Columbus I was second in the Mighty Mitts -- and again I was giving up about 70 pounds to the other competitors."
When it comes to Strongman events, you name it and Durniat has tried it. In fact, he said he's "always building stuff" to test people's strength behind the Central Tennis and Fitness Club in Ohio, where he operates Durniat strength out of.
"The guys you see on the Metrix World's Strongest Man Competitions, I've gotten to know a lot of them and we talk pretty often on the phone," Durniat said. "The stuff people see them doing on TV, they can try it at (Central Tennis and Fitness Club)."
Durniat's clients are given the chance to try strongman training if they wish, such as lifting heavy stones (they start at the light end around 165 pounds and go up to 265 and beyond), flipping oversized tires or doing caber tosses.
With approximately 75 clients between his personal and small-group training sessions, there are countless success. The success he helps others achieve feels as good to Durniat as winning a medal at a strongman competition.
"I love seeing people make progress," Durniat said. "Some of the greatest success stories are individuals who can now perform simple tasks they couldn't before.
"We've had people who couldn't go down the steps without taking it one at a time but now walk down them with ease. We had another individual who can now ski in Colorado with their family, but couldn't before. Others worked to be able to run a 5K race (3.1 miles). Of course, there are also success stories … like the many other college athletes I've trained."
For more information go to www.DurniatStrength.com, email durniatstrength@gmail.com or call Durniat at 949-230-6945.
At Home Fitness consultant Aaron Dorksen’s blog deals with a variety of
fitness topics, ranging from workout tips, motivational ideas and feature
stories on how exercise impacts people’s lives. E-mail him with comments,
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