Q&A with World's Strongest Man competitor Travis Ortmayer

[HumanHorrorFilm]

This is actually a really specific question for you Travis

Ive recently started training the stones consistently and have made decent progress. The question I have for you is about acheiving full extension at the top to load the stone. I can lap a stone, stand up with it, but cannto acheieve the full extension. What type of BB exercises would you recommend to alleviate this type of problem?

[Eddie-M]

Ooooh, ooohh, I got one Travis!

Do you have like a personal saying or motto that you go by? Like something inspirational?

I would love to copy and paste it into my sig so I can see it when I log on and it will help keep me motivated!

Thanks,
Eddie-M (Chris)

[babyslayer]

brb shooting for a 850 deadlift, 800+ squat, 375 axel clean an press, 380 log press, 450 atlas stone lift, and 900lb yolk walk.

[jmt92]

This is actually a really specific question for you Travis

Ive recently started training the stones consistently and have made decent progress. The question I have for you is about acheiving full extension at the top to load the stone. I can lap a stone, stand up with it, but cannto acheieve the full extension. What type of BB exercises would you recommend to alleviate this type of problem?

Zercher deads.
zercher squats, pull bar from the floor into start position.
zercher movements?
I really don't know but I would assume these help.

[laxxxer]

do u ever do any running/sprinting?

[81Ort]

Pick your top five events, and then list which barbell exercises contribute the most toward improvement of that event. It goes without saying that skill-specific training is number one.

My top 5 events and the BB exercises that would benefit them:

Atlas Stones: BB rows (overhand and underhand), curls, and high pulls.


Deadlift: obviously deadlifts


Max axle: clean and press with the BB
Viking Press: clean once then press for reps. As you come down to your shoulders after each rep catch the bar while bending your legs then throw it back up without stopping.


Conan's Wheel: wrap the bar with a towel or something then take it out of the rack with it sitting in the crook of your arm. Hold as long as you can.


Truck Pull: do pull-ups with a rope. High rep half squats while not locking your legs out fully will help a lot too.


The most important lifts you can do in the gym, in my personal opinion, are:
deadlifts
squats
clean and press
rows
bench
... and pretty much in that order.

[81Ort]

You are a strong guy.

Can you give me a quick outline of your split?

What is the best piece of advice you could give to someone who wants to be strong as hell?

Thanks.

Monday- ME upper (some kind of overhead), chest, tri's, DE lower
Wednesday- light Olympic lifts
Thursday- ME lower (squat, deadlift, good mornings), back, bi's, DE upper
Saturday- 3-5 events contest style


The best advice I can ever give is STAY CONSISTENT!!!! Find a routine that is possible and stick with it for at least 12 weeks. *By possible I mean don't go into Flex magazine and do the same thing that Ronnie Coleman is doing...

[81Ort]

is it true bill kazmaier can:
1. Bend steel with YOUR mind (let alone his own)

2. that atlas stones are actually his kindney stones (Which he quipped when passing them "IS THAT IT")


Actually my question is without having to actually tell me what you cash-flow from comps/sponsers is (I figure thats kinda personal) do you have to hold down any sort of job to help finance your training/life?

1. Only the weak men's minds.
2. Yes, and it is an honor to get to touch them.


3. Unfortuantely, in America you do have to have some sort of alternate income. If you win every contest then I guess you wouldn't but that is a tough thing to do... However, the prize money is getting better all the time. We are in a time of growth for Strongman and it is only getting better.

[81Ort]

How much does height play as a factor? Do you ever think there could be a WSM under 6 foot? (if their hasn't been already, I dunno)

Mariusz is 5'11".
Ted van der Parre was 7'1".

[81Ort]

Hey Ort. I see you're listed to appear at the "Ultimate Strongman Championship" in Sydney in December '09. Is this set in stone? I'd definately fork out the money to fly over to Aus to watch you guys live in action.

Yes, as far as I know. There is a whole year for things to change but I would NOT pass up the chance to go to Australia! My wife has family there too so it would be a great trip. Unfortunately they are in Perth, but hell, that's only a 4 hour flight or so right...?

[81Ort]

Travis mate, my question is this

There are now a few really ripped strongmen, Marius and Aviid Haugen being too great examples

Do these guys diet and train for looks as well as strength ? Or are they just really really blessed with low bodyfat levels ?

Hell I don't know, I wish I could be lean and strong but my family is predisposed to being fat...

[81Ort]

Travis,

1. Are you going to stay in the Super Series circuit, or are you going to go back to IFSA this year? I caught a little of the older IFSA stuff on VS last weekend and saw you doing stones, awesome!

2. Thinking about medleys, I notice that some guys seem to have the endurance, but not the leg strength. And sometimes vise versa. How do you strike a balance between the two?

1. IFSA is gone sadly, but I will surely do Champions League and Super-Series. These two federations have great competitions and great prize money. These two fed's definitely have class.

2. The answer is: Leg endurance. Practice the medleys and do higher reps or more sets on squats.

[81Ort]

how do gain more strength

Lift weights and be consistent about it.

[81Ort]

Ort, what is your favorite meal?

also just a little props to you; i saw you compete in a very low key strongman event in Kaufman Tx about 5-6 yrs ago, dude was insane and the only guy there that really seemed to be driven. i could tell that Ort was definately looking towards big things. best of luck at the 2009 WSM!

DiGiornio Pizza and a cream soda...


I remember that show! Still one of my favorite memories. The guy who won that show is Jim Glassman my mentor that I mentioned earlier. He only beat me one more time after that. Thanks for bringing that up!

[81Ort]

Kind of related to that; what type of training would you say a younger person such as high school do?

Stick the basics and learn proper form from a person who really knows what they are doing. How do you know if a person knows what they are doing? They either have a lot of people they train that look strong or they look strong as hell themselves!

[81Ort]

Whats it like behind the scenes at WSM ?

Meaning the whole trip, and how do you get food?

I always wonder about this kind of stuff. Do you go to resturants 5 times a day, or does the WSM provide nutrition?

My experience may have been a little different than other years but we just stayed in a hotel and had access to a buffet most of the day. The actual event moves very slowly for the TV cameras to get properly set up. The qualifiers were 4 days long and the finals were 3.

[81Ort]

This is actually a really specific question for you Travis

Ive recently started training the stones consistently and have made decent progress. The question I have for you is about acheiving full extension at the top to load the stone. I can lap a stone, stand up with it, but cannto acheieve the full extension. What type of BB exercises would you recommend to alleviate this type of problem?

What test_titan wrote will help. I think you should try loading stones to high platforms. Get more speed out of your lap or off the floor and use that momentum to keep the stone moving up.

[81Ort]

Ooooh, ooohh, I got one Travis!

Do you have like a personal saying or motto that you go by? Like something inspirational?

I would love to copy and paste it into my sig so I can see it when I log on and it will help keep me motivated!

Thanks,
Eddie-M (Chris)

I have it in my sig. You are more than welcome to use it too. I live my life by this. If you truly believe something is going to happen then it will, but part of this is that you have to actually live your life like it has already happened.
Think about it; if you were going to win something great then you would have trained your ass off for it and done everything right to get there. Why not start all that now?

[nockowt1]

Do you do any specific grip training?

[jmt92]

Do you do any specific grip training?

which gripper you closing in avi brah?

I have a question, do you do any box work for your squats in your training?If so what kind with what bars?Bands chains?Or do you stick to back squats,zerchers,front,overhead etc?

[someonefat]

brb shooting for a 850 deadlift, 800+ squat, 375 axel clean an press, 380 log press, 450 atlas stone lift, and 900lb yolk walk.

Are you going to do strongman? 6'2 seems to be the perfect height for strongman based on other pros. (Vasyl Virastyuk, Bill Kazmeir, svend karlson, Jouko Ahola, Marius-he was listed 6'2 on tv-, J?n P?ll Sigmarsson, zydrunas savickas, Mikhail Koklyaev, travis ortmayer, ext) All those strongman are 6'2-6'3.

Question: What would you like to see change with the WSM, or strongman in general?

[Eddie-M]

I have it in my sig. You are more than welcome to use it too. I live my life by this. If you truly believe something is going to happen then it will, but part of this is that you have to actually live your life like it has already happened.
Think about it; if you were going to win something great then you would have trained your ass off for it and done everything right to get there. Why not start all that now?

I like that Travis. It applies to so many things, whether its training your ass off to be something special, or acting profesional at work and taking school seriously. Its mine now

[db2000]

Did you become a strongman because of your huge deadlift...
or did strongman training give you a huge deadlift?

[str8flexed]

Travis, great answers, this is fantastic for your fans. Do you have a DVD or book out? Anything you'd like to plug?

[mentalmorph]

Monday- ME upper (some kind of overhead), chest, tri's, DE lower
Wednesday- light Olympic lifts
Thursday- ME lower (squat, deadlift, good mornings), back, bi's, DE upper
Saturday- 3-5 events contest style


The best advice I can ever give is STAY CONSISTENT!!!! Find a routine that is possible and stick with it for at least 12 weeks. *By possible I mean don't go into Flex magazine and do the same thing that Ronnie Coleman is doing...

Thanks very much for your help.

[nockowt1]

which gripper you closing in avi brah?

The #2 (the best I've closed is a BBSM).

[mentalmorph]

He has a training log here at:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=371946

Thanks for that.

[Lager1]

Is it possible to give Travis a bolded name, like how pro bodybuilders who post in the IFBB section get them?

[Arlecchino]

Is it possible to give Travis a bolded name, like how pro bodybuilders who post in the IFBB section get them?

Already following up on that.

[Disenfranchised]

First off, props to you for taking the time to answer people's questions and engage with our online community, that's awesome. What does your daily "diet" look like? I'm betting the answer is TONS of food. What are the staples of your dietary regimen?