For this FS Update I wanted to share some training inspiration for the week. In my unusual athletic development I was introduced to two very different mentors. - Hugh Cassidy and Robert Smith. I immersed myself into two parallel athletic universes mentoring under both of these men. This immersion led to profound athletic and writing lessons. I sought to "square the circle" and meld aspects of "soft" internal martial arts with "hard" strength training. I discovered numerous commonalities between powerlifting and internal martial arts. Both disciplines were obsessed with technique and paid close attention to posture, balance and stance. There were also highly developed attitudes regarding the role of a centered and psyched mind that emphasized mental recalibration tactics. 

My first introduction to Hugh Cassidy was at the DCAAU Powerlifting Championships in 1968. I was 17 and taking my last warm-up. His first words to me were, "Hey Kid! I dig your squat style!" I knew Hugh was a pretty big deal in the then embryonic world of powerlifting. Fast forward to the 1980's and I was training in Hugh Cassidy's basement gym that looked like something from the TV show "The Munsters." Homemade equipment (Hugh was an expert welder) was crammed and stuffed into every nook and cranny. The basement of his funky, homey, artist house had a ceily only seven feet in height, so no standing overhead lifting was possible. 

I found Cassidy a riddle wrapped in a n enigma tucked inside a paradox. He was an artist o the highest order, an excellent musician who played great guitar and exceptional bass. He worked in various bands, but opted out of the night club scene on account of his acute susceptibility to ciarette smoke. Hugh was a metal sculpture artist. He started off with simple one-dimensional wall relief tubing pieces, worked through an industrial glass table-top phase before developing refined welding techniques used on his three-dimensional nightmare creatures. Some of his devils and demons were so lifelike that they appeared ready to spring to life.

Cassidy might be found in his ample truck garden, grafting pear branches onto apple trees, reading classical literature or welding art. He taught special needs children and had more mental horsepower and artistic creativity than any athlete I ever met, before or since. He was directly responsible for starting me off on my writing career when he graciously consent to co-author some powerlifting pieces. He was tough on me and had trouble with my "bombastic" style. He was on us hard in the weight room. We trained twice a week and slammed down calories to speed recovery on and in between days. Hugh's approach could be summarized thuskly: train like a psycho, eat everything in sight, rest up and grow gargantuan. For you testosterone-laden men seeking size, strength and power his minimalist approach was magical.

We have created a featured section on our Progressive Resistance Page to some of the men that influenced my training journey. Below are links to two men who heavily influenced my training - Hugh Cassidy and Mark Chaillet. Enjoy the inspiration!

 

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Thanks
Marty Gallagher
Get Strong! Live Long!