Physical Preparation Podcast · Mike Robertson

Joe Kenn on Strongman Training, Strength Development, and Velocity-Based Training

·1 hr 21 min·5 clips

Joe Kenn calls the Strongest Man on Earth one of the hardest, heaviest eight-event contests ever.

Joe Kin joins Mike Robertson for another practical coaching conversation. Robertson points to Kin’s 25-plus years in strength and conditioning, including stops at Boise State, Utah, Arizona State, Louisville, the Carolina Bulldogs, and the Panthers, as one reason the discussion carries weight. The episode opens with a blunt take on effort and terminology around big lifts: Kin says every rep on big lifts is an RPE 10 and he does not like shorthand that leaves him guessing what someone means. From there, the talk shifts into how he structures training now, especially in strongman. Kin describes using a tier-system workout during a rejuvenation stage and sending videos when an exercise is unfamiliar. A recurring theme is that strongman rarely has a true off-season. Kin prefers an on-season lens because athletes are always working on something. That matters because the calendar can move fast. Robertson and Kin talk through how strongman athletes can go from the Arnold to World’s Strongest Man in about six weeks, then into overseas invites and other major events like the Rogue Invitational. Depending on the invites, an athlete might compete once, twice, or as many as seven times in a year. That kind of schedule changes recovery, planning, and the way training has to be organized. The episode stays practical and keeps coming back to how principles that work in team sports still have to hold up under strongman’s demands.

As heard by us

A practical strongman coaching episode focused on effort, tiers, and in-season planning.

Joe Kenn and Mike Robertson spend the episode on strongman training, strength development, and the practical problem of coaching around a crowded competition calendar.

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Why you'd press play

You want straight talk on strongman programming, tiered workouts, and how coaches plan around a packed competition calendar.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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