Stennis Sailor Trains for Strongman Contests
Story Number: NNS090116-17
Release Date: 1/16/2009 3:03:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Elliott J. Fabrizio, USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs
USS JOHN C. STENNIS, At Sea (NNS) -- Heaving massive 350 pound cement boulders and flipping over humongous 1,100 pound tractor tires is a typical Thursday night training session for one Sailor stationed aboard USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).
Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Matt White is training to become a professional strongman in a group he formed called the Kitsap Crew.
"I'm an amateur right now," said White. "But in professional strongman competitions, you take the strongest people from around the world and you invite them to these contests, in which they do stuff like pull planes, buses or semis. They'll lift huge rounded stones that are extremely hard to grip and put them on platforms, and they'll raise logs or axels over their head."
The events demand a combination of physical strength, endurance and speed, requiring participants to have all-around athleticism to do well in all categories, said fellow Kitsap Crew Member Chris Smith.
"To be one of the most elite strength athletes in the world is something that I think is within my capability," said White. "Doing this and accomplishing this will be my way of leaving my mark on the world. The eventual goal within the next few years is to get my pro card as a strongman."
White got his first taste of glory in strongman competitions this year when he competed in Mount Rainier's Strongest Man, Aug. 2, and took third place in the super-heavyweight division.
"Most guys don't place on their first competition," said Smith. "For him to actually place third and it being his first time competing, is quite impressive. I think within two years, at the most, he'll probably be pro."
To train for this goal, White does specific strongman events once a week and builds strength in a gym two to three times a week. Throughout his training, White motivates himself and his training partners to push themselves to their limit.
"There's been a couple times where I did a yoke walk and it fell on me, so I walked away," said Smith. "A little later, Matt pushed me to give it another try and I actually did an even heavier yoke and got it a little further. He wants everyone to achieve their best."
When White isn't training, he is still focused on his goal.
"I do not drink anymore. I do not smoke. Most of my days are spent indoors resting and recuperating my muscles and body."
There is only one thing in White's life that takes priority over his strongman training. "The Navy is the most important thing in my life and I have to follow that first," said White.
To his shipmates, White is a typical Sailor that knows his job and is willing to lend a hand where needed.
"He's just a regular guy around here," said Seaman Edwin Fontanez. "He'll help you whenever you need it. I know he's really committed to his strongman stuff, but he also knows how to have a balance."
While underway, White is presented with a unique set of obstacles as he tries to continue his training and fulfill his duty as a Sailor. He faces limited options for his training diet in chow lines, gym gear that is not suited to his type of training, and watch standing duties that cause an unpredictable sleep schedule; however, White says he works around the challenges and even uses some aspects of ship life to his advantage.
"When the ship starts to rock gently, I swap from heavy lifting to very explosive lifting," said White. "By doing this, it coverts the raw, brute strength I have built up into usable power, which is strength that can be molded into a specific form or lift."
White's commitment to his training demonstrates to his fellow strongmen and competition spectators the level of focus and determination shared by Sailors throughout the Navy.
"Him being in the military, I think it gives him some extra drive and motivation and that's bled over into the strongman competition, and it helps him," said Smith.
During training sessions and at public competitions like Mount Rainier's Strongest Man, White shows his pride as a Sailor.
"I wore a Navy T-shirt, and I talked to some of the people," said White. "They asked me if I was active duty and if I was still in, and I explained to them where I was stationed and everything about my job, how I like it, and how I juggle both strongman training and my job in the Navy."
White says he gives both his training and his job in the Navy 110 percent and hopes the Navy will still be a big part of his life when he becomes a professional competitor.
"I really like my job in the Navy," said White. "If I could get the Navy to sponsor me and send me to competitions around the world, that would be a dream come true."
Becoming a Navy-sponsored professional strongman may be the future for White, but for now, he is focusing on his job in the Navy. In the meantime, he'll be training for the day when he returns to the Northwest to unleash on strongman competitions.
