One of my greatest joys at Strongman is to watch someone struggling to flip our 650 tire - they are grunting and groaning, holding their breath, teeth clenched to breaking point, shaking, all psyched up and there it is... the tire slowly passes perpendicular and heads for sunset. 'Thump!'
Such fulfillment in their faces, maybe a fist-pump... awesome - a great day in the yard - dramatic, self empowering, gains made, ego boosted... so cool - BUT...
What's an even better moment, for me anyways, is when the 'Zen' in the Art of Tire Flippin' is revealed to them. When after much struggle a different technique blows in on a wind. They discover that by relaxing and breathing out slowly, using their dan tien (lower abdomen), focusing so the entire body moves smoothly at once - how the same accomplishment could have been done while calmly talking about the weather. No Drama. And this peaceful power allows them to do much more. No energy is wasted on clenching and huffing and screaming and tension - the 650 lb tire goes over like it was flowing out to sea, carried by waves.
I am the first person to tell you to "YAWLP" when hammering, maxing a dead lift, etc. it is so much barbarian fun!
But when all is said and done, the slow beat of water and wind can topple mountains just as well as dynamite, and uses much less energy - but it requires a lot more patience.
At Strongman we try to have Yin and Yang flow together so that one can be -
The Thunderous Storm and It's Calm Eye...at the same time.
It all starts and ends with breathing.
Good luck on your journey.
