Ben Hanson pulling a semi-truck and trailer. Photo by Pat Christman / The Mankato Free Press.
Ben Hanson is an athlete. He competes in two of the biggest and baddest sports in the world: Rugby and Strongman. When Ben isn’t training, pulling semi-trucks, or on the rugby field, he writes alongside Mike Gill at ChasingKaz.com. Ben was kind enough to set aside some of his time from his hectic schedule to answer some questions for us here at the Athlete Resource Center:
ARC: Why did you decide to get into rugby and Strongman?
Ben: I started playing rugby in college at the University of WI-River Falls. It was the first year the team was being formed (1996) and I thought it would be fun so I tried it. At first, it was more of a social thing than a serious athletic pursuit for me and most of my teammates, but in my last two years of college, I made the Collegiate Select Side, which is a regional all-star team and began to take it more seriously.
Like I said before, I started playing ball because I wanted something to do and for social reasons. I honestly wasn’t a very good athlete and hadn’t ever seriously trained. I started lifting in college and like a lot of the other gym rats, got started marvelling over the guys I saw in Muscle & Fitness and the like. Once I made the Select Side, though, I shifted my training style to include squats, deadlifts, and the like.
After college, I started playing for the St Paul Pigs, a local men’s club side and continued with my powerlifting style training for a few years. I was starting to get really bored with the same old gym routines day in and day out. I’d remembered watching a strongman contest live in Stillwater, MN a few years back and thought that pulling trucks and stuff like that could really improve my rugby game and add a little excitement into my training.
Through the magic of the internet, I tracked down the promoter of the contest and told him I wanted to start training. He directed me to a young competitor by the name of Dave Ostlund who’d just gone professional. I gave him a call and set up a time to train with him and a few others.
Originally, I never had any intention of competing. I just wanted to be better at rugby. It was only a few months until I competed in my first contest. That was in October of 2004, and now, 4 years later, I just completed my 26th contest. So much for the “not competing” idea.
ARC: Can you briefly describe your training? Do you do one workout for rugby season, and one for Strongman? Do you incorporate both into one workout?
Ben: During the strongman season, I typically don’t do a lot of endurance type work. I’ll run hills once a week, but that’s usually enough to keep me in pretty good condition for strongman.
Normally, I don’t go to the gym too often during rugby season. I’ll do some light events and some squats and deadlifts to keep sharp, but I’ve found that all the explosive power in the world won’t help you if you can’t get up and down the pitch the last 40 minutes of the match. Speed and fitness trump size and power and I try to shift gears to maintain peak fitness.
That being said, I’ve taken over the the fitness coaching duties of my team this year and incorporated sandbags and sled dragging with the hills and intervals. I’ve quickly declined in popularity, but our fitness level is going to be an asset this year, instead of being a deciding factor in the few losses we’ve had in previous years.
ARC: Can you briefly describe your nutrition regimen? What’s a typical day like? Do you use any supplements?
Ben: I’m not a big diet guy. I don’t obsess over how many grams of protein I’m consuming at each meal and I certainly don’t micro manage my nutrient intake or anything silly like that. I just try to eat clean and make sure I get a decent balance of protein, carbs, fats, and green veggies every day. Could I improve my performance by micro managing my diet? Possibly. But I don’t have the knowledge or the discipline to do so. I’ve always been a big proponent of knowing what your body needs. I can just feel if I’m lacking something and if I feel like my body needs something green, I’ll eat some broccoli. If I feel like I need some carbs, I’ll cook up some rice.
ARC: Why did you decide to create ChasingKaz.com with Mike Gill?
Ben: We didn’t really create it. Both of us happened to know Tucker Max, who prior to becoming a New York Times bestselling author created Rudius Media. The point of Rudius is to circumvent the traditional channels and give writers a voice. He asked us if we’d like to write for a site and we agreed, seeing it as an excellent opportunity to promote both the sport of strongman, and health and fitness in general.
ARC: What are your athletic goals for the remainder of 2008?
Ben: I’m done competing in strongman contests for the year. My goals in rugby are to complete and undefeated league season and make it to the midwest playoffs. It would also be nice to finish the season injury free so I can transition smoothly into strongman training, but luck has a lot to do with that, so it’s more of a “hope” than a goal.
ARC: What advice can you give athletes looking to get into rugby and Strongman?
Ben: As far as starting to compete in a sport, you just have to jump in with both feet and do it. Don’t say, “I’ll try it out” and don’t half-ass it. No one is going to be a superstar at first, but you could discover you have a passion for the sport.
I’m a huge advocate of everyone joining a sport. It’s easily is the best way to stay in shape. It gives you goals to set and a means of testing yourself. I’m a firm believer that if everyone in the country took up a sport, whether it be strongman, rugby, rec league basketball, sprint triathlons, whatever, we wouldn’t be faced with the obesity epidemic plaguing our country.
ARC: Supplements are a topic of controversy amongst athletes. What advice would you give to athletes looking to spend money on supplements?
Ben: Personally, I think most supplements are a waste of money. There’s so much junk out there, it’s nearly impossible to tell which ones are crap and which ones work. I only take a few supplements and most of them are things you can buy in the vitamin aisle at WalMart. I take B-6 and fish oil every morning. If I’m having trouble sleeping or feeling a bit run down, I’ll take a Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc pill before bed. I also take L-Arginine, which is an amino acid, before bed. That’s what I’ve found works for me.
ARC: Who is your favorite athlete, and why?
Ben: I don’t really have a favorite athlete. I respect different athletes for their abilities and hard work, but I’ve never been one to idolize anyone, be they athlete, celebrity, or otherwise.
ARC: What is the best advice you’ve received for your athletics?
Ben:Always go balls out. When you don’t give 100% is when you get hurt.
For some additional interviews with Ben Hanson, check out his interview with The Free Press of Mankato, MN. There’s another one with the Waseca County News. Don’t forget to check out his website at ChasingKaz.com, where you can find a ton of useful sports and fitness information.
Like this interview? Check out my other interview with grip champion and DieselCrew.com’s Jedd “Napalm” Johnson, or advice from Lou Holtz and Tony Dungy based on their books.
