Few know what it is like to sling up a hundred pound kettlebell over your head and hold it there. Fewer still know what it is like to then do the same to a human being! Jamie Holley is one of those few people.
A strongman in the classical sense, Holley trains like the old timers did a century ago. Using axle bars, kettle bells, and barbells, Holley trains those muscles that a bodybuilder never could. This provides him with supreme strength in the ring. Focused on holding, lifting, pressing, and throwing incredibly heavy objects, this manner of training was popularized in the turn to the 20th Century. Anyhow lifts, hub lifting, balanced axle bars lifting, each one works aspects of the human body that has been lost to generations.
Holley only dedicated himself fully to this method of training since the COVID pandemic hit in the spring of 2020. Forced to train at home, he constructed with his own hands the legendary equipment that had long since become out of fashion to modern gym goers. Dedicating himself fully to this new method took dedication, as he grew in stages. Lifts such as the Anyhow Lift are so rarely seen that it is difficult to learn them. In this lift, Holley lifts a weighted barbell over his head using only one hand. While balancing that weight, he then squats to grab another heavy kettlebell with his free hand. Then lifting both simultaneously, he holds this position for as long as possible. Requiring strength and balance, it is a lift of a time gone by.
One of the by-products of this method is an incredible grip strength. You cannot throw heavy objects around unless you can sufficiently grab those objects! As a consequence of this, Holley has developed the strongest hands in Texas wrestling. When he grabs you, it is like being in a vice, unable to get away. These hands are a key to how Holley wins his matches. An opponent cannot mount offense when Holley has them firmly in his grasp! Those same hands can manhandle even the strongest of opponents into positions that allow Holley to win.
