Bigg and I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Jason and (now) Eliane Bergmann this past weekend up the road in Appleton. After a mostly rainy week, we woke up to blue sky poking out from the clouds and it quickly turned into a beautiful, Midwestern, fall day. We enjoyed a rare, non-training Saturday morning with a sleeping in and an awesome breakfast at The Machine Shed. Then it was time to get ready.

As we were seated in church before the ceremony, I noticed the pianist and how effortlessly he played while looking around and communicating with the vocalist. As the service started, I would occasionally glance their way and marvel at how smoothly and beautifully he played. See, I’ve been playing the piano off and on my whole life and I’ve always had to practice while reading music. I’m quite sure I’ve never played so effortlessly.  Ever. It got me thinking.

How often in life are we struck by someone else’s talents and how seemingly effortless they make them look. I looked to the front of the church and noticed Eliane who was so effortlessly beautiful and peaceful, standing there in front of a  church full of people for 45 minutes with a smile on her face and was struck again at how simply other people can pull this off.

I thought of a Kirk Karwoski squat; a Brad Gillingham deadlift; a Zydrunas Savickas log lift. All done with such fluid grace that they give us the impression that these types of lifts are attainable for us regular folk. And for some, it may be. But for most of us, we’re destined to marvel in the effortlessness that these people use to display their strength.

After the wedding, we were invited to chill out a while at the Bergmann farm, home of Wisconsin Strongman. I got a chance to meet and laugh with Dave and Kate Ostlund and Karl and Pam Gillingham (and yes, I was pretty nerdy and Starstruck at the opportunity to meet some of the greatest Strongman around.) Again, I noticed how effortless Dave, Karl, and Bigg were able to break into story after story of  past funnies at various competitions.

It was an incredible day and I’m honored to be able to share it with so many wonderful people. I also learned this one, very important tidbit; when eating family style at a table full of Strongman…take the food you’ll need right away. The rates at which chicken and beef , white and brown carbohydrates, and rolls disappeared were mind blowing.