One of the contestants at the recent Lehigh Valley Sportsfest Strongman contest, held by Teambix Strength & Sports
Teambix website home page:
http://www.teamsbix.com/teamsbix/cms_index.php
Teambix Strength & sports founder Kyle Bixler answers questions for the examiner readers.
Kyle,What exactly is Teambix and when did you start it?
TeamBIX Strength and Sports was founded in April 2006. TeamBIX was started by myself as a personal training company. For much of 2006 and 2007 I trained high school and college athletes in the Lehigh Valley area. From there I started competing in strongman competitions. In 2008 TeamBIX teamed up with Just Be Natural, located in Bethlehem, PA. They renovated a part of their warehouse to create the "Krank'd Performance Center," which is where we currently train. With the development of this facility, a strongman "team" was created. We have also held 2 North American Strongman sanctioned contests there in 2008 and 2009. Just recently I have been named the North American Strongman state chairman of Pennsylvania.
That's awesome Kyle, congratulations on that new position!
I know you ran the Lehigh Valley Sportsfest strongman event back in July, and I took these details from your website on it:
Date: July 19th, 2009
Time: Weigh-In Sat: 9am-11am Rules 11am Contest Start 12:00pm
Location: Cedar Beach Park
2400 Hamilton St
Allentown, Pennsylvania
www.sportsfest.org
CONTEST DETAILS
Divisions: OPEN MEN, MEN MASTERS, WOMENS
Weight Classes: MEN: LW: under 200, 201-231 HW 232-265, 265+
MASTERS: LW: 0-231 HW 231+
WOMENS: LW: 0-141 HW: 142+
*only 10 entries per weight class*
Events:
Log Press: 60 sec. (clean once and press)
LW/MA: 220
HW: 270
WM: 100
Farmers Walk: 100ft. course, multiple drops allowed, 60 second time limit
LW/MA: 225
HW: 275
WM: 100
Tire Flip: 5 flips, turn, 5 flips back
LW/MA: 600
HW: 800
WM: 600
Keg Carry – 160ft. course with turn at 80ft. – 60 second time limit.
LW/MA: 230
HW: 280
WM: 150
Stone load to 44” platform
LW/MA: 150, 230, 280, 330
HW: 230, 280, 330, 350
WM: 150, 230, 280
I know that event had some T.V. coverage as well as local news columns. I hope to be at next years if you hold it again in 2010.
So You have a strongman "team" that train & compete together. How many folks are involved and are you looking to expand?
Currently we have 8 people that are part of the "team". We are looking for more people to get involved and train with the team. We have 3 guys who compete regularly in contests across the east coast.
You mentioned the relatively new training facility at the "Krank'd" manufacturing plant in Bethlehem that is connected with JBN
Can you tell us about that facility?
The Krank'd Performance Center was opened in April 2009. This is where we train strongman events. It is located in Bethlehem, PA. We currently train on Wednesday's and Saturday's from 5-7pm.
What are the differences( if any) between your training and competitions and the ones the general public see on T.V., like the "World's Strongest Man" competitions?
We compete in North American Strongman (N.A.S.) sanctioned contests. This is the premier and only amateur federation for strongman. "World's Strongest Man" competitions that are seen on T.V. are professionals.
Is Strongman type of training good for novice trainees or would you suggest a background in weight training or other athletics as a pre-requisite?
If you aren't strong, then you aren't going to be a strongman. Unless you have a background in weight training, sports, powerlifting, etc, it's not something for a "novice trainee" to just pick up one day and start. You can scale the weights down some when starting out, but unless you have a good base of strength and agility, you aren't going to be able to do the events.
Is there anything you'd like to add?
My next contest I will be promoting is Delaware's Strongest Man, located in Dover, DE at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino on October 17th, 2009. I will also be promoting at least 5 shows in 2010.
Thank you for the interview.
Thank you,Kyle! we'll talk to you again in the future to see how the team is shaping up!
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