Estranged from his longtime personal trainer/running mate Bobby Alejo, Yankees DH/1B Jason Giambi has enlisted the services of a new bulk-up expert writes the New York Daily News’ Sam Borden.
Sure, Jason Giambi can smash home runs over the fence of just about any ballpark, but how would he do pulling a car down the street? Or carrying a boulder? Or lifting a keg?
The Yankees first baseman very nearly found out how he measures up in those situations because his new personal trainer this winter was power lifter and World’s Strongest Man competitor Mark Philippi (above).
Alas, while Philippi had Giambi do a number of exercises that might be unfamiliar to the average gym-goer, Giambi never hooked his harness to a Chevy or tried to throw a telephone pole as seen in WSM competitions on TV.
“He’s got all that stuff at his house,” Giambi said. “He’d be like, ‘Hey, you want to come over and work with those things?’ and I’d be like, ‘Uh, no man.'”
That doesn’t mean it might not happen in the future. Throughout their training, Philippi joked with Giambi, saying that, “I don’t want to take you over to the garage (where he keeps his WSM equipment) and screw you up,” but he said he does think that kind of training could be beneficial if the two work together again in the future.
“Sled-dragging, pushing of cars, that could be really helpful in strengthening his legs,” Philippi said in a telephone interview. “I could see that making a difference. Things you could do that would translate well to the baseball field.”