Tony Cowden

Tony has 22 years in the Special Operations community, serving over 8 years and 28 deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq and other Central Asian and Africa countries. He began training for and competing in triathlons in 1998 and 2005 in functional fitness competitions. He obtained his Level 1 CrossFit Certification in 2006. He affiliated CrossFit Wilmington in 2007. He qualified for the 2012 Games, is a USAW Masters Weightlifting Champion in both the 94kg and the 105kg divisions. Tony has completing more than 50 trithlon races, including Iron Distance races. Tony coached his first athlete to The CrossFit Games in 2009, and has since sent 16 more, including teams and masters athletes. He has sent 28 athletes to The Games Regional competitions, and developed Powerlifters, Strongman Competitors, triathletes, Ultra Endurance athletes and Military personnel. In recent years, Tony has helped lead the way in developing concurrent endurance and strength athletes, especially within the military. His END|Strength Programming develops high levels of endurance and strength simultaneously and has become the go to template for training in the US military special operations personnel as well as athletes looking for new challenges. Proving his END|Strength methods, he completed the Beach 2 Battleship Half IronMan Triathlon in 6 hours and the following day Squatted 505lbs and Deadlifted 565lbs. On April 9th, 2016 Tony squatted 600lbs, Deadlifted 600lbs and ran a sub-six minute mile (5:41), making him one of the very few who have completed The 666 Challenge… and the only man over 40 years old to do so. In September 2016, Tony completed the first annual 106º West Half Iron Distance Triathlon in Dillon, CO. At 10,000 plus ft, the 106 West is the highest elevation triathlon in the World. With early morning temps at just over freezing, gusting winds, water temp of 50 degrees, and the steep climbs you would expect of the Colorado Rockies, the 106 is one of the most challenging. Continually proving the END|Strength methods, two days after the race, Tony squatted 505lbs and Deadlifted 505lbs for 6 reps. Most recently Tony attempted his first ultra endurance event… the BigFoot 200. A 200 mile ultra marathon in the Cascade mountains of Washington state. From the hot desert of Mt. Saint Helen’s desolation zone, to the wet forests, and freezing temps during the night, the Bigfoot bested Tony. His first ultra also turned out to be his first ever DNF at 131 miles of the race. A testament of the END|Strength methods and his dedication to purpose, Tony dropped 35lbs of bodyweight in the 5 weeks prior to the race and maintained a 500lbs squat and 550lbs deadlift throughout the endeavor. There is quite literally no other coach with Tony’s resume and experience. His experience and success in so many disciplines, coupled with the mindset of a Special Forces soldier sets him apart. However, what really makes him a higher caliber athlete and coach is his commitment to applicable, proven methods. He will only coach athletes on endeavors he has up to date and relevant experience in.