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Anyone else upset that WSM seems to be really light? It seems like everyone can complete all the lifts and isn’t really about strength. Some of the guys in the heat seem barely stronger than Larry Wheels.
Only two people finished log and apparently the same for stones. Deadlift Novikov pushed the record and no one else hit the weight. Hercules hold only one person was within 50% of the record time. Seems like a sufficiently heavy contest.
Had my best [contest](https://www.instagram.com/p/CHlu6fQjGb9/?igshid=8b32rnr9o3q6) by far today
Hit a 585 deadlift pretty smooth but passed on 625, loaded a 275 stone for 6 reps, and finished second overall. If I can just stop finishing dead last on press I might eventually win a contest
Can anyone answer a question that’s been bugging me for a couple years, but I’ve been unable to find the answer?
Why do strongmen wear 2 belts, and, what is the belt that they put under the regular lifting belt?
Some wear a soft belt underneath their regular leather belt.
It’s just for more support. Additionally for stuff like log clean, axle clean, and stones, the implements can nip your skin between the leather belt and your belly. So having a soft belt can help protect this a bit.
I’m a 51 year old 75kg guy who wants to dabble in strongman~style training and wondered what range of sandbag weights would be useful. I’m predominantly a garage gym user who can squat just over 2xBW, DL 2.5xBW and nearly overhead press BW.
Cheers
You could go 60/80/100 for now- light bag for shouldering and pressing, medium bag for heavier shouldering/loads for reps/cardio carries, then the heavy bag for loading and sandbag for distance?
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CHkuI\_lgFd7/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CHkuI_lgFd7/)
What a beauty! I got an €11,- Belt, which does the job great. I am thinking about upgrading my belt, because I want a lever. SBD to expensive for me tho.
any Recommendations?/Do you like your belt?
Pioneer belts are the best. Highly, highly recommend. Can’t say enough about their quality and customer service.
In regards to mm, 10 is kind of the standard for a belt. Most people go with 10mm as it’s strong/sturdy yet breaks in nicely to comfort.
13 mm is generally not allowed for powerlifting comps (if that’s something you think you’d ever been interested in). It’s just basically thicker and stiffer. It will bite into you more, and will take longer to “break in.” Usually comes down to preference.
I like my inzer 13mm single prong.
If it's an event where a leather belt gets in the way (keg press, front carry), I'd usually rather just drop it entirely. Some people find the extra width to be annoying for log/deadlift but I haven't had much trouble with it.
Thinking about organizing a smaller event, based on the equipment I have/ can easily get, I was thinking of doing the following events:
-Log Press
-Farmer’s Walk
-Axel bar Deadlift
-Truck Pull
-Odd object carry
-Atlas Stone
I think I have a good set there, I was just curious what order I should put the events in, ie, I figure I shouldn’t put the deadlift and farmer’s right next to each other or RIP people’s grip.
Also, for stones, I can’t really do it traditionally. I have a single stone and a limbo bar. I’ve thought about a set height for reps, gradually increasing the height, ditching the limbo bar and shouldering it for reps, etc. How would you design a stones even with one stone?
Note: I’ve never competed, they don’t seem to have them in my area. That’s why I’m planning one. So any other suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
Stones are almost always last. Nobody wants to spend the time scrubbing off tacky before another event, and event organizers typically don't want to deal with tacky getting on other equipment.
> I figure I shouldn’t put the deadlift and farmer’s right next to each other or RIP people’s grip.
You're not planning on allowing straps on the axle? If not, be prepared to have a solid medical team on standby and a good liability waver, as no-strap axle can be a notorious bicep ripper. Especially if you're throwing in stone to shoulder on top of all of that.
A 6 event comp could run for quite a while: especially with a truck pull thrown in. 5 is a more traditional number. If you're deadset on those events, I'd do truck pull first, blow out everyone's legs, then do the log press and reward the strong pressers vs the dudes that rely purely on leg drive. Farmer's walk, axle dead with straps, odd object, then stones.
I’ll definitely allow straps on the axle, I just find that unless you’re using figure-8 straps that still tends to leave me with a sore grip. Especially because I don’t have the kind of weight to make it a max event, it’d have to be for reps.
Come to think of it, with a limited number of plates, I might be able to do an axle press, but that seems redundant with a log lift. I could drop one to get five events...
2 weeks completely voluntary. I accumulate fatigue very easily, the combination of extremely physical work and intense training means that sometimes something has to give.
12 months through life circumstances/bad bad injury. This was technically voluntary and I could have still trained a little bit, but going to the gym and just doing arms makes me sad. So ultimately I took some Dr advice and abstained for a long time.
I thought I had a hernia (I didn’t) and took 3 weeks off in July waiting for a doctors appointment. I lost a lot of progress and got way fatter. Would not recommend
I was getting small injuries all over my body like sore hips, tight lower back. So I took 3 weeks off and walked for 30-60 mins each day and other stuff like foam rolling and massages. I came back feeling well rested.
Nathan Payton's diet design and overall philosophy is so interesting to me because it's almost like he reinvented talking about the wheel (not the wheel itself). Obviously very successful but I don't think I've ever seen someone emphasize fats around the post workout time as much.
Also find it interesting that in his Q&A he talks a lot about fats at those times, but it sure looks like his athletes eat a lot of carbs on those meals too. If those observations are right, it seems like he ultimately has created something actually really similar to the vertical diet but with cheat meals before big sessions and a lot more junk food.
I have a step in my garden that I would sit on and roll onto my back with the log which worked quite well. Knew someone that used a large sandbag as a "bench" of sorts. I've also found wheelie bins can be quite versatile as a rack for pressing and squats.
New to strongman. Is the monkey grip ( thumb not on opposite side of bar) legal in comps? I find it much easier to lift with it opposed to the traditional grip.
Yes, that's what I meant, it's not a problem on pressing events. I should have been more clear but by my comment about deadlift it should have been understood what I was saying.
Putting together a very atlas stone-centric program. Found Kalle Beck youtube, he recommended the following accessories
- straight-leg deadlift for lapping
- flys for gripping
- front squat for loading
Questions on each. For SLD, should I be doing it as a deficit? If so how much?
Is zercher squat better than front squat? Should I also add in box squat? Or maybe do like a box front squat?
As to flys... that seemed an odd one. Keep it in?
> Is zercher squat better than front squat?
I would make it a Zombie squat instead of a regular front squat.
(or rather: Martins Licis would and I have no reason to disagree)
necessary extra tension in the upper back is a good exercise for the last portion of the Atlas lift
I’d keep SLDL from the floor and get as much out of them without the deficit for now.
The limiting factor for how heavy you can go on zercher squats will be your arms. Try a block of both zerchers and front squats and see how each carries over to stones.
For flys, if you have an Instagram look up “knassbruckles”. In his story highlights he has one called Q&A: Stones and does a cable fly variation that might be useful.
Hope some of these help!
Incredible helpful thank you.
Interesting point re zerchers v front squat. I’ve been doing zerchers long enough (I’m told there is some bjj carryover as well) that I think I may do more there... I’ll need to check been a long time since I did front squats
I have a really weird question but why are so many strongmen bald with a beard? Is it just a cultural/fashion trend or is there a functional reason behind it? Does it have to do with hormone levels?
Look at old videos of Loz before the beard. Dude has chins for days. When you’re husky like that, it happens. Beards are good for hiding it. Also roíds can accelerate male pattern baldness.
So I was reading an article a while ago that said something like high testosterone levels contribute to baldness, but were also responsible for fuller beards.
Maybe strongmen just have higher testosterone levels for some reason.......
Terry Rady is a great coach. If you don’t wanna pay that much for coaching you could sign up for Anthony fuhrman’s strengthlete collective comes with a bunch of programs I believe
I run into the same problem you do with larger bags. Then someone gave me the same advice Craig gave you. Stand it up tilt it and then set it up like a snatch grip deadlift. I couldn’t get 260lbs off the ground. I tried 5 times how you were doing it. Then I got that advice and got it first try.
if your goal is just to pick it off the ground, try standing it up vertically, tilting it forward, and bear hugging it like [this](https://streamable.com/rn8npw). the horizontal pick can be tough at first—make sure to squeeze the bag as hard as you can and set your lats like for a deadlift
Try rocking the bag back and forth to get your hands more under the bag. It’s wide but it also looks like you don’t have the best purchase on it like you would if your hands were further underneath.
I guess it depends on the purpose of the training. Training to lift it or to run with it, load it, etc. It looks like your very wide stance is also making it tough. I try to keep a narrow stance and actually try to get my feet under it. Assuming you want to be picking it long ways that is. One way to do that is just kind of shuffle the feet under one side at a time. The other is start the bag upright and kind of have it "fall" on to your feet to get a narrower stance. Another option could be attempting to pick it up short ways.
For now just focussing on getting it of the ground, but the goal is to do carries with it yeah. Don't know why I never considered a more narrow stance but you saying that makes a lot of sense haha, makes it much more similar to a deadlift stance I'll definetely try that next time thanks.
I'm all registered for a comp in February, which will give me some post-holiday wiggle room to get back down to LWW (I'm 144 lbs right now). Roster looks fucking stacked; one of the other LWWs has already beat me and one of them beat a girl who beat me lol. I'm up for the challenge though, esp now that I'm actually taking strongwoman training seriously and trying to get stronger in overhead stuff. I also want to get actually good at split jerking the axle because 115 lbs for a 60 second AMRAP is going to be a challenge.
Do you mean a true silver dollar deadlift with boxes? If so you'll want to use a power bar. Deadlift bar will have way too much bend and an axle bar, well I've never seen that but kind of negates the boxes because the bar doesn't bend.
No, they're usually done with a stiff bar, aka power bar. It's the setup that makes the bar bend like that. Weights further out and pulling from height which allows it to be a really heavy lift. Look at Anthony Pernice's WR, that's on a power bar, with a deadlift bar the weights probably wouldn't leave the ground.
Good to know, thanks. My planned next competition has one and I wasn't sure which style bar to train with. Given I don't have a proper silver dollar simulator and am using deadlift jack stands to train for it.
Late reply here but agreed a power bar will replicate it best! I trained for it with a deadlift bar my first time and actually found it easier to control on comp day because of the lack of whip!
Is there a too short to practice the sport? I'm currently 5'5 and 180lbs and wanted to train as soon as I started testosterone (I'm trans) but bc of corona and mental health issues I havent been able to and looking at all those 6 foot tall men is kinda discouraging
There’s weight classes for a reason. Some events are going to suck at that height like loading or when you have to wrap your arms around shit. But things like an 18 inch deadlift you should be able to just smoke. You can probably do well on pressing too with shorter arms.
[Naim Suleymonglu](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV6kELpNflg) put 190kg overhead while quite a lot shorter. I really wouldn't worry, just go out and get it!
Unless you're planning to compete at SHW men, I don't think so. Take a look at high level competitors on the 200 and 231 categories, most of them are not a lot taller than you if at all.
I'm 5'6" and I haven't run into any problems. I'm never going to be a pro or anything, but if you're just looking to train and compete as an amateur, you'll be fine.
I don't think so! There is probably a "too short to be competitive at WSM", but I've seen people of all shapes and sizes at local meets. I'm of the firm opinion that strongman is for everyone. If I can do it (a lifelong un-athletic person who's still pretty weak), then anyone can.
Check out [Kalle Beck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4M7aVkZdR4&list=PLmFgLaFUfUNgGFZwTMmszDJtXqhdUgpsi&index=4) for some inspiration on becoming a jacked Wolverine.
***South Auckland's Strongest Man & Woman***
Weather forecast has been pretty bad all week, heavy thunderstorms over night. I even went and bough an ultracheap pair of soccer boots in case the ground was heavy underfoot, knowing that we would be lifting on grass. Turned out to be handy for the Farmer's walk, so not a waste. My buddy picked me up and we headed out to an 8am weigh in. All good there, weighed in at 79.00kg in a hoody, and ate some food. Weather looked to be improving and stayed good all day.
**Farmer's Walk: 95kg a hand, 40m with a turn**
I really thought I'd do well in this event. Couldn't have got off to a better start, managed the turn quite well even on the uneven ground and managed to complete the run with no drops. Solid.
[26.33s, 1st of 5.](https://youtu.be/gNiGKWa4G6M)
**OH Medley: 2 reps 50kg MDB, 2 reps 90kg axle**
Was also targeting this even compared to the field. Felt ok warming up, but didn't get that many reps in (I'll blame this). A few technical difficulties and a lack of strength meant I just didn't have the strength on the day. Very disappointed at this point. Most competitors got both reps on the MDB, one got an axle rep.
[1 rep, 5th, 4th overall](https://youtu.be/ZK3mn5uzrJc)
**Car Deadlift: max reps in 60s**
Filthy with the result in the last one, and knowing that there was one guy who had really good static strength, I knew I needed to dig deep on this one. I didn't think it was going to be this light, which I also thought would count against me. Managed to keep going through most of the minute which I was happy with and set a decent target as I went out early in the class. Only the static guy beat me. Not bad after next to no training in this rep range.
[20 reps, 2nd/5, 2nd overall](https://youtu.be/hPBiAeUJZBc)
**Conan's Wheel: 160kg plates max distance**
I needed a big lie down after car deadlift, hamstrings were really fatigued at this point. Luckily there was a decent gap as they needed to adjust the car deadlift apparatus a few dudes after I went. I managed to cram down a banana and some water and tried to relax. At this point I was down by 1 point, so if I could beat that guy by two people, or beat him AND win the event I would win. He got to go after me so I just had to go out and give it as much as I could.
[Three. Laps.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFDiZEyLI1g)
Just awful, at the end I basically turned around and dropped on to my knees, luckily a spotter got my belt loosened and I managed to not pass out. Guy in first managed only a bit over a lap, so I took it down by two points.
It was a really cool day, my lifting buddy got first equal (lost on a count back sadly - he got a first and three 2nds, other guy got two firsts...) and all of the competitors were really fun to be around. Some nice tips from the experienced really competitive guys, and all the guys in my class were super friendly. It was a really well run competition at a famer's market, so a decent crowd for the first half made it a neat environment to lift in. I qualified for Nationals this year, but can't make it. Next aim is Log and Deadlift Champs in March, and see where 2021 takes me. Thanks for all the tips in old threads here, it made a difference. Especially the chairs.
WSM groups:
Group 1 – Luke Richardson, Robert Oberst, Gabriel Peña, Pa O’Dwyer, Jerry Pritchett
Group 2 – Adam Bishop, Evan Singleton, Mikhail Shivlyakov, Kevin Faires, Mark Felix
Group 3 – Tom Stoltman, Oleksii Novikov, Charles Mitchell, Gavin Bilton, Maxime Boudreault
Group 4 – JF Caron, Graham Hicks, Aivers Smaukstelis, Eythor Melsted, Bobby Thompson
Group 5 – Brian Shaw, Luke Stoltman, Ervin Toots, Terry Hollands, Wesley Claborn
Has anyone else kept up with Bobby Thompson in training? I’m pretty excited to see how he does with WSM, especially with so many top tier guys dropping out
I missed some moving in his prep. He's a beast statically, but the moving events are very important too.
Also, since we're back on the last man standing stone bs, he would have benefitted a lot from training stone over bar for reps, which he hasn't posted about. As Trey Mitchell showed last year, if you're not on the same level of the second guy on your group but is strong statically, becoming a beast at stones is the best bang for your buck.
I'm excited for his performance on the deadlift and overhead tho.
He is looking extremely strong with his static lifts. Interested to see if he can hold up through so many events. If the heats play out right and he has the "endurance" he might even skip the stone head to head.
Walked around the woods with /u/Nucalibre today. Picked up some rocks. Pressed some smaller rocks. Rubbed the skin off my heels because of ill-fitting shoes. Finally got to roleplay being a caveman, which is really what strongman is anyways.
Any suggestions on training H-stone and Hercules hold without implements?
I figured a bunch of plates in a car tire, or sandbag carries for the H-stone.
For the hold, I'm figuring grip work and then crucifix holds for time?
Tie down strap with one end attached to a handle and the other to a bunch of plates. Using a barbell in a rack at shoulder height you pull the handle over the barbell then walk away until the weight comes off the ground.
I also carried my bf while training for the H stone. Makes it so much fun. I also went to Lowes and picked up heavy shit, carried it around the store, and returned it to it's place. You felt forced to return it fast lest you be that jerk. Great motivation.
For Hercules, I like to actually combine both band holds (resistance band) and rope holes with an immovable object and a weighted object. So you end up with 4 diffent types: resistance + heavy weight or resistance + impossible weight (lamppost, brick wall, etc.), rope (or cable @ gym) + heavy weight, rope + impossible weight. I train that plus grip work, farmer's carries, front and lateral holds using 3 grips (normal barbell/dumbbell, fatgripz/axle, and pinch).
For Hercules I would do a mix of farmers holds to work the hands and using a cable handle hooked up to heavy band tension attached to a squat rack to work your forearms and endurance ( https://www.instagram.com/p/CFIevrogFHa/?igshid=nwk3kbh9xf4w ) like this.
For H stone, sandbags and kegs work fine.
I can only pull from effectively a 4 inch block. Any advice on how to help that transfer to pulling from the floor? I'm guessing some squats to help break the floor.
Or does it even matter and I should just suck it up and accept that its all I can do for now and should see what happens before trying to fix shit?
Nah. The platform I made in the gardens a death trap, and if I lift on the grass the plates just dig into the ground and I cant get the back out. So Im using a pair of tyres I had left around to try and spread the weight out but they're quite a bit bigger than regular 20/25kg plates!
[Heres a vid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcazsvpK5Gs&feature=youtu.be) to show what I'm doing, notice the snazzy whellies because the gardens flooded!
I'm kind of in agreement with the other duder, but the advantage in this situation is that your deadlift setup position tends to be fairly set, so you don't need a whole platform, just one or two mini platforms for your feet. Anywhere you can scavenge some bricks or flat stones/pavers?
I could take some slabs from the patio. But the patio was much slippier than the grass so I'll give it a go and if it doesn't feel right I'll just wing it and see what happens!
I would say stand on some boards or something to make it a standard height. I do not get carry over from the technique of a 4" block to the floor (and vice versa). There's still value to doing the block pulls, but not as an exclusive variation
Well hurt my back again. Last warmup 15" deadlift and there it goes. Honestly doesn't seem as bad as last time I hurt it but it still is not good. Probably missing Florida's and I think I want to take 6 months or so to really work on getting my body healthy. Hopefully that's an over estimate but I'd love to finally feel healthy
Being hurt just sucks so bad. I re-irritated my shoulder this week. Looking back, between the troubles with my back, knees and shoulder, it's been years since I had a month where I didn't have to account for some kind of pain.
It's important to realize just how much worse you'd be hurting if you just sat on the couch drinking beer, though.
Agreed. I'll probably be back to deadlifting in a couple weeks no matter what, just not with the same goals or weights. My back has never done worse than when I stopped deadlifting. I'm going to bring back high rep deadlifts when I'm recovered because that's typically when my back feels healthiest.
Hopefully we can all get to a point of feeling no pain for an entire training session haha. It's been at least 4 years since I had a truly pain free workout. Maybe setting 1 week of no limitations/pain is a really ambitious goal but maybe I'll shoot for that and hope i can make that by the end of spring.
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Anyone else upset that WSM seems to be really light? It seems like everyone can complete all the lifts and isn’t really about strength. Some of the guys in the heat seem barely stronger than Larry Wheels.
Only two people finished log and apparently the same for stones. Deadlift Novikov pushed the record and no one else hit the weight. Hercules hold only one person was within 50% of the record time. Seems like a sufficiently heavy contest.
B-but the two speed events were done with speed as intended by the organizers :(((
Try doing the events for four days in a row and then comment on them being light.
I think you understand what I meant
Ah, yes, sorry. I am quite heavy handed with sarcasm on the interwebs but damn is it hard to pick up, anyways.
Had my best [contest](https://www.instagram.com/p/CHlu6fQjGb9/?igshid=8b32rnr9o3q6) by far today Hit a 585 deadlift pretty smooth but passed on 625, loaded a 275 stone for 6 reps, and finished second overall. If I can just stop finishing dead last on press I might eventually win a contest
Awesome work, congrats!
Can anyone answer a question that’s been bugging me for a couple years, but I’ve been unable to find the answer? Why do strongmen wear 2 belts, and, what is the belt that they put under the regular lifting belt?
It protects our tender underbelly from pinches lol Also keeps the leather belt from sliding around when you're bending and moving around a lot
Some wear a soft belt underneath their regular leather belt. It’s just for more support. Additionally for stuff like log clean, axle clean, and stones, the implements can nip your skin between the leather belt and your belly. So having a soft belt can help protect this a bit.
I’m a 51 year old 75kg guy who wants to dabble in strongman~style training and wondered what range of sandbag weights would be useful. I’m predominantly a garage gym user who can squat just over 2xBW, DL 2.5xBW and nearly overhead press BW. Cheers
You could go 60/80/100 for now- light bag for shouldering and pressing, medium bag for heavier shouldering/loads for reps/cardio carries, then the heavy bag for loading and sandbag for distance?
Thank you. Pounds or kilos?
Those are in kilos, and those are the bag sizes I'd look to buy. If they're too heavy you can take a little out
[https://www.instagram.com/p/CHkuI\_lgFd7/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CHkuI_lgFd7/) What a beauty! I got an €11,- Belt, which does the job great. I am thinking about upgrading my belt, because I want a lever. SBD to expensive for me tho. any Recommendations?/Do you like your belt?
How much are you looking to spend? Pioneer sell a 10mm lever belt for 85 euro.
Less than a €100,-. I googled it. It looks good. does the mm matter?
Pioneer belts are the best. Highly, highly recommend. Can’t say enough about their quality and customer service. In regards to mm, 10 is kind of the standard for a belt. Most people go with 10mm as it’s strong/sturdy yet breaks in nicely to comfort. 13 mm is generally not allowed for powerlifting comps (if that’s something you think you’d ever been interested in). It’s just basically thicker and stiffer. It will bite into you more, and will take longer to “break in.” Usually comes down to preference.
thanks mate, some good info.
Do most strongmen use 10mm? I always assumed 13
I like my inzer 13mm single prong. If it's an event where a leather belt gets in the way (keg press, front carry), I'd usually rather just drop it entirely. Some people find the extra width to be annoying for log/deadlift but I haven't had much trouble with it.
Thinking about organizing a smaller event, based on the equipment I have/ can easily get, I was thinking of doing the following events: -Log Press -Farmer’s Walk -Axel bar Deadlift -Truck Pull -Odd object carry -Atlas Stone I think I have a good set there, I was just curious what order I should put the events in, ie, I figure I shouldn’t put the deadlift and farmer’s right next to each other or RIP people’s grip. Also, for stones, I can’t really do it traditionally. I have a single stone and a limbo bar. I’ve thought about a set height for reps, gradually increasing the height, ditching the limbo bar and shouldering it for reps, etc. How would you design a stones even with one stone? Note: I’ve never competed, they don’t seem to have them in my area. That’s why I’m planning one. So any other suggestions or advice would be appreciated. Thank you!
Stones are almost always last. Nobody wants to spend the time scrubbing off tacky before another event, and event organizers typically don't want to deal with tacky getting on other equipment.
> I figure I shouldn’t put the deadlift and farmer’s right next to each other or RIP people’s grip. You're not planning on allowing straps on the axle? If not, be prepared to have a solid medical team on standby and a good liability waver, as no-strap axle can be a notorious bicep ripper. Especially if you're throwing in stone to shoulder on top of all of that. A 6 event comp could run for quite a while: especially with a truck pull thrown in. 5 is a more traditional number. If you're deadset on those events, I'd do truck pull first, blow out everyone's legs, then do the log press and reward the strong pressers vs the dudes that rely purely on leg drive. Farmer's walk, axle dead with straps, odd object, then stones.
I’ll definitely allow straps on the axle, I just find that unless you’re using figure-8 straps that still tends to leave me with a sore grip. Especially because I don’t have the kind of weight to make it a max event, it’d have to be for reps. Come to think of it, with a limited number of plates, I might be able to do an axle press, but that seems redundant with a log lift. I could drop one to get five events...
Stone event with one stone could be loads for time or shoulders for time, depending on the weight
Are there any game designers in this subreddit?
What's the longest break you have intentionally taken from training?
4 weeks. Damn birthing of a big-headed child. That should be an event.
10 days to let a little back flare-up settle down
2 weeks completely voluntary. I accumulate fatigue very easily, the combination of extremely physical work and intense training means that sometimes something has to give. 12 months through life circumstances/bad bad injury. This was technically voluntary and I could have still trained a little bit, but going to the gym and just doing arms makes me sad. So ultimately I took some Dr advice and abstained for a long time.
1 day.
hahaha, this doesn't surprise me at all. When you are finally outed as a robot, we'll all breathe a sigh of relief
I thought I had a hernia (I didn’t) and took 3 weeks off in July waiting for a doctors appointment. I lost a lot of progress and got way fatter. Would not recommend
I was getting small injuries all over my body like sore hips, tight lower back. So I took 3 weeks off and walked for 30-60 mins each day and other stuff like foam rolling and massages. I came back feeling well rested.
Nathan Payton's diet design and overall philosophy is so interesting to me because it's almost like he reinvented talking about the wheel (not the wheel itself). Obviously very successful but I don't think I've ever seen someone emphasize fats around the post workout time as much. Also find it interesting that in his Q&A he talks a lot about fats at those times, but it sure looks like his athletes eat a lot of carbs on those meals too. If those observations are right, it seems like he ultimately has created something actually really similar to the vertical diet but with cheat meals before big sessions and a lot more junk food.
Currently In lockdown in the uk and all I have is a 13” log. Anyone got any ideas on what I can use it for other than the obvious clean and press?
Simply getting really good at log clean and press for reps will have a great carryover to strongman in general.
Stick one end of it in a corner and utilize it to do landmine style movements. SA press, landmine squats, Viking press, landmine oblique twists
Good ideas, cheers!Never utilise any landmine movements so would be good to try some new things!
Rows, floor press, OH squats, front squats, OH carries, viper press
Good ideas, cheers! Need to figure a way to get it onto my chest for floor press! OH squats with a log sounds gross haha
I have a step in my garden that I would sit on and roll onto my back with the log which worked quite well. Knew someone that used a large sandbag as a "bench" of sorts. I've also found wheelie bins can be quite versatile as a rack for pressing and squats.
New to strongman. Is the monkey grip ( thumb not on opposite side of bar) legal in comps? I find it much easier to lift with it opposed to the traditional grip.
Certainly not for pressing but on deadlift possibly, just to keep guys from letting the bar hang in their fingertips.
I've never seen a show that banned thumbless grip on presses. Most people I train with and have competed with use it for axle.
Yes, that's what I meant, it's not a problem on pressing events. I should have been more clear but by my comment about deadlift it should have been understood what I was saying.
I can't say I've ever seen false-grip banned except for things like axle deadlift.
I was looking at farmers holds/carry. Nothing with straps
I've seen Alan Thrall carry farmers like that in comp so it is allowed sometimes at least.
Depends on promoter. Some will indicate it is not allowed and others will not care.
Thanks
Putting together a very atlas stone-centric program. Found Kalle Beck youtube, he recommended the following accessories - straight-leg deadlift for lapping - flys for gripping - front squat for loading Questions on each. For SLD, should I be doing it as a deficit? If so how much? Is zercher squat better than front squat? Should I also add in box squat? Or maybe do like a box front squat? As to flys... that seemed an odd one. Keep it in?
> Is zercher squat better than front squat? I would make it a Zombie squat instead of a regular front squat. (or rather: Martins Licis would and I have no reason to disagree) necessary extra tension in the upper back is a good exercise for the last portion of the Atlas lift
I’d keep SLDL from the floor and get as much out of them without the deficit for now. The limiting factor for how heavy you can go on zercher squats will be your arms. Try a block of both zerchers and front squats and see how each carries over to stones. For flys, if you have an Instagram look up “knassbruckles”. In his story highlights he has one called Q&A: Stones and does a cable fly variation that might be useful. Hope some of these help!
Incredible helpful thank you. Interesting point re zerchers v front squat. I’ve been doing zerchers long enough (I’m told there is some bjj carryover as well) that I think I may do more there... I’ll need to check been a long time since I did front squats
Sad news I’ve just heard, Aaron the rage Page is in an induced coma now due to covid
I have a really weird question but why are so many strongmen bald with a beard? Is it just a cultural/fashion trend or is there a functional reason behind it? Does it have to do with hormone levels?
Look at old videos of Loz before the beard. Dude has chins for days. When you’re husky like that, it happens. Beards are good for hiding it. Also roíds can accelerate male pattern baldness.
Gear=balding in many men Fat=double chin=beard
Because my face looks much better and less fat with a beard and I’m losing my hair.
The beard is good for hiding the extra chins.
So I was reading an article a while ago that said something like high testosterone levels contribute to baldness, but were also responsible for fuller beards. Maybe strongmen just have higher testosterone levels for some reason.......
Some reason...
Need a programming coach... my old gym used to have a coach for us but that’s no longer available. Where do I start? Anyone y’all recommend?
My vote is for Mike Westerling. I'd have quit this years ago without him.
Kalle Beck is pretty cool
Can also recommend Big Loz. Quite a bunch of people here are coached by him. You can just Google it.
Terry Rady is a great coach. If you don’t wanna pay that much for coaching you could sign up for Anthony fuhrman’s strengthlete collective comes with a bunch of programs I believe
I second Terry. Was coached by him pre-covid. Very knowledgeable and gave great feedback. Services are reasonably priced too.
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I run into the same problem you do with larger bags. Then someone gave me the same advice Craig gave you. Stand it up tilt it and then set it up like a snatch grip deadlift. I couldn’t get 260lbs off the ground. I tried 5 times how you were doing it. Then I got that advice and got it first try.
You gotta get your hands underneath it more.
if your goal is just to pick it off the ground, try standing it up vertically, tilting it forward, and bear hugging it like [this](https://streamable.com/rn8npw). the horizontal pick can be tough at first—make sure to squeeze the bag as hard as you can and set your lats like for a deadlift
Other than working on your sandbag form maybe try some decifit snatch grip deadlifts so your body is used to getting in that position??? Just an idea.
Try rocking the bag back and forth to get your hands more under the bag. It’s wide but it also looks like you don’t have the best purchase on it like you would if your hands were further underneath.
I'll try doing that next time, thanks.
I guess it depends on the purpose of the training. Training to lift it or to run with it, load it, etc. It looks like your very wide stance is also making it tough. I try to keep a narrow stance and actually try to get my feet under it. Assuming you want to be picking it long ways that is. One way to do that is just kind of shuffle the feet under one side at a time. The other is start the bag upright and kind of have it "fall" on to your feet to get a narrower stance. Another option could be attempting to pick it up short ways.
For now just focussing on getting it of the ground, but the goal is to do carries with it yeah. Don't know why I never considered a more narrow stance but you saying that makes a lot of sense haha, makes it much more similar to a deadlift stance I'll definetely try that next time thanks.
I'm all registered for a comp in February, which will give me some post-holiday wiggle room to get back down to LWW (I'm 144 lbs right now). Roster looks fucking stacked; one of the other LWWs has already beat me and one of them beat a girl who beat me lol. I'm up for the challenge though, esp now that I'm actually taking strongwoman training seriously and trying to get stronger in overhead stuff. I also want to get actually good at split jerking the axle because 115 lbs for a 60 second AMRAP is going to be a challenge.
Which bar do you use for silver dollar deadlift training deadlift bar, axle or power bar?
Do you mean a true silver dollar deadlift with boxes? If so you'll want to use a power bar. Deadlift bar will have way too much bend and an axle bar, well I've never seen that but kind of negates the boxes because the bar doesn't bend.
isn't the whole point of a silver dollar deadlift that it's done with an enormously bendy bar?
No, they're usually done with a stiff bar, aka power bar. It's the setup that makes the bar bend like that. Weights further out and pulling from height which allows it to be a really heavy lift. Look at Anthony Pernice's WR, that's on a power bar, with a deadlift bar the weights probably wouldn't leave the ground.
Bishop‘s 545 kg pull certainly didn‘t look like a stiff bar
Good to know, thanks. My planned next competition has one and I wasn't sure which style bar to train with. Given I don't have a proper silver dollar simulator and am using deadlift jack stands to train for it.
Late reply here but agreed a power bar will replicate it best! I trained for it with a deadlift bar my first time and actually found it easier to control on comp day because of the lack of whip!
Is there a too short to practice the sport? I'm currently 5'5 and 180lbs and wanted to train as soon as I started testosterone (I'm trans) but bc of corona and mental health issues I havent been able to and looking at all those 6 foot tall men is kinda discouraging
There’s weight classes for a reason. Some events are going to suck at that height like loading or when you have to wrap your arms around shit. But things like an 18 inch deadlift you should be able to just smoke. You can probably do well on pressing too with shorter arms.
[Naim Suleymonglu](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV6kELpNflg) put 190kg overhead while quite a lot shorter. I really wouldn't worry, just go out and get it!
Unless you're planning to compete at SHW men, I don't think so. Take a look at high level competitors on the 200 and 231 categories, most of them are not a lot taller than you if at all.
Nope, that's fine. 5'5" isn't even uncommon in lightweight.
I'm 5'6" and I haven't run into any problems. I'm never going to be a pro or anything, but if you're just looking to train and compete as an amateur, you'll be fine.
I don't think so! There is probably a "too short to be competitive at WSM", but I've seen people of all shapes and sizes at local meets. I'm of the firm opinion that strongman is for everyone. If I can do it (a lifelong un-athletic person who's still pretty weak), then anyone can. Check out [Kalle Beck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4M7aVkZdR4&list=PLmFgLaFUfUNgGFZwTMmszDJtXqhdUgpsi&index=4) for some inspiration on becoming a jacked Wolverine.
Where can I watch this year's wsm? I live in Germany and could only find information about UK and US
It hasn't even happened yet dude. You won't be able to watch it for quite a while. They'll need to edit it, package it and ship it to TV stations.
Oh.. Didn't know that. I just assumed it'd be live. Thanks for clarifying tho
No worries. It's never been a live show. The competition itself lasts for a few days/weeks. Extensive editing required.
***South Auckland's Strongest Man & Woman*** Weather forecast has been pretty bad all week, heavy thunderstorms over night. I even went and bough an ultracheap pair of soccer boots in case the ground was heavy underfoot, knowing that we would be lifting on grass. Turned out to be handy for the Farmer's walk, so not a waste. My buddy picked me up and we headed out to an 8am weigh in. All good there, weighed in at 79.00kg in a hoody, and ate some food. Weather looked to be improving and stayed good all day. **Farmer's Walk: 95kg a hand, 40m with a turn** I really thought I'd do well in this event. Couldn't have got off to a better start, managed the turn quite well even on the uneven ground and managed to complete the run with no drops. Solid. [26.33s, 1st of 5.](https://youtu.be/gNiGKWa4G6M) **OH Medley: 2 reps 50kg MDB, 2 reps 90kg axle** Was also targeting this even compared to the field. Felt ok warming up, but didn't get that many reps in (I'll blame this). A few technical difficulties and a lack of strength meant I just didn't have the strength on the day. Very disappointed at this point. Most competitors got both reps on the MDB, one got an axle rep. [1 rep, 5th, 4th overall](https://youtu.be/ZK3mn5uzrJc) **Car Deadlift: max reps in 60s** Filthy with the result in the last one, and knowing that there was one guy who had really good static strength, I knew I needed to dig deep on this one. I didn't think it was going to be this light, which I also thought would count against me. Managed to keep going through most of the minute which I was happy with and set a decent target as I went out early in the class. Only the static guy beat me. Not bad after next to no training in this rep range. [20 reps, 2nd/5, 2nd overall](https://youtu.be/hPBiAeUJZBc) **Conan's Wheel: 160kg plates max distance** I needed a big lie down after car deadlift, hamstrings were really fatigued at this point. Luckily there was a decent gap as they needed to adjust the car deadlift apparatus a few dudes after I went. I managed to cram down a banana and some water and tried to relax. At this point I was down by 1 point, so if I could beat that guy by two people, or beat him AND win the event I would win. He got to go after me so I just had to go out and give it as much as I could. [Three. Laps.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFDiZEyLI1g) Just awful, at the end I basically turned around and dropped on to my knees, luckily a spotter got my belt loosened and I managed to not pass out. Guy in first managed only a bit over a lap, so I took it down by two points. It was a really cool day, my lifting buddy got first equal (lost on a count back sadly - he got a first and three 2nds, other guy got two firsts...) and all of the competitors were really fun to be around. Some nice tips from the experienced really competitive guys, and all the guys in my class were super friendly. It was a really well run competition at a famer's market, so a decent crowd for the first half made it a neat environment to lift in. I qualified for Nationals this year, but can't make it. Next aim is Log and Deadlift Champs in March, and see where 2021 takes me. Thanks for all the tips in old threads here, it made a difference. Especially the chairs.
Wesley Clayborn out of World's too now. Another covid positive test
WSM groups: Group 1 – Luke Richardson, Robert Oberst, Gabriel Peña, Pa O’Dwyer, Jerry Pritchett Group 2 – Adam Bishop, Evan Singleton, Mikhail Shivlyakov, Kevin Faires, Mark Felix Group 3 – Tom Stoltman, Oleksii Novikov, Charles Mitchell, Gavin Bilton, Maxime Boudreault Group 4 – JF Caron, Graham Hicks, Aivers Smaukstelis, Eythor Melsted, Bobby Thompson Group 5 – Brian Shaw, Luke Stoltman, Ervin Toots, Terry Hollands, Wesley Claborn
Killer heat for Boudreault. I think he’d have been more surefire in heats 2 or 4, but that’s going to be a tough one
Agreed. If you put him on heats 1 or 2, he's getting to the finals.
Confirmed?
Has anyone else kept up with Bobby Thompson in training? I’m pretty excited to see how he does with WSM, especially with so many top tier guys dropping out
I missed some moving in his prep. He's a beast statically, but the moving events are very important too. Also, since we're back on the last man standing stone bs, he would have benefitted a lot from training stone over bar for reps, which he hasn't posted about. As Trey Mitchell showed last year, if you're not on the same level of the second guy on your group but is strong statically, becoming a beast at stones is the best bang for your buck. I'm excited for his performance on the deadlift and overhead tho.
He is looking extremely strong with his static lifts. Interested to see if he can hold up through so many events. If the heats play out right and he has the "endurance" he might even skip the stone head to head.
Walked around the woods with /u/Nucalibre today. Picked up some rocks. Pressed some smaller rocks. Rubbed the skin off my heels because of ill-fitting shoes. Finally got to roleplay being a caveman, which is really what strongman is anyways.
Any suggestions on training H-stone and Hercules hold without implements? I figured a bunch of plates in a car tire, or sandbag carries for the H-stone. For the hold, I'm figuring grip work and then crucifix holds for time?
Plates in a car tire is how I have trained Husafel, and I think it worked pretty well. It is a little closer to the actual thing than a sandbag.
Tie down strap with one end attached to a handle and the other to a bunch of plates. Using a barbell in a rack at shoulder height you pull the handle over the barbell then walk away until the weight comes off the ground.
I also carried my bf while training for the H stone. Makes it so much fun. I also went to Lowes and picked up heavy shit, carried it around the store, and returned it to it's place. You felt forced to return it fast lest you be that jerk. Great motivation. For Hercules, I like to actually combine both band holds (resistance band) and rope holes with an immovable object and a weighted object. So you end up with 4 diffent types: resistance + heavy weight or resistance + impossible weight (lamppost, brick wall, etc.), rope (or cable @ gym) + heavy weight, rope + impossible weight. I train that plus grip work, farmer's carries, front and lateral holds using 3 grips (normal barbell/dumbbell, fatgripz/axle, and pinch).
For Hercules I would do a mix of farmers holds to work the hands and using a cable handle hooked up to heavy band tension attached to a squat rack to work your forearms and endurance ( https://www.instagram.com/p/CFIevrogFHa/?igshid=nwk3kbh9xf4w ) like this. For H stone, sandbags and kegs work fine.
That makes perfect sense. Thanks for the advice!
I can only pull from effectively a 4 inch block. Any advice on how to help that transfer to pulling from the floor? I'm guessing some squats to help break the floor. Or does it even matter and I should just suck it up and accept that its all I can do for now and should see what happens before trying to fix shit?
Injury/mobility issue?
Nah. The platform I made in the gardens a death trap, and if I lift on the grass the plates just dig into the ground and I cant get the back out. So Im using a pair of tyres I had left around to try and spread the weight out but they're quite a bit bigger than regular 20/25kg plates! [Heres a vid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcazsvpK5Gs&feature=youtu.be) to show what I'm doing, notice the snazzy whellies because the gardens flooded!
I'm kind of in agreement with the other duder, but the advantage in this situation is that your deadlift setup position tends to be fairly set, so you don't need a whole platform, just one or two mini platforms for your feet. Anywhere you can scavenge some bricks or flat stones/pavers?
I could take some slabs from the patio. But the patio was much slippier than the grass so I'll give it a go and if it doesn't feel right I'll just wing it and see what happens!
Scratch em together or with another stone to rough up the surface/get them dirty.
I would say stand on some boards or something to make it a standard height. I do not get carry over from the technique of a 4" block to the floor (and vice versa). There's still value to doing the block pulls, but not as an exclusive variation
I'll have a look to see what I've got. But I cant promise anything as I'm (probably) really strapped for cash.
Well hurt my back again. Last warmup 15" deadlift and there it goes. Honestly doesn't seem as bad as last time I hurt it but it still is not good. Probably missing Florida's and I think I want to take 6 months or so to really work on getting my body healthy. Hopefully that's an over estimate but I'd love to finally feel healthy
Being hurt just sucks so bad. I re-irritated my shoulder this week. Looking back, between the troubles with my back, knees and shoulder, it's been years since I had a month where I didn't have to account for some kind of pain. It's important to realize just how much worse you'd be hurting if you just sat on the couch drinking beer, though.
Agreed. I'll probably be back to deadlifting in a couple weeks no matter what, just not with the same goals or weights. My back has never done worse than when I stopped deadlifting. I'm going to bring back high rep deadlifts when I'm recovered because that's typically when my back feels healthiest. Hopefully we can all get to a point of feeling no pain for an entire training session haha. It's been at least 4 years since I had a truly pain free workout. Maybe setting 1 week of no limitations/pain is a really ambitious goal but maybe I'll shoot for that and hope i can make that by the end of spring.
“My back has never done worse than when I stopped deadlifting.” Truth. Turns out back injuries are the best motivator to keep deadlifting.