Thank you. Yeah I’m burning for more comps. I have more in me in terms of performance.
I’m gonna plan a new comp at the end of the summer. I want to win one. I think I can. Getting 9 reps on the dead lift gives me the confidence to say I can. I always say double digits on an event means you “should” be in the next category up.
Its also a point in case that this was a fairly heavy novice comp. Most novice comps are 240/250kg yoke. And some are 220kg silver dollar dead lift (which is easier). I just have to improve my pressing / conditioning so I can do better in the log and I’m all good.
2 Likes
as far as technique goes, you need to improve your clean. That’s absolutely the biggest thing I noticed from the videos. Your pressing technique was better than your clean was, by quite a bit. You lost a TON of energy on the cleans, and all the walking around you did. As far as static strength goes, obviously there’s always room to improve.
I think there was a degree of nerves affecting your performance there as well, you seemed rushed/excited.
One of my favorite cues in strongman is ‘be robotic’. Try to think about that when you’re training your clean. Up and down, simple motions, conserve your energy, be efficient. I would start practicing a whole lot of cleans-only in training to nail this technique down. Keep your feet on the ground, you shouldn’t be forced to step back/walk around by your clean, particularly on the first reps when you’re still fresh.
Your first cleans also looked too much like barbell cleans. I think the clean that looked the best from a technique standpoint was probably your 4th one… and your 5th after you missed a clean attempt was also pretty good. You were forced to rely on better, more efficient technique when your strength started to fail you. If you had been doing it like that earlier, you would have had more energy for another 2-3 reps IMO.
100% - My clean is poor. And given that 90% of comps do log reps for time this will need to improve to get competitive.
Part of the story also - I was in the 2nd pair to go up. And the guys that went first got 11 and 12 reps. So I was very flustered. I though my 6 that Id gotten in training was never going to score. So I came out trying to rush it. Trying to keep up as I assumed the rest of the field would be as strong.
In my desperation to keep up I stopped using my technique. You are right I do have at least 2 more in me. I’ve done this in training. But by the time I stopped being a twit I was already gassed. My coach and the other guy from the gym that was there both said the same. Keep cool and calm (robotic). I did not. And that cost me. As 6 reps would have been 6th. Not joint 8th.
Ironically I think I would have done better at a higher weight. I can not one motion a 90/95kg log. This would have meant I needed to clean it properly. I think I have 6 at 90kg also.
Over all I’ve so happy though. I fluffed my first event, in my first show. But I hit the rest of my targets. And then some.
I’m getting a bit leaner now. 9 weeks till holiday so looking to ship some fluff. And we are looking for another comp at the end of the summer so another 8 weeks of gain. And repeat. I’m aiming to win my next comp. I was close enough this time out. I know 5th does not sound close but there was nothing between people on the moving events. As I say the guy I’m racing on the farmers came 2nd (I thought he was first but I’ve seen the score sheet now) and I came 5th. That’s 2 people in less that 1/2 a second. The Yoke and duck walk were similarly close. Top 5 places had 1 second between them. A few positional swaps in there and who knows what I could have done.
for sure, you should be happy. I’m only being critical because I want you to get better 
But I totally agree, that’s a very strong showing for your first time. I can assure you, my first show was NOT this good… lol.
I get this. I find myself wanting heavier events often, for various reasons. Particularly on carries. I tend to have a very fast pick on most implements, and when weights get really heavy, other competitors tend to struggle with picking things up. That’s really the only place I ever make up ground because my foot speed is garbage. I have a husafell carry in a month in comp, and it’s for max distance in a minute. They haven’t announced the weight yet, but my HOPE is that it’s extremely heavy, so that other competitors may either miss the pick, or drop it before time runs out. My foot speed will suck, but I can be damn sure I’ll hold the thing for the entire minute.
I’m glad we had the conversation we did a few weeks ago about transition between picks on the yoke carry. You saw/experienced first hand what a difference all the little things make. Medleys/carries are won and lost by less than a second ALL. THE. TIME. Usually, there is very little room to improve foot speed much, even over the course of an entire training block. But pick speeds and transitions can almost always be improved, often just by giving a little extra effort and attention on your competition run. A smart competitor will often beat a stronger competitor because they nail down the details better.
FYI I have to type replies out in a word doc and copy to the forum. So I can’t quote sections. If my reply comes over poorly written that’s why.
@flipcollar - please critic away. Because it is not just want to get better. I’m desperate to get better. I had not noticed how consumed I’d been by my prep. And I love it.
I know the story of your first comp. 0 in a few events right? I hope I do the same as you. And use the bad parts as a learning curve. Try and doing something special. I might never make the UK strongest man. Or strongest under 105 (the end goal). But I’ll be competitive. I’m going to enter and post numbers. There is nothing stop me except my ability to apply myself.
And yes your talk on the yoke turn was spot on. I think in comp it was less than 2 seconds. And that translated into legitimate points. Please if you drink - have one on me. @WSMwannabe - you to.
I think you both helped me gain a good few points. Thank you.
Yeah the technical side is something I need to work on. Pickups and put downs. Even keeping the implements upright when they land. Its all-important. Time for the 30/40/50 pick up/put down/turns.
2 Likes