ELITE NUTRITION’S STRONGEST MAN WRITE UP
5/5/12
First off, I want to thank Jared McGowen for putting on such a smoothly run show. He’s got an eye for this thing, and I was really impressed with how it all went. Secondly, I will talk about what I need to work on following each event. There’s a good bit I learned at this show, and I’m excited to see where I end up from here. Just need to get stronger all over, and I need to remember I’m still new at this. Lastly, met Dasher and her man in person at the show. They’re really cool people. Here goes:
FARMER’S WALK/TIRE FLIP MEDLEY( 230 per hand farmers, 600 tire, 60’ course, 90s time limit)
60.09 seconds, 5th/10
Thoughts:
This one was the event I was sure I wouldn’t finish a month ago. Conditioning is key, as is following the tire down after each flip. I’ve got video forthcoming to see if I did that for real, but it felt good in the comp. My farmers were a smidge slow, and that’s what cost me. 2nd -4th beat me by less than 3 seconds. First smoked the course in around 49 seconds I think. Happy with this.
YOKE WALK (600 yoke, 80’ course, 60 seconds)
60’, 8th/10
Thoughts:
Little bummed here. I need to practice with different yokes and hand positions. We have a fairly narrow yoke and I can get super tight on it, and couldn’t with this one as it was a bit wider. I also need to be going heavier with the yoke in practice so 600 feels easier, and going the contest distance. I’d only been practicing to 60 feet. And I need to be consistent with the core stability work. I will likely start implementing that into my warmup or something as it needs to be done. Vid coming on this too, but I’m sure it’s ugly.
AXLE CLEAN AND PRESS (clean once, 225# axle)
2 reps, 8th/10
Thoughts:
This is where I realized I need to work the axle at different points in the workout rather than first off. With the heat and the heavy events before, I didn’t have the leg drive I normally use to press. As a result, I suffered mightily here. I was expecting nearly 10 reps with this, but I just didn’t have the juice. Even in the rack position my legs felt wobbly and unstable. This was partly due to dehydration and the heat, but also to poor planning with my training. I’ll be smarter next time though, no worries. At least I fought through 2 reps.
KEG CARRY/SLED DRAG MEDLEY (40’ course, 200 keg to sled, run back, 230, then pull sled 40’)
49 seconds I think, 3rd or 4th place here.
Thoughts:
I had great picks on both kegs and covered the ground easily in the sprint back. I lost some time dragging the sled though. A friend of mine who was also competing and told me to grab the handles a certain way (he’s been competing for 14 years), and I didn’t listen and lost a few seconds as a result. Started feeling better by this point, as I finally started to catch back up on hydration despite having been pounding fluids all day. The GF brought me a crapload of ice water and it did the trick. I love that woman.
TRUCK PULL, SEATED START (Ford F-150, 60’ for time)
16.09 seconds, 2nd/10 (first was 15.94)
Thoughts:
Had to go out with a bang! I watched the other competitors that went before me struggle with the truck. A lot of them kept leaning back and pulling the rope instead of pulling out slack with quick hands and arms and it slowed them down. I rowed twice then just hammered with my arms. My GF said my pull looked significantly smoother than the rest, and I think I just was a little weaker on the initial pull than the 1st place guy, and that’s what made the difference. Glad to do really well in an event though. Makes it all worth it.
Overall:
-Build Core Strength
-Need to work heavier weights than comp weights
-Need to not be scared about going heavy on events days
-Explosion was good, will keep up with Coy’s programming
-Conditioning was decent, will implement more prowler work following workouts
And that’s about it folks. Wanted to thank the meet promoter and all the guys working who had to pick up everyone’s weights and shit after each event. They did a fantastic job and it was 90 degrees the whole day. Everyone had good attitudes despite the heat, and it was a great competitive atmosphere. It’s contests like these that make me keep coming back to strongman. I love the toughness and enjoy talking to folks between events and getting tips. I’ve got nowhere to go but up, and I’ll be some kind of force in the sport one day.
Back in the gym Monday!
PEACE.