RESURRECTION!
Contest write up from today:
Wounded Warrior Strongman Write Up
I’ve done it again. Went and competed in a strongman competition and ended up surprising myself a bit. I put in some brutal work prepping for this show, so I knew I’d be well conditioned coming in. My biggest concern was the sinus infection nastiness that I had contracted earlier this past week. It made breathing an issue and caused me to struggle with some of the recovery on events. That said, I left it all out there, and did very well for a lighter show. Came in 2nd overall. 1st place went to Mike Tumminello, a training partner and friend of mine, who also happens to finish top 5 at master’s nationals every year. So yeah, safe to say he’s good at strongman. Anyways, here’s what went down.
Log Clean and Press - 7 reps, 2nd place
Used a slater log, which is shorter and stouter than the metal log we’ve trained with in the gym. They dropped the log weight, so I’m not sure what it was, but I think somewhere around 205 instead of 225. That said, the log was wobbly as hell, and definitely my ugliest event. I’m going to have to work on my overhead stability some more, but since first place got 14 reps, I feel good that I got second here.
Yoke Walk/Tire Flip Medley - 50’ course, 34.8 seconds (500 yoke, 650 tire), 2nd or 3rd, not sure
Mike smoked me on this one. I had two wobbly tire flips that cost me 3 seconds at least. Judging by the video, I was off to a helluva start too. Room to improve on my yoke for sure. Another competitor was in the 34 second window so I don’t know if I was faster or slower. Pretty sure this was a PR though, so that’s slick.
Conan’s Wheel 500 lbs, not sure of distance, 2nd place
This was hideous. As in god awful. I blacked out somewhere in the middle of my first 1/2 lap so I just kept walking until the implement stopped me when it hit the ground. Still have a nasty tension headache from this one, but I did well for it being my first time touching the implement.
Hummer Pull, 50’, 14.8 seconds, 1st place
This was a fun one. Smoke showed it and won by 0.2 seconds. Good thing they ended up finding a hummer too, because some of the other vehicles they had come up with would not have moved without a rope assist on the pull, and even then would have been ugly. That said, always feels good to win at least one event.
Atlas Stones, 250lb to 50’. 7 reps (missed one), 3 way tie for second.
This one was embarrassing. I’ve hit these reps for multiple sets with the 300# stone, so I was a little bummed to struggle this much with a 250. It was a bit dusty and I was set up a little too far from the bar without realizing it. Missed a rep off the front because of my set up, which would have earned me a definitive 2nd here. As such, Mike hit 8 reps to beat the rest of the field, though it looked like it was an easy one for him. I would have like to hit 10 here.
All in all, a decent show. It was well run and we raised quite a bit of money for the Wounded Warrior Project. Knowing a few veterans myself, and as thankful as I am for their sacrifice so that I can enjoy what I do, this show was a no brainer for me. Luckily, since this show wasn’t miserable heavy, I should be ok to get back into training sooner rather than later. No injuries to report, so I’m glad of that.
Areas to improve: 1) Stones. As always, these need to get better. 2) Yoke. I’m still slow on this, and increasing my overall max strength here will end up improving my footspeed. 3) Log/Overhead. Continues to be a weakness, but is definitely improving.
Taking a week off to recover and get over an illness. Then the real work begins.
