Rebirth of the Juggernaut: Brute Force and Ignorance (Part 1)

Training Training Logs
662

Just read your latest article and finally, for once, I can say I don’t fully agree with it. Just this lil sentence here.

“That said, first, I need to clear up the fact that no one is going to laugh at you in a competition.”

Maybe I’m just lacking in terms of upbringing ( I really hope not though) but I have actually openly laughed at people in a comp and I made it a point to let them know that I am in fact laughing at them/belittling them/etc.

Let me explain myself. I’ve been to 4 strongman comps/shows. In each and every single one of the comps, I’ve laughed at someone. My reasoning for doing so is, they simply aren’t trying hard enough. I don’t know if this happens over in the US even though I’d like to think it doesn’t but there are literally people who look like lost sheep at comps. People who didn’t train for it, who’re just participating to “try their luck”. I simply cannot respect that. It simply astounds me that there are people who know that they’re going to lose, yet they’ll still sign up for the comp simply because “the shirt looks cool”. How does one willing lose and yet be all smug about it, saying shit like “at least I competed”.

I hope this wouldn’t apply to any of your readers but I had to point out the fact that people like this do exist.

I’ve cheered on the losers, people giving it their all despite knowing that they WILL lose. However, I refuse to give any minuscule amount of respect to someone who isn’t willing to try. They are mediocre and they’re disease. They deserve none of our empathy and they should be ridiculed to the point of self enforced self improvement, out of hatred or otherwise.

Gosh, I might’ve gotten a little dramatic at the end but what do you think? Am I perhaps a sociopath who lacks social skills?

663

So you really only enter if you know you can win? How many wins have you got so far?

I did go to a competition I knew I wouldn’t have a shot at winning. The deadlift for max reps weight was higher than my 1rm conventional pull when I started prepping.
I knew every second of my prep and the contest itself that I won’t win shit there as there were monsters who could pull mid 600s beltless or have competed in powerlifting/ bodybuilding/ crossfit. There even was a nationally successful youtuber at my competition (who won both overall and sub 105kg class). So what should I do? Say to myself I won’t win and just quit? Ripping me of the benefits of entering a conpetition like the experience of going through a prep, overcoming obstacles and pushing through pain and sickness (in my case), meeting up with people stronger than you and also like minded?
You know who goes to a competition knowing he will win? A coward. Not willing to give his all despite knowing that he kight not or even will not win.
Competing as a novice has great benefits. Do you think the guys that were unprepared for the contests you visited learned nothing? And let it only be the knowledge that they have to push harder and prep better the next time.
I do not think you are a sociopath, I just think you are short sighted on this matter. I read your log for some time now btw.

I didn’t read the article so far I am just referring to the quote and Benanything’s opinion on it.

Sorry for hijacking your log here, @T3hPwnisher

664

Before I start, it is quite possible you might’ve misunderstood me.

Nope, I’ll only enter if I’m going to train for it. I don’t see a point in entering something I didn’t train for.

Well, none really. 4 comps, 2 of them were tertiary level(most of us aged 17-19) and the other 2 were normal comps organized by outside organisations. I’ve gotten 3 second places finishes and 1 third place so no wins, really.

Oh nothing wrong with that and I actually applaud you for it.

I’ve never went into a competition wanting to win, truth be told. I always go in, wanting everyone to lose in comparison, if that makes sense.

The way I see it, you should only compete in novice level comps once, maybe twice. They serve as an introductory and it should remain that way. Yes, some of them actually did learn nothing. I would know that because they show up at the next comp looking just as clueless as they were before. They are also the same guys I referred to who "sign up for the comp simply because ‘the shirt looks cool’ " They’re wasting mine and everyone else’s time and spreading their mediocrity whilst they’re at it.

Perhaps, well, that’s why I’m putting my opinion out there. If I’m being short sighted, I want someone to point it out to me so at least I know.

here’s the link to the blog post, I’m not sure if it’ll be taken down but just search mythicalstrength if it is.

665

That might very well be true.

Good effort!

Not to me, sorry if I am a little slow here.

Maybe I am underestimating what you have seen. I am on your site if “the shirt looks cool” really is someone’s motivation to participate in a strongman contest. Also I am not sure what “novice level” means for you and for me.
I know this might come off hostile but let me assure you it isn’t:
How strong are you? Meaning barbell lifts and strongman lifts. I know that your wrist is injured at the moment, so I really have no idea what you can do when you are uninjured as I don’t follow your progress that long. I just want to get more insight into what it takes to achieve the contest results you got in your competitive field (country/ class/ league). If that makes sense. I am not trying to bring you down or something I am genuinely curious.

I really think it is a bad move to laugh at people at strongman contests or any contest for that matter. Would you laugh at someone at a powerlifting meet who is maybe only squatting 80 kg while everybody else is squatting 200+? What if he has just started the sport and wants to get in touch with people more experienced than him? What if he wanted to get a feel for it? What if he just survived cancer and wanted to prove a point to himself? What if competing is a form of dealing with his depression?
This took a dramatic turn but I think you are getting my point. You don’t know someone’s motivation to do something. With your reaction you are bringing people down who maybe already are insecure. You should focus on yourself rather than other people.
Maybe I am just a guy who is trying hard to be thoughtful and nice or maybe what I value most about sports and especially strength sports is the camaraderie and this goes kind of against it.

I like that attitude as long as someone is open to other people’s input and opinion.

Thanks for the link, I am a frequent reader of that blog though. I just meant that I haven’t gotten to read this article yet :wink:

1 Like
666

Good conversation going here guys. I think the fundamental issue we’re running into is we’re imaging 2 different people here.

When I say “no one is going to laugh at you in a competition”, keep in mind I’m saying that to someone who is CONCERNED that someone is going to laugh at them in a competition. The type of person who cares enough about how well they do that they’re worried about being laughed at is someone who CARES about their performance, period. The type of folks you’re describing @Benanything sound more like folks who just showed up to have a good time, who, coincidentally, most likely don’t care about being laughed at. In fact, I imagine they encourage it.

That having been said, the reason for such mentality is this idea that, if you are ironic enough, you can just be bad at something and it’s ok. “Yeah, I came in dead last in the strongman contest, but I wasn’t really taking it seriously, and was just goofing around”. Essentially, this is a premeditated attempt to save face before the event even occurs. It’s the same thing with the people showing up to their first powerlifting meet in some sort of 1970s American Flag singlet with a pink mohawk who then goes and totals 800lbs; “it’s ok, I was just being ironic”. The implication is, if they actually tried/cared, they could do SOOOO much better…but we know the truth.

THAT having been said, I wouldn’t laugh at these people, because it’s exactly what they want; attention. It’s not going to shame them, but simply encourage them to keep being goofy to get laughs. The best way to dissuade this behavior is to not reward it with any attention. When you see these folks, either ignore them and focus on yourself, or give them legitimate cues/help. The latter is somewhat two faced; yes, you’re being a good ambassador and aiding them, but the evil side of it too is that, by taking it more seriously than they are, to the outside observer it appears that the competitor is legitimately putting forth their best effort, and that you are trying to help them get through it. Basically, you rob them of their irony, and instead make them simply look like a shitty athlete.

What @Koestrizer is describing is the type of athlete I cheer the loudest for; the dude who is there in way over his head that can only count on heart, since they don’t have the skill or strength to back it up. No way am I laughing at this dude; I am trying to get him more reps through my OWN energy. I’m trying to will him across the finishline, and I’m giving him every piece of advice and sharing every last bit of gear I have with him to make sure he has the best day for HIM. Love seeing these dudes, it’s so heroic.

Great discussion, keep it up.

Wisdom tooth removal went well. I’m about 3 hours post op now. Mouth is achy, can’t open it all the way, but I can eat and drink without too much issue. Woke up at 197.4, so my overeating strategy seemed to pay off. They said I’m cleared to train, so I just might. Staying away from the percocet for now.

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667

There’s just as much truth and integrity, in my opinion, in the perspective of some bystander who totes the philosophy that there’s no point in trying to better yourself physically/mentally because we’re all going to die and our existence means nothing in the broad scheme. This is the same notion of Benanything laughing at a dude for not trying in a strongman show. It’s flippant to do that, but not wrong. People laugh at Kristin Rhodes because she’s a large woman, yet she stood in front of hundreds of cheering people with a 250lb log over her fucking head. Nothing in her life mattered more than that in that small moment. Things like that are what we harness as humans to give us our own personal meaning in life, and whether someone agrees or disagrees does not change that even remotely. Sometimes, what we see wrong in others, often, is what you don’t like in yourself. So if someone wants to be a tough strongman guy and get all serious about it, just know there’s a scholar, a maestro, or a worldly diplomat changing peoples lives as their calling flows through them not hearing any peripheral dogma or heckles. They just kind of exist and life is legislated by something innate and we should strive to be more grounded in this way. I’ll cut the philosophy bullshit here. Just my thoughts.

Anyway, @T3hPwnisher, just wanted to say, aside from the great work, I was thinking about your latest blog post. I thought about how hard I used to have to psyche myself up, like a young Pete Rubbish, just to deadlift 500lbs once. I’d get on the verge of tears and just yank the weight off the floor like my future baby that I probably never will have was stuck under it. In elation, I’d then slowly calm down and ask myself how some guys like Misha, or Jesse Norris could be so calm before any lift. I then wondered if I was even truly strong. I mean the weight is the weight, right? It didn’t change.

Well… I think your psyche is an amazing tool but it’s also deadly, like a drug, if you become reliant on it. I mean if you’re psyching yourself up to be at a level that other people are at just kind of chilled out, then you have to have the emotional preoccupation of a mental patient during a whole strongman show, and that’s not fun! So that subject you brought up is fucking spot on. It needs to be talked about more. People who seriously want to compete need to understand that during training, you have to be cognitive and at peace more often than not, otherwise you just end up building statues made of snow. Ok end rant!

668

You have been absolutely crushing it man! Inspiring job!

669

Not particularly strong, that’s for sure. If anything, I’ve always been very open about how pathetic the state of Strongman is in my country and the fact that I’m even placing in shows is a joke. As for my lifts, I’ll just randomly name some things that come to mind.

At a bodyweight of 75-ish kgs, age 18.
Deadlift 180kgs conventional, 200kgs sumo.
Squat 160kgs, well I’ve been at this for a year cause I haven’t really been training to increase my squat so I doubt it’s accurate.
Bench 95kgs back when my wrist wasn’t messed up, never really cared for bench enough.
Press 65kgs strict, 95kgs with leg drive.
Farmer’s 100kgs per hand for 20m.
I can flip a 450kgs tyre, I don’t know if that counts for anything haha.

Oh and no offence taken.

Obviously, I’m not just gonna be a prick who laughs at someone just cause they’re ‘weak’. I’ll at least try to get the full story first, that being said. I ought to stress that it’s a really niche thing(powerlifting/strongman/bodybuilding/etc) here in Singapore and everyone pretty much knows each other via social media or through a mutual friend of some sort. Those are valid what ifs that I’ve thought of but for the most part, I would say it’s rather dramatic and I’ll almost always try to get the full story before I pass judgement.

But that being said, I won’t lie if I said sometimes it feels like they’re just wasting everyone else’s time. There’s maybe 4 powerlifting meets a year. Strongman shows, at least those open to public, 4-ish too. And hell, I won’t even consider those true blue strongman events. They’re pretty damn pathetic.
http://www.gymbrigade.sg/strongman-challenge/
here’s the link to an upcoming one. For the most part, they are just extremely scaled down novice level comps disguised as strongman comps.

670

Interesting way to look at it. I get it, well half of it. We’re all going to die, it’s an inevitability and for the most part, none of us will have a meaningful impact on the world. That being said, I feel compelled to be better than everyone else at whatever I do or at least whatever I choose to do. I just have this unexplained need to. If we’re all gonna go out, I choose to go out while kicking as much ass as possible. Why be average? Why choose to be mediocre? I cannot comprehend it and I find it pretty weird to hear this coming from you. So what is it that is driving you to do what you do? Just pure enjoyment?

Gosh, I fully realise how childish I might sound right now.

I would say it’s more along the lines of, why the hell would you sign up for something and not try, it simply astounds me and it seems like a waste of time for everyone.

I wouldn’t laugh at her, that’s for sure. That’s pretty damn awesome.

Yes, I’m aware of this and I know exactly what it is I see wrong in said people I’m talking about. Their acceptance towards mediocrity. It’s something that I’ve a deep fear of because I know that I’ve some of it in me and its also possibly why I come off as extremely hostile towards them. I want nothing to do with them. Their very presence irks me.

671

Remember I was paraphrasing someone else in the first thing you quoted, if you didn’t already know that. Also I wasn’t necessarily refuting you. Don’t want you to feel cornered or on the bad side of me or some shit. Either way, opinions are just opinions.

672

Oh no, not at all, I was just curious as to what’s going through your mind.

673

Man, never expected such a big response to this blog post. This was another one of those that I was really on the fence on even releasing. Glad to see it’s created so much conversation.

@strongmanvinny2 You raised some excellent points. I always feel the need to point out in my writing that I don’t think I’m better than other people just because I lift weights. There are people out there curing cancer and fostering kids from broken homes and doing things that really matter. We all find our thing. I also think you hit the nail on the head regarding getting psyched up for a competition. Some folks just get addicted to the emotion, but there really is a time and a place for it.

That being said, it’s interesting to wonder what happens when those calm dudes let the monsters take over. If you were ever a MMA fan, watching Fedor vs Tsuyoshi Kosaka (the second one) is a great example of this. Fedor was always historically calm, even while maiming another human, but in this one fight, against the one guy who had ever beaten him before (on a technicality no less), you can see him unleash the evil, and it goes from a fight to attempted murder. It’s kinda like what I’ve been getting at; if you can dominate while you’re calm, you’ll be on another planet when you’re angry, haha.

@Alpha Thanks dude! It really means a lot coming from you. Your log has been great for keeping me motivated to come back to some heavy weights.

SSB Squats
5xBar+chains
5x115+chains
5x155+chains
3x205+chains
1x245+chains
1x295+chains
1x335+chains
5x405+chains
10x335+chains

Notes: Finally back to some real weight. 5 was the goal. I took video, and you can see that I was seriously considering 6, but it seemed greedy. Difficulty in bracing with the wisdom tooth out; trying to hold the air in my mouth would put some pressure on the socket. Still, I’m starting to theorize that I’m some sort of reverse Samson, because it seems like the more you cut off me, the stronger I become.

Reverse hyper 270
4x8

superset w/

Standing ab wheel
4x8

Notes: Need to start weighing down the reverse hyper again. It’s bucking pretty good with 3 plates per side.

Car deadlift simulator
5x1plate
5x2plates
5x3plates
1x4plates
1x5plates
1x6plates
12x7plates

Notes: Got video of this, will upload later. Jacked up the set-up on the final set; feet were too far behind my hands and weight was all messed up. Makes the PR all the sweeter. I think I’m gonna try for 8 plates next time.

General notes: Just a dull ache in the socket thankfully. Food intake was low, but I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.

674

Good call. I was slowly getting the feeling that this is the case.

That is kind of what I was getting at. In my book your strength stats are very good but this would not be enough to even come close to placing in a novice competition in my country.

I think @T3hPwnisher is right, we are talking about different things. I guess I have underestimated with what kind of people you seem to deal at strongman shows where you live.

675

Yeah they’re pretty horrible haha. I wouldn’t let it bother me so much but I’m the kind of person who thrives off competition. That being said, I’m pretty young and I’m looking at the weights used at higher level comps such as the NSA National Championships as a gauge of where I want to be by the time I’m 25 or something.

1 Like
676

@Benanything are you talking about NAS Nationals in the states, or is NSA Nationals something in Singapore? I ask, because NSA means something entirely different here, haha.

Video of the squats

And car deadlift

677

I meant the recent NAS championships events announcements in the US. It was a typo haha. I’ve a rough idea what’s the NSA with the whole Snowden thing.

678

I figured, but you never know, haha.

This year’s contest is really light too. Some theorize it’s because the standards for gaining entry to nationals have really declined, so there are a LOT of folks there that are pretty green to the sport. To get a real idea of what things are like/expectations, look to a few years prior.

And I mean, don’t get me wrong; the top guys will still crush it and put on a ridiculous performance, but it’s going to be more by number of reps and tenths of a second versus being the 1 or 2 guys that can actually deadlift the car.

679

maybe i am wrong
but looking at a map
it looks like your potential competition in singapore
is smaller in phyiscal size
than what you would compete against in u.s. or germany

680

Yup, definitely. That’s why I look at competitions in the US more.

681

Fascinating topic to me. Purely as an interested spectator, one of the themes I noticed in some interviews at the Arnold was that the competitors all noted it was an especially heavy contest (matching your description that “the 1 or 2 guys…” who could even complete the lift would win the event vs. who could carry implements the fastest or do the most reps). I understand that at smaller shows, it makes more sense to have things on a RELATIVELY lighter scale - allows everyone to get a couple reps in - but in the big leagues I think it makes more sense to make limit-strength the determining factor, e.g. make the stones heavy enough so instead of a race, it’s about who can even get that last stone loaded…