No more comps this year Gerry. Next one will be Strongman in February. Just waiting for detail to be sent out.
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Would you believe it, they have released the info for the February strongman comp.
tagging @T3hPwnisher @alex_uk @Koestrizer because I know they love a bit of it.
Notes from the organizer (photo from last years)
Get Ready for Ringwoods Strongest 3: Beyond Thunderdome!
The first Australias Strongest Grand Prix for Victoria 2026 is back at Ringwood where weāre bringing back iconic classic Australian V8 cars being Deadlifted, Pulled, as well as classic strongman feats of strength Log Press, Loading Medley and a Max weight grip challenge!
The Events!
Car Deadlift
Car Pull (approx 10M)
Log Press
Saxon Grip Deadlift (2" wide for women, 4" wide for men) -
Loading Medley (approx 10M to approx 1M height)
I will be entering the Masters U105KG class.
Weights will be:
Car Deadlift - 120, 140, 160, 180, 200
Log press 60, 70, 80 - rep last weight
Loading - Keg 57kg, Coffin 72kg, sandbag 100kg
Saxon grip deadlift rising bar 3 attempts
For the car deadlift and pull they have an old interceptor (Ford V8) like the car from the old Mad Max movies. Should be a fun day.
Pretty happy with these events, my focus now on deadlift and overhead should pay off. I will switch to something more like a car deadlift and start using the log in the new year, as well as getting in lots of sandbag and keg carrying.
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Seems you will easily have the strength,without having done 1 ever and displaying my expertise from a seated couch type position,would focussing on cardio a tad more help or na,seeing as you do heavier in training. I got a feeling from perusing your log and looking at the events,this is right up your alley. Thatās really cool that it goes on a leaderboard type thing and you could end on winning the Grand Prix in your category based on consistency
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That Saxon Grip deadlift looks horrifying
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My thoughts exactly when I read this, everything else looks like fun (assuming the coffin is a husafell type implement not an actual coffin) but Saxon deadlift sounds awful.
You get a lot of good comps near you, great to see!
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Echoing the aboveā¦That Saxon Deadlift sounds bloody rough. 4 inch section for the bar.
Can you even reach that far with your girly hands?
lol.
I wanna try it.
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I have no idea but we have a bar in the gym so I can try it
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They started running a strongman league last year where there was 4 comps across the year and you get points for each comp. It means there is a comp pretty much each quarter which is great. At the end of the year they announce the series winner. The more comps
You do the better chance you have of placing high in the series. I only did 2 comps last year and placed third in the series. Next year I will try to do all four comps.
Then on top of that there is the Victoriaās strongest man which is at the next level and then Australiaās strongest man which is another level up.
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Love the league idea, thatās class. Would love to see more of they sort of thing near me.
Looking forward to your quarterly events and league performance for 2026!
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Hell yeah, looks like a good event for you! I hate grip events like the saxon bar deadlift (because in my subjective opinion I find them stupid from a spectstorās perspective). I am excited to follow along and it seems like you will be very well capable to do well here.
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Iām with ya. At least the saxon bar looks cool and imposing to the outsider. Try explaining why the rolling thunder is a challenge, haha.
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I get that a lot of strongman will come down to āhow big you areā, but that particular deadlift seems to easily be mostly about how big your hands are.
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So, for the Saxon grip deadlift, thatās traditionally done with an elevated bar. As seen here
The trick is to cheat just like JPS did there. See how he wedged his legs under the bar FIRST and THEN pulled it up? Thatās a strategically employed hitch, like the famous āPoundstone Hitchā
Derek has spoken about he developed this skill INTENTIONALLY, rather than letting it accidentally happen. Part of it was a result of him herniating some discs in his back: he had to find a better way.
Contrast this with Kaz attempting the deadlift
Heās trying to pull like a traditional deadlift, and it takes away a LOT of potential power. What JPS is doing is more like a āhand and thighā lift
Which, in itself, is a classic old school strongman lift.
All this to say, do NOT ask the promoter if itās ok to do this. Donāt let anyone else know you know how to do it. Just do it. Have THEM make a rule against it AFTER you go.
Alongside bringing in car deadlifts and log work, Iād transition away from squats and into front squats for the training block. For one: better carryover into the log, car deadlift and truck pull. But ALSO, it means putting less weight on your back in training, cause youāll be taxing the hell out of it with the other strongman work.
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Do u have designs on going as far up as u can go in terms of winning say Victorian or National masters,or u just taking it 1 comp at a time. How strong are masters 105ers in Aussie? Do u know where u are ranked etc?
would front squat on a SSB or transformer bar be an OK substitute, front racking a bar and squatting is a literal pain for me.
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Gerry, Masters U105 is under 40ās. That means I am giving away 10 years and 10 kiloās to most of the good guys.
One of the guys I competed against this year won Victoriaās strongest man and he beat me both times we competed. He is competing in Australiaās strongest masters so It will be interesting to see how he places.
I would say to be competitive, I would need to add 50+kg to my deadlift and 25kg to my overhead and then get better at all the movements.
For now I will just keep competing and trying to get stronger. If I am feeling good and the events are good I may enter Victoriaās strongest this year.
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I think this event will be pure grip event, so the lift will be from the ground, more like this. I doubt the weights will be that heavy.
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When is the last time you have seen ME do a front squat with a barbell? Haha. I am agnostic to equipment: you know that.
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Thursday 11 Dec - week 7
Deadlift ROM - set up week
1 x 2. Inch mats - (2 mats)
Bar x 10
60 x 5
100 x 3
Straps
140 x 3
160 x 3
Belt
180 x 3
190 x 9. - paused and went for one more - but it wasnāt moving - Rep PR at this height. Happy with the effort.
DB overhead press
The bench i was using was more like a very high incline maybe 80 degrees.
30 x 3 sets (66 lbs)
12, 10, 10
Dropped the weight this week and went for more of a pump. There were harder than I expected.
Close grip bench press
95 x 3 sets (209 lbs)
6, 6, 6
Heavy, good effort though.
Lat pull downs (wide grip)
104.5 (230 lbs) x 8 x 3 sets
1 plate from the whole stack.
Good session, happy with the deadlift. Took an extra days rest and skipped Wednesday. Had a lot happening yesterday and was deff not in the right head space to train. Turned out to be a good decision.
@T3hPwnisher - 1 more week to go
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Excellent! 
Impressive as always.
Please excuse if this is a stupid question, but is pulling from the mat on deads the same theory as doing a floor press? Am I correct in assuming it strengthens the pull at a different point? Like helping with a sticking point? If not, please explain the purpose if you wouldnāt mind.
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