Just a few photos of a local strong man comp. Well attended and loads of spectators.
1 Like
those farmers handles are fucking terrible. Iād probably decline to compete if I showed up and saw that. Farmers handles should ALWAYS have feet, to protect the athlete from an inadvertent drop. Iāve only seen handles like these used a few times, but each time, I saw multiple broken feet/toes. Itās a stupid problem to have, this shouldnāt ever come up.
Whereabouts was this carl?
Gravesend- its on every year. Its pretty cool to have this so close to home.
Although i feel sorry for novices.
Viking press winner was 25 reps in 60 seconds. 90kg press.
Deadlift winner was 30 reps 230kg bar.
I think some guys were clearly able to step up to pro level and did not.
Never though of this. But yeah - what and obvious one. Youād gave thought these guys would make descent equipment.
1 Like
Happens in every comp as I understand it, malicious or not.
Mine in July was specifically for first-time competitors and the winner wound up getting 91 of a possible 95 points. Even if he hadnāt actually competed before, he was clearly able to compete a class up and push himself there.
Only kidding.
Those are some serious numbers!
1 Like
holy smokes, thatās a HUGE number! Was this standard height and bar? Obviously was touch and go, you could never get that done if it was dead stop (unless it was longer than a minute). Regardless though, thatās impressive.
EDIT: found the event on facebook. Looks like it was something around an 18" pick height, AND a bar with whip. So that explains the crazy numbers a little bit.
Yeah high (18 inches) and whippy bar. Maybe 30 is over exaggerating it. But im 100% sure high 20ās.
Still a bit of a dick move. One kid (17 YO) managed 6 reps. And i was so fucking excited for him. You could just tell he was pleased with himself and thought he had a chance of placing. He looked so happy. Next guy gets in the 20ās. I mean if you can do 20+ reps move up.
He looked crushed afterwards.
But eh maybe Iām too principled. However i think winning the novice group when you could be a contender in the open is a joke.
And should have. Its not nice loosing.and it just make promoters up the novice weights each year making it less likely for real novices to try.
What is strongman like where you are?
In the US, there are 2 main federations for amateur strongman. In both, the novice division is run similarly.
Generally speaking, either the novices are all grouped together, or there is a dividing line for heavyweight vs lightweight novice. Whereas in the open class, there are many more options, like 8 or so weight classes.
To compete as a novice, you cannot have ever had a podium finish in a novice show previously. And if you have a podium finish in the open class, you cannot go back to novice. So while there guys who compete in novice who maybe could have gone straight to the open, they never do novice for long. Usually one or 2 shows.
Also, none of this is related to professional competing. That is a step above open amateur.
Is that similar to your system?
EDIT: Iāll also add that itās not uncommon to see very strong deadlifts in the novice division, because of all the strongman events, thatās the one that competitors generally have more experience in. Deadlifting from a background of, say, powerlifting, translates directly to strongman. So, Iāve seen guys blow the competition out of the water in the deadlift as novices, but get crushed in other events because they havenāt been training strongman long enough to be good with other implements.
I really dont know the rules. So cannot comment. What i will say is i watched two events, and the same guys that aced the deadlift aced the viking press.
I do know the novice winner gets the chance to compete at englands strongest novice. But it seems much less regulated. Most entries are done over face book and you do not need to be part of a federation to enter (as far as im aware).
Which is a bit weird as although its a fringe sport the UK has a good history of strong man. Id have though weād get organized.
So here, once you win a local show as a novice, youāre done with novice forever. There is no next level. Since thereās a ānext levelā over there, it kinda makes sense that someone would enter as a novice, even knowing they can dominate the competition, in order to qualify for Englands Strongest Novice.
Iāve competed in a couple shows where I absolutely crushed the competition on a few events. Iāve won all 5 events in a given competition. That doesnāt mean I should be turning pro or anything. I was still competing in the ārightā division. Sometimes Iāve done shows specifically because they are required to qualify for bigger shows. The guys who wins at USS nationals still have to qualify to compete at nationals by winning a local show somewhere, and they probably look out of place at those shows.
Just sharing some perspective from what Iāve seen in amateur strongman. 
Yeah but they are even too strong for Englandās Strongest Novice.
I mean sone of these guys will be deadlifting over 300kg. Its a bit much.
Iām not ragging on guys succeding but i think if you can deadlift close to 700lb - the word novice does not apply to you. Thats pretty impressive.
so whatās above novice for you then? is it open amateur, or straight to pro?
Iāve always found that idea a bit silly, personally. Novice comps should be a stepping stone into inters/opens/weight classes, not have a national level competition in themselves. Imagine winning āEnglandās Strongest Weakest Manā.
1 Like
I understand and accept your point. Ive decided on an arbitrary strength value for ānoviceā. Its just my veiw. And i get that others might have the same ācut offā standards. I just think the winner of an event should be between 8-12 reps. More than that and they should think abour stepping up.
Iād love to have the strength of that winner but I do see your point.