First strongman competition back in around 5 years! I had a good deal of pressure on myself to hit the 605 deadlift, but came up short on that goal. Overall though the competition was a huge success, and highlighted plenty of things to work on.
Out of 5 competitors and 5 events I took four 2nd place finishes and one 1st place.
Yoke – 2nd place - 650 lbs, 50 ft down 50 ft back. One drop. I really felt this in my quads and abs, FAR more than normal. Good for the abs, bad for the quads. I was really pleased with this performance since the most I’d done in training was 650x50 ft and had two drops in that run. This and the frame carry were my best showings of the day.
Pressing medley – 2nd place – 180 lb keg clean and press, 200 lb keg clean and press, 225 axle clean once press for reps. This should have been my event to lose, but with my quads somewhat fried from the yoke, I just didn’t feel explosive or full of my normal overhead power. One recurring issue during this competition was my complete lack of training with kegs. It hurt me on the press and it hurt on the loading medley. I had great situational awareness (so some of my previous competition experience stayed with me) on this one, listening to the countdown and knowing I had the juice for a 4th rep but just barely, and timing it correctly. I believe I could have gotten 5 reps if I’d committed to continental cleaning the axle right away but frankly it wouldn’t have mattered, the guy who took first in this event had a better showing than me here and got 5 without making it look too difficult, I’d believe he was capable of 6 or 7 if he had to to beat me.
Axle deadlift – Tied for 2nd with three other guys – 605 lbs. Not much to say here. I just wasn’t strong enough yet. The absolute silver lining here, for which I’m extremely happy, is that I was pulling with about all I’ve got, not thinking or guarding my lower back, and it turns out it held up and DIDN’T give away! It’s incredible to be in this place after the lower back issues and trauma I’ve gone through. I’m going to start training good mornings and RDL’s and deadlifts from blocks extensively and make my back as bulletproof as my abs have gotten. No deads from the floor yet, I don’t need to risk it for some arbitrary height for now, but I’ll get there. Strength will be the goal, not numbers on the bar (although I swear I’ll hit that 605 and much much more in the future!).
Loading medley – 1st place – 200 lb, 225 lb, 250 lb kegs, 245 lb atlas stone, 275 lb atlas stone. My inexperience on the kegs killed me here, as well as the setup of the implements. The rubber mats the equipment was on were just barely big enough for the weights and for around half a shoe to fit on until you approached the bar with the implement. Next time: grab the kegs off sided instead of same sided for a MUCH easier pick up and much smoother transition to the load. No tacky on the stones as the promoter didn’t want to clean tacky off of his kegs. The last stone, the 275, was only loaded by I believe 2 competitors – total. Including heavyweights and masters. It was absurdly slick and dusty and impossible to get a grip on. I’m REALLY pleased that I almost lapped it, and have zero doubt that if I had, I could have loaded it. I’ve always been good with stones and today was no exception apparently, since most people didn’t load the 245 lb stone let alone break the 275 from the ground.
Frame carry – 2nd place – 550 pounds for 60 seconds unlimited drops. I got 148 feet I believe. I’m absolutely thrilled with this performance because it was a big question mark on how my grip would hold up considering I use my hands hard, for manual labor, every day of the week. It turns out it made them very, very strong. The only thing that kept me from taking first in this event (I believe 1st place went 149 or 150 feet) was a hesitation about my calluses tearing and knowing I have a 50 hour work week ahead of me where I cannot have incapacitated hands. I dropped at around the 115 ft mark but could have held on for 10 feet or so, and then my last big push to the finish would have taken me over the 150 mark.
Something I’m extremely happy about is how this weight was only 50 lbs less than the axle deadlift and I picked it up 4 times and have zero back pain today! Obviously a side handled pick is easier than in front of the knees, but it’s still invigorating to know I can perform like this and just go for it and start trusting my body more and muting the feedback from my lower back.
Those are my thoughts for now; if I think of more I’ll come back and edit it later.
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