Good morning world, yesterday was my first strongman comp and I absolutely loved it. If you read the last post, you'll know that other than a single events sesh, I had taken training very easy for the past couple of weeks to give myself time to relax and be 100% fresh for the comp. Saying that, I've had the worst ever ingrown toe nail issue for the past 15 years but it's only in the last few weeks it's sodding flared up and really made life a pain in the ass. But that's pretty much my only excuse, honest!
So anyway, the morning of the comp, Robyn and I wake up around 7am after a good 9 hour sleep (albeit with 4 mid-night toilet trips after trying to keep myself hydrated a bit too much) and leave the house around 8am to get picked up by Lewis, subwoofer blaring at this unholy hour. Casual 90mph up to stamford where we stopped off at McDonalds for breakfast and left for Newark. When we arrived, we chilled at Affordable Fitness' coffee shop until the athletes meeting began. I wasn't allowed a printed entry form, or a pen, nor was I even present on the sodding register! Just what I needed for my confidence in the morning haha. Soon I was sorted though, the comp consisted of 29 lads and the first event was under way shortly.
How every morning of lifting should start
Event 1 - 85kg log for reps 90 seconds
I was confident with my clean technique after a lot of advice from jt and the gang, and with the help of ProjectGoliath I was happy with my double dipping press technique too... before the comp that is. As my name was called, I just went blank with nerves, shaking all over the place. While my clean was solid, my footing was everywhere and I couldn't get comfortable. Not only that, I completely lost all technique and ended up mong pressing with practically just triceps. As cool as that is as a feat of strength, it sucks when it zaps my energy far quicker. I ended up with 4 reps fairly quickly but couldn't for the life of me muster up any more strength after the other cleans. Oh well, 4 reps fun. I wasn't at the bottom, and due to the way events were ordered (winner goes last), I think I came 20/21st in this event due to my running order in the next event.
Event 2 - 180kg deadlift for reps 90 seconds
Obviously my most practiced lift of the day, I was fairly confident in my ability to perform here. The week before I managed 8 in 75 seconds, so was hoping for 10+ on the day with the actual time limit in place. Not much to say here, other than the fact it was head to head and so watching your opponent grind out reps is quite the inspiration you need to give it your all too. I ended up with 11, with the 12th rep being disallowed as I went over the time limit. Never mind! Proper happy with this event, easily my favourite of the day. I believe I came 13th here (based purely on running order for event 3).
Event 3 - 250kg yoke over 20m
This was literally the third time I've used this piece of kit, but it's quite possibly becoming one of my favourite events lately. Thanks to a few wise words from Simon, I finished the course in 17 seconds which was fairly decent to be honest. Definitely not the fastest, but there were a lot of guys slower and even a handful who didn't finish it, so I was over the moon with my performance.
Event 4 - 100kg farmers walk over 40m (drop and turn)
I absolutely hate this event. I can live with aches and bruises but stingy pains in my hands are one of my biggest weaknesses, and definitely something I need to work on. Regardless, I begrudgingly grabbed the handles and proceeded to walk. I was paired with a guy who at a first glance could easily be mistaken as Big Z in his teens who just flew off the start line. I had no ambition of catching him up, but just finishing the course. At the turn, I took my time to set up and let my hands cool down, which cost me a lot of time but I was more focused on the pickup and walk without a drop. Thankfully it paid off and I finished with a new PB of 37 seconds over 40m. Mega happy with this.
Event 5 - 180kg duck walk over 20m followed by 3.5 ton van push over 20m
Similarly to farmers, my grip pain tolerance is girly and definitely something I'll be working on later with my dad's custom made handles. Anyway, basically everyone before the pair before me struggled a lot with this event. No one had made it to the van as the duck walk was proving too much of a task, naturally. That was, until, the guy before me (I don't remember your name, sorry!) pioneered a fantastic technique where he basically pulled it up, pushed it about 6-12" in front of him, set it down again and shuffled forward; Basically, turning a 20m duckwalk into a 18" deadlift over distance. It worked, took the strain from the hands (and on to the shoulders/back) but cost a lot of time. By the time I finished what has to be the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, I ran (read 'limped') behind the back of the van and pushed. Overcoming the inertia of the 3.5 ton beast was the hardest part, and it was clear to most that it became a fairly simple push once this barrier was broken. Sadly, with all my time spent on the duck walk, I only managed this tough part and didn't even get to the 'easy' glide zone, managing a mere 1-1.5 meters. Still, the fact that roughly half the athletes didn't finish reach the van means that even that little distance counted for something.
Overall, 14th place (out of 29) so very happy with my day. I didn't win anything (didn't expect to) and didn't make a complete cock up on anything (expected!), so that put me slap bang in the middle of placings. At the end of the day though, i don't think it's really that important to be honest, a number isn't gonna change how I felt about how I did on the day and It was all about the fun, raising some money for charity and setting some PBs for myself. 11x 180kg dead, 40m x 180kg farmers, 4x 85kg log, 20mx 250kg yoke, pushing a sodding van (!!!), all of these things are my greatest achievements to date and that's pretty much what I intend to do each and every comp.
A massive thank you to Robyn and Lewis for coming along to support me, along with every other stranger who was shouting at me on the day. Thanks, it means a ton. Thanks to Simon for being my training partner for all things strongman, he's only been doing it as long as I have and still has a ton of wisdom to share. Well done on your placing mate, as well as winning the duckwalk/van medley, well deserved! Thanks to JT and everyone at the cauldron who has helped me get this far with my technique and confidence, thanks to anyone I've bugged online on Sugden or Facebook about tips and troubleshooting, you have no idea how much carry over that stuff has. Thanks to VikingR for providing great training gear, although it definitely wasn't the weather for upper body base layers (I was sweating like a pig after the log!). And finally, thanks to Richie Allen and Co who put on a fantastic, well organised comp and raised nearly £500 for the Headstart For Babies charity. What a day!
Well done to the Dean Evans (my farmers walk opponent) who absolutely smashed the competition and came away with first place, I expect him to go far in this sport. Well done to everyone else who competed on the day too, and thanks for making my first strongman comp a pleasant and happy one to remember!
Well done to the Dean Evans (my farmers walk opponent) who absolutely smashed the competition and came away with first place, I expect him to go far in this sport. Well done to everyone else who competed on the day too, and thanks for making my first strongman comp a pleasant and happy one to remember!
