Introduction
Welcome to my strongman and fitness blog! My hope for this blog is that someone who has been thinking about going to a gym for the first time, starting a fitness regime or has been thinking about getting into strongman reads this and turn those thoughts into actions that will have some really positive impacts on your life!
Just a bit about myself. My names Jimmy and I am by no means an accomplished strongman although I have competed many times since my first competition at Strongman on the Exe back in 2016. My best performance was coming 2nd in Dorset’s strongest man last year. Personally, I don’t do strongman to be the best or the strongest guy around, I do it because it is just incredibly fun!
Why Do Strongman?
Strongman is such an amazing sport to get in to for so many reasons. I could go on forever talking about all the benefits you get from it, so instead I thought I would try to tackle any barriers that might be putting someone off from stepping into the wonderful world of strongman.
“I am not strong enough - I have to be really strong to be a strongman”.
This could not be further from the truth! While yes, its true at the pro levels strongmen are incredible athletes that are able to do unbelievable feats of strength. The range of abilities in strongman as a whole varies greatly. This is actually one of my favourite things about strongman especially at local shows is that nobody cares about the amount of weight you’re lifting everybody just wants to see you do your best and break your own records. From my experience the loudest cheers are not for the person lifting the most weight or winning the event, or even the competition, but rather for the person really grinding out a deadlift rep to hit a new personal best, regardless of whether that’s 60kgs or 360kgs. I have to say seeing that in person and seeing the boost it gives to the person lifting, the only word I can use to describe it is electric!
“I am not big enough - you need to be really big to be a strongman and I want to keep a toned body”
Again, this is also false. If you tune in to channel 5 over New Year’s and watch the World’s Strongest Man you will see some absolute giants like Tom Stoltman and Brian Shaw – but they are pros at the top of the sport. What’s awesome about strongman is that there are events that suit all different types and abilities. In fact the growing trend in strongman seems to be that events are getting more suited towards the athletes that are quicker and have more endurance rather than pure static strength. There are also so many different weight and gender categories you can enter depending on what competition you do. There are athletes at the very top level with lighter more toned physiques doing incredibly well. In the women’s events, Rhianon Lovelace weighs only 64kg and has deadlifted 5 times her body weight! Even in the men’s open categories: Kevin Faires is a familiar sight at World’s Strongest Man and holds the world record in Dinnie Stones but he only weighs 120kg which is pretty light for pro strongman standards. Especially when you compare him to the 205kg Brian Shaw and 200kg Hafthor Bjornsson (‘The Mountain’.) Oleksii Novikov even won a World’s Strongest Man title at a similar weight being around 120kgs. This may sound pretty heavy still but these are the best strongmen in the world in the heaviest open weight category so you definitely don’t need to pile on the pounds to that extent to be a very good strongman/woman and enjoy the sport at a local level.
“I like working out with my friends, but I don’t know anyone who would compete with me, and I don’t want to do it alone”.
Coming from someone who has been involved at a relatively high level in all sorts of team and induvial sports such as football, rugby, futsal, cricket, rowing, and bodybuilding (I have also done things like darts, pool and basketball on a more casual basis) and I have to say that strongman is by far the friendliest sport I have ever been involved with. I fell in love with it in the first place because thanks to my autism and severe social anxiety (and just social awkwardness in general) I didn’t have to be part of big team talks or anything like that. I could just go to the gym to train and then go lift and run with things at competition. I quickly learned though how supportive and friendly people in the strongman community are. From the host running the competition, the athletes competing and the crowd watching, everyone just wants to help you do your best. My first competition I came second from last, but I still had lots of people talking to me about training and the day and just life in general. To my great surprise I actually felt comfortable enough to have conversations with these people. I made friends that day who I still call friends today that I would never have met if it were not for strongman. Even being the socially awkward mess that I am, I have never gone to a strongman event and not made new friends.
“There isn’t a strongman gym I can go to”
The good news is you don’t need a gym with strongman equipment to train like one! Whilst strongman gyms are amazingly fun to train in and there are some great ones across the country (very excited with the Mammoth Strength announcement of a new gym opening!).
Firstly, any normal gym is a fantastic place to develop your ability as a strongman or strongwoman. Just training for strength using any machines or free weights, develops all the muscles you will use to be strong enough to handle and move the weights you would do in a competition. Eddie Hall became one of the strongest men in the world just following a “bodybuilding” style training program at a regular gym.
Strongman when you get down to it is essentially either pick up an awkward object to your hips, over your head or move with it. The great thing about this is that you can replicate it with almost anything and everything. From dumbbells and barbells to rocks, bags of sand, fallen logs, basically anything heavy and awkwardly shaped, finding things like these and using them in your training not only makes it even more fun but is also a great way of developing technique for certain events.
Don’t get me wrong if you do have access to a strongman gym then definitely get yourself there if you can! You will get to use some of the implements you will likely use in a competition and most likely meet some awesome people and have fun as well.
So how do I get into competing?
If you are thinking of doing your first competition, I would highly recommend going to watch one first. You will get to see how the day unfolds, what the athletes do before events, observe some of the techniques they use and if you manage to talk to some people probably get some great help, advice and support as well. Once you have watched a competition and think ‘yes I am going to give it a go’, there are so many local competitions around now it’s amazing to see! Strength Register (see link) Strength Register - Strongman & Strongwoman in the UK, Ireland and Worldwide lists loads of competitions that are happening in the year with links of how to go and sign up. Mammoth Strength also put on some amazing competitions such as Devon’s Strongest Man & Woman which was a really fun one to go and watch (very jealous other commitments meant I couldn’t compete in it) Devall Strength also have just hosted an event at the Honiton Hill Rally (King & Queen of the Hill) which included moving around some heavy tractors- what’s more fun than that!
What do I need to compete?
Well, the simplest answer is just YOU! However, there are a few things you can bring with you on the day just to reduce the risk of getting injured and help you lift that little bit more. I have also listed some recommendations on what brands to go for depending on your budget.
| Cheaper option | Mid Range | more expensive |
Knee/elbow sleeves | RDX | Strength shop | SBD/Cerberus |
Lever lifting belt | RDX/Mirafit | Strength shop | SBD |
Back support belt | Mirafit | Strength shop | SBD/Cerberus |
Wrist wraps/straps | RDX/Gymshark | Strength shop/tuff wraps/gym reapers | Cerberus |
Deadlift socks |
| silverback |
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Bag |
| silverback |
|
Now for the best part……. ENEGRGY FOR THE DAY!
You will need a lot of fuel to keep yourself going throughout the day. There are lots of arguments for and against higher calorie (junk food) vs the classic chicken/beef and rice/pasta. But that debate is for another day. For your first competition I would just make sure you have some energy drinks with you for the caffeine, lots of water, some sugary snacks as well as some slower digesting carbs my preference is oats. However, if you prefer something a little quicker releasing then opt for some cereal. These are all just recommendations though based on what I find works for me so feel free to do whatever you want, just make sure you have food and fluids with you and you’re all set!
AND THAT’S IT!
I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog and even if you have just taken away one thing you find helpful or that sticks with you, I would be very happy! And if you decide to jump into the competitive world of strongman I wish you all the best and remember to just enjoy it!
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Author Jimmy Moore is a passionate strongman, bodybuilder, and personal trainer whose accomplishments include 2nd at Dorset’s Strongest Man and 3rd place at the USN UK Junior Bodybuilding Championships. Follow him @jymstrengthandfitness
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