How to Prepare for Strongman Contests

[IronSport]

Artikel van Jesse Snadden:

VINKOMORF MAGAZINE


I’m often asked how one gets so strong, so big and how does one get into strongman contests. I could write a book on the subject of preparing for strongman contests, and I am still learning everyday.


The current Worlds Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski
The training to compete in Strongman competitions is very different than that of a bodybuilder. We don’t generally do many isolation exercises; rather, we spend more time on the basics like the Squat, Deadlift, Push Press, Barbell Rows, Power cleans, Close grip bench pressing etc… Calling those movements basic though is a misnomer; they are very advanced movements that require a lot of work to perfect one’s technique.

The reason for this is because they teach coordination; we want to train the body to function as a whole rather than as individual pieces. After all, the events in strongman are all done using one’s entire body while standing on one’s two feet. So why would we use up all our time sitting on a bench and looking at ourselves in a mirror? Isolation exercises serve only to strengthen a lagging muscle that is holding us back in something or injury prevention through structural balance.


Another major difference is how we structure our training routine. Bodybuilders typically separate and assign a muscle group to a day. For example, it may look something like Monday as chest day, Tuesday as quad day, Wednesday as shoulders, Thursday as back and hamstrings and Friday as biceps and triceps. We typically assign a movement or action to a day, so for example, Monday will be deadlift day, Tuesday will be plyometrics and sprints, Wednesday will be pressing day, Thursday might be cardio and swimming or grip training and Friday might be squat day with the week-ends reserved for events (training with the specialized equipment found in contests).

The exercise selections in the gym are the tools we need to improve on our events. Since the Squat, Deadlift and Overhead Press are among the best all round tests of strength, we spend our gym training to improve those lifts, and add assistance exercises to improve our current weaknesses in those lifts. For example, my squat is held back by the strength of my arch, so after squatting, I might do arch back Goodmornings, hyperextensions and abdominal work. If my deadlift is weak off the floor, I might require more explosive training. So I will train my deadlift, I might follow it with power cleans or plyometrics. I also add in barbell rows and pull-ups to strengthen the upper back so it will better distribute the load on the bar across my entire back rather than just the lower portion.

The nature of the sport of strongman means we are far more athletic than say a powerlifter that just stands in place and lift a maximum weight. We run with weights across our back or in our hands, we pull trucks, buses, trains and even airplanes with a harness or seated with a rope. We lift giant logs over our head, carry awkward objects and lift spherical atlas stones. Most of the events are timed, so the faster athlete is the one who is going to win.

Also the nature is different than that of bodybuilders. Being bigger doesn’t necessarily mean stronger, and being too big may make us accumulate lactic acid too quickly and not be able to pump enough oxygen sufficiently to our muscles. Since it is more athletic a sport, being obese could be detrimental to our performance. Then again being too lean might make our joints ache too much.

However, consider that the current Worlds Strongest Man, Mariusz Pudzianowski hovers around 8-10% body fat at 300-330lbs and you’d think he could be ready for a professional bodybuilding show in a matter of weeks.

The major difference between a strongman (we are also known as Strength Athletes) and any other strength sport is the strength of our hands. The top strongmen have some of the best grips on the planet and for good reason, many of the events require a hellacious grip, and just about all the events are drastically improved when your hands get stronger. Consider that we interact with just about everything with our hands and fingers and you might just begin to realize how much it makes a difference. I’ll give you an example; imagine an event that requires us to load 5 awkward and heavy objects on platforms. The time it takes us to load each object is recorded. If five athletes place only three objects on a platform and they are unable to lift the other two, the one who did three the fastest will get more points. If your grip is very strong, it will take you less time to achieve an optimal grip on the object, and you will also lift it faster because you can apply your body’s strength more effectively. We are only as strong as our weakest link.

If your hands aren’t conditioned enough, your calluses can actually tear, this is actually common in gymnastics too, so it’s important for the athletes to take care of their hands and file off calluses before a contest and train their grip to condition the skin. Straps should go in the garbage.


When most of us think of grip strength we think of giving a firm handshake. However there is much more to the hand that that. We need to pull trucks using thick ropes, walk 200 feet with over 300lbs per hand, lift awkward objects were our hands are forced to grip them wide open, walk with a 2000lbs+ wheelbarrow and hold onto heavy deadlifts.

www.ironmind.com carries a wide variety of tools to strengthen our grips. Anything ranging from thick handle barbells and dumbbells (diameter of the bar being 2” or more, think of holding a bar with the circumference of a Pringles bottle and you might realize why it’s harder to hold onto) to specialized wrist rollers, grippers, pinch grippers etc… There is also a fantastic book on the subject for sale there by John Brookfield, called “Mastery of Hand Strength”. If you’re remotely interested in the sport, I suggest you pick up a copy.

Now our programs might vary very dramatically according to background (came from powerlifting or Olympic weightlifting etc…) or depending if we are off season or in season. Some strongmen squat every day. Look surprised? It’s quite common to do so among Olympic weightlifters. We might also for example, replace a barbell with a log or a thick handle barbell for the push press so that we mimic the event used in a contest.

Now you’d be mistaken to think strength is all we need. The strongest man doesn’t necessarily always win. There are more factors to consider such as cardiovascular requirements and muscular conditioning. Someone who is fit will recover between events much faster, allowing them to perform 100% with every passing event. They oxygenate their muscles more effectively as well as their brains.


Endurance is needed in this sport, this chain weighs 660lbs and needs to be dragged a fair distance. Your legs, hands, arms and hips will be crying for you to stop throughout.
Ever try to do something when you’re exhausted? Your cognitive function is shot so you make major mistakes and you find yourself incapable of coordinating your muscles effectively.

Muscular endurance is another factor. Try to imagine running 200ft with 300lbs per hand or dragging a 650lbs boat chain across asphalt for 100ft. It’s all good and fun to squat 800lbs for 1 rep, but it won’t help you drag that chain those last 40 feet or so. Some strongmen load up a leg press machine with a certain weight and for 75 seconds they have to pump as many repetitions as possible. Other’s do 20 rep squat sessions on occasion, if you can deep squat 400-500lbs for 20 reps, your muscular conditioning is quite good. Many athletes prefer to just do the events for longer distances in training. No method is wrong, but you’d better find what works best for you.

Training is great and all, but then there is the nutrition. Our diets range from see-food diets (you eat what you see) to diets closer to what a bodybuilder eats. Jesse Marunde who came 2nd at Worlds Strongest Man last year eats 3lbs of red meat a day, 1lb of salmon and a dozen or so egg whites a day, a gallon or so of natural milk, on top of his veggies, rice etc… Jesse runs a great website at Marunde-Muscle ::-:: Personal Training with plenty of great articles on nutrition and training, as well as hosting a great forum open to all athletes of the iron game as well as professional athletes. Hugo Girard eats a diet quite similar to Mauro Di Pasquale’s Anabolic Diet, where very little carbohydrates are eaten throughout the weak, but plenty of protein and fats are consumed, Saturday is a cheat day where everything goes.


That’s it for this month; I think I’ve covered the general idea of what it takes to be a strongman, next month I’ll get into the more specific stuff. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at pas_petit@hotmail.com and I will do my best to answer them.

[luuc]

Leuk om te lezen en te leren!

Maar van dat afschaven van je eelt, nooit geweten dat het af kan scheuren!

[MonsterStrength]

nice artikel!

[IronSport]

De schrijver Jesse Snadden traint of trainde samen met Hugo Girard dus het is geen bullshit waar die het over heeft denk ik.

[Viking1012]

Goed artikel, en dat eelt dat af kan scheurenis is geen bullshit want ik heb het bij de Highlandgames training al een aantal keren meegemaakt.
Er zijn pijnlijkere dingen maar het is toch nadelig voor je prestaties.

[IronSport]

Het is vervelend omdat het bloed je grip verkloot.