Strongman Comp Tips

[Eighth Wonder]

As I mentioned in my journal, I am gonna do a strongman comp for my school (Purdue). It is open only to students and divided up in weight classes so I might have a chance to do pretty well. Anyway I was just looking for some training tips for anyone that has done any strongman type event or training.

The events are as follows:

Boilermaker special pull- basically a truck pull

Purdue "P" carry- I'm guessing we carry a big "P" a certain distance

Hammer hold- no idea what this is

Tire flip

Farmer's walk


I have access to tires and a sled. I'll probably fill some 5 gallon buckets with cement for the farmer's walk or carry some heavy db's.

So basically what type of training should I do, what type of shoes/clothes should I wear, and any other tips are appreciated.

[j1r!!!]

I don't have any advice but I wish you the best of luck at the competition. Let us know how it goes.

[jlozan84]

talk to hrpiii, he does these.

[mcchunter]

tip: dont get hit in the head with the hammer!

you'll see what i mean

[Eighth Wonder]

I checked my school website and they have more information on each event. The hammer hold is where you hold a sledge in each hand outright for as long as possible. That sounds like it will be my weakest event by side delts definitely need some work. But I have over 2 months to train so I'm gonna be ready.

Purdue Strongman

[mcchunter]

tape it and put it up for us to watch
make us proud!

[hrpiii]

Originally Posted by Eighth Wonder

As I mentioned in my journal, I am gonna do a strongman comp for my school (Purdue). It is open only to students and divided up in weight classes so I might have a chance to do pretty well. Anyway I was just looking for some training tips for anyone that has done any strongman type event or training.

The events are as follows:

Boilermaker special pull- basically a truck pull

Purdue "P" carry- I'm guessing we carry a big "P" a certain distance

Hammer hold- no idea what this is

Tire flip

Farmer's walk


I have access to tires and a sled. I'll probably fill some 5 gallon buckets with cement for the farmer's walk or carry some heavy db's.

So basically what type of training should I do, what type of shoes/clothes should I wear, and any other tips are appreciated.

if you want to do well in this, you need to change up your training for the next 2 months. There is a lot of technique in here.

truck pull. Lot of back work: rows, db rows, cable rows
hammer hold. Top/side delts: milit. press, db press, db lat raise, etc. There is a technique here, when you are holding the weight out to your side, you get a little extra time by rolling your wrist/shoulder forward to let the front delt take some of the weight. see picture and how my body is shifted a little.
Tire flip. Full body: Deads, squats. when standing in front of the tire, feet spread wide, grip on the inside, with your chest against the tire. As you lean into it, lift with legs, switch your grip to press/flip, step forward.
Farmers walk: Grip work. Usually people are strong enough to carry the weight, but the grip is the week point.

YouTube - Hank the Tank

[Eighth Wonder]

awesome hrp I'd rep you but I can't, I'm taking out the 2 days off the week that I do assistance work and I'm gonna train for this for the next 2 months. I tried my own version of the hammer hold with 5lb weights in each hand and did 3 minutes pretty easy, I definitely got to improve because I'm sure the sledges will be heavier than 5lbs. Anyway I'm starting today with pushing/pulling a sled and flippin some tires. Thanks for the tips.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by hrpiii

YouTube - Hank the Tank

Thats John Rambo in the flesh right there

[j1r!!!]

Originally Posted by mcchunter

tape it and put it up for us to watch
make us proud!

Ditto.

[Eighth Wonder]

Yea I'll record it for sure.

I started some work with the crucifix hold lately, these are my best times:

15lb DB's - 1 minute, could have gone a little longer

5lb DB's - 3 minutes 20 seconds


If any of you have weights at home that you can do this with I would appreciate it so I can see how I measure up.

[hrpiii]

stick with 15's or 20's, don't worry about the little stuff. Get your body used to the heavy weights.

[Eighth Wonder]

I'm gonna be doing strictly 20's for now until I find out the weight of the sledge hammers. Whatever it is I will most likely train with 5lbs heavier. The 5lb weights were just 2 liter bottles filled with water, just foolin around at home, nothing serious.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by Eighth Wonder

Yea I'll record it for sure.

I started some work with the crucifix hold lately, these are my best times:

15lb DB's - 1 minute, could have gone a little longer

5lb DB's - 3 minutes 20 seconds


If any of you have weights at home that you can do this with I would appreciate it so I can see how I measure up.

I'll try it out today bro with the 15's, but it will have to be post workout ....

[Eighth Wonder]

Sounds good, I'll do em again today with the 15's and see what I get

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by Eighth Wonder

Sounds good, I'll do em again today with the 15's and see what I get

Were your delts fried afterward? I am thinking they were, which is why I said I'd do them postworkout

[Eighth Wonder]

I did them at the end of my workout anyway, at least the end of my gym workout, I went out and pushed a jeep 100yds a few times after and I didn't notice any noteable soreness. I didn't really push myself much though either, I had one minute in mind and I just stopped when I got there. I want to get up to at least 1:30-1:45 range before this contest. It is funny though, as soon as I dropped the weights on the floor I lifted my arms up again and they shot up, felt weightless.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by Eighth Wonder

I did them at the end of my workout anyway, at least the end of my gym workout, I went out and pushed a jeep 100yds a few times after and I didn't notice any noteable soreness. I didn't really push myself much though either, I had one minute in mind and I just stopped when I got there. I want to get up to at least 1:30-1:45 range before this contest. It is funny though, as soon as I dropped the weights on the floor I lifted my arms up again and they shot up, felt weightless.

Yeah I bet you got the feeling like swinging a bat with weights on the end or a golf club with a weight on it. When you take the weight off the bat or club it feels like swinging a toothpick ..

.

[Eighth Wonder]

Whats the verdict? I could only get 1 minute again but I fried my shoulders out benching the 115 DB's and then shoulder pressing beforehand.

I found out the tire will most likely be 300lbs which pisses me off cuz it seems way too light for any respectful competition, I don't know the distance yet but we will see. Farmer's walk will be with 150lb DB's

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by Eighth Wonder

Whats the verdict? I could only get 1 minute again but I fried my shoulders out benching the 115 DB's and then shoulder pressing beforehand.

I found out the tire will most likely be 300lbs which pisses me off cuz it seems way too light for any respectful competition, I don't know the distance yet but we will see. Farmer's walk will be with 150lb DB's

I pinched my rotator cuff last night or something!
I felt it on my very first set of benching after I was warmed up.
And today I have some lingering affects, as when I raise my arms I have that familiar "stabbing" pain in my left shoulder.

So I ended up cancelling shoulders yesterday (good thing), I didnt want to aggrevate it further.....But I'll definitely do this for you so you have something to compare a bit too, just wait till Friday now, I'll get it done that day.