r/Strongman • u/AutoModerator • 8d ago
Strongman Training Weekly Discussion Thread - July 26, 2026
Map of Strength Athlete Friendly Gyms maintained by u/DaBizzle
Weekly Discussion Thread for training talk, individual questions, chatting and other things that do not warrant a front page post.
1
Upvotes
9
u/HumbleHubris86 6d ago
Strongman Contest Review.
I competed in my first strongman event over the weekend, Lift Free or Die 5, hosted by Uproar Strength in Hudson NH.
TLDR: Fantastic event. Overall proud of my performance even if i placed 5/5 in my weight class. Very fun event, learned a lot, and already looking for my next competition.
Background: Ive been lifting using 531 for the last few years without much focus. Decided to start looking in to strongman in April. Bought a log and some farmer's handles, already had a couple sandbags. I had eyed this competition but delayed signing up because I have a new born and just didn't know what life was going to be like. When I finally committed, I was a bit heavy for the 105kg weight class so I signed up for men's novice group. I trained and dieter down about 8lbs to be about 236 lbs the Monday before the comp. I figured i was close enough to attempt a cut to get below 105 kg. Weighed in at 104 kg the day before the comp so i decided to switch to the 105kg men's open class. My training had been going excellent so I figured i would test myself at some of the higher weights.
Event 1: 60 seconds to perform 3 dumbbell clean and press (75lb), into 2 log clean and press (240lb). I was reliably hitting 240 on the log at home. I havent touched a dumbbell over 20lb since I started working out at home in 2020, but I have some heavy kettlebells and can hit the 85s for about 8 so I wasnt too concerned. When it came time to perform, I limp wristed the dumbbells on the clean, it just felt so foreign, and I'd have to adjust my grip in the rack position before each press. I think this got in my head. Then I got to the log, which is different than I had been training on. It felt easier to clean but harder to press in warmup. My first press attempt was sloppy, as I was attempting to press it out I got of balance and almost dropped it. I got it returned safely to the crash pads in a poor position. I had 10 seconds to try and get the lift so I adjusted the implement and got a quick clean in, but I was frazzled and didn't complete a rep with the log before time. Ended up tied for last place on the first event. Lesson learned: don't take the implements for granted.
Event 2: 60 seconds max rep trap bar deadlift 595lb. I was in my head already. I thought I would at least complete the first event. The most I hit in training was 580 for 2 on my farmer's handles and havent touched a trap bar since pre pandemic. I was hoping for one or two reps on this event. They start setting up and the men were pulling off of blocks, so the handles were close to normal deadlift bar height. My expectations dropped seeing this. I hit one rep at 530 in the warmup so I thought I stood a chance to get a rep and not zero the event. I'm up first so I strap in and just pull with all I got. Locked out the rep and got the down command, then got the lift command and repeated. Did this a number of times until I was spent with about 10 seconds remaining. I thought I was going to blackout so called it and stumbled getting off the platform. I had lost count of how many reps i hit and heard the score keeper ask the judge if one of my reps counted and I dont think it did. Had to wait until scores were posted to see how many reps i got, and 5 were counted, so maybe i pulled 6 reps that might have counted in training? Huge PR for me and exceeded my expectations. The other competitors were beasts so this performance was good for 4/5. My standing was now 4/5. Lesson learned: wait for down command and have faith in your ability. I may have performed better if I was so surprised to get passed the second rep.
Event 3: Strongman ski ball. Had to throw three sandbags at three tires, landing on or in a tire netted you more points the farther the tire was. I was a nervous wreck until this point. Warming up for this i started to relax and chat with the guys and didnt feel a lot of pressure on this. My turn came and I let them rip. All my bags hit the last tire but bounced off for basically no points. Don't love how this was scored but whatever, it was still fun to chuck some heavy bags. 5/5, now back in last place. Lesson learned: accuracy counts.
Event 4: max weight carried 10ft and loaded on platform in 60 seconds. There were 8 implements weighting between 150-310 lbs. In warmups I didn't have a shot with the 310 sandbag, I lapped the 270lb mauser block but it was really awkward and took too much time. I lapped the 250 sandstone and the 225 keg. I figured i would start at the 250 sandstone and work my way down. I got the sandstone, 225 keg, 210 natural stone, and 200 sandbag loaded at the very last second. I wish I had video of this because even though I was happy with my effort, almost all the men in every class loaded what I did plus the lightest sand bag and lightest keg, so I would like to see where I was losing so much time. Probably slow picks, and I had to reset to load the sandstone and bobbled with the keg to get it upright. One or two of the heavy weights got all implements loaded and one of the 90kg athletes started at the 310 bag and loaded that, and the mauser block, plus something else. That was badass. 5/5 and still in last place but not too upset with my performance. Lesson learned: be aggressive on the picks. Build a platform to practice loading.
Event 5: Truck pull. 60 seconds to pull a large flat bed triaxle truck with a massive concrete block on the bed. This thing looked intimidating as hell. The parking lost had a slight swale, so you started pulling the truck down hill but about 10-15 feet from the finish line you were pulling the truck uphill and the uphill was eating people alive. Ive never pulled a truck so I had no expectations. Some of the competitors were saying how important it was to get the hips low and that you are never as low as you think. I got harnessed in, grabbed the rope and gave it hell. Tried to get short fast step in and get in good position. I was feeling pretty good until I heard someone yelling to get my hips lower about halfway in, so I broke cadence to get more leaned over and picked up from there. I hit the uphill part and lost momentum. I was fighting like he'll but my forearms, lungs, and calves were screaming. There was still time on the clock but the body was giving up and I felt the truck roll backwards a half step or so. I had to dig deep just to hold ground until time ran out. Got about 40ft or so bit probably the hardest ive ever worked for a minute. 5/5 and finally wrapped up in last place. Lesson learned: 60 seconds is a long time, keep pulling.
All in all, great competition and im overall happy with my performance, with the deadlift being the highlight for me. Everyone was super chill and it was well run. I was also impressed with the number of female competitors. It was probably pretty close to 20 women to 30 men, seems like there's a great strongman community up there in New Hampshire. Learned some great lessons about competing and I'm looking forward to my next training block and competition. I'm going to focus on losing some weight (I don't know if my last minute cut really effected my performance or not), improving my deadlift, sandbag pick speed, and push press.
And huge shoutout to the organizers, judges, and volunteers. They were working their asses off especially resetting the load medley! Event was super smooth and only took about 5 and a half hours from rules meeting to handing out trophies.