New York City’s Global Strongman Gym hosted a strongman show in early December in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. I competed in the male novice division (open weight), because at a bodyweight of 250 pounds, I can’t even pick most of the objects off the ground in my actual weight class. It was a long, cold day and I walked away with a second place trophy. The trophy itself was really cool- a silver Viking with a badass beard, a shield and a staff.

There were about 15 people in my division and I didn’t out-muscle any of them, I out-smarted them. Too many men left cards on the table by not preparing well, not using optimal form, and not executing a plan in a calm, determined manner. By stepping through the competition--before, during and after--I’ll lay out how to make the most of your next strongman show…or any competition, really!

Train for the events

For two months leading up to the competition, we had a list of the events and the weights. While there may be some variability based on the exact equipment you use, you should still be completely comfortable with the basic implement and the weight at which you are expected to perform. While there are many other variables to consider in other sports (sorry, CrossFitters), Strongmen, much like Olympic weightlifters, should have a pretty clear idea of how they are going to perform.

This category is actually where I performed the worst. My strongman training was playing second fiddle to my regular CrossFit endeavors, so as I entered my first event, a shoulder to overhead medley, I was unsure of how fast I should go. As a result of being ill-prepared, I probably left two to four reps on the table…which amounted to five to 10 places in the event!

In addition, if you have an idea how the entire event is run, be ready for that rhythm. For instance, warm-up time was incredibly short at my show. If you weren’t mentally and physically prepared to deadlift at 315 pounds after just a couple warm up sets, you were SOL because the judge was ready to say GO! Be adaptable; things can always go awry.

Learn optimal technique

As a CrossFit coach, I am spoiled by my community in this regard. In the box, technique comes second to only safety. I understand this isn’t the case in many communities. I had a huge (and very legal) advantage on my opponents because I push jerked 175 pounds in the first event instead of humping up a red-faced military press. It was painful to watch so many competitors risk life and limb with the dangerous maneuvers they were attempting under load.

I have trained sporadically with strongman implements over the past two years. To grossly oversimplify, I would say most implements require you to perform bizarro versions of the Olympic lifts. If you have a thorough understanding of how to snatch and clean and jerk a barbell, with some tweaking and practicing you can figure out how to safely and efficiently lift most strongman implements. For more helpful information on this topic, go read Brian Tabor’s article, Developing Efficiency in Strongman for All Sizes: Seven Tips For Athletes, Big & Small.

As a side note, one thing I would have added to many of the Strongmen’s training is some smart conditioning. There is no reason to leave a 50-feet yoke carry huffing and puffing like you just ran a mile. Also, not much makes you more mentally tough than a beautiful CrossFit metcon. Some of the competitors seemed unable to dive very deep into “the suck zone;” as they became at all metabolically taxed everything began to fall apart, including their sense of self. These conditioning efforts shouldn’t be the thrust of your training, but they may be a helpful ingredient if used wisely.

Get a Strongman coach

I trained with the owner of Global Strongman Gym, Hans Pirman, once a month leading up to the competition. His insight into the sport was priceless and I wouldn’t have performed as well without him. Strongman is such a nuanced sport. Without the experience of an expert, it’s hard to learn a lot of the important lessons without making the mistakes yourself.

A legitimate coach (be it someone you pay, or just a smart friend) will guide you through the competition with grace, intelligence and just the right amount of heart. There were way too many “coaches” out there focusing on heart instead of sense and science. For instance, during the deadlift event I heard one “coach” yell at his athlete these three phrases, in this order:

You got the heart of a champion.
Keep after it.
Eat that shit.

I felt bad for the athlete. As he left the platform all he could think was, “Man, I just didn’t want it bad enough.” That clearly was not the case, he unfortunately just wasn’t handed the right tools. What this athlete actually needed to hear was:

Knees out.
Drop your hips.
Breathe.

Brain before brawn, and use heart sparingly. Don’t hope for a miracle when knowing how to deadlift correctly will do the trick.

Have a strategy for each event

Event number four was max deadlifts in one minute at 315 pounds. Almost all of the competitors started their minute by doing one max set of unbroken deadlifts (amounting to about 14 to 18 deadlifts.) This left them with 15 to 20 seconds and nothing left in the tank. For the remainder of the minute they were left struggling with a weight that would not have been a problem had it been paced correctly. In the heat of the moment, basic strategies like this may slip your mind. Teach yourself composure and learn how to execute a plan with finesse.

I went into the last event, max atlas stones over the bar at 200 pounds in one minute, in third place. The Strongman before me got 10 stones, securing first place. Obviously my goal was 11+, but how? I didn’t pre-plan this strategy, but by the third stone I found myself so anxious to get to 11 that I was helping the judge roll the stone back to my starting position. This “trick” gave me just the edge I needed to get 11 stones and move into second place. Watch your competitors and learn from what they do right and wrong. As they say, every rep counts.

Have a game day plan

Control the variables you can control. Before each event, I had a mini warm-up I did on my own to get mentally and physically prepared. Yeah, I may not have been able to use the log as much as I would have liked before tossing weight overhead, but I was in the zone thanks to a short jog, calisthenics and stretching.

Thank God my girlfriend loves me enough to hang out in the cold with me all day. Without her there, I wouldn’t have had coffee, gloves, food or companionship! A lot of hard training can go to pot real quick if you don’t have the supplies to last all day long. Know what you’re getting into, and plan ahead.

Learn and have fun

Watching people compete provides endless opportunities to learn. Equally as important for your own well-being, remember to have fun. No one there was getting paid enough (read: no one was getting paid, at all) to stress or to let the competition be a detriment to their daily life. Local competitions like this should be fun and uplifting. If you’re not there to have fun and encourage others, please leave.

Since you’ve read this far in my article I’ll go ahead and address a related topic that has been concerning me recently. It’s in regard to some advice I shared earlier, “...and use heart sparingly.” With the onset of CrossFit and competitive fitness, too many of my friends are making the mistake of mixing too deeply exercise and emotion (a.k.a. heart.) Emotion, in fitness and in life, is a tool; when you’re using it, it can be powerful, but when it’s using you, you lose. Do WODs make you sad? Why do the wires of exercise and emotion even cross in your head? Please stop attaching moral attributes and morale to your fitness, it’s supposed to improve your life, not run it. Now let’s get back on track…

Do a Strongman show

I really enjoyed my experience and have a kick ass trophy to show for it. It was an excellent change of pace from Olympic weightlifting and CrossFit competitions and can be a positive addition to anyone’s healthy lifestyle. Also, I believe the mindset of all the communities can positively influence one another. Give it a shot. You may be stronger than you think.