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Strongman Competition 2023

On September 10th I competed in my third strongman competition this one being my heaviest to date. 

I entered the competition 12 weeks prior giving myself enough time to prepare. Upon entering the competition, the weights, I was going to have to attempt to hit for multiple reps were all around or even above my personal best at the time, so I knew id have to put a lot of work in. I originally planned to train each event at least once per week while training general strength at fortitude. However, I only managed to train each event a maximum of 3 times over the 12 weeks doing most of my training at fortitude. While I was getting stronger each week, I underestimated how much familiarity with the equipment would affect me. Overall, my training had gone okay, I made a lot of progress over my preparation and felt good going into my last few weeks. My last heavy session always comes in the second to last week before the competition as I spend my last week recovering, I managed to pull 200kg deadlifts for 4 reps in 30 seconds (this being the weight set for competition) which really increased my confidence going in.

Onto the comp…

Normally I would compete in weight class competitions as an under 80kg athlete but felt like a challenge, so this competition was open to men of all sizes. In my class I was quite noticeably the smallest but even in my current weight class competitions this is the case, so it was nothing new for me. 

The morning of the comp I woke up feeling quite flat, normally full of energy and eager to get into event one this feeling eluded me. Unfortunately, the final few days of prep I hadn’t been feeling my best, but I hoped the adrenaline of competing would take over, but it wasn’t the case. 

Event 1 was axle clean and press, most reps inside a minute. In training I had only managed to be hitting singles so anything more than this was a win for me. Putting my headphones on and getting in the zone I warmed up and everything felt good. Knowing the plan was to get 2 reps or more I knew I could take my time. My first rep flew up inside the first 10 seconds, composing myself I took a couple of seconds to get set and managed to hit rep 2 comfortably. PB! With plenty of time left I knew I could attempt a third. Composing myself once again I cleaned the axle up to my shoulders and went for the press, agonisingly close I just missed out on a 3rd rep. End of event one I was happy coming away from it. 

Event 2 was deadlift for reps inside a minute at 200kg, with my numbers in training my original plan was to hit at least 6 reps which would have been a PB. However, after pulling my warmups something felt off. My warmups felt heavy, and deadlifts just didn’t move the same. With my warmup going poorly I went into the event quite low on confidence. While lifting I felt like every rep was slow, I only managed to pull 3 reps which is a massive under performance from me, however after looking back at videos from the day the deadlifts moved a lot better than I first thought. Despite being unhappy with the number of reps I think this purely came down to a lack of confidence. Onto event 3. 

After a disappointing performance on the deadlift, I knew I had to make up some points. Event 3 was a loading race. 60kg keg from 12 metres, 80kg sandbag from 8 metres and a 100kg sandbag from 4 metres all onto a 48-inch platform. This was an event I was confident in, moving events are my best events and I had a fire in my belly after event 2. I kept my warmupshort and sweet picking the 60kg keg up once and the 100kg sandbag once just get used to the implements. Event 3 was also the arrival of team fortitude. Bringing both motivation, hydration and food top ups I knew I had to perform. The run couldn’t have gone smoother for me. The fortitude team being the loudest of any supporters pushing me on, I flew through the implements finishing the run in 21 seconds. A PB time for me and a weight off my shoulders going into event 4. 

Event 4, the farmers walk at 100kg per hand. Normally my best and favourite event. Having done 110kg per hand in my last competition I knew the weight wasn’t going to be an issue. In training I had managed the whole 30m run in 18 seconds. Which if I had matched would have placed me second on this event. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake on the first turn losing myself precious time in such a tight event. I finished the run comfortably in 20 seconds. Slightly disappointed as I knew I could do better but still a strong performance. 

Going into the final event I was sat in 9th place out of 11 competitors. The plan beforehand was not to come last so despite not performing to the standards I had set myself I was going into the last event where I wanted to be. Event 5 was power stairs. The event I had trained the least and by far my least favourite. 3 implements up 3 steps each as fast as you can. Weights of 120kg 140kg and 160kg. In training I had only attempted it once and managed to scrape the 140kg up a step so I knew finishing would have been a miracle. The plan was to get to the 160kg implement and see what I could manage after that. Both the 120kg and 140kg flew up in 20 seconds moving well! Getting to the 160kg implement and achieving my target adrenaline took over and I rushed the 160kg coming agonisingly close to getting it up the first step but sapping the little energy reserves I had left. After multiple failed attempts at the 160kg I had to call it there, I think I could have got it up at least the first step, but I rushed myself and fell short. 

Going into the final placings I maintained my 9th place overall. Happy to have achieved my target especially knowing I could have performed better I came away slightly disappointed but with my head held high knowing what I needed to work on for the future. 

With my plan written its time to get back to work! 

Next target is to qualify for UKs strongest Natural at the England’s qualifier early next year.

Onto the next one!

Check out Ben’s page for more.

https://instagram.com/benaw_fit?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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