This wasn’t planned. Can’t really plan for everything without going mad from exhaustion. Especially when every outcome doesn’t have equal weight. I wasn’t expecting to be competing again in the hottest parts of the year in the area. I know how tough it is from last year’s preps for shows as well as just training outside (or in the garage) rather than a commercial gym. The plan had been to qualify for Strongman Corporation Nationals in March and then adjusted for June after falling just short of it. Repeat in June. Small things would’ve helped in each but it was big things that needed to be done to have really gotten the qualification. More than double the number of reps I got on an event, lift 50lbs more on a lift that was already a near 50lbs PR. Just out of reach and with Nats being closest it has ever been to my residence (no two-day drive or airplane) but the events are actually really good for me. Which was kind of the tipping point to be really focusing on doing this show. There has not been a lot of talk or buzz for this contest. There is less than 25 people competing across all divisions. So I kind of wondered if this show was planned too. I did PA Strongest last year when it had the subclasses but that is no more for this year. I try to not repeat myself on a show unless I had good reason. When I had spoke with the promoter in March, they weren’t expecting to do a summer show because they were moving the gym/strongman stuff. Probably due to the other federation not doing a show this year for PA’s Strongest that this one is happening. Not planned, but my best shot. These were some of my best events.
But just because good events doesn’t mean easy training. A ton of my good events (the ones that suck) are a pain to train, especially in the summer. This training cycle has been a bit frustrating but a lot that is from feeling like I didn’t have enough time and my perfectionist streak as well as dealing with residual disappointment in a single event performance from the last show. Challenges of working in brutal heat as well as dealing with work stress. There had been stress working up to the last show and kind of spilled into this. Can’t compartmentalize things, it seems out. Plan had been to go on vacation near the end of summer but I pushed too hard chasing too many rabbits and ended up making myself sick from stress and not being able to take that vacation. Slept 17hrs and moved on. Seeming to finally get over things and have stuff clicking at the very end of this training cycle. Fairly early start to the day to get out there but not outrageous. I had been trying to get to bed sooner so that more rested and this wouldn’t be such a shock. Was on the road around 7:00AM. Very uneventful drive with my father out there. Talked about things. Mostly complaining about work stress but mostly I think trying to keep from building anxiety for the contest. Venue was different from last year but also the same. Same in that it was going to be in parking lot for most of the day and it was hot and humid. Only one event would be inside. Smaller venue. I don’t think it would’ve supported more than what showed up well really. There had been 7 signed up for the weight class but appears to have dwindled to 5. This means that in order to get to Nats this year, I have to win this. My coach had messaged me to have fun but indicated he expected me to take people’s lunch money today. Got things set up and warmed up as I could to prepare for the day. Weather outlook had improved but still a large chance of a thunderstorm rolling in. But maybe with the low turnout, this will move along quickly. Which could also be to my advantage with conditioning. The promoter mentioned that they did the show as a memorial for someone that was with their training group who had passed recently. His name was Larry and his silhouette was on the shirts. I went to where it was cooler to do some warming up.
The first event was a block press medley. 3 blocks of ascending weight (206lbs, 226lbs, 256lbs). I seem to be decent at blocks but can be tricky. These blocks were made like half a decade ago and now just kind of float around to whomever happens upon them. They are blocks with diamond plating that are shaped like the state of Pennsylvania. So a bit of an odd shape to them beyond just being a block to press. I’ve done a block in a medley (it was just one implement) and for a max but never as all the medley. Blocks are tricky to clean and press for reps. Pressing for reps is fine. The clean is the tricky part. Biff that and an easy press becomes near impossible. My style I have to be explosive and get it like a hang power clean. If I go a more lean back and get the arms under style that some do, it just doesn’t work for me. I have a block that I purchased about 5yrs ago that I have access to and most of my training in the past for the one show had been singles. So while I’ve done a single heavier than the heaviest block in the medley (281lbs), that was taking my time and methodical. This would be timed and against the clock. Training had been mostly single cleans into pressing for singles or some reps but usually 2’s or 3’s. I was purposely trying to setup things for the pick to be like I’d seen the setup for these blocks when a show used them last year for this exact press medley. So angled away which made the pick a bit tougher compared to angling towards the body. I knew that I’d have to get my hands on the blocks to familiarize as much as I could to see if I had to change up anything on the fly compared the block I had been training on. I think my hope here was that my familiarity with block pressing vs my competition would lead me through this. As I thought, these were slick and with them being loaded with chain, they felt a lot more alive. Made them difficult to clean and to press. I made sure to keep hitting some just to stay on form. The plan had been to have it be 225/250/275 but I think they dropped it due to the heat and because I don’t think they really could fit any more weight in there. I was up second to go due to signing up pretty late. The guy before me, I figured he’d be my competition for the day, the youngest and lightest in the weight class. He moved slow between the blocks and was stopped by the last block. Goal was to move quickly and get a fast two and hopefully take that momentum into the last block. No issues with the first two blocks. Last block I had issues. My clean pop didn’t work and it was kind of on my stomach and I eventually muscled it up and gave it an attempt but as is the case for me, I pressed it out in front instead of up when that happens. I did give it another shot but it was just too much today. I had left the door open but only if someone could press all three as my transitions between blocks was on point. Two of the three remaining got to the third block but no dice on the press. I was probably the closest to pressing it. So starting off with a win here.
Then it was farmer’s walk. 300lbs for 100’ with a drop and turn at 50’. 60 seconds to compete the course. At least that was what it was listed as but it ended up actually being 315lbs and for 80’ with the drop and turn at 40’ (didn’t find out the distance was shorter until the end of the day). Distances were given on this one so not as bad if you struggle on grip. You’d need to not be able to lift them off the starting line to get a zero here. Again, tried my best here to pay attention to the equipment and prep accordingly. From what I could see, these appeared to be a slightly higher pick, shorter implements and had feet to them. So for training, I used longer handles with lower pick and had feet to mimic as best I could. My hope this would be harder and that I’d get used to the way they’d drop and feel for the repick and go. There has to be an element of control here as well as being fast. I’ve done this event in the past before and that had been a show with a heavier version of this and also had yoke setup the same way so it was pretty contest weight for both for a month. So that was ingrained in my soul. I knew I could do this and I just needed to practice. Probably helped motivation that this is kind of like an event for Nats. One of the first workouts back was to do 2x200’ with 250lbs and that was terrible feeling. Tactic was modified for the next time to work on foot speed with short rests instead since I knew I could do it, I just needed to be fast. The heat and sweat didn’t really help my hands and I noticed that with the handles I was using that skin was getting worn. So near the end of the training cycle I purchased some items to help with keeping the skin on my hands healthier so I didn’t tear anything (hopefully) when it mattered. Especially with how grip intensive this show was as well as Nats. Like the block, I would like to get some familiarization but I don’t need a ton. The handles were a little thicker than what I was using but not problem for me and they weren’t a solid piece. They were tall and had long feet and long grip sections on them. So gripping all the way back would potentially have me dragging on the ground as the weight increased. I got some warming up here but would’ve liked to have gotten another pick so not going from 245lbs to 315lbs. I had initially thought that I’d be going last after 1st place but I misheard and it was what I had thought it would be with same order all day. So got to watch my competition again. He moved fast first half but had a drop on the way back. I felt it was beatable. I had to shorten my stride on this and I felt I was ok that first half. Probably could’ve gripped a little further forward. Controlled drop and quick turn around and pick. But I accidentally grabbed the back of the handles. It’s so automatic for me. The handles tipped forward and I was dragging the front on the ground. I had to shrug my shoulders and angle my wrists to even out a little and get clearance. I was not happy with this unforced error on my part. Voice in my head said drop it and get a better grip and I ignored that. Finished it comfortably but I was slower than I would’ve liked here. I was about 3 seconds faster than the guy who went first and only one person after me finished the course. So another first place. Things are going well.
The next event for the day was deadlift. Max lift with three attempts. Suits and straps allowed and using a deadlift bar. Of any event at the show, this was one that I knew I could potentially drop points on. I feel that compared to last year at this show, I’m more even and close to the top but there could be issues depending on attempts and jumps which could have a lot of ties at certain weights. I could win or get fourth. I was not expecting to beat a PR going into this. I feel like none of my suited pulls from the floor cycles have the weights feeling as good as they did that first training cycle last year for this very show. I think part of it is that that time the show had very little in the way of heavy moving events so that allowed for more recovery for deadlift. That’s not to say I haven’t hit PRs in training. But I do feel that my deadlift isn’t as smooth as it could be. Plan here was to try and get close to my PR if the jumps matched up. Not as long as a build up really to mess around. Could also be changing out the bar I used last year to train as well to something else could be making things feel tougher. But I tend to get a good bit out of a deadlift bar and at competition. This was going to be a wait and see. At least I wasn’t dealing with any back spasms like last year’s show haha. So while inside, it wasn’t much better than outside. It was in the basement of the gym and was very cramped quarters. I was sweating buckets. And they were really rushing through things. The 40-50lbs jumps were set based off plate math (though they did let a MW try for a state record and do a 20lbs jump). It was a bit confusing as they asked for openers and people were giving specific numbers and then it was ignored. It was a bit chaotic to keep track of who was doing what. I felt that I needed to be risky here with attempts since I knew they did ties based off number of attempts. 585lbs would be a sure thing and 635lbs was iffy. I’d potentially lose points going lower and potentially zero if I missed at 635lbs because of an off day. I’ve never opened higher than 600lbs for suited pulls and I wasn’t feeling like I was hitting things optimally. No one there knew how to set straps for suit (I was the only one wearing one, feeling like a guy wearing a tux at a nudist beach) so I couldn’t really crank the straps down to get the most out of the suit. So I had my dad help as best as he could. Opened with 635lbs and that went up ok but I knew this wasn’t a day to go for a PR. 675lbs would be the next jump and tie my PR from last year. I got set and felt like I had this. But nope, I got it up to my knees and when I attempted to ramp/hitch, it just kind of slid off my sweaty knees and I dropped it. Not risking injury for what I thought would be no extra points (I’d have gotten .5pts more if I got it). The guy that won did 725lbs easy on a second attempt I think (I thought it was his opener but I must have missed one earlier). Put me in third place but still with a slight lead and two really good events left.
Up next was hercules hold. Hold on until you can’t no more. Going from only doing it twice in the past 10yrs to twice in the span of 3 months at a show. Prep for this was quite different from prep for the last show, even though the same event. Maybe it had to do with expectations here or just from feedback. Last training cycle had been every other week with the apparatus and focusing on heavier as that was the intent from the promoter that it would be heavy and keep the max time under 45 seconds. This show I wasn’t expecting it to be that heavy. I’ve seen the setup and it is not one where a lot of the added weight goes into the hands. Additionally, last time this one was used with 335lbs on each side, the winning time was just over 2 minutes set by the guy that got 4th on this at the last show. Granted his time was 40 seconds longer than the next closest, the average time was about 70 seconds which is decent for a heavy weight class. So expectation here was going at it for a long time and not a good time. Since setting up the Hercules hold at the gym was a hassle, only touched that once at the very end and did other grip things to improve all-around. Lighter weight isn’t that technical. One of the changes from the other show was allowing hook grip. It has been 4yrs since I’ve used that for this event (or any event) so I wasn’t sure how this would feel. But needed to try with a lot of grip stuff and potentially needing to go all out all day. It works but it bruises the thumbs. Subconsciously practicing it while driving some days and while on walks. Get the pocketknife out to carve grooves into my thumbnails for added grip. This was taking a long time to get done as most everyone was going over a minute and they only added 25lbs a class each side. It looks like the same weight from before. So here for a long time and not a fun time. Guy ahead of me pushing this whole time as he set the second longest time of all the weight classes at this point. I was annoyed it was going to be light and just said to the timer to let me know when I hit 90 seconds. The setup was a little janky. I was a little worried that my arm span was too long that I’d be having the things touching the ground, especially using hook grip. So I couldn’t really hunker down and just kind of pulled my shoulder blades together and leaned back. I will admit it was harder than I was expecting to get to 90 seconds but I did it. I had no more in me and my thumbs weren’t too sore. My time held and was the longest of the day. The three remaining didn’t get close to a minute. First again and now a 2pt buffer going into the last event.
The final event was keg carry. 300lbs for max distance with turns every 40’. Go until you drop. These kind of events I’m good at but they are hard to train. I’ve put up some decent distances on keg carry in the past, with and without heads up. I’ve one an event after signing up the night before because not a lot of people signed up and I had already trained heavy that whole week. But I’ve never really pushed it beyond 250lbs a lot. I never worked up to contest weight for a run (I did go a little above it once for a short distance) but I knew that it was getting the work in that mattered for this. I had to also spend a bit of time acclimating to the higher carry position over the lower carry position. It can take time to feel comfortable with that and it pretty much finally clicked near the end. I felt that I’d probably not have to go too far to win here and that some may struggle to even pick this thing up. But that didn’t matter. I was winning this thing. Things weren’t ideal though as unlike the other events (besides Hercules hold) I didn’t get to do any kind of warming up here. Picking up a 300lbs keg cold isn’t fun. I generally like to a few picks or move with a lighter keg to get my breathing right. No such luck here. One loadable keg and no time. Again, guy going first all day and second on every event so far, was up. He didn’t have the best technique for this but he got some distance, just shy of 100’. I didn’t feel like anyone was going to be better at this than me or that they’d beat his distance. But I was nervous. I needed to get myself hyped for this. I went to pick and got it up in the high carry and it felt terrible. I felt lightheaded and vision becoming pinholes. I’ve had this happen to me before and usually it is on something like conan’s wheel or a yoke zercher carry where the bar is thicker than normal. And I got down when that happens. I was feeling the very real sensation that I was about to have my face meet the pavement. But this time I didn’t. Maybe it was just the sound of loose gravel under my feet and feeling the weight on my legs. But I grit my teeth and willed myself conscious and the darkness faded as I made the first 40’ and easy turn. I was back and I was winning this. I got 3 for the lead and went on for another. Near the end of that, I felt this sudden urge to crap my pants. Since I didn’t need to push things much further, I completed a 4th lap and did the turn around at the end for dominance and set it down. One guy got like 1.5 laps and the other two didn’t lift (one couldn’t and one passed). First place here.
So in the end, I got what I came for. 1st place out of 5. It was a tough day but I pulled out the win for my trip back to Nationals. It was a relief to get this done but I know I won’t have much time to reflect on that as I gear up for Nationals in two months’ time. Not a lot of time really. I wish had more. I always do. This was a hot and humid day. The guy that came in second did not make this easy. I do wish that things were a bit less brutal as far as the weather and having space to kind of hang and talk with competitors as that is something I do like to do. But everyone kind of kept to their own groups. Me being no exception to that. I was distracted talking with people to not hear them call my name to get my trophy. That hadn’t mattered, and I think I might have already misplaced it. It was nice to set a goal and achieve. One at a time. The show ended earlier than expected so that meant I could head home and eat there rather than locally. My family that is nearby decided to celebrate at a nice restaurant that has the best ribeye steak. Eat well, rest well and get ready to repeat this all over again and try my damnedest to place well at Nationals.
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