Strength Standards For A Strongman Competition
Entering your first strongman competition can be intimidating. A lot of the time, we find that a lot more people want to try a strongman competition, but they say that the weights are just too heavy for them. And that might be true. Strongman is a tough sport. Athletes continue to get stronger and so competition weights have to increase every year. But maybe you’ve been consistently training on your own. Working with a coach can have many benefits; one being that you will get stronger and your technique will improve. Also, another factor to contribute is that not everyone walks around constantly being able to lift heavy. Athletes will peak for competitions; meaning that they will build strength for a specific show, then they’ll take time off and allow their body to recover. But let’s break down some strength standards.
Strength Standards For Strongman Competition
I’m not going to lie. The strength standards for a local competition are high. But this should not deter you from trying. Many athletes that are competing regularly have been for years. And with consistency over a long period of time, you too can make amazing progress! Not only that, but as strongman continues to grow in popularity, more and more competitions are becoming available for the wider audience. Specifically, sanctioned competitions are popping up more. These are local competitions held by strongman fanatics or gym owners who set the weights lighter in order to give everyone a chance to try it out. We do the same twice a year. However, instead of weight classes, we have 4 divisions, increasing in difficulty. This approach has allowed competitors to start in the lightest division and work their way to the next and so on.
Strength Standards For Men
Let’s base some strength standards off of your most common events in a strongman competition: log press, standard deadlift, farmers carry, yoke carry, and atlas stones. And let’s say the log, deadlift and atlas stones you have 60 seconds to perform as many repetitions as possible. For the farmers and yoke, there is a 50 foot course and you're aiming to complete the course as fast as possible.
The goal of my first competition was to not zero any event. Whether it was to perform one repetition on the lifts or carry the implements 5 feet. The goal was to just gain the experience and have a base to build from.
That being said, what weight should you expect for these events?
Log Press - 180lbs
Deadlift - 405lbs
Farmers Carry - 200lbs per hand
Yoke Carry - 450lbs
Atlas Stone - 220lbs
Strength Standards For Women
Now let’s set some standard for the ladies.
Log Press - 100lbs
Deadlift - 275lbs
Farmers Carry - 130lbs per hand
Yoke Carry - 300lbs
Atlas Stone - 140lbs
Strength Exercises To Start With
Let’s say that strongman is something that you plan to get into, but you’re looking to build general strength first. Here are some great exercises to work on. The biggest exercise to incorporate will always be the deadlift. In 99.9% of competitions there will be a deadlift or a weight that you have to pick up. To build shoulder strength, the standard barbell shoulder press. If you don’t have access to a pair of farmers handles or a yoke, pick some heavy kettlebells or dumbbells and use those for your moving events. And lastly, for atlas stones. Typically, they may be harder to come by, but there are two movements that have helped me: pedlay barbell rows and front squats. You will need to build the strength to pick the stone off the floor and then stand up with it.
How To Incorporate Strongman Lifts Into Your Training
Even if you have no desire to compete, strongman training can be extremely influential on everyday life. How often do we find ourselves picking things off the floor, such as dog food, soil or boxes of decorations. And how often do we have to pick these up, move them somewhere or put them over our head and onto a shelf? Typically, these items don’t have handles, and so using stones or sandbags in your own training can be very important.
Strongman Training At Thor Strength Gym
Within everyone’s program at Thor Strength we include some form of strongman training. We do this to keep training a little more unique and to challenge our clients. And as a result, we have clients who are able to carry heavy groceries from their car into their house, put their luggage overhead on their own on a flight, and even throw their kids around without back pain. Being strong is cool, but utilizing that strength into everyday life is essential.
Looking to learn more about Strongman Training? Contact us to get started.
