On Sunday I was persuaded to compete in a novice Strongman Competition. Ever notice how the one thing you feel you just don’t have the energy to do but still somehow show up for anyway, turns out the be the best thing you ever did?
I placed in 2nd! 2nd place out of 2 competitors in our weight class. Alas every victory deserves celebration. This was a relaxed competition which I really appreciated. People cheering, nobody screaming. There were no trophies or being disqualified if you had a false start or didn’t keep contact with the bar for the entire down. This was my kind of competition. It enabled me to relax into the movements, the challenges themselves, and away from my competitors and the fantasy of what if I win. I was in it to participate and learn something I clearly enjoy being a part of. Of that there can be no better feeling, I am certain.
All competitions require strategy, the Deadlift is no different. You have 3 chances to lift. So ideally for your 1st lift you pick a warm up weight working up to your PR, then with your 2nd lift a weight almost at your PR, and then for the 3rd go heaviest with something over your PR. The idea also generally being that during competitions the adrenaline is pumping and you can always go heavier than you’re used to.
Today I PR’d on my Deadlift. 260lbs.
This deadlift was with an axil bar. The picture above is of my fingers wrangling their grip. The axil bar is thicker than the traditional Olympic bar making it more difficult to find your grip. Your grip being your first point of failure when you start approaching max weight. The story then goes that your 1RM is most likely even heavier with the traditional Olympic bar. 300lbs. is within reach!
DoubleUnderDogs 