+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Submit your email address to subscribe to
our free newsletter.
You can receive our weekly email letting you know
when there are new Questions and Answers. We will
also keep you up to date with upcoming events and
new ways to become a better athlete.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Strongman Training
for Athletes
by Joe DeFranco
This article
originally appeared on www.T-nation.com
Editor's Note: Although this
article is aimed at athletes, if you're looking to
get into shredded, athletic shape, try some of the
exercises Coach DeFranco describes. You can practically
feel the fat melting off your body!
Mental and physical toughness, anaerobic
conditioning, improved sprinting speed, muscular endurance,
"man" strength. What if I told you that all of these
characteristics can be trained simultaneously with
one form of training? Would you believe me? You better,
because it's true! In this article, I'll show you
how to do it!
The Strongman Cometh
You've all been there. You're on
the couch late at night with your remote control in
hand, desperately trying to find something interesting
on TV. Your thumb actually starts getting a pump from
changing the channel so much. Then you come across
some freak of nature flipping over an 800 pound tractor
tire!
Whether you're a world-renowned strength
coach or a 98 pound accountant, you can't help but
become engrossed in this unorthodox, yet oddly interesting,
display. Well, strongman training is no longer a spectator
sport, and you don't have to be a World's Strongest
Man contestant to participate and reap the benefits.
One of the reasons people love watching
strongman competitions on TV is that the events aren't
"normal." After all, flipping over a car, bending
a steel bar over your head, dragging a 600 pound anchor,
and carrying oddly-shaped stones aren't everyday occurrences.
Yet the "abnormality" of these events is the exact
reason why this type of training is tailor-made for
mainstream athletes and hardcore fitness buffs, not
just strongmen.
This is because the events that unfold
on the athletic field usually aren't "normal." They
don't usually go according to plan. For example, how
many times does a football play happen exactly how
it was drawn up on the chalkboard? The answer is almost
never! This example holds true for almost every sport
and, of course, life in general.
The beauty of strongman training
is that there's no one way to perform the exercises.
You usually end up improvising to complete the event.
In other words, things don't usually go according
to plan! The tire doesn't always flip over the same
way. The sled doesn't always glide easily over the
surface. The farmers walk implements don't remain
stationary as you zigzag through your course and the
sand in the sandbag moves all over the place when
you try to lift it.
The awkwardness of these events builds
true, "functional" strength from head to toe. This
enables you to strengthen muscles that are nearly
impossible to strengthen with traditional weight training.
Now, there are many strongman
events to choose from and they all work. The problem
with some of them is that they just aren't practical
because the implements are very difficult to obtain.
Plus, many coaches and athletes seem to get confused
with regards to incorporating this type of training
into their existing programs. Below I provide you
with the events I find to be the most practical, and
I'll also explain how to obtain the implements. Then,
I'll give you a sample strongman program for athletes.
Strongman Events for Athletes
Empty Keg Toss
The keg toss is a great exercise
for improving explosive hip extension and posterior
chain strength. After a general warm-up, we usually
use the keg toss as our first event. The keg toss
acts as a final warm-up exercise and it also excites
the nervous system for the more grueling events to
follow.
It's very easy to obtain an empty
keg. Go to a liquor store, buy a keg, invite some
hot chicks over, drink all the beer, wake up in the
morning with a hangover, a strange woman sleeping
in your bed, and an empty keg! Or you can just go
to a liquor store and ask if you can have one of their
empties. Most will just look at you funny and give
you the keg. Some may charge you a couple of bucks
for them. It's that simple.
Tire Flip
This is a classic strongman event.
I can't think of a single muscle in your body that
this exercise doesn't strengthen! I also can't think
of an athlete who wouldn't benefit from this exercise.
It's easier to obtain a tire than
most people think, and you can't beat the price: they're
free! Check your local phone book for the nearest
tire company in your area. (Tire companies are pretty
common; they're just usually not located in recognizable
parts of your town). Call the company and tell them
you're willing to take some tires off of their hands.
They love for people to come and take used tires away
from them. This is because they usually have to pay
to get rid of their old tires. In essence, you're
doing these people a favor!
Farmers Walk
The farmers walk is an incredible
tool for improving your muscular endurance, anaerobic
capacity, grip strength and your upper back, trap
and oblique strength. It's also great for building
hip, knee and ankle stability. You can carry any awkward
object or just use the heaviest pair of dumbbells
you can find.
I like to perform the "zigzag" farmers
walk. Get six cones and set up one cone every ten
yards. Place the first cone at the starting line and
off-set each cone to the left or right from the previous
cone. This creates a "zigzag" path which requires
a high-level of oblique and core strength in general.
This summer we got our implements
from Brutestrength.com and we loved them. They were
well worth the money.
Backward Sled Drag
Since we do a ton of posterior chain
work in the weight room, we chose the backward sled
drag as our strongman event. It's a killer! No other
exercise crushes your quads like the backward sled
drag! Simply face your sled, grab the rope, turn your
toes slightly outward and walk backwards using short,
quick steps.
I recommend the sleds I purchased
from Elitefts,
but you can drag anything, though. Hell, you can even
wrap a rope around your tractor tire and drag the
tire if you like!
Tug-of-War
The tug-of-war competition turned
out to be one of the most competitive (and fun) events
of the summer. We'd break our athletes up into teams
or we'd perform one-on-one competitions. The competitive
nature in everyone really comes out with the tug-of-war.
(I even had a fistfight break out with two of my strongest
high school kids during one of our competitions!)
We either award the winning team/player
with a T-shirt or trophy, or we punish the losing
team with extra sled drags! This "punishment" really
got guys motivated to win. This event also acts as
"vanity" work as your biceps will get one hell of
a pump!
Try to get a rope that's thick enough
so your hands don't get completely ripped apart. I've
seen thick ropes sold in various hardware stores,
boating stores, as well as any store where scaffolding
equipment is sold.
Sample Workout
Now that you know my favorite strongman
events, let's put everything together into a structured
program. Obviously, there are hundreds of variations
that'll work. I'll provide you with a sample program
I used this summer with great success.
This workout was usually performed
on Friday or Saturday. We performed it late in the
week so that it wouldn't take away from our speed
and conditioning workouts performed earlier in the
week. Strongman training acted as our max-effort lower
body strength day. We didn't perform any max-effort
lower body training in the weight room during the
six weeks that we implemented this training. Dynamic-effort
box squats with sub-maximal weights, posterior chain
work and abs were performed on Tuesday or Wednesday
during this period.
Here's a sample of one of the strongman
workouts we used this summer:
A) Overhead Keg Toss: 5 tosses,
rest one minute between tosses
B) Tire Flip: 3 sets of 5 flips,
rest 3-4 minutes between sets, or 3 sets of 30 seconds,
rest 3-4 minutes between sets. (In the timed set
variation, the athlete performs as many tire flips
as possible in the given timeframe.)
C) "Zigzag" Farmers Walk:
Perform 3 sets of 50 yards around cones. Rest 3-4
minutes between sets.
D) Backward Sled Drag: 2 sets of
40-50 yards. Rest one minute between sets. This
is a great "finisher!"
E) Tug-of-War: The tug-of-war separates
the men from the boys. By the end of this workout,
most guys are exhausted. Perform a two-out-of-three
or three-out-of-five series to finish your workout.
We rest one minute between each "war."
Are You Tough Enough?
Besides all of the above mentioned
benefits, there's one overlooked component I feel
outweighs the rest: the psychological aspect of strongman
training.
Completing a strongman workout gives
you a feeling of accomplishment that you just don't
get with "regular" training. I witnessed complete
transformations in mental toughness and confidence
this summer with my high school, college and even
my professional athletes.
After a couple of weeks of training
in this manner, guys started walking around with chips
on their shoulders. There was an "edge" to the athletes
who participated in strongman training. It was as
if they knew that no one in the world was working
harder than they were. The workouts were tough, and
by completing them they became tougher, both
mentally and physically.
These workouts aren't for everyone.
Before you decide to give this type of training a
try, ask yourself the following questions:
Am I focused enough?
Am I strong enough?
Am I tough enough?
If you answered yes, then the world
of strongman training is waiting on you!
About the Author
Joe DeFranco's training techniques
have become a hot topic worldwide. This didn't happen
by accident. The training programs Joe develops and
the athletes he produces speak for themselves. You
can learn more about Joe, his athletes, and his techniques
at DeFrancosTraining.com.
Return to Top
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
