4 Common Strongman Safety Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

In the last decade, the opportunities to compete in Strongman contests and hybrid events (functional fitness-style events, Highland Games, etc.) has increased at a crazy pace. People love the challenge of pushing themselves physically and trying to determine in a multitude of ways just how strong they are. My social media feeds are filled with awesome videos of excited competitors hitting PR’s and winning events. Many of these athlete’s videos are well executed, but there are a few that are cringe worthy. There are three (plus a bonus) mistakes I see more than I should, and they are easily remedied with some forethought and better set up. While competing injury and pain free is rare, you certainly don’t want to be making avoidable mistakes.

1. Deadlift Smarter

I discussed here the deadlift, and that article breaks down the different pulls you can do in a contest. The main difference between the Powerlifter’s pull and that of a Strongman is the use of straps. This advantage to the Strongman is huge. It changes the focus of the event that can be limited by hand strength to an all out back and legs challenge. For the Powerlifter to pull maximum weight, they will use the over under grip on the bar. This has one palm facing the body and the other facing out (supinated) towards the judges. This grip stops the rotation of the bar and increases the amount you can lift over a double overhand pull. The problem with this grip is the increased stress on the biceps tendon of the forward facing palm.

It can be argued that you don’t see many Powerlifters tear biceps this way. That seems to be reasonably true. But the Powerlifter is executing the lift with perfect form and a single repetition on a calibrated bar. This is not the case in Strongman. Most deadlifts are for repetitions, and after pulling full out for 60 seconds, your form is sure to slip.

When you have the advantage of using straps there is no good reason to use the mixed grip. Always strap in double overhand and eliminate a great deal of biceps stress. You will also be stronger in this position and can wrap the strap much tighter. I cringe when I see a mixed grip strapped to the bar. It’s not necessary, and if something were to go wrong it is going to increase the chance or seriousness of a tear due to the release time of the strap.

To strengthen grip in training, just avoid using the straps on the deadlift until you actually need them. If you can pull 500 with a double overhand grip, don’t strap in until your surpass that weight.

A related tip here is to master the use of straps. Being able to wrap them quickly and tightly will help your game immensely. Buy a pair of high quality nylon straps that aren’t too thick. You don’t need a lot of extra bulk in your hand, and cotton straps can wear out and break during a heavy pull.

2. Never, Ever Flip a Wet Tire

Having one palm facing away from you when pulling a heavy object can raise some cause for concern. When flipping a tire, often both palms are in the supine position. This is the nature of the beast, and you must make sure you get as much of your body against the tire to alleviate the stress on the biceps when doing the exercise. There is one caution here that I’ve heard from every experienced strongman and strength coach that I have worked with: never flip a wet tire.

Water on rubber makes the tire a dangerous game. Your hands can easily slip, and the quick jerk can put all the weight on one arm, causing an instant snap of the tendon. Unfortunately I have witnessed it twice. One was a partial tear, but the other was a full snap that derailed a promising career. Losing control of a tire can also cause you to fall and become pinned under it. If you store your tires outside, make certain they are dry prior to use.

3. Pay Attention to Atlas Stone Form

The king of all strength lifts is the Atlas Stone. I review proper technique in this article. When done correctly, the stone is between your feet, close to your center of gravity, and you pick it up from the ground using a technique very similar to the Romanian or stiff leg deadlift. This movement most evenly distributes the weight of the stone across your feet and loads the hips, legs and back in the most efficient way possible.

I see a few competitors doing a much different pick that has them dropping the entire body closer to the floor and trying to scoop the stone up with their forearms. This has the body off balance, and the stone is far too removed from the center of gravity to be efficient. As it is lifted from the ground, the stone is then pulled back toward the athlete and that creates a massive amount of low back stress in a position where the back is not protected. This event is difficult enough without moving the weight further from your center of gravity. Whenever possible, keep the weight you are moving as close to you as possible.

4. Bonus Pro Tip: Wash Your Sleeves!

Video can’t cover every single base when it comes to safety, and there is one very important bit of information this is often overlooked; wash your neoprene sleeves! They are like sponges soaking up your sweat and become a breeding ground for smells and bacteria. Turn them inside out and soak in cold water, white vinegar, and Woolite for about 15 minutes. Rinse them out and then let air dry for 24 hours in front of a fan. There is no reason to give yourself an infection from dirty gear. Your training group will thank you as well.

Staying healthy is paramount to enjoying your time in Strongman. Just a few corrections to your game can keep it that way. Practice like you play and always strive to do it with perfection.

Mike Gill is a retired 105kg professional strongman and currently a broadcaster for Strongman Corporation. He has a background in all weight disciplines and has competed in Bodybuilding, Powerlifting and Weightlifting. He can be reached at @prostrongman onTwitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.

Featured image: Michele Wozniak, Strongman Corporation

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Weightlifting Throwback: Alexander Varbanov Clean & Jerks 222kg at 75kg Bodyweight

1988 Olympic Silver Medalist Alexander Varbanov had one of that decade’s best weightlifting resumes, and most of his accomplishments came while competing as a 75kg weightlifter for Bulgaria. (If the men’s 75kg category doesn’t sound familiar, that’s because the International Weightlifting Federation restructured the classes twice in the 90s.)

He was also a three-time World Champion, claiming that title in 1983, 1985, and 1986, as well as a four-time European Champion. It’s worth noting that Bulgaria boycotted the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, which very well have resulted in another Olympic medal for Varbanov.

And while Varbanov’s competition accomplishments are incredible — he clean & jerked 215.5kg in competition — his training makes are the stuff of legend. That includes a 222kg/~488 pound clean & jerk done at around 75kg bodyweight. The lift was completed in training in 1987, the same year Varbanov earned silver at the Weightlifting World Championships.

It’s the heaviest clean & jerk we’ve seen on video for someone roughly that bodyweight — an astonishing 147 kilograms above bodyweight. It almost (almost!) makes some of Lu Xiaojun’s best training feats seem a little ordinary by comparison.

Varbanov’s performance at the 1988 Seoul Games can be seen in this video of the competition posted by Frank Rothwell. Fellow Bulgarian lifter Borislav Gidikov took first in that competition.

Varbanov’s last major international medal came at the 1989 European Championships in Athens, where he finished with silver.

Alexander now lives and coaches in Ontario, Canada. His son — Nikolay Varbanov — is a young and accomplished weightlifter in his own right. Below is a video of Nikolay competing in the Ontario Championships this spring, setting multiple provincial records in the process. (Nikolay was lifting in the 69kg category.)

Looks like the Varbanov name will stick around elite-level weightlifting for some time to come.

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What Is Tempo Training, and How Can It Improve Your Strength Gains?

Back Squat: @3010 – 5 x 3 / @XXXlbs

Have you ever seen those four magic numbers in your program? If not, you’re missing out on some major gains! These numbers signify a tempo that controls the speed with which you move throughout an exercise, and how long you stay in the bottom and top positions of the movement. For many resistance movements, utilizing a specific tempo can benefit an athlete by forcing controlled quality reps, getting the correct dose response out of the exercise, and overcoming weak points by spending more time in specific positions.

How to Read a Tempo: 3 3 1 0

• The first number is the Eccentric portion (descent) of the exercise, which is the load coming down. (ex. Squatting down, lowering of the body in a pull-up, etc.) 
• The second number is the Pause at the bottom (ex. holding the bottom of a squat, pausing at the chest on a bench press, dead hang on a pull-up bar)
• The third is the Concentric (ascend) which is the weight moving up. In the some cases, in place of the third number you may see an “X” which means explode up as fast as possible, or an “A” which means assisted up.
• The fourth number is the Pause at the top. For some movements like the squat,  it is back to the start position, for others like the pull-up it is holding the top position with the chin over the bar.

Note: Tempo numbers are always written in the same order of (E,P,C,P), however not every exercise starts with an eccentric movement. The deadlift, pull-ups, and other similar movements start Concentrically, so when reading the tempo for this movement and others alike make sure you understand what position the movement starts in order to complete the exercise with the correct tempo.

The Benefits of Tempo Training

Teaches Control Through the Movement

Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned athlete, one of the best ways to increase strength while avoiding injury is to consistently maintain proper movement mechanics. When rushing a movement such as a squat, you’re less likely to pay attention to several key points like properly hinging from the hips, midline stability, proper tracking of the knees, etc. Disregarding these key points looks a lot like crashing down with a rounded back, harsh flexion of the knees showing little to no control, and the infamous “butt wink.” Using a tempo prescription can help athletes slow down and feel each position from start to finish, while learning to replicate quality movement as the weight increases.

Addresses Positional Weaknesses

Completing reps without awareness and control makes it easy to hit a plateau due to lingering weaknesses. Have you ever had a hard time with a front squat? You may be able to complete the squat, but you can’t seem to maintain an upright position, or you lose the weight forward. Try to go heavier, and the problem magnifies. We can look at your mobility to try to get your elbows up higher, or check your ankle mobility, but when that doesn’t work how much more can you mobilize?

Assuming that you have good squat mechanics, chances are you have a weakness, possibly a lack of midline stability, causing complications getting in or out of positions like the bottom of the squat. Some top powerlifters highly advocate front squats with long pauses at both the bottom and the top. The purpose is to overload the positions you’re weakest or least comfortable in, while practicing proper bracing in your trunk in order to maintain an upright position and rigidity within the entire movement.

According to Travis Mash, a 7 second pause at the bottom, along with the 15 second pause at the top is a “life changing front squat routine.” It will light up your core and make you breathe harder than you have been as you work to stabilize under long periods of time under tension. Working up to a heavy single, doubles, or triples with some down sets for volume is a great way to increase your stability and leg strength in the front squat, hence not only increasing your squat numbers but also your cleans.

I have tried it myself, and in less than 3 months I brought my Front Squat (at the time) from a struggling 285lb with collapsing upper back to an easy 315lb front squat with good form.

Adds Training Variety

Being consistent and going through quality repetitions builds a stronger foundation to add upon. Once advancements are earned, variety starts to play an important role in training. The most common are tweaking the intensity or volume of your workout, and playing with sets and reps. While all of those are great, including varying tempos can make a huge contribution to your arsenal (whether it’s by increasing the eccentric portion for metabolic responses and hypertrophy, or power in explosive concentric contractions). The combinations in tempo are endless and can target the several areas of your specific sport or general strength needs.

TUT: Time Under Tension

Manipulating the “TUT” in an exercise changes the response your body will have. It is common in bodybuilding to increase the time spent in eccentric portion of the exercise, as it promotes lean muscle growth. Knowing how to manipulate tempo for specific responses and exercises are important as you shouldn’t always prescribe the same tempo to every athlete. For example, programming a Marathon runner with high eccentric time in their program can hinder their performance due to the possibility of unnecessary muscle mass gain they may not need for sustainability, just like leaving out explosive tempos for power athletes may slow them down.

Tempo prescriptions affects the reps/sets and rest time needed per exercise, hence why it shouldn’t be an afterthought. However, there are ways to incorrectly prescribe Tempo/Rep pairing.

An example I once learned was if the prescription is: Bicep Curl @30X0 x 18 reps

This wouldn’t make much sense, as the weight would have to be too light in order to complete that many reps, and will not give enough tension to cause the correct response. You may even lose control on the Concentric portion (X – Explode) as the weight would be so light. Dropping the reps to a lower number will give the athlete a better dose response as the load can now increase due to the lower reps required.

In order to get the proper dose response, you must put into consideration the total amount of time under tension within each set. Finding the total TUT is simply adding the amount of seconds in each part of the Tempo and multiplying it by the amount of reps per set.

Back Squat @ 3310 – 5 reps X 3 sets = 35 seconds of TUT per set

With this example we can see a few things:

1. It will be moderately heavy due to the amount of reps
2. Force the athlete to squat with control
3. Teach stabilization
4. Increasing raw strength/hypertrophy

Reduced Injury Risk

Controlling the movement and increasing quality of the reps alone can keep you away from injuries. Using tempo for novice athletes allows them to focus on technique, while also developing neuromuscular adaptations with safer weights. It’s much easier to put the ego aside, knowing you have to slow down or pause to follow the prescribed tempo and use less weight. Exercises accompanied by Tempo can also relieve stress on the joints due to the extra recruitment of muscle fibers as mentioned earlier. According to CJ Martin of CrossFit Invictus:

“Muscles are far better at adapting to increased loads. Connective tissue typically takes longer to strengthen and adapt to the increasing loads, so by slowing down the tempo you can give your connective tissue some rest while still strengthening the surrounding musculature.”

Measurable Progress

Using a consistent tempo is a great way to measure and retest progress. For example, if you are working up to a 5 rep max on a bench press with good control and a few weeks later you “PR” letting it crash down to your chest, and bouncing it off, was it a true PR? Did you really get stronger? Sure you can move the weight, but were you able to own that weight and move it with the same control and purpose you once did. In order to test something, it must be accurately measurable and repeatable. For example, we can use the same exercise, with different tempo, and it will vastly change the outcome of the movement.

A Bench Press @31X1 – 5 reps is a totally different experience than the same movement @1011- 5 reps, because as reviewed earlier, one has a total TUT of 30sec and the other is 15sec. We can see comparing these directly is not the ideal way to test for strength, as the movement is no longer the same. So while it’s great to vary your tempo for several stress responses, it is best to — at least occasionally — test using the same Tempo to assure validity within the movement and the progress made.

Note: Try not to cheat yourself and count your seconds quickly, even if that means having to go lighter in weight. Putting your ego aside as mentioned earlier and going a little lighter while moving within the prescribed tempo count will be just as hard, if not more challenging than using heavier weight.

As a coach, almost every movement in my clients’ programming has its own tempo for purposes to individualize the dose response of the given movement in order to help them recover from past injuries while increasing their strength to keep them from it. Or, it’s about just getting others bigger and stronger by attacking weaknesses or teach control in order to overcome plateaus. If you are unsure about how to incorporate tempos into your program, find a coach who can provide individualized programming and can use tempos specifically for your needs. Coaches who commonly use tempo movements in their programming include Charles Poliquin, James Fitzgerald, and CJ Martin, and their writing may be a good source of research for your own understanding.

Move with purpose!

Editors note: This article is an op-ed. The views expressed herein are the authors and don’t necessarily reflect the views of BarBend. Claims, assertions, opinions, and quotes have been sourced exclusively by the author.

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