The only qualifying contest in North America for Worlds Strongest Man took place and this is what happened.
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Category: Contest Writeups
America’s Strongest Man & Woman took place last weekend in Long Beach, CA Listen to our recap
The last league in the 2018 Arnold Pro Strongman Qualifiers has ended and after a string of heavy heavy shows that many athletes competed in all of them you could see it had taken its toll as almost every athlete seemed to be competing with a torn something or other but now that it is over the athletes have a few months to heal up for the big show this March in Columbus.
The final Giants live event of 2018 lived up to the hype with a stellar crowd in the Manchester arena featuring 11 athletes competing in 5 events with the winner being decided by just 10ths of a second in what is quickly becoming the best rivalry in Strongman between Mateusz Kieliszkowski and Martins Licis.
By Dan Hipkiss As I pulled into the car park of Northwood Stadium in Stoke on Trent, I realised today would be a challenge for everyone involved. It was raining sideways, and upwards at one point; but this is Strongman, and the show must go on.
Strong Talk Podcast Recap
The first event of the day was the U23 Junior World Championship, these are some big lads, and all of them have a long future ahead of them. One of the athletes, Martynas Brusokas, has competed at every U23 event and this year he finally got the win. A well deserved victory handled very professionally. Rain continued to pour all throughout the day, until the last second in typical fashion, it brightened up for the trophy presentation. Event one was the Husafell Stone carry, this was an event for distance, which really pushed the limits of determination and team work. The first athlete out took the stone off a block and carried until failure. Then the second athlete had to raise the stone from where it landed, whilst they could be helped by their team mate it really pushed the guys battling with the elements. Martins Licis and Trey Mitchell iii won this event with a dominant performance. The two man log followed, this was a real spectacle, and lead to some world records being set, broken and broken again. The key to this event is harmony and communication. Some teams who “should” have done well didn’t quite gel, but unsurprisingly all the brothers worked well together! Rauno Heinla and Mateusz Kieliszkowski lifted 360kg to set a new World record. Car deadlift for reps was next, this was without straps and a tag in-tag out situation with as many changes as needed/wanted. Pacing was a tactic that needed to be used; however, yet again the teams of brothers proved they could work together to do something special. The Hadge brothers and the Lalas brothers both got 31 reps, and both pairs looked like they had nothing left and yet somehow kept going. Unfortunately at this point, I lost track of who took this event win, as my coaching brain kicked in and people needed help! The hold for time followed, and it was at this point we realised how close everything had become with one point between 3&4 and one between 4&5. Phil Roberts and Tom Stoltman (bravehearts) came out and took the lead by about 8 seconds, then the Hadge’s came out and took the lead, then the bears came out and beat them by one second, then Martins and Trey came out and again dominated the event, showing a great drive a determination. Going into the final event, the Hadge’s and Bravehearts were tied for third, with the bears behind them again by one point. This was a “do or die” for the podium, Nick and Zach Hadge showed their trademark emotion before the event started, these guys are some of the most passionate and driven people I’ve ever seen, and if you’re feeling a bit down, spend 5 minutes talking to them and you’ll feel a million dollars! Phil Roberts and Tom Stoltman walked into the arena like they had a point to prove, quiet, composed and ready to do whatever it takes. Phil and Tom stormed through the event, making no mistakes, helping each other and being efficient, this time it was enough to secure third. In the end, the Lalas brothers had done enough to secure the win Vytautas had promised last year, with Martins and Trey completing the podium in second. Finally a mention about the weather, records and the athletes, I have seen a lot of opinions voiced online about how little Ultimate and Glenn Ross must care about athletes and the sport. All athletes have the option not to compete, the rubber matting that was used was incredibly grippy with people stumbling rather than slipping, Tom went out to attempt the stone knowing the conditions would make it difficult but felt he owed it to the fans to give it 100%, and Big Z has been a high level strength athlete for 25 years, he had the option not to go for the record, but made a decision to try, no one is forced into anything. And suggestions about not caring for fans is ridiculous, as the council gave some cars parking tickets which has lead to anyone with a ticket being offered a pair of ultimate tickets for any event, and a hint that the event will move next year. Again, thanks to all the athletes, fans, Glenn Ross and everyone at the Ultimate Strongman team, and Sarah for being the only person that can get a room full of strongman to behave!
FINAL RESULTS
- Vytautas and Marius lalas
- Martins Licis & Trey Mitchell
- Phil Roberts & Tom Stoltman
- Nick and Zach Hadge
Dan Hipkiss, 27, currently about to move to Sheffield (England) to start University at Sheffield Hallam to study Sports and Exercise Technology, coaching under the name StrengthX where the biggest athlete I support is Paul Smith. Like many people I started out with crossfit, then found Olympic weightlifting, which led onto strongman (through meeting Paul) which has since lead to Powerlifting. Become a supporting member for exclusive content and features Sign up For Strongman Coaching or our Training Templates at just $15 per month Visit our Shop for all your Strongman needs Download a Free 12 Week Strongman Program Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube & Pinterest
The Log Lift World Championships are a week away, and we are seeing a lot of the athletes hitting their last heavy sets. There has been a lot of talk on who will break the world record, and with a big cash bonus for whoever does, the athletes are giving it their all. Let’s look at who is most likely to hit some big log presses, and possibly break the world record.
By Christina Bangma
I can tell you how much time and effort went into getting there. I can tell you how hard or easy each
event was. The truth is, you already know that I won.
I will tell you something that maybe not every competitor will. Winning an event doesn’t always
get you the win for the whole competition. Some of you may have looked at the point spread in each
division to see where everyone placed, and you might notice I wasn’t always on top of the list. I have
learned through much trial and error that being consistent is way more important than winning an
event. Although winning isn’t a bad thing.
I’ve spent a lot more time strategizing my events and working through weak points, than I have going
crazy all out, balls to the wall on event days. I have cried about things, feeling like shit for the past 5
weeks. I was mentally and physically exhausted from Strongman corporation nationals. However, when
something didn’t feel right, I still spent the time working that specific aspect of the event until I had a
plan of attack.
Going into World’s Strongest Woman, I was sure that this wasn’t going to be my best weekend of
competition.
I do not have the mindset of a winner. Why? Because I know that things can go terribly wrong or
fantastically right. Expecting to win would make losing so painful. Instead, you can call me a preparer.
I’m the person that every hard ass Strongman competitor makes fun of for asking too many specific
questions. For running every event with a different scenario. I don’t want to be surprised, or if something
changes I have the strategizing powers to overcome it.
I am somewhat backtracking to the beginning of this process. My goals are set in stages, and I don’t
really look past the challenge at hand until I have conquered the one in front of me. First, I wondered if I
was good enough to get an invite to WSW. Then it came. Secondly, the goal was to make it day 2. I also
mentioned that I would love a top 5 finish. When the day came, and I went into Day 2 tied for 1 st place,
the goal changed. Winning is possible.
I am so lucky to have an event like stones as the last event in most competitions. Stones are by far my
favorite event, but also my best event. Being the only Lightweight to load the 250 stone solidified the
WIN.
The Best analogy I can come up with, is that I compete like a diesel truck. I start off kind of rough and
without much energy, but as the day goes on I run a lot smoother and things almost seem to be on fire.
I had so many people tell me that they knew I was going to win this competition. The funny part is that
no one out right told me that, until after it was over and I had actually won. These people know me. They
knew what I needed to hear before the competition. Telling me they thought I was going to win wasn’t
going to help me. Instead, they encouraged me, they fought with me and they helped me stay
grounded. They listened to me cry and freak out about events I had barely touched. I really appreciate
everyone who took time to talk to me, pray for me or yell at me. I won’t forget the role you played in
this.
Now I have new goals.
Arnold 2018 HERE I COME.
Christina Bangma is a Pro Lightweight Strongwoman and the 2017 Lightweight (U64kg) Worlds Strongest Woman she is sponsored by Cerberus Strength  & Gainz Meal Prep .Follow Christina’s training on Instagram @EatCakeLiftHeavy
GOING FOR BROKE IN LAS VEGAS
By Melissa Edwards
I want to first start out by saying I am neither an accomplished writer nor one to “toot my own horn.” I tend to like to fly under the radar and spend most of my life trying to be inconspicuous, however being 5 foot 10 blonde with some muscle tends to be an exercise in futility.
2017 North American Strongman Championship was only my third Strongman Corporation competition. Being fairly new to the sport (started training in July 2016) I went into this event green, unassuming and hungry, with what little knowledge I had of Nationals coming from my coach Linden Reed and her experiences. I had no set plan of how to approach things; we had a few major goals in mind after my recent performances, 1. Have fun 2. Get more experience under my belt 3. GO FOR BROKE and leave everything in Las Vegas.
I suffered two strokes in 2012 and 2013, and as a result had to learn to walk and talk all over again, that coupled with being surrounded by such accomplished and experienced Heavy Weight Women; I felt that I needed to prove that I belonged at Nationals this year. I set high standards for myself and tend push myself and as you can imagine, riddled me with some anxiety and left me in an uncertain head space heading into the competition.
Categories
Strength Isn’t Just Physical
By Jane Battenfield
This weekend I had the opportunity of meeting and competing with some amazing people who also happen to fall into the definition of strong. 260 athletes from across America gathered in Las Vegas for the Strongman Corporation National Championships.
What does it take to get here? Each of these athletes placed top first, second or third (depending on the show) in their division. Some athletes have had invites since last October, some getting an invite a month ago and committing to Nationals this year.
By Cara Brennan
Last year, at my second National showing, I had a bad time. In retrospect, this is unsurprising – I was under enormous stress at the time for personal reasons, and my head was really not in a place to orchestrate a successful performance. I really wanted to do well, but I successfully crushed myself under incredibly daunting expectations. I learned a lot from those failures, and they helped me formulate a new way of experiencing my training growth, goal setting, and expectation management. This year, I would meet my overall goal, Arnold qualifying, because it would be a natural byproduct of letting myself perform well – this Nationals was about letting myself out to play, and to find out who my training made me. If I could do that, the Arnold bid would be mine. Last year I was stuck in my head. This year I would get in my body, and let her run the show.