How do I prepare for strongman without implements?

How do I train for strongman when I don't have access to implements?

This is a common question many people have when they first get into the sport. They work out in Gold's or on campus or somewhere that might have a great set up but lacks stones, yokes, logs, axles, farmers and the rest. You can still get strong and you can still compete even though you're at a clear disadvantage.

First, I need to tell you that the disadvantage is real without the equipment to practice on. Doing yoke or stones is really only like doing yoke or stones. Making up a new exercise or rigging up something in your gym to mimic these lifts will only get you good at the lifts you made up. So, stop wasting your time and just use the gym tools around you to get stronger.

The best thing to do is find someone with the equipment to train on. Go work with them even if it's one weekend a month. You could also just compete and figure things out on the fly and hope that after several contests you will get much better. The latter is a little risky but you will meet more people you can train with and hopefully you're not an asshole and people will let you train with them.

As far as what to do in your gym, here are my suggestions. And let me just add that I have the average trainee in mind, one who has little experience in competition and has really only lifted in a generally traditional environment. For example, if you have experience with Olympic lifting (not doing a bunch of snatches with 95 pounds but can move some serious weight) your path to strongman will be different, but that is a different article. Back to my suggestions:

Press a lot. You need to have a big overhead press because this is coming at least once in every contest. You can keep the strict overhead presses in for shoulder strength and development but you need to be able to jerk or push press. If you haven't done those, take this time to figure them out.  You can do these out of the rack or clean the bar from the floor. You can also get some fat gripz which everyone probably has by now and make your bar more like an axle.

Now that you will be overhead pressing a lot, you need to still find the time for the bench press. Either bench press, incline press, or floor press will work but you need the work for your upper body strength, especially for your triceps. Dips are good too.

With all this pressing you need some balance so don't forget to hit rear delts with flyes or face pulls. You also need to work those lats and if you don't do barbell or dumbbell rows you're missing out. These are absolutely essential to having a strong back. With all the things you have to pick up in strongman from stones to kegs to sandbags a strong back is critical.

What is also essential for your back? Deadlifts. You will see all kinds of deadlifts in strongman and you need to be good at all of them since there will usually be some kind of deadlift event in every competition as well. You need to do these heavy from the floor and from 18" but not neglect to work some other heights and angles. 

Deadlifts are also going to be good for your grip. Without events, you can probably handle more grip work in your training. Start with reverse curls, hammer curls and wrist curls, then add wrist roller, plate pinches, hub lifts, thick handle lifts, grippers, whatever you can pick up and hold.

And if you're so strong you're ready to test your mettle you are probably already squatting. Back squats are great, but so are front squats. Without implements you will need both. When you do get to use more implements you will likely do more front squatting. Front squats not only save your back for events but they are front loaded as are most events. 

Building muscle is also important. You need muscle to move weight. Leg presses, leg extensions, leg curls, straight leg deads, lunges, calf raises, ab wheel, sit-ups, curls, delt raises, dips, pull-ups, etc. you will need muscle so don't leave all these to the bodybuilders.

And finally you need conditioning. Plan on at least two days. If you have no sled or prowler, you're running hills. If you have a battling rope, use it. Preferably you can put sprints the day after legs and rope the day after pressing. 

So, a sample week would look like this:

Monday

Push press from rack working up to 3RM, then -50# and max reps

Seated db press

Dips

Pull-ups

Rear delts

Curls

Reverse curls

Wrist roller 

Tuesday

Battling rope 12 rounds 20 sec on/40 sec off or concept rower 15 min 20 sec hard/40 sec cruise

Wednesday

Box jumps

Front squat

Leg press

Leg extension

Leg curl

Seated calf raise

Ab wheel 

Friday

18" deadlift

Stiff leg deadlift

Bb rows

Bench press

Pressdowns

Plate pinches

Saturday

Hill sprints

I should also mention you need to not neglect your mobility and flexibility. Stretch. Make sure you have good range of motion and that right to left you are not cockeyed. You might need some unilateral work in that case.

If you have questions about why I chose some of the exercises above in particular or about planning out your own training, get in touch. 

Cheap Meal Preparation for Lifters

Eating for the serious lifter doesn't have to be overly expensive or consume all your free time. I see far too many people fuck up their meals by eating out too much (low quality food for the most part) or just not eating enough. Even if you are on a budget and don't have a lot of time, you should look for solutions instead of excuses.

I am not a nutritionist but I have followed near every damn diet under the sun. Yet I keep coming back to a basic bodybuilder type diet high in carbs and protein with only the essential fats. I can prepare all my meals for the week on Sunday and I can do it rather cheaply which is important since I live in Manhattan and my wife and I have a baby.  I don't shop at Whole Foods but I do well at the Spanish grocery store on my block.

Here is what I purchased at the store (for me) and it cost $80.

2 packs chicken breast. Each pack had 4 breasts. I had to split them myself and I peeled the skin off before I cooked them. This will be the protein base for 8 meals.

3 packs lean ground turkey. These will be the base for about 6 meals.

1 grass fed steak. Good for about 2 meals.

1 bag jasmine rice.

5 sweet potatoes.

1 jar natural peanut butter.

1 large container of oats.

6 cans tuna.

1 loaf pumpernickel. 

3 dozen cage free eggs.

1 bunch fresh kale 

1 container spinach leaves 

2 packs frozen broccoli crowns

That's right. That's not that expensive if you break it down to a six day work week and see that I spend less than $15 a day. 

I cook everything on Sunday and fill up about 15 containers for the week. I hardboil the eggs and put them back in their cartons. When I leave in the morning I scoop my oats into another Tupperware, sprinkle some stevia and cinnamon inside and hit the road. So, Monday might look like this:

wake up: 1 liter water, 2 scoops protein, fiber, greens

Breakfast: 3 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, 1 cup oats

Meal 3: 1 chicken breast, rice with kale

Meal 4 and 5: same

Meal 6: protein, peanut butter

This diet has been my base in helping me go from 210 to 240. I bust my ass in the gym and do cardio 2-4 times a week depending on how close I am to a strongman competition and what my big lifts look like for the week. I bring a gallon of water to work with me and drink it before I go home.

I will have the beef meals after my workouts on Wednesday and Friday. I will eat the tuna sandwiches on Tuesday and Thursday when I come home early. I drink fish oil from the bottle when I wake up and when I get home. There are lot of other little things I can mention but those are minutiae and can be expounded on later. The big picture point is that someone with a busy schedule and a child can manage their food expenses, whether bulking or cutting, and prepare all their meals in a relatively short amount of time and for relatively little money.

Since I brought up the bulk/cut dichotomy, this same diet can be applied for losing weight. I would just cut carbs in half for meal 4 and drop them from meal 5 and make sure I eat an extra serving of broccoli or spinach. After my weight loss plateaus I would cut back my protein portions a bit and ditch the peanut butter at night. 

Let me reiterate my main point, it's all very simple and doesn't need to be a pricey or extremely time consuming endeavor. If you want to get big, eat a lot. Eat a lot of protein, carbs and fat. If you tend to get fatter like me, limit yourself to carbs or fat. When you want to trim, start cutting the energy sources slightly or just decrease all of your portions proportionately. The bottom line is to just make it work.

New to Strongman and Pressing is not your Forte?

If you want to compete in strongman and your press is a liability, here are 10 points for you to think about in your training:

1. A big lift is not going to happen overnight. It can take years of work to make it happen.

2. If you are working your press or any other weak lift with increased frequency and volume make sure to stay on top of your mobility and flexibility. 

3. If you have bad leg drive, try front squats and thrusters. If you have good leg drive and compete in strongman, you should still do front squats.

4. Rotate the implements so you always keep your technique fresh and you avoid overuse injuries by not repeating the exact same thing every week.

6. Gain a little weight or drink some creatine before you lift. Increase surface area of the muscle and increase force production.

7. If a contest is coming up and you are expected to rep out with your max, don't try to press your max every week. Set the weights a little lower, get some reps and get stronger. You're not winning that event but you don't want to bomb it because you trained like an idiot.

7b. Here is sample scenario: If you have to clean and press every rep for a minute, work on speed from 8 to 5 weeks out. Do this after your rep sets and use the same weight. Try to get 3 reps as fast as possible and beat your time with more weight each week with progressively heavier weights.

Then weeks 4-1: drop the speed work and clean and press for a minute. Drop the weights down a bit and work back up to contest weight or above. Remember this is advice for someone that is not particularly good at this event. Strong pressers you do this differently.

8. Don't forget assistance work: floor press, incline press, bench press, deltoid raises, military press, Savickas press, triceps work. Note your progress on these and guage if they help your event pressing.

9. Again work on your mobility and flexibility and be vigilant about imbalances. 

10. If you really suck, research oly lifting drills and learn to jerk the weight. To start, pick 3 drills that work for you and do the shit out of them until you begin to perform them in your lifts. 

What Program Should I Do?

Recently I have been asked by several different people in several unrelated settings if they should do 5x5 or 5-3-1. I told them to do neither. I understand these programs serve a purpose in giving someone a means to progress on basic movements.  I understand they are easy to follow for someone who is new to lifting. It should go without saying, however, that the best programs are individualized and prioritize the trainee's or athlete's weaknesses. This is the basic idea behind exercise choice in a Westside template and the reason why the more serious lifter will often graduate from 5-3-1 to something like Westside. But I'm already digressing...

To return to the question, I want to think about the one asking the question. There are some common traits among the people who ask what program they should do. They are usually younger and inexperienced lifters who lack both size and strength. This leads me, perhaps even unfairly, to some circular, vicious circle of reasoning in that they not only do 5x5 and 5-3-1 because they want to get bigger and stronger, but they are also slight and feeble because they do 5x5 and 5-3-1.

I should add, at the risk of weakening my argument, that I have seen people make gains on 5-3-1 but these guys used the Boring But Big template and did 5 sets of 10 reps for their squats, deadlifts and presses. Other guys I have seen go crazy on other lifts because they said the 5-3-1 format doesn't give them enough volume.

Volume is the key word here. It is the volume that will pack on size and strength and that is why I will list below the training routines of some of the world's strongest and largest men who happen to have a high volume, high frequency approach to training. So, if your training is not geared towards a specific weakness but the fact that you are weak all around and lack the muscle to move bigger weights, soak up the following routines and look for the common traits.


Bill Kazmaier



Monday
Bench (heavy) warm up, then 4 sets x 10 reps
Wide Grip Bench 3 sets x 10 reps
Narrow Grip Bench 3 sets x 10 reps
Front Delt Raise 4 sets x 8 reps
Dumbell Seated Press 4 sets x 10 reps
Side Delt Raise 4 sets x 10 reps
Lying Tricep Push (after 2 warm up sets) 6 sets x 10 reps
Tricep Push Down 4 sets x 10 reps

Tuesday
Squat (heavy) warm up, then 4 sets x 10 reps
Deadlift (light) warm up, then 3 sets x 10 reps
Shrugs 2 sets x 15-40 reps, 1 set x 10-20 reps
Seated Hammer Curls 4 sets x 12 reps
Standing Curl 4 sets x 10 reps
Close Grip Chin Ups 3 sets x max on each set
Seated Row 4 sets x 10 reps
Leg Extensions 3 sets x 10 reps
Leg Curl 3 sets x 10 reps
Calf Raise 3 sets x 15-25 reps

Thursday
Bench (light) warm up, then 3 sets x 10 reps
Wide Grip Bench 3 sets x 10 reps
Narrow Grip Bench 3 sets x 10 reps
Dumbell Seated Press (heavy) warm up, then 4 sets x 8 reps
Front Delt Raise 4 sets x 10 reps
Tennis Backhand Cable Extensions 4 sets x 10 reps
Prone Tricep Extension 4 sets x 10 reps

Saturday
Deadlift (heavy) warm up, then 4 sets x 8 reps
Squat (light) warm up, then 4 sets x10 reps
Shrugs (heavy) 4 sets x 10-15 reps
Seated Hammer Curl 4 sets x 8 reps
Concentration Curl 4 sets x 12 reps
One Arm Row – 3 positions 3 sets x 10 reps
Wide Grip Pull (down to chest) 4 sets x 10 reps
Leg Extensions 3 sets x 10 reps
Leg Curl 3 sets x 10 reps
Calf Raise 3 sets x 15-25 reps
(Ab Work When Possible)

Jon Pall Sigmarsson



Monday
Squat (5-6 reps)
Bench Press (5-6 reps)
Leg work
Chest/Tri work

Tuesday
Deadlift (5-6 reps),
Back/Bicep work

Wednesday
Clean and Press (5-6 reps)
Push Jerks (triples)
Shoulder work

Thursday
Olympic Squat (7-10 reps)
Bench Press (7-10 reps)
Leg work
Chest/Tri work

Friday
Sumo Deadlift (triples)
Back/Bicep work

In summer
Running, grip and stone lift added, singles in deadlift and clean and press.

Magnus ver Magnusson



Monday
Military Press
Bench Press
Chest work
Shoulder work
Triceps work

Tuesday
Bent Over Rows
High Pulls
Back work
Bicep work

Wednesday
Squat (one week powerlifting, next week Oly style)
Step-ups (10 per leg), then Leg Presses for one minute
Stiff Legged Deadlift (double overhand grip-no straps)
Leg work

Thursday
Bench Press
Press Behind Neck
Chest work
Shoulder work
Triceps work

Friday
Partial Deadlift
Hammer Curls
Back work
Bicep work 

Mostly 5-8 reps, before comp brings deadlifts in and goes to 10 reps on squats and 3-5 reps on military and bench. Every exercise done very strict.

Mariusz Pudzianowski



Monday

Morning Training Session
 Back Squat:
Warm-up – 8 sets, pyramiding from 60 to 160kg
Work sets – pyramiding from 160 to 280kg, reps going from 6 down to 2
Mariusz performs his squats olympic-style, he uses knee wraps and a belt.
 Leg Curl, 6 sets of 20 reps
 Leg Extension, 6 sets of 20 reps
 Pull Up, 6 sets of 15 reps
 Chin Up, 6 sets of 10 reps 
Behind-the-neck Pulldowns, 4 sets of 15 reps
 Barbell Rows, 4 sets of 15 reps 
Abs
6 sets of 30 reps exercises used (haging leg raise, bends, various)

Afternoon Training Session
 Sandbag Carry (130kg on back) 3 times 170 meters
 Conan’s Wheel (290kg) 3 times 2.5 revolutions
 Tire Flip 3 sets of 10 flips

Tuesday

Morning Training Session
 Front Squats, work up to 250
 Calf Work, 6 sets of 15 reps
 Standing Military Press, Warm-up sets – 7 sets of 60 to 100kg
Work sets – 6 sets pyramiding up from 110, 120, 130, 140kg for 5-4 reps
 Deadlifts, Warm-up sets – 6 with 200kg
Work sets – work up to 300kg
 Good Mornings, 8 sets with 100kg

Afternoon Session
 Bushman’s Walk, 300 kg 3 x 15 meters
 Presses with Machine Used in Competition, 3 sets of 10 reps with 120kg
 Parallel Crucifix, Hold 40kg weights for 30 seconds

Wednesday
 Morning Training Session
 Bench Press, Warm-up sets – work up to 180kg in 8 sets
Work sets – work up from 150kg to 220kg, going from 8 down to 2 reps
 Barbell Extensions, work up to 80kg
 Standing French Press

Afternoon Training Session
 Same as Monday but add power stairs and parallel stairs 
Same as Monday but add power stairs and parallel stairs

 And here is the routine of a bodybuilder who was big and strong, Sergio Oliva



Monday 
Bench Press supersetted with Chinning Bar.
Set 1. Bench Press 200 x 8, 15 reps on chinning bar
Set 2. Bench Press 220 x 8, 15 reps on chinning bar
Set 3. Bench Press 260 x 8, 10 reps on chinning bar
Set 4. Bench Press 300 x 8, 10 reps on chinning bar
Set 5. Bench Press 320 x 8, 8 reps on chinning bar
Set 6. Bench Press 350 x 8, 8 reps on chinning bar
Set 7. Bench Press 380 x 8, 5 reps on chinning bar

DB Flyes supersetted with Dips. 
5 sets of 15 reps with 80 pound dumbbells, supersetted with dipping. The set, rep and weight scheme for dipping was not provided by Sergio Oliva.

Tuesday

Shoulder Press. 5 sets, 15 reps with 200 pounds
Extending Heavy Curls. 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds
French Curls. 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds
Scott (Curls) Bench. 5 sets, 10 reps, 150 pounds
Scott (Curls) Bench with Dumbbells. 5 sets, 5 reps, 60 pound dumbbell
Sitting Down Triceps. 5 sets, 5 reps with 60 pound dumbbell, supersetted with Tricep Press Downs

Wednesday
 Situps. 10 sets, 50 reps
Leg Raises. 5 sets, 20 reps
Side Bends with Bar Behind Neck. 5 sets, 200 reps
Squats. 300 x 5, 400 x 5, 440 x 5, 470 x 5, 500 x 4
Standing Heel Raises. 10 sets, 8 reps, 300 pounds

Thursday
 Bench Press. 200 x 5, 220 x 5, 260 x 5, 300 x 5, 320 x 5, 350 x 5, 380 x 5
Press Behind Neck. 5 sets, 5 reps, 250 pounds, supersetted with Rowing Machine, 200 pounds
Sitting Press with Dumbbells. 80 pound dumbbells. No set and rep scheme provided
Dipping Bar. 5 sets, 8 reps with no weight

Friday
 Press. 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds
Extending Heavy Curls. 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds
French Curls. 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds
Scott Bench for Triceps. 3 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds
Scott Bench for Triceps with Dumbbell. 3 sets, 5 reps, 50 pound dumbbell, supersetted with Tricep Press Downs.
Chinning Behind Neck. 5 sets, 5 reps
Chinning Bar with Closed Hands. 5 sets, 5 reps, supersetted with Tricep Machine Pull Downs

Saturday
Situps. 5 sets, 10 reps
Leg Raises. 5 sets, 10 reps
Side Bends with Bar Behind Neck. 5 sets, 50 reps
Squats. 3 sets, 3 reps with 300 pounds. 2 sets, 3 reps with 400 pounds. 3 sets, 20 reps with 250 pounds.
Front Squats. 5 sets, 10 reps, 200 pounds
Sitting Heel Raises. 5 sets, 5 reps, 200 pounds

And hopefully you get the picture. The constant here is volume. You can go back and look at the routines of other strongman like Derek Poundstone, Zydrunas Savickas and Brian Shaw and you will that these guys train alot. These men use lots of reps and lots of sets and lots of frequency to build size and strength. They also use lower rep sets of 2-5 to build strength so don't think the two are mutually exclusive in your training. 

So, to answer the question, what kind of problem should you follow? Peruse the templates of the best and look for what the common denominators are:

1. High volume. This can be high frequency, high set counts, high reps in some combination.

2. Heavy. Try working up to a heavy set then backing off and working your reps in the classic pyramid scheme. Derek Poundstone also says this will activate more muscle getting you bigger and stronger. 

3. Weaknesses. Don't forget to be well rounded so you can avoid injury or being that guy who benches more than he squats. Also, if you have goals slightly more specific than simply getting bigger and stronger in general, then you need to pull out your thinking cap and be more judicious in your exercise choices and plan the different modalities of your training.

I found the programs above on a site called workoutsoflegends.com. I believe I have seen these in other places online as well. 

Happy Birthday Pops

My earliest memories of my father were of him in the garage tinkering with auto parts, building and taking things apart with one of the many tools that lined his work bench. And lifting weights. He had a power rack and a Sears bench, Weider plates, a couple of bars. He ate whatever my mom cooked and claims that his favorite post workout meal was pizza and beer. The weights clearly resonated with me the most as weight training is a large part of my personal and professional life.

He took me to the gym for the first time when I was 14, which was 23 years ago. It was for football, but to also help me avoid getting my ass kicked anymore at school. The program he chose for me was the novice routine from Johnny Parker's book on training football players.



I followed that program for about a year until I started reading Flex and Muscular Development and copying the programs of the top bodybuilders, which is something I see almost as rite of passage for the young trainee.

With reading and following the programs of top bodybuilders I decided I also needed to take supplements. I remember asking my dad to bring me some protein powder and he said he would pick some up on his way home from work. I was so excited until he arrived with a normal grocery bag. They did not sell protein powder at the supermarket, or so I thought. He pulled out a box nonfat dry milk powder and handed it to me. I didn't say anything. He said, there's your extra protein. Mix it with milk or water, doesn't matter.

Twenty-three years later I know it doesn't really matter what powder I take or what program I follow. I don't know for how long I used my milk powder but I eventually focused on eating the right way and that lesson still serves me well today. I don't need to follow a football program or a bodybuilding program so long as I train consistently enough that the imprint of my training will be there when my son reflects on me.

Thank you dad. Happy Birthday.