Strongman drills

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TweetSandbag bent over rows

Once you start using a sandbag the grip factor is largely involved.

We use a variety of shapes and sizes for sandbags, this makes the stimulus ever changing and much better.

The bent over row focuses on the pulling muscles - back, shoulders, biceps

but this position also works the hamstrings and lower back as you stabalize the position

Notice the uneven gripping required to perform the movement. This is what you want. So when someone says it's hard to use the sandbag, this is the exact reason.

We don't want the movement to be easy, it should be mentally and physically challenging. This is why strongman and odd object lifts is so beneficial.

The athlete or lifter can either give up or fight and make it work.

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TweetBeyond the Range (BTR) - Stone Lifting

Category:
SE

Muscles Targeted:
Posterior Chain (Hamstrings, Glutes, Erectors) , Upper Back, Pectorals, Grip

Exercise Description:
Sumo stance, box height approximately 9", crush grip the stone (could be atlas stone or natural rock) and flex glutes and upper back hard and extend hips and knees to bring stone to a chested position. Lower under control and repeat

Sets/Reps:
3x3, 4x6, 5x5

Benefits:
Application of Powerlifting technique to a Strongman implement.

Great tool for all athletes as it builds strength in an increased Range of Motion (ROM). Builds a massive back, lumbar stability and explosive hips.

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TweetCurls using Sandbag and Thick Rope

This movement is not just for biceps. This is going to hammer your grip, work the upper back and shoulders and some legs and abs even.

The sandbag used is called a "Sea Bag" and can be found at army navy stores or possibly in Ferruggia's closet for some odd reason.

Definitely put some body into these on the way up, on the way down you should be lowering with good posture though.

Please don't bring this stuff to your local Bally's and blame us for your insanity. We're only here to help

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TweetFarmers Walk

Farmers Walk

Category: Conditioning and Strongman

On the pick-up keep your back tight with a good arch. Flex the wrists and sink the middle of the handle into the meaty part of your hands (below the callus line toward the palms) and squeeze. As you stand let the shoulders hang; do not flex the traps.

Start moving forward with quick short steps leaning forward slightly. As in a sprint let your stride length open naturally as you build momentum. Keep your eyes on the ground about ten feet in front of you.

As you approach the turn, slow slightly, and turn under control. (Whether you choose a wide or narrow turn will depned on your comfort level and trial and error; I prefer a narrow turn.) Once you come out of the turn let the momentum carry you until the apparatus evens out (the outside implement has a tendency to turn across your body.) Once the apparatus steadies pick up your pace
again letting your stride open naturally.

If you must set the apparatus down, do so under control or the implement will get away from you and make the re-pick difficult.

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TweetFarmers Walk Without Farmers

When we first started competing in strongman contests I had no equipment - so we had to be innovative with our training and utilize what we had available.

Here is the setup we used to create farmers implements. We also used heavy dumbbells, but as you know the distribution of weight is completely different with farmers implements than with dumbbells.

Equipment needed:

Olympics Weights
Seated Row Bar
EZ Curl Bar
2 - Collars

Now you have no excuses! Get out there and start moving...

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TweetFront raise with sandbag

This is certainly not a standby in my workouts, but my one buddy always finds a way to turn an odd object tool into a bodybuilding tool.

I'll catch him using kettlebells for side laterals, you know, crazy sh*t like that which never makes sense.

Anyway, I threw these in one day with heavier weights, added some body momentum and there ya go, I no longer have an isolation movement and can train heavy.

You can turn this movement into a full range swing where the bag goes all the way overhead and you squat down slightly allowing the bag to pass through the legs.

Now, we have a sandbag swing!

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TweetKeg Bearhug Squat

This movement forces the back into a rounded position, but, the entire back is working here as opposed to when we see someone round the back due to weak muscles or not activating the back muscles during a lift.

I prefer the athlete to grab the keg slightly below the mid line to extend the range of motion slightly.

To begin, they will tilt the keg forward and bear hug the keg, once they have a secure grasp, they squat up explosively.

Reps can begin from the ground on each rep, or, go down until the keg almost touches the ground.

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TweetKeg Shoulder Squat

The water in the keg will be pushing you all around making your body work extra to stabalize in one spot.

We perform these to add some extra load to one side of the body, similar to athletics where there is rarely, if ever, equal load on both sides of the body.

It's also a simple tool for variety.

Perform equal reps on both sides, and if you want to add more work to the lift, turn this into a shoulder - squat combo where you shoulder the keg up on every rep.

That will work you big time.

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TweetKeg shouldering

Start with the keg on the ground. Squat down in a good squat position. Wrap your arms around the keg. Be sure to squat the keg up with good form. Once you have stood up completely, heave the keg onto your shoulder. From here, you can do a variety of strongman drills, like walking, lunging, squatting, etc.

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TweetKeg Shoveling

We call this keg shoveling b/c we explode the keg over our shoulder as if we were shoveling, those of you in the colder states know what this looks like

This is great for developing rotational strength and full body strength.

It's a full body movement, starting each rep from the ground or from just above the ground.

Alternate shoulders on every rep.

You can use a mini keg or a regular sized keg depending on your individual strength level as well as the weight of the keg.

The smaller keg is great for younger athletes and the size also allows for easier maneuvering over the shoulder.

Every week add a few lbs/ of water until the keg is filled up, or, add a few lbs each time the movement becomes too easy for the athlete.

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Tweetkeg triceps ext.

This is a simple tricep exercise but made harder by using the keg. This can really put some emphasis on the grip, hands, wrists and forearms.

Lying flat on a bench, perform this exercise like a typical skullcrusher. Be sure to keep the wrists locked. Lower the keg toward your forehead then extend back to the top. Again, it's a pretty simple exercise made harder by using strongman equipment.

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TweetKeg Zercher Squat

Another great strongman exercise using the keg!

Place the keg in the crook of your elbows. Perform a squat as normal. With the weight of the keg out in front of you, it's going to want to pull you forward. So be sure to keep your shoulders back and back arched.

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TweetLog Press

When the World's Strongest Man competitions became popular in the U.S., you could literally feel and see the Pendulum of Training move from swiss balls and wobble boards to large tires, sleds and logs.

Of course, there is always some knucklehead that believes in this stuff a little too much and thinks that all you need is to flip a tire, carry a stone carving of Africa and press a log. Of course, he'll give you some random study with people named Bordoziaski and the always informative Et.al, who seems to always have his (or her?) hands in something.

Anyway, with this revolution (lifting heavy things...smell the sacrasm) also includes the log, which is a long, cylindrical piece of equipment that makes it easier to adjust weights and pick up and press. Sounds familiar.

Anyway, the log has two parallel grip handles that allow your palms to face each other when pressing. For many people, this eases the stress on the shoulders when doing any kind of pressing motion, especially on the overhead press.

You can perform the military press with the log in 2 ways; clean it to your shoulders or place the log on the safety pins in the power rack and get under it.

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TweetSandbag front squat

This is an excellent movement for the legs AND upper body. The weight sits on your hands as if you were about to perform a military press with palms up.

Your elbows stay in tight and the front squat position forces you to stay upright or the bag will fall and / or pull you forward.

I emphasize elbows in so you can squat LOW and work your glutes and hams aggresively.

You can also turn this into a thurster which is a front squat - military press combo, an awesome movement for conditioning and GPP.

The beauty behind sandbag lifts is EVERY rep starts from the ground. So, this means you are performing a power rep on every 1st rep as you rip the bag with high speed off the ground, or, you end up wrestling the awkward bag to situate the bag into its position, which is another benefit since wrestling works so many muscles that don't get worked when you traditionally just pick a weight up off the ground.

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TweetStone lifting without stones

Category:
Strongman Training

Muscles Targeted:
Heavy Posterior Chain, Pectorals, Upper Back, Biceps

Explanation:
In the gym, you know that one bar where the end collar is always loose? Take the collar off and load it up. Works great with bumpers or steel weights. Secure it with a clamp and you're ready to go.

1. Stand over the bundle, spliting the weight in half with your feet to find the Center of Gravity.
2. Reach down and grab the weight with a huge upper pectoral contraction, squeeze your hips and engage.
3. As the weight starts to come up, you can receive it in a front lapped position and extend OR take it from the ground all the way up into triple extension

Check out this quick video:


https://asp.elitefts.com/VIDEOS/nostones.wmv