A New Approach to Strongman Training for the General Population
By
Jason Nunn
In the past few years, Strongman training has become popular in many fitness
and sports performance facilities around the country. Strongman event training
has been shown to be very useful in improving functional strength as well as
general physical preparedness (GPP). According to well known strength coach, Dan
John, there are three ways to get stronger.
They are:
- Lift something heavy off the ground.
- Lift something heavy over your head.
- Carry something heavy for distance or time.
These three things aren’t only the essence of Strongmen—they should be the
template that any good strength training program is based around. Not only do
Strongman events have all of the above listed benefits, but they add an extra
degree of attitude to every workout. However, it is extremely important that the
trainer or coach be able to recognize that not every exercise will work for
every person. The number one priority for the practitioner should be injury
prevention, regardless of what the individual client’s goals are. If the client
is injured, he will be unable to train.
The purpose of this article is to discuss the benefits and contraindications
for training each of the selected events as well as some corrective strategies
that can be incorporated to prevent injury.
Tire flip
The tire flip is without a doubt one of the most widely trained Strongman
events. It requires you to explosively lift a tire resting on its side to the
upright position and flip it over. It essentially mimics the same triple
extension of the hips, knees, and ankles that you get from an Olympic lift.
Tires flip triple extension versus Olympic
triple extension. Note the similarities.
Now that we’ve covered the benefits, let’s look at the main contraindication.
The biggest problem people have with this lift is that it requires you to start
in a position many people can’t get into while maintaining a proper “lifters’
arch.” Instead of maintaining an arch in their lower back (anterior pelvic tilt)
when they set themselves up for the flip, their lower back will round and their
hips will have a posterior tilt.
Posterior tilt
In this position, the posterior ligaments of the lumbar spine are stretched.
This will cause pain and injury to the lower back if not corrected. In this
position, there is obviously something preventing the hip from flexing properly.
This question is, what? There are a couple of possibilities. One example is
tight hamstrings (including the adductor magnus) and lax hip flexors. So an easy
fix for this would be to foam roll and static stretch the adductor magnus and
hamstring muscles. Another possibility is acetabular impingement (AI). AI
basically amounts to a bony overgrowth of either the femoral head (ball) or the
acetabulum (socket). Either of these abnormal growths will prevent the lifter
from flexing the hip past ninety degrees. Unfortunately, the only fix for AI is
surgery. In any case, if the client presents the posterior tilt, it would not be
a wise idea for them to flip tires.
Farmer’s walk
The farmer’s walk is another Strongman event that is popular to use in the
general fitness setting. For this exercise, the client picks up one heavy
dumbbell-like implement in each hand and walks with them for a set distance or
time.
Farmer’s walk = man maker (or woman maker if you will)
The benefits of this exercise are tremendous. It will get your grip, upper
back, lats, and core stronger than you ever thought possible. It’s also a great
conditioning tool. I’m positive that a combination of chemotherapy and farmer’s
walks could cure cancer. This is a pretty safe exercise to implement with most
healthy individuals. However, the coach may want to watch the knees during the
initial pick up and the walk. Do they buckle in (valgus)?
If so, sometimes this can be corrected with some coaching. Just tell the
client to pull the floor apart with his feet as he stands with the weight. Other
times, it isn’t quite as simple. It may require a bit of IT band foam rolling
and glute activation work.
Overhead press
In Strongman, the overhead press can take many forms. It can be an axle, log,
dumbbell, or some sort of an odd object.
Axle press
As far as tests of strength go, I would have to say that picking something up
from the ground and pressing it over your head has to rank toward the top. It is
important to note that the overhead press places significant stress on the
rotator cuff and proximal tendon of the bicep. This isn’t a bad thing. However,
it can cause problems if the client doesn’t have proper shoulder function. In
today’s world, people sit in front of steering wheels and computer screens, and
we end up seeing a great deal of people with a protracted shoulder girdle and an
internally rotated humerus.
Is this what you look like all day?
The above mentioned posture will result in tight pectorals and internal
rotators. These are paired with lax rotator cuffs and external rotators. If you
take the above mentioned person and implement overhead pressing (or any pressing
for that matter), you’re asking for an injury. For this person, it would be
important to implement some scapular retraction and stabilization exercises like
face pulls and scapular push-ups before attempting an overhead press.
So, as you can see, it’s very important for the coach or trainer to make sure
the exercises fit the client’s abilities. That being said, these types of
exercises can make a fun addition to any trainer’s arsenal and do a great job of
keeping the excitement level high in the training session. They are great for
increasing work capacity and total body functional strength.
Jason Nunn is a performance coach and owner of Nunn’s Performance Training
in Indianapolis, Indiana. He works with a clientele that ranges from high school
and elite college level athletes to weekend warriors and soccer moms. He can be
reached at Jason_nunn@yahoo.com or
visit www.nunnstronger.com.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength
training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products
and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the
industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit
us at www.EliteFTS.com.
