Photo Credit: Luis Munoz LMPhotography
Current total: 830.5 at 132 lb BW - Florida State and National Record Holder in Junior and Open Women's Raw division
This past weekend I competed in the North American Strongman competition in Davenport, Iowa. It has been about 5-6 months that I've been training for this competition and it could not have gone any better. 11th place out of 30 girls in my division is not too shabby for my first time in Nationals. Some, if not most, have competed in Nationals before or have been training for quite sometime. 91 girls in total (42 different states). It was a show down.
These girls were so impressive and it was a real eye-opening experience for what it is like to compete in a National level competition. It definitely gave me a sense of what I need to work on for the next time. Overall, and most importantly, I enjoyed myself and really felt thankful for the opportunity.
PR'd in 3 out of 5 events:
I can't really say much about my performance other than it was consistent, if not, better than what my training was. I ended up doing better in the events I struggled with the most. Being a competitive dual athlete I realized that both, powerlifting and strongman, require different things to be good at them (obviously), but competing in a National level, you really have to be an overall good athlete, not just strong. Not only do you have to lift the implements, but how fast can you lift them? How many reps within a given time? I mean it's go, go, go. What made the competition 'competitive' was not the weight -- we were all basically racing for first, so each millisecond made a difference.
Log Clean and Press (135lbs) - 5 reps in 60 seconds (PR)
Conan's Walk (300lbs) - 11.95 seconds (60 ft in 60 seconds)
Farmers (160lbs) - 10.5 seconds (60ft in 60 seconds)
Push/Pull (70/130lbs) - 5.5 reps in 60 seconds (PR)
Sandbag Carry (100/120/140) - 34.79 seconds (60ft in 60 seconds) (PR)
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTKeT12QpZY]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jlJLU3BtTk]
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRfVScs7PHM]
Adapt. Achieve. Overcome. That's part of Strongman.
What I love most about the sport is they can change or do anything last minute/day of competition. They don't care if the floor is slippery (almost ate it doing the sandbags), weight is heavier than what they said, or if you're not ready when they say GO -- which all happened -- you just have to deal with it.
What I took from it:
Experience. I know now that I need to be faster. I just wasn't fast enough. It's ok to admit, as long as I do something about it for the next time. I know strength isn't an issue, it's just a matter of technique, speed and just being reckless. Not irresponsible reckless, but the reckless in that you have to believe in your strength and just lift the damn thing. From past experience, I can tell that this competition I was my most calm. I wasn't overthinking or psyched out, I was just present. My mentality was: I had the intention of placing and going to the Arnold but not the expectation, if that makes sense. We all work hard to be the best, in whatever form that may be. We should never settle and that is what keeps us hungry for more. With experience comes confidence, it's just a matter of going out there and getting what you worked for.
Not saying I have it figured out either, but it's improving nonetheless...
My next competition is in the works and most likely will be within the next 3 months.
I love your attitude and it was an honor to serve as your judge on the log press. Fantastic job and congrats on your performance!