I Signed Up for a Competition

Last Thursday I made the decision to sign up for North Carolina’s Strongest Man in Raleigh North Carolina. This will be my first competition and I’m looking forward to the challenge. I decided to compete in the Novice under 198 category and I’m going in with the goal of not zeroing any of the events. To do this, I’ll be running Cube 3 for Strongman written by Josh Thigpen. It’s available for sale here if you want to check it out. So, what is the Cube Method? The Cube Method is a program originally designed for powerlifters, so it normally centers around the three main powerlifting lifts: the squat, the bench and the deadlift and their accompanying assistance exercises. On the fourth day you would normally use it to strengthen the weak areas of your lifts as well as the overhead press. Each week with your main three lifts you will have a “heavy” day, a “rep” day, and a “speed” day. Every week you shift your intensity level and rep ranges to the right by one. This means that each week you only lift heavy on one exercise. It also means that you get two weeks in between heavy weeks in any given movement so you have plenty of time to recover. How is it Different When Training for Strongman? In Strongman the bench press is put on the back burner because horizontal pressing is rarely tested so instead we focus more on the overhead press. The version of this program that I’ll be running will have me training 6 days a week, on three of these days I will be pressing overhead. Without getting into too much detail my program will follow this basic skeleton Just as in the powerlifting version I will have a “heavy” day, a “rep” day and a “speed” day during each three-week rotation with the squat and the deadlift. However, with my overhead press I will be doing each of these every week to push my press to where it needs to be for the competition. Strongman typically requires more athleticism than powerlifting so there are also conditioning and speed drills as well. So, what do I have to do during this competition? The competition is comprised of five events. The first event is a press melody, the second event is carry melody, the third is a max rep deadlift, the fourth event is a farmer carry, and finally the last event is an atlas stone series. For the press melody I will be going head to head against another competitor and will have 60 seconds to press a 200 lbs. axel, a 190 lbs. keg, a 130 lbs. circus dumbbell and then with the remaining time I’ll press a 175lbs log for as many reps as I can. This will be the most challenging event for me and is why I will be pressing three times a week. The carry melody will also be head to head and will last 60 seconds. During this time I have to carry a 175lbs keg, a 175lbs Husafell stone and a 200lbs sandbag 50 feet. This is done in a shuttle run format and the implements must be placed on a 4 foot platform. The third event is an axel deadlift for reps. I’ll have 60 seconds to pull as many reps as I can with a 430lbs axel from a height of 14.5 inches and I’ll get to use straps. I think this event is where I’m going to make my money. The farmer walk will also be simple. All I must do is walk 50 feet one way, turn around and walk back. I’ll have 200lbs in each hand and 60 seconds to complete it. If I drop it then I’m out. The final event will be an atlas stone series. I’ll have 60 seconds to load 6 stones, starting with 175 and increasing in weight by 25lbs until 300. The tallest platform is 60’ and the shortest is 50. This will be a tough event for me because the heaviest stone I currently own is 125 but I’m working on getting them heavier. All in all, I’m looking forward to this competition. Thanks Bill Corbin for talking me into it. You can follow him on Instagram here and if you’re reading this right now… You’re going down Bill. For the rest of you, on all your fitness posts on Instagram I want you to start using the hashtag #beatbillcorbin. Also, if you’re not following my Instagram you can do so by clicking this link here, and as always feel free to email me if you have any questions at cameron@atlasstrengthshop.com If you like this post and want to support this blog, then don’t forget to use the promocode “ATLASSTRENGTH’ on all your Strike Force Energy orders. If you’re doing any Amazon shopping, please use the link to your left and finally if you’d like me to program your training you can do so by following this link here. Until next time, Cameron Ray