ASC American Strongman Live

This was my first contest in about one year. After getting hurt at last year’s Fit Expo, I continued to be injured throughout the year and could not compete again during the 2008 season. After some downtime, my body was feeling healthy and training was going good.

I was looking forward to this contest especially the max log. Unfortunately, this event was substituted and a log for reps was contested. I popped my bicep about 2 weeks out, so this was a concern, but my main goal was to show up, put on a good show, and in turn qualify for America’s Strongest Man.

1. Super Yoke / Block Carry medley: This medley consisted of carrying an 820# yoke for 80’, followed by carrying 2 blocks weighing 275# and 315# for 60’ each. I recently moved and took a new job, so my event training was sparse to say the least (3 event days in the last 5 months). The weights here were more than manageable; I was just worried a bit how my cardio would hold up. I was going head-to-head against Nick Brugal, so this would be a good test. The yoke was easy, and the first block (275#) was easy, which put me in the lead over Nick. As I began to pick the 315#, I hit that proverbial wall. My cardio, which I was worried about, had failed me. I dropped the block, hoping to catch some breath so I could finish the course. During this time, Nick came in and got his block and motored past me. I waited about 30 seconds or so, repicked, maybe moved 5’, and dropped it. I was spent. I was a little unhappy, as I know this would typically be an easy medley to finish, but today, I just did not have the cardio on my side.

2. 275# Log press for reps: As said above, this event was supposed to be a max log, and my training was going great for that. I think I would have had a great shot for an official 400# log at this contest. As luck would have it, we changed to a log press for reps; to make matters worse, it was a pretty light log for reps. I had done very little rep training, and my legs were a bit wobbly from the first event. I thought 10 or 11 would be a good number to shoot for. I ended up with 7. I was surprised, until I saw everyone else except Brugal perform way below their abilities. We all must have been a bit spent, except Nick and his steel legs.

3. Conan’s Wheel: Beside the max log, I was looking forward most to this event. We lifted maybe about 600# in hands; it did not feel extremely heavy. I had never contested this event in competition, but I trained it quite a bit. My training partner Jon Andersen was one of the best at this event when he was competing and I saw how I stacked against him in training, so I felt pretty confident on how I would do. Most people were having trouble even getting a half lap, until my training partner Ricky LaRocca came up and got nearly one lap. I came up and went over a lap until I dropped it. I guess to put on a show for the crowd, we were allowed another pick, so I repicked and carried it another quarter lap or so, for a combined total of nearly 1.5 laps. Only Brad Dunn could outdistance me, but I was quick to remind Brad that I went further on the Wheel using the conventional rules of one drop and you are done!!

The last two events were Farmer’s Walk and Stone for Height. I pulled out of the contest, as I popped by bicep again; this time on the Conan’s Wheel. I was not happy about the injury, but I qualified for Nationals, which is what I wanted to do. So now it is recovery time.

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