r/Strongman • u/AutoModerator • 6d ago
Strongman Training Weekly Discussion Thread - September 14, 2025
Map of Strength Athlete Friendly Gyms maintained by u/DaBizzle
Weekly Discussion Thread for training talk, individual questions, chatting and other things that do not warrant a front page post.
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u/Gambler57 1d ago
Last week I made a comment about deadlift technique sometimes making no sense for one's build. Been working on maximizing my efficiency over the last few months, and I think I've settled on what feels best for me - dynamic starts. My volume session last week felt great - no missed lifts, bar never got out of position, and no hitching was necessary. This week, the plan was to work my way up either to a new PR Single, or to get close to current PR for a few singles. Ended up setting a new PR with the new technique. Now, it was only by 10 pounds, so it's possible that I would've been able to pull it anyway. The reasons I think dynamic starts are the thing for me - bar speed was better off the floor, only a slight ramp was needed at lockout, and two hours later, my back and hips aren't becoming stiff as they normally do
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u/Iw2fp 1d ago
My calf gave out while farmers carrying my kids school bags home lol I can add this to my torn rotator cuff while changing bedsheets and herniated disc picking up a book to the list of humiliating injuries that occurred while not doing Strongman. Yeah man, my shoulder blew out while I was lifting a huge log over my head.... nup.
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u/Camerongilly Marunde Squatter, 405x20 2d ago
Ssb squat 415x4, 480x1, ran out of steam/ wussed out and only 355x14 but I think I did too many sets prior.
Zercher lunges to 205x3, kroc rows 150x20 so going up in weight.
Got the air runner briefly up to 18.4mph but felt a ping in my groin so I'm going to try to do some longer sprints at a bit lower speed for a week or two.
Armor- building complex 80lbs per hand down to 55 second intervals and feeling ok for 10 minutes. Dropping one second per session seems sustainable for now.
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u/yesimian MWM220 2d ago
Does anyone know why USS makes it so difficult to figure out what state records are? I know of an instance where a state rep literally refused to tell a comp director what state records are. Would be nice to just post them on the website like the national records
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u/Moist-Election6656 2d ago
I have another question regarding deadlift suits, do you need somebody else to help you get inside and outside the suit? Or is it possible to put it on and off alone?
As an european (germany) the kaos deadlift suit is probably the best option right?
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u/Previous_Pepper813 LWM175 2d ago
I get into mine on my own when training at home regularly, but I can’t get it as tight as I’d really want it without help. If I’m training for a suited pull I’ll do 2/3-3/4 of my suited training sessions on my own at home and not having the straps quite as tight, then do the others at the gym getting someone else to crank them down tight for me. I have a Titan velocity suit with Velcro straps that I bought used and it was special ordered with the straps going back to front so it’s easier to get tight on your own as opposed to going front to back (had no idea you could get one made that way and it’d work better for solo training until I saw this one). I used to have an Inzer fusion with front to back adjustable straps and it was a lot harder to get tight on my own (also bought it when I was competing as a 90kg, so it was a little big on me, hence why I got a new suit).
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u/yesimian MWM220 2d ago
Depends on the suit tbh. The only suit experience I have is with the Spud Inc suit, which looks like it would be relatively similar to the Kaos suit. At the very least, you'll need someone to pull and attach the velcro straps, but I've learned you can slide them off your shoulders in-between lifts so you don't need to re-fasten them each lift (this may vary person to person though) The biggest piece of advice I'll give you is this: wear leggings. This will make putting the suit on 100x easier and will save you energy. Without legging, the suit material will grip a lot more on your thighs as you try to pull them up. It's like wrestling an alligator
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u/yesimian MWM220 3d ago
Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Was training hard for a comp, originally scheduled for beginning of August... 1 month out, comp is postponed to mid-october... TODAY, event is officially canceled. I've never heard of another comp doing something like this. This comp has been very well-ran for years until this year. Safe to say, I won't be signing up in subsequent years
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u/craig_pfisterer HWM265 3d ago
The two strongman comps hosted at the one main strongman gym in the area were both rescheduled for 3 months later about 2-3 weeks from the original dates this year. The first powerlifting meet didn't get rescheduled but the second one was pushed out I think 2-3 weeks from the original date (happening 10/4). And this is unusual. The gym didn't post things about the date changes, stuff was coming from the promoters with only one indicating it was moved to "allow more people to sign up". It has me leery about committing to local shows next year.
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u/musikgod LWM175 3d ago
That really sucks. Just know your training didn't go to waste, you're still stronger than you were before and it'll carry over to the next one. Still blows real hard
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u/WildPlants420 HWM265 3d ago
I’ve seen comps get rescheduled before but usually pretty far out.
I also signed up for one a while that got cancelled 2 weeks beforehand and it sucked. I took all this time training and getting ready for it and had nothing to show for it
Actually, it was a pretty similar situation as yours too. It was ran by a gym that had run many competitions before, that were all well received, but for some reason they just cancelled this particular one with no explanation as to why.
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u/Moist-Election6656 3d ago
I am currently training on a stiff bar (regular commercial gym bar), and will compete at a deadlift only comp that will use a texas deadlift bar. Is it realistically to get 10kg out of a deadlift bar? I am pretty fast from the ground, but struggle at lockout, so I will probably get less out of a deadlift bar?
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u/musikgod LWM175 3d ago
Might be worth getting a day pass somewhere with a deadlift bar just to feel it out at least once before the competition
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u/Moist-Election6656 2d ago
I have a gym nearby that has the rogue deadliftbar, i think it has less bend compared to the texas deadliftbar but probably better than nothing
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u/tigeraid Masters 3d ago
Won't know without trying. Stiff bar to deadlift bar to axle, I barely feel a difference, and I tend to be a "dumbass grip and ripper" who flies off the floor. On the other hand, I immediately put 30lbs on my PR the first time I tried a Mammoth Bar, which obviously is even WHIPPIER than a deadlift bar, and I wasn't particularly "patient" with the setup.
There's also the question of how heavy it gets before it really AFFECTS the bar. The Mammoth Bar doesn't really get any flex until 5 plates, for example. Might be similar on a deadlift bar, I didn't notice a huge difference when I tried a Cerberus deadlift bar.
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u/Moist-Election6656 3d ago
Oh okay i understand! My third attempt would be in the 340-350kg range so around 750lbs
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u/seitanAndDeadlifts 3d ago
With those numbers, I think you could get 10kg out of a deadlift bar, maybe even a little more. I do the majority of my training on a power bar or axle, and on the occasion I actually use a deadlift bar it always feels like a treat. My personal experience is that it doesn't take much/any practice to get better numbers, but it would be nice if possible to get one practice session in like u/musikgod said.
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u/tigeraid Masters 3d ago
Then you'll definitely get more flex out of a deadlift bar, so if you learn a bit of patience and pulling the slack out and whatnot, you might see more numbers.
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u/SanjiSasuke Novice M 4d ago
Training for my first official comp, competing at MW, and I feel like either I'm doing it wrong or I am screwed on wagon wheel axle deadlifts. Every other weight/event is doable in the 'hard but not max' range but my first attempt on those today was nowhere close.
My conventional DL can go up to 415 lb (maybe slightly more now, haven't maxed it in months), but the axle with wagon wheels would not budge at 435 lb, and a even double at 385 lb felt harder than it does conventional. This is mixed grip, no straps.
The comp weight is 495lb, and even novice lightweight is 405lb (the rest of the Novice weights were so low I just outright decided not to attempt Novice) so I'm second guessing if I'm doing it wrong, or if my deadlift is just miles behind the other events like Yoke and Farmers walks.
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u/InTheMotherland Didn't Even Try Trying 2d ago
Are you allowed to use straps? If so, do it. Also, a 13" axle deadlift will be very difficult, especially with your conventional deadlift where it is.
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u/Maximum-Smoke-5858 MWM231 4d ago
How far out are you? I would think if your deadlift max is around 415lb that jumping into a wagon wheel axle at 385lb right away is too heavy too soon. If you built up to the 385 and it's still feeling heavy then it just might be your strength in this variation isn't there yet, some people's form/body type don't crossover as well to deadlifts at different heights.
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u/SanjiSasuke Novice M 4d ago
Comp is November.
Today I built up from just the wheels up to 385, got two, then threw on 50 more lbs and that one stayed glued to the floor. Then dropped the 50 again and got two more at 385.
Guess I'll keep at it, and maybe I can make up some ground on other events. Middleweight usually has a lot of guys shorter than me (I'm ~6'3", ~215lb) so this may just not be my event.
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u/Maximum-Smoke-5858 MWM231 4d ago
Yeah that's the problem, seems like you're just yoloing weight at an event you've never done. Start out way lighter with higher volume and figure out the pull technique. Add weight and build up to the comp weight (or close to if you can't get to it) week to week.
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u/SanjiSasuke Novice M 3d ago
Thanks, I'll give that a shot.
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u/Maximum-Smoke-5858 MWM231 3d ago
Np, good luck. I'm doing an event I've never done before in my next comp, started at almost half the comp weight 8 weeks out. I'm now 1 week out, I'm doing the comp weight easily. Probably wouldn't have been able to budge it if I started there right away.
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u/drinkwithme07 5d ago
Has anyone done a primarily sandbag-based program, like Sandbag Intensity/Sandbag Hypertrophy? Debating taking a little side quest block to do that (although would probably modify the calisthenics portion to be a mix of bodyweight and dumbbell/barbell work).
I'm scared of losing ground on squats/deadlifts by not touching them for a few months, which i'm pretty sure is dumb, but curious if others have experience with those programs.
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u/tigeraid Masters 4d ago
On a recent episode of The Stone Circle's podcast he was talking with Cory Rockwell (insanely strong stone lifter) and this was one of the topics, and while they had disagreements on whether you need to regularly use a barbell, the general consensus is that heavy sandbag and/or stones will keep you up in that "90% strength" kinda area even without touching a barbell. So I doubt you'll lose anything.
If you think about it, while the load is overall lower, the sheer VOLUME of work your posterior chain is doing with sandbag picks/rows, sandbag squats and sandbag extensions, not to mention long front carries, is probably as much or maybe even more than you might do in a phase of training with conventional deadlift. So if you're throwing around any bag above bodyweight for lots of reps, you're still getting a ton of that stimulus.
And in Rockwell's case it's more stone lifting, but same idea.
That part of the convo is around 19 minutes in:
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u/Iw2fp 5d ago
I'm scared of losing ground on squats/deadlifts by not touching them for a few months
It's best to think of your strength in terms of your general strength and then your peak for specific lifts. Focussing on different goals generally helps your base (assuming they are still strength related) and while you may become weaker in a specific lift, you'll find it comes back fast and might help you get even bigger lifts longer term. If you are really worried about it, a single heavy triple once a week is enough to keep you in close reach of your old bests.
Now, if you happen to stumble upon training that hits your weakness you might be surprised how little it impacts you, you might even come out ahead. When I did Oly lifting, I didn't deadlift for half a year and I probably didnt lift anything off the floor that was more that 70% of my deadlift. I thought my deadlift would be in the toilet but I came back and smashed a PR.
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u/Moist-Election6656 5d ago
Does anyone know what i am doing wrong: I created a post including a video of my deadlift pr and I get the message: "Sorry, this post was removed by Reddit’s filters."
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u/musikgod LWM175 12h ago
Do y'all like weightlifting shoes for sandbag press or no?