How I Got Into Strongman
It’s about being strong in weird positions, using muscles you didn’t even know you had. You get gritty and dirty, power through, and finish the job. It looks cool during it and when it’s over, you can be proud for giving it all you got.
That’s the fun. That’s why we compete. It’s exciting and different every time.
The lifts and equipment in strongman are just unconventional. Most big gyms won’t even allow for the lifts for all of the commotion they cause.
The first gym I went to didn’t allow me to do sled drags because they were worried that the strap might break and it would ruin the equipment. I tried to overhead press in my school gym and they were wouldn’t allow anything overhead because crashing the weight down could be dangerous. I wasn’t allowed to do good mornings because they were worried about my back. Farmer’s carries with the hex bar weren’t allowed because that was only for deadlifting. Of course, on top of all of this, chalk wasn’t allowed in the gym because it was too messy.
---Kind of how a lot of high schools won’t allow wrestling in gym class, probably because it’s dangerous. I understand, but it can’t be avoided. If you go to a wrestling tournament, moms in the stands are worried, watching their kids on that mat.---
Through all of this, I still wanted to do these lifts so it made me realize that I had to go to a real gym. Blast music, get into it, and lift hard. My friends and I gathered up some equipment and made a small, backyard gym.
Kegs, tires, stones, rope, wood and then of course and barbell and some weights. It was unconventional but we got stronger and had a lot of fun. We made up different lifts and used all the equipment in random ways. We just made it our own.
My friends even started competing at local, state-wide, and even national events. I would go with them. We traveled around, met a lot of new people, and learned a lot about the sport.
It might not make sense to an outside viewer, but that’s the fun. If you are in it, you understand it and get what’s going on. It’s a different kind of person.