So this last weekend I went and help a great friend of mine run a strongman competition. Mark Cummings has been promoting strongman in Louisiana for the last 3 years and I have been lucky enough to have been part of them in some way. Mark also was a main influence in both my brother and I getting into strongman and actually competing in strength sports. I have since retired (I say retired cause it sounds like a decision, however the real problem is that I am not good at it and it is really hard.) from competing in strongman other than the occasional Highlander.
This contest is a welcome one every year due to it being inside with AC and a great crowd. It is part of the Taste of Tiger Tailgating, which is to promote the up and coming LSU football season, and has a full house packed into the Baton Rouge Convention Center. A large crowd was on hand to watch the 20 guys compete in max log press, car wheelbarrow, carry and drag medley, and the infamous atlas stones. When the cards fell at the end of the day I was pretty proud that the winners of both the LW class and the HW class are two of my regular training partners. MAHK and Lonny, these guys have been instrumental in helping me become successful in strength sports.
Over a year ago when Strongman was my main focus and was MAHKs we were both under the impression the bigger we got the better it was going to be. Before the last contest that we both actually focus and trained for I think we both made weigh ins at over 300+(me at 312 and MAHK at 303) looking red and puffy as ever. The fantastic bloat we were chasing was epic full on diet of pizza, salt, and ice cream. Needless to say those days are long since gone. I am stable at 275 now and MAHK is sitting below 240. Here is Turbo Fatt me looking like a hero and drinking what is supposed to be a captain and coke however looks like the coke missed the invite.
Anyway it was fun to be around the strongman group again however I know that this type of competition is not for me any more mentally. The shift to the highland games has been great. Most throwers are pretty laid back, therefore bringing a lack of sitting around and mean mugging each other for 6 hours of a contest.
In just a few more days me and the wife will pack up and head out for San Francisco. I will be competing in the Highland Games in Pleasanton, CA. and we will enjoy a short vacation. I am really looking forward to the games it should be a pretty competitive day since Pleasanton is always one of the strongest games of the year.
TRAINING:
This weeks training will be a three day week. I will lift and throw mon-wed. then shut it down and recover till the contest on Sat. Three more weeks in a row of games then I head to Chicago for work for a week and my lovely wife is coming with me for this as well. She has never been so this will also be great and it will give me some time to start de-loading before the off season training starts. I am still dealing with a bit of elbow pain but it seems to improve a lot from using Ice and Stem. Since I now have a portable tens unit I can take care of that on the road.
traveling and tossing-Like a BOSS!!!-
MAT$O
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