Strong Man Inspired Strength Exercises

It has become popular to practice many events performed by strong man competitors. We push prowlers, flip tyres, endure the farmers walk, lift atlas stones and throw. How do we get the most of of this type of training? I believe in implementing them with standard resistance exercises as apart of a sports specific routine. 

Pushing prowlers will provide a brutal challenge for your thighs. What makes this epic drill different is the challenge it provides to your gait and it's similarity to acceleration. Unless you are aiming for a fun hypertrophy training session, you should always be able to nail the prowler with a sprint. After all, to build speed you must move quickly. If the resistance on the prowler causes you to walk it is essential that you lower the weight.

Tyre flips allow us to move forward during resistance exercise. Squats, dead lifts and olympic lifts are brilliant exercises but they do not allow a substantial load which we can distribute horizontally. Horizontal loading is specific to scrims in Rugby and long jumps in Athletics.

Farmers walks have been called the walking plank but I see that as an unfair observation. They operate in the gait pattern which is rare for a heavy resistance exercise. They challenge the grip, work the frontal plane in an isometric (static muscle contraction) manner and above all else they challenge the full body to work as a well functioning unit. 

Atlas stones simply provide variety which can challenge upset the regular manner at which your muscle fibres contract. This is good for co-ordinating various sporting movements. The instability of lifting an Atlas stone will reinforce good posture and technique, encourage slower movement and prevent injury by improving proprioception.

You cannot get more explosive than a throw. In strong man, keg throws are commonly tested in the Worlds Strongest Man event. This mighty action requires full body explosiveness in the sagittal plane. This is a fantastic way of lowering the number of jumps required in a workout. This could reduce repetitive stress injury's. 

Please feel free to read more:

Instant Squat Corrections

http://icankeepup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/instant-squat-corrections.html

Rage Against the Machines

http://icankeepup.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/rage-against-machines-are-resistance.html