We talk to a lot of folks who see the stuff we do in strongman and say, “I could never do that!” We also talk to a lot of folks who ask, “Do you think I could do that?” Here’s the crazy thing: you can probably do at least some of it. Strongman events can look like impossible feats of strength! With a bit of training and an open mind, strongman can be approachable for most people. So what should you do if you’ve been wondering if you could do strongman competitions?
Lift
This may seem obvious, but you should be lifting regularly if you want to get into strongman. Prioritize deadlifts, overhead pressing, front squat variations, and conditioning work. Nearly every competition includes some version of a deadlift. Training regular old deadlifts will help you build a ton of strength and prepare you for most competitions. Most shows also include some overhead movement, so you want to train that. Front squats help you prepare for loading events (like Atlas stones or sandbag) and build up the strength you’ll need to be ready to dive in on those events. Conditioning work helps you be ready for the AMRAP events and moving events that are so common in strongman. We offer remote programming that works as a pre-strongman program, that will get you ready to train strongman seriously.
Go Somewhere that Does Strongman Training
A lot of strongman gyms offer group strongman training sessions (like our Strongman Saturday!). These sessions are a good opportunity to get your hands on strongman implements and learn the skills specific to these movements. Our strongman community is newbie friendly and welcoming and encouraging to newcomers. We love introducing new folks to the sport of strongman! You’ll be able to do more stuff (and have more fun) if you’ve been lifting for a little while before you show up at a strongman gym.
Look for Competitions
The most common place to find strongman competitions is to look on ironpodium.com. You can find both sanctioned and unsanctioned events on Iron Podium (if you’re not sure what that means, read this!). Occasionally, event registrations may happen elsewhere (we’ve used Eventbrite, or other systems in the past). If you follow strongman gyms on socials, any that host events will likely post about their events.
Getting started in strongman can seem intimidating, but we are proud to have a welcoming and friendly community of strongman athletes! If you’ve seen strongman events and wondered if you can do it, we’d love to help you get started. The first step is to book a free no-sweat intro.
