by Ben Hanson

Minnesota Winter Challenge II
When: Sunday, January 11 at 11:00 am
Where: Old brick warehouse in Minneapolis, MN
Events:

Preliminary Events:
1. Keg and sandbag loading medley
2. Last man standing deadlift with timber frame
3. Sandbag clean and press
4. Farmers walk
Top 8 competitors move on to the finals

Finals Events:
5. Conans wheel
6. Arm over arm truck pull
7. Stones over bar for reps

January Challenge 2009
When: Saturday, January 17 at 1:00 pm
Where: 147 W. Beaver Street, St. Anne, IL
Events:
1. Push press
2. Deadlift
3. Farmers hold
4. Keg carry
5. Stones over bar for reps

Setting the Record Straight
This contest will establish New Hampshire state records. The winner of each event will become the current state record holder in each of the 5 disciplines.
When: Saturday, January 17
Where: Harbor Homes, Nashua, NH
Events:
1. Max log press
2. 15" Deadlift
3. Stones over bar for reps

North American Strongman Jamboree
When: Saturday and Sunday, January 24 and 25 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm
Where: Florence Civic Center, Florence, SC
Events:
Day 1:
1. Log
2. Yoke / Chain drag and load
3. Farmers Walk
4. Atlas Stones

Day 2:
1. Axle press for reps
2. Block load and sled drag
3. Stone for height

Battle at the Barn
When: JANUARY 24, 2009 at 10:00 am
Where: The Barn, West Coxsackie, NY
Events:
1. Max axle press
2. Pipe carry
3. Tire flip
4. Load and drag medley
5. Atlas stones

by Ben Hanson

After posting the tire sled article last week, I got the following email from Hugh at Eskimo Rugby, a rugby coaching website.

Quality! I have been looking for these instructions for a while Ben. Good job. How beneficial do you think it would be for rugby players?

I'm not sure if Hugh has read my bio or not, but I happen to know a thing or two about conditioning for rugby. Early this summer, I sat down with our coach and told him I wanted to take responsibility for the team's fitness training this season. Seeing that conditioning has traditionally been one of our weaknesses, they readily agreed to give me 30-45 minutes each practice to devote to fitness. In the weeks leading up to the season, I came up with many of the ideas I incorporated into our team's fitness regimen, including the tire sleds. Needless to say, it was a roaring success, helping us run over the competition, outscoring our opponents 319-99 this year.

In addition to Hugh's email, I've also fielded a few conditioning questions on the messageboard recently. It's no secret that jogging is about as interesting as watching paint dry. It's also become evident as of late that many people haven't the slightest clue of how put together an effective fitness routine that doesn't involve the monotony of jogging or the uninspired notion of sprinting on a treadmill. With that in mind, I decided to post a partial list of the official St Paul Pigs Rugby Club fitness routine for all to enjoy. Because these routines are very intense, you should be sure to consult with a physician before beginning.

Each day at the beginning of practice, we would do one of these routines before getting into the nuts and bolts of the game. Don't be discouraged if you're not able to complete the full workout at first. These are difficult routines that take getting used to. They're also a lot easier to do if you have a partner or group of friends to train with. In fact, they're all designed to be group exercises to measure rest time, but if you don't have a training partner, a stopwatch works just the same.

Interval Sprints

Perhaps the simplest of the exercises in our routine, interval sprints are done over a set distance with very limited rest time. To do them, set up a cone at each end of your predetermined distance, we use 50 meters, and have both groups start at the same end. Group 1 sprints the distance, and as soon as they cross the line at the other end, Group 2 goes. As soon as Group 2 crosses the far line, Group 1 sprints back and Group 2 follows.

I found it works best to split these up into sets of 3 reps down and 3 reps back, or 6 total sprints. After the set of 6, rest for a short period and repeat. Over time, you should be able to do 5 total sets of 6 sprints. You can also monkey with the rest period between sets once you become more proficient. When the team first started, I allowed for 2 minutes rest between sets. At the end of the season, we were only resting for 1 minute between sets.

If you don't have a partner or group to train with, keep a stop watch handy and limit your rest between individual sprints to no more than 15 seconds. Once you know your limits, gradually decrease the rest time to 7 or 8 seconds between sprints.

Up-Down-And-Backs

This is another basic exercise that requires 30-40 meters of grassy space and some marker cones. It's one of those things that seems like it would be easy until you try it. After that, you hate it, yet respect the hell out of it for kicking your ass.

Start off by placing the marker cones at 5 meter intervals in a straight line. Have each partner or group start at the same end. While Partner 2 waits at the start, Partner 1:

Sprint 10 meters to the 3rd cone
Hit your stomach and get back up
Back pedal 5 meters
Sprint 10 meters ahead and repeat

As soon as Partner 1 gets to the half-way point, Partner 2 starts. As soon as Partner 2 crosses the far line, Partner 1 starts back and so on and so forth. If you're looking to mix things up a bit, you can change when you drop to your stomach. Instead of hitting your gut after running forward, try hitting your gut after your 5 meter back pedal. As insignificant as this may seem, it makes a dynamic difference in how your body changes direction.

If you're feeling extra sadistic, you can forego your rest period while your partner is running by doing fun things like burpees, star jumps, or Turkish get-ups.

For running without a partner, time how long it takes you to do the exercise and use that as your rest time.

Sandbag Hill Sprints

For this exercise, you'll need to find a hill and buy a sandbag. You can find 60-70 lb sand tubes at most hardware stores or home improvement centers and you can find 50 lb bags of sandbox sand in most gardening centers. Which ever style you get, you'd be well advised to reinforce it with some duct tape to extend it's life.

The format of this exercise is the same as the interval sprints in that there is a block of sprints and short rest periods punctuated by longer rest periods.

Step 1: Partner 1 sprints up the hill with the sandbag, sets it down, and jogs back down.
Step 2: Partner 2 sprints up the hill, retrieves the sandbag, and jogs back down with it.
Step 3: Repeat the process 3 times.
Step 4: Switch positions so that Partner 2 now carries the bag up and vice versa.
Step 5: Repeat 3 times.
Step 6: Rest 2 minutes.

Repeat Steps 1-6 three times.

If you don't have a partner:

Step 1: Sprint up the hill with the sandbag, set it down, jog down the hill.
Step 2: Sprint up the hill, retrieve the sandbag, jog down.
Step 3: Repeat 3 times.
Step 4: Rest 2 minutes.

Repeat Steps 1-4 three times.

Tire Sled Relay

This exercise will require 2 sandbags and the tire sled you just built. Place a cone 25 meters from the starting line. Start with one sandbag in the tire sled and the second sandbag next to the sled.

Step 1: Drag the sled backward 25 meters to the other cone.
Step 2: Sprint back to the first cone
Step 3: Pick up the second sand bag, carry it to the tire sled waiting 25 meters away, and place it on the sled.
Step 4: Turn the sled around and tow it (facing forward) 25 meters back to the original starting line.

This is a great exercise, but requires a fair amount of equipment.

Tire Sled Hell

This drill is best performed in groups and works great in a team environment. It also requires a decent sized patch of land. The way I ran the drill was to split the team up into equal groups for each tire sled we were using. Then, I put a 50 lb sandbag in each tire sled and set up a course about 150 meters long.

One person in the group started out by dragging the sled while the others in the group had to run down the 150 meter course and back. The person dragging the sled only had to drag it as far down the course as they could, but they could not stop moving until they encountered their group and someone relieved them. Once relieved, the person formerly dragging the sled immediately joined the rest of the members in their group and continued the jog up and down the course until the person dragging the sled needed to be relieved. This worked great with groups of four or five in 30 minute increments.

Often, people neglect fitness routines because they're dull and monotonous. Hopefully, this post gave you a few ideas to help spice up your training.

by Ben Hanson

One of the biggest challenges in getting involved in a fringe sport, such as strongman, is accessibility to the training equipment necessary to develop the skills to be competitive. Just as throngs of skateboarders had to built their own ramps in their backyard to emulate Tony Hawk when they first saw the X-Games, aspiring strongmen often have to rely on their own elbow grease and ingenuity to create the tools of their trade.

Perhaps one of the best all around exercises for developing both strength and endurance is sled dragging. Both painful and exhausting, I've recently implemented sled dragging into my rugby team's fitness routine. While I'm easily the most unpopular man on the team on dragging day, our team fitness is at an all-time high and helped propel us to the #1 seed in the Midwest playoffs. In this installment of DIY Equipment, I'm going to show you how to build a tire sled just like we use for only $15.00 each that can easily be stored in the corner of a garage.

The best thing about building a tire sled is that the main component, the tire, can be acquired for free from any local mechanic. You see, garages have to pay someone to come by to pick up their old tires to recycle them. They pay the recyclers by the tire, so any joe schmoe like you or I who wants to take a few off their hands will save them a few bucks and is a welcome face. With the biggest piece of the puzzle in place, here is what else you'll need.

Tools:
A drill and drill bits.
Circular saw
Allen wrench

Free Materials:
Tire
A length of rope, approximately 20' long.* (Free if you're a pack rat like me. If not, see below in 'materials to buy'.)
A scrap of 2x4 approximately 9-12 inches long.
A scrap of plywood at least 3" longer than the inside diameter of the tire and at least 6" wide.
4 (four) 1 1/2 sheet rock screws.

Continue reading "DIY Equipment: Tire Sled"

by Ben Hanson

In 13 years of rugby I've had lacerations that have required stitches, busted teeth and concussions. All of these are common and expected. In fact I've been lucky in that most of my teammates have dislocated or broken fingers at some point and that was a fate I've managed to so far avoid. Until last Thursday night that is.

We were doing a simple rucking drill during the last 10 minutes of practice using tackle pads. What could go wrong? So I took the ball into contact with picture perfect form, going to the ground only to hear and feel the telltale "snap" of bad news.

At first, I thought it was just my imagination. I'd taken hits in the past that had knocked me plenty loopy and I figured I was just feeling shit that wasn't there. After a few seconds of cussing, I looked down expecting to see my hand as normal, maybe with a little mild swelling from being stepped on with steel cleats (another common rugby malady). What I didn't expect to see was my pinky finger pointing away from my hand at a 45 degree angle at a point between the first and second knuckle. God didn't intended your fingers to bend that way.

Continue reading "The broken ends of my rugby season"

by Andy Vincent

I started playing organized football in the third grade, as soon as I was old enough to understand what a play was. In Louisiana, and really all across the south, football is a way of life, a religion and like most boys I was raised on it. I was a three-year starter on a terrible high school team. We won seven games in those three years, four of which coming during my senior season. But I played well enough as a senior offensive lineman to make the All-District and All-State teams. I managed a few All-American mentions from minor publications and was recruited by several DI-A schools before signing with Texas A&M.

While college ball was one of the highlights of my young life, sometime during my four years at A&M, a funny thing happened: I lost my love of football. I still loved the experience -- traveling, being part of a team, playing on Saturdays in front of tens of thousands of people, competing - but I no longer loved football. My family were all college football fanatics and my dream had always been to play college football. Maybe it was realizing that dream, maybe it was something else, but the fire was gone and while those around me were focused on the next logical step, I didn't start thinking about the NFL until my junior year.

Instead, I was in the middle of the law school application process; I'd taken the LSAT and was putting the finishing touches on my personal statement when sports agents started calling my parents. The NCAA forbids direct contact between agents and amateur athletes, but they are free to contact the parents of their prospective clients. My name started showing up in position rankings amongst offensive linemen in the major sports publications. People started talking to me about the "The League". Suddenly, it looked like I'd be playing football for a while longer. And playing football in the NFL is not an experience that you turn down, personal statement be damned.

Despite a successful senior season, a decent showing at the NFL Scouting Combine and draft projections by virtually every major sports publication, I wasn't drafted. I signed with the Detroit Lions as an un-drafted rookie free agent, the lowest of the low. 24 hours before I'd been a NFL prospect, part of a very select group of college athletes. Now, I was whale shit.

Despite this, I fought my way through training camp and the preseason, outlasting all the other un-drafted offensive linemen. I was released then re-signed to the Lions' practice squad the following day, after spending the NFL mandated 24 hours on waivers. Life on the practice squad is interesting, in the same way that day labors waiting to be picked for a day's worth of work find standing in front of Home Depot interesting. Each NFL team has 4 players on their practice squad, and these members change from week to week depending on the needs of the team. It's as close to a complete lack of job security as I ever hope to get.

Continue reading "From the NFL to Strongman"

by Ben Hanson

Dave Ostlund just completed a stellar performance at the World's Strongest Man contest in Charleston and walked away with a podium finish. Head over to the forum and check out his detailed write up of the event and get a good look at a top level contest from the eyes of one of the competitors.

He also has a ton of great pictures on his website.

by Ben Hanson

Last week, I did something I never thought I'd do without coercion, or at least duct tape around my hands and ankles: I traveled to West Virginia.

When it was first announced that 2008 World's Strongest Man was being held in Charleston, I was a bit skeptical as were many others. When you consider some of the exotic locations it's been held in the past, places like Victoria Falls, Zambia; Sun City, South Africa; and Tangiers, Morocco, Charleston, WV hardly seems to stack up. After seeing it in person, I can put to rest any doubts about whether Charleston was the best venue for the event.

Upon landing at the airport, it was evident that the entire town knew what was going on. The hotel shuttle driver immediately asked us if we were in town for the contest and proceeded to give us a detailed rundown of where each day's events were in relation to our hotel. At the restaurant, we were asked "Are you guys in town for the strongman contest?" Everywhere we went, everyone was abuzz with the excitement of hosting the event.

Continue reading "West Virginia: 2008 WSM"