The Benefits of Strongman Training
The basics behind strength training is to acquire strength for a certain goal. This goal could be a personal goal like a physical goal to improve the image of the body.
It could be to increase the strength of a particular body part making the legs stronger for pre or post surgery or just because you may be planning a trip to Nevada and you will be climbing, hiking and walking more than you would normally.
Whatever your goal may be, one way to train for maximum results in the way of strength, endurance and muscularity would be to include exercises that work more of the entire body.
These exercises resemble the events that are included in the worlds strongest man competition. These men are tested in alternative ways, ways that are different from that of just bench presses and curls like many focus on in the gym. Yes doing these excess will make you look strong in the eye of the novice but are not really strong.
Exercises that isolate certain body parts can be good but in excess they can be dangerous due to the fact that they can cause weakness elsewhere in the body. If one link in your strength chain becomes super strong and the others stay the same then in comparison the strength over powers the weak and the weak can then become injured.
This happens in many sports. Consider Hockey, where skaters are constantly on the ice and because of this the muscles that are required for their sport become strong but also some don’t develop so the power generated from the strong muscles then can injure the weak ones.
Ankle strength may be one because they are constantly in skates which limit the ankle mobility. This may be acceptable during their game due to protective gear but when they include land conditioning then injury could occur if they don’t strengthen the non trained muscles.
This brings us back to strongman training. Most strongman exercises include entire body effort thus working the body as a unit as it is meant to be. It is best to include these exercises because it can bring a balance in the way of strength to the athlete making them more resistant. Many strength enthusiasts are now coming to understand the importance of Atlas Stone Lifting, Tire Flipping, Farmers and Yoke Walk, Stone Carry, Odd Object Lifting and a nest of other events when it comes to improving overall strength and preparedness concerning their goals.
In closing, give strongman events a try, but of course, make sure you use proper warm-up, correct technique, and include well thought out recovery strategies.
MORE INFORMATION: For more complete information on Strongman Training Technique, as well as injury prevention and soft tissue repair, check out the Introduction to Strongman Training DVD. This is an outstanding resource of information for information for beginner strongman trainees.