Use Modified Strongman Training to Improve Performance

 

 

 

By Chris Dellasega, MS

 

Athletic strength training programs have traditionally centered on conventional strength-training exercises. Recently, there has been an increase in the use of modified strongman training as an adjunct to traditional strength training methods to improve performance. Here’s why.

 

Conventional barbell exercises require the bar to move along specific paths. This limited bar path reduces the transferability of strength in these lifts to the playing field. With barbells and dumbbells the resistance is “static,” yet in field or court conditions the resistance (e.g., an opponent) is “dynamic.”

 

The strength and power required for athletics is dynamic in nature because the forces the body has to overcome are constantly changing their planes of motion. This dynamic resistance requires the muscles of the body to react to the forces imposed on it differently from the forces encountered in traditional barbell and dumbbell exercises.

 

The body moves in three distinct planes of motion: the sagittal plane, transverse plane and frontal plane. However, conventional barbell exercises (such as a bench press or squat) require force production primarily in only one plane of motion: the sagittal plane. Compare that with the different movements performed in athletics: running, twisting, jumping, throwing, catching, kicking, pushing and pulling. These activities require movement in multiple planes of motion simultaneously.

 

Modified strongman training can be considered functional strength training and if often beneficial to athletes because it requires force production in multiple planes of motion simultaneously. Functional strength training for sports can be defined as the execution of movements that are closely related to patterns required for a sport with the sole purpose of improving athletic performance.

 

Modified strongman training develops functional strength and, when implemented properly, produces better strength gains than traditional barbell and dumbbell exercises produce. Strongman movements that are commonly used include pushing and pulling sleds; flipping or dragging tractor tires; carrying or lifting sand bags, Atlas stones and water-filled kegs; farmer’s walks; super-yoke walks; and lifting steel logs.

 

It should also be noted that the use of modified strongman training is no more dangerous than traditional strength training exercises, and the same safety guidelines apply.

 

What the Research Says
A study by Dr. Stuart McGill, a leading expert in spinal biomechanics, looked at how the body responds to strongman training.

 

This study observed the farmer’s walk, super yoke, Atlas stone lift, suitcase carry, keg walk, tire flip, and log lift. The researchers found, “Strongman events clearly challenge the strength of the body linkage, together with the stabilizing system, in a different way than traditional approaches.”

 

What makes strongman training so effective is the unbalanced nature of the training implements. Unlike barbells and dumbbells, the unbalanced nature of strongman implements forces an athlete to constantly make adjustments in body position and muscular tension in order to stabilize the object; in other words, strongman implements provide dynamic resistance.

 

This dynamic resistance requires repeated movements at different joint angles, with a variety of force requirements and rates of force production, the cumulative effect of which closely simulates the disrupted forces an athlete encounters from an opponent on the field or court. Researchers concluded, “The carrying events challenged different abilities than the lifting events, suggesting that loaded carrying would enhance traditional lifting-based strength programs.”

 

The dynamic resistance furnished by strongman implements provides a better training stimulus than barbells and dumbbells alone. For example, tire flips and Atlas stone carries closely simulate the movements of blocking and tackling.

 

In another study researchers found that there are many similarities between heavy sled pulls and the acceleration phase of a sprint. The results of this study suggest that the heavy sled pull may enhance the acceleration phase of sprinting and may also increase the ability to break and make tackles.

 

Limitations of Modified Strongman Training
While modified strongman training works very well as an adjunct to traditional strength-training programs, it does have some limitations.

 

For example, to develop maximal relative strength, minor increases in loads are needed: adding five pounds to a max in a lift can take weeks, if not months, of planned training. Adding small increments to implements such as tractor tires or Atlas stones can be very difficult and is not advised.

 

It is well established that the use of 1-3 reps with high-intensity loads (percentage of 1 rep max) is optimal for developing maximal relative strength. This rep bracket is best left for the traditional barbell exercises in the weightroom. It is generally not advised to attempt to lift maximally loaded strongman implements.

 

The use of modified strongman training is better suited for increasing functional hypertrophy, which is an increase in muscular size that correlates with an increase in performance; there’s no sense in adding size to an athlete unless that size translates to better athletic performance. Modified strongman training is also a great tool for improving conditioning.

 

For strongman exercises such as sled pushes and drags, keg carries, farmer’s walks and super-yoke walks, predetermined distances work best. When using these strongman exercises to increase functional hypertrophy, it’s best to use moderately heavy loads for short distances, such as 20-40 yards, with rest intervals of 3-5 minutes between sets.

 

When using these exercises to improve conditioning, the distances can be extended to 40-100 yards. The loads should be relatively moderate, with rest intervals anywhere from 2 to 3 minutes. Because these lifts involve so much muscle mass, they are also great for improving body composition.

 

Strongman training can fit into any phase of training and can be used as part of a strength program year-round. Options include performing a workout once a week with only strongman implements or choosing one strongman lift and placing it at the end of a traditional workout as a “finisher.”

 

Strongman training picks up where barbell and dumbbell exercises leave off, resulting in greater strength gains than those traditional lifts can provide by themselves. So, get the most out of your training and get closer to reaching your athletic potential by incorporating modified strongman training into your training regimen.