The day had arrived for the Final of the UK Strength and Power Series 2011. Set in the rural/industrial setting of the Beaverfit yard in Shropshire the day promised to hold plenty of surprises!
After an early registration and weigh in at 7, the briefing took place. 5 events that no one knew about before that day, the first event being a sandbag hill run.
Event1 Sandbag/Hill
We were all walked up to a very steep grassy hill and were told that the first event was to get ten 25kg sandbags to the top of the hill in the quickest time possible with a 15 minute time cut off. You were not aloud to farmers walk them but you could take multiple bags at a time if you wanted. This was one event that played to my strengths so was looking forward to it. The plan was to clean two bags up onto one shoulder and take a steady pace to the top. Five trips, alternating shoulders each trip. That's pretty much what I did and it seemed to work as I finished in around 7minutes 40 seconds and a full hills length ahead of the second fastest heavy weight.
Event 2 Ground to Over Head
In this event there were five objects that had to be lifted from the ground and locked out overhead as quick as possible. The first was a heavy sandbag, second a 60kg log, third a very large 'D' shackle, forth a 70kg log and fifth a 120kg Barbell. From talking to others in my weight category it seemed like not many of us were confident about lifting the barbell at the end so I figured to get the other objects done as fast as I could then take my time on the barbell. I went last as I won the previous event and when it came to my turn no one in my weight category had managed the bar. I stuck to the plan and stormed through the first four but couldn't get under the bar enough to get the 120kg. I still managed to win the event as I had the fastest time with the first four objects.
Event 3 - Conans Wheel
This event was something I was a bit familiar with after using it in the Cardiff qualifier. The rules were the same, carry it Zercher position and as far as possible. The weight on the wheel was 130kg. The other men in my class fared well with the best distance at about two and a half revolutions. As I had won the previous event I again went last which is obviously a big advantage for this event. I did the same as Cardiff and went out fast to try to avoid the arm fatigue before the lungs. I completed three revolutions pretty comfortably. I could have done more but with two more unknown events to go saving energy was important. Three events and three wins! Things were going much better than I hoped and the next event was announced as a medley, another event that I feel strong at.
Event 4 -Medley
Three objects, reinforced steel joist approximately 8 foot long, two big 'D' shackles to farmers walk, huge metal bucket full of stones. Two lines and all objects had to be fully across the line. RSJ had to be flipped end over end and bucket has to be dragged. The fastest time before me was set by Alex with a time of about 1.29. He was fast and I was trying to work out how I was going to make some time up. The only things I could come up with was speed between objects, position the 'D' shackles so they can be picked up quickly and have a fast bucket drag. Everything went according to plan and I somehow pulled a time of about 1.18 out of the bag. It was at this point I realised how tired I was but after some conferring on whether to go ahead with the last event (due to time) it was decided to go for it.
Event 5 - Levered Deadlift hold
As the darkness drew in the final event was announced. A levered Deadlift similar to what strongmen do when they lift a car. For the heavyweights there was 400kg put on the frame and the rules were to lift it, lock out and hold it for as long as possible. I had won the previous event so again had the advantage of knowing the time I had to beat. 48 seconds had been set and although I was very tired I was keen to make it a clean sweep of wins. I lifted with relative ease, leaned back and tried to relax. The judges told me when I reached 40 seconds, then 50 and then my grip went at 1 minute. I has done it!!! Five events and five wins and the overall winner of the UK Strength Power Series 2011 in the heavyweight category.
An amazing end to a really well organised and thought out competition. A massive thank you to Chet, Stephen, and all the other Crew that help all day with shifting weights and organising the whole event. Also thank you to Tom Beaver for letting us come to his yard and making us feel so welcome. Thank you to all the sponsors for providing such great prizes. Thanks also to all the competitors for making a competitive event so relaxed. Really good to do something like this and meet such down to earth nice people. Thanks also to Martin for organising our accommodation and for driving there and back.
Well done to all the other winners in the other weight categories and to those that didn't win, keep training hard and come back bigger and stronger next year. Who knows how much bigger this event will be next year but I'm sure I will be back to try and defend my title!
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