How to Win World's Strongest Man

After years of being the pride and joy of easter Europeans, Americans are finally starting to get into the World's Strongest Man competition. If you plan to compete, here are some tips to win.

Instructions

1. Be At Least 6' Tall

   If you are not at least 6' tall you're going to have a lot of trouble in many of the events. Events like the fengal fingers are built for taller guys and most men in the final ten are between 6'2" and 6'6". There is hope, however, as four time champion Mariusz Pudzianowski is only 6'1".

2. Be At Least 300 Pounds

   That's really for if you are 6' tall or shorter. Many of the men competing now are closer to 350. You'll need that kind of size just to be able to handle the weights. As the weights for the events are set and do not change for strength per pound. They don't care if you can dead lift 3 times your bodyweight, if you only weigh 200 pounds you won't be able to finish the dead lift event.

3. Scream A Lot

   The ones who compete in the finals are almost always talking smack and screaming, even if it is Polish jibberish. Screaming or grunting has actually been proven to give extra bursts of adrenaline as it pushes your body into fight or flight mode, so there is a bit of method to this madness.

4. Train Five Times More Than Your Buddies

   Many finalist report having trained more than 15 hours per week to prepare for World's Strongest Man. Bill Kazmier, three time winner recommends that athletes build the apparatus that they will use in the competition and train directly on it once per week to prepare. Mariusz Pudzianowski actually has fengal fingers and atlas stones set up at his home so he can train on them.

5. Train for Years

   Many of the competitors are in their 30s. The oldest to compete this year was 42 and the youngest was 22. Many males just can't fill out and have the muscle size and strength to compete at the top level without at least a decade of training.

6. Enter Power Lifting Competitions

   Top tier athletes often come from a power lifting background and those who don't have started competing to gain more experience for World's Strongest Man. Many of the lifts are set up similar to power lifts like squats, dead lifts and over head presses. There are also a lot carries involving heavy weight. Training like a power lifter will help prepare you for these events.

7. Be a Little Insane

   These guys fight through a lot of pain to compete at the top level. They train so hard on a regular basis that they are almost always working through an injury. You have to have a burning desire to sacrifice so much of your life to come back year after year in the hopes that one day you may be the World's Strongest Man.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't fit the 6' 300 pounds don't worry. One year I saw a guy that was 5'3" make it into the finals. This year a young man from England made it into the preliminaries at 5'10" 250 pounds. If you train hard and have the desire for a long time, you can have your shot at the title of World's Strongest Man.

Resources

• Alternative Fit - A great resource for serious athletes