The former Arnold champ says these five exercises simulate freakish feats of strength
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to flip a massive truck tyre or deadlift a car in a Strongman competition?
WWE superstar Braun Strowman can help give you that feeling — at least on a smaller scale.
Before he splashed onto the pro wrestling scene in 2014, Strowman (real name: Adam Scherr) was making iron inroads on the Strongman circuit, winning the North American Strongman U.S. Amateur National Championship in 2011 and the Arnold Amateur Strongman World Championship in 2012. (In fact, it was competing as a strongman that first put Strowman on the WWE’s radar back in 2010, when WWE superstar and former Olympic weightlifter Mark Henry spotted him hamming it up with the crowd at the 2010 Arnold Classic.)
Now a fan favorite, Strowman has managed to inject his beast-like Strongmanroots into WWE storylines, pulling stunts like "flipping" an ambulance, demolishing a WWE production truck, and pulling apart the TV set of Monday Night Raw amidst his reign as “The New Face of Destruction.”
That's why, a few weeks before WrestleMania 34 on Apr. 8, Men's Health tabbed the six-foot, 385lb “Monster Among Men” to recommend five exercises that simulate a Strongman workout regimen, so us average Joes can at least feel like we’re pulling off freakish feats of strength, too.
1. Use A Squat Rack To Simulate A Car Deadlift
No, you’re not just going to walk up to a car and deadlift it. (Well, maybe you could try with a smart car someday, but that’s going to take some practice.) Strowman suggests simulating a car deadlift by setting up a squat rack with two bars, starting with as little as 50 pounds or even only the weight of the bars alone.
“Load weight on the front ends of the bar,” Strowman advises. “So you would set up the racks where you have the support safety bars set down low and then you would lean the bars over the rack. You could use a 25-pound weight to keep them from sliding off that bar. Set the two bars out, stand in between them both of them, grab a hold of each bar with each hand and deadlift them.”
Go for reps, building your tolerance and eventually working your way up.
2. Military Press For The Log Clean And Press
If you’re unfamiliar with a Strongman training log, it looks like a mini-battering ram. But Strowman says he’s seeing the apparatus in more gyms, and he says it's incredibly useful for “functional training." If your gym has a training log, try it out using standard clean and press mechanics, working your way up in weight over time.
Don't have a training log handy? Strowman has just the exercise to simulate the Strongman log clean and overhead press, which he calls his “worst event.” Opt for a seated military press on a flat bench, without any back support. “Your core has to stabilise and keep you from falling off the bench and then, you’re working your deltoids to get the lockout on the weights,” he says. Try it using dumbbells to start, then graduate up to a weighted barbell.
3. Try A Smaller Tyre For The Truck Tyre Flip
Always wanted to flip a truck tyre just like a Strongman, but don't have any monster truck spares handy? Just find a smaller tyre, Strowman advises. During his Strongman career, Strowman had six different weight tyres from 300 pounds up to 1,700 pounds stored at his local gym. Strowman says your local tyre shop might just give you their massive worn-out tyres if you ask, so that they don’t have to pay to toss them.
The average weight of a new passenger car tyre is 25 pounds and 20 pounds for a worn-out tyre. Start out with that and work your way up. If the tyre weight is light for you, Braun says to flip it for “60 seconds at a time and a distance of 100 feet.” If it’s heavy for you, he says to flip it two to three times.
“Tyre flips are a total body workout,” Strowman vows. “It’s unbelievable, the conditioning that you get from doing tyre flips along with the strength benefits. That’s something that will really test your cardiovascular system.”
4. Squat Rack Bar Holds For The Yoke Race
The Strongman yoke race challenges competitors to carry an entire squat rack loaded with up to 1,500-plus pounds through a race course as fast as they can. Strowman says there’s no real way to replace the yoke other than doing it, but here's a way to get your body acclimated to supporting your max weight: “Load the bar up where you have to lift it four to five inches out of the rack and then just stand there, holding it 30 seconds or a minute,” he recommends.
“It’s crazy how much your muscles are firing just to support weight.” Strowman adds that having a strong core to be able to support all that weight on your back is key.
Strowman has witnessed the yoke race end badly, so be careful. “I’ve seen guys getting pretty much mouse trapped, not being able to support the weight and their core gives out.” Don’t let that happen to you. Start off small with a weight you can handle and work your way up to your max.
5. Use A Bucket Of Sand For The Farmer's Walk
Grip strength is a crucial component for any Strongman competitor. Although some gyms incorporate weighted farmers walk handles, Strowman has a few crafty methods to get your grip strength up to par, so you can walk or even race while carrying heavy weights in your hands like a Strongman champ. Braun suggests loading up two bars on a squat rack with as much weight as you can muster. Stand between them, lift the bars, and hold them for a minute at a time.
For an extra grip strength exercise, grip 10-pound plates between your fingers and thumb. Add plates to see how many you can hold at once. If you’re at home and can’t get to a gym, Braun has you covered. “Take a five-gallon bucket filled with sand [or rice] and stick your hand down the side of it,” he says. “Just open and close your hand in the sand to work on your grip.” As Strowman says to his WWE opponents: “Get these hands!”
