This is an article I wrote for a popular American bodybuilding publication.

So you’ve just finished watching The World’s Strongest Man on TV, and the Europeans whipped everyone’s ass again, no American winner this year. And that’s been the case for a long time now. Not since 1982, that’s 20 years.

World’s Strongest Man 1977 to 2001

1977. Bruce Wilhelm USA
1978. Bruce Wilhelm USA
1979. Don Reinhoudt USA
1980. Bill Kazmaier USA
1981. Bill Kazmaier USA
1982. Bill Kazmaier USA
1983. Geoff Capes Britain
1984. Jon Pall Sigmarsson Iceland
1985. Geoff Capes Britain
1986. Jon Pall Sigmarsson Iceland
1987. (No World's Strongest Man contest in 1987)
1988. Jon Pall Sigmarsson Iceland
1989. Jamie Reeves Britain
1990. Jon Pall Sigmarsson Iceland
1991. Magnus Ver Magnusson Iceland
1992. Ted Van Der Parre Holland
1993. Gary Taylor Britain
1994. Magnus Ver Magnusson Iceland
1995. Magnus Ver Magnusson Iceland
1996. Magnus Ver Magnusson Iceland
1997. Jouko Ahola Finland
1998. Magnus Samuelsson Sweden
1999. Jouko Ahola Finland
2000. Janne Virtanen Finland
2001. Svend Karlsen Norway
2002. Mariusz Pudzianowski Poland
2003. Mariusz Pudzianowski Poland

So if America is going to win The World’s Strongest Man anytime in the near future then you’ve got to get training for it. As with all sports the more people you have playing that sport the better your chances of gaining some world champions. In recent years strongman events have become much more popular and more and more athletes are competing in them, and this is a trend that is occurring all round the world.

So let’s get down to the basics, how do I you become a strongman athlete. Now here are some basic strength levels that I think all budding strongmen should be able to meet.

Squat 200kg
Bench 120kg
Deadlift 200kg
Press 80kg
Curl 50kg

Now you’re not going to win The World’s Strongest Man with these lifts but you will with the correct training be able to put on a good show in a regional event. Now some of you are going to say, I can lift much more than that, but can you apply that strength in a strongman competition.

We all know guys who can lift some huge weights in the gym, but when it comes to lifting odd objects like stones, barrels or cars they just can’t apply that strength that they have. Time and again I have seen barbell athletes entering events thinking they going to crush the opposition and coming absolutely nowhere, gym strength doesn’t cut it on the strongman circuit you need to be really strong, functionally strong.

So how do you get really strong, how do you turn that gym strength into real strength. In the gym you have nice barbells and dumbbells, easy to grip and hold onto so that it is easier to demonstrate you strength. The main stumbling block to showing real strength is lack of hand and forearm power, if you can’t hold onto it you’ll not lift it. If you can lift up two 150kg farmers walk barrels and carry them for 100 meters in less than 30 seconds then you can skip the rest of this article. Otherwise…

Lets get down to those exercises you need to add to your training to get real strong, strong enough to lift cars, throw the stones of strength around like marbles. Now you can follow Ian Kings rules and add these exercises in at the beginning of your routine or you can do them separately from your main training.

Training that Grip

You can train your grip 3-4 times a week, using different exercises every day. So I’ll give you list of eight different exercises that you can use to really get your grip up to the point that you’ll never need to use straps again. Grip like that old uncle of yours, you know the one that has hands like shovels and always tries break every bone in your hand when he comes round at Thanksgiving.

Hangs
This is simple, find yourself a chinning bar, and a stop watch, now your going to hang from the bar for 30 seconds. Take a rest and repeat 3 times more. Once you can hang onto the bar for 4 sets of 30 seconds then move to hanging on for 40 seconds and so on until you can manages 60 seconds on all 4 sets. If this sounds too easy then wrap a towel round the bar to make it thicker, now try hanging onto that. You can also add extra weight by using a dipping belt and some dumbbells. If that gets too easy try hanging off the chinning bar by a rope or a towel, that’s going to really fry that forearms. And if all that gets to easy for you Popeye try hanging off with just one arm. So there you have it one exercise with lots of variations so you’ll never get bored.

Sand Bucket
Remember when you were a wee kid and your brothers would take you down the beach with your bucket and spade, then they’d bury you up to your neck in sand and run off. Then you’d have to walk the 10 miles home and they always seemed a bit surprised that you made it back, maybe it was just me then. Anyway here’s a great exercise that used to be used a lot back in the 40’s and 50’s. Get your self a large bucket and fill it with wet sand. Now jam your hands deep into the bucket and start moving them about in the sand, try and grip your hands it different ways squeezing the sand in different ways. Just imagine its that bully from school crown jewels you’ve got in your hands, and now its payback time for all the times he beat on you and flushed your head down that toilet. Squeeze rip and tear. As with the hangs above start of with 4 sets of 30 seconds and gradually build on this.

Wrist Roller
This is another old favourite that doesn’t seem to be practised much these days, probably because its so dam hard and painful. If you don’t have a wrist roller then just make one. All you need is a 2 foot piece of 2 inch diameter metal tubing and a some 8 foot of cord. Drill a hole in the middle of the tube, pass the card through the hole tie a stopper knot and you have yourself a wrist roller. Now that eight foot core is not a misprint, you can stand on a bench to make use of that extra height. Now attaché a dumbbell or plate to the end of the cord. The idea here is to turn the roller over and over, gradually winding the cord around the middle of the tube.

Try a light weight at first just to let yourself get used to the exercise, say 10 pounds, with your palms facing upwards starting rolling up that weight, once you have it all rolled up , reverse direction and let it all back down again under control. Now try it again this time with your palms facing the floor, not as easy this way. Do two sets of each and your forearms are going to feel like someone took a blowtorch to them.

Broom Broom
This is a leverage exercise that used to be practised with broom handles or sledge hammers. You’ll need some kind of handle, this can be anywhere from one inch to two inches in diameter and between four and six feet long. Tighten a collar at one end and then slide some weights down the handle. You will not need much weight to begin with, try around three pounds to begin with. Use another collar to secure the weights in place.

That’s it you have your leverage bar, now to use it. Standing with the weighted end on the floor and the other end in you hand using the power of your wrists lift the weight up until it is parallel with the floor, hold for five seconds and gently set it back down to the ground, repeat for 10-15 repetitions. Do a set with the other arm and then repeat for a further 1 or 2 sets. You can also perform the exercise in the following way as described by the great Vic Boff

“Just to show that it's not so easy, Slim invites any volunteer from the audience to horizontally raise a 12-Lb. hammer - by it's end - from the floor. Needless to say, this is an all-but-impossible feat. But then Farman proceeds to lift a 24-Lb. hammer in the same manner with one hand! He lifts it up until it is at straight arm's length. Without moving his arm or bending an elbow, he lowers and touches it to his head, then brings it back to the vertical position.”

Slim “The Hammerman” Farman was the undisputed champion of leverage lifting. However don’t take this version of the exercise to failure or you’ll end up with more than just sore forearms.