The “American Nightmare” is back. After finishing ninth overall in his first World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Finals appearance at the 2021 WSM contest, Bobby Thompson is diving into his preparation for the 2021 Shaw Classic scheduled for Aug. 27-28, 2021, in Estes Park, CO.
On July 21, 2021, the American Record holder in the log press took to his Instagram page to show off his posterior chain gains. Using lifting straps and a weightlifting belt, he deadlifted 455-kilograms (1,003 pounds) off 15-inch blocks for a slow and controlled double. Check it out below:
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Solid prep for the the Shaw Classic in the works.
These deadlift reps for Thompson fall into a unique space. They are partial reps, as he did not pull the weight from the floor. However, they are lower than what partial deadlifts in recent strongman competitions have been.
In particular, the blocks Thompson used were three inches lower than the 18-inch partial deadlift event at the 2020 WSM contest won by Oleksii Novikov (both the event and the contest). The same can be said for the Hummer Tire deadlift event from the 2020 Shaw Classic where 2020 WSM bronze medalist JF Caron set a Hummer Tire deadlift world record of 545 kilograms (1,202 pounds). For reference, the all-time world record partial deadlift is 550 kilograms (1,212 pounds) set by Anthony Pernice in 2020.
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It would seem from this massive double that Thompson intends to have a big showing of his own in the Hummer Tire deadlift event, which is one of the eight events that will be featured at the 2021 Shaw Classic. His training for the last several weeks has aligned with the events he and the other 15 strongmen competing will encounter.
Since the conclusion of the 2020 WSM competition, Thompson has shared videos of his training in the axle strict press, the deadlift, the circus dumbbell, the squat, the super yoke, and the log lift. Aside from the bag toss-over bar and the Atlas stones, Thompson appears to be routinely training for all of the Shaw Classic events. We’ll see if he can earn a spot on the podium against the likes of four-time WSM champions Brian Shaw — who won the inaugural contest in 2020 — and Žydrūnas Savickas.
Featured Image: @bobby_thompson_prostrongman on Instagram