Strongman training and athletes are always good for inspiration or to pump you up before training yourself, but you have to understand that the weights they use may be a little heavier than what you may be doing.
Take Brian Shaw and Robert Oberst for example. In Shaw’s newest YouTube video, the four time World’s Strongest Man and the “Strong and Pretty” training partner are in the gym along with Nick Best and Eddie Hall, who is always great for entertainment as well as superhuman strength.
While Hall is lifting (and posing) with Best, Shaw and Oberst perform deadlifts, or what they call “speed deadlifts.”
For those of you that aren’t aware, speed deadlifts are supposed to be performed with lighter weight as quickly as possible for the purpose of improving explosiveness and power. On this day, the two strongmen work their way up to performing doubles and triples with 495 pounds. Yes, five plates a side on the bar for speed reps!
After the first few sets, Oberst puts on a deadlift suit so he can get accustomed to how it fits and so he can be better prepared to lift in it when it comes time to compete at the World’s Strongest Man taking place June 13-16.
As for Shaw, he doesn’t use a suit but does speak about how the work he did helped him gauge how he felt at the moment which included being beat up, dehydrated and not well-rested.
Afterwards, the duo also worked on lat pulldowns and seated rows, and grip work as their accessory lifts for the day. Keep in mind that the deadlift will be a big part of the events this year. The Deadlift for Reps is one of the qualifying events and the Deadlift Hold is a part of the WSM final. So while they didn’t want to tax themselves too much, this session likely helped him prepare for the work that will come on contest day.
Keep checking back to BarBend for the latest updates on the athletes as well as other news as we get closer to the 2019 World’s Strongest Man competition.
Featured image: SHAWSTRENGTH on YouTube
