On June 8, 2018 World’s Strongest Man Hafthor Bjornsson posted a training video on his YouTube channel, but it wasn’t one of his typical strongman type sessions. Instead, he was joined in the video and trained by fellow Icelandic, former CrossFit Games Women’s Champion, and expecting mother Annie Thorisdottir. Thorisdottir’s partner, Frederik Aegidius, also was in the group.
The two past world champions collaborated in one of Thorisdottir’s workouts which was intended to serve as a challenge for Bjornsson who has been focusing on losing weight and increasing endurance. Since the video included the words “Hardest Session of My Life”, the three-time Arnold Strongman Classic Champion must have felt the workout served its purpose.
The session took place in Thorisdottir’s training facility and the summary of the workout is below. This entire cycle was performed twice.
- 4 x 10 second Assault Bike Sprints
- 3 Rounds – EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute)
- 12 Kettlebell Swings and Assault Bike Work
- 3 Minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)
- 8 Dumbbell Step Overs4 Deadlifts
- 8 Calories on Bike
- 4 Rounds – EMOM
- Bag Lifts Over a Yoke
- Bike Ride
- Bag Lifts Over a Yoke
- Bike Ride
While the workout took its toll on Bjornsson, one noteworthy observation was the weights that the strongman star was using. Bjornsson used 250 kg (552 pounds) on the deadlift portion. He noted that this weight was 50 percent of his max, referencing his world record deadlift of 501 kg (1,104 pounds) last month. He also used a 110 kg (242 pound) bag for the yoke portion of the session. Thorisdottir stayed on the bike for that portion of the session due to her pregnancy.
This actually isn’t the first time they had trained together. They performed a previous workout in late 2019 and Thorisdottir noticed an improvement in Bjornsson’s performance since that last session.
“He is a different person right now.”
Bjornsson spoke as well and said he would be up for more sessions like the one they had just performed.
“My training is going to change a bit now because I’m going to be doing more endurance. So I’m going to try to come more often if we don’t disturb your training session.”
The focus of Bjornsson’s training currently is for his September 2021 fight with Eddie Hall. He had previously stated that he won’t be competing in this year’s World’s Strongest Man contest.
Featured Image: Instagram/thorbjornsson