The Ultimate Strength Athlete was a brainchild I would discuss with my interns and colleagues for the last few years I was at Denison. It was a strength competition that included highland games, Olympic weightligting, powerlifting, strongman, and some strength endurance events. Some of my friends like Jordan Houghton even used the event for a business plan assignment. The plan never got off the ground, but we had some interest.
So why write about an made-up strength competition that I've never done?
Well, competing is strength events seems to be at an all-time high. And, no, I don't have actual data to support this. My first competition was in 1997 and I have been a part of the "Strength Sport" culture since and it is just an observation I have. It would be hard for anyone to argue that specifically Olympic Weightlifting and Raw Powerlifting have benefited from the surge of CrossFit and Social Media.
Competing in a strength sport can be an unbelievable experience for anyone. The act of performing an act of physical power, strength and/ or endurance in front of your peers, judges, and an audiences takes a special kind of fortitude. This brings former athletes back into the competitive game. But...
Can you really call lifting weights or any exercising for that matter a sport?
Well, if it's in the Olympics, is it a sport? Although there are a lot of Olympic sports people would argue against calling them a sport.
Also, can you trademark a sport?
- NASCAR trademarked, not Auto-Racing
- NFL trademarked, not Football
- FIFA trademarked, not Soccer
- UFC trademarked, not MMA
...you smell me? Regardless whether they are real sports or not, combining the best of all strength sports is an admirable endeavor.
Why not just a supertotal?
I like the supertotal idea. Olympic total plus Powerlifting total. But, I do think it benefits the powerlifter in the end. Do you separate the points from each and then combine them?
I also like the old New England Record Breakers Meet format. Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Military Press, and Weighted Pull-Up. In that order.
The Dilema
The problem with most strength or strength/ endurance competitions is that true power, true strength, and true muscular endurance are not accurately measured. When these components are combined muscular endurance, anaerobic, and aerobic capacity become the predominant indicators for success. Even when these events are separated, but place in the wrong order, they can skew the results.
I am not saying in any way that performing a 1RM after performing a high rep circuit is not impressive. I am just saying it may not measure an athlete's true capacity and make others qualities.
I thought the Ultimate Strength Athlete™ Competition would take into account those factors for the most part.
The Gist
There will be 5 Different Sessions spanning the course of a day and a half. Each Session will have 2 events that will be combined for one session score.
USA Ultimate Strength Athlete
Friday Afternoon 5pm
Event #1: Throws
- Weight for Distance using an indoor weight throw, hammer, Powermax Grip Ball or even a car Tire
- Heavy Shot-Put (from Power stance) with a Braemer Stone, Shotput, or even a Med Ball
Scoring: Combined Distance of both throws
Friday Evening 7pm
EVENT #2: Olympic Weightlifting
- Barbell Snatch
- Barbell Clean & Jerk
Scoring: Combined Total Weight of Highest Successful Attempts from each Exercise
Saturday Morning 8am
EVENT #3: Raw Powerlifting Subtotal
- Barbell Squat
- Barbell Bench Press
Scoring: Combined Total Weight of Highest Successful Attempts from each Exercise
Saturday Afternoon 12pm
EVENT #4: Strongman Max Events
- Log Clean & Press or Fat Bar Clean & Press (Competitors Choice?)
- 18” Max Deadlift or Fat Bar Deadlift (one or the other)
Scoring: Combined Total Weight of Highest Successful Attempts from each Exercise
Saturday Evening 3pm
EVENT #5: Strength Endurance Competition
- Max # of Pull-Ups in 5 min.
- Max # of 10yd Prowler Sprints (hands on poles) in 5 min.
Scoring: Combined # of Reps from both events. These events could be run simultaneously depending on equipment available.
Scoring System
- 10pts for 1st
- 9pts for 2nd
etc, for each event. Max points for competition being 50points
Thoughts in retrospect
Combining two exercises for one score may not be necessary and could be a 10 event competition. If not, each event needs to be a combined dist, reps, or weight.
The last event could even be timed with a certain amount of reps or distance. Regardless, both need to be the same variable if the 5 event combined system is used.
Would be a option to include some kind of Kettlebell exercise to replace the Prowler sprint.
TRAINING
Saturday
Kettlebell 1 Arm Swing, High-Pull, & Snatch
- 35 x5/5/5
- 53 x 5/5/5
Kettlebell Clean & Press
- 53 for 3 sets of 5
Kettlebell OHP
- 53 x20
- 35 x20
Supersetted with...
Kettlebell RDL
- 53 x20
- 35 x20