S.D.A: Tac, Sweat and Weights - How to train a 'Strongman'

Going into any shoot can be unnerving, especially when you’re not really sure where you’re going and your only memory of what the person your meeting looks like is incredibly vague.

Standing outside Culdrose Community Centre, Helston , Richard Birchmore (who I will from now on refer to as Speedy, a nickname given to him as he use to sprint for the Navy) called out for me from across the lawn, I had met Speedy last week at Kernow’s Show of Strength (Novice Event) where him and the lads were supporting Training partner Kieran Davies.

As we turned down a side road, the reality of these guys training conditions hit me, talk about an underground sport, they were literally training in a home gym- well in this case a garage gym. Inside the inconspicuous looking garage lays around four to five grands worth of ‘Strongman’ equipment from full racks of dumbbells, to various stones (a traditional ‘Strongman’ event’) yokes, weights and log barbells. Normally the weekly training session has a slightly larger occupancy but today was only attended by Jules Pyatt, Tom Goldsworthy and Speedy, which worked well for me as it was easy to follow them as a group and stay in the loop with what they were actually doing (my terminology is coming along slowly).

My impression of ‘Strongman’ from the beginning has been very different to what I had expected, I think we have a slight preconception, perhaps caused by the annual televised event, cartoon stereotypes, as well as seeing any larger guy,  huffing and puffing as they lift  obnoxiously heavy weights (well above  what the average ‘Gym rat’ can) at the gym.  Just like any stereotype I think the average person (who we will say knows little or nothing about the sport, some may even question its role as a sport, when in fact it requires just as much body conditioning as any pitch based sport) would say that these guys are a little scary and perhaps upon first sight they appear that way (especially when your confronted by Jules, who is well over 6ft and is sporting a rather bushy ginger beard, running at you with a very loaded yoke) but in fact from the beginning of my ‘Strongman’ experience, the term don’t judge a book by its cover has never been more true.

When you first think of how these guys train, and if you consider what they do in the simplest manor (lift heavy objects) it is perhaps very primal and manly, after all they meet on the weekend in what is basically their backyard, however what we forget or perhaps don’t even consider is that these guys are athletes, they are  not meeting (like most men) down the local, downing a few too many pints and being destructive to their health (although there is obvious health risks attached to ‘Strongman’ and i’m sure they are very capable of having a few pints) but athletes who gather to educate themselves both physically and to some extent mathematically (there’s a lot of mathematical equations involved when you have to add up the correct weights and sizes) in the hopes of improving their fitness.

 From my experience with Strongmen, they appear to be nothing but big softies, perhaps you could call them B.F.S Big Friendly Strongmen, although I’m not sure that’s something they’d want you all to know. The sense of community spirit and sarcastic but cheerful banter among the competitors is something that perhaps shocked me from the onset, and despite my complete lack of knowledge about the sport, I felt totally accepted straightaway and they were all incredibly willing to let me photograph them, in the hopes that not only their achievements would be documented (I guess it’s a form of boasting showing the world through social media, how they have improved and how their bodies have changed)  as well as the sport being given a little bit more press and acknowledgement, after all ‘Strongman’ is not just an event on at Christmas but a sport that requires both physical and mental training, it’s not a sport for the typical ‘gym rat’, the step up even for a body builder or power lifter in incredible with strongmen benching/lifting up to and over 300kg (which is roundabout 49st).

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Inside the average looking garage lies the physical equipment needed to train like a 'Strongman', Helston, May 2014 

Jules Pyatt, described by others as possibly 'Cornwall's strongest man' larking about trying a one handed axle press, Helston, May 2014 

Richard Birchmore (Speedy, who is the 2013 Kernow Show of Strength Champion) appears to be meditating during grip practice. Helston, May 2014

Jules Pyatt timing Richard Birchmore as he prepares for Birmingham's BodyPower event this month, Helston, May 2014

Tom Goldsworthy and Richard Birchmore watch on as Jules Pyatt completes grip practice, Helston, May 2014 

Richard Birchmore  aka Speedy -( a nickname given to him as he use to sprint for the Navy) holding a loaded Log Barbell. Helston, May 2014 

Tom Goldsworthy preparing for the Log Barbell category at BodyPower later this month, in which he will have to do as many reps as possible in 60 seconds using a 85kg Barbell, Helston, May 2014 

Speedy midst training for the Three Part Medley, carrying a Yoke loaded with 80kg of weight as well as the weight of the apparatus,the lads use the garage numbers to work out the distances of the pitches,  Helston, May, 2014 

Richard Birchmore outside the home gym otherwise known as the Garage lock ups, watching on as Tom Goldsworthy trains for the 280kg Yoke event at the upcoming BodyPower, Helston, May 2014

Richard Birchmore (Speedy) practicing the stones event, A traditional 'Strongman' event, as you can see the Yoke has added character, where the lads have lifted the stones over it so much, Helston, May 2014 

Tac, an incredibly sticky gel that I can only compare with Golden Syrup that helps the competitors grip the Stones. Helston, May 2014 

The results of using Tac, Helston, May 2014 

ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHT ELLIE HETEBRIJ