You Don't Train to get Smaller and Weaker

 You Don’t Train to get Smaller and Weaker

When I started this journey, I had cut from 250 to 175 after my high school season of football. My mass at 250 was sloppy, and what I really wanted was 6-pack abs. What I became was an eating disordered mess. Fortunately, strength training saved me and gave me my desire to be strong back. 

I was on a podcast with my friends from Valor and Venom, when Paul Leonard said something to me that really resonated. “You don’t train to get smaller and weaker, you train to get bigger and stronger”. This sat with me for a bit after the podcast. It was one of those quotes that's so obvious yet eloquent, it makes you reflect on your own journey through training. 

For me, I severely hindered myself during my first 4 years of serious strength training. I believed I belonged to the u80 class in strongman. I thought that I was too short to ever be a dominant u90 or u100. Truth be told, this wasn’t the case at all, and I was merely lying to myself to protect my pattern of disordered eating I had developed during my four month cut from 250 to 175. In this article, we will talk about weight classes and mindset, as well as philosophy of strength training. 

The First Few Years… 

When I first began serious strength training, I was a powerlifting wanna be, just without any of the mental fortitude or desire of a serious powerlifter. In all reality, I was just looking for something to train for because I enjoyed training, but without a general goal or direction I was lost. 

From ages 18-22 I competed as a 181 powerlifter. Constantly, I had guys telling me I should go up to 198. I would look at the numbers at 198, and mentally check out. I didn’t believe I could get strong enough to be competitive in that weight class. 

But here’s the real kicker; at 181 I STILL WASN’T COMPETITIVE. 

I guess this was my first initial mistake. I had a false illusion that being a “decent” 181 was somehow better in comparison to being a “decent” 198. 

I spent my first four years of powerlifting improving, albeit slower than I should have, all because I didn’t want to bulk out of my weight class and feared losing my precious abs that I had worked so hard to get (while also losing every muscle on my body). 

JF Caron, one of my favorite strongmen of all time, says the following: “Abs are not a sign of strength, it’s a sign you don’t eat enough”. 

This is partially true. Having abs and a 400 pound bench is cool. Having abs and barely pressing 300 is not. 

Back to the topic at hand… Here’s how my numbers progressed over four years (notice how horrifically slow progress was)… 

181 (2013)	181 (2017)
Bench: 255	Bench: 303
Squat: 440	Squat: 500
Deadlift (Sumo): 550	Deadlift (Sumo): 615

The Switch to Strongman 

Once I switched over to strongman, I carried the same belief that I was a u80, and there was no way I could possibly be competitive a weight class up. I competed in my first few shows as an honorary u90, because there were no u80s in my weight class. My first few shows I got dead last. 

After a year into strongman, I was finally becoming competitive as a u80. A large reason for this was because I was great at the athletic events. I still was pitiful at deadlifts, and my press wasn’t that great. 

I competed at my first large competition in 2018, USS Nationals. I ended up getting fourth in a pretty stacked u80 class. This gave me a glimmer of hope that maybe I could be a competitive u80, and made me stick in the class an extra year. 

Fast forward to 2019, Hope for the Holidays. I had a goal to set the United States Axle Record for 181. I began my cut at 195, and came up two pounds short. I ended up deciding to compete up at 198 instead of further torture myself. Could I have made 181? Sure. Did I want to? Hell no. The desire to cut significant weight was no longer there. 

At the time, my 315 axle clean and press was good enough to secure the 198 record. Obviously, I smashed this a few years later. But this was a wake up call for me. Maybe I had been wrong about the proper weight class all along. 

So what Happened? 

Something had changed over the past couple years. I could no longer comfortably cut down to u80, and my body had changed as well. Some people call it putting on your “man muscle” once you hit 25. Truth be told, I was finally listening to my body and allowing it to grow. 

Over time, I allowed myself to climb all the way to 210. Once I did this, here’s how my numbers changed… 

181 (2018)	198 (2019-2022)
4th at USS Nationals	2x u90 SC National Champion Clash of the U90’s Champion
285 log	350 log
315 axle	370 axle
525 conventional deadlift	675 conventional deadlift
330 stone max	420 stone to same height

By gaining weight, I made huge progress over the years. 

So what’s the Point of this Article? 

My point, and if you only read one piece of this article, read this… 

STOP HINDERING YOUR PROGRESS BY “BELONGING” TO A WEIGHT CLASS!

As you progress in strength training, you will inevitably get stronger, which may lead you to getting bigger. THIS IS OKAY. You're competing to get better, not competing to stay in the same weight class for 20 years. 

Once I accepted the fact that my body WANTED to grow, my strength shot through the roof. 

Now, obviously there are some caveats to this… 

1. Don’t get sloppy. Going from 181 to 198 (just using this as an example) in two months will be sloppy and ineffective. Aim to grow overtime. 

2. Be realistic with your goals. You should shoot to gain half a pound to a pound a month of REAL weight. Your body will bloat, and the scale may read that you gained 5 pounds in a month. You didn’t. You started eating more, and therefore are retaining more water and food. 

3. Be wary of your health. Permanently bulking up to the open class over a two year span probably isn’t the best call. Keep in mind, your goal SHOULD be to be able to compete 10 years from now, and make it to 50.

What’s my Ideal Weight Class for Strongman?

Another tricky question, because there is no true answer. Here are some general trends I notice… 

1. If you're tall and lean, you are going to give up some points in the pressing while gaining in the moving or loading events. 

2. Your leverages are going to change, which means your strengths are going to change. As a 181, I was significantly better at front load events for reps or distance (sandbag carry, husafell, etc) as long as the weight would come off the floor. Gaining weight will displace implements more forward, but allow you to pick heavier weights from the floor. 

3. You should consider what strengths you give up when you go up or down a weight class. For example, going up a weight class will make you a better presser, but may result in losing points in other events. Is the trade off worth it? 

4. A lot of guys aren’t patient and give up too soon. Yes, you will struggle initially. The guys are stronger a weight class up! You will get there, but you have to give yourself a chance to grow. 

Am I too Short for ____ Weight Class? 

Once again, you need to consider the trade off to moving up a weight class. For me, I would say 231 is my absolute limit for a weight class. I’m 5’8, and going north of 225 results in my gains being sloppy and my conditioning suffering. Is the trade off worth it to move up a weight class? Carefully consider this as you make your decision. 

A Final Note 

Strongman, powerlifting, bodybuilding… They are all hobbies. You need to consider what you want from the hobby when you are making these kinds of decisions. For me, I wanted to break a world record at some point, win a national level show, and win a major show. With these kinds of goals, I had to bulk up a weight class and sit above said weight class. 

If my goal was merely to have fun, would I have followed the same path? Probably not. I cut a fairly significant amount of weight to compete as a u90. Often, my cut will be 15-18 pounds. This, in my opinion, is one of the least healthy things you can do to yourself as a competitor. Routinely doing this will result in organ damage over time. Don’t get it twisted, cutting 10% of your bodyweight more than a few times a year is extremely harmful. It’s bad for your joints, bad for your organs, and bad for your mental wellbeing. 

You DON’T HAVE TO CUT WATER WEIGHT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO! THAT’S OKAY! Consider your goals and what you want. 

My goals are now changing. Getting married, settling down… I’m probably looking at moving up a weight class again. 

Your weight class will change as your life changes. 

 

And that's okay.