Death by Deadlift

It may be they must error on the high side of caloric intake to be competitive.
Day after day it adds up.

 

I'd suspect the same as well. But worth of note, at the beginning of the Born Strong documentary there is a doctor explaining one can only build so much muscle, and mass helps to move weight, hence the need for Strongmen to put on some fat. This idea has been repeated many times online, yet I don't know the science behind it.
Also later in the documentary, Arnold Schwarzeneger mentions how some new strongmen like Hafthor (number 1 now) carry relatively little fat, although imo in competition he wouldn't be called lean.

Martins Licis youtube channel is both entertaining and interesting, the guy is strong (finished 2nd at the latest Arnold Strongman) and funny. Also he went on an orange based diet after the Arnolds, mentioning the next WSM show would be in hot weather (this time in Florida I think, but that's usual for WSM to happen in hot climates) and the extra fat wouldn't help in such climate. I wish him best, but he lost a lot of power while carb depleted, missed a single overhead press rep @275, not an issue for most gym goers but definetely not top Strongman level. He reckoned it happened before and the strength would come back before the WSM (he's already lifting heavy again). Interesting when one thought those guys just tried and add every possible extra pound bodyweight. During his light weight training sessions he also manages 5 sets of 10 pull ups, and walk on a rope on the beach, impressive for a 350lbs guy.

 

Martins Licis and Haftor Bjornsson training together in Iceland a few days ago, possibly the top 2 strongmen at the moment. I'm already tired, if I start watching that again I'll definetely skip today's work out



Btw, as we are talking about health, you can notice a big difference between the Born Strong documentary and today's videos from Haftor. Half is face is now paralysed, I forgot the name of the medical condition but according to him this is due to him putting on about 40kgs in a single year, too much his body could handle - the huge weight gain has happened before the Born Strong documentary apparently, as he was already quite big back than.

 

Yes, I saw that and it makes some sense. But just how much fat? After all, it's inert, and I imagine the point of diminishing returns can't be too far off. I noticed a difference in fat content among the guys profiled. And I get that they don't want to be in calorie deficit because it would diminish their performance. But I don't get the sense that they even attempt to finesse it, to play it near the margins. Their dietary approach, from what I saw in the first several minutes of the piece, seems of the bull-in-a-china-shop variety.

Of course, I know nothing of the sport, so my comments are of little value. But I have a thing for relative strength as well as absolute strength. I think it's cool being the strongest. But I also think it's cool to lift more in relation to your own weight than anyone else. To that end, I imagine a bit of dietary finessing would be called for. Just my uninformed opinion.

 

Relative strength is big in Powerlifting, the sport uses the Wilks scoring, which is similar to a pound for pound across genders strength rating, although they are trying to update it as it appears now tilted in favour of lighter females, but the Strongman world seem to be totally dominated by the Super heavy weights, and there is less talk of pound for pound power. Being the overall strongest is what matters.
I share your impressions, most of those strongmen appear to use a nutritionist but their diet doesn't seem overly complicated. Martins Licis claims he can't share most of his diet, at least on the part after he lost weight, but he is still quite a bit fatter than Haftor (that guy is the most imprerssive physically, possibly over 440lbs now, probably below 20% BF considering Brian Shaw and Eddie Hall clocked in around 22% BF while looking quite a bit fatter)

https://www.google.com/search?q=haf...2qLiAhUdx4sBHUyXC7UQ_AUIDigB&biw=1920&bih=966

 

While these guys' feats are amazing and I too am impressed with their strength, their pursuits have NOTHING to do with health or fitness.

 

I agree. Strength training is something that enhances length and quality of life, but these guys and this sport take it to the point of negative return.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...longer-life-expectancy-increase-a8511491.html

 

Don't agree about the "this sport" part, Strongman actually works strength from very short to a couple of minutes effort , which is more diverse than in many other strength sports, plus one sure works his full body doing strongman, doing exercises, most often full body compound movements, that actually have a lot to do with practical life (more of a farmers' life than a trader's arguably). It looks quite good as far as strength sports go. Talking about grip strength, it is a beauty to check strongmen perform grip feats.
Trying to be professional is obviously another issue, as those guys aim for superhuman size and power, it seems that in several professional sports the ones trying to be the best reach past the point of negative returns, likely more in sports where drug testing is lax or non existent.

 

I have been into powerlifting for 30 years.
I don't know anyone that isn't seriously fucked up with injury from lifting heavy weights.
If I could start again I would absolutely never get into powerlifting. It is just a distortion and overcompensation of being a man.
If you want to be on the Jon Pall Sigmarsson longevity workout plan, go for it.