Heather Lee
March 31st, 2005, 07:52 PM
As you may have seen from Gene's awesome writeup in the Genex articles section, I have now, in addition to bodybuilding and powerlifting, started competing in Strongman!!!(http://www.ftvideo.com/genex/articles05/heather_lee/)
He had an excerpt from my diary on my website, but here is the full writeup here~this is directly from my members section! Enjoy and stop by my site to check it out or just say HI!!!
http://www.heatherleenj.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3/22/2005
Hey Everyone...
I have to apologize for not stopping in sooner to update you on how I did...but unfortunately I have not been able to get out of bed or off of the couch since Saturday when I got home. Can you say...PAIN?!?! If I could make that word PAIN larger or more bold to emphasize the amount of pain I am in, I would. Does that explain how I feel???
Let me start off by saying I have the highest level of respect for the women who compete in Strongman. I have found both Powerlifting and Bodybuilding to be painful in ways...whether it be in the dieting and water depletion in getting ready for a bodybuilding show...or the extreme internal pressure you feel "in the hole" while squatting in a canvas suit...or the grueling workouts you put yourself through for both. However, I can say with not one ounce of doubt...none of that even remotely compares to the pain I felt while competing in strongman.
I arrived on Saturday morning around 8 am and got breakfast. Then I headed over to the arena. The show was set to start at noon. I weighed in at 156 pounds, and then had time to play around with the equipment before the meeting and rules. Now mind you, I never trained for this, nor have I ever used any of the equipment that I would be using during the competition. I was able to have a friend show me how to get under the tire(which was 500 pounds) and throw my body into it to flip it...that is all technique(and of course some strength). The way I originally tried to do it rendered the tire motionless. Once I was shown how to do it, it moved, not necessarily with ease, but nonetheless, it flipped. Ok, some confidence there. I played with the rest of the equipment but didn't really get the full force of it because no weight was on the apparatus. The only exception there was the kegs...I had to lift 150 pound kegs, which I tried and was able to do.
Now onto the competition itself....
The first event was the Yolk Cradle. If you didn't get to read what the descriptions of these events were, just scroll down the page 2 entries and you can see the details. I was supposed to have to do 290 pounds, however due to the promoter miscalculating the weight of the equipment, I had to do 330 pounds. When I got under the bar, which rested in the bends of my arms, and stood up with it, I saw stars instantly. My vision was limited to mere feet and I could not hear anything. The goal was to walk 150 feet with the apparatus, with unlimited drops. The pain I felt in my back, quads, arms, and the sheer pressure in my head and eyes was agonizing. I am pretty good at sucking it up, but this event was really really difficult. 330 pounds is a lot of weight. I think I made it about 50 feet. This event was really really tough. A hell of a way to start off the day....I spoke to other competitors and they told me that no matter how many times you do this, it never gets less painful. I am missing some serious skin off of my forearms and in the bends in my biceps too...Yuck!!! I was dissapointed with my finish, but I knew that on that day, I wasn't capable of any better.
The second event was the Axle Clean and Press. You would think this would be a pretty easy, cut and dry event, right??? Wrong. I have done overhead shoulder presses in the gym with a bar...but this is different. Instead of having an olympic bar, you use a big fat bar that is about 2 inches in diameter. I couldn't get my hands around it. Also, the weights aren't weights on the end...they are tires. And the bar does not spin like a normal bar, so when you clean it, you have to adjust your hands to let the weight sit where you want it in your hands. One of the girls told me she had trained for this event and it was more then the 130 pounds it was supposed to be...she guessed it was more like 140. Now, with Strongman, unlike Powerlifting, the form on exercises does not have to be pretty. The way one of the judges put it was..."As ugly as you need it to be~just get it up". While I was warming up with the axle, I knew I would not be able to clean and press it. Jumps were allowed, which helps tremendously, but I have never done it that way because in bodybuilding, we try to make it hard on ourselves to fully work the muscle. So I knew that option would be out for me. However, what was allowed was cradling the weight in the bend of your arms, and standing up with it like a deadlift, raising the weight to your chest. The tricky part was then to momentarily lose control of the weight while trying to grip the bar. I was able to do this, thought I banged my chest pretty hard in the process. However, after the first event, my arms, shoulders, and back were all fatigued, and after several tries to press it overhead, I was unable to fully lock it out for any points. I did, however, get a point for cleaning the weight.
The third event was the Deadlift off of a 9 inch platform. Ahhh, finally, something I knew how to do!!! LOL!!! Although my back was smoked from the earlier events, I was confident on this one! I decided to open light~you get 3 attempts here and once you miss you are done. In otherwords...if you miss your 1st attempt, you don't get your 2nd and 3rd. I decided to open with an easy number...I pulled 305 just to get it in the books. My second I went for 415, and that went up no problem. However, my 3rd, I tried 450 and missed. I thought pulling off of the box would be easy since you have less area to travel to the lockout point. It was actually harder for me because it took my legs out of the equation, and my legs are stronger then my back. Oh well, I was happy with 415, that was a personal best!
At this point, I was absolutely exhausted....I was waiting for our friend Kyle to go on his deadlift, but since the contest was running behind(there were close to 100 competitors) and the promoters only had the venue till 7pm, they decided to overlap events. However, they didn't announce this on the loudspeaker and as I was relaxing, one of my friends pointed out all the women were lined up at the other end of the venue by the kegs. The fourth event...the Keg Medley...
I ran, literally, to the back, grabbed my belt, changed my shoes, and ran to the women. I was only in time to find out that I was next and the rules for the next event changed in order to save time. The original rules stated you would pick up one keg, load it into a wheelbarrel with wheels on the front only, run 50 feet to get the 2nd, and run 50 feet to get the 3rd, then run to the end and unload the 3 kegs to a platform. The new rule was load all 3 into the wheelbarrel, run to the end, and unload them. Now mind you, I had about 30 seconds to listen, put my belt on, and get my game plan. You try getting a gameplan in 30 seconds and see how well you do, LOL! I was so frazzled that instead of front loading the kegs which weighed 150 pound each, I threw then into the wheelbarrel evenly distributed. Now when I went to lift the wheelbarrel, which itself weighs close to 100 pounds, with 450 pounds of kegs in there, for a grand total of 550 pounds, it would not budge, I realized what I did and ran to rearrange the kegs, but I was spent and they wouldn't be easily rearranged. I decided to screw it and try to just lift it as is, and I failed. At that point I was tired, frustrated, and in lots of pain. My back was shot. I was shot. Then the only event I actually had the technique down on, the 500 pound tire flip and duck walk was cancelled due to lack of time.
I ended up taking 4th place in the event. I am proud I gave it a shot, and though I had a really hard time and I am paying for it now, I am happy I did it. I have nothing but respect for those women I competed against. They were all amazing, and all so very nice. I didn't expect the level of camraderie that was there....when it is your event everyone rallies around you and supports you, cheers for you, and tries to egg you on to finish the event no matter how painful. I was introduced to a world in a sport I knew nothing about, and they welcomed me with open arms!!!
I also have to thank my support crew....My husband and family, & all of my friends for coming to support me...Marta, Bianca, Claudia...and Elena who was there in spirit since her brother was getting married that day. She would have been right along side me cheering me on, if not competing herself! And a special thanks to Bianca who worked 'till 4 am the night before and still got her butt up and drove all the way there for me!!! :) (Even though I caught her napping in the competitors warmup area, LOL!!!!!!!) HAHA!!!! BUSTED!!!!
Anyway, now that you have heard the account firsthand, let me show you the pics.
As for me, I am back to the couch to nurse my wounds. I am one hurting girl today. I probably won't be back into the gym until next week, probably Sunday. I need the week to recover.
I will drop in to say hi and update you all on how I am feeling!
'Till next time,
Keep pumpin' hard!!!
XOXO
Heather Lee
He had an excerpt from my diary on my website, but here is the full writeup here~this is directly from my members section! Enjoy and stop by my site to check it out or just say HI!!!
http://www.heatherleenj.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3/22/2005
Hey Everyone...
I have to apologize for not stopping in sooner to update you on how I did...but unfortunately I have not been able to get out of bed or off of the couch since Saturday when I got home. Can you say...PAIN?!?! If I could make that word PAIN larger or more bold to emphasize the amount of pain I am in, I would. Does that explain how I feel???
Let me start off by saying I have the highest level of respect for the women who compete in Strongman. I have found both Powerlifting and Bodybuilding to be painful in ways...whether it be in the dieting and water depletion in getting ready for a bodybuilding show...or the extreme internal pressure you feel "in the hole" while squatting in a canvas suit...or the grueling workouts you put yourself through for both. However, I can say with not one ounce of doubt...none of that even remotely compares to the pain I felt while competing in strongman.
I arrived on Saturday morning around 8 am and got breakfast. Then I headed over to the arena. The show was set to start at noon. I weighed in at 156 pounds, and then had time to play around with the equipment before the meeting and rules. Now mind you, I never trained for this, nor have I ever used any of the equipment that I would be using during the competition. I was able to have a friend show me how to get under the tire(which was 500 pounds) and throw my body into it to flip it...that is all technique(and of course some strength). The way I originally tried to do it rendered the tire motionless. Once I was shown how to do it, it moved, not necessarily with ease, but nonetheless, it flipped. Ok, some confidence there. I played with the rest of the equipment but didn't really get the full force of it because no weight was on the apparatus. The only exception there was the kegs...I had to lift 150 pound kegs, which I tried and was able to do.
Now onto the competition itself....
The first event was the Yolk Cradle. If you didn't get to read what the descriptions of these events were, just scroll down the page 2 entries and you can see the details. I was supposed to have to do 290 pounds, however due to the promoter miscalculating the weight of the equipment, I had to do 330 pounds. When I got under the bar, which rested in the bends of my arms, and stood up with it, I saw stars instantly. My vision was limited to mere feet and I could not hear anything. The goal was to walk 150 feet with the apparatus, with unlimited drops. The pain I felt in my back, quads, arms, and the sheer pressure in my head and eyes was agonizing. I am pretty good at sucking it up, but this event was really really difficult. 330 pounds is a lot of weight. I think I made it about 50 feet. This event was really really tough. A hell of a way to start off the day....I spoke to other competitors and they told me that no matter how many times you do this, it never gets less painful. I am missing some serious skin off of my forearms and in the bends in my biceps too...Yuck!!! I was dissapointed with my finish, but I knew that on that day, I wasn't capable of any better.
The second event was the Axle Clean and Press. You would think this would be a pretty easy, cut and dry event, right??? Wrong. I have done overhead shoulder presses in the gym with a bar...but this is different. Instead of having an olympic bar, you use a big fat bar that is about 2 inches in diameter. I couldn't get my hands around it. Also, the weights aren't weights on the end...they are tires. And the bar does not spin like a normal bar, so when you clean it, you have to adjust your hands to let the weight sit where you want it in your hands. One of the girls told me she had trained for this event and it was more then the 130 pounds it was supposed to be...she guessed it was more like 140. Now, with Strongman, unlike Powerlifting, the form on exercises does not have to be pretty. The way one of the judges put it was..."As ugly as you need it to be~just get it up". While I was warming up with the axle, I knew I would not be able to clean and press it. Jumps were allowed, which helps tremendously, but I have never done it that way because in bodybuilding, we try to make it hard on ourselves to fully work the muscle. So I knew that option would be out for me. However, what was allowed was cradling the weight in the bend of your arms, and standing up with it like a deadlift, raising the weight to your chest. The tricky part was then to momentarily lose control of the weight while trying to grip the bar. I was able to do this, thought I banged my chest pretty hard in the process. However, after the first event, my arms, shoulders, and back were all fatigued, and after several tries to press it overhead, I was unable to fully lock it out for any points. I did, however, get a point for cleaning the weight.
The third event was the Deadlift off of a 9 inch platform. Ahhh, finally, something I knew how to do!!! LOL!!! Although my back was smoked from the earlier events, I was confident on this one! I decided to open light~you get 3 attempts here and once you miss you are done. In otherwords...if you miss your 1st attempt, you don't get your 2nd and 3rd. I decided to open with an easy number...I pulled 305 just to get it in the books. My second I went for 415, and that went up no problem. However, my 3rd, I tried 450 and missed. I thought pulling off of the box would be easy since you have less area to travel to the lockout point. It was actually harder for me because it took my legs out of the equation, and my legs are stronger then my back. Oh well, I was happy with 415, that was a personal best!
At this point, I was absolutely exhausted....I was waiting for our friend Kyle to go on his deadlift, but since the contest was running behind(there were close to 100 competitors) and the promoters only had the venue till 7pm, they decided to overlap events. However, they didn't announce this on the loudspeaker and as I was relaxing, one of my friends pointed out all the women were lined up at the other end of the venue by the kegs. The fourth event...the Keg Medley...
I ran, literally, to the back, grabbed my belt, changed my shoes, and ran to the women. I was only in time to find out that I was next and the rules for the next event changed in order to save time. The original rules stated you would pick up one keg, load it into a wheelbarrel with wheels on the front only, run 50 feet to get the 2nd, and run 50 feet to get the 3rd, then run to the end and unload the 3 kegs to a platform. The new rule was load all 3 into the wheelbarrel, run to the end, and unload them. Now mind you, I had about 30 seconds to listen, put my belt on, and get my game plan. You try getting a gameplan in 30 seconds and see how well you do, LOL! I was so frazzled that instead of front loading the kegs which weighed 150 pound each, I threw then into the wheelbarrel evenly distributed. Now when I went to lift the wheelbarrel, which itself weighs close to 100 pounds, with 450 pounds of kegs in there, for a grand total of 550 pounds, it would not budge, I realized what I did and ran to rearrange the kegs, but I was spent and they wouldn't be easily rearranged. I decided to screw it and try to just lift it as is, and I failed. At that point I was tired, frustrated, and in lots of pain. My back was shot. I was shot. Then the only event I actually had the technique down on, the 500 pound tire flip and duck walk was cancelled due to lack of time.
I ended up taking 4th place in the event. I am proud I gave it a shot, and though I had a really hard time and I am paying for it now, I am happy I did it. I have nothing but respect for those women I competed against. They were all amazing, and all so very nice. I didn't expect the level of camraderie that was there....when it is your event everyone rallies around you and supports you, cheers for you, and tries to egg you on to finish the event no matter how painful. I was introduced to a world in a sport I knew nothing about, and they welcomed me with open arms!!!
I also have to thank my support crew....My husband and family, & all of my friends for coming to support me...Marta, Bianca, Claudia...and Elena who was there in spirit since her brother was getting married that day. She would have been right along side me cheering me on, if not competing herself! And a special thanks to Bianca who worked 'till 4 am the night before and still got her butt up and drove all the way there for me!!! :) (Even though I caught her napping in the competitors warmup area, LOL!!!!!!!) HAHA!!!! BUSTED!!!!
Anyway, now that you have heard the account firsthand, let me show you the pics.
As for me, I am back to the couch to nurse my wounds. I am one hurting girl today. I probably won't be back into the gym until next week, probably Sunday. I need the week to recover.
I will drop in to say hi and update you all on how I am feeling!
'Till next time,
Keep pumpin' hard!!!
XOXO
Heather Lee