'We train our butts off': Competitors vie for strong man and strong woman titles
Athletes who specialize in lifting heaving objects gathered in Regina this weekend for a strong man and strong woman event.
"It's a lot of technique that goes into it as well as strength," Tracey Halladay, who was competing in the women's heavyweight division, said Saturday. "We train our butts off."
Halladay, 33, has lifted a 200-pound log and performed a dead lift of 500 pounds (about 227 kilograms). She entered the sport seven years ago after being encouraged to do so by her husband, who runs a local gym.
Now competing in her 13th event since 2014, Halladay said she loves the sport and the unique elements to it which involve lifting things like logs and heavy stones or flipping large tires.
Her training routine has her in a gym three days per week, alternating with strength exercises and recovery days. Once a week she practices for competition events.
"All the fun stuff — truck-push, truck-pull — stuff like that," she said.
James Mohns, 26, is a newcomer to strong man events, having been involved for about one and a half years after a friend introduced him to the sport.
"I love the competition aspect," he said. "I love testing myself against other people [and] trying to get better."
Mohns competes in the men's heavyweight division. He has lifted 600 pounds, or 262 kilograms.
He said training and diet are the underpinnings to the sport. Good nutrition, he said, is important to support the rigorous strength routines.
"Lots of meat," he said, about his diet. "I eat a lot of meat proteins … and carbs too. Potatoes and stuff like that."
Halladay said the sport provides her with a mental boost in addition to the physical challenge.
"With strength comes confidence," she said.
