Its been a busy few weeks and i haven`t had much time to jump on here and tell everyone whats happening so for that i apologise ..
Englands Strongest Man u90kg was an awesome show and its was closely fought on every event .. Some big performances were thrown up .. No surprise to me that Adam Travis won the Squat with a triple bodyweight 270kg.. Or ther he won the Dumbell, lifting the 70kg for 8 Reps. The guy is a beast and he felt he was harshly done by just getting timed out on his 10th rep on the 250kg Deadlift which Eric Sahin won with a back breaking 10 reps .. Eventual winner Arram Eghoyan won the 140kg Farmers walk event and was very consistent all day after that .. We had some big shock event wins Tom Hibbert blitzed the Barrel race beating Arram into second place BUT the biggest shock of the day was when 10th place Sam Evans loaded all the atlas stones in a rapid 33 seconds to beat everyone else by a mile .. This was due to the athletes being absolutely "SPENT" They let me know what they thought of me for picking these BRUTAL events :-) Shane Jermans consistency paid off in the end to just pip Adam Travis into 2nd place .. There were just too many excellent performances to mention everybody ..
Final Placings were -
Arram Eghoyan
Shane Jerman
Adam Travis
Tommy Yule
Glen Kerr
Eric Sahin
Liam Hunt
Dan Withnail
Mark "PAGAN" Hodgeson
Sam Evens
Tom Hibbert
Michael Rutledge
James Elliot
Stuart Parker
Nick Yardley
Arrams win now means that he competes in the Europes Strongest Man under 90kg in Donegal Ireland on 7th/8th September .. The show is due to be aired on TV Setanta Sports in Ireland ans hopefully somewhere over here too.. They`re are athletes from Latvia, Portugal, Sweden, Lithuania, Georgia and Germany among others .. Good Luck to Arram who flies our flag ..
It was a fantastic competition and i must thank the athletes and fans who made the trip along with Ben France, Sanderson Scoring Systems and all of the helpers who made the show run smooth ..
An absolutely brutal days competition took place at Salt Ayre Leisure Centre on "Fathers day" 17th June 2012 ..
Left to Right - Adam Travis 3rd - Arram Eghoyan 1st - Shane Jerman 2nd
VikingR sponsored athlete Shaun Clegg narrowly missed out on the Olympic Games by just one place so is first reserve but when most people would let their head drop he has picked himself up and is hitting the training really hard .. On the performance squad he hit 130kg Snatch and 155kg Clean and Jerk for an unofficial A standard .. With the backing of his team he has every opportunity to go forward and get medals at the next Commonwealth Games ..
VikingR have teamed up with Martin at VOS because i love what he`s doing for the sport and he has so much enthusiasm ... We share alot of similar opinions about strength sports so its a great deal for both of us ..
Martin is a legand after so little time in the sport .. Make sure you check his website out at
I`ll report on this a little bit more later but in adition to our new weightlifter Clarence Kennedy .. VikingR Strongman Clothing are proud to sponsor both Chris Gearing and Sean Kennedy from the strongman world. These two guys are both tipped for big things in 2013 and after talking to the team down there i feel that they are worth backing for very a successful season next year ..
Paul Wood has Sean under his wing and is training like a mad man to reach his full potential and Ex Shot Putter Chris is already proven in placing very succesfully in Britains Strongest Man and already winning UKSC Englands Strongest Man..
Jason Talbot was the man who made Atlas Stones affordable .. When Roosk stones were too far outside people price range, JT came along made up some molds and made Atlas Stones available at grass roots level.. He then went on to develop other bits of equipment affordable too and he is under praised for the amount of work he has done at ground level for 105kg Strongman and Strongman in general .. He is also a true gentleman ..
VikingR asked the "Flash" Danny Ashcroft to get an insight into the story behind JT`s set-up
Mark..........
Melton Mowbray/rural Leicestershire and strongman are not usually not
words that most people would usually associate with each other (admittedly,
when the word Melton Mowbray is mentioned, the fat boy inside me thinks of
pies), however of the last few years they have gone hand in hand, thanks to one
man and his exceptional training facility. To the outsider, and regular “gym
monkey”, the Cauldron may look like an old, decrepit barn tucked away in the
corner of an old farm yard. But once you roll away the three massive tyres from
in front of the main entrance to the container and main training room, you
un-earth an overwhelming amount of strongman kit and equipment that would make
the “purists” mouth water, but more on that later. Firstly I will introduce the
founder and owner of this magnificent facility, which, as many of you who
regularly frequent strength websites, is Jason Talbot or JT to the masses. JT
is a former England’s strongest man u105kg and owner of www.atlasstones.co.uk (check it out,
it’s a must for strongman equipment) and it’s his generosity and passion for
the sport and strength sports in general which really make this place such an
appealing place to carry out events sessions. Now, much like the barn, he is
old and decrepit (just kidding), however his wisdom and advice is the main
reason why I continue to frequent this facility on a regular basis. I will
cover Jason later in the article, but now want the reader to understand how the
Cauldron came about.
After setting up the Container facility, Jason started to gain a bunch
of lads that would get together and train strongman events every weekend. After
the relative success in competition, of many of the guys that trained at the
Container, word spread of the fantastic facility and group that trained there.
The Container then became most strongmen in the Leicestershire areas regular
training place on a Saturday morning. The success of the facility continued and
this is in fact where I first met JT and the Container crew and started my
strongman journey. However in early 2011 the owner of the land in which the
container was stored decided to sell up, and JT had 2 containers full of
equipment and a group of lads desperate to continue to use the fantastic
equipment on offer. This is when JT made the conscious decision to move the
container into a barn on the farm next door and open a new facility, which we
know today as The Cauldron. The video below shows a couple of Cauldron regulars
just messing about in the farm yard in the rain in the very first session held
down at the facility.
Now, as written above, from the outside the Cauldron doesn’t
necessarily instantly scream “ training facility”. In fact if you didn’t know
why you were there and were just walking around the farm yard you would
probably completely miss the barn which I consider a strongman’s wet dream.
Hidden away between the three tyres we have to play with (one 300kg nice grippy
tyre, one 350/400kg beast known as Whinny , which only a few heroes have ever
flipped, and one with an unknown weight, which I have certainly never seen
flipped), is the entrance to a truly special strongman and strength related
facility. The first things you notice on entrance are the loading platforms,
straight in front of you, ranging from 65” all the way down to 45”, 7 in total.
Next to the platform are the quality atlas stones that we are lucky to have
thanks to JT. These range from the 60kg training stone, all the way through to
the 196kg beats that lay there un-touched. The quality and availability of
theses stones could make this facility a must for any strongman, however there
is so, so much more equipment that make this place what it is. You only have to
look at the right hand wall to see various kegs, sandbags and barrels available
for loading, as well as 15kg axes to practice raised holds, a yolk, 3 different
specs of loadable famers walk handles, as well as the dreaded suitcase farmers.
Add these to the finagles finger (or JT’s digit as it was recently renamed),
Conan’s wheel and various gym style dumbbells. If you then look in front of
you, just before the platforms you will find my favourite pieces of equipment
that are on offer and they are the set of inch replica dumbbells. These include
the 51kg, 57kg, 63kg, 69kg, 78kg and the beast that is the Millennium 105kg
dumbbell which I believe only 2 men have ever clean and pressed (unfortunately
one wasn’t me, but they are both connected to the VikingR Blog). Just when you
thought that was enough you look to the left and see three axel bars, 2 JT
style logs, a lat pull-down machine and a huge amount of plates that can be
loaded on to either of the 2 Texas power bars or the 3 Olympic lifting bars.
Then directly behind, completing all the Cauldron has to offer are a power rack
and bench, along with some weird concoctions that the crazy owner has invented,
including the doomsday dumbbell and the Loxel (A combination of an axel and a
log, its horrible). That’s what’s on offer; now let’s look at three of the
people who have achieved success in the strength world after frequenting this
great facility.
Jason Talbot “JT” – The creator of the Cauldron and former England’s
strongest man u105kg. Although he has taken his training down a notch now,
every session with JT is worth its weight in gold as the advice he can give and
the encouragement he can offer is unreal. He creates all round strength
athletes, not just static beasts, as he understands the new demands of
strongman and the direction that it has taken. The constant encouragement to do
1 more rep or 10 more meters is always greatly appreciated, as when it comes to
comp day, that is what you need.
Adam Bishop “Bish” – Well what can be said about “Bish” (apart from the
fact he has a massive head)? He is a fantastic strongman who has been able to
hone his skills using the fantastic equipment and listening to advice from JT.
In 2011 Adam was crowned 1st in Midlands’s strongest man u105kg, 2nd
at BSM u105kg and 1st in the UK’s strongest man U105kg. Since then
he has got fat and gone on to open competition and is yet to finish off the
podium in competition. Its not his achievements alone that make Bish great to
train with its his advice and encouragement with all things training that make
every session with him worthwhile. Then you get to see the silly feats of
strength and power that he is able to display and this makes you want to train
harder to be able to one day stand the chance of getting close to what he is
able to do. And he is only 23, knob head!
Jay Pateman “Ursus” – Well most readers will no all about Jay, but I
just want to shed some light on what its like to actually see this man in
action. On first meeting Jay I could not believe the size of the man. However
out of everyone he was the first to speak to me and talk about strength, I
understood then, this was his passion and knew with him I was in safe hands.
Over the years I have witnessed some insane feats of strength first hand at the
Cauldron; however one thing that eluded him for so long was the Millennium
Dumbbell. That’s why I was so happy for the man the day he was able to achieve
the clean and press, and cast away one of his demons. Like I have said its not
just watching Jay which makes him special its his friendliness and his helpful
nature which makes him part of the Cauldron atmosphere.
Below you can see a couple of typical sessions at the Cauldron
As you can see from, and read above this is a rather special place.
It’s a great combination of lovely kit, good camaraderie and banter that make
it a great place to train. I remember rocking up for my first session there
with Bish and JT jokingly (I think) asking why Bish had bought him a Dwarf. Its
this sort of thing which make training there enjoyable and which I why I think
the Cauldron will have a great future. If training was 100% serious all the
time it would become stale and boring and that is why I think the Cauldron
provides a unique environment with one of the best “coaches” around to make the
environment special. So what’s, or should I say who, is next? There is some
great talent coming through the ranks at the moment, including junior powerlifting
champion come u105 strongman John Hamson and u105 strongman Luke Skippon. Early
competition entries already this year for these two have provided very
encouraging results and under JT’s tutelage, this reporter predicts a bright
future for them both. As well as these two strongmen, there is a few more
creeping out of the woodwork in deepest darkest Leicestershire so keep your
eyes peeled for the next champion; I promise it won’t be long.
So, if your after a great atmosphere to train in, and don’t mind having
the piss taken from time to time, want to use the best equipment around and
receive some fantastic advice, get yourself to Leicestershire, I promise you
won’t be disappointed.
For VikingR, I’ve been Daniel Ashcroft, Thanks for stopping
by!
As i put together my report on ESM90 which i`ll put up tomorrow i thought i`d bring you some current news.
VikingR Strongman Clothing are looking for opportunity to break into the Olympic Weightlifting scene and we recently have done this by becoming sponsors of the London Open Weightlifting Championships in December ..
We are also currently designing some Weightlifting personal equipment like straps and wrist supports as well as a kit bag and Weightlifting style Tshirt ..
VikingR are sponsoring Shaun Clegg in his build up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games and you can follow his build up on VikingrBlog through this 2 year period including his training and competitions and all his training camps etc ..
As well as Shaun VikingR have done a similar deal with Irish weightlifter Clarence Kennedy .. This is a very talented young lifter who promises big things and very impressively Clarence can do alot more than just lift weights . check this video of him ..
VikingrBlog will keep you posted on these 2 fantastic weightlifters and the Olympic Weightlifting world in general ....
I have been looking forward to this weekend all year .. This is definetely my favourite competition of the Strongman calendar .. First of all i`m glad the Strongman community trust in me to deliver this fantasic competition.. VikingR Strongman Clothing have made sure this years athletes are looked after .. Heres a teaser of some of the prizes ect for Sundays competition ..
Results and report next week !! Mark Clegg :-)
Winners Trophies and the VikingR sword for first place ..
Competitiors Tshirts for ESM90
We have our "TEAM" Trophy at ESM90 also..
Each competitor gets a VikingR Hoody
VikingR now has to capabilities to make our own Banners too .. After the competition one will go to "Naturals Strongman" Northern Qualifyer and the other to Europes Strongest Man ..
The new "Past Champions" trophy to be returned each year ..
And the prize money for our NEW Champion !!
A big thanks to Jack from Spartan Performance for Sponsoring ESM90
And a huge thanks also to Ben France for all his hard work in making this competiton possible as well as The Sandersons for bringing their incredible scoring system to make this competition as fantastic as it is !
Sunday 17th June 2012
Salt Ayre Sports Centre, Doris Henderson Way, Salt Ayre Lane, Lancaster, LA1 5JS.
TEAM NORTH
Shane Jerman
Adam Travis
Dan Withnail
Mark Hodgson
Liam Hunt
TEAM MIDLANDS
Eric Sahin
Tommy Yule
Stuart Parker
Nick Yardley
Sam Evans
TEAM SOUTH
Glen Kerr
Aaram Eghoyam
Micheal Rutledge
James Elliot
Tom Hibbert
Event 1 - Giant Farmers Walk - Head 2 Head
140kg x 20 metres
Event 2 - Max Squat
Event 3 - Deadlift for Reps - Head 2 Head
Conventional Deadlift 250kg.
Event 4 - Dumbell for Reps - Head 2 Head
70kg for reps
Event 5 - Carry and Drag - Head 2 Head
110kg Beer Barrel x 2 and Drag.
Event 6 - Atlas Stones - Head 2 Head
110kg,120kg,135kg,150kg,160kg loaded to 48"
Good Luck to all the Athletes competing and we`ll see you on the other side ..
Come visit us at the Vikingr pop-up shop for some limited edition tshirts and much much more ..
When trying to decide who to use from the many strength icons in
history, I kept finding myself leaning towards one man who really is the
human embodiment of raw unpolished brutish strength and ugly power. Unlike the pretty, glamorous muscle and fitness models of
our metro sexual era, Glenn Ross was, and is often criticised by many for his
incredulous size and habits, his belief in his strength, and his stubbornness
in not conforming or evolving to what is expected by fitness fanatics and left
wing health advisers !
He was arguably the strongest human being on the planet before the rise and
dominance of the Lithuanian giant Big Z.
Never really reaching the dizzy heights of his
fellow athletes, Glenn Ross was more a freak of nature, and an ogre of power,
but all who have witnessed his raw strength in the flesh will never forget the
image of a blood snorting 450lb man lifting inhuman weights followed by a
bellowing rhetorical question in a strong Irish accent ................
"Who's the Daddy ?!!!!"
Glenn Ross was born on the 27th of May 1971 in County Down Northern Ireland,
and like the majority of young boys soon took an interest in most sports
and team games until finally settling on a long term relationship with
iron in the form of competitive bodybuilding, with the dream of one day
becoming a superstar wrestler. Ross found a great flair for putting on lean
sinewy muscle, and began competing in 1993 and eventually winning the 1994
novice Mr Ireland at a body weight of just under 100kgs .
Glenn's
preparation for the 1996 Mr Universe competition was in jeopardy due to putting
on far too much weight in the 'off'season. He hated dieting and it was taking
its toll on his body, causing horrific and crippling cramping in his muscles
and his body was numbing when at such low body fat. This along with his
obsession with food made competitive bodybuilding intolerable.
Whilst working as a chef and bouncer to pay the
bills he was invited to do a local charity truck pull and from that he decided
to get into the strength sports. He changed his routine and his eating habits
and began putting some major bulk on to be more competitive and by 1997 his
deadlift alone had climbed to a massive 360kg !!
At this stage Glenn knew that in order to stand a
chance with the top lifters of the late nineties he would have to be even
bigger and at a height of only six feet would need to get heavier and heavier
to match the body weights of the much taller athletes some close to seven feet
and weighing up to 26 stone1
He was now eating up to thirty boiled eggs with
porridge for his first of six daily meals. His diet mainly consisting
of steak, fish, chicken,protein shakes,potatoes,rice, beans, pasta, fruit
and at least eight chocolate bars a day!!
Although now married with two children Glenn was
now training seven days a week ,four days in the gym and three days on his
strongman events. A typical training week looked like this...
Monday- Legs. Squat,45 deg leg press,leg
extensions,leg curls,seated calf raises.
All main exercises are done in 8's 5's 3's and then
a double (not quite to failure) over roughly 90mins of high intensity training.
With this programme his deadlift climbed from 360 in1997,370 in 1999,390 in
2000,and the elusive 400kg was pulled in 2002.
He was squatting 400kg in just knee wraps ,bench
pressing 295kg raw and had a standing military press of 195kg !!! With
these lifts he was widely regarded as the strongest man Britain had ever
produced and statically the strongest human being alive,he was also now the
heaviest strongman in the world.In one year alone (1999)he was 1st in the IFSA
UK championship,1st in Northern Ireland's strongest man,and 1st in Britain's
strongest man.
His record in competition now looked like this,
United Kingdoms strongest man winner
2004,2006,2007,2008,2010
Britain's strongest man winner 1999,2000,2001
Northern Ireland's strongest man winner
1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000
Qualified for WSM 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
There was no doubt about it, Glenn Ross was
obscenely strong ,but his emphasis was on lifting heavy and his mobility events
were seriously lacking .This really held him back in the cardiovascular
demands of the Worlds strongest man competitions. Often winning the static
log press or grip events but losing huge points on the loading medleys
or walking with weight and very often collapsing and needing to see the
medic after giving his all .
Fortunately for Glenn there was the 'Arnolds'
competition this was a more static based competition invented to separate the
men from the boys with the heaviest weights ever seen in these strength events.
In 2005 Ross competed at the Arnold's and for
me,displayed the greatest feats of brute strength ever seen, not just in
one event but he stole the show in three of the six events !!!
The first feat of strength was the Apollons
axle. A 166kg (366lb) non revolving 2" handled barbell that was made
to resemble train wheels made legendary by the famous historical strongman
Louis Apollon Uni. This was to be lifted from floor to overhead as many
times as possible .
"The Daddy" rocked up looking mean as
hell in an all black shorts and sleeveless tshirt covered in
chalk and bandaged at the knees and elbows in 'Irish' green knee high socks. He
used an unusual technique of ripping the enormous weight of the floor and
catching the bar in the crook of his elbow, and like a fork lift truck
just hoisted the weight to shoulder height smashing his chin,and then awkwardly
worked his left hand under the bar into a pressing position but once he got it
there he didn't use any leg drive at all but instead just pushed the bar into
the lockout position using solely deltoid power.
Repetition number two was even more ridiculous as
Glenn's hand spacing was completely off, and he had one hand in the centre
position and the other near to the collar, but with true power and
ignorance he, proceeded to strict press the weight overhead!On the third rep
Glenn ran out of steam during the pressing of the weight and dropped it
crashing to the ground ,unbelievably he then returned to the lifting position
and threw the weight to his enormous shoulders and painfully and slowly with a
rep that seems to last forever ,pressed the weight strictly to
lockout. ............."who's the Daddy ?"came the cry from the
behemoth !!!
The Hummer Deadlift was next, this was a 14ft bar
with enormous 4x4 wheels on each end ,a handle of 1
3/8" diameter and an 11" height to pull from .
Ross was the last man out and stomped up the platform stairs with
contempt,Glenn had wanted to attempt 1000lb on this his final
lift,as his last lift 933lb looked like a warm up , but sense got the
better of him and he took just enough to create an incredible new world
record of 977lb . Glenn destroyed it with bags of strength to spare and
screamed his trademark call whilst pacing up and down the platform
acknowledging all the crowd in front of him and then plodded to the waiting TV
crew and announced in his deep Northern Irish accent "Breaking world
records is what the Daddy's all about .And when it comes to the deadlift ,I'm
the Daddy !!"
The Inch dumbell press was was a replica of the
heaviest dumbell used by the legendary English strongman Thomas Inch.The Inch
was 172lb in weight and 2.47" in diameter.
Ross went at it like a man possessed and without
using any momentum from his legs strict pressed seven clean reps on his right
arm with the 78kg dumbell .He then returned the bell to the platform before
lifting it up to his left shoulder inan attempt with his left hand.To every
ones surprise the bell hesitated on the way up,drifted back and was then dropped...."no
lift" called legendary strongman and referee Odd Haugen.After a small
pause to catch his breath Glenn then picked the bell back up to his right
shoulder and began to press it but it again began to drift back downwards, but
in an incredible display of just who had the strongest shoulders on the planet
Glenn dug his heels in and pressed even harder against the force of gravity and
defiantly muscled the weight to arms length.Almost beyond belief Glenn's ninth
rep with the Inch dumbell was a carbon copy of his eighth rep and again he
muscled it out!! Those two repetitions have been widely discussed by strength
historians and fans ever since as being one of the greatest feat of
pressing power of all time and rightly so in my opinion.Ross then put the bell
down picked it up with his other hand and managed his 10th and final rep
in style.Proudly beating his chest ,stalking the platform and high fiveing the
rapturous crowd Glenn turned ,slammed his massive hands into his even more
massive stomach and shouted with pride to all those who had ever doubted his
abilities......................"Not bad for a fat bastard eh ?
!!!!!!"
Glenn Ross still lifts now, and in his first ever powerlifting show, the Irish
senior powerlifting champ achieved a raw 1000kg total in shorts and
a tshirt, and dreams of attaining someday an 1100kg raw powerlifting
total. He won the Masters WSM winning the log press and getting 12 repetitions
on the 320kg squat(double the amount of reps achieved by the competitor
in second place!!)
He is owner of Daddy promotions, an events and
festivals promoter and founder of the United Kingdom Strength Council ,he still
trains, cooks ,decorates cakes!! and does charity and fund raising .
VikingR caught wind that there was a brand new strength facility opening up in the Midlands and rumors had it that they was to have strongman facility's at this new establishment ..
We sent our VKR investigator "Little Sen" over to the half built facility to scope out the vibe !! He was welcomed with open arms and we will definitely be back over to bring you more information when the project is complete ...
Over to Little Sen -
Mark Clegg
Under Construction
Little Senvisits a new facility being set-up in central Worcester – the Midlands and gets an advanced viewing of what is to come at a gym hoping to stamp its mark on the strength sports and athletics scene.
It doesn’t look like much right now, but through the eyes of anyone who was ever wanted their own little temple of iron, you can see this place oozes potential…
With 5 years in the health and fitness scene, catering to bodybuilders and the fitness crowdChris Robinson, owner of CityGym Worcester, has decided to expand and welcome a more sport specific crowd through his doors with the addition of a new facility in a separate warehouse next to his current set up.Chris is hoping to welcome strongmen, rugby players, Olympic lifters, cross-fitters and more to his family of iron addicts.
The area itself, is rather modest for most gyms… but let’s not forget this is a dedicated area, he already has a huge amount of floor space with racks, benches, cable machines and all sorts upstairs… this is a dedicated area for the freaks amongst us that find climbing ropes or loading stones a fun way to while away their weekends.
Currently there is a large van parked in the corner where I can see myself hitting a few farmers PBs in the near future; Chris assures me there will be at-least a 25 meter run kept clear for the farmers and yokes, sleds or other movement training, weather permitting and with the large warehouse shutters up… well you can go until you puke if you like.Across from the van, under the stairs up to the changing rooms and showers, a dark-warm matted corner promises heavy-bags, conditioning kit and MMA specific training, whilst next to it is an 18 square foot matted area for Olympic lifting and barbell work, whilst along from there across a huge back-wall is an area that promises cross fit style frames, climbing ropes and piles of medicine balls. A few other bits of kit I can see scattered around are some half-built competition bench’s and large power-racks.
Now, we know I’m a pessimist, sure there is the floor space – yeah anyone can get some farmers handles and some stretches of concrete, but what has say, a rugby player got to look forward to here?
Will I really get a better session down here, than If I trained with my barbell and rack in the back-garden?
Chris happily reels of a list of the kit he has coming in and being fabricated: A Scrum-Machine (which I have already seen and played with) pulley systems for harness usage, tires, axles, Steel logs, Yokes, sleds, lighter atlas stones and platforms, sandbags, competition benches, 2 new power-racks, beer kegs, a car deadlift frame and a car, climbing ropes and Crossfit licensed frames and ladders…
“Oh, and have you ever seen one of these?”
…A large piece of kit I hadn’t really noticed before… I was too busy visualising how the stone and sandbag platform might look or wondering whether I’ll get to play with a shiny steel super yoke or if it will be a standard, lighter weight, more common yoke…
I say kit…Let me explain, I understand that this unit used to be used for metalwork and scaffolding – one piece of “kit” leftover is a rather large, industrial winch mechanism that is being scrubbed up and fitted with a new pulley (Held by owner Chris in the picture) – capable of safely handling loads of up to 250kg (or 1000kg breaking point according to the nice little certificate that came with it).This large piece of kit is being refurbished to create some sort of sadistic pulley system in which users can be harnessed into or grapple ontoand used to hoist huge weights up into the air in the corner of the gym.
Pretty cool huh! – Although I daren’t think of the Health and Safety implications of a piece of kit like that…
think the “Severn Valley” arm-over-arm weight hoist seen in their 2007 strongman competition (Youtube video - http://goo.gl/OMv1U), only much, much more hardcore.
Now, all I can really think about of is how damn cool it would be to hook it up to the back of my irritating neighbour’s tiny little chavmobile that blares out music at 3am on a weekday.How satisfying that would be…. Oh, don’t worry…I’d let him get out of it first.
Probably.
The details:Organised groups for crossfit and MMA; the centre is accessible for anyone already a member or for single usage fees, open 9-5 on weekends and 7-10 on weekdays.The Strongman specific kit will have controlled use however on a weekend and perhaps one weekday evening.
We can expect to see CityGyms new and as of yet, unnamed little brother gym join the ranks of other top gyms in the midlands such as Leicester’s “The Warehouse Gym” who CityGym have been working with closely to help develop this new venture, as a veteran of the strength scene already, he has chosen a good partner!If we see any influence from them here, it can only be a good thing!We can also expect to see this facility as a new events venue, Chris is very keen to hold open days and get his foot in with some friendly competitions; done right this little gym looks like it has the potential to really deliver.I can’t wait to see how it turns out over the next few weeks.
So don your “imagination hats” and have a browse of these “under construction” photographs included throughout and cross your fingers that we might have another quality place popping up nearby.
Contact: “Citygym Worcester” on Facebook for more information.
