Super quick summary: Competed in my 2nd competition. 9 competitors in my division, took 1st in 3 out of the 4th event. Took 3rd in the last event for a 1st overall. With this victory I defeated some nationally ranked competitors and have myself in return been invited to the national championships.

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Weight class: Under 200 pounds (176-199)

Age: 32

Height: 5'10"

Weight: 198 (Weighed in at 198, was sitting at 193-194 the weeks before the comp. Ate big the last 2 weeks going in)

Other important elements: It was 102 degrees. (39 degrees C for the majority of the world) The air index was over 270 because of local fires. Everything was a lot more exhausting because of these things. We carried on!

Event 1: CAR DEADLIFT FOR REPS

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Result: 1st - 11 reps

Summary: Did 11 reps, but would have done much more if I needed to. 2nd place had only managed 5 reps. One of the competitors could have turned this into a rep fest easily, but sadly he hurt his back on the 2nd rep. Overall I was happy that I didn't have to take this for 20+ reps because I've done that before and it kicked my ass. I was excited to keep a bunch of reps in reserve for the other events.

Event 2: Overhead Pressing Medley

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Result: 1st - I don't want to count the reps

Summary: Press an axle, press a log, viking press for reps. I felt all of the weights were pretty light and knew this was going to be about conditioning. Hit the axle super easy, took my time on the log, and went ham on the viking. I'm a pretty good presser so I knew I wanted to perform well on this event. I was the only competitor to press the log and other than 2nd place, most people tapped out under 15 reps on the viking.

You were allowed to skip an implement if you gave a solid effort on the press. Axle and log were worth 2 points each, viking presses were worth 1. I tied for the amount of reps on the viking as 2nd place, but 2nd place slipped on his split jerk and wasn't able to complete the log, putting me ahead by 2 points on this one. Power over technique won this time.

Event 3: ODD OBJECT LOADING MEDLEY

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Result: 1st

Summary: Took first by .03 seconds. I suffered in carrying technique, but made up for it with a good pace. I conditioned a lot with sandbags to prepare for this event. Everything was 100-200 pounds. Nothing was terrible to carry. I have a lot to learn about proper carrying though. I could have done better on some items, but taking 1st on an event that I was hoping for top 3 at best on was a huge win.

Event 4: Truck Push/Tire Flip (Push truck 60 feet/flip tire back 60 feet)

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Result: 3rd

Summary: I believe if I would have went full effort I would have gotten 2nd on this event. After knowing that I just needed 4th to win overall and that enough guys couldn't finish the course in the required time I changed my attitude towards the event a bit. I was tired and ready to go rest at this point so I aimed for just finishing the course in the time, knowing that would secure the win.

I took it easy on the truck to save a bit of energy and then even got lucky on the tire, finishing it in one less flip then the others. The others were ending just inches from the finish line, but I got a super lucky bounce that finished it for me. I trained a lot for this event going in, but it was nice to take an event easy towards the end of a tiring day.

Overall results: 1st place

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A lot to learn on carrying/moving heavy objects from point A to B. I'm happy I focused on high rep low rest times and conditioning for this competition. Some of the guys that I beat have competed or earned their national invites so it was a nice motivation to know that I did well against some good competition. It was cool to get my invite to nationals as well.

I escaped with no injuries, just minor cuts and bruises. Other than that, the high has worn off. I'm tired, my neck is sore and I'm ready for a deload week. I'll be right back at it planning for my next comp in October.

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Thanks to everyone who donated to me to make this possible. It paid for a bunch of the hotel, travel, entry fees, and training equipment!

I have a new competition in October that I'm going to start training for. Two events, max log press, max deadlift. Super simple, super heavy, lot's to do in not a lot of time to prepare.