by Robin Tarnowetzki
Journal Staff Writer
Humboldt's John King was drawn in when he saw his first strongman competition in 2010, and made it his goal to enter his first competition by the end of the summer. He achieved that goal, and since then has competed in shows in the U.S. and Saskatchewan, including Saskatchewan's Strongest Man.
"For my first competition I honestly didn't know much about the sport," he said. "I really didn't have much of an idea of what I was doing. But that's strongman. That's starting something new. You just kind of jump in. You're not going to win in your first competition or in the first five years of your competition."
Strongman competitions are comprised of a range of events like flipping a tractor tire, carrying a fire hydrant, deadlift (lifting dead weight), log press, or squat lift. Every competition varies, though. King's favourite event is the Atlas stones, which involves competitors placing five stones of increasing weight on a podium.
Before moving to Humboldt, he did four competitions in the U.S., a few in Regina, and Saskatchewan's Strongest Man last year and this year - getting fourth place this year in Melfort.
"I really liked that it's sort of like a true strength type of sport," he said. "Everything in strongman competition is extremely awkward, and the competitions are always changing. You're kind of doing these things that people never ever do. I guess the big thing for me is it's just an aspect of true strength. I feel like it's a high-level strength activity."
To maintain his strength, King trains at the gym three days a week. On the first day he'll do heavy front squats and other training, on day two he'll do deadlifts and log press, and on day three he practices different strongman events. If he's getting ready for a show, he'll specifically train the events that will be in that show. Somewhere in there he'll do a cardio or anaerobic exercise, like stairs. The end result of training and competing is that he has a 620 pound deadlift and a 300 pound log press.
While he was putting together his training routine, he got input from the strongman community here in Saskatchewan, which King said is extensive.
"It's hugely supportive, very welcoming, and very knowledgeable. I got lots and lots of input and lots of support from some of the really high-ranking guys around here in Saskatchewan," he said. "Guys like that are hugely helpful. They're mentors for the sport and sponsors of the sport for people who are just coming up through the ranks."
When he's not involved in strongman competitions, he works as an engineer for BHP Billiton and likes to cook and drag race.
