The Wod Strongman's Fear at the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Games involved yoke carries and farmers walks along side handstand walking and crossed the boundaries between the strongman world and CrossFit.
Here is the workout:
Move yoke, farmers log and sled 150 ft. across field *Handstand walk when moving back M 500-lb. yoke, 200-lb. logs, 400-lb. sled F 340-lb. yoke, 120-lb. logs, 310-lb. sled
You can watch the full coverage of the Strongman Wod here:
As the CrossFit games was including more elements of different sports such as paddleboarding, cycling, assault course, and gymnastics, it was good to see a strongman wod that actually had a decent weight and a range of movements too.
What makes a good Strongman WOD?
Strongman sports focus on heavy weights. Thats a given. The definition of strength is moving the most weight you can. It is incredibly common in Strongman events of the Worlds/Countries strongest man/woman to include yolk, farmers and odd object carries as part of their events.
The strongman wod had to include some of the similar objects to even support calling itself a strongman event and the yolk, log and sled did just that. From the event coverage we can also see that the objects were the perfect weight too. Heavy enough that most of the field struggled but the top, strongest athletes had little to no trouble with it.
However, the CrossFit element here really changed the dynamic of the WOD by flipping athletes up and doing something which taxes the shoulders and arms and which if you're not fresh, can be difficult to do quickly: the handstand walk.
Now we know that a lot of strongmen/strongwomen may not be able to perform a handstand walk and that's where athletes needed to have the perfect balance of strength and gymnastic capability to be good at this WOD.
WODs for Strongman events
Check out our 3 top strongman wods that will increase your ability to move heavy weights as well as work your CrossFit skills and capabilities too.
Strongman Wod 1
10 Minute AMRAP
8 Heavy Sandbag Shoulder Throws (60kg M, 40kg W)
80 Double Unders
Simple but effective, this one should burn your arms and work your core too.
Strongman Wod 2
4 rounds:
10 Deadlifts (120kg M, 90kg W)
25 metre Farmers Carry (32kg x 2 M, 22.5kg x 2 W)
25 metre Sandbag Walks (40kg M, 30kg W)
Move fast and controlled, it'll all be over soon!
Strongman Wod 3
15 Minute EMOM
Minute 1: 5 Back Squats (130kg M, 110kg W)
Minute 2: 10 Sandbag over Bar (Bar at chest height, 40kg M, 30kg W)
Minute 3: 25 metre yolk carry
Use the yolk carry to rest and ensure you complete the work and have time to rest before the next minute.
We hope you enjoyed these Wods Strongmen will love and if you complete the above let us know your times in the comments below.
