FROSTBITE CHALLENGE

The Frostbite Challenge was this weekend and it was a doozy.  Adam has a knack for putting together unique and challenging contests and this one was awfully demanding.  In general I feel it was because the events were either heavy, or endurance based.  There were no gimmes like MMS grippers, which is honestly about 20 minutes of rest with only seconds of one-handed effort.  The events:

Bear hug deadlift - Heavy.
Rolling Thunder - Heavy.
Three grippers for max reps - Endurance.
Feats of strength medley - Heavy.
Endurance medley........you get the idea.

So the contest as a whole was very taxing on the whole body.  Guys who were strong in general did well despite not having trained for the events; or trained grip ever.

For my own performance in the lightweight class (82.5kg), I placed 2nd to Ryan Pitts of Strongergrip.com.  I was really happy with that finish.  It's hard to hang with Ryan.  He is so well-rounded that I never feel too bad finishing second over the course of a whole contest.  It is my mission in life to beat him however, which I've only done once at WSH Leg 2 when I won the whole contest.  But regarding Ryan, one place he usually racks up a ton of points on me is the feats of strength medley.  This time I tied him even 16/16.  I'm not sure we lifted the exact same things, but the score was the same.

In the bear hug deadlift, I was really happy to get the 197# opener off the ground.  That was a tough lift.  It took me two or three of my attempts and some tips from the crowd.  This may be a 78kg class record, but largely due to the fledgling nature of the class.  This contest would have been the first time the lift was contested since the 78kg class was added.

Another highlight was EASILY getting the 200# 2" V-bar in the feats of strength medley.  This is a Nationals qualifying lift.  I missed the #3 MMS close by a millimeter at most!  I really wanted that.  REALLY wanted that.  At least I have one Nationals qualifying lift under my belt.  Two to go.

As far as the Frostbite Challenge, it was an excellent contest.  Well run and exciting.  I love competing.  It always energizes me to train harder and have a better showing each time!