Strength competitions require care, training and heavy eating.

Training among the strongest men in the world involves much more than a few hours of gym. In order to be able to hold up to half a tonne weights and push a truck, athletes go through sudden body adaptations.

In order to become a strongman, your workout takes into account the requirements when carrying huge amounts of weight. The risks of spinal and muscle injuries are high. That may sound easy, but be careful before deciding to show strength by lifting large weights.

The practice

Strongman competitions are different from official sports such as weight lifting. Unlike strict sport rules, competitions have larger display elements. No wonder competitors raise strange objects like cars and rocks.

The nature of the objects raised also allows practitioners to submit to some less healthy and riskier positions. Apart from some specific moves, however, the risks are more or less similar to any other sport.

A curious aspect of the practice is the diet involved. That's about 10, 000 calories a day, four times that of a normal person. Energy is spent on constant training, which involves not only weight lifting. Athletes also practice cardiorespiratory exercises and even swimming.

Less complicated than it sounds

Despite the implications involved and the level of training, strongman competitions are less difficult than they may seem.

Events are divided into weights, like other sports. That is, it is possible to start with smaller weights before testing trucks and refrigerators. The relatively small community is quite open to new competitors.

There is a detail that requires attention for those who want to start in practice. The requirement in competitions is for objects to be lifted from the ground at least a few centimeters. It is easy to exaggerate the effort and to be able to lift the objects even without preparation. However, lack of technique can concentrate weight on one body part, leading to injuries.