I was talking to Jonny from Propane Fitness yesterday about a few things, but we got onto training values, beliefs, what they are & why... so lets talk about why Im so big on technical efficiency & moving well.

For as long as I’ve been competing I’ve always looked for the edge. Whether its playing national league basketball, or in strength sports, I always look for that advantage, that edge, that difference maker, the type of thing that puts you over the top.

Usually its as simple as the stuff that others don’t want to do, or won’t invest in... and quite often that ends up being technique.

Its always been a part of my philosophy, but really came into play back in October this year.

The Strongest in the north was my first Opens Strongman competition and speaking frankly, i’m a natural athlete who usually competes at u105kg, so going into the competition I was giving away a lot of bodyweight & a lot of testosterone. Taking that into account, the goal was to pull the deadlift for a 15kg PB and not come last.

It was cold, it was wet & there weren’t quite enough plates to warm up the deadlift properly while the other categories were competing, so with conditions far from ideal, I pulled the opening deadlift for a 15kg PB... and still finished last in the event by 40kg.

Despite coming last in the first event, after the next 4 events, I managed to finish second overall, even taking the win on the overhead event, an event where I gave up around 20kg of strict overhead strength to the other athletes.

In the end I over & out performed all but one of my competitors, purely down to technique & moving better than they did.

Obviously (as a strength athlete) i’m not saying to ignore strength, if you’re not strong enough to pick it up, no amount of technique will help you, my deadlift is a prime example of this and something I’m working on.

But when strength isn’t the limiting factor, i’d recommend tidying up technique & becoming more efficient.

You can be as strong as you like, but if you’re not athletic, you become very one dimensional and most sports, including strongman, will punish you for it.

One last observation... touch wood... judging from social media, I seem to have to deal with a lot less niggles & injuries than my competitors, so take that how you will.

Adam Johnston, 20th December 2019