COMPETITION REPORT

First Blood: My First Strongman Competition

June 6, 2026 · First Blood Showdown · Lindenhurst, Illinois ·
Novice Division – 5 Events

On June 6, 2026, I walked into Unit Strength in Lindenhurst, Illinois, for the First Blood Showdown—my first strongman competition.

I entered the novice division with five events ahead of me: axle clean and press, Conan’s wheel, sandbag toss, car deadlift, and truck pull. I had trained the movements, studied the rules, packed the gear, and tried to prepare for as many variables as possible.

Then competition day arrived, and preparation had to become performance.

Axle Clean and Press

151 pounds — 12 repetitions in 60 seconds

The axle was a solid opening event.

Twelve repetitions gave me a strong start and confirmed that my overhead conditioning was ready for the pace of competition. The challenge was not simply pressing the weight once. It was repeatedly cleaning and pressing it while managing breathing, position, and time.

There are still technical improvements to make, particularly in making every clean more efficient. Even so, this event gave me an early sense that I belonged on the floor.

Conan’s Wheel

270 pounds added — four rotations

The Conan’s wheel was one of the clearest reminders that competition implements are different from gym substitutions.

Four rotations demanded more than leg strength. The event tested positioning, breathing under compression, pain tolerance, and the willingness to keep moving when the body starts asking for another answer.

This was not an event where I felt especially graceful. It was, however, an event where I kept working. That matters.

The experience also gave me much better information for future training. I now understand more clearly where the implement needs to sit, how quickly fatigue builds, and how important it is to remain aggressive through the turn.

Sandbag Toss

20, 25, and 30 pounds over the bar — 26 seconds

The sandbag toss came with the most obvious competition-day mistake.

I successfully cleared all three bags, but an early misunderstanding of the timing cost me several seconds. It was a small error with a visible consequence.

That is part of competing.

Training prepares the body, but competition also tests listening, communication, patience, and the ability to reset when something does not happen exactly as expected. I completed the event, learned from it, and moved on rather than carrying the frustration into the next event.

The lesson is straightforward: understand the official’s cadence, wait for the signal, and then attack.

Car Deadlift

Nissan Versa apparatus — 10 repetitions in 60 seconds

The car deadlift was difficult in exactly the way a strongman event should be difficult.

The apparatus changes the pull. The balance, leverage, and feel are not identical to a barbell deadlift. Once the event begins, there is little value in comparing it to what the weight “should” feel like. The only question is whether another repetition is available.

I completed ten.

This event revealed that my deadlift strength is moving in the right direction, but it also reinforced the importance of repetition speed and conditioning. In a timed event, maximum strength is only one part of the equation. Every slow setup and every extra breath consumes time.

Truck Pull

40 feet — 10.36 seconds

The final event was the truck pull.

This was also my best event of the day.

I covered the 40-foot course in 10.36 seconds, recording the fastest time and earning the event’s $200 prize.

The result mattered, but so did the feeling of the event itself. The movement was immediate and aggressive: stay low, keep the rope moving, drive through the ground, and do not allow the truck to regain momentum.

There was no room to overthink it.

After a full day of competing, the truck pull showed me something important about the type of athlete I may be becoming. Moving events reward commitment. Once the signal is given, hesitation becomes resistance.

That lesson extends well beyond the competition floor.

What the Results Do Not Show

The numbers provide the outline of the day:

• Twelve axle repetitions
• Four Conan’s wheel rotations
• Three sandbags over the bar
• Ten car-deadlift repetitions
• A 10.36-second truck pull

But the numbers do not show the months of preparation, the uncertainty before the first event, the constant recalculation between events, or the strange mixture of exhaustion and anticipation that builds as the day continues.

They also do not show how much I learned simply by standing beside other competitors, watching how they approached the implements, and experiencing the rhythm of a full strongman contest.

My first competition was not a final examination. It was a field test.

It showed me what survived contact with the competition floor and what still needs to be built.

What Comes Next

The goal was never merely to enter one strongman competition.

First Blood established a baseline. Now the work becomes more specific.

I need greater overhead efficiency, better tolerance under front-loaded carries, faster deadlift repetitions, cleaner execution under competition rules, and continued development of the moving events that appear to suit me.

Most importantly, I now have experience.

The next time I step onto a competition floor, I will not be imagining what strongman competition feels like. I will know.

This was the first blood.

Now we build from it.

Discipline. Power. Rise.