Massage Therapy Used at the 2011 World's Strongest Man Competition

This past weekend I wasn’t found at the usual retreat, seminar, or basking by the beach, but I was fortunate to be a spectator for a couple days at the World’s Strongest Man competition and was delighted to see massage therapists there, hard at work! The World’s Strongest Man competition was created in 1977 to bring together athletes from around the world to showcase their abilities in strength, endurance, and mental toughness. Most athletes have a background in Olympic Weightlifting, Olympic Shot-putting, College and Professional Football, Elite World Powerlifting, and other various strength athletics.

The competition is made up of 30 competitors from around the world like Australia, Iceland, Russia, and the USA. Each year they choose a different venue in countries such as Morocco, Iceland, China, and the Unites States. This year they are at the Wingate University Campus in Wingate, North Carolina. Here, they go through 3 days of brutal qualifying events to decide the top 10 that will move on to two more days of even more events to determine who will be the world’s strongest man. Some of the events this year include, being strapped to a big 18 wheeler truck and having to use driving leg lunges and arm pulling strength to move this massive vehicle forward the longest distance in the shortest amount of time. Another was the deadlift hold, testing grip strength by lifting an SUV attached to a bar and holding it in grips for the longest amount of time. And finally, one of my favorite events to watch was, them having to llift solid aluminum blocks in succession over their heads, trying to be the fastest to race through it. These blocks weighing, at the lightest 245 lbs, and at the heaviest 330 lbs. Most of these men are at a height of between 6’2” and 6’7”, so it must be lifted up very high. There were 12 more challenging events in addition to this.

We can only imagine what these athletes body, mind, and spirit are having to endure and push through to attempt to become the world’s strongest man. I was thrilled to see massage therapy tents set up to aide these competitors in their goals. It is of benefit on a grand scale to athletes during times, not only for training to get them to this point as injury free, flexible, and in the best physical shape possible, but also to aide them at the site of the competition is of incredible use. Having massage therapists at the site of the competition helps the athletes stay flexible, push out toxins and painful lactic acid accumulation, keep tissues warm and ready to perform at their peak, and brings an awareness and focus into the mind to prevent injury, promote faster healing and recovery, and keep athletes mind in the game instead of on their pain.

So while I had a couple days off, as a massage therapist myself, to enjoy seeing some of this competition, it was a bonus to see massage therapists there lending a helping hand!