NEWS/BLOG
28th March 08
Here's the updated list of the competitors and events for the World's Strongest Woman.
Competitors:
* Anki Öberg (Sweden)
* Josefin Brander (Sweden)
* Kati Luoto (Finland)
* Elizabeth Horne (Great Britain)
* Aneta Florczyk (Poland)
* Hanne Bingle (Denmark)
* Amy Wattles (USA)
* Maria Nikolaeva Chemshirova (Bulgaria)
* Kristin Rhodes (USA)
* Simone Sauter (Germany)
* Kristyn Vytlacil (USA)
* Lacy Okey (USA)Events:
* Yoke (about 200 kg)
* Farmer's walk for distance (70-80 kg)
* Axel (reps, 60-70 kg)
* Deadlift hold with a car, about 170 kg)
* Log lift (probably for reps)
* Deadlift (reps, 170-180 kg, car wheels)
* Weight for height (12,5 kg)
* Conan's circle (180-200 kg)
26th March 08
The strongwoman Hanne Bingle came up today to train, and we went through 7 of the events for Poland. Today's session was;
1. Farmers Walk 2 x 70kg (154lb) for 101 metre walk (PB).
2. Yoke Walk 167.5k (342.7lb) for 25 metre walk in 22.5 sec.
3. Conans Walk using the Yoke 167.5k (342.7lb) for 25 metre walk in 27 sec
4. Axle from floor to overhead - 65k, and then cleaned 70k but couldn't press it.
5. Deadlift Hold with 2 x 85k (170k total) for 41.75 sec.
6. Throwing 28lb weight over a branch at heights of 12-13 foot. Quite a few of the throws were 2+ foot higher than this. Which is very pleasing.It was nice to see her again and she'll be back up in 2 weeks time.
Video at the end of the week.
11th March 08
Week 5, and training is still going well. Hercules Hold, throwing, etc was at the weekend. Today's session was;
1. Farmers Walk 2 x 115kg (253.5lb) for 3.90 metre walk (PB).
2. Farmers Walk 2 x 75kg (165.3lb) for 68.90 metre walk (1 turn) - went with a lower pick up (20" to top of the handle) on the adjustable Farmers.
3. Conans 2" bar/axle 202.1k (445.5lb) hold for 30secs (PB) - Calibrated plates used.
4. Axle from floor to overhead - reps today, and strict presses.Video at the end of the week.
4th March 08Another nice solid training session today, with my biggest overhead lift ever!
1. Farmers Walk 2 x 115kg (253.5lb) for 2.5 metre walk, followed by 4 deadlifts with the farmers equipment with 105kg (231.4lb) in each hand
2. Farmers Walk 2 x 80kg (176.3lb) for 52.3 metre walk (1 turn) (PB)
3. Axle from floor to overhead 65kg! (143.2lb) (PB) Had a go at 70kg and got 3 very near cleans.I'd also like to mention the fantastic parcel I got this morning from the Gillingham's at Jackal's Gym - they have very kindly sent me some new equipment to help me in my training. The elbow wrap can't be held solely responsible for my axle PB, but they helped! If you'd like to check out the equipment they have on offer, click here - the best equipment by one of the strongest families around!
26th February 08My training is still marching nicely forward! Today's session included PB's on the Farmers:
1. Farmers Walk 2 x 110k (242.5lb) for 10.64metres (PB)
2. Farmers Walk 2 x 70k (154.3lb) for 97.25metres (1 turn) (PB)The heavy farmers seem to be building really good core strength, as breathing and concentrating on the task in hand is far easier each week.
All videod, and will put it up at the end of the week.
19th February 08Boy it was nasty cold and foggy this morning, and I've had a cold since yesterday. But to do well in a contest of this magnitude I've got to get out on days like this. Today I did:
1. Farmers Walk 2 x 105k (231.4lb) for 10.68metres (PB)
2. Farmers Walk 2 x 70k (154.3lb) for 71.50metres (2 turns) A bit down.
3. Conans 2" bar/axle 190k (418.8lb) hold for 30secs
4. Axle from floor to overhead - 1 rep with 60k (132.2lb), and close with 65k (143.2lb) (PB, on my weak event)Other Presses and shoulder stuff to follow.
All videod, and will put it up at the end of the week.
14th February 08The contest is now the World's Strongest Woman.
Line up is;
Aneta Florczyk (Poland)
Anki Öberg (Sweden)
Kati Luoto (Finland)
Josefin Brander (Sweden)
Elizabeth Horne (UK)
Hanne Bingle (UK/Denmark)
Amy Wattles (USA)
Elena Seiple (USA)
Callie Marunde (USA)
27th January 08
I have just had an invite for this years Europe's Strongest Woman contest. This is in Poland on May 24th.
I am very pleased and excited, and the Polish contests are massive - huge venues and crowds!
The field is very strong;
Aneta Florczyk (PL)
Anki Öberg (SWE)
Kati Luoto (FIN)
Josefin Brander (SWE)
Elizabeth Horne (GB)
Anna Rosen (?) (SWE)
Bernie McKinley (?) (GB)
I will be starting a new program tomorrow, and I will be training harder than ever, which will be tough to do!
The events are (subject to change):
* Yoke
* Farmer's walk for distance
* Axel (probably for reps)
* Hercules hold
* Log lift
* Deadlift
* Weight for height
* Conan's circleIf anyone wants to sponsor me with supplements or equipment please get in touch - thanks!
20th November 07We had a great time at the weightlifting Hall of Fame dinner at Burton on Sunday, where I performed in a 15 minute show, doing personal bests with the Pinch Pastilles which weigh 20, 25 and 30kg - passing the 30kg pastille round my back 2 times! Some men can't pinch lift this off the floor. I finished the show off with a feat of strength popularised by the old-time strongman Edward Aston, in which I hold two handles in one hand that are being pulled apart by a big guy holding a rope on each side. I held the two weightlifters for the required 20 seconds! We did get a recording of the show, and even though it isn't fantastic quality (a bit wobbly!), I will get the best bits up for you as soon as possible!
21st October 07Have a look at a few pictures from yesterday - I don't look my best by any means (with about 5 layers of clothes, windswept and sweaty!) but I am so proud of myself!
David and I climbed a mountain yesterday! The weather and views were fantastic - we walked about 12 miles and climbed 2 peaks both over 3000 ft high (supposed to do 3, but we'd had enough). We were walking/climbing for about 8 hours altogether, and it was a 2 hour drive there and another 2 hours back (it was in Wales, UK). We were exhausted! Our daughter stayed with my mum and dad and had a super busy day too, so we had all crashed out by 9 pm!
Here's the gallery of the pictures we took on the climb. As you can see, David thought it was a great idea to carry bits of metal with him and bend them on top of the mountain! Needless to say, everybody thought he was pretty crazy!
http://davidhorne-gripmaster.com/TheCarneddau20thOctober2007/index.html
6th October 07Make sure you take a moment to check out the details of the stunning artwork featured on the homepage here and be sure to check back in the next few weeks for the release of the image on postcards.
We've got a busy couple of weeks ahead - with a records challenge day coming up next weekend and a mountain climbing the one after that!
21st September 07
We've had a lovely couple of days - Hanne Bingle and her husband Ian came up to train with us on Wednesday (and there was an unexpected training session on Thursday morning too - I certainly know about it now!). Hanne is one of the most experienced and seasoned strongwoman competitors around, and has such a lot of wisdom to impart; I'm sure I will learn a lot from her. And you wouldn't believe how many stories she has and how much she has done! It's incredible!
On Wednesday we went through a fun couple of hours of pinch lifting, bar bending, stone lifting (with some new pbs for us both), log lifting and short range deadlifting with the farmer's walk equipment. Hanne got 105kg in each hand up to a full standing position (and she used to say she couldn't manage farmer's walk with 80kg in each hand!), and I managed 115kg in each hand. Hopefully there's more there another day. Oh, and then we did a bit of fitness training with a sandbag too.
The next morning the first thing David showed us was a new squat exercise he's picked up from somewhere - really effective but it completely isolates your quads, and seeing as I always use my back and hips in a squat I think it will work really well for me.
We went on to do some thick bar hi-pulls (to help Hanne's Apollon's Axle training - she has titchy hands so it's like a pinch lift for her), then bent over rows, some light shoulder work, and finally alternate dumbbell curls.
So, we had a great time - it was nice for me to have one of my friends round to play for a change (David always has people over training)! If I can get strong enough, hopefully I can attend one of the European contests with Hanne next year. Got to get working on those shoulders.
In other news, if you haven't read about my performance in the Champion of Steel contest a few weeks ago, take a look here. It was a fun day, and hopefully we can get a few more women involved for the next one in 4 years time.
Oh, and more clips to come very soon - sorry I've been a bit lax on that front. Work and personal life have been pretty busy, but I'll try not to neglect you so badly in future!
14th August 07
Well, it's been a while since I've reported to you all, but I'm still here! We had a great time this weekend at the Britain's Strongest Woman contest down in Bexhill (12th August) and I've finally come to the end of my competition season for this year, so I'm looking forward to concentrating on filming more videos for you all to enjoy, and changing my training goals a little. The contest on Saturday was a very tough one with a strong field, and I am proud to say that I managed to place 3rd behind two very strong ladies - Bernie McKinley (last year's UK strongest woman winner and world powerlifting champion) and Agata Wrobel (Olympic Games silver and bronze medallist). Lack of experience with a couple of events cost me, as did falling over with the duck walk (although it gave everyone a laugh). Linda Sharp competed again and showed how much her training has paid off; she was too close to me for comfort on points going into the last event, and really spurred me on to a good performance! It was nice to meet up with Ali Harris at last, and I thought she put in a great performance considering her training has been off the boil lately. And last but not least by any means - Hanne Bingle was there again putting in some great efforts and supporting everybody as always (I know, I know, not a PB on the log, but still - wish I could get that overhead! And those farmers flew off the floor!). Now to the results:
Britain's Strongest Woman 2007
Final result1. Bernie McKinley 26.5pts
2. Agata Wrobel (Poland) 24.5pts
3. Elizabeth Horne 19.5pts
4. Linda Sharp 16.5pts
5. Ali Harris 10pts
6. Hanne Bingle 7pts
Event 1 - Log Lift
1. Agata Wrobel 80kg
1. Bernie McKinley 80kg
3. Hanne Bingle 75kg
4. Elizabeth Horne 55kg
4. Linda Sharp 55kg
6. Ali Harris 45kg
Event 2 - One Hand Rolling Thunder Lift
(Last woman standing style)
1. Elizabeth Horne 53kg
2. Bernie McKinley 48kg
3. Agata Wrobel 43kg
3. Linda Sharp 43kg
3. Ali Harris 43kg
6. Hanne Bingle -
Event 3 - Run 10 metres with a 190k Yoke
1. Agata Wrobel 10.1 secs
2. Bernie McKinley 11.01 secs
3. Linda Sharp 16.1 secs
4. Elizabeth Horne 21.93 secs
5. Ali Harris 23.5 secs
6. Hanne Bingle -
Event 4 - Medley - Farmers Walk with 80kg in each hand for 10 metres, then a 10 metre duckwalk with 65kg
1. Agata Wrobel 13.68 secs
2. Bernie McKinley 14.26 secs
3. Linda Sharp 17.82 secs
4. Elizabeth Horne 18.23 secs
5. Ali Harris 30.37 secs
6. Hanne Bingle 1 metre
Event 5 - Loading onto a platform - 2 x 50kg sandbags, then a 65kg beer barrel and then a 80kg stone
1. Bernie McKinley All 4 in 18.2 secs
2. Elizabeth Horne All 4 in 44.8 secs
3. Agata Wrobel 3 in 14.3 secs
4. Linda Sharp 3 in 37.71 secs
5. Ali Harris 3 in 46.8 secs
6. Hanne Bingle 2 in 13.4 secs
It was an incredibly long day altogether - we decide it would be best to drive down on the morning of the contest (it's a 4 hour drive), so we set off at about 5am. We left at about 4pm after the contest, but the M25 and M1 weren't kind to us, and it took us over 6 hours to get home! I can't begin to tell you how exhausted we both were, and ready to fall into bed! Unfortunately I had to have surgery on my eyelid yesterday too, so today I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself; what with competition soreness and a face that looks like it's been punched! Hopefully I can be back to training by the end of the week and start building up on those weaknesses, as well as working on some new feats.
11th June 07Another weekend, another contest. I debated whether or not to compete this time as I managed to pick up a bit of a knee injury in training last week, but it seemed okay on the day and to be honest did not hold me back at all - it's just a bit sore today! It was a similar field to last time, but with different events and a different outcome. This time Agata Wrobel (the superduper Polish weightlifter) finished in first place, with myself in second and Hanne Bingle in third.
Quick events run-down as before:
1. Farmers Walk. 70 kg in each hand over a 40 metre course. I went first and completed the course after an initial wobble in 28 seconds, which I knew even then wouldn't be fast enough. I was right - Agata flew with the weights and finished in 21 seconds!
2. Log Press. This was always going to be my worst event, but I was reasonably pleased with a 55kg log press, which was an equal PB for me. I was put to shame by Hanne's very easy 75kg final lift (also a PB) and Agata's fantastic 80kg clean and press. Her impressive Olympic lifting background seems to have given her a brilliant base strength for strongwoman competitions, and naturally the log clean and press comes easily to her. There looked like there was at least another 20 kg in the tank, and I wouldn't be surprised to see more!
3. Walk of Pain. The old faithful. Unfortunately I was the first to go, which on a maximum distance event is never helpful. The milk churn was shorter and fatter than the last one we used, and weighed in at 62 kg. I made it 10 lengths, so a total of 100 metres, and held it for nearly 3 minutes altogether. Luckily it was enough to put the other girls off - Hanne did 3 lengths and Agata did 6.
4. Hoist. At this stage I knew I had to win both of the last events to be able to win first place. I had the advantage of going last in the hoist (which is an arm-over-arm pulley lift), but it wasn't enough. Hanne got a very good 8, and then Agata got 10! I couldn't believe it - I needed 11 to win and in just 75 seconds that was a tall order. Too tall it turned out - I got 9 and was a foot short of 10 when the whistle went. I wasted time on my first few reps by getting my technique wrong - but at least I know for next time!
5. Stones. There were two atlas stones to choose from - 50kg or 70kg. We all chose to go with the 70 kg stone. Having trained with an 80kg stone at home I was pretty confident, but I hadn't banked on the exhaustion from the previous four events and also the heat - it was a very hot day! The time limit was lowered to 60 seconds because it was so warm, so there wasn't time for many reps. Hanne started us off with 2 reps (the stone had to be lifted over a 3'6" bar), then I went and got 4. Agata finished off with 3, but then went on lift the 100kg stone that the men were using and get it over the bar! It was great to see, and I'm having a 100kg stone made up for training.
Final results:
Agata Wrobel: 13 points
Elizabeth Horne: 11 points
Hanne Bingle: 7 pointsSo, another great day. David has caught the competition bug now and can't wait until after his big contest in America in August so that he can start training on strongman events again. And I just want to get fitter and stronger! I see a lot of hard training on the horizon, and I am really looking forward to it. I'm off to Rome for a short break to visit my big brother early tomorrow morning and then we're going to a concert at Wembley next weekend; and then it's time to start the mega training programme!
4th June 07
We had a lovely day yesterday at the Stafford Strongman comp, which is just down the road from where we live. It was our daughter's first birthday so we only stayed for the first three events because I had to get back home to bake cakes, but it seemed very well-run and had a good field of 18 competitors. As you can see from the new picture on my home page, I met Geoff Capes too - World's Strongest Man winner in 1983 and 1985. He was really friendly and I was incredibly flattered that he recognised me from my TV appearance the other week! He even remembered the feats I performed, so I was pretty chuffed!
In other news: training is going well, and I think my last session before next weekend's contest will be on Tuesday. I need some skin left on my arms for the stone lifting on the day! I'll also be uploading the footage of the last contest I did later on today, and I'll hopefully manage to get a clip of my TV appearance up on youtube as well.
29th May 07
Wow, it's been a hectic week! It all started last weekend when my husband David travelled down to Gloucester to watch the British Grip Championships - and ended up competing (after being told quite firmly that he wasn't allowed. Men, eh?). At least he didn't disgrace himself, and came home with an unexpected first place trophy! Then I heard from the TV people (see below), and everything was set for filming on Tuesday. I'll give you a brief run-down of the day (it was pretty exciting, and I don't want to forget the details myself). Firstly, we were booked onto the 7.48 train to London, which was, unsurprisingly, delayed. When we finally got into Euston we were picked up in a fancy leather-coated (well, nearly) Merc, and driven to Television Centre for recording, where I was shown to my dressing room (with my name on the door!) and left to work up my nerves a little more. The people from Guinness came to chat to me and check over the bars that I would be using for the record - they had to take one away for measuring and photographing. We did a run-through in rehearsal of the frying pan roll and looked at stage positioning for the record attempt, then my clothes were camera-checked to make sure it all looked okay, and then, all of a sudden, I was told I had seven minutes to get into make-up and get dressed. Before I knew it I was hiding behind a bookcase on stage, in front of an audience of about 250 people and a handful of cameras, trying not to think about the millions of people that would be watching through the cameras. I had nothing to worry about - it went swimmingly. The frying pan roll seemed to get a good response, but the world record attempt (with 24" x 1/2" steel bars) seemed to go down even better. Guinness had set me a target of five bars to be bent in a minute. I got twelve! We got to meet Will Mellor and Alison Steadman too, which was a nice birthday treat for David. It was a long (but pleasant) day, and I was pleased to get home. Luckily the exhausted feeling only lasted a day. I had a contest to prepare for!
And so, to a quick report of the contest. We travelled down to Bexhill (East Sussex) on Saturday. The baby screamed for about 70 miles of the 220 mile journey, which wasn't much fun. We spent the night in a B&B, then drove to the venue on Sunday morning. It was a fun day, and a very well-run contest. 5 competitors; event by event (a biased commentary)...
1. Viking Press. Hateful thing. I got 5 reps with 30 kg plate weight (felt like around 50 kg equivalent on a barbell). The shoulder event is always my weakest, and the Viking Press is now officially my least favourite shoulder exercise. Hanne Bingle got a massive 18 reps and put us all to shame. I placed 4th.
2. Deadlift for reps with 100kg. Time limit of 75 secs. The weight was too light really - it was just difficult to get many more reps in the given time becasue the weight had to stop dead at the bottom every time. I got 21 reps with 2 more disallowed (my fault). I think Agata won with 25. Again, 4th place. Not looking so hot at this point, and I was busily cursing my long arms and legs.
3. Medley. This was more like it! A ten metre farmers' walk with 65kg in each hand, then a 10 metre sandbag load (weighed about 30kg I should think), then a sprint (ha!) back for another sandbag and a final sprint to the finish. I managed 38 seconds, which was just enough to win the event. I was still trailing in fourth overall but now I was only 1 point behind the two competitors in joint second.
4. Crucifix hold. 6kg dumbell in each hand - pretty strict with bum and shoulders against a post. I got 53 seconds, which was enough for third in this event.
5. Walk of pain. I must be perverse - I think I was the only competitor to enjoy this event. It's a 60 kg (ish) milk churn that you lift by the handles, hold in front of you and walk with. It's just the awkward shape of the object that makes it such a difficult task. David had worked the points out for me and I knew I had to beat Jan on this to come second, so he was pushing me to win the event. Well, guess what? I did! I got 5 lengths of the ten metre course in the 75 second time limit. Luck must have been on my side - Hanne (who had been leading) struggled with the walk and came 5th, which meant that the 4 points difference in our scores pushed me to first place overall for the first time. I won the contest by a mere point, with Hanne second (on countback), Jan third, Agata fourth and Linda fifth. It was such a close contest and really hard-fought. I'm back to training today (though my right hamstring isn't too happy about it) and looking forward to my next competition in Gloucester in two weeks time. There are a couple of pics of the competitors in the gallery, and I have video footage of my events that I will upload for you this week.
Final results:
Elizabeth Horne - 17 pts
Hanne Bingle - 16 pts
Jan Hall - 16 pts
Agata Wrobel - 15pts
Linda Sharp- 11 ptsSo, please accept my apologies for the lack of new clips available this past couple of weeks. I will be doing a little filming this week and hope to get some new stuff up for you very soon.
21st May 07
Well, you may be wondering how I fared in the grip contest this weekend; actually, I didn't go. But there is a very good reason for this - I was contacted late last week by a researcher for the Paul O'Grady Show (for those not in the UK, this is a mainstream-TV programme, aired at 5pm on weekdays), and am travelling to London tomorrow to appear on the show! I will hopefully be performing a few feats and going for a Guinness World Record. We are still ironing out the details (these TV people leave it late!) but I'm very excited and flattered to be asked. Fingers crossed it all goes well, and if you can, tune in to Channel 4 on Friday this week at 5pm to see the show!
5th May 07
New clips uploaded today! These were really fun to do - and I'm actually enjoying it more every time. Keep the suggestions coming in!
1st May 07
I had a fun training session today at a steel suppliers - we rang in advance and when we got there, there was a 20 foot long piece of steel waiting for me! It was half an inch thick and I scrolled it into a nice sizeable roll so that it would fit in the car a little better ;-) Actually, it was a pretty heavy lump of metal once I could pick it up with one hand. The new clip will be available, along with a couple of others, later in the week. Hopefully you're still enjoying them.
I did a second training session this afternoon in the lovely sunny back garden, and everything is going swimmingly. Feeling pretty strong and looking forward to my first strongwoman contest of the year in a few weeks time!
25th April 07
What a day! Just a quick update for those of you who are checking in (thanks, by the way!) - we had a mammoth filming session today and have three more clips ready to upload. It will have to be tomorrow now though, I'm afraid. I'm exhausted and my hands hurt too much to type!
21st April 07PLEASE, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IS ACTIVE AND SET TO ALLOW ALL MESSAGES! I have had a couple of people buy clips and their email addresses just don't work - I don't have any other way of contacting you and I really am not out to rip you off. If this happens to you, please just email with your payment details and an alternative email address and I will make sure you get the download link.
21st April 07
Been busy...
Training, filming, editing, uploading. Now there are three more clips for your viewing pleasure! I'll be working on my 'about me' page over the weekend too.
13th April 07
Wow, I'm famous!
Well, nearly. Lots of people like my clips anyway (insert smiley face here). Thank you all for your comments and I hope you continue to enjoy my new website. Can you believe I got up early this morning to check it?
I'll try to get the 'about me' and 'gallery' pages working very soon.
12th April 07
New clips uploaded
Finally found the time to do some website updating/building - take a look at the 'buy clips' section for newly uploaded videos for you. There's a car lift for reps, a double frying pan roll, some spanner (wrench) bending and snapping and an axe levering feat. I hope to get more up in a couple of weeks - it depends how well they are received! I'd love your feedback, and if you have any specific requests please just let me know (but please, keep it clean!)
7th April 07
New Rolling Thunder World Record!
At the Peter Horne Memorial Contest, I broke the long-standing women's Rolling Thunder world record under official conditions (previously held by Becca Swanson) - the new record stands at 65.5kg. I might get another chance to push it a bit higher in May (better do some training...)