NAS Nationals are coming up this weekend, and the events are looking pretty sweet. It's a classic mix of dynamic and static events, perhaps a little on the light side, but overall very well balanced. Let's take a look:

Day 1, Event 1 - Log Clean & Press for reps

Competitors will have 60 seconds to get as many clean & press with the log as possible. The log will start from the floor each time and a judge will be giving the down signal. The weights are as follows:

Ligthweight Women - 135
Middleweight Women - 155
Lightweight Men - 250
Middleweight Men - 275
Heavyweight Men - 300

It's rare when we can look at an event with a 300# clean and press and call it cardio, but that's exactly what this is. With modern middleweight men getting stronger and stronger and modern heavyweights easily pushing 400+ this is going to be a factor of who's got the endurance and effeciency across 60 seconds.

Day 1, Event 2 - Conan's Carry using Yoke Walk

Competitors will carry the yoke 60 feet as quickly as possible. They'll have a maximum of 60 seconds and can drop the implement as many times as they'd like. Here are the respective weights:

Lightweight women - 300
Middleweight women - 350
Lightweight men - 550
Middleweight men - 600
Heavyweigt men - 650

The Conan Carry, AKA the Wheel of Pain, is rough. That Zercher position makes the abs and lower back work a lot harder than usual and as far as dynamic events go, this can have a huge effect on the arms and shoulders as well. With the right technique, this event will go by very quickly, so only the least prepared competitors will hit the 60 second cap.

Day 1, Event 3 - Farmers

Competitors will carry the implements 60 feet as quickly as possibly. They'll have a maximum of 60 seconds and can only drop the implements once. The weights are:

Lightweight women - 160
Middleweight women - 190
Lightweight men - 270
Middleweight men - 310
Heavyweigt men - 350

Ah, the farmers walk. A classic dynamic event, a real litmus test of overall strength, and in this case a sprint. The weights are manageable and will be easily handled by the strongest competitors. The key here will be getting a good grip from the beginning and avoiding any drops through the movement.

Day 2, Event 1 - Push Pull Medley

Competitors will have 60 seconds to accrue as many reps as possible of 1 one-arm giant dumbbell press + 1 one-arm giant dumbbell deadlift. They'll have to control the weights on the way down on both movements, and 1 rep is counted when both movements are completed (push + pull). Here are the weights:

Lightweight women - 70-130
Middleweight women - 90-145
Lightweight men - 130-200
Middleweight men - 160-250
Heavyweigt men - 200-300

This is cool combo event, one that calls back to old timey strongman events with the giant dumbbell press and deadlift. The heavyweight men are in for a hell of a ride with the heavier dumbbells as a 300lb one-arm overhead press is going to be very gnarly. This is going to be a great event to start Day 2 and a really great event to watch,

Day 2, Event 2 - Sandbag Carry and Load Medley

Competitors will have 75 seconds to load 4 sandbags as quickly as possible. Sandbags will be about 60 feet away from the platforms which will be about 38" high. Here are the weights:

Lightweight women - 100, 100, 120, 120
Middleweight women - 120, 120, 140, 140
Lightweight men - 180, 180, 220, 220
Middleweight men - 220, 220, 260, 260
Heavyweigt men - 260, 260, 300, 300

Sandbags are pretty popular and are getting more accessible thanks to better and better construction these days and for good reason. They are a safer implement to carry dynamically when compared to kegs or atlas stones, and they're arguably more difficult to carry because of shape and distribution of weights. I would consider these weights very light so expect to see some real quick movement. The competitors will want to be patient setting up because the last thing they want is to pick up the weight only to have it sit in an inefficient spot and slip while they're running. 

Looking for more in depth review on the technique involved here? Check out these rad training videos with Julien Pineau:

The Sandbag Clean
The Monster Dumbbell Press
The Log Press