Battle of the Norse GiantsNov 9, 2016 by Chris Bland
Battle Of The Norse Giants Events Are Nuts
Battle Of The Norse Giants Events Are Nuts
The 2016 Battle Of The Norse Giants, a World's Strongest Man qualifier, will be showcasing a mix of classic and new strongman events to test the athletes.
While the CrossFit Games is famed for the secrecy surrounding its events until just moments before the competition starts, powerlifting is the complete opposite and repeats the same events at every single meet worldwide.
Strongman finds itself somewhere in the middle. Aside from a few wrinkles, there are certain events that you just come to expect at a strongman show: an overhead press, a deadlift, a moving event, and more often than not, stones to close the day out.
This weekend at the Battle of the Norse Giants, which is both a Giants Live and a World Strongest Man qualifier, expect to see a mix of those traditional events and some new curveballs as the promoters search for unique ways to push the competitors' limits.
Watch Battle of the Norse Giants LIVE Nov. 12 only on FloElite
Kicking off the competition in Norrkoping, Sweden, will be the farmer's walk, a classic strongman event. The farmer's walk is both beautiful and brutal in it's simplicity: pick something heavy up and run with it.
On the surface this may appear just a test of grip, but it will also require exceptional speed, strength, and stamina as the competitors race to finish the 40-meter course as quickly as possible.
As if running with two 150kg handles wasn't challenging enough, the competitors will have to turn around after 20m and take the implements back. With time being of the essence, the best athletes will have to do all this without putting the handles down.
Johannes Arsjo was blisteringly fast on this event last year and if anything he's looking faster this time around. He'll be wanting to take the win and start the competition right.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BL8_xkKAX1h/?taken-by=johannesarsjo" hide_caption="0"]
With both Eddie and Big Z having a lockdown on the the records of the deadlift and log, respectively, strongman is in need of some new, exciting events to push competitions to their limits. One that seems to have really caught lately is the the safe press (aka the yoke press).
If you have been following the top strongmen on social media, you have no doubt seen countless numbers of athletes practicing this movement with both yokes and wobbly bars. While the weight is reasonably light at only 150kg, it is incredibly unstable, especially as the shoulders get tired and wobbly.
Expect plenty of reps from the top athletes in a closely contested event, but Terry Hollands has being looking phenomenal in training and will be feeling supremely confident.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMSCM2xjleI/?taken-by=terryhollands79" hide_caption="0"]
A Volkswagen pickup truck that weighs an incredible 400kg is a tough ask to deadlift even for the super athletes flying out to Sweden. A few years ago, it would have been foolish to bet against the mighty Mark Felix, who enjoyed a lengthy undefeated streak on deadlift for reps events. But time eventually gets to all of us, including the seemingly evergreen Englishman.
This lineup has no shortage of world-class deadlifters, including the deadlift wunderkind Benni Magnusson, who is without a doubt the strongest of the competitors. However, this event is for reps and will play more into the hands of dark horses Jimmy Paquette and Johannes Arsjo.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMWnPiNAAP2/?taken-by=johannesarsjo" hide_caption="0"]
This past year's loading event was a real crowd-pleaser, themed on the waste disposal company that sponsored the event. It saw athletes loading wheelie bins and sandbags into giant skips that had been turned into wheel barrows.
This year, the organizers have been cagey with the event's detail, which means we may be treated to another spectacle. The athletes, however, have left us a few clues in their training videos -- expect heavy sandbags and tires being loaded onto a platform of some kind.
On an event that relies so much on speed, the smaller athletes will have a slight edge over the larger, more cumbersome athletes. Even so, spectators can expect the final standings to be between Arsjo and Felix.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLwEpHGA1dD/?taken-by=johannesarsjo" hide_caption="0"]
A year ago, a Redditor posted a study on which event was the best indicator of an athlete going on to an overall victory. The result shocked many who were expecting atlas stones to come out on top, but instead the keg toss showed its worth. This crowd favourite requires raw power, endurance, and speed to get it done. The athletes must launch seven increasingly heavy kegs (18kg to 24kg) over a 4.5m high bar and are unable to move on to the next keg until all the previous ones have gone over.
This is an event that obviously suits the taller competitors as Thor Bjornsson showed last year, sending the Norrkoping arena into a frenzy and shattering the keg toss world record before picking up commentator Colin Bryce for a victory lap. Hollands has been looking comfortable on this in training, and as the tallest competitor, it's his for the taking.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMZtjQ7gZfy/?taken-by=forzmark" hide_caption="0"]
The final event is the quintessential strongman event -- atlas stones loaded to platforms. The stones start off light and get heavy very quickly: 120, 140, 160, 180, and finally 200kg. Aside from the obvious strength required to pick up the stones, fitness will be a key factor, especially after the grueling five events that have preceded it.
Felix might not be able to deadlift with the best of them anymore, but there are few on Earth who can hold a candle to him on stones. Felix showed he is still a force in the event at World's Strongest Masters, where he not only won the event but also slam-dunked the final stone through the platform.
Watch Battle of the Norse Giants LIVE on Saturday, November 12, only on FloElite and the FloSports Roku and Apple TV 4 apps
Strongman finds itself somewhere in the middle. Aside from a few wrinkles, there are certain events that you just come to expect at a strongman show: an overhead press, a deadlift, a moving event, and more often than not, stones to close the day out.
This weekend at the Battle of the Norse Giants, which is both a Giants Live and a World Strongest Man qualifier, expect to see a mix of those traditional events and some new curveballs as the promoters search for unique ways to push the competitors' limits.
Watch Battle of the Norse Giants LIVE Nov. 12 only on FloElite
Farmer's Walk
Kicking off the competition in Norrkoping, Sweden, will be the farmer's walk, a classic strongman event. The farmer's walk is both beautiful and brutal in it's simplicity: pick something heavy up and run with it.
On the surface this may appear just a test of grip, but it will also require exceptional speed, strength, and stamina as the competitors race to finish the 40-meter course as quickly as possible.
As if running with two 150kg handles wasn't challenging enough, the competitors will have to turn around after 20m and take the implements back. With time being of the essence, the best athletes will have to do all this without putting the handles down.
Johannes Arsjo was blisteringly fast on this event last year and if anything he's looking faster this time around. He'll be wanting to take the win and start the competition right.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BL8_xkKAX1h/?taken-by=johannesarsjo" hide_caption="0"]
Safe lift
With both Eddie and Big Z having a lockdown on the the records of the deadlift and log, respectively, strongman is in need of some new, exciting events to push competitions to their limits. One that seems to have really caught lately is the the safe press (aka the yoke press).
If you have been following the top strongmen on social media, you have no doubt seen countless numbers of athletes practicing this movement with both yokes and wobbly bars. While the weight is reasonably light at only 150kg, it is incredibly unstable, especially as the shoulders get tired and wobbly.
Expect plenty of reps from the top athletes in a closely contested event, but Terry Hollands has being looking phenomenal in training and will be feeling supremely confident.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMSCM2xjleI/?taken-by=terryhollands79" hide_caption="0"]
Car Deadlift
A Volkswagen pickup truck that weighs an incredible 400kg is a tough ask to deadlift even for the super athletes flying out to Sweden. A few years ago, it would have been foolish to bet against the mighty Mark Felix, who enjoyed a lengthy undefeated streak on deadlift for reps events. But time eventually gets to all of us, including the seemingly evergreen Englishman.
This lineup has no shortage of world-class deadlifters, including the deadlift wunderkind Benni Magnusson, who is without a doubt the strongest of the competitors. However, this event is for reps and will play more into the hands of dark horses Jimmy Paquette and Johannes Arsjo.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMWnPiNAAP2/?taken-by=johannesarsjo" hide_caption="0"]
Loading Race
This past year's loading event was a real crowd-pleaser, themed on the waste disposal company that sponsored the event. It saw athletes loading wheelie bins and sandbags into giant skips that had been turned into wheel barrows.
This year, the organizers have been cagey with the event's detail, which means we may be treated to another spectacle. The athletes, however, have left us a few clues in their training videos -- expect heavy sandbags and tires being loaded onto a platform of some kind.
On an event that relies so much on speed, the smaller athletes will have a slight edge over the larger, more cumbersome athletes. Even so, spectators can expect the final standings to be between Arsjo and Felix.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLwEpHGA1dD/?taken-by=johannesarsjo" hide_caption="0"]
Keg Toss
A year ago, a Redditor posted a study on which event was the best indicator of an athlete going on to an overall victory. The result shocked many who were expecting atlas stones to come out on top, but instead the keg toss showed its worth. This crowd favourite requires raw power, endurance, and speed to get it done. The athletes must launch seven increasingly heavy kegs (18kg to 24kg) over a 4.5m high bar and are unable to move on to the next keg until all the previous ones have gone over.
This is an event that obviously suits the taller competitors as Thor Bjornsson showed last year, sending the Norrkoping arena into a frenzy and shattering the keg toss world record before picking up commentator Colin Bryce for a victory lap. Hollands has been looking comfortable on this in training, and as the tallest competitor, it's his for the taking.
[instagram url="https://www.instagram.com/p/BMZtjQ7gZfy/?taken-by=forzmark" hide_caption="0"]
Stones
The final event is the quintessential strongman event -- atlas stones loaded to platforms. The stones start off light and get heavy very quickly: 120, 140, 160, 180, and finally 200kg. Aside from the obvious strength required to pick up the stones, fitness will be a key factor, especially after the grueling five events that have preceded it.
Felix might not be able to deadlift with the best of them anymore, but there are few on Earth who can hold a candle to him on stones. Felix showed he is still a force in the event at World's Strongest Masters, where he not only won the event but also slam-dunked the final stone through the platform.
Watch Battle of the Norse Giants LIVE on Saturday, November 12, only on FloElite and the FloSports Roku and Apple TV 4 apps
