He is going all out to become the most powerful man on earth.
Four-time World’s Strongest Man and three-time Arnold Strongman Classic winner Brian Shaw is preparing to compete in his final competition at the 2023 Shaw Classic, scheduled for August 19-20 in Loveland, CO. As the Colorado-native strongman did throughout his career, he offered sneak peeks at competition training. His latest insight has made a set of flat dumbbell bench presses using 91-kilogram (200-pound) dumbbells look relatively easy.
Shaw didn’t share anything else about this particular workout, but that set alone showed he felt good about his preparation for the competition. Strongmen often do not incorporate bench press movements into their programming because most of the pressing events are overhead lifts. Shaw will have a classic bench press variation, which is why Shaw is adding the movement to his training.
This is not the first time that athletes of legendary strength have tested their mettle against the majestic 200. This feat was made famous by bodybuilding great Ronnie Coleman in a 2000 Mr. Olympia training video when he flat and incline bench pressed for reps.
Since then, the feat has also been accomplished by strength athlete and fitness influencer Larry “Wheels” Williams and 2021 Arnold Classic Bodybuilding Champion Nick Walker. However, there is a significant difference with Shaw’s set, which he points out in the post’s title.
“How many lifters in history can bench 200lb dumbbells, they can actually carry them off the rack and into position unassisted?”
As the video shows, Shaw essentially performs a short farmer’s walk, unwrapping the weights and walking several steps to the bench before beginning his set. Former athletes who complete exercises with these huge weights usually have a spot on the bench, but many spotters hand off each weight to the lifter, helping with setup.
After the fifth repetition Shah had more in the tank and seemed to not struggle to finish as he ended the set. In the post caption, he shared that it was a strategic move.
“Everyone comments that I didn’t do more reps because … it’s working sets and not max rep sets. It’s okay to just train without doing too much for each video.
In addition to preparing for his final competition as an athlete requiring a diet of around 10,000 calories a day, Shaw continues his work as a show promoter with the goal of making the 2023 Shaw Classic the best edition of the competition yet. This is the fourth year in a row that he has put on the show and the winner earns a new official title – he prefaced by announcing that he is the Strongest Man on Earth.
Shaw made the announcement in a separate Instagram post, revealing that he had purchased the rights from former Fortissimus tournament promoter Paul Ohl to award the title to the Shaw Classic champion through 2023 and beyond. This new title is part of Shaw’s strategy to make the Shaw Classic an even more prestigious event for years to come.
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