Powerlifting - Strongman - Sugden Barbell

7th March 2010 - Posted by Rob Scottish strongman and Sugden regular Andy Cairney (aka robocop) has suffered a serious injury at the Arnold's amateur strongman competition in America.

Andy has confirmed that he is currently in hospital after suffering a double patella detachment. He expects to be in bed for up to a month.

All of Sugden wishes Andy as complete and speedy a recovery as possible; he is both a popular and friendly strongman whose presence will be missed.

6th March 2010 - Posted by Rob Dutchman Alex Moonen today took the title of 'Sugdens Strongest Man' after a closely fought battle between several impressive lifters. Going into the stones, the final event, ex-olympic lifter Karl Grant had a 1 point advantage over Moonen, who himself was only 1 point ahead of Mick Ashurst.

Moonen produced a dominating display on the stones, loading all five to secure the title. He was followed in second place by Catts Gym regular Mick Ashurst and by Karl Grant in third place.

Karl Grant took the 'performance of the day' award given that the competition was his strongman debut. Other highlights included a rapid overhead medley by local favourite Mark Clegg.

Scorer and excel guru Rick Booth has posted full results including event breakdowns. Keep an eye on the comments thread for videos and photos as they are posted.

25th February 2010 - Posted by Rob One of the strongman calendar's most eagerly awaited competitions, Sugdens Strongest Man, will take place on Saturday 6th March in Ashton, Manchester. The event will be hosted by long-time Sugden sponsor and leading strongman gym, Olympic Sports Gym.

The Olympic Sports Gym team have gone to great lengths to ensure an unforgettable venue, recently unveiling a specially designed head to head stones platform.

With over 15 competitors coming from as far a field as the Netherlands, the event promises to be an exciting battle for the mantle of Sugdens Strongest Man. Last years winner Nathan will be defending his crown after recovering from a knee injury.

The competition features a great set of events, including axle deadlift, overhead medley, fire engine arm over arm and head to head stones.

Please see the competition listing for full details and be sure to come along to witness a great day of strongman!

23rd February 2010 - Posted by Rob Powerlifting Watch has announced the latest competitor invitations for the Andy Bolton deadlift challenge, due to be held in America in May or June of 2011.

The list features many of the world's best deadlifters, from both strongman and powerlifting.

• Andy Bolton (confirmed)
• Zydrunas Savickas (confirmed)
• Benedict Magnusson (confirmed)
• Mark Felix (confirmed)
• Derek Poundstone (confirmed)
• Chuck Fought (confirmed)
• Terry Hollands (confirmed)
• Konstantin Konstantinovs
• Brad Gillingham
• Ano Turtiainen
• Mikhail Koklyaev
• Chuck Vogelpohl
• Andrey Malanichev
• Brian Siders

20th February 2010 - Posted by Rob Andy Bolton, world record holder and the only man in history to deadlift 1000lbs, has issued a challenge to the world's greatest deadlifters. He suggests a deadlift competition early next year, possibly at the Arnolds, to decide once and for all who is king of the deadlift.

There is speculation that both Latvian Konstantinovs and World's Strongest Man Savickas could both push Bolton to his limits, but he remains more than confident that he would beat both in competition, be it belt only or with suits.

Furthermore, in the comments thread for this article, Bolton has mentioned that he believes he could deadlift 480kgs with straps - citing that any weight above 460kg begins to cause grip problems.

11th February 2010 - Posted by Rob A video has been posted of Worlds Strongest Man Zydrunas Savickas deadlifting 410kg x 2 and 430kg in training, without the aid of a deadlift suit. This is one of the highest unequipped deadlifts of all time, albeit with straps.

» View full article.

10th February 2010 - Posted by Rob Long time member Iain Kendrick has announced details of a combined MuscleTalk and Sugden Barbell meet that will be held on March 7th in Fareham, Hampshire.

The meet will be running the popular overhead push and pull format and give all Southern members a chance to enjoy a local meet. Strength Tech gym will be hosting the meet up, with a meal likely to follow.

The event is limited to 20 places, please see the comments thread to state your interest.

9th February 2010 - Posted by Rob PL Watch reports that Metal and APT have both now paid their license fees to the IPF and as such their equipment/clothing will no longer be barred from competitions.

Meta have reportedly paid over $15000 USD for the privilege of having their equipment listed as approved.

The announcement of the ban has caused significant debate already, with many questioning the right the IPF has to hold kit-makers (and indirectly in many ways its own members) to ransom.

8th February 2010 - Posted by Rob Up and coming Finnish star Tuomas Korkia-aho has benched a new IPF Junior World Record of 322.5kgs at the FPF Junior Nationals.

» View full article.

5th February 2010 - Posted by Rob PL Watch notes that The International Powerlifting Federation are to ban the use of Metal, Craine and APT equipment in all of its meets. APT gear will be banned from Monday 8th February, with all Metal and Craine gear to be banned from the 30th of June.

Many lifters have equipment from these companies, including expensive squat suits, deadlift suits, bench shirts and wraps, which is sure to prove a financial blow and possibly even put people off competing.

The IPF have cited the failure of these companies to pay a yearly license fee which is over $13,000 as the reason behind the ban. View the IPF Approved Equipment List for full details.

This news comes on the back of Sugden Barbell's latest poll - "Does equipment hold powerlifting back?" - with the majority of members voting yes.