Andrew Palmer

California’s Strongest Man 2009

What a great contest. This was the best venue I’ve ever competed in by far. There were huge crowds both days, especially day 2. The crowd was very into the contest as well which was excellent. We had tons of people cheering for us at all times. The equipment was excellent (and terrifying in the case of the Conan’s wheel), the staff was great, and everything ran really well.

Axle Press: 315# clean once
I went into the contest knowing I would hit 5, and thinking that if I hit 6 I’d be nearing top of the pack. I was way off. I hit 7 reps, a 2 rep PR, but there were 9 or 10 guys who got more reps than that. I would have loved to get some more points here but how can I complain about a 2 rep PR.

Deadlift Medley: 600 axle x3, 700 18” x2, 800 frame x1, mini copper x max reps
This was an event I desperately wanted to do well in. I’ve historically had trouble on deadlift events. Everything from slipping straps, to falling over for a zero on the car dead at nats, to just plain weakness. Having just recently pulled 800 for the first time I was feeling good here and really wanted to do well. The axle, bar and frame flew. I was the fastest to the car at the pint when I went. Somewhere near 45 seconds. Then I managed to get 3 reps with the car. I tied Harrison for second on reps but he got them faster so I got 3rd here. This is big for me. Hopefully I can stop having trouble with my deadlifts.

Conan’s wheel: 800 in hand
I was pretty nervous here. I had trained by doing yoke front carries so I knew I was strong, but the pick was low and I’d never really trained with the turning walk. I believe Foster was in the lead at this point with 100ish feet. I just picked it, leaned back, and took off running. I kept thinking too myself “move fast, keep going, move fast…”. Apparently this worked. I made it 1 and ¼ turns before dropping taking the lead. I ended up in 4th for the event. Beekley made 150, Dawson beat me by a few feet, and Caruso had a killer 175ish feet. He was the only person who made any real distance on the second pick.

Press Medley: 315# log, 250# keg, 305 axle, 160# dumbbell
I messed up big on this event. I killed the log, ran over and one motioned the keg, ran over and pressed the axle easily then ran over to the dumbbell and pressed it easily. The problem was the whistle never blew on the dumbbell. I was standing there with it locked out trying to figure out what was going on. Finally I realized Willy was yelling at me that I never took my left hand off the dumbbell before pressing so I had to repress. I imagine this was about a 10-12 second process and knocked me down some points. My own fault.  This is another item to add to my list of things to never do again.

Carry/load medley: 250# keg, 275# sandbag, 22# barrel.
During warm-ups I was moving the barrel easily so I didn’t bother practicing the bunny hop. This was a big mistake. The keg was easy, I ran with it high up in front of my face like I always run with kegs. The sandbag was also easy. The barrel on the other hand was like ice thanks to all the dirt stuck to it. I lost a few seconds trying to carry then tried to switch to everyone else’s bunny hop technique. What a terrible way to carry a barrel hehe. I kept flinging it too far and knocking it over. I ended up very mid-pack on an event I was almost convinced I would win.

Atlas stones: 300, 315, 340, 370, 465 to 56” (not sure on height)
Donnie and Kristin had told us they expected no one to load the last stone, and that no-one ever had. I definitely wanted this stone very badly to make up for a few mess-ups earlier. When they were announcing the event Mike was joking about whether anyone would load it and I pointed at Mike saying I would so he called me out over the microphone. Some extra motivation right there. When my turn came up, barely anyone had broken it off the ground, and only Andy Ramos had lapped it. I one motioned the first three and lap loaded the fourth stone in 14 seconds added a bit of tacky very fast and went for it. The stone came to my lap very fast, and then I started the rise. I almost let it slip at the top but I dropped under it and kept it moving. I loaded the monster at just under the 35 second mark. The crowd went nuts here. I have never experienced anything quite like having hundreds of people chant my name. Amazing! One of the best moments of my life. I was the only amateur to finish and only Andy Vincent loaded it as well (in about the same time, not sure which of us was faster). My voice is still hoarse from screaming at everyone after me trying to get them to load the thing.

Overall I came in 6th (I think). I’d have liked to have done better, and believe that I could have, but there is no way I could have caught Dawson. He was freakishly consistent. Every event doing exactly what he needed to do. Now, on to Dallas.