Breakfast:
8 eggs and a cup of oatmeal
(I am going to go all Lord of the Rings here…)
Elevensies:
12 oz. of meat and a cup of rice
Lunch:
A pound of steak and a sweet potato (gotta watch those carbs!)
Dinner:
12 oz. of chicken and a cup of rice
Supper:
A 45 oz. power shake and 100 grams of protein and some fruit
Bedtime snack:
A pound of pasta and some protein
It is Hartman’s very own Strongest Man in Ohio!
Meet Connor Pope, who recently competed in a Strongest Man in Ohio competition and came in First Place!
Connor is an imposing, 348 lb. man with a gentle demeanor and soft voice. He comes to work in the Hartman warehouse and quietly goes about his day pulling orders and stacking product. He’s got a great sense of humor and despite his size and (yikes!) red hair, you wouldn’t even know he’s around.
I asked Connor how he got involved with this whole strongman thing:
Me: “Connor – strong man competitions? How in the world did you get involved with that?”
Connor: “Well, I was with my brother working out at a local gym and decided to try to deadlift so I went to 500 pounds and picked it up. First time ever. Crazy.”
Me: “So you just waltzed into a gym and thought, ‘Gee, I wonder if I could deadlift 500 pounds?’”
Connor: “Yup. And I fell in love with it and decided to get into some competitions, but for no other reason than to see if I could do it. I entered my first one in June of 2020. It was The April Fools of Strength and I won in my weight class!”
Me: “Wow. Congratulations on that! So, what’s next? More competitions?”
Connor: “Yes. My goals are to set records. Ultimately, I want The Strongest Man in the World title. But that is going to take a lot of training.”
Me: “What’s involved with training for something like that?”
Connor: “Right now, I have a coach and am training four times a week. I have a set schedule for it. For example, on Mondays I lift 500 pounds – 5 sets and 8 reps. Wednesday is a pressing medley. It’s all geared toward strength.”
Me: “I noticed this tree trunk in the warehouse. It has been carved out and some metal handles drilled into it. I have to assume that is for you?”
Connor: (laughing) “Yeah, nice try on my part. I was attempting to create a slater log. But it wasn’t big enough. I am going to buy what I need instead. They are a great training tool.”
Me: “What’s the most you’ve lifted and, what’s the difference between a powerlifter and what you do as a strongman?”
Connor: “I can lift 695 pounds, for now. Powerlifters stay in one place and lift one time. The strongman designation is that I can lift that 695 pounds more than once and in various situations. I don’t stand in one place and lift the weight just once.”
Me: “How much do you need to lift to be The World’s Strongest Man?”
Connor: “501 kilo’s or 1,104 pounds.”
Me: “Do you have a time frame for all of this?”
Connor: “My goal is that this time next year I get an invitation to the Official Strongman Game. Winning my weight class will get me an invitation to The World’s Strongest Man competition.”
Me: “So, you keep training, going to competitions – all for the goal of getting that invitation. Well, I know that I will be cheering you on and all your colleagues will be cheering for you too.”
Until then, Connor will continue to work in our warehouse putting together orders for customers, packing and wrapping pallets, putting stock away and other tasks. And while he drives around a forklift taking pallets of product moving it around the warehouse, we can take comfort in knowing that if the forklift breaks down – it’s no problem – he can just pick up a pallet and put it on the shelf!
Hmmm… Maybe we should create the “Hartman Strongman Pallet Lifting Competition”!
