To compete or not to compete. That is the question.

How do you decide on what competitions you will throw your hat into the ring for?

In the sport of strongman/strongwoman, there are often injuries to be considerate of, and for many athletes, the ultimate goal is to progress to a higher level of competition. Choosing which competitions to attend to in any given year can become a tough decision. There are more and more opportunities to compete every year, as the sport is exploding in popularity.

Should you attend as many competitions as possible, or would you be better off spacing them out to maximize your progress?

There are a quite a few factors to consider on whether you should compete or if you are better off letting this next one pass you by. Let’s break this down into the three groupings that these considerations fall under so that next time you are unsure of the competition presented to you, you’ll have an easier time of deciding on hell yes or no.

"You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em."

1 - Consider your skill level

Are you a beginner or are you a more advanced strongman/strongwoman competitor? This should be the first question you consider if weighing the decision to compete or not. There’s no one right age or even training age that correctly answers this question, it’s almost entirely experience-based as to whether you are still a beginner or early intermediate competitor or you’ve moved past that stage.

If you are still a beginner or early intermediate competitor, your answer to whether you should compete or not should almost always be yes, especially if your ultimate goal is to get better and progress even further.

Assess your current level with the following:

Have you been competing for more than 2 years? (yes/no)

Are you able to eat breakfast and stay calm despite the nerves on competition day? (yes/no)

Do you get into a flow state when you’re performing in competition? (yes/no)

Have you come from a background of many years in other sports at a highly competitive level? (yes/no)

Have you experienced most common events in all event categories in competition before? (yes/no)

If you’ve answered no to most of the questions above, you’re best to continue entering into every competition you possibly can. Gain more experience and learn more advice from the competitors and judges you encounter to help you to continue to progress.

Usually, an advanced athlete will already be able to identify him or herself as such. If you consider yourself as advanced, being more judicious in picking out your competitions in order to see the best progress between competitions is important and allows you to save your best efforts for laying it all out in those competitions that really matter.

Not entering into every possible contest tends to be a favourable decision for advanced strength athletes.