The 2021 workouts, dealing with doubt & managing your body throughout the day!

It has been a hazy time adapting back to life after the intensity of the Superhuman Games - what an experience! As a former World Champion Martial Artist, I consider myself reasonably tough and resilient but I can honestly say this was no walk in the park. The event lived up to its name and I was very impressed with the calibre of athletes. Some real beasts on the battlefield. 👹

I was proud to stand beside my shield brother, Matt 'Amino Man' Lovell and we carried each other through from workout to workout, both mentally and physically. Neither of us had done an event like this before and the weights being thrown around were definitely heavier than anything I had trained for before. A few “not sure I can do these” moments. Circumvented by ‘just get through the next one’ type conversations. A good lesson when leaving your comfort zone, to focus on what’s immediately in front of you, when processing a bigger challenge may seem almost insurmountable. Mind is strong, body will follow. 💪🏾

Rainy conditions meant keeping warm between initial workouts was a challenge in itself. Cumulative workout fatigue in the middle distance made us reflect that standing throughout the day vs. sitting/lying down may be better as we would risk going into power down mode.

Nutrition was managed well leading up to the event, and on the day. I had carb loaded in the 48 hours pre-event and was on top of my staple Amino Man Metabolic Optimisers, Fish Oils, Collagen, etc. courtesy of aminoman.com. Getting to the event early and having a strong coffee and carb fuelled breakfast helped set up the day with some relaxed good vibes and calories for the burn ahead. Took some Metabolic Amino Complex and L-Carnitine for the first couple events and some VinitroPlus later on. Hydration was good with lots of water, electrolytes keeping cramp (just) at bay, and energy carb boosters kept us going with jelly babies and a few snickers interspersed throughout. 🍫

Niggles/injury-wise, my left arm was the main casualty from the proceedings having twinged early on in the games from the heavy 170kgs tyre which was slippery in the rain and had also collected water sloshing around, as had the 60kg sandbags. Just a big OMG for this first Workout 1: STRENGTH & HONOUR, as everything felt heavier than expected in tough conditions. Surprisingly my knees, which were problematic leading up to the event, were absolutely fine, as was my lower back despite being beasted and a concern/aching throughout the day.

Video link to my Tyre flipping experience on www.instagram.com/saktheslayer/

The rower and burpees combination for Workout 2: VO2 MAX was as lung busting as promised, and the following 20kg weighted lunges and lateral walks for Workout 3: SURPRISE ATTACK was more taxing than expected, but we paced ourselves well to last in the later workouts.

In the lead up to the last two workouts we were almost done and a bit juddery with accumulative mental and physical fatigue. They were big ones with Workout 4: UNCONVENTIONAL BEAST = 70kg Sandbags (happily soaking up extra weight with the rain), Tyre/Sand Farmers walks and Overhead Carries with short scaffolding and stone blocks. On the overheads I was mindful of front delts so was semi-power snatching as much as possible vs. clean and jerk.

My left arm was absolutely smashed by the last Workout 5: BRUTAL BEATDOWN of 5x ground to overheads with a filled 25kg beer keg, paired with incremental 3m, 6m, 9m bear crawls for each set of lifts. The keg felt heavier than expected but could have just been depletion by this point.

Finishing the event felt like an AMAZING accomplishment. We were literally on our last legs and not sure about completing one lap let alone the full AMLAP of the last two workouts. A sprint finish here and there to count the last laps in time had me on the floor by the end to breathe deep and recover.

As a fight coach and fitness trainer I can't recommend this event highly enough. Proud to have my Superhuman Games Medal next to my Welterweight World Title in the trophy room. Bring on next year! 🏆

Strength & Honour, Sak The Slayer

Instagram: @saktheslayer

Book your spot for the 2022 Games before prices rise on 1st December!

Commit here: https://www.superhumanfestival.com/events/66