Good Luck Matty
As the big competition approaches, we caught up with our sponsored amateur strongman athlete Matty Franklin as he makes his final preparations for his first international competition in the US, the Arnold Amateur Strongman Championships.
Training sessions in the run up to the event have been pretty long – around 3-4 hours each. The majority of Matty’s training has been at Northern Strength and Performance over in Hartlepool which is a little bit more of a journey to get to so he has been leaving the house around 18:45 and not getting in until sometimes 23:30 though of course it’s not all serious, and Matty tells us the gym is full of great athletes and there’s plenty of laughing and joking going on.
In terms of his training goals, Matty explains “Everything is going really well at the moment, I’m well over the competition weights so it’s just a case of executing it on the day. We spend hours and hours in the gym just to be perfect for what could be 5 minutes on the day.”
The clock is definitely ticking now, with Matty’s flight from Manchester to Ohio on February 29th. Bearing in mind his need to maintain calorie intake, Matty will be taking snacks and plenty of water on the flight to supplement the in-flight meals!
There’s a lot to take with him too – his kit bag with all his sleeves, wraps and belts etc as well as supplements to use during the competition such as electrolytes, creatine and essential amino acids.
“More importantly I’m taking my partner Lauren, just to make sure I don’t get on the wrong plane,” laughed Matty, before explaining that the biggest challenge in the run up to the event has been trying to balance life out so recovery is optimal but still ticking every box.
Working full time and training for 3-4 hours 4 days a week is tough at times but Matty loves it and believes the effort will be well worth it.
What is the most exciting part of all this?
“Just getting there and doing it. The Arnolds is a massive event to be a part of and I want to soak in every second of it. Regardless of the result, it will all be a great experience and will benefit me massively in the long run. This is only the start.”
“This is a massive event for Matty,” commented Garry Armstrong from Sercon, also an amateur strongman. “We’ll be following Matty at the event and wish him every success on the day!”
