Norwalk man heading to Strongman Nationals

NORWALK — A Norwalk man will be competing in the 2021 United States Strongman Nationals in Minneapolis, Minn. In July, Luke Camp qualified for nationals at Slacker Smackdown in Cincinnati and has been focusing on training for the competition since. Camp, 36, competed in his first qualifying competition in 2015. "I switched over from doing powerlifting to doing strongman. I did powerlifting for about five or six years and then drifted away, wanting to do something different," he said. To describe what Camp does, he said, "you pick up really heavy stuff and we put it down." He added form is essential, to keep from being injured, and he varies his training with cardio, lifting and practicing his events for competition. At nationals, Camp will be competing in the overhead press, axel medley, deadlift, stone load and sandbag and keg medley. For the overhead press, Camp must press a log, weighing 300 pounds, as many times as possible in a minute. The deadlift, 675 pounds, is also as many reps in a minute. In the stone load, "we actually pick them up and run to the platform and then load them," Camp said, as the weight and distance increases. The winner is determined by a point system and there is a winner in each weight class. Camp is competing in the 275-pound class. "I'm only about 250 now, I'm going to try and gain about 10 to 15 pounds in the next couple of months," he said. "Through training and eating and training and eating." Since he was a child, Camp said he was captivated by WWE wrestlers. "It wasn't really the wrestling, it was just the sheer size of the guys and how big and strong they were," he said. "I was watching these guys pick up cars and I was like, 'That's what I want to do.'" A 2003 graduate of South Central High School, Camp was instrumental in beginning the powerlifting team at the school, which started his passion for fitness. Camp said many people involved in the strongman community hail from Ohio and they've helped him develop his craft. In 2018, Camp won his weight class in Ohio's Strongest Man. "Ohio is full of some really strong people and I'm just trying to be one of them," he said. "We train and we eat a lot. We just try to get big and strong." A father of three, Camp said sometimes it can be difficult to make time for training but likes to "squeeze it in" in the morning before going to work at the Bellevue railroad. "This is one of the sports where you get out of it what you put into it. You're not necessarily competing against other people, you're constantly competing against yourself," he said. "I usually take one or two rest days a week, but even on rest days I usually end up stretching for a couple of hours." Camp said the sport is very hard on the body, considering the enormous amount of weight he lifts a day. "You have to be body-conscious at all points, I spend a lot of money at the chiropractor," he said. Camp has battled injuries in the past, having to take 16 months off due to getting both bicep muscles repaired. "I've come back 100 percent from both injuries, by listening to the doctors," he said. One of Camp's achievements he's reached is benching 500 pounds, which he accomplished at 25 years old. "Just find something that you want to achieve, that's achievable, and stick with that. Once you get to that level, find something else," he said. Camp said the older he gets, the more he wants to continue training and competing. "Even though I'm getting older, I think it's almost to the point where I want to prove them wrong," he said. "I'm going to keep pushing until I can't push it any further and hopefully that inspires somebody else to keep going." Camp said his goal in June at nationals is to win. The competition falls on his birthday, June 5, and he said it would be a great birthday gift to himself. Until nationals, Camp said he's not training for any other competitions, to ensure he stays injury-free and focused. "I don't ever go into a competition thinking that I'm not going to win it. I go knowing that I'm going to win and I'm the hardest worker in the room," he said. "I'm going to go and do what I do best and pick up heavy stuff."