Kahnawà:ke aims to create healthy spaces for men with strongman competition
Ka’nhehsí:io Deer
Can you flip a 272 kilogram tire? What about carrying a 45-kilogram sandbag more than 108 metres?
That's how a group of Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) men challenged themselves over the weekend, testing their endurance, speed and weightlifting skills as a part of a strongman competition held Saturday in Kahnawà:ke, south of Montreal.
"I've never lifted that much in my life," said Brent Stalk.
Stalk deadlifted 233 kilo‐ grams (515 pounds), and placed first in the open cate‐ gory for the entire competi‐ tion.
Saturday's competition was also organized as a way to create healthy spaces for men as a part of family vio‐ lence prevention work.
"It's healthy to speak about your problems or is‐ sues you're going through and lifting weights helps that, too," said Stalk.
Strongman competitions, also known as strength ath‐ letics, is a sport that tests strength in a variety of nontraditional ways.
The competition, which was hosted by Strong Human Fitness, Kahnawà:ke CrossFit and Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia'‐ takehnhas Community Ser‐ vices (KSCS), included events with sand bag carries, tire flips, deadlifts, log lifts and farmer's walks.
"The keyword is odd ob‐ ject," said J.D. Saylor, a trainer at Strong Human Fit‐ ness and one of the organiz‐ ers.
"When we say odd object, we really mean things you could find in nature. Things that don't have like a definite shape or are weighted differ‐ ently…. These things are un‐ weighted, uneven, and it challenges you in a whole dif‐ ferent way."
Saylor is passionate about strongman and has been im‐ plementing elements of the sport into his own fitness for the last 14 years. He said the sport can be a positive outlet for both men and women.
Rebecca D'Amico, manag‐ er of prevention services at KSCS, said, "just getting com‐ munity together in these healthy spaces, to me, is vio‐ lence prevention where we're able to talk to each other, get together and help each other out in a team setting."
"Those are just the kind of
things that lead to a healthier community."
Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia'‐ takehnhas Community Ser‐ vices is a part of a family vio‐ lence action group that meets monthly and has been thinking of creative ways to engage men more. T-shirts given out to participants had the slogan "silence is the heaviest weight" written across them.
D'Amico said they were trying to raise awareness about victims staying silent, "and how hard that must be, and trying to open up spaces for people to be able to have those conversations."
Nick Cross, a paramedic student and a former nation‐ al champion of judo, placed second in the junior category.
He said hosting some‐ thing like this and bringing a lot of men together to do "something that we all enjoy while also putting on a show for everyone .... It's incredibly important considering a lot of men in the community don't really talk about their emotions."
Organizers hope the com‐ petition will become an an‐ nual event that will continue to gain popularity.