The 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man, Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei, is preparing for another powerlifting competition. He will compete in the “Tattooed & Strong”, which is scheduled for April 9-10, 2022, at the Manchester Central Convention Complex in Manchester, UK. This will be his third time competing in this competition, having won gold in the super heavyweight division at the 2016 and 2020 editions of the contest.
Big Loz is set to compete only in the bench press and deadlift events, because the competition doesn’t feature the squat event. Laurence is currently on week two of his preparation, and seems satisfied with how things are going so far.
“Had a good solid bench session today in week 2 of my prep for Tattooed and Strong. It’s always nice when the weights move better than expected. 💪🏼” wrote Laurence.
Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei’s Bench Press Session
Big Loz also posted the bench press session on his YouTube channel. The workout consisted of three heavy working bench sets, some bench speed work and assistance exercises. Big Loz explained that speed work is one of his favorite workouts, as he improves force output without going as heavy.
On his first few sets, Big Loz only used wrist wraps, but added elbow sleeves and a lifting belt as he upped the weight. His heaviest bench press set in the video came out to be 175 kg (385 lbs) for three fast repetitions.
You can watch the video here:
Big Loz expressed that he wants to bench press as much as he did in the 2020 Tattooed & Strong (227.5 kg / 501.6 lbs), even though he will come in 25 kg (55.1 lbs) lighter than he was at that time.
Related: Strongman Brian Shaw Trains Sumo Deadlift To Reap Its Benefits At the 2022 World’s Strongest Man
Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei’s Past “Tattooed & Strong” Performances
2020 Tattooed & Strong
- Bench Press: 227.5 kg (501.6 lbs)
- Deadlift: 380 kg (837.8 lbs)
- Total: 607.5 kg (1338.2 lbs)
2016 Tattooed & Strong
- Bench Press: 210 kg (463 lbs)
- Deadlift: 385 kg (848.8 lbs)
- Total: 595 kg (1311.8 lbs)
Considering he has 3 months to prepare, Big Loz could use his strongman experience, and post some very impressive lifts. He has won it twice already, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him win it again.
Related: Strongman Lewis Byng Deadlifts Huge 400 kg (882 lbs) At 20-yo In Training
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