a former powerlifter and a top professional strongman

As a former powerlifter and a top professional strongman now, Karl Gillingham knows the importance of the squat and deadlift in strongman training. On this day you will do some form of Deadlift and Squat each week. For example, on one week you might squat heavy for several sets of 5 repetitions or less followed by stiff-legged deadlifts for 4 sets of 10. The next week you might deadlift heavy for several sets of 3 repetitions or less followed by 3 sets of 12 to 20 reps in the squat. Obviously, there are many other variations to these exercises, but the idea is to do one heavy and one for reps, and then rotate the order each week. Core strength is vital to your ability to squat and deadlift heavy weights, so you will need to train your abs on this day. Make sure to do some heavy ab work like side bends, weighted sit-ups or crunches, etc. You also need an iron grip in strongman, so today is the day to work your grip hard. Wrist rollers, grippers, thick bars and so on should be the staples for your grip training.