The 30-year-old Mount Pleasant resident took first place in the light heavyweight class at the King of the Mountain strongman competition Saturday at Graff Chevrolet, 4580 E. Pickard Road.

He will compete in the nationals with about 70 total competitors in Reno, Nevada on Nov. 11.

“The biggest thing is to stay mentally tough,” the powerlifter said. “In competition, everybody is so close. The only difference is a couple reps and a couple seconds.”

Allen was one of 12 competitors out of about 50 that qualified at the local competition.

The participants faced off against each other in events such as a 560-pound farmer’s walk, a two-inch axle dead lift, log press and Atlas stones, a group of five large stones that weigh up to more than 350 pounds.

This will be Allen’s second year qualifying for nationals.

Allen began weight lifting  at age 13 and said he started getting serious about it at age 17.

In high school, he would weight train for at least an hour before school for football and has stuck with it ever since.

“Strongman has been a neat way to bring glory to God,” Allen said.

Warren junior Jimmy Mitchell is exhausted after lifting a total of five atlas stones in 58.70 seconds weighing between 220 and 313 pounds at the King of the Mountain strongman competition Saturday at Graff Chevrolet, 4580 E. Pickard Road. "Mentally, this is the toughest thing I have ever done," Mitchell said. "(But) you have to have fun with it." (Amelia Eramya/Staff Photographer)

Several Central Michigan University students also qualified for the nationals over the weekend including Troy senior Matthew Brimer, who took third place in the super heavyweight class and is headed to nationals for the first time.

Brimer said he is extremely excited to compete.

“As long as I place somewhere high, I’ll be happy with that,” Brimer said.

He said he has been lifting for about six years and his favorite lifts are the dead lift and Atlas stones.

Jake Webb, a 2010 CMU alumnus, took first in the 265-pound heavyweight class and will be competing for his third year.

“It’s not too big of a deal, I went last year, so it’s not like I’ve never done it before,” Webb said.

Harbor Springs junior Ron Shock already qualified after winning his weight class at the Motor City Strongman competition in April.

He decided to compete in the KOTM competition anyway.

“I just came here because this is a blast,” Shock said. “I came to have some fun.”

The 30-year-old Mount Pleasant resident took first place in the light heavyweight class at the King of the Mountain strongman competition Saturday at Graff Chevrolet, 4580 E. Pickard Road.

He will compete in the nationals with about 70 total competitors in Reno, Nevada on Nov. 11.

“The biggest thing is to stay mentally tough,” the powerlifter said. “In competition, everybody is so close. The only difference is a couple reps and a couple seconds.”

Allen was one of 12 competitors out of about 50 that qualified at the local competition.

The participants faced off against each other in events such as a 560-pound farmer’s walk, a two-inch axle dead lift, log press and Atlas stones, a group of five large stones that ascend in weight up to more than 350 pounds.

This will be Allen’s second year qualifying for nationals.

Allen began weight lifting  at age 13 and said he started getting serious about it at age 17.

In high school, he would weight train for at least an hour before school for football and has stuck with it ever since.

“Strong man has been a neat way to bring glory to God,” Allen said.

Several Central Michigan University students also qualified for the nationals over the weekend including Troy senior Matthew Brimer, who took third place in the super heavyweight class and is headed to nationals for the first time.

Brimer said he is extremely excited to compete.

“As long as I place somewhere high, I’ll be happy with that,” Brimer said.

He said he has been lifting for about six years and his favorite lifts are the dead lift and Atlas stones.

Jake Webb, a 2010 CMU alumnus, took first in the 265 pound heavyweight class and will be competing for his third year.

“It’s not too big of a deal, I went last year, so it’s not like I’ve never done it before,” Webb said.

Harbor Springs junior Ron Shock already qualified after winning his weight class at the Motor City Strongman competition in April.

He decided to compete in the KOTM competition anyway.

“I just came here because this is a blast,” Shock said. “I came to have some fun.”

Harbor Springs sophomore Ron Shock and North Adams senior Jake Webb are training for the North American Strongman Inc. national competition in Lafayette, La., beginning
Oct. 10.

About 100 participants will square off in the competition and the top competitors in each weight class will become certified professionals, Shock said.

The top 15 will go to the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, in March, which Shock said is the biggest fitness expo in the world.

“Bring your popcorn — Big Ron will be putting on a show in Louisiana,” Shock said.

Shock and Webb qualified for the nationals after placing in the top of their classes during the King of the Mountain Strongman contest in Mount Pleasant over the summer.

Shock, who weighs 340 pounds, placed third in the heavyweight class and Webb, at 230 pounds, placed second in the 200- to 231-pound class.

Going pro

Shock, also a bouncer at Wayside Central, 2000 S. Mission St., believes he will go pro.

He took second place at the Circle City Strongman contest in Indianapolis, In. last May.

“I’m not going to say I’ll go pro this year but, in the next four or five years, I believe I can,” he said.

Shock trains extensively at JP’s Gym and Fitness Center, 4245 S. Lincoln Road, and consumes a high protein diet of up to 7,000 calories daily.

But he doesn’t consider himself a bodybuilder.

While bodybuilders focus on toning their bodies, Shock, who can deadlift 700 pounds, considers himself a “strongman.”

Unlike bodybuilders, strongmen focus solely on building strength and not just looking good, he said.

“Strongmen and power lifters are like Mack trucks, while bodybuilders are like peacocks,” he said. “We’re the black sheep of the muscle world.”

Going for fun

Webb has competed in five shows prior to the nationals and said he hopes to place in the top 10.

Since his first show, a 2008 King of the Mountain competition, he said he has fallen in love with strength building.

Webb said he will remain calm until the competition.

“I’m not really an all-too-excited person until I get down there,” he said. “Right now, I’m just going for fun.”

Two other Mount Pleasant natives are headed to the nationals — state trooper Chris Pietrantonio of the Mount Pleasant post and Mount Pleasant resident Shawn Allen.

Allen said he will represent his religion while at the nationals.

“I just want to go out there and represent Christ,” Allen said. “So many times, you get the stereotypical meatheads, and I want to show people the alternative.”