2 weeks Ago
Central to his chances is preparing his body and mind in the best possible way for the challenge ahead. For this, Smyth works closely with chiropractors Nele Piepenbrink and Mark Caudel at the Body Consultancy Clinic in Ringwood. The 32-year-old said the short turnaround between championships is ‘not ideal’, with there usually being 12 weeks in between.
“So I got back [from the British contest] on a Monday, came straight up here to see Nele on a Tuesday,” Smyth said. “Just full body shakedown, made sure everything's in working order, getting rid of all the tweaks and niggles. “Then from there it's just been maintaining the rehab process, doing a lot of stretching work that Nele and Mark have given me, when I’m at the gym, just making sure, warming up, cooling down after every session.
” Mark first began working with Smyth two years ago and has helped him to lose weight while hugely increasing his lifting capacity and increasing his performance. On the role they have played in his preparation, the chiropractor said: “Neurologically, if something's not happy in your body, it will downregulate power, which is obviously really important for him. “So, things like muscle tension, spinal restriction and inflammation, all of that sort of stuff, down regulates power.
“It was twofold what we tried to do in the early days. It was to free him all up so that his neurological system and muscular system could work optimally for and then make him a bit more robust. “So, we did a lot of core work integration to kind of get him a stable base, because he can create the power then from that, and that's incorporated all the time now.
” Nele joked that she often has to schedule Smyth’s treatments for the end of the day to give her enough recovery time before her next patient, with Mark saying: “One of the reasons he's so successful is his pain threshold is just so high, so we do have to work really hard.” She has been working with Smyth for four months and said it had been quite a journey with him already. “It's always been quite fun,” she said.
“I think there's been a lot of advice going back and forth both ways as well, I can't say he always listens to our advice. “He's very determined, with everything he wants to reach. “I think that's what I quite like about Matt, that he's so mind strong and, well, physically strong, clearly as well.
” For the training itself, Smyth said he and his coach are pushing hard at the moment in the lead up to the championships. This includes 500kg deadlift reps and a personal best in the axle at 150kg. But Smyth believes the world championships suit his skillset more than the British competition, with fewer moving events – which he is not as good at.
He will be faced with the one rep max axle overhead, the sled drag, a trap bar hold and atlas stones at the competition in Birmingham next weekend. In the final week before the competition, Smyth won’t set foot in a gym as he spends the time mentally preparing for the challenge ahead. “That's what a lot of people don't understand,” he said.
“So, some of the events I have to put my head in such a dark place, I need to prepare for it. “I've developed, with my friend of mine who's a sports psychiatrist, a little switch in my head where I can turn dark stuff on and dark stuff off. “But again, it just takes prep time to get that all set.
” On his return, hopefully with the title in the bag, the trio will discuss his recovery before beginning to look to future competitions and how he can further improve. Mark and Nele are hoping to help enhance Smyth’s recovery and performance with the addition of cryotherapy chambers, hyperbaric chambers and saunas through a new part of the business, Elements Health Hubs. Moving forward they believe this has huge potential to help give him an edge over his fellow competitors.
The World’s Strongest Disabled Man contest will take place on November 2 and 3 at Birmingham NEC at Fit Xpo..
