This Journal will help me track my Arm-Wrestling training and also upcoming competitions along with answers to any questions related to them both.
To start, here is my background.
I am from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I have been training with weights at the gym for 10 years and training for Arm Wrestling professionally for 9 years.
Arm-Wrestling in my opinion will always be wrapped around the stereotype of the whole bar scene Arm-Wrestler / Trucker. It’s a shame but I think the movie Over the Top has given a negative aspect of our sport to the public. I felt that way when I started. I thought it was nothing but strength. I was so wrong it wasn’t funny. This is a very technically, physically and mentally strenuous sport. It’s hard to know what to say to the new people getting into the sport that will not deter them from competing again. My first year of competition was met with many losses. I believe I won my first circuit tournament in the middle of my second year. Now I am one of the most dominating lightweights in Canada. I am a firm believer that “in order to win, you must first learn how to lose”. You have to take your beatings in this sport and keep coming out.
My first real competition was the North American Championships in Ontario Canada. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I knew the competition would be pretty strong. I didn’t need to diet, as my walking around weight was 128lbs. I was competing in the 132lb weight class so I wanted to be as heavy as possible. That early in my Arm Wrestling career, I wasn’t sure how to get prepared for tournaments so I really just walked into it. As long as I made weight I was happy. Now after attending the Worlds and many National competitions, I have a little more knowledge on preparing. As an example, when I was preparing for the World Championships in South Africa, my diet was very strict within 4 months of the competition because my weight was 136lbs and I was trying to compete in the 121lb weight category. I would study videos on the European Arm-Wrestlers, as I knew they would be the more dominant in the lighter classes. My weight training was changed every week to ensure my strength was at its peak during the timeframe of the tournament. During our practices, we would develop our technique based on the European pullers as well, as they have very unique styles. All of this led me to a fourth place finish with a win against Ukraine who took the Bronze Medal.
My current titles are as follows;
8 Canadian National Titles (2 @121lbs, 5 @ 132lbs, and 1 @ 143lbs)
6 Provincial Titles (5 @150lbs, 1 @165lbs)
2 Atlantic Canadian Titles (Both @150lbs)
2 Ultimate Arm-Wrestling Championships (Both @ 165lbs)
4th Place finish at the World Championships @ 121lbs
Strong Hand Hold Champion @ a time of 1min28sec.
Video with some of my best matches
YouTube - Will Sarty