Language
/ Contact /

Tomasz Żocholl – from strongman to armwrestler >>>

Tomasz Żocholl – from strongman to armwrestler # Armwrestling # Armpower.net

He used to pull trucks and planes, now he pulls arms. Can a former strongman make something of himself as an armwrestler? ()

In 2005 he placed 3rd in thePolish Strongman Championshipsin Starachowice, 2nd in theNorth-Southcompetition and 1st inPoland vs. the World, in 2009 he placed 2nd, in pair with Grzegorz Szymański, in a duo competitionPolish Duo Strongman Championshipsin Kortoszyn. Last year he placed 4th in theEurope Strongman Team Poland Champioships". This is the short version of Tomaszs biggest achievements. This is the strongman who turned armwrestler. But lets start from the beginning.

He was always into sports, mainly windsurfing and basketball, the latter for almost 8 years. As a 15 years old he tried his luck in a gym. And thats how it all started.

Ive always been well-built and stood out among my peersrecalls Tomek Zocholl.In 2003a new sport became prominent in the media – “Strongman. Ive decided to compete in the eliminations for theWarka Strong Polish Cup. Unfortunately, in this first year of starts I qualified as a reserve and had only one chance to perform in the Cup. After another year of hard work Ive placed 4th in the eliminations and was in for the full cycle of thePolish Strongman Cupaired on TVN.

Tomek has fight in his blood. Hes inherited it from his father, who lifted weights regularly, and his uncle who taught him all about the fighting spirithe was the Polish champion in wheelchair tennis, a para-Olympian in Sydney and Atlanta.

The sporting spirit is in my familys bloodlaughs Tomek.

Zocholl started in variousStrongmancompetitions for ten years. His beginnings were very promising; in his second year he got to the top of his career in this discipline. However, in 2012 he decided to change his direction to armwrestling. A knee injuryhelpedhim make this decision, he couldnt give 100% in Strongman competitions anymore.

I took on armwrestling because I still wanted to be in some power sportsays Zocholl.Because of all thoseStrongmanyears the choice seemed obvious to me, and my power base turned out to be a plus.

But power aside, changes were not easy to implement. Both disciplines vary a lot in terms of training.

The first month of training was very hard, because of fastenings pains resulting from differences in trainingsays Zocholl.The armwrestling training consists mainly of upper- body exercises, for arms and back mostly. Its a specific training designed to build power in various bicep angles, and also focused on technique of fighting at the table. InStrongman, on the other hand, we train all main muscle groups: legs, back, shoulders, chest. Just pure, raw basics, like squats, deadlifts and typical strongman equipment training:briefcases, tires, pulling trucks etc.

The strongman training, and the strongmen contests, are much more draining than armwrestling in Zocholls opinion, mainly because more muscle groups are involved.

Take for example pulling a sixteen-ton airplane that I had a chance to take on during a contestrecalls Tomek. But strongman and armwrestling have some similarities too. They are both power sports, although armwrestling is much more technical and it involves facing an opponent, while strongman is all about fighting mattersometimes very unusual, such as a 400kg tire or a 180 kg stone ball.

Tomasz decided to transport some of his Strongman experience into armwrestling.

TheTitanArmarmwrestling club is located in the same building as the gym Ive worked out in in Opole, and the sport is getting more and more popular in Poland, Ive decided to give it a trysays Tomek.After a couple of trainings ate the table Ive decided to go to a tournament in Dzierżoniów, out of curiosity. Turned out it was totally worth the try, because Ive beaten some really experienced guys there. It was then that Ive decided that Im predisposed to armwrestling and that I want to give it a real shot.

In Dzierżoniów Tomek took 2nd place in +95 kg and in the OPEN category for left arm. Next year, in the prestigiousOrawa Armwrestling Challengetournament he came 3rd in +95 kg in right arm and qualified for theNemiroff World Cup. He is now the vice-champion of Poland in +110 kg in left arm, and hes preparing to fight again.

I took on armwrestling because I wanted to be in some strength sport after Strongman, and this seemed like the most natural transitionsays Tomek.The strength that Ive built throughout my Strongman years is a good base for armwrestling. Ive found myself in armwrestling easily, although I still learn and still polish my technique at the table. Armwrestling, in opposition to Strongman, is a sport that you can train your whole life. Besides that, its a discipline with over 50 different techniques. During a fight, you need to think fast, make decisions in a matter of split seconds, and react with lighting speed. What counts is speed, strength, technique, stamina and resistance to stress.

Today Tomasz is doing only armwrestling, hes definitely done with Strongman. Although he does recall those days very fondly.

I recall the night when we pulled the plane on the Świdwin airport strip, surrounded by soldiers carrying torchessays Tomek.This was to honor the pilots whove died in the CASA Mirosławiec crash. There were some very funny moments, too, like after the Rewal Strongman tournament, when weve soaked the master of ceremony, Irek Bieleninik, in champagne and threw him into the sea. Strongman was full of funny situations, but also dangerous ones, laughter and pain intermixed.

Tomasz doesnt exclude the possibility of trying other sports in his life.

Maybe itll be MMA, Ive trained for a while in the Lutadores Opole club, with the best heavyweight in Polandsays Tomek.It was a great experience, as the trainings are very demanding, stamina- and technique-wise. With my weight its no easy task to go a few rounds of sparring, believe me. I was good on the ground, though, due to my size. Ill definitely have to think about it.

dcf5f1_1t.jpg

Iza Małkowska

Archive >>>

Language