Shift your spare tyre
Use tyre flips and other strongman-style moves to build strength and explosive power – and fight fat
And you’ll, er, shift your spare tyre with the classic strongman practice
1 Move your body as a single unit
Tyre flips are a highly effective and intense full-body movement, making them one of the best session “finishers” to improve cardio conditioning and accelerate fat loss.
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“Flips develop your posterior chain as well as enhancing leg drive, flexibility, endurance and explosive strength, all while teaching you to lower your body then explode up, something that has many real-life benefits,” says two-time British natural strongman champion
Jack Lovett.
2 Build explosive drive and power
All flips require an explosive lowerbody drive that extends up through the hands into triple extension, so they’re great for power and fat-loss aims, as well as combat athletes.
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“Use a safe lifting position and suitable load, and the tyre should be 20-22in [50-56cm] thick,” says Lovett (spartan performance.co.uk). “Thinner tyres force a sumo deadlift lifting position, aka the ‘biceps-tearing’ position. If your gym doesn’t have tyres, do barbell power cleans.”
3 Use a tyre that tests you
Even if you’re new to tyre flipping, you don’t want to start too light with tiny tyres because it won’t provide enough of a stimulus to lead to fat loss or explosive power.
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“Here’s a secret: tyre flipping isn’t that hard,” says Lovett. “You never lift the total weight and I see many athletes who struggle to squat twice their bodyweight flipping tyres three times their weight. It needs to be heavy enough so you can be aggressive and explosive.”
4 Follow the right form to flip safely
Squat down so your chin is on the lip, with your chest and shoulders driven into the tyre wall but not over it, with your feet back to allow a forward lean. Initiate the flip with the legs, never the arms.
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“The biggest mistakes I see in tyre flipping come from not being aggressive enough – lifting too slowly or backing off,” says Lovett. “If you do just enough to break the ground and then proceed to fight the tyre up by any means, you’re going to get a slow and ugly flip.”
5 Farmer’s walks as fat-loss finishers
If you don’t fancy tyre flips, farmer’s walks with specialist bars or dumbbells are another fantastic fat-loss finisher that will also improve your cardio fitness.
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“They’re fantastic for better endurance, anaerobic capacity, grip strength, leg and ankle strength, as well as upper back, trap and core strength,” says Lovett. “Take a strong grip with your thumb wrapped firmly around the forefinger and do three maximumdistance walks, resting two minutes between efforts.”
6 Master the log clean and press
This is another classic strongman move that will work your whole body to develop greater strength, power and co-ordination and accelerate your fat-loss efforts with some sets at the end of your workout.
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“The best bit is it’s less techniquedependent than the Olympic clean and press, so it’s quicker and easier to learn,” says Lovett. “Do six to eight sets of 15 seconds each, resting 90sec-2min in between.” Use a barbell or dumbbells if you don’t have easy access to a log.