MST is a combination of applied strength and conditioning methods

coupled with strongman events.

Why use it?
• Transferable strength
• Potentiates relative strength and functional hypertrophy gains
• Promotes rapid changes in body composition
• Corrective, if applied correctly
• Ability to train large numbers at once
• Team building
• Suited to all levels
• Keeps training interesting
• Improves mental toughness.
(Charles R. Poliquin, McDermott, 2010)
Strengthens limiting factors:
• Lateral speed
• Ankle strength
• Grip strength-endurance
• Lactic acid tolerance
• Work capacity.
(Charles R. Poliquin, McDermott, 2010)
MST is an excellent method for stripping body fat without losing
valuable muscle. As well as helping to get a fighter lean, MST is a
great choice for developing functional strength/hypertrophy. It is an
excellent way of training when recovery is needed to be rapid as
there
is no eccentric (negative) load.
A modified strongman exercise that can be of great benefit to a
combat athlete is the Farmer’s Walk, alternatively named the
Farmer’s
Carry. It really targets the neck and abdominals, and is a valuable
tool
for improving grip strength. Farmers are great for developing
strength/muscular endurance.
They are a great all-round exercise and are indeed taxing on the
hand and forearm musculature. Replacing the Farmer’s handles
with
kettlebells and gripping a towel looped through the handle will take
the
exercise to a whole new level in regards to increasing the grip
component.
Tyre flipping – warm up is essential; if the gym has several tyres of
different sizes then it would be always a wise choice to start on the
smallest and work up. Even then, a barbell exercise such as the
deadlift would be a great warm-up option. As this is potentially more
dangerous than MST exercises such as using sleds, prowlers and
so
on, here is some information on technique.
The athlete is not deadlifting the tyre so the feet should not be right
next to it. Also, the hands should not be inside the legs as if
performing a sumo deadlift.
The feet should be 2–3ft (dependent on height) from the tyre with
the hands outside the legs. As the feet are further away from the
tyre
this will stop the athlete from attempting to lift the tyre vertically and
force him to lean forward into it.