A run like this would have seemed unfathomable to Ryder Joy a few years ago.
Since joining Strongman weightlifting earlier this year, the Selkirk teen has skyrocketed to local prominence. Joy, 17, of Iron Image Barbell Club has compiled three wins, including a gold medal at the Strongman Corporation Canada (SCC) provincial competition. This qualified him for the SCC Nationals last weekend in Moncton, N.B., where he finished third overall and became the first Manitoban athlete to compete in the teen division.
The road has been long and winding for Joy since he began weight training in 2022. In February, he was convinced to try his hand at Strongman — a sport that tests an athlete’s strength while performing functional movement patterns — and now he’s confident that he’s found his calling.
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In his eyes, he’s playing with house money in the gym.
“Honestly, it’s changed my life infinitely for the better. Before I started I was kind of just a s—hole kid, and since I started doing this — I started pursuing weightlifting, my buddy started pursuing boxing — it’s changed our lives just for the better and I’m grateful I started doing this,” Joy said.
Joy is stocky at 5-8, 250 pounds, which helps him move some serious weight. He can squat up to 520 pounds, bench press upward of 350 pounds and maxes out at a 500-pound deadlift.
At nationals, Joy performed in five events that tested his functional strength. One was deadlifting a small car, which he completed nine times.
“Oh, I’ve surprised myself a few times, but I feel like for lots of it I kind of saw it coming because I spent a lot of time in the gym, I work hard, I do all the right things,” Joy said ahead of the competition.
“From a mental standpoint, I’m just trying to go in here as relaxed as possible. Just rest a lot, eat a lot, try not to worry myself out — just go in there and kind of have fun.”
Joy received some local support in the form of a $1,500 sponsorship from the Royal Canadian Legion. Despite his early success in the sport, the opportunity to perform on the national stage wasn’t lost on the young lifter.
“It’s kind of hard to explain, but it means a lot to me to be out here, because when I was younger I would watch old Strongman on my grandpa’s TV with him. So ever since I was young, I always wanted to do something with strength sports or something with this, and it just evolved and eventually I got here,” he said.
Joy credited a strong support system for his early success. His mother and grandfather joined him in the Maritimes for the national competition, and so did his coach, Andrew Langelaar, who is one of Manitoba’s top Strongman athletes and has had one of the biggest influences on Joy.
“The Strongman thing is what got me into the gym in the first place, but when I started going to the gym, I wanted to be a powerlifter at first, mainly because I hate running,” Joy said. “After a while, my coach found me, and he kind of bullied me into doing Strongman… but I wasn’t opposed to it at all. I very much enjoy it, and I very much enjoy watching it.”
Joy’s training regimen is onerous but has proven to be highly rewarding. When ramping up for a competition, he trains hard Monday through Friday and takes some well-earned rest days on the weekend. Outside of competition prep, he’s in the gym four days a week.
Joy noted that there is a science to his training and that he doesn’t simply show up and lift as much weight as he can in every session.
“Typically around three weeks out is usually the peak of prep and during that, you usually want to (lift) between 80 and 90 per cent of all the (max) weights,” he said. “And then you might have a day on Friday where you test the competition lifts, and then after that, for the next two weeks, you tend to taper down until the week of competition.
“You usually take that entire week off for rest to let your body heal up and then you go and compete after that.”
A third-place finish would point to yet another successful training cycle. And while there’s always room for improvement, Joy will continue to appreciate everything the sport throws at him.
“Competing is always going to be nerve-wracking,” Joy said about how much he’s enjoyed his early success. “But after competing, you kind of have this feeling of relief.
“You enjoy lifting, you enjoy doing the Strongman, but you have this sense of relief when it’s finished and you know how you did.”
