Koroit's Liz Aitken earns invite to Australian Strongest Middleweight competition

Aitken earned an invite to Australia's Strongest Middleweight after standout performances at the Compound Carnage and Chaos event earlier this month.

The middleweight competition, which will comprise six challenging disciplines, will run in Toowoomba from April 8-9.

"I am so excited now because I wasn't really sure what else I was going to aim towards preparing for," she said. "Now it's given me the biggest comp of my life to start preparing for and some pretty huge numbers to try and hit."

Aitken, who is part of the new South West Strength Sports club, said she would be thorough in her training for the Queensland-based competition.

"I have a coach who programs absolutely everything for me, so I don't have to think about what I am doing," she said.

"I'll be working through a five-week block then I'll have a week's rest and then I'll have another four-week really intensive block."

Aitken, who trains with partner Paul Mammone, will test her mental resilience and physical strength in the sandbag lift, rising log bar press, axle clean and press medley, Conan's wheel, deadlift repetition and beam hold.

The sandbag, which includes walking a short distance and trying to throw it over a barrier, features 80kg, 90kg and 100kg challenges - heavier than the competition she just completed.

"I'll be hoping to pick up the 100kg sandbag and get it as far as I can," Aitken said.

"It will be great if I could load it over the bar but just getting it off the ground and moving it off the ground is something I'll be aiming for."

The rising bar log press starts with an opening weight of 75kg followed by 5kg increments.

"It is about 10 kilos off what I can do at the moment, so I will be aiming to hit the opening weight for that," she said. "It's like a clean and press but with a big log."

The axle clean and press is a medley event which jumps in weight while Conan's wheel requires strength and cardio.

"It's holding a big weight in your arms and that's 160 kilos and you have to try and walk as far as you can in one minute," Aitken said.

"Usually it's set up like a big clock and you stand on the outside and hold a big bar and you walk around in a circle and it's about the distance you cover."

Aitken, who is in the under 82kg category, will take belief into that challenge as it's something she's achieved in the past.

"I have done a 160kg Conan's wheel before in a competition and actually won that event so I am feeling pretty good about that event," she said.

"I got almost three full rotations of the big circle.

"But it is absolutely soul-crushingly heavy though; it's an awful event."

The deadlift will start at 180kg and the beam hold tests grip strength.

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