10 Ironmans in 10 Days Cost Him 55 Pounds Off His Powerlifting Total. Here’s What Happened When He Tested His Strength Again

Hybrid athlete Fergus Crawley just completed one of endurance sports’ most brutal challenges: 10 Ironman triathlons in 10 days across 10 cities.

But success came with a price.

In a recent YouTube video documenting his return to strength training, Crawley revealed exactly how much muscle and power he sacrificed for Project Tenacity.

The results might surprise anyone balancing multiple fitness goals simultaneously.

The Hybrid Training Philosophy

Since 2018, Crawley has championed what he calls hybrid training—simultaneously pursuing strength and endurance goals despite accepting compromises in peak performance for either discipline.

I train to live, I don’t live to train. I enjoy strength training as much as I enjoy endurance training for very different reasons, granted.

His approach represents a growing movement among fitness enthusiasts who refuse to choose between powerlifting totals and marathon times. Rather than specializing, hybrid athletes build broad physical capacity across multiple domains.

But Project Tenacity demanded something different. For the first time since beginning hybrid training, Crawley deliberately sacrificed his hard-earned strength equity to focus exclusively on endurance adaptation.

Dramatic Training Changes for Extreme Endurance

Preparing for 10 consecutive Ironman events required wholesale changes to Crawley’s training approach. In February, he dropped from two full-body lifting sessions weekly to just one light maintenance session.

That single decision would prove costly for his powerlifting numbers.

After completing Project Tenacity, Crawley returned to Omnia Performance HQ to test his squat, bench press, and deadlift—the three lifts comprising a powerlifting total. He approached testing conservatively, acknowledging his conditioning for maximal strength had deteriorated significantly.

I’m obviously a little bit out of practice given I have not been focusing on compound movements for a little while. I have been working the back in over the past three, four weeks. So, I’m comfortable with the movements again, but that conditioning to top end strength isn’t there.

The Squat: Surprisingly Unchanged

Crawley’s squat testing began with strategic warm-ups designed to activate muscles without accumulating fatigue—10 reps with the bar, five reps at 60 kilograms, three reps at 100 kilograms, then working up in singles.

He ultimately hit 180 kilograms, matching his previous test from nine months earlier. However, there’s an important caveat: his previous test used low-bar squat technique, which typically allows heavier loads than high-bar squatting due to greater posterior chain engagement.

This time, Crawley performed high-bar squats, making the matched weight actually represent relative strength loss.

During heavier attempts, he noticed technical breakdowns including knee valgus (knees caving inward) and lost tension in his glutes—signs of deconditioning from maximal loading.

Bench Press: Modest Decline

Crawley’s bench press historically served as his strength barometer. He explained that if 100 kilograms feels like an empty bar, he knows he’s in peak condition.

On testing day, 100 kilograms felt close to effortless—a promising sign. His post-Tenacity training had included 125 kilograms for two reps and 120 kilograms for three reps, suggesting reasonable strength retention.

He ultimately pressed 130 kilograms, though his shoulder didn’t feel completely optimal and he noticed excessive hip drive—compensatory patterns emerging from reduced practice with maximal loads.

130 kilos out of practice, but that is the best I have benched in the past couple of weeks. Really, really nice to have a sticky bench I can really get myself dug down into.

Deadlift: The Biggest Loss

Deadlifts revealed where endurance training extracted its heaviest toll. Crawley’s previous maximum stood at 220 kilograms, though he notes that wasn’t an absolute peak effort.

Post-Tenacity training included 200 kilograms for two sets of two reps, leading him to predict landing around 210-215 kilograms on testing day.

He pulled 210 kilograms successfully, but the movement speed indicated significant strength reduction compared to his previous capabilities.

The Final Damage: 25 Kilograms Lost

Adding up his three lifts revealed the complete picture:

• Squat: 180 kg (unchanged nominally, decreased when accounting for technique variation)
• Bench Press: 130 kg (modest decline)
• Deadlift: 210 kg (notable decrease from 220 kg)
• Total: 520 kg (down 25 kg from previous testing)

That 25-kilogram loss represents roughly 4.6% of his previous total—significant but not catastrophic.

So, I lost 25 kilos off my total.

Context Matters: Previous Training Focus

Crawley emphasized that his October 2024 testing hadn’t followed powerlifting-focused training either. He’d been preparing for a Husafell Stone challenge, which built lower body and deadlift strength through sandbag training rather than barbell work.

This context suggests his baseline numbers weren’t representing absolute peak strength capacity, making the comparison somewhat imperfect but still valuable for tracking general strength trends.

The Psychology of Maximal Lifting After Deconditioning

Beyond raw strength loss, Crawley highlighted an often-overlooked aspect of returning to heavy lifting: psychological adaptation to maximal loads.

Feel kind of nervous, you know? I don’t get nervous, but I’m starting to get a bit shaky, you know? I’m feeling a little bit woozy.

He explained that conditioning to submaximal doubles, triples, and singles builds mental comfort with heavy weights. Without regular exposure, even experienced lifters experience anxiety when approaching maximal loads.

This psychological component represents a hidden cost of detraining that pure strength metrics don’t capture.

Smart Warm-Up Strategies Prevent Fatigue

Throughout testing, Crawley demonstrated thoughtful warm-up progressions designed to activate without exhausting. He advocates for minimal warm-up volume when testing maximal strength.

Many lifters perform excessive warm-up repetitions, entering their heavy sets already fatigued. Crawley’s approach—progressively increasing load while decreasing volume—optimizes neural activation without depleting energy reserves.

He also emphasized reviewing movement footage between attempts, using video analysis to identify technical issues and inform loading decisions.

Equipment Matters: The Barefoot Advantage

Crawley performed testing in Vivo Barefoot Motus Strength shoes, which he’s worn for six years during strength training. These minimalist shoes feature wide, thin, flexible construction that doesn’t interfere with ground contact.

Research from University of Liverpool in 2021 demonstrated that minimalist footwear can increase foot strength by up to 60% through strengthening the flexor hallucis longus muscle—providing a stable base for heavy lifting.

He alternates only when using Olympic weightlifting shoes for movements requiring additional ankle dorsiflexion like high-bar squats or front squats.

What This Means for Hybrid Athletes

Crawley’s experience provides valuable data for anyone juggling multiple fitness goals. A 4-6% strength loss during an extreme endurance block represents the reality of training specificity—adaptations favor whatever receives focus.

Several key lessons emerge:

• Maintenance training helps but can’t prevent all losses during specialized training blocks
• Psychological adaptation to heavy loads requires consistent exposure beyond just maintaining movement patterns
• Technical proficiency deteriorates faster than raw strength, as evidenced by form breakdowns before complete strength loss
• Strength returns faster than it’s initially built, thanks to muscle memory and neural pathways

The Road to Recovery

Despite the losses, Crawley expressed enthusiasm about returning to regular strength training. His baseline testing provides clear targets for rebuilding toward previous performance levels.

The main thing at the moment is I’m really enjoying being back in the gym. It’s great to have some baseline data to take into my training moving forwards.

Research on detraining and retraining consistently shows that previously trained individuals regain lost strength significantly faster than initial acquisition required. Crawley likely won’t need nine months to reclaim those 25 kilograms.

His experience demonstrates that pursuing extraordinary goals sometimes requires temporary sacrifice. For hybrid athletes, the question isn’t whether specialization causes losses in other domains—it does. Rather, it’s whether those losses are worthwhile for the achieved goal.

Having completed 10 Ironman triathlons in 10 days, Crawley clearly believes the trade was worth making.