As the world reopens in the wake of COVID-19, athletic competitions of all different types are being put back on calendars for the coming summer season.

For Falconer native Aaron Lee, the reopening has meant a return to amateur strongman competition–and what a return it has been.

On May 15, Lee chalked up for his first contest since the start of the pandemic, the Central New York Strongest Man event hosted in Syracuse.

After five events competing in Open Strong Heavyweight, the highest class, Lee had two new personal bests and his second first-place strongman finish.

“This win qualified me for nationals (2022), so then if I go to nationals and place there I would start looking at being able to get my pro card. That would be up with the big guys you see on TV,” Lee said.

“The majority of this year, it was getting back into the gyms and prepping for that. Just getting myself back into competition shape.”

Lee began competing in strongman in 2018, and continues to train alongside his friend, Nick Kahanic, who boasts a world-class resume competing in the Scottish Highland Games.

In the midst of gym closures over the past 12 months, the two were forced to get creative with their training.

“When all the gyms shut down and everything, luckily, Nick had a lot of the basic lifting equipment we needed, just to maintain and keep the movements going,” Lee said.

“We just set up a garage gym and had a friend who is a welder make some strongman equipment. We got a 500-pound tractor tire and just made it work. When the gyms opened back up it was just back to business as usual.”

Now, Lee has returned to his regular regiment, which includes training sessions at Iron & Stone Strength in Akron, a gym that specializes in strongman competition.

Despite the long layoff, his performance in Syracuse included a new personal best of 340 pounds in the overhead log press.

For perspective, the average refrigerator is around 300 pounds.

“That is the most I’ve ever done and it made it even better that I did it in competition,” Lee said. “When you go and show up to the game and everything, that is where you really prove what you can do. So that personal record meant a lot, being able to do it right there.”

Lee also shined in the Hussafel carry or shield carry, an event in which competitors try to achieve a maximum distance.

“I’ve never really had to do that before. I carried that 300-pound (stone), and it lays down on your chest and everything and makes it really hard to breathe, so that is the difficult part of it. But I made it 121 feet with that,” Lee said.

Rounding out the events in Syracuse were the keg toss over bar, deadlift, and atlas stone over bar. Even for talented lifters, many strongman events can be difficult due to the awkward nature of the lifts and the balance that is needed.

Being able to train for specific events at his gym in Akron, Lee has been able to become familiar with more awkward lifts like the atlas stones.

Inspiring Lee along the way during his strongman career is the memory of his son AJ, who passed away in 2018.

Next up on the calendar is the Beer Muscles event at 2SP Brewing Company in Aston, Pa. on Aug. 28, which features beer-themed events like the keg toss.

“I’m really looking forward to that one. I really like to be able to travel with this,” Lee said. “You make a weekend out of it and I make more contacts and stuff and more people who ask me about the ‘AJ Strong’ stuff. So this is really my goal with competing in AJ’s honor was to spread this, and the traveling part really makes it fun and helps me reach a wider audience.”