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A strongman is someone who exhibits strength through strength athletics. Strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, are composed of a variety of events in which competitors have to move the highest weights possible, the winner being the one having the highest tally across all events. In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. [1]
In the first half of the 20th century, strongmen performed various feats of strength such as the bent press (not to be confused with the bench press, which did not exist at the time), supporting large amounts of weight held overhead at arm's length, steel bending, chain breaking, etc. They needed to have large amounts of wrist, hand, and tendon strength for these feats, as well as prodigious oblique strength.
In the late 20th century, the term strongman evolved to describe one who competes in strength athletics – a more modern eclectic strength competition in which competitors display their raw functional strength through exercises such as lifting rocks, toting refrigerators, pulling trains, towing an eighteen-wheel truck behind them, etc. The most famous competitions of this type are the World's Strongest Man, the Europe's Strongest Man, the Arnold Strongman Classic, the Strongman Champions League, the World's Ultimate Strongman, the Rogue Invitational and the Giants Live tour, and more than 20 countries also hold national-level competitions as well. [2]
Many sports-specific training facilities have begun to incorporate movements associated with strongman competitions into their general training schemes, albeit with lighter weights used (e.g., tyre flips, sled drags, object loading or carrying, log pressing, farmer's walks and so on.)
Training for strongman involves building overall strength in the gym and training with competition implements to gain familiarity. In the gym, it is necessary to train the entire body for strength, especially with variants of the squat, deadlift, and overhead press. Explosive power is also important, which is developed by weightlifting-style lifts and cardiovascular conditioning. Grip strength must also be developed.
Although you can do general strength training, at a typical gym, training with a strongman regimen requires equipment not typically found in a gym. Some equipment used in a strongman competition would have to be found custom-made or at a strongman gym. Some of these equipment includes natural stones, tree trunk logs, farmers walk frames, yokes, kegs and various sorts of vehicles.
Another part of a strongman's training is its intense diet regime. The biggest strongman competitors would need to ingest around 8,000 - 10,000 calories a day.
Though competitive strongman events are ever-changing, there are a number of staples that frequently appear on the international stage, [3] including:
Strongman is often incorrectly used to describe a person who does weightlifting or bodybuilding. Due to the circus and entertainment background, nineteenth-century bodybuilders were expected to mingle with the crowd during intermission and perform strength feats like card tearing, nail bending, etc. to demonstrate strength as well as symmetry and size. Also, many strongmen sold photos of themselves nude or near-nude, flexing and posing. Although, what they considered the epitome of male beauty was different from modern ideals – particularly the very low emphasis on chest size, and great emphasis on oblique size, and symmetry as evidenced by photos of Eugen Sandow.
The strongmen are listed according to the chronological order of their birth.
The following 75 strongmen have reached the podium (1st, 2nd or 3rd place) of World's Strongest Man since 1977 and/or World Muscle Power Classic from 1985 to 2004 and/or Arnold Strongman Classic since 2002. They are listed according to the chronological order of their podium appearance.
24 of them have won the World's Strongest Man (WSM), 11 have won the World Muscle Power Classic (WMPC) and 9 have won the Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC).
7 men have won both WSM & WMPC (Kazmaier, Capes, Sigmarsson, Reeves, Magnússon, Ahola, Karlsen). 5 men have won both WSM & ASC (Savickas, Shaw, Björnsson, Licis, Hooper).
Additionally, the following 49 strongmen have reached either 4th or 5th places of World's Strongest Man and/or World Muscle Power Classic and/or Arnold Strongman Classic:
Lou Ferrigno, Franco Columbu, Jon Kolb, Gus Rethwisch, Bishop Dolegiewicz, Jerry Hannan, Craig Wolfley, Ernie Hackett, Hamish Davidson, Rudolph Kuester, George Hechter, Dan Markovic, Jean-Pierre Brulois, Tom Hawk, László Fekete, Adrian Smith, Berend Veneberg, Heinz Ollesch, Pieter de Bruyn, Martin Muhr, Wayne Price, Nathan Jones, Bill Lyndon, Johnny Perry, Brian Bell, Arvydas Pintinas, Andy Bolton, Steve Kirit, Bill Pittuck, Sami Heinonen, Jarek Dymek, Brian Schoonveld, Odd Haugen, Brian Siders, Benedikt Magnússon, Mark Felix, Tarmo Mitt, Vidas Blekaitis, Stefán Sölvi Pétursson, Laurence Shahlaei, Krzysztof Radzikowski, Dimitar Savatinov, Konstantine Janashia, Matjaz Belsak, Rob Kearney, Trey Mitchell, Thomas Evans, Mathew Ragg and Tristain Hoath.
Active Retired
# | Name | Country | Active | Competitions | Wins | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Žydrūnas Savickas | Lithuania | 1996–2022 | 147 | 79 | 53.74% |
2 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | Poland | 2000–2009 | 61 | 43 | 70.49% |
3 | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson | Iceland | 2010– | 67 | 30 | 44.78% |
4 | Brian Shaw | USA | 2007–2023 | 65 | 27 | 41.54% |
5 | Aivars Šmaukstelis | Latvia | 2014– | 70 | 25 | 35.71% |
6 | Krzysztof Radzikowski | Poland | 2005–2019 | 112 | 23 | 20.53% |
7 | Ervin Katona | Serbia | 2003–2015 | 99 | 17 | 17.17% |
8 | Hugo Girard | Canada | 1998–2008 | 37 | 15 | 40.54% |
9 | Dainis Zageris | Latvia | 2009–2022 | 87 | 15 | 17.24% |
10 | Jón Páll Sigmarsson | Iceland | 1982–1992 | 29 | 13 | 44.82% |
11 | Magnús Ver Magnússon | Iceland | 1987–2005 | 48 | 12 | 25.00% |
12 | Magnus Samuelsson | Sweden | 1995–2008 | 63 | 12 | 19.05% |
13 | Jouko Ahola | Finland | 1994–2002 | 22 | 11 | 50.00% |
14 | Riku Kiri | Finland | 1987–1999 | 25 | 11 | 44.00% |
15 | Oleksii Novikov | Ukraine | 2016– | 41 | 11 | 26.83% |
16 | Mikhail Koklyaev | Russia | 2005–2014 | 50 | 11 | 22.00% |
17 | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | Poland | 2014– | 43 | 10 | 23.25% |
18 | Matjaz Belsak | Slovenia | 2014–2020 | 60 | 10 | 16.67% |
19 | JF Caron | Canada | 2007–2023 | 73 | 10 | 13.70% |
20 | Geoff Capes | UK / England | 1979–1988 | 20 | 9 | 45.00% |
21 | Mitchell Hooper | Canada | 2022– | 17 | 8 | 47.06% |
22 | Bill Kazmaier | USA | 1979–1990 | 18 | 8 | 44.44% |
23 | Derek Poundstone | USA | 2006–2017 | 22 | 8 | 36.36% |
24 | Martins Licis | USA | 2015– | 24 | 8 | 33.33% |
25 | Vytautas Lalas | Lithuania | 2007–2018 | 30 | 8 | 26.67% |
26 | Kelvin de Ruiter | Netherlands | 2011– | 36 | 8 | 22.22% |
27 | Janne Virtanen | Finland | 1998–2009 | 50 | 8 | 16.00% |
28 | Laurence Shahlaei | UK / England | 2007–2021 | 55 | 8 | 14.55% |
29 | Travis Ortmayer | USA | 2005–2023 | 51 | 7 | 13.72% |
30 | Svend Karlsen | Norway | 1996–2006 | 64 | 7 | 10.94% |
31 | Manfred Hoeberl | Austria | 1990–1996 | 18 | 6 | 33.33% |
32 | Vasyl Virastyuk | Ukraine | 2002–2008 | 28 | 6 | 21.43% |
33 | Andrus Murumets | Estonia | 2003–2009 | 40 | 6 | 15.00% |
34 | Flemming Rasmussen | Denmark | 1995–2001 | 19 | 5 | 26.32% |
35 | Pavlo Kordiyaka | Ukraine | 2017– | 21 | 5 | 23.81% |
36 | Evan Singleton | USA | 2018– | 24 | 5 | 20.83% |
36 | Mykhailo Starov | Ukraine | 2004–2006 | 24 | 5 | 20.83% |
37 | Johannes Årsjö | Sweden | 2007–2017 | 39 | 5 | 12.82% |
38 | Mikhail Shivlyakov | Russia | 2011–2021 | 44 | 5 | 11.36% |
38 | Stojan Todorchev | Bulgaria | 2005–2017 | 44 | 5 | 11.36% |
39 | Raivis Vidzis | Latvia | 2002–2009 | 45 | 5 | 11.11% |
40 | Jarek Dymek | Poland | 2000–2010 | 46 | 5 | 10.87% |
41 | Oskar Ziółkowski | Poland | 2020– | 11 | 4 | 36.36% |
42 | Trey Mitchell | USA | 2016– | 24 | 4 | 16.67% |
43 | Tom Stoltman | UK / Scotland | 2016– | 28 | 4 | 14.28% |
44 | Glenn Ross | UK / Northern Ireland | 1997–2011 | 33 | 4 | 12.12% |
45 | Jamie Reeves | UK / England | 1988–1999 | 38 | 4 | 10.52% |
46 | Rauno Heinla | Estonia | 2009– | 55 | 4 | 7.27% |
47 | Mike Jenkins | USA | 2010–2013 | 9 | 3 | 33.33% |
48 | Tom Magee | Canada | 1982–1990 | 12 | 3 | 25.00% |
49 | Mike Burke | USA | 2011–2015 | 18 | 3 | 16.66% |
50 | Gerrit Badenhorst | South Africa | 1992–2002 | 20 | 3 | 15.00% |
50 | Didzis Zariņš | Latvia | 2011–2023 | 20 | 3 | 15.00% |
- As at 5 May 2024
Jón Páll Sigmarsson was an Icelandic strongman, powerlifter and bodybuilder who was the first man to win the World's Strongest Man four times and the first and only man to win the World Muscle Power Classic five times. Jón Páll is widely regarded as one of the greatest strongmen of all time, and is credited with developing Iceland's national identity. He was named Icelandic Sportsperson of the Year in 1981, and was one of the best-known Icelandic athletes. In 2012, Jón Páll was inducted into the World's Strongest Man Hall of Fame.
Magnús Ver Magnússon is an Icelandic former powerlifter and strongman competitor. He is a four-time World's Strongest Man, having won in 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996 and is widely regarded as one of the greatest strongmen of all time.
The World's Strongest Man is an international strongman competition held every year. Organized by American event management company IMG, a subsidiary of Endeavor, it is broadcast in the US during summers and in the UK around the end of December each year. Competitors qualify based on placing in the top three at the four to eight Giants Live events each year. The current event sponsor is SBD Apparel. Previous sponsors include Tachi Palace, Coregenx, Commerce Hotel and Casino, DAF Trucks, Tonka, MET-Rx, and PartyPoker.com.
Strength athletics, also known as Strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of non-traditional ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully competed in strongman competitions. However, strongman events also test physical endurance to a degree not found in powerlifting or other strength-based sports, such as carrying refrigerators, flipping truck tires, and pulling vehicles with a rope.
Riku Kiri is a Finnish former strongman and powerlifter, best known for competing in the World's Strongest Man competition, narrowly missing out on capturing the title on more than one occasion. He has been referred to as: "the strongest man never to win World's Strongest Man."
Derek Anthony Poundstone is an American police officer, former professional strongman and strength coach from Woodbridge, Connecticut. He was the runner-up at the 2008 World's Strongest Man, a two-time Arnold Strongman Classic champion, and a three-time winner of America's Strongest Man. Poundstone is also a high-ranking officer for the Naugatuck, Connecticut Police Department and is the former owner and landlord of an apartment complex and gym.
Giants Live was created in 2009 as the official Tour that qualifies strongmen to compete in the annual World's Strongest Man contest. At each Grand Prix, up to twelve international strongmen come together and compete over six events. The top three at each contest will receive an invitation to compete at the World's Strongest Man contest for that same year.
Brian Shaw is an American retired professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all-time. He won the 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2016 World's Strongest Man, making him one of only five men to win the World’s Strongest Man four times or more. In 2011, Shaw became the first man to win the Arnold Strongman Classic and the World's Strongest Man competitions in the same calendar year, a feat he replicated in 2015. With 27 international competition wins, he is the fourth most decorated strongman in history behind Lithuania's Žydrūnas Savickas, Poland's Mariusz Pudzianowski and Iceland's Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.
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Oleksii Novikov is a Ukrainian professional strongman. He won the 2020 World's Strongest Man competition, becoming the second Ukrainian to win the title since Vasyl Virastyuk in 2004, and at 24 years, 278 days, he is also the second youngest winner in history, being only seven days elder than Jón Páll Sigmarsson in 1984. He is also a two time World's Ultimate Strongman, Rogue Invitational champion and Europe’s Strongest Man.
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