
In the 19th century, the term strongman referred vĩ đại an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. Today, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, are composed of a variety of events in which competitors have vĩ đại move the highest weights possible, the winner being the one having the highest tally across all events.[1]
Description[edit]
In the first half of the 20th century, strongmen would perform various feats of strength such as the bent press (not vĩ đại 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 vĩ đại 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 vĩ đại 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 thở trăng tròn countries also hold national-level competitions as well.[2]
Many sports-specific training facilities have begun vĩ đại 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 ví on.
Training[edit]
Training for strongman involves building overall strength in the thể hình and training with competition implements vĩ đại gain familiarity. In the thể hình, it is necessary vĩ đại train the entire toàn thân for strength, especially with variants of the squat, deadlift, and overhead press. Also important is explosive power, developed by weightlifting-style lifts, and cardiovascular conditioning. Grip strength must also be developed.
Although you can tự general strength training, at a typical thể hình, training with a strongman regimen requires equipment not typically found in a thể hình. Some equipment used in a strongman competition would have vĩ đại be found custom-made or at a strongman thể hình. 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 vĩ đại ingest around 8,000 - 10,000 calories a day.
Events[edit]

Though competitive strongman events are ever changing, there are a number of staples that frequently appear on the international stage,[3] including:
Incorrect usage[edit]
Strongman is often incorrectly used vĩ đại describe a person who does weightlifting or bodybuilding. Due vĩ đại the circus and entertainment background, nineteenth-century bodybuilders were expected vĩ đại mingle with the crowd during intermission and perform strength feats lượt thích thẻ tearing, nail bending, etc. vĩ đại 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.
Notable strongmen[edit]
Traditional Strongmen[edit]
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The Strongmen are listed according vĩ đại the chronological order of their birth.
Modern Strongmen[edit]
The following 74 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 vĩ đại 2004 and/or Arnold Strongman Classic since 2002. They are listed according vĩ đại 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, following 48 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 and Evan Singleton.
International Accolades[edit]
- Below table summarizes the 50 most decorated strongmen in modern history with the most number of international wins (1st places) in their careers.[4]
- No. of total career competitions against the No. of wins (1st places only, open category only).
# | Name | Nationality | Active | Competitions | Wins | Win % | Notable Accolades[a] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Žydrūnas Savickas | ![]() |
1996–2022 | 153 | 84 | 54.90% | Multiple times World Champion |
2 | Mariusz Pudzianowski | ![]() |
2000–2009 | 61 | 43 | 70.49% | Multiple times World Champion |
3 | Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson | ![]() |
2010–2020 | 65 | 30 | 46.15% | Multiple times World Champion |
4 | Brian Shaw | ![]() |
2007–2023 | 65 | 27 | 41.54% | Multiple times World Champion |
5 | Krzysztof Radzikowski | ![]() |
2005–2019 | 112 | 23 | 20.53% | Strongman Champions League |
6 | Aivars Šmaukstelis | ![]() |
2014– | 63 | 22 | 34.92% | Strongman Champions League |
7 | Ervin Katona | ![]() |
2003–2015 | 99 | 17 | 17.17% | Strongman Champions League |
8 | Hugo Girard | ![]() |
1998–2008 | 37 | 15 | 40.54% | World Muscle Power Classic |
9 | Dainis Zageris | ![]() |
2009–2022 | 87 | 15 | 17.24% | Strongman Champions League |
10 | Jón Páll Sigmarsson | ![]() |
1982–1992 | 29 | 13 | 44.82% | Multiple times World Champion |
11 | Magnús Ver Magnússon | ![]() |
1987–2005 | 48 | 12 | 25.00% | Multiple times World Champion |
12 | Magnus Samuelsson | ![]() |
1995–2008 | 63 | 12 | 19.05% | World's Strongest Man |
13 | Jouko Ahola | ![]() |
1994–2002 | 22 | 11 | 50.00% | Multiple times World Champion |
14 | Riku Kiri | ![]() |
1987–1999 | 25 | 11 | 44.00% | World Strongman Challenge |
15 | Oleksii Novikov | ![]() |
2016– | 38 | 11 | 28.95% | World's Strongest Man |
16 | Mikhail Koklyaev | ![]() |
2005–2014 | 50 | 11 | 22.00% | Strongman Champions League |
17 | Mateusz Kieliszkowski | ![]() |
2014– | 41 | 10 | 24.39% | World's Ultimate Strongman |
18 | Matjaz Belsak | ![]() |
2014–2020 | 60 | 10 | 16.67% | Arnold Strongman Classic Europe |
19 | JF Caron | ![]() |
2007–2022 | 72 | 10 | 13.89% | North America's Strongest Man |
20 | Geoff Capes | ![]() |
1979–1988 | 20 | 9 | 45.00% | Multiple times World Champion |
21 | Bill Kazmaier | ![]() |
1979–1990 | 18 | 8 | 44.44% | Multiple times World Champion |
22 | Derek Poundstone | ![]() |
2006–2017 | 22 | 8 | 36.36% | Arnold Strongman Classic |
23 | Martins Licis | ![]() |
2015– | 23 | 8 | 34.78% | Multiple times World Champion |
24 | Vytautas Lalas | ![]() |
2007–2018 | 30 | 8 | 26.67% | Arnold Strongman Classic |
25 | Janne Virtanen | ![]() |
1998–2009 | 50 | 8 | 16.00% | World's Strongest Man |
26 | Laurence Shahlaei | ![]() |
2007–2021 | 55 | 8 | 14.55% | Europe's Strongest Man |
27 | Kelvin de Ruiter | ![]() |
2011– | 34 | 7 | 20.59% | Strongman Champions League |
28 | Travis Ortmayer | ![]() |
2005– | 51 | 7 | 13.72% | Strongman Champions League |
29 | Svend Karlsen | ![]() |
1996–2006 | 64 | 7 | 10.94% | Multiple times World Champion |
30 | Manfred Hoeberl | ![]() |
1990–1996 | 18 | 6 | 33.33% | World Muscle Power Classic |
31 | Vasyl Virastyuk | ![]() |
2002–2008 | 28 | 6 | 21.43% | World's Strongest Man |
32 | Andrus Murumets | ![]() |
2003–2009 | 40 | 6 | 15.00% | Strongman Champions League |
33 | Mitchell Hooper | ![]() |
2022– | 12 | 5 | 41.67% | Multiple times World Champion |
34 | Flemming Rasmussen | ![]() |
1995–2001 | 19 | 5 | 26.32% | World's Strongest Viking |
35 | Evan Singleton | ![]() |
2018– | 21 | 5 | 23.81% | Giants Live Strongman Classic |
36 | Mykhailo Starov | ![]() |
2004–2006 | 24 | 5 | 20.83% | World Strongman Cup |
37 | Mikhail Shivlyakov | ![]() |
2011–2021 | 44 | 5 | 11.36% | Arnold Strongman Classic South America |
37 | Stojan Todorchev | ![]() |
2005–2017 | 44 | 5 | 11.36% | World Strongman Cup |
38 | Raivis Vidzis | ![]() |
2002–2009 | 45 | 5 | 11.11% | World Strongman Cup |
39 | Jarek Dymek | ![]() |
2000–2010 | 46 | 5 | 10.87% | Europe's Strongest Man |
40 | Pavlo Kordiyaka | ![]() |
2017– | 15 | 4 | 26.67% | Europe's Strongest Man |
41 | Trey Mitchell | ![]() |
2016– | 22 | 4 | 18.18% | Shaw Classic |
42 | Glenn Ross | ![]() |
1997–2011 | 33 | 4 | 12.12% | World Strongman Cup |
43 | Jamie Reeves | ![]() |
1988–1999 | 38 | 4 | 10.52% | Multiple times World Champion |
44 | Rauno Heinla | ![]() |
2009– | 52 | 4 | 7.69% | Strongman Champions League |
45 | Terry Hollands | ![]() |
2005–2021 | 92 | 4 | 4.35% | Strongman Champions League |
46 | Janne Hartikainen | ![]() |
2004–2009 | 4 | 3 | 75.00% | U105 Strongman World Championships |
47 | Oskar Ziółkowski | ![]() |
2020– | 7 | 3 | 42.85% | Strongman Champions League |
47 | Andrew Clayton | ![]() |
2014–2022 | 7 | 3 | 42.85% | U105 Official Strongman Games |
48 | Mike Jenkins | ![]() |
2010–2013 | 9 | 3 | 33.33% | Arnold Strongman Classic |
49 | Tom Magee | ![]() |
1982–1990 | 12 | 3 | 25.00% | Défi Mark Ten International |
50 | Mike Burke | ![]() |
2011-2015 | 18 | 3 | 16.66% | Giants Live |
- As at 2 September 2023
See also[edit]
- List of strongmen
- List of strongman competitions
- Grip strength
- Lifting stone
- Power training
- Strength training
- Strongwoman
- World Strongman Federation
- World Strongman Cup Federation
- Highland games (Scottish heritage)
- History of physical training and fitness
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- United States All Round Weightlifting Association
- Oldtime Strongman
- Old-School Strongmen – slideshow by Life magazine
- Oldtime Strongmen List
- World Strongman Federation
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