Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their high intense and gruelling nature, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limits. The winners are selected based on a relative scoring system, where participants gather points for each individual event. An athlete who engages in the sport of strongman is also called a 'strongman'. They are often regarded as some of the strongest men of the world.
16-436: Odd Erling Haugen (born January 16, 1950) is a Norwegian-born American strongman and a grip strength specialist. He has also competed in bodybuilding , weightlifting and powerlifting . Haugen developed a passion for size and strength at a very young age. He used barbells and dumbbells made out of birch trees and took metal shop courses to gain knowledge on how to build strength training equipment. By 1970, Haugen became
32-480: A day. Though competitive strongman events are ever-changing, there are a number of staples that frequently appear on the international stage, including: 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
48-487: 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
64-515: Is also the owner of the 186 kg (410 lb) Odd Haugen's Tombstone , a natural stone which had been featured at the stone-to-shoulder strongman event of the Arnold Strongman Classic . Strongman Many sources state that strongman is a man who performs remarkable feats possessing enormous amounts of strength. In the 19th century, the term 'strongman' was referred to an exhibitor of strength during circus performances. In
80-695: The Norway's Strongest Man . Even in his 50s, Haugen competed in the World's Strongest Man competition three times in 2001, 2002 and in 2006 set a record as competitions' oldest ever athlete at 56. However, Haugen is most noteworthy for his exceptional grip strength. Haugen is the President of Mas-wrestling USA and owns 'The Training Hall' sports club in Thousand Oaks, California where he often mentors his students, most notably 2019 World's Strongest Man Martins Licis . He
96-506: The 90s he moved to Hawaii and continued with his sports business. In 1995 and 1998 respectively, Haugen started his journeys in powerlifting and strongman. He squatted 280 kg (617 lb), deadlifted 320 kg (705 lb), won 1997 USPF Masters National Powerlifting Championship, won the 1999 AFSA Strongest Man in America, and podiumed twice in the America's Strongest Man and four-times in
112-672: The Norwegian national bodybuilding champion by winning Mr. Norway title at the age of 20. Around this time, he also held the Norwegian junior deadlift record with 265 kg (584 lb). He then moved to the United States and earned a bachelor's degree in sports physiology and a master's degree in Business Administration. Haugen played football, wrestled, and threw shot put and discus at Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College ). Haugen earned three NCAA All-American accolades in
128-588: 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,
144-410: The crowd during intermission and perform strength feats like card tearing, nail bending, etc. to demonstrate strength as well as symmetry and size. World%27s Strongest Viking World's Strongest Viking was an annual international Strongman competition organized by Strongman Champions League and held for eight consecutive years from 2014 to 2021 with participation of top strongman athletes in
160-423: 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
176-469: The following 50 strongmen have reached either 4th or 5th places of World's Strongest Man and/or World Muscle Power Classic and/or Arnold Strongman Classic : Active Retired - As of 24 November 2024 Strongman is often incorrectly used to describe a person who does powerlifting , weightlifting or bodybuilding . Due to the circus and entertainment background, nineteenth-century bodybuilders were expected to mingle with
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#1732872119548192-503: 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. Additionally, grip strength must be developed and it is also imperative to improve mental toughness and pain tolerance. Although you can do general strength training, at
208-931: 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 deadlifts, squats, overhead log lifts, lifting stones, toting refrigerators, pulling heavy vehicles and tossing or loading weights. Some of the most famous competitions of this type are World's Strongest Man , Arnold Strongman Classic , Europe's Strongest Man , Strongman Champions League , World's Ultimate Strongman , World's Strongest Viking , World Muscle Power Classic , Fortissimus , Pure Strength , Rogue Invitational , Shaw Classic , Giants Live , IFSA World Championships , Strongman Super Series and World Strongman Challenge . More than 30 countries also hold national-level strongman competitions. Training for strongman involves building overall strength in
224-728: The shot put (1971, 1972, 1973). Shortly after graduating from Western Maryland in 1973, Haugen had a short stint in the National Football League . He was signed by the Washington Redskins and then the San Francisco 49ers . However, he played in preseason games only. In the 80s, Haugen invested in combining his interests in sport and business by opening health and fitness clubs in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland and Marin County. In
240-555: The world. It was held under perilous weather conditions in winter, testing the athletes to their limits. The roots of the competition goes back to the Nordic Strongman Championships which was continued until 2013 with participation of athletes from Iceland , Norway , Sweden , Finland and Denmark . In 2014, Giants Live upscaled it to global level, renaming the competition to 'World's Strongest Viking'. In 2015, Strongman Champions League took over. The competition
256-477: Was held every January in Vinstra , Norway under freezing weather conditions and with vintage Viking events. Among the most iconic events were Viking deadlift, Viking boat pull, Viking press, Viking ship mast super yoke, Hercules hold, power stairs and Atlas stones. The competitions were noted for their heavily wood crafted implements and replicating historical feats of strength. One of the most legendary moments of
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