Strongman is a competitivestrength sport that tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limits.^[1] In modern strongman, athletes compete to score points based on their relative position in an event.^[2] An athlete who engages in the sport of strongman is also called a 'strongman'.^[3] They are often regarded as some of the strongest men of the world.

Many sources state that strongman is a man who performs remarkable feats possessing enormous amounts of strength.^[4][5] In the 19th century, the term 'strongman' was referred to an exhibitor of strength duringcircus performances.^[6]

Modern strongman generally credits its origins to circus strongmen who became popular in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the first half of the 20th century, strongmen performed various feats of strength such as thebent press (not to be confused with thebench 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, andtendon strength for these feats, as well as prodigiousoblique strength.^[7] Athletes includingLouis Cyr,Apollon,Donald Dinnie, andArthur Saxon are credited as major innovators in the sport. Many events today, including the Cyr dumbbell, Apollon's axle clean-and-press, Dinnie stones, and Saxon bar deadlift bear their names.

In the late 20th century, the termstrongman evolved to describe one who competes instrength 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. With the advent of theWorld's Strongest Man competition, strongman began to be formalized as a competitive sport rather than a non-competitive spectacle. Since the advent of the modern sport, competitions includingArnold 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,World Strongman Challenge andSiberian Power Show have adopted a standardized format based on the original World's Strongest Man.^[3]

More than 30 countries also hold national-level strongman competitions.^[8] Local competitions featuring amateur athletes are also common.

In its modern format, a strongman competition will typically consist of several events (ranging from as few as five to as many as eight at the international level) testing different aspects of strength. These may include static lifts such as adeadlift,overhead press, orsquat or a dynamic event involving moving with weight. Athletes may, for example, pick up a heavy apparatus and carry it for a certain distance or drag a vehicle attached by a harness.

Strongman competitions score competitors by comparing their relative place in an event and awarding more points to competitors with better finishes. Typically, first place in an event will receive a number of points equal to the number of competitors. For example, if an athlete finishes first in the deadlift in a competition with 10 competitors, they will receive 10 points, with second receiving nine, and so on, until last place receives only one point.

Most competitions award zero points if an athlete could not complete a lift or start the event--if, for example, an athlete could not pick up a stone in a stone-carrying event, they would be awarded zero points. Competitions will also normally split points based on ties, adding up the combined points for their places and averaging them out. For example, if two athletes finish tied for first in a 10-athlete competition, the scores for first and second (10 and 9 points) will be added up and divided by two, resulting in each athlete being awarded 9.5 points.

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 thesquat,deadlift, andoverhead press. Explosive power is also important, which is developed byweightlifting style lifts and cardiovascular conditioning. Additionally, grip strength must be developed and it is also imperative to improve mental toughness and pain tolerance.^[9]

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,^[10] including:

The strongmen are listed according to the chronological order of their birth.

The following 78 strongmen have reached the podium (1st, 2nd or 3rd place) ofWorld's Strongest Man since 1977 and/orWorld Muscle Power Classic from 1985 to 2004 and/orArnold Strongman Classic since 2002 and/orWorld's Ultimate Strongman from 2018 to 2021 and/orRogue Invitational since 2021 and orStrongest Man on Earth since 2023. They are listed according to the chronological order of their podium appearance.

25 of them have won the World's Strongest Man (WSM), 11 have won the World Muscle Power Classic (WMPC), 9 have won the Arnold Strongman Classic (ASC), 3 have won the World's Ultimate Strongman (WUS), 3 have won the Rogue Invitational (RI) and 3 have won the Strongest Man on Earth (SMOE).

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). 2 men have won both WSM & WUS (Björnsson, Novikov). 3 men have won both WSM & RI (Licis, Novikov, Hooper). 2 men have won WSM, ASC & RI (Licis & Hooper). 1 man has won WSM, WUS & RI (Novikov). 1 man has won WSM, ASC, RI & SMOE (Hooper).

Additionally, the following 53 strongmen have reached either 4th or 5th places ofWorld's Strongest Man and/orWorld Muscle Power Classic and/orArnold Strongman Classic and/orWorld's Ultimate Strongman and/orRogue Invitational and orStrongest Man on Earth:

• The table below summarizes the most decorated strongmen in modern history with the most number ofinternational wins in their careers.^[11][12]Entry criteria: a minimum of 5 international wins (1st places only) in open weight and age categories.

  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–	72	32	44.44%
4	Aivars Šmaukstelis	Latvia	2014–2025	86	28	32.56%
5	Brian Shaw	United States	2007–2023	65	27	41.54%
6	Krzysztof Radzikowski	Poland	2005–2019	112	24	21.43%
7	Ervin Katona	Serbia	2003–2015	100	18	18.00%
8	Mitchell Hooper	Canada	2022–	27	16	59.26%
9	Matjaž Belšak	Slovenia	2014–2025	71	16	22.54%
10	Hugo Girard	Canada	1998–2008	37	15	40.54%
11	Dainis Zageris	Latvia	2009–2022	87	15	17.24%
12	Riku Kiri	Finland	1986–1999	28	14	50.00%
13	Jón Páll Sigmarsson	Iceland	1982–1992	29	13	44.83%
14	Magnus Samuelsson	Sweden	1995–2008	64	13	20.31%
15	Jouko Ahola	Finland	1994–2003	25	12	48.00%
16	Mateusz Kieliszkowski	Poland	2014–	48	12	25.00%
17	Magnús Ver Magnússon	Iceland	1987–2005	55	12	21.82%
18	Oleksii Novikov	Ukraine	2016–	46	11	23.91%
19	Mikhail Koklyaev	Russia	2005–2014	50	11	22.00%
20	Svend Karlsen	Norway	1996–2006	69	10	14.49%
21	JF Caron	Canada	2007–2023	73	10	13.70%
22	Rayno Nel	South Africa	2023–	12	9	75.00%
23	Geoff Capes	England	1979–1988	20	9	45.00%
24	Čestmír Šíma	Czech Republic	2012–2021	26	9	34.62%
25	Bill Kazmaier	United States	1979–1990	18	8	44.44%
26	Derek Poundstone	United States	2006–2017	22	8	36.36%
27	Martins Licis	United States	2015–	24	8	33.33%
28	Vytautas Lalas	Lithuania	2007–2018	30	8	26.67%
29	Kelvin de Ruiter	Netherlands	2011–	43	8	18.60%
30	Janne Virtanen	Finland	1998–2009	50	8	16.00%
31	Kostyantyn Ilin	Ukraine	2007–2020	54	8	14.81%
32	Laurence Shahlaei	England	2007–2021	58	8	13.79%
33	Evan Singleton	United States	2018–	34	7	20.59%
34	Travis Ortmayer	United States	2005–2023	51	7	13.73%
35	Manfred Hoeberl	Austria	1990–1996	18	6	33.33%
36	Adam Roszkowski	Poland	2021–	27	6	22.22%
37	Vasyl Virastyuk	Ukraine	2002–2008	28	6	21.43%
38	Didzis Zariņš	Latvia	2011–	32	6	18.75%
39	Andrus Murumets	Estonia	2003–2009	40	6	15.00%
40	Stojan Todorchev	Bulgaria	2005–2017	46	6	13.04%
41	Mikhail Shivlyakov	Russia	2011–2025	47	6	12.77%
42	Oskar Ziółkowski	Poland	2020–	18	5	27.78%
43	Flemming Rasmussen	Denmark	1995–2001	19	5	26.32%
44	Mike Burke	United States	2011–2015	21	5	23.81%
45	Gerrit Badenhorst	South Africa	1992–2002	24	5	20.83%
45	Mykhailo Starov	Ukraine	2004–2006	24	5	20.83%
47	Juha-Matti Räsänen	Finland	1996–2006	26	5	19.23%
48	Gary Taylor	Wales	1990–1997	29	5	17.24%
49	Pavlo Kordiyaka	Ukraine	2017–	32	5	15.63%
50	Glenn Ross	Northern Ireland	1997–2011	36	5	13.89%
51	Johannes Årsjö	Sweden	2007–2017	39	5	12.82%
52	Jamie Reeves	England	1988–1999	41	5	12.20%
53	Raivis Vidzis	Latvia	2002–2009	44	5	11.36%
54	Jarek Dymek	Poland	2000–2010	46	5	10.87%
55	Heinz Ollesch	Germany	1994–2006	49	5	10.20%
56	Jarno Hams	Netherlands	1999–2015	56	5	8.93%
57	Rauno Heinla	Estonia	2009–	60	5	8.33%
58	Martin Wildauer	Austria	2008–2017	68	5	7.35%
59	Tarmo Mitt	Estonia	2001–2019	70	5	7.14%

- As of 20 November 2025

Strongman is often incorrectly used to describe a person who doespowerlifting,weightlifting orbodybuilding. 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.

The sport also extends to female competitors. From 2000s onwards, women's competitions were held internationally and from late 2010s, they received mainstream attention thanks to competitions such asWorld's Strongest Woman,Arnold Strongwoman Classic andRogue Invitational.

• Strength athletics
• History of physical training and fitness
• List of strongmen
• List of strongman competitions
• Lifting stone
• Grip strength
• Power training
• Strength training
• Highland games

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• United States All Round Weightlifting Association
• Oldtime Strongman
• Old-School StrongmenArchived 2010-09-27 at theWayback Machine – slideshow byLife magazine
• Oldtime Strongmen List
• World Strongman Federation

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• Strength athletics
• Strength athletes
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