For centuries strongmen have been entertaining crowds by their demonstrations of strength. Many strongmen relied on unique acts that would set them apart from other strongmen and usually claimed they were the only one in the world to perform such a feat. This list includes 10 of the most amazing and unique acts performed by the strongmen of yesteryear.
Stan Efferding, IFBB Pro Bodybuilder and the Strongest Bodybuilder of all time takes us on his quest for a 2,300lb total in powerlifting. Stan already owns a 2,226lb total world record set in 2011. Remember, this was a RAW competition. No suits, no bench shirts, no wraps, straps, baps... Watch as Stan does some quick squat work and gives us some insight into his training for an unheard of record!
Now in its 35th year, the event, which is also owned and operated by IMG, is being held from 24 September-01 October 2012 in Los Angeles, at the Commerce Casino, with additional venues in and around Los Angeles, where the event first started in 1977. Qualifying rounds are being held from 24-27 September with the final taking place over two days from 30 September.
The biggest American Strongman show of the year returns to the Olympia in September.
The America’s Strongest Man® contest previously scheduled for Reno, Nevada on August 25th & 26th, has been rescheduled for September 28th & 29th at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the Mr. Olympia Weekend. “We are excited to bring ASM back to the Olympia,” said ASC President Dione Wessels, “the fan base during the weekend is always overwhelming. We look forward to introducing new events and to a great weekend of top notch performances.”
Defending 77-kilo Olympic Gold Medalist South Korean Sa Jae Hyouk was injured today during a 2nd round Snatch attempt. In the video his pull is perfect (162k or 357lbs) and as he settles the weight into the locked position at the bottom, his right elbow appears to dislocate, sending the lifter to the floor in pain. He was fortunate enough to push past the bar as he came forward on the platform and the weight landing behind him.
Derek Anthony Poundstone was born into a military family at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho in 1981 and lived the first ten years of his life in Spain and Italy before the family settled in Rapid City, South Dakota. It was there that he joined the local YMCA and began his lifelong passion for lifting weights. After moving to Waterbury in 1999, he caught the attention of a local power lifting champion, who encouraged him to enter his first Powerlifting contest, which he won. In 2004, while training to enter his first Strongman competition, he became a Naugatuck police officer. He entered his first professional Strongman competition later that year and has become the most decorated American Strongman in the last four decades, winning five major Strongman titles, while serving with the Naugatuck police department.
Poundstone was named America’s Strongest Man three times. He won the Strong Man Super Series three times and the Giants Live and the Arnold Strongman Classic titles twice. In 2007 he ranked 4th in the IFSA Stongman World Championship and third in the IFSA 2-Man Team World Championship. He won the Fortissimus title in 2008 and has ranked in the World’s Strongest Man competition four times. Of the twenty-six competitions he has entered, he has finished in the top three an amazing twenty-one times.
When not spending his time in the pool, US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte credits a technique called Strongman training with helping him bring home gold at this year's games.
Heralded as the man to beat, Lochte earned the first medal for the US in London but faltered in two performances, including losing a lead to France's Yannick Agnel in the 400-meter relay, costing the US team the gold. But his strongest events are forthcoming, and Lochte is definitely one to watch.
Om, who stands just 5-feet tall and weighs only 123 pounds, won a gold medal in the men's 56-kilogram category thanks in large part to clearing an Olympic record 168 kilograms (370.4 pounds) in the clean and jerk. In the process, he joined the likes of world record holder Halil Mutlu and Naim Suleymanoglu of Turkey in an exclusive group of weightlifters who have lifted three times their body weight.
Asked how a man so small could lift a weight so big, Om credited the "Great Leader" as North Korean athletes often do after great achievements.
I am not big on personal causes. There are so many out there and so many avenues it's really difficult to decide who and what to support. However, since this is part of what I do for a living, and I am a taxpayer, I have found something interesting enough to share it with you.
In the world of Olympic Sports, many countries treat their athletes as the Greeks treated their Gods; with reverence and appreciation. In the United States, the case can be argued that the amount of support is akin to the amount of popularity the athlete or team has within the media. More so how marketable that person or team is. With team sports like Basketball, Soccer, Hockey and Baseball, it is a foregone conclusion that sponsors align themselves with the biggest names and brightest stars to bring their brand or product to the forefront. The same can be said with big names like Michael Phelps who I am sure Subway is paying big big fat American dollars to be their poster boy.
To Be Held in Conjunction with The 100% RAW Powerlifting World Championship (www.RawPowerlifting.com) The 100% RAW Federation is running a 3 day, drug tested, raw powerlifting world championship. Hardcore Powerlifting will run BOAD’s Kings of the Bench as a Hardcore Powerlifting sanctioned (non-drug tested, professional, raw/classic benchpress contest) as a featured attraction on Saturday at 5PM.
In the world of Strongman, there are only a handful of well known names. Even fewer are from the United States. People in the U.S. are fascinated by large physical specimens. The WWE is filled with bohemoth men standing well over 6 and a half feet tall and clearing the 300lb barrier with little effort. So when a GIANT from the United States wins the World's Strongest Man last year, people assumed he would be big. And how right they are. At 6' 8" tall and somewhere over 430lbs of symmetrical and proportionate mass, The United States' own Brian Shaw from Fort Lupton, Colorado is forging a path to fame.
The Olympics provide sport's ultimate kaleidescope, and coming this summer, NBC will be your exclusive source for COMPREHENSIVE LIVE streaming video coverage of the London Games online and in our mobile/tablet apps. All 32 sports. All 302 events. All live!
The Odd Haugen’s Strength Challenge is OPEN to all qualified NAS member athletes. The top three athletes in each weight class will qualify for the 2012 NAS National Championship and the Open Champion will get a direct invite (entry fee waived) to the 2013 All American Strongman Challenge including travel reimbursements (flight or mileage) and hotel accommodations for two nights....
Remember folks, strength comes in more than just one gender. A handful of girls fought a close battle over two days in Hartford at the Europa Battle of Champions, but in the end, there could only be one champion. Thelma Semedo brought what she thought was a competitive package and thought "shewould give it a try". Well, a new womens champion was crowned. Here is her thoughts on Hartford.
One of the greatest strength athletes of the 20th century is without a doubt the mighty Russian of the 1970's, Vasily Alexeev (Alekseyev). A two time gold olympic gold medalist holder of 80 world and 81 Russian records, Vasily passed away last year at the age of 69 years old. Fortunately he has been immortalized by film and photography so that up and coming olympic lifters, powerlifters and strongmen can see what pure size, power and raw determination looks like. No fancy lifting suits. No pretty sponsored shoes. No pilates or crossfit for Vasily, this was a mans man who was seen backstage with a cigarette between rounds shuffling his feet as if he was taking a leisurely stroll through a park.
Former Junior World Weightlifting Champion Akos Nagy took Budapest Hungary by storm by taking out a starstudded European Strongman contingency by winning the Giants Live Budapest contest in style. Even more interesting is that the top two in Budapest not only took podiums, but also bring two new faces to the 2013 Worlds Strongest Man qualifier. Hungarian Nagy will be joined by the UK's Chris Gearing and the 2011 WSM contestant and fellow Brit Jack McIntosh.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Weightlifting (USAW), the National Governing Body for the sport of weightlifting in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and International Federation of Weightlifting, is pleased to announce that Nike has been named the official supplier of footwear, apparel and accessories.
Giants Live was at it again this weekend with the qualifying tour reaching Finland. With another deep pool of talent, a none to surprising performance put Laurence Shahlaei came out on top of the pack...
ASC will bring the Europa Get Fit American Strongman and Strongman Fitness® Challenge to the Connecticut Convention Center in downtown Hartford, Connecticut on Friday June 29th and Saturday June 30. The event will feature men’s and women’s Strongman Fitness® classes as well as the LW and HW open classes. The Strongman Fitness® competitors will be vying for slots at the 2013 Strongman Fitness® World Championship. Open LW and HW competitors will be competing for a coveted ASC Pro Strongman Card.
When I packed my things to go to Arlington, I was concerned I was going to wrinkle my kilt in my luggage, and let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than a 300+lb guy in wrinkled clothing, right? I decided lets put it to the test and just drop it in my athletic bag and see what happens. When we arrived to the hotel near the University of Arlington where the festival was, I forgot to pull my kilt out and let it lay out to de-wrinkle. With my solid wool kilt, if I didn't it meant certain doom appearance wise. We went to dinner, had a glass of wine and went to bed. When I wokethe next morning, I thought, oh shite... I pulled the kilt out and it looked perfect. Not a wrinkle in sight, pleats were perfect and did I mention it made my bum look pretty damn cute too?
Discussions between strength fans often centre on the question: ‘Who is the strongest man of all- time?’ A host of names are bandied around including Paul Anderson, Louis Cyr and Zydrunas Savickas, amongst assorted others. One other man whose name crops up with great frequency is Bill Kazmaier. In fact, he is very often the first name to be offered. There is a very good reason for this, as ‘Kaz’ has seen it all and done it all in his chosen fields, breaking records and achieving feats that have lived long in the memory.
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