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.
44-640: Thomas Inch (27 December 1881 – 12 December 1963) was a British Strongman , who held the titles of Britain's Strongest Youth, Britain's Strong Man and the originator of the Thomas Inch dumbbell challenge. Inch was born on 27 December 1881 in Scarborough , a seaside town on the North Yorkshire coast in the U.K. He became interested in bodybuilding and strength as a young boy, bodybuilding through manual labour . In 1902, aged 20, Inch
88-542: A two hands anyhow of 356.5 pounds (161.7 kg) and a bent press of 304.5 pounds (138.1 kg). In 1909, Inch, still only a middleweight, refused to compete in a weightlifting match against the Austrian Strongman Max Sick (Maxick), who had recently arrived in London . However, by 1910 Inch had become a heavyweight and so relinquished his middleweight title to Edward Aston, and a competition
132-689: A 2,291 lb (1,039.2 kg) total. He repeated the success in 1983 by first winning the United States Powerlifting Federation (USPF) National Powerlifting Championships in July and later the IPF World Championship in November for a second time. He won this IPF World Championship despite two major injuries. He had a severe pectoral injury, from which he never recovered completely, and shortly before
176-480: 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
220-410: A decade. His winning lifts were: a 925.9 lb (420.0 kg) squat, the 661.4 lb (300.0 kg) bench press and an 837.7 lb (380.0 kg) deadlift. The bench press and deadlift were done raw (unequipped), while the squat was performed with wraps and a marathon squat suit. This powerlifting performance is regarded as one of the best of all time. In November 1981, Kazmaier became one of
264-435: A height of 5.34 metres (17 ft 6 in). The event took place on water with boats floating around and Kazmaier's concern about his orientation on water was borne out. Although he threw the weight way higher than the bar, he failed to get the trajectory right, failing at 4.60 metres (15 ft 1 in). Jón Páll won the event with a clearance of 5.05 metres (16 ft 7 in) and with four contestants coming in-between
308-501: A nail, allowing him to stop any rotation whilst lifting it, and for using different lighter dumbbells during his exhibitions and tours. Inch claimed that in his lifetime he never encountered anyone else who could lift it from the floor using only one hand, let alone 'both' to lift it and overhead press it using only one hand. Contemporaries such as Arthur Saxon , Maurice Deriaz, Ivan Poddubny and Reg Park are some of many who tried, but failed. After Inch's death, David Prowse purchased
352-487: 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
396-624: 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 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
440-531: Is the message he conveys to inspire young people to lead healthier and more productive lives. Bill Kazmaier's nickname is "Kaz". He is the youngest child of William Bartholomew and Florence Louise Steinhoff Kazmaier. He had one brother, two sisters, and a half brother. His father owned soda water bottling plants in Burlington and Kenosha, Wisconsin . In 1974 Kazmaier read a Bible verse in Psalm 40 while at
484-408: The 1982 World's Strongest Man competition Kazmaier won the first three events. A notable performance in this WSM was his 1,055 lb (478.5 kg) joint-world record silver dollar deadlift alongwith Ernie Hackett. Despite being the reigning 3x time champion, the organizers controversially decided not to invite Kazmaier to compete in the following four WSM competitions, with Kazmaier self-claiming
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#1732790733149528-675: The University of Wisconsin–Madison before dropping out in 1974 to concentrate on lifting weights at the Madison YMCA . There he learned the fundamentals of powerlifting. Kazmaier then struggled to earn a living as an oil rigger, a bouncer, and a lumberjack. At the 1978 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) National Championships in Los Angeles, California , Kazmaier squatted 782 lb (354.7 kg), bench pressed 534 lb (242.2 kg), and deadlifted 804 lb (364.7 kg) in
572-538: The 1980s, Kazmaier became famous for his claim to be "the strongest man who ever lived" by equaling and surpassing spectacular and versatile feats of strength of famous strongmen of the 20th century. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest strength athletes of all-time, and was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Kazmaier is of German ancestry . A star athlete in high school, he played football for two years at
616-559: The 1990s, Kazmaier was hired as a co-commentator for the American ESPN broadcast of the annual World's Strongest Man competition along with Todd Harris and 2006 World's Strongest Man winner Phil Pfister . He also comments in the British broadcast. Kazmaier considers his most important contributions to public life to be his work as a motivational speaker for 3D Sports Tech, addressing school and YMCA groups. "I can and I will"
660-516: The 275-pound weight class, which immediately placed him in the top rank in his first national powerlifting appearance. In 1979 at age 25, he set a world record with a bench press of 622 lb (282.1 kg) on the way to winning his first IPF World Powerlifting Championship in Dayton, Ohio . His winning lifts included an 865 lb (392.4 kg) squat , the 622 lb (282.1 kg) bench press and an 804 lb (364.7 kg) deadlift for
704-637: The British countryside performing exhibitions, selling his book, and spreading the Inch name. Inch had previously launched a mail order muscle course in 1903 which went on to sell over 40,000 copies. It was the first mail-order physical culture business in the UK. Inch went on to win the title of Britain's Strongest Man on 11 June 1910. At the age of 68, Inch was still capable of deadlifting 540 pounds (240 kg), an unofficial world record. His record lifts included
748-531: The IPF Championships, had torn his hip flexors in the squat. The world record bench press in early 1979 was 612 lb (277.6 kg), held by Sweden's Lars Hedlund . Kazmaier moved the world record stepwise up from 617.3 lb (280.0 kg) in July, 1979 to 622.8 lb (282.5 kg) in November 1979 to 633.8 lb (287.5 kg) in May, 1980 and finally to 661.4 lb (300.0 kg) at
792-809: The NFL's Green Bay Packers in 1981. He also trained as a wrestler with Verne Gagne and Brad Rheingans , and entered professional wrestling in 1986, with a WWF match in Calgary, Alberta on November 10, 1986, defeating David Barbie. During the 1980s, he had wrestled for promotions such as Stampede Wrestling in Canada and Continental Championship Wrestling in America. He would also wrestle for Fighting Network RINGS in Japan in early 1991. His biggest national exposure came when he debuted for World Championship Wrestling in
836-565: The USPF West Georgia Open Powerlifting Championships, held in Columbus, Georgia on January 31, 1981. In this competition, Kazmaier officially became the first human to bench press 300 kg (661.4 lb) (raw) in an IPF-sanctioned meet and recorded his lifetime best three-lift-total of 2,425 lb (1,100.0 kg), a powerlifting world record that remained unsurpassed for more than
880-416: The bench press. Kazmaier competed in six World's Strongest Man contests. In 1979 World's Strongest Man , he came in third after leading throughout much of the competition and beating powerlifting icon Don Reinhoudt in the car lift by deadlifting a 2,555 lb (1,159 kg) car. In the following years, he dominated the competitions in 1980 , 1981 , and 1982 , winning all by significant margins. He
924-613: 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,
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#1732790733149968-631: The contest. Strength historian David P. Webster called him "the greatest American strength athlete of all time", and a 2008 poll of experts rated him as top superheavyweight lifter of all time and "one of the strongest men who ever lived." He was featured in Flex magazine in May 2008, in which a top ten list of the strongest men in history was published where Kazmaier was voted "the third strongest man that ever lived", just behind Mark Henry and Žydrūnas Savickas . Inspired by Jim Thorpe , Kazmaier sought to transfer his talents to other sports, trying out for
1012-539: The crowd during intermission and perform strength feats like card tearing, nail bending, etc. to demonstrate strength as well as symmetry and size. Bill Kazmaier William Kazmaier (born December 30, 1953) is an American former world champion powerlifter , world champion strongman and professional wrestler . During his illustrious career, he set over 40 powerlifting and strongman world records, and won two International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Championships and three World's Strongest Man titles. In
1056-660: The dumbbell off the floor with one hand, but the overhead press was after 'cleaning it using both hands'. But in 2002, Henry's clean also was done one handed, hence the difference between the two feats. Inch occasionally served as a strength and conditioning trainer to professional boxers, and helped to rehabilitate wounded soldiers at Fulham Military Hospital following World War I . Inch died in Cobham, Surrey on 12 December 1963 of coronary thrombosis . His family did not keep any of his bodybuilding memorabilia following his death. Strongman Many sources state that strongman
1100-571: The dumbbell paving the way for many modern day athletes to attempt them. In 2001, Magnus Samuelsson managed to lift it using a thumbless grip, and in 2002 David Horne managed to lift two dumbbells (one in each hand) using a thumbless grip. Also in 2002, Mark Henry completed a one-hand clean and press of the dumbbell, becoming the first man to clean the Inch dumbbell with irrefutable evidence. In 2016, Mike Burke lifted and carried two Inch dumbbells in farmers walk style for 37.52 metres (123 ft 1 in). Note: In 1990, Kazmaier successfully lifted
1144-412: The few lifters in history to hold world records in three of the four powerlifting events at the same time by setting a new deadlift world record at 886 lb (401.9 kg) in competition. From 1981 onwards Kazmaier's career was affected by multiple muscle tears and injuries, preventing him from setting the bar even higher. He sustained chest, shoulder and triceps injuries, ruling out further records in
1188-400: The floor with one hand and overheaded it literally 'hundreds of times', sometimes lifting it twice in the same performance. Eventhough the overhead portion of the lift is heavily disputed by many strength historians, it is undeniable that Inch successfully cleared it off the floor to a deadlift position. However, there were allegations of a hole in the original dumbbell, in which Inch would place
1232-469: 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
1276-503: 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
1320-583: The hoisting of wooden barrels , heavy sacks of grain, pianos, or holding back a team of horses, to his contemporaries. His one exception was that he sometimes lifted human beings in the bent-press; a complicated, one-hand movement to watch. Inch realized in order to advance his fame and fortune as a world class strongman, he needed to meet the prerequisite of publishing a well-written book pertaining to physical fitness. He accomplished this by publishing Scientific Weightlifting in 1905 and by authoring "Thomas Inch on Strength" in 1907. The following years, he traveled
1364-931: 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
Thomas Inch - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-453: The original dumbbell at 79 kg (174 lb). In 1990, Bill Kazmaier flew to Perth to attempt this dumbbell and became the first man to overhead press the Inch dumbbell with irrefutable evidence. According to Gary Mitchell, Kazmaier was the fifth man to lift the Inch dumbbell. From 90s onwards, many manufacturers including Sorinex , Slater, Gladiator, Wallace, Holle, Adamski, BruttoBells, Sahlaney, Gods of Grip and FBBC created replicas of
1452-542: The original dumbbell somewhere between 1969-1971 and it was in his possession until 2000, where it was sold to Kim Wood (strength coach for the Cincinnati Bengals ) who brought it to the United States. Australia's Bruce White created the first replica of the dumbbell and he is also credited as the second man after Inch to successfully lift the Inch dumbbell. His replica was in fact slightly heavier than
1496-447: The performance. In the next event he went on to win the silver dollar deadlift with a 940 lb (426.4 kg) lift. After his opponent Dave Waddington failed to make the final lift, Kazmaier lifted the weight for two consecutive reps despite needing only one rep to secure the win. Of 11 events he had five wins, two second places, one third and a fourth. His wins included the log lift, deadlift, squat, loading race and engine race. In
1540-416: The reason was because he was "too dominant". His absence cleared the way for Kazmaier's main rival, Geoff Capes , to win the title in 1983. Capes and upcoming Jón Páll Sigmarsson dominated the competition during the next several years. He returned to the World's Strongest Man Contest in 1988 , where he won three of eight events: the log press, deadlift and sack race; and took two second places including
1584-481: The second and third most prestigious contests World Muscle Power Classic and Le Defi Mark Ten International alongwith several other tournaments, such as the Scottish Power Challenge, Strongbow Strongman Challenge and Pure Strength. He ended his career as a competitive strongman in 1990. With three Worlds Strongest Man titles, Kazmaier is one of the most successful competitors in the history of
1628-862: The summer of 1991. He received several shots at Lex Luger 's WCW World Heavyweight Championship but failed to win the title. He also briefly teamed with Rick Steiner , only to lose to The Enforcers in a tournament final for the WCW World Tag Team Championship . At Halloween Havoc 1991 , in Chattanooga , he beat Oz by submission. At the 1991 Starrcade Battlebowl: The Lethal Lottery , Kazmaier and his partner Jushin "Thunder" Liger defeated Diamond Dallas Page and Mike Graham in Norfolk, Virginia . While in WCW, Kazmaier also wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling . In NJPW, his theme music
1672-422: The truck pull, but was disqualified for moving his hands in the sausage forward hold, so the time was stopped prematurely. With two events to go, he was leading the field by 1 point over Jón Páll, and was the favorite to win the following Weight over bar event, in which a 56 lb (25.4 kg) weight has to be thrown over a bar. He was the reigning world record holder of this event from 1987 Pure Strength with
1716-416: The two, Kazmaier was trailing Jón Páll by four points, a deficit which cost him too much to catch up at the final event McGlashen Stones , eventually emerging runner-up to Jón Páll. In Kazmaiers' final WSM appearance at the 1989 World's Strongest Man , he severely injured his ankle in the first event and already had a ripped biceps. He came in fourth. In addition to WSM contests, Kazmaier also competed in
1760-567: Was " Poundcake " by Van Halen . Kazmaier opened a fitness club , Kaz Fitness Center, in Auburn, Alabama in the early 1980s. The gym closed in 2005. Kazmaier then opened, and continues to operate, S.W.A.T. gym in Opelika, Alabama . Both served as a place for him to train and as headquarters for DynaKaz Inc., Kazmaier's own exercise equipment import-export company, which markets fitness products worldwide. Upon retiring from active competition in
1804-557: Was declared by a major ' Strongman ' publication as the "World's Strongest Youth", enhancing his notoriety. His inspirations included Eugen Sandow , having seen the German ripping a pack of cards in half and throwing the split deck into the audience. Inch was said to have caught one half of the pack, proceeded to split that in half in the audience, and throw it back at Sandow. Unlike many professional Strongmen of his day, Inch focused on standard lifts with barbells and dumbbells and left
Thomas Inch - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-410: Was over 28 points behind. During Kazmaier's title defense at the 1981 World's Strongest Man he won the squat event with 969 lb (439.5 kg) (on a smith machine ) for a world record, just after tearing his pectoralis major muscle while bending cold rolled steel bars in the bar bend event before. Kazmaier made the iconic quote "These legs, are the strongest legs, right here!" following
1892-491: Was quickly arranged against Sick. Inch is known for his Thomas Inch dumbbell, also known as '172' or the 'unliftable' challenge dumbbell. The iconic dumbbell weighs 172 lbs and 9 oz. (78 1 ⁄ 4 kg) and is extremely difficult to lift, partly due to its sheer weight, but primarily because of its thick handle of 2 3 ⁄ 8 " (6.03 cm) in diameter, making it difficult to hold on to without an outstandingly strong grip strength . Inch claimed that he had lifted it from
1936-469: Was the first man to win the WSM title three times and to this day, remains one of only two men ever to win it three times in a row. In his 1980 World's Strongest Man title win, Kazmaier won five of ten events and tied for first in another. He won the log lift, engine race, steel bar bend, playboy bunny squat lift, silver dollar deadlift, and the final tug of war. The runner-up in the competition Lars Hedlund ,
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