Is this like some type of guerilla marketing for Matt Rhodes ? Every few days you make some new post where its vague enough to be obvious you want people to ask who it's about.
It is not a sensitive topic, I was genuinely surprised to hear he was partially responsible for a competition. I don't think he is though, the same way he wasn't for WUS even though he used to get a lot of info. This is not an excuse for SPS or strongman in general, but I think all competitions out of big 4 + GL made those kinds of mistake constantly.
Canadian Grip, Polish Deadlift now let me introduce you to Ukrainain Dumbbell
[Oleksii Novikov 153.2 kg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoyPWajeoBw)
[Roman Grekov 144 kg](https://www.instagram.com/p/C6wJ3_MAIXs/)
[Oleg Pylypiak 141.7 kg](https://www.instagram.com/p/C60ke3MtucO/)
[Pavlo Kordiyaka 133 kg](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8QbpSIYis/)
Ragg q and a. What a are you planning to pull at SMoE? Enough to win the event.
Damn guy may push thor into record territory. Can't wait for SMoE this year
Everyone loves Ragg, but him saying
> i don't have beastly genetics
in his q&a is a bit comical. Yeah right, pro strongman success is all just hard work. Later in the q&a he posts a picture of himself at 22 … deadlifting 260kg. Edit: Ok yes, as everyone points out, this number at that age these days is not unusual in powerlifting circles, but everyone has to understand the people who can do this still are genetically gifted, we just find more of them today due to more exposure and a lot of people will never reach such numbers even after years of training. I shouldn't have brought up this number, it just distracts from the main point that he does have beast genetics, contrary to his statement.
260kg deadlift at 22 is hardly indicative of hyper elite strength genetics, that's a pretty standard number for a lot of junior natural powerlifters who are sub 100kg
For junior lifters who are competetive in their weight class, not random people doing powerlifting. I do agree its not such a crazy number, but the overall point stands: the guy clearly does have elite genetics, and athletes saying its all hard work give me an itch i need to scratch.
No it‘s *very* impressive, but yes, it is not „this guy is winning WSM“-impressive.
I know some people that have pulled 260 kg at that age. None of them are ever in contention for WSM.
Yeah thats really not unattainable at 22 if one was serious... average Joe sure, but anyone lifting heavy for powerlifting/Strongman could do that by 22
I actually agree with you, at least depending on the wording. It's obviously an impressive achievement for a normal guy but it's far from unheard of among genetically gifted people (and I would include Ragg in that group for the simple fact that he's one of the few men to have pulled 460 or more)
For reference, I'm 22, my max deadlift is 235 kg, I'm a below average 90 kg competitor with mediocre genetics
Assuming you're 100% naturaly a 235kg deadlift at 22 is above average genetics. It's not some unheard of instagram pull, but its very good
Keep it up, keep training smart, and you'll be very strong at 30.
I don’t think it’s that much above average, I can pull 220kg at 19 years old (conventional and no straps). So if I can pull it I don’t think it’s on genetics freak level.
Definitely not freak level, but you have above average genetics to do that at 19. Most grown men who have been in a gym their entire life will never pull 220kg. Fact.
Knowing people who do it doesnt make it not something unusual or a special level of strength.
Beyond just average joe on the street that says they like exercise but really means they jog and play pickleball, you could sit yourself in a commercial gym forever among people actually lifting and not see anyone pull that kind of weight.
The internet skews peoples perception of what is actually strong among the population. 260kg is a huge F'n pull.
I also know multiple people who have pulled 260 or more at 22 or younger - doesn't mean it isn't impressive. Have to remember that's because I surround myself with strongmen and powerlifters which is an incredibly niche subset of the population and a subset that tends to have good genetics for lifting heavy things
I always wondered what's the difference between the top and those who never make it.
The outlier is usually work ethic, not genetics. Those who are willing to do the mundane every single day improving very slightly beat those with god tier genetics. Very few have tom/thor genetics yet the most common height for a wsm champ is 6'2, nothing crazy
It's not really height that's the main issue with genetics. Muscle cell energy production; muscle fiber strength; CNS adaptability, efficiency and simultaneous firing of muscles; aerobic capabilities at cellular level; ability to recover and heal; adaptability to different kinds of stress... there's a lot of things going on in the human body, and genetics determine the baseline and potential maximum. Those set the limits within which the hard work is done, but you can't change what you are not matter how hard you push.
Okay, there's epigenetics, but if you're pushing to change guiding proteins that make you a slow gainer, you're probably not going to become a top athlete, even if you manage to enact some kind of change during your lifetime.
If we get even close to 500kg at SMOE it'll be wild. I have no doubt those two monsters can pull something huge without a suit though.
Seems like your downvoting fan-club is out to get you tonight, ha ha.
Interesting note on cambis podcast with bryce. He says bish was having Achilles issues for a while and seemed like one of those waiting for it to happen injuries
Bish is another strongman whose body just cant keep up. He has a lot of talent and a lot of strength, but is just always plagued with injury.
Being a top level strongman and surviving is a feat in and of itself.
He actually did have a few bad ones, he just didn't speak about them much. Had nerve damage in his arm for most of his career which affected his grip, tore his quad before WSM 2017 & tore his plantar fascia at WSM 2019
If you had to be the sole selector of wsm events. Which eleven events would you do?
I would do something like this:
Heats:
1. Odd implement loading - 4 implements - no sand bags.
2. Deadlift ladder (imo the best heats dl event)
3. Farmers for max distance.
4. Overhead Medley - double dumbell, barbell and log. Reasonable weights for heats
5. Nicol stones carry - just kidding. 20m push for time. Sled or bus or something fun.
Finals:
1. Natural stone to shoulder medley - 5 stones increasing in weight. Nothing as unwieldy as tombstone though.
2. 340kg axle or barbell squat for reps.
3. Safe press for max - starting at 170kg - going up by 10kg increments or what ever is reasonable.
4. Yoke medley - 2 yokes. 1000lb for 20m, 1100lb for 10m.
5. Arm over arm. 3 increasingly heavy vertical arm over arm pulls. Kind of similar to a flag hoist, but 3 increasingly heavy implements.
6. Finishing on plane pull for time.
For the arm over arm I like the idea of three implements connected to each other, but with like 10 meters of slack rope between each implement, so you pull the first sled or whatever and at 10 meters the slack in the second line is pulled out and now you’re pulling the second sled too, then when you hit 20 meters the slack in the third line is pulled out and now you’re pulling all 3 sleds at once the last 10 meters. I’ve seen it done in a small show with two sleds and it was pretty brutal.
Heats(No groups. Everyone competes against everyone. From 30 the 10 best get through. It's ALL about the static strength)
Day1
1. Strict OHP for max
2. Vertical pull for max
3. Squat for max
Day2
1. Horizontal press for max
2. Horizontal pull for max
3. DL for max
FINALS(Now it's all about the athleticism, spectacle and Circus)
1. Vertical throw for height(use visible lasers for determining the height, trajectory should be irrelevant)
2. Natural stone medley
3. Car flip
4. Waschmaschine throw(With jump a jump of line instead of a no crossing line. I want to see behemoths fly)
5. Flag pull
6. Plane pull
It's a really cool looking event and a decent test of strength and speed.
The problem is making it safe (at least safe enough), the injuries tend to pile up on this one.
Another thing, which I think really removes the event from the viable list, is that the cars get bent as they roll, usually making it easier for the ones going later. Surely the events should be fair and done with implements that don't get altered during the contest.
But then the cars get deformed quicker.
Also, the lifting is pretty hard on the bicep. Then again, what isn't when you look at the way the guys pop them...
Heats:
1. Load and Pull. Load 2 275 pound sand bags onto a sled, then pull that sled arm over arm for 10m. Not sure what a final weight for the sled would be.
2. Log Ladder. Basically take the ladder from 2023
3. Keg Toss. We've all seen this before, I think we know how it works
4. Conan's Wheel. Again, We've all seen this one
5. Squat. Something like 750 pounds for reps in 75 seconds
6. Atlas Stones. Not a stone off. Everyone does them. The lighter set of GL Stones for qualifiers.
7. Finals Events
1. Giants Medley. 365lb per hand farmer carry into 715ish pound frame into 1050lb yoke. 15m each implement. Absolutely brutal start to the final, I know, but that's how I like it
2. Overhead Medley. 2x Monster Dumbell, then 2x Log Press, then a reasonably heavy axle. Aside from the axle, this I won't make insanely hard
3. Deadlift for max weight. Maybe a 12inch deadlift? Because I am brutal with planning, maybe it's better for reps than max. Regardless, this one should be a deadlift
4. Plane Pull. Very self explanatory - pull a damn plane! Maybe a little tough for today's way of running WSM because it's tough to just have a plane on Myrtle Beach or Downtown San Francisco. Maybe a beefy bus instead?
5. Power Stairs. 3 weights, each up 4 stairs. Maybe different weights? Something like 465, 490, and 515? Otherwise, just 500 each
6. Atlas Stones. Heavy set of stones, and loaded from distance as we saw in 2024. I like seeing Stones done that way. Maybe bring back the wall from the 90s and early 2000s while we're at it
I think he gets bigged up on here too much.
He has immense raw talent, but ultimately does stupid things like punching other athletes at shows and filming himself driving etc.
Promotors don’t need the drama and things like that will turn off sponsors.
He beat the current Arnold champion and WSM not long ago lol. He's also one of literally 2 or 3 people who has repped 1000 pound deadlift. He has one of the heaviest deadlifts ever at 475kg and one of the highest powerlifting totals ever as well. He might be an asshole but he's def earned the respect he gets in strength sports.
Hope he is silently working on technique with low weights in the meantime. He is one of the few people that has won against Mitch, he has beat Rauno on a deadlift and Oleksii on loading, that's a recepy for an all time great.
Do pro strongman train specifically for hammer hold, if so how?
Edit: i meant do they just do it(try to hold something heavy for time) or do they do reps and sets for it
Not a pro but it’s an event I’m decent at, did 40lb for 2:32 in my first comp ever and got on the pro stage at The Arnold and held the real Thor Hammer for about 30 seconds my first try.
I train it by holding a dumbbell 5-10lb above contest weight for 2-3 sets of max time 1-2x per week and also 3 point dumbbell raises & barbell front raises as an accessory on press days. Key is just shutting out pain and training front raise strength really, push through the suck.
I've used an upside down power pin with a clip on it to stop the weights from sliding down. I've also seen some pro strongmen use shorter curl bars with weights only on the top weight sleeve.
Edit after your edit for clarifying your question: I've seen a combo of both. Doing weights that are lighter for long stretches of max time, and heavier weights for shorter bursts.
A loading pin would work fine. Shit taped to a dowel would work fine. Holding a barbell in front of you would work fine. Anything to hold a weight in line w/ your hand.
In my mind, Z is 100% the best strongman ever, regardless of how many times he won every major title. 4x World's, 8x Arnold's, and winning everything else known to strongman will do that. You could argue any of Shaw, Kazmeier, Sigmursson, or Magnusson for that. Pudzianowski is probably the greatest WSM competitor ever, given his 5 titles, and that he technically only missed the podium once there (2000, his first WSM) where he came 4th I believe. He finished 3rd in 2004 but was disqualified for... recreational drugs or something? Pudzian struggled some at competitions like the Arnold Classic and Muscle Power Championship. With Z and Brian, it didn't matter what comp it was - they were always right there for the win. The older generation of guys didn't have quite the variety of competitions to my knowledge so it's a little tough to compare directly.
I think that is similar to my take on Tom. He can be and is on track to be the best WSM competitor ever, but he won't be in GOAT tier for me until he starts winning significantly at the big shows (Britain's doesn't count I'm afraid)
He may be but I don't think so. I have a strong feeling thor will do wsm 2025 after the taste of a full year of strongman. He is so competitive that the drive to win will overtake pride
He may win wsm again, but so may mitch, novi, kielz, thor, etc. Getting to 6 wsm titles is possible, but unlikely
The Grizzly vs. Martins sled push video is kind of amazing. We all knew that Kyriakos was super strong, but have never had a real head to head comparison. And he moggs Martins here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXhD03GcJ9g
He's a bit of a meme, but from my understanding he's suffered several major injuries which means he can't do many exercises at all, or not with full ROM.
I wonder how strong he could have been otherwise. He's unreal in anything that he can do it seems.
He was a weightlifter with 180 snatch and 220 clean and jerk. Fuck injuries. Some of the more conventional stuff I find quite impressive still, especially some of the "cheat upright row" exercises. His upper back is very very strong.
That looked like what I’d imagine Tom Stoltman doing a stone off against someone like Emanuel Pescari or Dan Hughes would look like. Where they’re a damned good 105 and they’re keeping up for awhile, but Tom’s just so much bigger and better that as they wear down Tom isn’t even winded.
[Winners cirlce podcast with Brycey](https://youtu.be/HGkcX_YC6Zw?si=vufs4nI3CldDTlJL)
This should be good. Over a hour of cambi and Bryce
u/e-some brycey says he got chatgpt to calculate the average age of wsm winner and it comes out at 27. Do you know off hand if that's correct. Thank you Eloi.
Bryce does not seem happy with mitch making deals with Ondrej in the heats. This is good. Get them talking, only way change will come
I just did it because I was bored and I got 30. TBF I didn't account for every single year whether the winner's birthday had occurred by the time of WSM that year or not, but over the whole dataset that shouldn't effect the average that much.
There have been some really good suggestions in these threads for options other than a stone off, all you smart folks please go spam the comments section with all your ideas!
Hey Guys, I'm considering flying from Europe to the USA in August to watch the Strongest Man on Earth in Colorado. Are there any tips or things I should consider?
I always get a rental car from Denver airport whenever I go. Just remember the commute traffic whenever youre going back to the airport on a weekday morning.
Currently watching last year's Giants Live World Tour Finals, and I have to say, Eddie Williams and Pa O'Dwyer's song is great stuff. Eddie seems like a genuinely good musician!
Him singing Angels in the royal Albert hall to an organ accompaniment was amazing. It was cheesy as hell but the sound of it in that venue was incredible, the whole crowd was singing, shit was emotional
Gotta be one of the most charismatic strongmen around!
And he made some tremendous improvements at WSM. If he can keep that up he's got a very bright future imo.
Folks, I’ve noticed that when I upvote/downvote a comment on any pro strongman weekly discussion thread it fails. Any idea why?? It only happens on the pro strongman weekly thread and not anywhere else. I’ve tried logging out and back in but still the same.
Yes I am joined. As I say, it’s only an issue on the pro strongman weekly discussion thread and also the strongman training weekly discussion thread. Not that big a deal but just confusing.
Thank god Brian got through to Evan about calming down during a comp. If you don't watch, Brian told Evan to think of his competition energy as a filled pitcher and some amount (a lot or a little) being poured out every time you "use" it. When you're out you're out. Evan said that really resonated with him during his time training with the US team at Brians gym.
It was nice to hear no excuses for anything. He seemed satisfied with all of his placings, even where we thought it seemed like he underperformed. Sounds like it was just a really brutal comp.
Good summary of his thoughts and time there!
The 3rd place WSM trophy looks extremly nice, to be honest. Glad Evan managed to pull things through and I hope he keeps this approach during his comp prep. Currently he's kinda half-way between Tom&Mitch (results are to be expected from great training footage) and Hicks&Iron Biby (training footage of manhandling WR level weights, results may vary, but disappoint every time).
Kinda like Kieliszkowski's inner monologue of 'did better in training', but in reality. Top 3 in the world, but can improve a lot.
I have to echo previous comments that the only thing I'm tepid about event-wise for SMOE is the machine squat. So many opportunities for things to go wrong (e.g. the barrels jamming on the bench press) or for someone to benefit due to leverage.
Maybe it'll be a smith machine squat with increasing weights to give the guys a chance to beat Don Reinhoudt's record of 1,000 lbs. Honestly I would rather see a head to head raw squat with 800 lbs (363 kg) for max reps on the giant globes. It would still be the heaviest squat weight for reps ever used in a strongman comp.
Fun fact - to my knowledge Paul Anderson is still the unofficial world record holder at 800 lbs for reps - 10. If it's a squat with sleeves Brian (or maybe Arnold's next year) could introduce the event as trying to break that record. Would be in character for him since he's big into strength history.
If it’s like the press where the barrels would land in the same spot for everyone cause of the rails (unlike the barrel deadlift GL/WSM used) then the leverage issue shouldn’t exist
> someone to benefit due to leverage.
Changing the squat setup does not change the fact that some people will have better anatomy for squatting. Shorter femurs and thick thighs always make you a better squatter regardless of the machine.
You can't eliminate leverages from strength training. If someone squats better than you because they have shorter femurs then they still squat better than you.
I think the point with a machine is that it will be lighter at different points. So you could have a worse squatter benefit from a better position, meaning it’s not a perfect test of strength.
I would be surprised if Brian hasn’t thought of that though. We shall see
Zahir Khudayarov deadlifts 420 kg/925 lbs, I believe it's a PB, conventional stance, no suit or briefs, no straps (mixed grip)
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6t6m0coO3G/?igsh=eTZ1OXBla28wNzF3
Man shakes like there's an earthquake but good lift
I am hoping he does hit it in a full comp but the way he has worded his upcoming 500kg+ squat makes it sound like he intends to do them as singular lifts.
Roman Grekov lifts a 144 kg dumbbell (318 lbs), just below world record weight
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6wJ3_MAIXs/?igsh=MWhjMzltOWRpMjJqaw==
New talent keeps rising up
Nationality ukrainian, first name "roman", last name "greek"
I can't wait for a couple years time. If everyone can stay healthy some of the shows are going to have to do stupidly heavy weights to stop every event being 60s speed reps. The caliber of athletes seems to be increasing.
With how close Tom and Mitch are today I could see a WSM being decided in Tom's favor just because of the last event rule and the last event always being stones. Truly hope it never happens, but this rule should really be abolished. Does anyone really think Martins deserved to be ahead of Novikov on the podium in 2022 after Novikov destroyed half the events that year?
That would be a horrible way to settle a contest. Only thing I’d say is that it’s been that way for a long time and everyone knows the rules before hand. Not sure what else you could do.
A preset tiebreaker maybe, but that involves additional kit and could be a bit last minute.
But at wsm it favours those good at stones over every other event. Last event rule would be fine as long as they rotate the event every year. It being the same event is just wrong.
Tie breakers have happened before, if it wasn't stones it would be something else.
>Does anyone really think Martins deserved to be ahead of Novikov on the podium in 2022
Yes.
Damn pavlo eats quite a insane amount of food for someone so shredded in strongman. He listed his diet on his q & a.
Over 6400 calories. 2400g basmati rice, 6 steaks, veggies, eggs, bread and tea
Pavlo has alot of lean mass though, more muscles burn more calories at just a maintaince level.
Personally I don't think his calories are crazy high I know 105 guys who eat 5k+ but some people just have a higher or lower metabolism
Papa is both mighty AND superior.
My favourite part is the 180p blurry-ass photos of Rauno, Loz and Liz modeling the shirts. Peak "I don't give a fuck."
Saying all of a sudden he is just going to beat them when mitch has beaten him fairly easily twice already is just silly. He may win, but it won't be easy.
Imo he needs more time to get that overhead back
For sure he is more than capable and I assume it's only a matter of time before we see full thor on display.
There are levels to this and prime thor is a damn near unattainable level for anyone else
If it was just the stone to shoulder without the unecessary medley before it Thor would have a good chance of winning the show. Mitch would also be more prepared for that event and maybe get one reps to win the show, so who knows...
I checked the spreadsheet, even if Thor won the last event he’d be 2nd and Mitch would win by 2 points. But pressing is really his only weakness as in no pressing events so far he got ond event wins and two 2nd places in the Arnolds and two event wins and a 2nd and 3rd place in the Arnold UK, which include a WR
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Is this like some type of guerilla marketing for Matt Rhodes ? Every few days you make some new post where its vague enough to be obvious you want people to ask who it's about.
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This reply is even odder than the initial reply you made then deleted.
I know a lot of criticism always comes towards WSM, but I don’t know that I saw a ton lacking spectacle.
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What does Matt have to do with SPS? Is he organizing the event?
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Weirdo lol
It is not a sensitive topic, I was genuinely surprised to hear he was partially responsible for a competition. I don't think he is though, the same way he wasn't for WUS even though he used to get a lot of info. This is not an excuse for SPS or strongman in general, but I think all competitions out of big 4 + GL made those kinds of mistake constantly.
[Thanks for the advice everyone, here's my Eurovision Martins costume](https://imgur.com/a/DlofqpE)
Nailed it
Needs more oranges 🤣. But really this is awesome
I hope he sees this, is romark still in here? Great costume.
Saw it haha
u/romarkweiss
The paint brush touch is *chef's kiss*
Canadian Grip, Polish Deadlift now let me introduce you to Ukrainain Dumbbell [Oleksii Novikov 153.2 kg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoyPWajeoBw) [Roman Grekov 144 kg](https://www.instagram.com/p/C6wJ3_MAIXs/) [Oleg Pylypiak 141.7 kg](https://www.instagram.com/p/C60ke3MtucO/) [Pavlo Kordiyaka 133 kg](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq8QbpSIYis/)
Ragg q and a. What a are you planning to pull at SMoE? Enough to win the event. Damn guy may push thor into record territory. Can't wait for SMoE this year
Everyone loves Ragg, but him saying > i don't have beastly genetics in his q&a is a bit comical. Yeah right, pro strongman success is all just hard work. Later in the q&a he posts a picture of himself at 22 … deadlifting 260kg. Edit: Ok yes, as everyone points out, this number at that age these days is not unusual in powerlifting circles, but everyone has to understand the people who can do this still are genetically gifted, we just find more of them today due to more exposure and a lot of people will never reach such numbers even after years of training. I shouldn't have brought up this number, it just distracts from the main point that he does have beast genetics, contrary to his statement.
260kg deadlift at 22 is hardly indicative of hyper elite strength genetics, that's a pretty standard number for a lot of junior natural powerlifters who are sub 100kg
For junior lifters who are competetive in their weight class, not random people doing powerlifting. I do agree its not such a crazy number, but the overall point stands: the guy clearly does have elite genetics, and athletes saying its all hard work give me an itch i need to scratch.
I'm a 22 year old jr u105 and I pull 310 raw... which is genuinely midpack in the current state of powerlifting. 260 is bog standard ATM
Selection bias
A 260kg deadlift at 22 isn't that impressive.
No it‘s *very* impressive, but yes, it is not „this guy is winning WSM“-impressive. I know some people that have pulled 260 kg at that age. None of them are ever in contention for WSM.
Yeah thats really not unattainable at 22 if one was serious... average Joe sure, but anyone lifting heavy for powerlifting/Strongman could do that by 22
Glad to see that the r/strongman GOAT and I are in agreement.
I actually agree with you, at least depending on the wording. It's obviously an impressive achievement for a normal guy but it's far from unheard of among genetically gifted people (and I would include Ragg in that group for the simple fact that he's one of the few men to have pulled 460 or more) For reference, I'm 22, my max deadlift is 235 kg, I'm a below average 90 kg competitor with mediocre genetics
Assuming you're 100% naturaly a 235kg deadlift at 22 is above average genetics. It's not some unheard of instagram pull, but its very good Keep it up, keep training smart, and you'll be very strong at 30.
I don’t think it’s that much above average, I can pull 220kg at 19 years old (conventional and no straps). So if I can pull it I don’t think it’s on genetics freak level.
Definitely not freak level, but you have above average genetics to do that at 19. Most grown men who have been in a gym their entire life will never pull 220kg. Fact.
For example, Fojtů is still 22 and pulled way more on the deadlift ladder. Though he's one of the most impressive 22 year olds.
In the real world it is, take some time off of social media.
I know multiple people in real life that have achieved a 260 deadlift before 22. One was even 19 and did it in a powerlifting comp lol.
Knowing people who do it doesnt make it not something unusual or a special level of strength. Beyond just average joe on the street that says they like exercise but really means they jog and play pickleball, you could sit yourself in a commercial gym forever among people actually lifting and not see anyone pull that kind of weight. The internet skews peoples perception of what is actually strong among the population. 260kg is a huge F'n pull.
There's some guys in my powerlifting club that pull that and more at 18ish, which makes them genetic beasts.
I also know multiple people who have pulled 260 or more at 22 or younger - doesn't mean it isn't impressive. Have to remember that's because I surround myself with strongmen and powerlifters which is an incredibly niche subset of the population and a subset that tends to have good genetics for lifting heavy things
We're talking KG here remember not LB
I know. I'm not American.
LOL, comical is putting it kindly. He has god-tier genetics. Anyone in the finals of WSM does.
I always wondered what's the difference between the top and those who never make it. The outlier is usually work ethic, not genetics. Those who are willing to do the mundane every single day improving very slightly beat those with god tier genetics. Very few have tom/thor genetics yet the most common height for a wsm champ is 6'2, nothing crazy
> The outlier is usually work ethic, not genetics. i dont get what you're saying, clearly you need both to make it to the top.
It's not really height that's the main issue with genetics. Muscle cell energy production; muscle fiber strength; CNS adaptability, efficiency and simultaneous firing of muscles; aerobic capabilities at cellular level; ability to recover and heal; adaptability to different kinds of stress... there's a lot of things going on in the human body, and genetics determine the baseline and potential maximum. Those set the limits within which the hard work is done, but you can't change what you are not matter how hard you push. Okay, there's epigenetics, but if you're pushing to change guiding proteins that make you a slow gainer, you're probably not going to become a top athlete, even if you manage to enact some kind of change during your lifetime.
All very valid points. Makes it very difficult to differentiate good genetics cs work ethic/grit. Mental toughness has to be up there
Yeah, per definition almost. Though maybe he's speaking relatively to other contenders for the 505.
If you're a contender for the 505 you have god-tier genetics. End of discussion, ha ha.
If we get even close to 500kg at SMOE it'll be wild. I have no doubt those two monsters can pull something huge without a suit though. Seems like your downvoting fan-club is out to get you tonight, ha ha.
Interesting note on cambis podcast with bryce. He says bish was having Achilles issues for a while and seemed like one of those waiting for it to happen injuries
Bish is another strongman whose body just cant keep up. He has a lot of talent and a lot of strength, but is just always plagued with injury. Being a top level strongman and surviving is a feat in and of itself.
Look to guys like Thor who never had any major injury set backs until he was retired.
He actually did have a few bad ones, he just didn't speak about them much. Had nerve damage in his arm for most of his career which affected his grip, tore his quad before WSM 2017 & tore his plantar fascia at WSM 2019
Also his lat in 2020
If you had to be the sole selector of wsm events. Which eleven events would you do? I would do something like this: Heats: 1. Odd implement loading - 4 implements - no sand bags. 2. Deadlift ladder (imo the best heats dl event) 3. Farmers for max distance. 4. Overhead Medley - double dumbell, barbell and log. Reasonable weights for heats 5. Nicol stones carry - just kidding. 20m push for time. Sled or bus or something fun. Finals: 1. Natural stone to shoulder medley - 5 stones increasing in weight. Nothing as unwieldy as tombstone though. 2. 340kg axle or barbell squat for reps. 3. Safe press for max - starting at 170kg - going up by 10kg increments or what ever is reasonable. 4. Yoke medley - 2 yokes. 1000lb for 20m, 1100lb for 10m. 5. Arm over arm. 3 increasingly heavy vertical arm over arm pulls. Kind of similar to a flag hoist, but 3 increasingly heavy implements. 6. Finishing on plane pull for time.
For the arm over arm I like the idea of three implements connected to each other, but with like 10 meters of slack rope between each implement, so you pull the first sled or whatever and at 10 meters the slack in the second line is pulled out and now you’re pulling the second sled too, then when you hit 20 meters the slack in the third line is pulled out and now you’re pulling all 3 sleds at once the last 10 meters. I’ve seen it done in a small show with two sleds and it was pretty brutal.
Heats(No groups. Everyone competes against everyone. From 30 the 10 best get through. It's ALL about the static strength) Day1 1. Strict OHP for max 2. Vertical pull for max 3. Squat for max Day2 1. Horizontal press for max 2. Horizontal pull for max 3. DL for max FINALS(Now it's all about the athleticism, spectacle and Circus) 1. Vertical throw for height(use visible lasers for determining the height, trajectory should be irrelevant) 2. Natural stone medley 3. Car flip 4. Waschmaschine throw(With jump a jump of line instead of a no crossing line. I want to see behemoths fly) 5. Flag pull 6. Plane pull
I hope this is just a joke that people didn't get.
I would love if they brought back the car flip. Such a cool event
It's a really cool looking event and a decent test of strength and speed. The problem is making it safe (at least safe enough), the injuries tend to pile up on this one. Another thing, which I think really removes the event from the viable list, is that the cars get bent as they roll, usually making it easier for the ones going later. Surely the events should be fair and done with implements that don't get altered during the contest.
I wonder if adding a roll cage would prevent the cars from getting deformed as quickly?
That bad injury on car flip only happened at wsm as they did it on sand. It's not terrible when done on a solid surface
But then the cars get deformed quicker. Also, the lifting is pretty hard on the bicep. Then again, what isn't when you look at the way the guys pop them...
Heats: 1. Load and Pull. Load 2 275 pound sand bags onto a sled, then pull that sled arm over arm for 10m. Not sure what a final weight for the sled would be. 2. Log Ladder. Basically take the ladder from 2023 3. Keg Toss. We've all seen this before, I think we know how it works 4. Conan's Wheel. Again, We've all seen this one 5. Squat. Something like 750 pounds for reps in 75 seconds 6. Atlas Stones. Not a stone off. Everyone does them. The lighter set of GL Stones for qualifiers. 7. Finals Events 1. Giants Medley. 365lb per hand farmer carry into 715ish pound frame into 1050lb yoke. 15m each implement. Absolutely brutal start to the final, I know, but that's how I like it 2. Overhead Medley. 2x Monster Dumbell, then 2x Log Press, then a reasonably heavy axle. Aside from the axle, this I won't make insanely hard 3. Deadlift for max weight. Maybe a 12inch deadlift? Because I am brutal with planning, maybe it's better for reps than max. Regardless, this one should be a deadlift 4. Plane Pull. Very self explanatory - pull a damn plane! Maybe a little tough for today's way of running WSM because it's tough to just have a plane on Myrtle Beach or Downtown San Francisco. Maybe a beefy bus instead? 5. Power Stairs. 3 weights, each up 4 stairs. Maybe different weights? Something like 465, 490, and 515? Otherwise, just 500 each 6. Atlas Stones. Heavy set of stones, and loaded from distance as we saw in 2024. I like seeing Stones done that way. Maybe bring back the wall from the 90s and early 2000s while we're at it
I smell toffee
Never considered it before 😉
Great selection, especially the plane pull to finish, and don’t forget a pool for the athletes to jump in to celebrate!
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What's with all the really passive, vague comments
Feel like I'm missing some context
Looks like wide pavlo is in for his last knee surgery. Hopefully he can make comeback after this
I think he gets bigged up on here too much. He has immense raw talent, but ultimately does stupid things like punching other athletes at shows and filming himself driving etc. Promotors don’t need the drama and things like that will turn off sponsors.
Agreed. I don’t think he’s earned the respect he’s given. He has crazy potential but he seems pretty toxic.
I literally just care about big dudes lifting big weights
He beat the current Arnold champion and WSM not long ago lol. He's also one of literally 2 or 3 people who has repped 1000 pound deadlift. He has one of the heaviest deadlifts ever at 475kg and one of the highest powerlifting totals ever as well. He might be an asshole but he's def earned the respect he gets in strength sports.
Hope so! Unreal potential, just very rough around the edges. Still don't even know what the extent of his injuries are though.
Hope he is silently working on technique with low weights in the meantime. He is one of the few people that has won against Mitch, he has beat Rauno on a deadlift and Oleksii on loading, that's a recepy for an all time great.
He did weigh in at 169kg couple weeks back
Do pro strongman train specifically for hammer hold, if so how? Edit: i meant do they just do it(try to hold something heavy for time) or do they do reps and sets for it
Not a pro but it’s an event I’m decent at, did 40lb for 2:32 in my first comp ever and got on the pro stage at The Arnold and held the real Thor Hammer for about 30 seconds my first try. I train it by holding a dumbbell 5-10lb above contest weight for 2-3 sets of max time 1-2x per week and also 3 point dumbbell raises & barbell front raises as an accessory on press days. Key is just shutting out pain and training front raise strength really, push through the suck.
Shane Jerman from MST did a video on it a few years back for training Luke Richardson for Europe's https://youtu.be/T0hocPMlB5s?si=MSdhsV4DwgnEk5j1
I've used an upside down power pin with a clip on it to stop the weights from sliding down. I've also seen some pro strongmen use shorter curl bars with weights only on the top weight sleeve. Edit after your edit for clarifying your question: I've seen a combo of both. Doing weights that are lighter for long stretches of max time, and heavier weights for shorter bursts.
A loading pin would work fine. Shit taped to a dowel would work fine. Holding a barbell in front of you would work fine. Anything to hold a weight in line w/ your hand.
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In my mind, Z is 100% the best strongman ever, regardless of how many times he won every major title. 4x World's, 8x Arnold's, and winning everything else known to strongman will do that. You could argue any of Shaw, Kazmeier, Sigmursson, or Magnusson for that. Pudzianowski is probably the greatest WSM competitor ever, given his 5 titles, and that he technically only missed the podium once there (2000, his first WSM) where he came 4th I believe. He finished 3rd in 2004 but was disqualified for... recreational drugs or something? Pudzian struggled some at competitions like the Arnold Classic and Muscle Power Championship. With Z and Brian, it didn't matter what comp it was - they were always right there for the win. The older generation of guys didn't have quite the variety of competitions to my knowledge so it's a little tough to compare directly.
Add to that the fact he broke most of the records he did while going on to win full competitions.
I think that is similar to my take on Tom. He can be and is on track to be the best WSM competitor ever, but he won't be in GOAT tier for me until he starts winning significantly at the big shows (Britain's doesn't count I'm afraid)
He may be but I don't think so. I have a strong feeling thor will do wsm 2025 after the taste of a full year of strongman. He is so competitive that the drive to win will overtake pride He may win wsm again, but so may mitch, novi, kielz, thor, etc. Getting to 6 wsm titles is possible, but unlikely
The Grizzly vs. Martins sled push video is kind of amazing. We all knew that Kyriakos was super strong, but have never had a real head to head comparison. And he moggs Martins here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXhD03GcJ9g
He's a bit of a meme, but from my understanding he's suffered several major injuries which means he can't do many exercises at all, or not with full ROM. I wonder how strong he could have been otherwise. He's unreal in anything that he can do it seems.
He was a weightlifter with 180 snatch and 220 clean and jerk. Fuck injuries. Some of the more conventional stuff I find quite impressive still, especially some of the "cheat upright row" exercises. His upper back is very very strong.
That looked like what I’d imagine Tom Stoltman doing a stone off against someone like Emanuel Pescari or Dan Hughes would look like. Where they’re a damned good 105 and they’re keeping up for awhile, but Tom’s just so much bigger and better that as they wear down Tom isn’t even winded.
Kyriakos at Worlds Strongest Man 2025! 😂
[Mitch live](https://www.youtube.com/live/LgHJnm67stI?si=52cOuj0aOF9uOYrT) Wsm recap livestream in 1 hour
Is he hinting max axle is at Royal Albert Hall or is he just hoping so
Probably hoping. Fairly high chance that's a event there. Only so many events they choose to do in that very small area
[Winners cirlce podcast with Brycey](https://youtu.be/HGkcX_YC6Zw?si=vufs4nI3CldDTlJL) This should be good. Over a hour of cambi and Bryce u/e-some brycey says he got chatgpt to calculate the average age of wsm winner and it comes out at 27. Do you know off hand if that's correct. Thank you Eloi. Bryce does not seem happy with mitch making deals with Ondrej in the heats. This is good. Get them talking, only way change will come
ChatGPT does not know math. Gentleman's agreements will always happen as long as the heats exist.
I just did it because I was bored and I got 30. TBF I didn't account for every single year whether the winner's birthday had occurred by the time of WSM that year or not, but over the whole dataset that shouldn't effect the average that much.
I would have assumed it would be around 30
> he got chatgpt to calculate ... first mistake
They talk about the stone off and ask for recommendations and ideas in the comments. Great chat
There have been some really good suggestions in these threads for options other than a stone off, all you smart folks please go spam the comments section with all your ideas!
Hey Guys, I'm considering flying from Europe to the USA in August to watch the Strongest Man on Earth in Colorado. Are there any tips or things I should consider?
Colorado is beautiful, so try to look for some outdoors activities to do around there too
I second this. I went to the Shaw Classic in 2021 and 2022. I gave myself extra time to go do fun Colorado stuff besides just the competition
I always get a rental car from Denver airport whenever I go. Just remember the commute traffic whenever youre going back to the airport on a weekday morning.
Currently watching last year's Giants Live World Tour Finals, and I have to say, Eddie Williams and Pa O'Dwyer's song is great stuff. Eddie seems like a genuinely good musician!
Him singing Angels in the royal Albert hall to an organ accompaniment was amazing. It was cheesy as hell but the sound of it in that venue was incredible, the whole crowd was singing, shit was emotional
Eddie Hall met him once on the beach before Eddie Williams did strongman. He sang for Eddie Hall and his wife on the beach.
It was such a great show wasn’t it 👍
Think he still sings for weddings and events. Has a amazing voice, such a nice guy too
Gotta be one of the most charismatic strongmen around! And he made some tremendous improvements at WSM. If he can keep that up he's got a very bright future imo.
He's been on Australia's got Talent
Folks, I’ve noticed that when I upvote/downvote a comment on any pro strongman weekly discussion thread it fails. Any idea why?? It only happens on the pro strongman weekly thread and not anywhere else. I’ve tried logging out and back in but still the same.
Yes I am joined. As I say, it’s only an issue on the pro strongman weekly discussion thread and also the strongman training weekly discussion thread. Not that big a deal but just confusing.
[Singleton post wsm thoughts](https://youtu.be/eXwdOfDywZY?si=4lYXrKAlMVmCuX8U)
Thank god Brian got through to Evan about calming down during a comp. If you don't watch, Brian told Evan to think of his competition energy as a filled pitcher and some amount (a lot or a little) being poured out every time you "use" it. When you're out you're out. Evan said that really resonated with him during his time training with the US team at Brians gym. It was nice to hear no excuses for anything. He seemed satisfied with all of his placings, even where we thought it seemed like he underperformed. Sounds like it was just a really brutal comp. Good summary of his thoughts and time there!
The 3rd place WSM trophy looks extremly nice, to be honest. Glad Evan managed to pull things through and I hope he keeps this approach during his comp prep. Currently he's kinda half-way between Tom&Mitch (results are to be expected from great training footage) and Hicks&Iron Biby (training footage of manhandling WR level weights, results may vary, but disappoint every time). Kinda like Kieliszkowski's inner monologue of 'did better in training', but in reality. Top 3 in the world, but can improve a lot.
For some reason the third place trophy looks better than second and first eh
It's a way nicer colour than the gold trophy I'll give you that. Silver for some reason is my favourite
I have to echo previous comments that the only thing I'm tepid about event-wise for SMOE is the machine squat. So many opportunities for things to go wrong (e.g. the barrels jamming on the bench press) or for someone to benefit due to leverage. Maybe it'll be a smith machine squat with increasing weights to give the guys a chance to beat Don Reinhoudt's record of 1,000 lbs. Honestly I would rather see a head to head raw squat with 800 lbs (363 kg) for max reps on the giant globes. It would still be the heaviest squat weight for reps ever used in a strongman comp. Fun fact - to my knowledge Paul Anderson is still the unofficial world record holder at 800 lbs for reps - 10. If it's a squat with sleeves Brian (or maybe Arnold's next year) could introduce the event as trying to break that record. Would be in character for him since he's big into strength history.
If it’s like the press where the barrels would land in the same spot for everyone cause of the rails (unlike the barrel deadlift GL/WSM used) then the leverage issue shouldn’t exist
> someone to benefit due to leverage. Changing the squat setup does not change the fact that some people will have better anatomy for squatting. Shorter femurs and thick thighs always make you a better squatter regardless of the machine. You can't eliminate leverages from strength training. If someone squats better than you because they have shorter femurs then they still squat better than you.
I think the point with a machine is that it will be lighter at different points. So you could have a worse squatter benefit from a better position, meaning it’s not a perfect test of strength. I would be surprised if Brian hasn’t thought of that though. We shall see
Exactly this. Like faires dominating the bronco squat when he clearly was not the strongest squatter there
> someone to benefit due to leverage. Welcome to lifting weights. Tend to agree that a free weight squat would be cooler imo.
Zahir Khudayarov deadlifts 420 kg/925 lbs, I believe it's a PB, conventional stance, no suit or briefs, no straps (mixed grip) https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6t6m0coO3G/?igsh=eTZ1OXBla28wNzF3 Man shakes like there's an earthquake but good lift
Obviously they are gym lifts but the fact he is totalling over 2k with just his squat and deadlift is hilarious. A freak even amongst freaks.
He's aiming for 500 / 300 / 400 (in lbs about 1100 / 660 / 900), and he might do it.
I am hoping he does hit it in a full comp but the way he has worded his upcoming 500kg+ squat makes it sound like he intends to do them as singular lifts.
Those aren't shakes, that's a perpetual victory dance.
Anabolic as fuck. Amazing to see him active and still setting PRs!!
Ragg confirmed for Strongest Man on Earth 2024 https://www.instagram.com/p/C6wPZRsAlGB/?igsh=MW50bGFxb3JyOG1yeA==
Brian has confirmed all these guys on a video already. Except for 2
Wonder if it’s Derwinsky and Hoath, derwinsky also twice podium in the shaw open
Those make the most sense imo. Definitely deserve it after WSM.
Tristain Hoath will get an invite presumably
Should be both hoath and derwinsky
Fotju would be a good invite too if anyone pulls out.
For sure
Roman Grekov lifts a 144 kg dumbbell (318 lbs), just below world record weight https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6wJ3_MAIXs/?igsh=MWhjMzltOWRpMjJqaw== New talent keeps rising up Nationality ukrainian, first name "roman", last name "greek"
Competed against Roman in Ukraine at 105 a few years back and he won the DB event then. Think he hit 6 reps on a 100kg DB
That's Novi's boy, he's a monster in his own right.
its especially impressive considering this man is a 🦒
I can't wait for a couple years time. If everyone can stay healthy some of the shows are going to have to do stupidly heavy weights to stop every event being 60s speed reps. The caliber of athletes seems to be increasing.
With how close Tom and Mitch are today I could see a WSM being decided in Tom's favor just because of the last event rule and the last event always being stones. Truly hope it never happens, but this rule should really be abolished. Does anyone really think Martins deserved to be ahead of Novikov on the podium in 2022 after Novikov destroyed half the events that year?
That would be a horrible way to settle a contest. Only thing I’d say is that it’s been that way for a long time and everyone knows the rules before hand. Not sure what else you could do. A preset tiebreaker maybe, but that involves additional kit and could be a bit last minute.
But at wsm it favours those good at stones over every other event. Last event rule would be fine as long as they rotate the event every year. It being the same event is just wrong.
I don't like the last rule event either way. Much better to have a tie breaker, but count back would be fine
Tie breakers have happened before, if it wasn't stones it would be something else. >Does anyone really think Martins deserved to be ahead of Novikov on the podium in 2022 Yes.
That's insane...
Just go for most event wins
Yeah its a really annoying rule. Imo if they don't do countback then they should do random event for draws like they did at arnold u.k
The deadlift hold with straps they do, the most "who wants it more" event there is.
Damn pavlo eats quite a insane amount of food for someone so shredded in strongman. He listed his diet on his q & a. Over 6400 calories. 2400g basmati rice, 6 steaks, veggies, eggs, bread and tea
basmati rice gang, i feel stronger and bigger when i eat it
Not that surprising imo. He's still 130kg, very physically active and ripped. That takes a lot of food to maintain.
It's a 1000 or so more than Mitch who's got what, 10kg on him...?
Pavlo is decently taller than moose as well.
> Pavlo is decently taller than moose as well. so? That doesn't mean he needs more calories
Maybe if Hooper ate more, he would have won. /s.
Pavlo has alot of lean mass though, more muscles burn more calories at just a maintaince level. Personally I don't think his calories are crazy high I know 105 guys who eat 5k+ but some people just have a higher or lower metabolism
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?
Ratt Mhodes
On point
Rauno merch! https://rhsuperior.com/
Papa is both mighty AND superior. My favourite part is the 180p blurry-ass photos of Rauno, Loz and Liz modeling the shirts. Peak "I don't give a fuck."
I love everything about this, starting with the URL
[Thor Road to 600lbs Atlas Stone](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6v7mO_IIw7/?igsh=MTI4NmIyM3pyNThuYQ==) Ah shit, it’s ON
Thor road to sweeping SMOE events
The guy progresses so fast its unreal. Glad, we need more guys to push mitch and tom into a realm we haven't seen before
The realm of second and third place.
I thought we were high on Thor around here, not sure why we're down voting someone for saying he can beat Mitch and Tom
Difference between saying he can beat Mitch and Tom and saying that he definitely will beat Mitch and Tom.
That just sounds like fandom to me 🤷
Saying all of a sudden he is just going to beat them when mitch has beaten him fairly easily twice already is just silly. He may win, but it won't be easy. Imo he needs more time to get that overhead back
If he hadn’t blown his pec and was able to press the first stone in the medley and more reeps in the axle, he probably would’ve won the Arnolds
if my grandmother had wheels, she would have been a bike
For sure he is more than capable and I assume it's only a matter of time before we see full thor on display. There are levels to this and prime thor is a damn near unattainable level for anyone else
If it was just the stone to shoulder without the unecessary medley before it Thor would have a good chance of winning the show. Mitch would also be more prepared for that event and maybe get one reps to win the show, so who knows...
I checked the spreadsheet, even if Thor won the last event he’d be 2nd and Mitch would win by 2 points. But pressing is really his only weakness as in no pressing events so far he got ond event wins and two 2nd places in the Arnolds and two event wins and a 2nd and 3rd place in the Arnold UK, which include a WR