Strength Athletics

Strength athletics, more generally known as strongman competitions, is a sport which tests competitors' strength in a variety of different ways. Some of the disciplines are similar to those in powerlifting and some powerlifters have also successfully competed in strongman competitions. However, strongman events also test physical endurance to a degree not found in powerlifting or other strength-based sports. Competitions designed to test the strength of participants have a long history going back many centuries before the televisation of strongman competitions in the 1970s. This ancient heritage can still be seen in a number of traditional events, the most famous of which is the arguably traditional Highland Games, which itself is a source of many events now practiced in modern strongman competitions. Different competitions may be structured very differently with some strength athletic competitions, such as the World's Strongest Man, being slanted towards dynamic tests of strength, whilst others pivot around tests of pure static strength such as the Arnold Strongman Classic.