Physical Profile of Strongman and Strongwoman Athletes

Abstract

While strongmen and strongwomen are among the strongest athletes in all sports, limited literature is available pertaining to the physical and physiological characteristics of this population, including their vertical jump ability. Thus, the purpose of this study was to profile a cohort of strongman and strongwoman competitors at an international strongman/strongwoman event and measure jump performance differences between competitors (currently active strongmen/strongwomen) and resistance-trained individuals (individuals not strongmen or strongwomen at the event). Twenty-three subjects who attended an international strongman and strongwoman event (age:27.7±5.9 years; weight: 116.3±30.4 kg) volunteered to participate in the present study. Weight, hand length, hand grip strength, self-reported one repetition maximum for common powerlifting exercises, and specific countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) metrics were analyzed for between-sex differences within the sport. The present study's findings reveal that hand length, hand grip strength, and self-reported one repetition maximum for common powerlifting exercises were significantly higher for strongman competitors. For CMJ and SJ, both relative and absolute mean and peak velocity, force, and power in eccentric and concentric phases were significantly higher for strongman competitors. Contraction times were shorter for strongmen in both CMJ and SJ than strongwomen but were non-significant. Interestingly, the eccentric utilization ratio and the stretch-shortening cycle percentage did not significantly differ between strongman and strongwoman competitors, however, the entire cohort's eccentric EUR was considerably less than 1.2, indicating higher overall strength than ballistic power. The present study was able to profile the physical and jump performance characteristics of strongman and strongwoman competitors.