Question from an Outsider>?

[Kile Anderson]

Strongman seems to be represented well on an international level by the USA, but with other contries pulling from a much smaller population, why do Eastern European Athletes continue to dominate world competitions? Could it be due to training styles, supplements, or anything else? Always wondered?

Nice forum, seems to be good intro for a newbie like me!

Kile Anderson
Strongman Fan

[Chris Bartley]

because the united states biggest, strongest, most powerful, explosive athletes are playing professional football and making millions of dollars.

[Kile Anderson]

That was my estimation as well, but football, although against popular thought, in my opinion is not a strength sport, rather a speed/coordination/passion game.

Not all fast guys are strong and not all strong guys are fast.

Kile Anderson
Strongman Fan

[Pete Berg]

I think it's because team sports take priority over individual sports, so we the US are flooded with teams sports wantabes and that depletes the amount of poeple willing to push themselves in strenght sports. Some of the US stongest men don't even try because they don't what to risk getting hurt by lifting because it might cost them down the road.

[James Whisman]

Not all fast guys are strong and not all strong guys are fast.

Reletively speeking all fast people are strong and all strong people are fast. Without giving a lecture on biomechanics, the body is propelled forward when running by exerting pressure on the ground. The more pressure is put on the ground the faster and further (per stride) the body is propelled forward. Of course many other factors come into play such as % type I to type II muscle fiber, running effenciency ect, but at its most basic level running is just like anyother plyometric movement. Example: the greatest predictor of speed is the vertical jump. Again exerting pressure on the ground (through the triple extension) to propell a weight (your body) upward.

Now...
Football players are usually broken down in 3 caragories Skill (DB & WR), Big (OL & DL) & Combo (LB, TE & RB). For international strongman comps the Big (maybe the ocational blocking TE) positions would be the players that would have the size and strength for that level of comp. So all the Skill & most of the Combo aren't eleigable. And yes football players do not train for straight strength, they are very strong. Most of what I do now for strongman training is what I was doing in college trainig for football. Cleans, Squats, Heavy Presses and back work. No matter your sport you can not escape these movements.

But...
The earlier point of follow the $$$ makes it much more simple

[Chris Bartley]

That was my estimation as well, but football, although against popular thought, in my opinion is not a strength sport, rather a speed/coordination/passion game.

Not all fast guys are strong and not all strong guys are fast.

Kile Anderson
Strongman Fan
you ever seen a professional lineman lift weights? they are some of the strongest dudes in the US/world.

[Garrick Daft]

There are plenty of Strongmen training in the USA...it's not a money thing..

Think about how small Iceland is.. it produced 2 legends of strongman. There are more USA strongmen then Icelandic I'm willing to bet...same with Poland, Lithuania..whereever.

Maybe it's the cold weather...

[Tom Bebb]

I would probably say the main reason is because the USA'S (and the UK's for that matter) top strongmen (with the exception of jesse m and a few more) treat strongman as a weekend thing, they dont live, breath it, simply because they have other priorities in life, work, family etc. Until they do, there not going to be able to push the like of savickas and pudz...Wheras the eastern europeans have a totally diferent work ethic and mentality towards training. From what I read, its seems to be their life...Its much like this in Oly lifting, Iwouldnt say Chinese and bulgarians are born more genetically gifted than us, they just have a totally different mentality towards the whole thing.

[Kile Anderson]

Seems like good points. I like the ultimate motivator..money
Seems as though if Strongman paid in the likes of Football, the make-up of Strongman would be very different, as in Stronger and Faster representation from the USA.

Makes you think, the current top 20, maybe the latter 20?

Kile Anderson
Strongman Fan

[DaneGarreau]

A few factors

Money-Strongman doesn't pay a lot in America(it is starting too though)
Jobs-Most strongmen can't train full time because they have another job.(this too is changing)
Football-A lot of strong althetic guys play football in america.
Work Ethic-IMO, most americans are very lazy. I have never been to Eastern Europe, but I get the impression that they take winning very seriously and will do anything to succeed.

Just My opinion.

[Ben Booker]

It is all about who wants it the most, and a European just happens to have it, doesn't matter where you're from. :IMHO:

[Brandon Campbell]

i agree on the who wants it the most, Pudz is starting to look semi satisfied with his winning and seems to have start a slow decline. While the rest are trying harder to beat him. Sooner or later he will be replaced with someone else and then If that new person wants to win again more then the rest he will be there till someone else replaces him.

Also a 30k a year sponser ship in america is oki doki, But in the european countries thats liek 100k ayear :LOL: so some of them also work other jobs haha

[Stephen Calhoun]

It also may be due to the european countrys do not have hundreds of proffessional sports teams to divide to countrys support for. Countrys like lithowania(sp) are very small and do not have the varieties of sports to rally around. They have some very strong guys they can rally around so they do. every one wants to be part of a winning team. If america did not have football, baseball, basketball, and a couple of the other big sports may be more people would be into a sport like strongman.

[Barry Perkins]

everyone is hitting on the major points..to summarize...

European athletes are revered because as said before, there aren't other sports to take the fans, sponsors...ergo..money! So..strongman can actually afford to make a living being a strongman.

They get more attention, training, supps, doctors...etc...

at least..that's what I "think"