On Jan. 3, 2021, BarBend and USA Weightlifting renewed their first-of-its-kind media partnership through 2024. Founded in 2016, BarBend is the web's premier media company for strength sports news, ... Continue Reading
Strongman Gabriel Peña Pulls 481-Kilogram (1,060-Pound) 18-Inch Axle Deadlift
Gabriel Peña may have withdrawn from his 2020 World's Strongest Man debut, but he's having a productive offseason. On Jan. 9, 2021, The Texas Titan managed to rip a 481-kilogram (1,060-pound) axle bar ... Continue Reading
Strongman Hafthor Björnsson Teaches You How to Deadlift
On Jan. 6, 2021, 2018 World's Strongest Man (WSM) champion and holder of the heaviest deadlift ever recorded Hafthor "The Mountain" Björnsson took to his YouTube channel to share his best "tips and ... Continue Reading
HYROX Champs Challenge Top CrossFitters (and More) to $10,000 Race
In December of 2020, Hunter McIntyre and Lauren Weeks won the HYROX World Championships, which took place in Hamburg, Germany. Now, both McIntyre and Weeks are hand-picking their opponents for HYROX’s Feb. ... Continue Reading
Olympia Head Judge Steve Weinberger Says Why Big Ramy Won 2020 Mr. Olympia Title
On Jan. 6, 2021, in an interview with Generation Iron, 2020 Olympia head judge Steve Weinberger shared the areas where 2020 Mr. Olympia Champion Mamdouh "Big Ramy" Elssbiay excelled that helped him earn ... Continue Reading
Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei Announces Comeback to Strongman
On Jan. 5, 2021, on his YouTube channel, Laurence "Big Loz" Shahlaei announced his long-awaited return to strongman competition. The last time Shahlaei competed was at the 2019 WSM contest, which Martins ... Continue Reading
The Top 5 Powerlifting Women to Watch in 2021
2020 was a year of chaos for athletes all across the world. With events being canceled and gyms forced to close their doors, athletes were obligated to find new ways to train. Some athletes were able to ... Continue Reading
COVID-19 and American Gyms — Revenue Down 15.6%, Memberships Could Fall 40%
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on small businesses and industries — and of them, the fitness space has been hit particularly hard. Gyms across the country started to close in mid-March, forcing ... Continue Reading
World Para Powerlifting & Eleiko to Integrate Digital Barbell Sensors
On Jan. 5, 2020, World Para Powerlifting Organization (WPPO) and strength sports equipment manufacturer Eleiko announced their collaboration to incorporate a new lift analysis technology into the sleeves ... Continue Reading
2008 Mr. Olympia Dexter Jackson Reveals COVID-19 Battle
Famed IFBB Pro League bodybuilder Dexter Jackson revealed that he has COVID-19. On Jan. 4, 2021, Jackson posted a series of videos to his Instagram Stories, stating that he has been dealing with the ... Continue Reading
2021 Static Monsters World Championship Delayed Until Later in Year, Date Unknown
In an Instagram post shared on Jan. 4, 2021, organizers announced that the 2021 Static Monsters World Championships, originally scheduled for July 24, 2021, will no longer take place on that date. No new ... Continue Reading
Powerlifter Julius Maddox Rocks A 710-Pound Bench Press Triple
It should come as no surprise that Julius Maddox is recalibrating what is possible on the bench press. The 33-year-old powerlifter has performed mind-bogglingly heavy bench presses. The biggest highlights ... Continue Reading
Powerlifter Heather Connor Deadlifts 200 Kilograms/440 Pounds At 45.6KG Bodyweight
Back in November, two-time IPF 47 kg World Champion Heather Connor had set a goal of deadlifting 200 kg (440 pounds), which would be a never-before-matched feat among drug-tested women at her bodyweight. ... Continue Reading
Hunter McIntyre, Lauren Weeks Win HYROX World Fitness Championships
Fans of strength sports and fitness were treated to a special event to start 2021. HYROX aired their 2020 HYROX World Championship race on January 1st, 2021 at 12 noon eastern time on their Facebook and ... Continue Reading
Two-Time Women’s Physique Olympia Champion Shanique Grant Announces Her Retirement
On Dec. 31, 2020, two-time Women’s Physique, Olympia Champion Shanique Grant has formally announced her retirement on her YouTube channel. The video was posted on New Year’s Eve. The formal statement from ... Continue Reading
Peter McGough, Renowned Bodybuilding Journalist, Dies At 71 After Lengthy Cancer Battle
Peter McGough, a journalist who was heralded by athletes and fans in the bodybuilding community, passed away after an eight-year-long battle with cancer on Dec. 29, 2020, at 71 years old. His work in the ... Continue Reading
Learn How To Front Squat Like Strongman Robert Oberst
Before becoming a competitive strongman and mainstay of the elite tier of strongmen in the world, Robert Oberst played football. When a career in the National Football League (NFL) was not to be, the ... Continue Reading
Para Powerlifter Ahmed Shafik — Army Veteran To Paralympian
Ahmed Shafik is a decorated Para Powerlifter and member of Team USA. As a two-time Paralympian, he competed in the 2012 London Paralympic Games in the 82.5-kilogram weight class and the 2016 Rio ... Continue Reading
Strongman Rauno Heinla Deadlifted 1,036 Pounds On Christmas Eve
Strongman Rauno Heinla of Estonia is an absolute monster in the discipline of the deadlift. During his second appearance on the World's Ultimate Strongman (WUS) "Feats of Strength" series, he set a ... Continue Reading
Powerlifter Yangsu Ren Deadlifts 4.6 Times His Bodyweight With 410.5-Kilogram (905-Pound) Pull
What an impressive year of training it has been for Yangsu "Deadlift Panda" Ren. The 32-year-old powerlifter began 2020 with a massive 379-kilogram (835-pound) sumo deadlift with straps using a hook grip. ... Continue Reading
How Bodybuilders Cut Weight While Still Holding Onto Muscle
Bodybuilding, from an outsider’s perspective, may look easy — you eat lots of food and lift tons of weights to get as muscular as possible, right? Well, not exactly. That's the first half of the equation — ... Continue Reading
Disabled Strongman Tobias Anthofer Hits 555.55-Kilogram Seated Deadlift World Record
Disabled strongman Tobias Anthofer aka "Big Sitting Bull" of Germany has set a new world record seated deadlift of an astounding 555 kilograms (1,224.8 pounds). The remarkable lift took place in Luenen, ... Continue Reading
Andrey Sapozhonkov Bench Presses 277kg (611 pounds) at 90kg Bodyweight Raw
On December 17th, Russian powerlifter Andrey Sapozhonkov competed in the Raw division of the 2020 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) World Championships in Moscow, Russia. He only participated in the ... Continue Reading
The Top Strongwomen to Watch in 2021
The sport of strongwoman gets more exciting every year. It is enjoying steady growth, attracting already established female strength athletes to it, as well as cultivating a deep field of strongwomen who ... Continue Reading