If you look in Iron Sport Gym in the afternoon/evening hours of any given day of the week, you will see the 5’ 9” 210lb. strongman Craig Strohmeier getting the job done. Craig is an up and coming star in the world of strongman and his performance only looks to get better as he readies himself for this year’s 2007 NAS National Strongman Championships to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada.



Born and raised in Union County, NJ, Craig attended Central Bucks High School West where he played ice hockey. From there he attended Millersville University and competed on the Millersville ice hockey team for 2 years. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology.

Craig started competing in the sport of strongman by entering a local competition on a whim in Lancaster, Pa. He ended up placing fourth overall out of 10 competitors. From there on, he was hooked. He searched the internet to find a gym that would cater to his specific strongman requirements. Living in a world where franchise fitness clubs and health centers are the norm, Craig had to find an ample training environment that would provide the tools necessary for training if he were to be successful in the sport.

Craig went onto a gym locater website and came across Iron Sport Gym. He made the trip over and instantly fell in love with his surroundings. “It was just an awesome place. I couldn’t believe they had so many things to work with. It’s something that I’ve never seen before.” Craig said. From that point in time, Craig left a successful athletic career in ice hockey at Millersville University, and turned his focus solely to the sport of strongman.



In his tenure in the sport, Craig has managed to make a name for himself. In both 2006 and 2007, Craig had managed to qualify for the North American Strongman Society National Championships. In the spring of 2006, he placed 2nd at the Mid-Atlantic Strongman Championships in Waldorf, MD. In the winter of 2006, he placed 2nd again in the Garden State Strongman Championships in Hamilton, NJ. Both performances gave him the opportunity to attend Nationals which are held every year.

Craig’s training program is geared toward getting stronger in the individual events of strongman, but it does also heavily involved the Olympic weightlifting movements as well. As a matter of fact, Craig points out that 75% of his training comes from Olympic weightlifting movements, while only 25% of his regimen involves training the actual events themselves. “I usually train events on Saturday with Kirk Nowack. Most of the Olympic stuff is done during the week.”. Craig stated.

His Olympic training regiment involves movements such as the snatch, clean and jerk, and Olympic squat, with different variations of movements coming from those basic 3. Event training involves work with the Atlas Stones, overhead pressing, farmer’s walk, yoke, and tire flip.



Craig believes his training regimen to be somewhat of a modified Westside Barbell program as well. Westside barbell is a club based out of Columbus, Ohio run by powerlifting guru Louie Simmons. Much of their training is powerlifting based, which involves dynamic or “speed” training and maximal effort training with heavy weights. Craig dedicates most of his heavy snatch and clean pulls to the maximal effort method, going for heavy triples, doubles, and singles. Most of the work done with power cleaning and power snatching involves dynamic effort to help increase speed in movement.

Olympic weightlifting movements such as the jerk help with Craig’s overhead movements in strongman competition. “The jerk technique allowed me to press a 200lb log overhead for 7 reps in one minute at one of my contests. It gives a good carryover to strongman.” Craig stated. Clean pulls, hang pulls, and deadlifts also help him in events such as the tire flip and atlas stones as well.


Craig has also involved himself with some of the other Westside training implements such as bands and chain training. “I was seeing a little bit of a carryover, but not much. I realized that I wanted to be a strongman and not an Olympic weightlifter or powerlifter.” Craig said.

When asked about what his favorite event in strongman was, Craig did not hesitate to say that any type of overhead lift is his event of preference. Craig typically places in the top 3 in both the overhead press and tire flip. “Overhead lifts were the first thing I ever really had to work with, plus I had an old tire behind my apartment complex at school that I worked with. That gave me a base. Basically, my motivation in an overhead lift is just my desire to pull a weight off the ground and press it overhead. That’s what I drive off of, it’s just desire to do it.”. Craig stated.

Having a desire to do the types of things that Craig does in competition, also requires a strong mental commitment towards becoming the best. Here, Craig reports on how he gets ready for training and competition:

“I tend to remain focused on the training at hand, rather than psyching myself up posturing around the gym screaming and yelling. I like to concentrate my energy on the lift, and if I make it, then it's time to go a little nuts and celebrate. There are many technical factors to Olympic style and strongman style training, so I have always had to focus so that my technique and form is spot on and efficient. When it gets closer to competition time I find myself getting a little more aggressive in the gym, but I like to think of it as a test of mental fortitude to harness that aggression into the lift itself, and not let an exaggerated pre lift psych up drain my energy. About a week out of a competition I am ready to freakin' go, but I have to use some discipline to save the physical and mental energy for game day. On the day of a contest I am usually pretty calm in the morning, and then downright questioning why the hell I am putting myself through the ordeal by about 1.5 hours out because of pre contest jitters. Finally, it never fails that I gain an intense and focused psych for the contest about a half hour before it begins. It's an extremely emotional experience, but once that time comes when I get focused on the performance that the contest calls for, I have a complete blast. Each contest always ends with me reflecting on my performance that day, and thinking about preparing for the next time.”


When asked about his diet for strongman training. Craig said it was nothing special. “I eat pretty much whatever I want as long as it’s every couple of hours.” Craig said. “I try to get in at least 230-250 grams of protein in everyday, and just not be hungry. I have also upped my dairy intake to get some extra protein and calories in me.” Craig said.

While doing all of this dedicated training to strongman, Craig admits that he does not exactly lead a typical life. Having already received a Bachelor’s degree in Pyschology, he is currently working on a Master’s degree in counseling psychology at Temple University main campus. His day is not your typical 9-5 grind. When he is not working as a psychiatric technician at Belmont Hospital he typically gets out of bed around noon. From there, he’s in the gym by 1:00pm, and back in class by 4:30pm till about 10:00pm. From there, he’s working on assignments before he’s back in bed by 3:30am. He eats throughout the day.

On a work day, he up around 10:00am to get to the gym by 11:30am. He does the 3-11pm shift at the hospital. After work, he’s back to doing homework before it’s back to bed at 3:30am. So in short, Craig would be considered to be nocturnal.
Craig has his sights set on this years national strongman event in November in Las Vegas, NV. Long term, his goal is to earn his “pro-card” by winning a pro-am event in the future. He has his sights set on training for a pro-am event and winning it by the end of 2008. His first priority however, is to keep training hard and keep having fun with it.



Craig would like to thank two people that he looks up to in the sport, Steve Pulcinella and Kirk Nowack. “They have helped me tremendously in this sport and they are what I hope to be while continuing to maintain an interest in the sport and an interest in staying healthy while doing it. Plus, I have to thank Steve for providing such an awesome place to train.”. This author seconds that notion.

Craig’s career in strongman is slated to go nowhere but up in the years to come. He has become a prominent figure at Iron Sport Gym and in the strongman community. The “aggressive mini-horse” as he has been nick-named by Steve Pulcinella is taking his game to new heights and it will be exciting to see how he fairs at this year’s national strongman competition in Las Vegas. Good luck Craig!!!