Buzzapp Master 
IN ONE CORNER of the convention center, a 63-year-old man grinds out a 340-pound bench press. Just a two-minute walk away, a group of hulking firemen raise 250-pound fire hydrants onto a four-foot-high scaffold, battling for the title of World’s Strongest Firefighter. Step into a side room and men with meaty hands wrap their sausage-like fingers around a steel tube loaded with 165 pounds of weight, grimacing as they lift using only the strength of their forearms. They’re competing in armlifting, an extreme test of grip. Around the corner, in a room guarded by more than 10 security personnel, members of Arnold’s Pump Club, a virtual training group, are meeting up IRL to attempt personal records in the trap bar deadlift after getting a hype speech from Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. “It’s not about where you start,” he says. “It’s about where you can go if you just shut up that voice in your head that tells you to quit. Motivation is contagious. Together we are stronger.”
This is the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. And no, it’s not just a bodybuilding competition. When Schwarzenegger founded the Arnold in 1989, he was aiming to create a multiday strength-a-palooza. Now in its 36th year, the Arnold brings together 16,000 people to grunt, flex, and lift as they compete in 25 sports—everything from martial arts and cheerleading to powerlifting and strongman. There’s also the Animal Cage, where fitness-world A-listers perform feats of strength, including 1,000-pound deadlifts and 300-pound circus dumbbell presses. Plus it’s a gathering for fitfluencers (the Tren Twins! Alex Eubank, Ronnie Coleman!) who flex in photo ops with the 105,000 fans who attend.
It’s a contest, exhibit, and celebration of strength, expressed in myriad ways, by bodies young and old, big and small, by gym rookies and veterans. Schwarzenegger, 77 years young, is omnipresent, congratulating the firefighters, shaking hands with the strongmen, fist-bumping throngs of fans.
It’s one-stop shopping for fitness inspiration—even for Schwarzenegger. “When I ride to the gym, I feel like I’m in a black-and-white movie,” he says. “But when I finish working out and go back, I feel like I’m in a color movie. This is why I am still addicted to working out every day with weights—even if they’re lighter now. I’m addicted and I love it.” For four days in Columbus, everyone here does too.
Meet the Muscle
Regina Koko
Mitchell “Moose” HooperThe 29-year-old Canadian won his third straight Arnold Strongman title, scoring the most points over six events, including lifting a 402-pound stone onto his shoulder (left). The 6’3″, 320-pound Moose has a master’s in exercise physiology and says his work as a physical therapist gives him an advantage. “I can rehab myself and also prevent injuries,” he says. “I know when something feels really bad but it’s not that serious and when something feels not that bad but could become catastrophic.” That matters when you’re so strong your muscles can rip off the bone. He adds that there’s a beautiful camaraderie among strongmen because the sport attracts misfits. “You have to go to a gym and lift a lot by yourself,” he says. “At events we all support each other, but I also want to win. I want to beat my competitors at their best.”
Regina Koko
Darryl AldridgeA special ed teacher in Richmond, Virginia, Aldridge, 37, placed second in armlifting. He says his students “don’t know the full scope of what they do. They just they just see Mr. A. looks like he works out. He looks like he had a lot of muscles.” That’s an understatement. At the Arnold, Aldridge deadlifted 378 pounds on an extra-thick bar, lifted 220 pounds on a three-by-four-inch bar that’s pinch gripped, and did 32 reps of the 165-pound grandfather clock lift in one minute (above). Aldridge, who says he struggled socially as a kid, started training to lose weight and says he found kindred spirits in the gym and at contests. Competing at the Arnold is the highlight of his year.
Regina Koko
Sam BelliveauCrowned Canada’s Strongest Woman four times, Belliveau, 32, set a world record with a 200-pound circus dumbbell overhead press—on her fifth attempt in the Animal Cage. “When the dumbbell is resting on my shoulder, I’m telling myself, You got this! It’s yours!” she says. “Then I focus on adjusting my balance, so I can push up with both legs. With all the crowd cheering, I had to keep trying and do it.”
Regina Koko
Andrei SharkevichThe Shark (above, left), 37, claimed the 220-pound left-handed arm wrestling title. It’s a crown he’d been chasing for 10 years, since he left bodybuilding to take up arm wrestling. His new sport offers more freedom. “You can easily fit it into your routine. It’s less diet and mental focus. Just fun.”
Regina Koko
Frank BonielloBased at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Boniello, 31, beat out hundreds of firemen and -women to win the 2025 title of World’s Strongest Firefighter. That included pressing a 275-pound ambulance axle overhead nine times, deadlifting 915 pounds, and lifting and placing five fire hydrants—200, 225, 250, 275, and 300 pounds—in 26 seconds. “Strongman training translates well to my job,” says Boniello. “The movement patterns, lifting different objects, not letting stress cloud your vision.” But it’s not all about competition. “I love to see others in my fire family do well.”
Regina Koko
Edward Lone EagleA member of the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation and a chef at Owamni, an Indigenous restaurant in Minneapolis, Lone Eagle competed in XPC Powerlifting. He notched a 500-pound squat, 325-pound bench press, and 525-pound deadlift. The 41-year-old says “lifting is medicine” and “training helps clear my head.” After a decade competing, he’s focusing on mentoring Native lifters.
Regina Koko
Michael George Ebanks Jr.Competing in his third World’s Strongest Firefighter, Ebanks Jr. says he does it for the camaraderie and because it helps him do his job better. Of course the event is competitive, but the Maryland-based firefighter says the contestants love each other and he’s “made brothers and sisters at the Arnold.” His best performances were in the 275-pound ambulance tire axle press (seven reps) and the fire-hydrant carry (37 seconds). “As a fireman, sometimes you have to lift and carry people out of burning buildings and so being physically fit it critical,” he adds.
Regina Koko
Ken “Gingercules” CooperThe guy with the best nickname and all the grit pulled 903 pounds in the Animal Cage, completing a grueling journey back from tearing his left quad and right patellar tendons when attempting a heavy squat three years ago. He later maxed out at 926 pounds. His post on IG afterwards captured his feelings in the moment of going for a personal record: “There’s a certain peace and purity of purpose I’ve been lucky enough to feel a few times in my life- all the noise fades away and I’m certain I’m doing exactly what I was meant to do. I hope you’re able to feel that glorious feeling in your own calling. Nothing else compares.”
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Habthor BjornssonFrom 2018 to 2020, the Mountain won three straight Arnold Classic Strongman competition. But this year, 6-foot-9, 430-pound behemoth placed third. Some of that was due to the challenge that came the day before, when he attempted to break his own deadlift world record and move 1,105 pounds on the elephant bar (he missed but still won the deadlift competition). Some of that, he admits, might be age. “I’m in my later years,” said Bjornsson, who is now 36. “It was nice to give it a go. I’m the same man. I’m very competitive. But obviously as you age, other thing become more important to you, like family and your kids. When I was younger, I was very selfish and I only thought about my strength. In my later years, I’m more careful with my health.”
Regina KokoStanislav Schastny calms a fellow Ukrainian powerlifter before a huge bench press.
Stanislav SchastnySchastny, 31, hoped to win a the bench press competition. But the Ukrainian, who was born in Belarus and moved to Miami last year, didn’t place. Competing on a team of several Ukrainian athletes, he benched 515 pounds. And yes, he was disappointed. He’d benched more in years prior. “My best result is 578,” he said. “It was my dream to be in the Arnold, my dream to get a medal from Arnold.” Still, he gamely cheered on the other competitors, and was happy to warm up a teammate for the competition. “I know the guys on this team,” he said. “We pull for each other.”
Regina Koko
Theo Maddox Although he grew up in New Zealand playing badminton and soccer, Maddox watched videos of strongmen lifting in the Animal Cage at the Arnold. He also did track and field and transitioned into strength training and then strongman training. At the Arnold, the-21-year-old deadlifted 1,035 pounds, using a Sumo stance, the heaviest weight pulled in the Animal Cage. The key to lifting heavy: “It’s all about variable management—how to replicate the feeling from training when you feel strongest,” he says. “How to be in that safe strong state, because if you feel safe you will be strong and your body will let you express all your strength.”
Regina Koko
Nate PowellPowell, 38, is a fireman in Charlotte, NC, and he heard his whole life that his hands, which can easily engulf a soda can, were huge. A few years ago, the health coach of his fire brigade suggested he take up armlifting. Powell, who is 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, had a quick response: “Dude, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” What Powell soon realized is that his massive mitts were built for the sport, which has you lifting ultra-heavy, oddly shaped implements that challenge your grip strength. He came to the Arnold with his wife, Sierra Powell, who also entered the Arnold amateur armlifting competition. Nate Powell was chasing a 420-pound deadlift on the axle bar, a number that he hit successfully.
This story appears in the May-June 2025 issue of Men’s Health.
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Ben Court is the Executive Editor of Men’s Health. He has a decade of experience writing and editing stories about peak performance, as it relates to health, nutrition, fitness, weight loss, and sex and relationships. He enjoys yoga, cycling, running, swimming, lifting, grilling, and napping.
Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S., is the fitness director of Men’s Health and a certified trainer with more than 10 years of training experience. He’s logged training time with NFL athletes and track athletes and his current training regimen includes weight training, HIIT conditioning, and yoga. Before joining Men’s Health, he served as a sports columnist and tech columnist for the New York Daily News.
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