Well, it seems local strongman, Adam Grimes, has done it again. This time, winning Pennsylvania’s Strongest Man! The competition was held on September 13th this year at none other than Victory Brewing Company in Parkersburg, Pa. (Beer and weights? This sounds like my kind of event!) Of note, the event was hosted by McMillian Training Systems and is a 2026 National Qualifier.

After placing second three times prior, Grimes decided to dedicate his entire year of training to focus on this one particular competition. His program consisted of daily training with event and/or strength training for 4 days and mobility and recovery work for the other three. “This is the title I have been chasing ever since I started my strength journey,” said Grimes. “I honestly had become tired of seeing it just slip away.” This year, all his hard work paid off.

Like most Strongman competitions, this one consisted of five events. According to the event website, the rules were as follows:

Event one was the sandbag toss, where competitors had to throw as heavy a bag as possible over a 15-foot-high bar. Event two was the farmers’ carry, where two implements with a combined weight of 600 pounds must be lifted and then carried down a 100-foot course as far and as fast as possible. No straps or other grip aids were permitted. Event three was the 280-pound keg press; the athletes had to clean the keg from the ground to their chest and press overhead as many times as possible. Event four was the wagon wheel deadlift for reps. This event utilized a stiff power bar on wagon wheels, giving it a slightly raised starting height of 13 inches. The weight was 625 pounds. The bar would have to be lifted from the ground to a locked-out position as many times as possible in 60 seconds. Event five was the seated truck pull. This saw athletes sitting in a giant tire and using a rope to pull a large moving truck loaded with weight plates and equipment 50 feet as fast as possible.

“We started the day off with the sandbag throw,” said Grimes. “This was probably the event I was least looking forward to, and I knew I was going up against some good throwers. Thankfully, I was able to secure a joint first position by clearing the 35-pound sandbag”.

Grimes then moved on to the farmers’ carry. “Now this was an event I was excited for,” Grimes said. “I trained especially hard for this and particularly enjoy grip events.” The local strongman had the advantage of being last to go and knew the distance to beat was just over 30 feet. Being strategic, a big part of strongman competition, he decided to conserve energy and stopped at the 50-foot mark to secure the event win.

The third event was the Keg Press, which can be a very awkward and tricky event. “I had been training hard for it, and it was doing pretty well,” said Grimes. “Unfortunately, none of us were able to get a full, successful lift. This still left me in first place, overall.”

Then, onto Grimes’ best event, the one for which he is known, the deadlift. Just like it sounds, competitors lift a “dead” weight from the ground to a standing position. “I was easily able to pull two reps for another event win,” Grimes said. “I was pleased with this performance; however, I would have loved the opportunity to push myself to the limit. It was wiser to save energy for the last event.”

The fifth and final event was the truck pull. “I have had some experience in pulling vehicles before, so I was very prepared for this,” said Grimes. Knowing the time to beat was approximately 27.5 seconds, Grimes did his best to be as fast as possible and was able to finish the course in just over 22 seconds for another event win.

“Overall, it has felt like a dream to achieve this goal of mine,” said Grimes. “I have to thank my dad for being my coach and training partner all the way through, my mom and wife for always being there to encourage me, my twins to inspire me, and to God to give me the strength and ability to do this. This was a hard-fought path to get here, and I am proud of what I was able to achieve. I am going to return next year, and I am planning on being the first repeat champion since 2021”.