Not Just Strength—Skill:

Huang Chengming’s Overhead Press Shows How Olympic Lifting Is Shaping Strongman

In Strongman, we often celebrate raw power—massive stones, deadlifts, yoke runs. But once in a while, someone steps into the arena and reminds us that true strength isn’t just about muscle.

It’s about mastery.

At the 2025 Lift On Strongman® New Legends, hosted at the 13th International Fitness Expo (IFE), Huang Chengming showed the world what happens when you apply Olympic weightlifting technique to the overhead press event.

🎥 When Olympic lifting technique is applied to Strongman events

Why It Matters

The Overhead Press is traditionally a brute-force event. Athletes muscle the weight up, often grinding through locked joints and shaking frames.

But Huang Chengming brought something different.

• A crisp dip-and-drive

• Perfect bar path awareness

• Split-second timing

• And yes—explosive finishing power

From 90KG to 115KG, each lift looked more like art than war.

“It’s like watching a weightlifting final...but on a Strongman stage.”
– one spectator whispered mid-event.

A New Trend in Strongman?

This isn’t just one athlete doing something unique—it may be the beginning of a trend:

More athletes, especially in the lighter divisions, are turning to Olympic lifting foundations to gain an edge in technical events like:

• Overhead press (log or axle)

• Block press

• Viking press

• Clean & press medleys

What once were purely strength battles are now becoming battles of rhythm, efficiency, and mobility.

The Takeaway:

Huang didn’t just complete the event.
He redefined what it could look like.

• He didn’t muscle the weight. He guided it.

• He didn’t just press. He calculated and executed.

At Lift On Strongman®, we celebrate all forms of strength—and this was one of the most graceful displays we’ve ever seen.

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