A Franklin native is continuing his climb to the top of the world strongman rankings.
For the past several years Thomas Evans has been hard at work, travelling the globe in search of its biggest competitions. Now a veteran of the circuit’s most famous events, Evans says he’s stayed busy the past few years.
“I had the opportunity in ’24 to compete in what us in strongman call the Big Four – that would be the Arnold Strongman Classic, the World’s Strongest Man, the Strongest Man on Earth and the Rogue Invitational,” said Evans. “I was able to do all those in ’23, and I did them in ’24 as well. No really spectacular performances, to be honest with you – at the Arnold I finished ninth, in World’s I finished third in my group, at the Strongest Man on Earth last year I finished tenth. At the Rogue Invitational I finished sixth, and that was the one I was probably happiest with. After that, in terms of this year I did not participate in the Arnold, and I finished third in my group for World’s Strongest Man, so unfortunately I missed the finals again.”
As one of the top dozen or so strongmen on the planet (the Rogue Invitational currently ranks him seventh worldwide), as well as a strength and conditioning coach at the University of Delaware, Evans’ daily planner has been jam-packed. Between guiding Blue Hen athletes and training for his own competitions, he can’t afford to waste a single day.
“I’ve been extremely fortunate to be in almost every competition I want to be in, and as soon as one finishes you roll into preparation for the other,” he said. “They’re kind of like a boxing match – it takes a while to prepare for them, and if you really want to do it right you probably need a 12-week build-up, if not longer. … Even with missing the Arnold this year, it seems like it doesn’t really stop.”
With major competitions happening throughout the year, athletes are constantly training and re-training their bodies. While each contest tests its competitors’ limits, their events can be surprisingly different.
“It’s not necessarily [different] muscle groups, but how you train the events,” said Evans. “For World’s Strongest Man, as funny as it sounds, you’re going to prioritize your conditioning and your speed over static strength. For [Strongest Man on Earth], it’s truly all about strength – you may increase your body weight a little bit, you’ll spend a lot more time lifting and less time conditioning, and just making sure you’re doing all the things you can to keep your body healthy. … When the shows get clumped together – if you go from a speed show quickly into a heavy show, or vice versa – you have to make that change very quickly.”
With several different events per competition, athletes must train themselves to be as well-rounded as possible. With only so much time to prepare, Evans says he must use it wisely.
“You definitely have to prioritize what you’re weak at,” he said. “If you try to train eight events at max intensity for 12 weeks you’re going to break, so you’ve got to figure out when to push certain things, when to ease off certain things to make sure you’re peaked and ready to go at the competition. You don’t want to be hitting your best lifts in the gym, you want to hit your best lifts on the competition day, so there’s a bit of planning and education that goes into that piece.”
Between training, traveling, his day job and other commitments, being one of the world’s top strongmen is anything but easy. It does, however, come with some perks.
“Undefined Nutrition takes care of all my supplement needs – everything from protein, creatine, sleep supplements, recovery fluid for joints and whatnot, as well as BCAA’s [branched-chain amino acids]. We have to really prioritize all the stuff we’re putting in our bodies to make sure we’re ready to compete at the highest level,” he said. “Another one is SBD – they take care of all my supportive equipment in terms of knee supports, elbow supports, and back supports that we wear while we’re lifting this tremendous load. … My last one at this time is Airwave. They’re a supportive mouthpiece company – it’s a really nifty invention. It’s a mouthpiece, but it’s a lifting mouthpiece, which is very different than a contact support. It helps set your jaw so you’re allowed to brace better and keep that abdominal pressure.”
As a former up-and-comer earning his place among the sport’s best, multiple sponsors have attached their brands to his name. Armed with the proper accoutrements, he’s now preparing for perhaps the sport’s toughest test.
“One of the shows I put a lot of priority in is the Strongest Man on Earth. That show is incredibly heavy, and it’s probably the best test of who the strongest 16 men on the planet are,” said Evans of the competition in Loveland, Colorado, Aug. 15-17. “There’s not a whole lot of speed at play, but it’s an all-out bloodbath. … [In 2023] I finished sixth, and that was awesome. That’s honestly probably my favorite finish of mine to this date on the professional stage, so we’re really pushing for top five this year.”