Contest Rules

One continuous, unedited shot from before the lift starts until after it's finished. No cuts, no speed changes, no transitions.

The full lift and the full bar must be visible for the entire attempt — both ends of the bar, plates and collars clearly in frame. Film from an angle that shows the judging criteria for the lift (depth for squats, chest contact for bench, lockout for deadlifts).

Film it inside the gym you're submitting for. The board ranks gyms, so the lift has to happen inside that gym's walls — footage from another facility or a competition floor doesn't count. If the judges can't tell where it was filmed, expect a verification request.

Garage gyms count. A gym is any real training spot willing to stand behind its records: it goes on the map at its real location and has a website or business page. Meet that bar and your garage competes on the same board as everyone else — film inside it and lift under its banner.

Upload the file with your submission, or post it anywhere public — YouTube, Instagram, TikTok — and submit the link. A linked video must stay up; if the link dies, the lift comes off the board.

Real footage only. One continuous, unedited take. AI-generated, altered, spliced, or speed-manipulated video is an automatic rejection and a permanent ban — for the athlete and anyone who helped make it. The board is worth exactly as much as the film is honest.

This isn't a federation meet. There are no red lights for style — a lift counts when the weight actually moves through the full lift:

Back squat — barbell on the back, squat it down and stand it all the way back up. We want real depth: a quarter squat isn't a squat. High-bar or low-bar both count.

Bench press — bar touches the chest, then presses to full elbow lockout. Touch-and-go, pause, whatever — just touch and lock it out.

Deadlift — if it starts on the floor and ends at lockout, it's a deadlift: barbell, axle, or trap bar, conventional or sumo. Knees locked, hips through — hitch it, grind it, take all day. If it starts anywhere else, it isn't one: no blocks, no rack pulls, no 18″ or silver dollar setups. Standard-height plates or comparable — no elevated starts. (Elevated variations are coming as Championship Season and Record Day specialty events, where everyone pulls the same setup.)

Overhead press — any ground-to-overhead: clean and press, push press, log, axle, barbell — all fair. Finish with arms fully extended overhead and the weight under control.

Farmer's hold — a weight in each hand, held at your sides for 30 seconds, standing upright. Max weight, half a minute of pure grip. The score is the weight in each hand — both sides loaded identically, the way every farmer's number has ever been quoted. No straps — bare hands, chalk allowed, hook grip fine. If the weight is tied to your hands, it isn't a hold. The clock plus the full hold must be visible in the video. Set it down at 0:29 and it's zero.

Run what you brung. Belts, sleeves, wraps, straps, suits, bench shirts, slingshots — all fine. Chalk away. We want to see the most weight moved, and we'll see your gear in the video either way. One exception: no straps on the farmer's hold — that event is the grip test.

The one line that matters: you move the weight. No spotter assistance on the lift (hands on the bar = no lift), no rack pins or blocks shortening the movement, full-size plates on real bars — barbell, axle, or trap bar all count.

Every pound counts. A gym's division total (men's / women's) is its single best approved lift in each of the five events — squat, bench press, deadlift, overhead press, and the farmer's hold — and the five records can belong to five different members. Combined = men's total + women's total, and the combined number decides the national and state crowns.

Athletes are ranked by their own best-per-event total, and — when a bodyweight is submitted — on the pound-for-pound board using DOTS, the bodyweight-adjusted powerlifting score (computed from the squat + bench + deadlift subtotal, since that's what DOTS is calibrated for).

Rankings are computed from verified lifts only. Nothing about a ranking is for sale.

The board runs year-round, and every year is a Championship Season. The season's crowns — one national champion, one champion per state — lock in from the board as it stands at 11:59 PM Central, December 31. Champions are crowned January 1 with dated, permanent titles and printable championship certificates. Nobody can ever take a season from the gym that won it.

Records themselves never expire — a 700 lb deadlift stays on the board until somebody beats it, across seasons. Monthly state and national titles run all year (awarded on the 1st from the previous month's standings); the season championship is the big one. The next season starts the moment the last one ends.

Every submission is reviewed by a judge against these standards before it counts. Judges may approve, reject with a reason, or — for record-level or disputed attempts — request additional verification (for example, a plate check on camera) before approval.

Anyone can dispute an approved lift from the lift's row on a gym or athlete page. Disputes are reviewed by a human judge; an upheld dispute removes the lift. Fabricated submissions — fake plates, edited footage, misstated weights — can cost a gym or athlete every entry on the board.

Men's and women's divisions for every lift. Athletes compete for the gym where the lift was performed — and the video must be filmed inside that gym.

One gym per athlete. You lift for one gym — the same athlete can't hold records on two boards, and submitting for a second gym is blocked. Changed gyms for real? Email info@americasstrongestgym.com and we'll transfer you; records you set at your old gym stay on its board, because that's where the iron moved. Accounts are for adults 18+; lifts by athletes 13–17 may be submitted by a parent, guardian, or gym owner with documented parental consent — see the minors policy.

Max-effort lifting is dangerous. Read the assumption of risk — every attempt is your own decision, made under conditions you and your gym control. Use spotters, collars, and racks.