Strongman Corporation Qualification Standards

Updated May 23, 2025. Everything below is effective through 2026 Arnold (May 5, 2026).

This document covers all qualification standards and instances for specific levels of competition in Strongman Corporation from Regionals through Pro shows. They are listed as follows:

  1. Regionals
  2. Amateur Nationals
  3. America’s Strongest Master
  4. America’s Strongest Teen
  5. Arnold Pro/Am
  6. Arnold Masters World Championship
  7. America’s Strongest Man and Woman (ASM/W) – All Classes

If you’re looking for the list of qualified athletes for a specific competition, visit the “Qualified Athletes” page.

If you’re looking for detailed information about…

1. REGIONALs

There are no qualification requirements for Regionals. All athletes are eligible.

2. Amateur Nationals

Note that athlete counts reflect the number athletes that actively compete on the day of the event (not just how many signed up).

The following athletes qualify for Amateur Nationals:

  • 1st place in a Local competition with 2-5 athletes in a class
  • 1st-2nd place at a Local competition with 5-9 athletes in a class
  • 1st-3rd place at a Local competition with 10+ athletes in a class
  • 1st-3rd place at a Regional competition with 2-8 athletes in a class
  • 1st-4th place at a Regional competition with 9-11 athletes in a class
  • 1st-5th place at a Regional competition with 12+ athletes in a class
  • 1st-3rd place in the Pro/Am division at a Pro/Am competition with 2-8 athletes in a class
  • 1st-4th place in the Pro/Am division at a Pro/Am competition with 9-11 athletes in a class
  • 1st-5th place in the Pro/Am division at a Pro/Am competition with 12+ athletes in a class
  • Finalist at the most recent Arnold Pro/Am (i.e. made the final day of events)
  • 1st-3rd place at the most recent Arnold Masters World Championship
  • Competing alone in a class at a Local, Regional, or Pro/Am competition and completing (i.e. not “zeroing”) at least 4 of the 5 events to the standards originally set forth by the promoter
  • Current Strongman Corporation Pro athletes are automatically qualified to compete in a class outside their Pro Card.

Dates and Deferrals

  • Competitions 4-8 weeks before Nationals can qualify for the upcoming Nationals or Nationals the following year, but not both. This is at the athlete’s discretion.
  • Competitions less than 4 weeks before Nationals qualify for Nationals the following year. All other competitions qualify for the upcoming Nationals.
  • Deferrals may be granted on a case-by-case basis for catastrophic injury, serious medical conditions, pregnancy, and uncontrollable extenuating circumstances (ex. deployment). To see if you’re eligible, contact admin@strongmancorporation.com with “Deferral for Nationals” in the subject line.

3. America’s Strongest Master

Masters are athletes aged 40+ or 50+ on the start date of competition. There are no minimum athlete number requirements as part of qualifications for America’s Strongest Master.

The following athletes qualify for America’s Strongest Master:

  • 1st-3rd place in a Masters class at a Local competition
  • 1st-5th place in an open (i.e. non-age group) class at Local competition
  • 1st-5th place in a Masters or open class at a Regional competition
  • 1st-5th place in a Pro/Am class at a Pro/Am competition (including Arnold Pro/Am)
  • 1st-5th place at the most recent Arnold Masters World Championship

Birthdays and Class Switches

  • Masters athletes can use their bid to America’s Strongest Master to compete in any age group and weight class for which they’re eligible. In other words, athletes are not required to compete in the class or age group in which they originally qualified. Athletes should choose the age group and weight class that makes the most sense on the starting day of America’s Strongest Master.
  • An athlete may qualify before turning 40, and use that bid to compete at America’s Strongest Master after turning 40. For example, if an athlete is 39 years old during a local competition and competes in an open (i.e. non-age group) division, and then turns 40 before America’s Strongest Master, they can use the placement from the local competition as a qualifier for America’s Strongest Master. The same is true for age groups – an athlete may qualify when they’re 49 and then use the bid in the 50+ group at America’s Strongest Master.
  • Athletes who competed in a class that was not explicitly defined as “Masters” may not have been captured in Strongman Corporation’s system and added to the list of qualified athletes. If you fall into that category, you can contact Strongman Corporation directly to confirm eligibility by emailing admin@strongmancorporation.com with “America’s Strongest Master – Qualification” in the subject line.
  • No Novice classes qualify for America’s Strongest Master regardless of age.

Dates and Deferrals

  • Competitions 4-8 weeks before America’s Strongest Master can qualify for the upcoming year or the following year, but not both. This is at the athlete’s discretion.
  • Competitions less than 4 weeks before America’s Strongest Master qualify for the following year. All other competitions qualify for the upcoming year.
  • Deferrals may be granted on a case-by-case basis for catastrophic injury, serious medical conditions, pregnancy, and uncontrollable extenuating circumstances (ex. deployment). To see if you’re eligible, contact admin@strongmancorporation.com with “Deferral for America’s Strongest Master” in the subject line.

4. America’s Strongest Teen

Teens are athletes aged 19 or younger on the start date of competition.

America’s Strongest Teen has separate divisions for age, weight, and gender. Age classes are 12-14yr, 15-17yr, and 18-19yr. Weight and gender classes are the same as Open divisions. Weight classes may be combined based on turnout, but age and gender divisions always remain the same.

AST is open to all athletes who competed during the year in an Open, Teen, or Novice competition; and are age 19 or younger at the time of America’s Strongest Teen (not only at the time of the qualifying competition).

To increase accessibility to AST, athletes may also qualify online. Online qualification standards are posted annually and generally include three lifts that athletes can perform at most “regular” gyms: barbell clean and press for reps (any style), max deadlift, and front hold. For the most up to date information on AST qualifications, follow @americasstrongestteen on Instagram.

Athletes who competed at a local competition in a class that was not explicitly defined as “Teen” may not have been captured in Strongman Corporation’s system and added to the list of qualified athletes. If you or your teen fall into that category, you can contact Strongman Corporation directly to confirm eligibility by emailing admin@strongmancorporation.com.

5. Arnold Pro/Am

The following athletes qualify for the Arnold Pro/Am:

  • Current Strongman Corporation Pro athletes
  • 1st place in a Regional competition
  • 1st-3rd place plus 10% of remaining athletes (rounding up) at Amateur Nationals
  • 1st-3rd place in a Pro/Am class at a Pro/Am competition
  • Finalists (i.e. athletes that make the final day of competition) from the prior year’s Arnold Pro/Am

Additional Notes:

  • Current Pros can compete at the Arnold in their Pro class or a class up or down from their Pro card without doing a qualifying competition. For example, a female 73kg Pro athlete may compete at the Arnold in the 64kg, 73kg, or 82kg class without doing a qualifying competition.
  • Deferrals may be granted on a case-by-case basis for catastrophic injury, serious medical conditions, pregnancy, and uncontrollable extenuating circumstances (ex. deployment). To see if you’re eligible, contact admin@strongmancorporation.com with “Deferral for Arnold Pro/Am” in the subject line.

6. Arnold Masters WOrld Championship

Athletes may qualify for the Arnold Masters World Championship at America’s Strongest Master, Strongman Corporation Nationals, Regionals, Pro-Ams, and other select events. At each event, the number of qualifying athletes varies based on the number of competitors on competition day as well as from event-to-event.

Qualification standards for Arnold Masters World Championship will continue to change year-to-year as the competition grows. However, the following are guaranteed qualifications:

  • Current Strongman Corporation Pro athletes
  • 1st-5th place at most recent Arnold Masters Strongman Championship
  • 1st-3rd place at most recent America’s Strongest Master
  • 1st place at any previous America’s Strongest Master
  • 1st place in a Masters class at a Strongman Corporation Regional competition
  • 1st place at any Strongman Corporation Amateur Nationals
  • 1st place at any Arnold Amateur World Championship

Qualifications at other select events vary. Please see the qualification guidelines for the specific event and talk to the promoter for details.

7. America’s Strongest Man and Woman (ASM/W)

America’s Strongest Man and Woman is an invite-based competition series. For these events, Pro athletes may only compete in the class(es) for which they currently hold Pro cards (i.e. an athlete with a 105kg Pro card may only compete at ASM 105kg). Only athletes with Pro cards in multiple classes may compete in multiple iterations of America’s Strongest.

Only citizens or residents of the United States qualify for the America’s Strongest series.

NOTE: Eligibility for America’s Strongest Man and Woman varies by year and by weight class. This page has the most updated information for the upcoming year. Qualification standards for one class should not be extrapolated to cover another class or a future iteration of the competition.

For Open/HW Men and 105kg Men, the following athletes qualify for America’s Strongest:

  • Current Strongman Corporation Pro athlete
  • 1st place at a 2024 or 2025 Strongman Corporation Regional competition
  • 1st-3rd place in a Pro/Am class at a 2025 Pro/Am competition
  • Finalist (i.e. made the final day of events) at all previous Arnold World Championships
  • 1st-3rd place at all previous Strongman Corporation National competitions
  • 1st-10th place at 2024 Official Strongman Games
  • 1st-3rd place at all previous Official Strongman Games

For All Other Classes, the following athletes qualify for America’s Strongest:

  • Current Strongman Corporation Pro athlete
  • 1st place at a 2024 Strongman Corporation Regional competition
  • 1st-3rd place at 2025 Strongman Corporation Regional competition
  • 1st-3rd place in a Pro/Am class at a 2025 Pro/Am competition
  • Finalist (i.e. made the final day of events) at all previous Arnold Pro/Am or Arnold World Championships
  • 1st-3rd place at all previous Strongman Corporation National competitions
  • 1st-10th place at 2024 Official Strongman Games
  • 1st-3rd place at all previous Official Strongman Games

Additional Information

Please reach out to Strongman Corporation with questions about any of the above. This page will be updated again after the 2026 Arnold for the next season of competition.