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July 17, 2026
What do you think of when you hear "strongman" training? For some, it means watching the biggest and strongest men and women in the world lift atlas stones, pull trucks, and press logs overhead. For others, like Heidi Campo and Chris Slater, it means getting in the mix with training and competing. From training in Iceland with the best in the world, to making the transition from bodybuilding to strongman, Heidi and Chris share stories of their journey in the sport and give insight into how you can incorporate this style of training into your own training plan.
Strongman Training for Strength and Performance
Chris Slater, MEd, CSCS
Chris Slater is a teacher at Foley High School in Alabama as well as a wrestling coach and flag football coach. He has been teaching and coaching for over 15 years. Slater took a break from teaching in the high school setting to be a gym owner, personal trainer, and strength coach at Alabama Strength before returning to high school coaching and teaching. He has also been an independent professional trainer at Results Gym in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and at Fairhope Fitness in Fairhope Alabama. In addition to his dual roles coaching and teaching, Slater was the Alabama state chair for Strongman Corporation and now is the Alabama cochair for United States Strongman. Slater has also served as chair of the NSCA Strongman Special Interest Group.
Slater was a collegiate wrestler, competing for four seasons at Eastern Michigan University. Since his time competing on the mat, he has been heavily involved in strength training and is still active in the sport of strongman with competing and with promoting events.
Heidi Campo, MS, CSCS, *D, NSCA-CPT*D
Heidi Campo is a strength and conditioning professional, researcher, and former gym owner with nearly two decades of experience in the private sector. She has worked as a coach since 2005 and previously owned a strength-focused gym in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a particular emphasis on strongman and other strength sports.
Campo's passion for strongman deepened in 2015 when she spent a winter in Iceland training at Jakabol Gym, known as the Nest of Giants, under four-time World's Strongest Man Magnus Ver Magnusson. in 2020, she founded the NSCA Strongman Special Interest Group and has remained actively involved in its development. As the former Utah chair for Strongman Corporation, Campo developed a deep appreciation for how strongman training can positively shape individuals, teams, and local communities through shared challenge, discipline, and purpose.
