"This is really big for strongman," said Dione Wessels, because the MHP Pro Invitational Strongman competition set for the GNC Show of Strength "will be aired on Fox Sports for 26 weeks starting in January."

Wessels, who has been instrumental in running the NAS competitions that give amateur strongmen a way to have fun, develop their skills and move into the pro ranks, has also been working hard all year to make the professional US National Championships a reality.

Along with the NAS Heavyweight National Championships, Wessels said that there will be a Pro Invitational National Championships, which will be run by the newly-formed organizing body ASA, and it is expected to draw just about every top American strongman competitor.

And if that's not enough reason to be sure to be there, the US Rolling Thunder National Championships will be run right after the strongman competition ends on Friday, October 8, so everyone with a great grip can test themselves on this world-renown lift while mingling with some of the strongest guys around.

For information on the GNC Show of Strength, please check the Show of Strength web site and for details on the strongman contests and the Rolling Thunder Nationals, please check the official NAS website.

Here's your chance to meet, hang out with and even lift with some of the guys you have read about in MILO® and watched on TV. See you there!