Strong men and women do some heavy lifting at Saskatoon Fringe Festival

If there's one misconception Saskatchewan's strongest men and women want to debunk, it's that you have to be big to be strong.

"We're all shapes and sizes," said Kayla Tait, who was taking part in the Saskatchewan's Strongest Man and Woman competition at Broadway Avenue and Main Street Saturday as part of the Saskatoon Fringe Festival.

Tait, who weighs 120 pounds, competed in the 115 log and 105 pound axle bar overhead events.

"Just because you're little doesn't mean you can't lift a lot of weight, doesn't mean you can't push your body," she said.

This is Tait's second year doing strongwoman events. She was a competitive body builder for a few years, but felt strongman regimen was a better fit.

She enjoys the workouts and the other parts of training.

"For me it's a lot of food, eating a lot, trying to get my weight up."

Denis Labreche concurs that strongman/woman events are not only for the biggest competitors.

"There's weight classes now and anybody can get involved in strongman, like anyone can get involved in CrossFit or powerlifting or anything else," he said.

He added training in preparation for the event season between May and September can be gruelling, but showtime always draws a crowd.

"It's really impressive what the athletes do, so if you can put it at a festival or a fair you'll get a big crowd out to watch," he said.

Labreche added that the sport has been growing in Regina and there are efforts to help it gain more popularity n Saskatoon as well.