Watch: Derry Gym 'TOPTIER' lifting the bar for strongman competitions

Walking into TopTier, you immediately got the sense of community as contenders were supported by cheering fans in their lifts, no matter what the weight there was.

The competition featured both male and female participants. Highlighting that this gym is for everybody.

The Journal chatted with one of the Gym’s owners Aaron McLaughlin. Their first competition was set up to be friendly to people who wanted to try competitions for the first time “Newcomers, that's who it’s for.” Said Aaron. On setting up their competition Aaron commented that it was “Stressful” with a laugh.

He continued: “But enjoyable at the same time, you get to see people enjoying the competition on the day, It was hard but it was worth it.” Aaron showed that he was proud of the event saying he believes it was going “really well.”

Whilst at the event the Journal saw many people achieve their goals, celebrating with pride of their accomplishments surrounded by a supporting community.

The Journal also got a chance to chat with Ireland’s strongest woman Gemma Moore who was refereeing at the event.

Gemma showed her joy in seeing a lot of women competitors at the event saying: “To see new girls come through, it's brilliant to see.”

Gemma explained that she has noticed more women getting into the sport saying: I've been doing this three years and even the progress I've seen in the last three years is phenomenal. I remember going to competitions and being the only girl there, whereas now we have 10 ladies in there, which is great to see.

Chatting with a competitor Daniel McElroy who competed in the deadlift on the day, talking about the amount of training that competes he said: “So much training, four days a week, tough training but it’s worth it when it comes to these competitions.”

Speaking about the community at the event Daniel said: "The atmosphere is amazing, it's because of the people here you get big lifts because of the adrenaline rush.”