Comments on: Profile of the strongest man in the world

By: Paul Jakma

Paul Jakma — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:05:00 +0000

Yeah, it’s an amazing feat of growth hormone and steroids use.

By: Jesse

Jesse — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 16:13:00 +0000

Smoobly is right. You need to hold in your breath tight when you deadlift to create thoracic pressure. This pressure in your abdominal and thoracic cavities is applied to the anterior side of your spine and helps hold your vertebrae in the correct anatomical position. Blah, blah, blah, more physiology crap.

By: Jamie DiBattista

Jamie DiBattista — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 13:00:00 +0000

pfft. Everybody knows who the real strongest man in the world is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MncN2846g_E

By: Smoobly Renfrew

Smoobly Renfrew — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 03:50:00 +0000

For some exercises, holding your breath is not a good thing. For the deadlift, it’s essential. The idea is to solidify your midsection as much as possible: arch your back, hold your breath and clench your abs. It’s called making a block, and it’s to support your spine and prevent injury.

By: Smoobly Renfrew

Smoobly Renfrew — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 03:45:00 +0000

After I posted, I did a little calculation. As a percentage of body weight, my 250-pound lift is only slightly behind Mr. Shaw’s 830 pounds. Were I to deadlift 260 pounds, our lifts would be equivalent.

By that measure, danimagoo, you’d have to lift just under 200 pounds. So if your point was that you’re a weenie, Bingo.

On the other hand, it’s much easier to get a good grip on a barbell than on a bag of dog food.

By: Jean-Luc Neptune

Jean-Luc Neptune — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 01:45:00 +0000

His Wikipedia entry says he weighed 240 pounds when he graduated from high school:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Shaw_(strongman)

Can you imagine doubling your bodyweight (all muscle) as an adult? Mind blowing.

What makes the story even more incredible is that the guy was a full scholarship basketball player in college. At 6′ 8″ he can probably dunk with ease – probably would rip down the whole backboard now.

A real live superhero. Who is he most like? Colossus? Juggernaut? Hulk? Thing?

Amazing story.

By: Jean-Luc Neptune

Jean-Luc Neptune — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 01:34:00 +0000

I saw that too. Holy smokes. Remember, though, it’s only about 20% of his total weight. That’s like me lifting 30 pounds.

By: AwesomeRobot

AwesomeRobot — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 01:05:00 +0000

I’ve never seen 100lbs handled so effortlessly. Can he help me move?

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 22:17:00 +0000

Mariusz Pudzianowski is a rare example of a WSM who's actually cut. Magnus Samuelsson is more typical, being huge, but with a bit of padding. And some of them are definitely rotund. I suspect that more cut bodies are the future of the sport since that would be more likely to lead to Hollywood.

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 22:04:00 +0000

…it is my understanding that when lifting anything heavy, the person should exhale with the lift to prevent a variety of health complications.

Yoga teacher here. Generally, you should inhale when expanding and exhale when contracting. This is particularly true when you’re using your core, since those muscles are bound up with your breathing apparatus.

By: Al Billings

Al Billings — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:53:00 +0000

Weight lifting is very controlled in comparison to running down a field with a ball and people running at you. For high end lifting, people normally wrap their knees and wrists too for support.

By: danimagoo

danimagoo — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:31:00 +0000

Pfft, that’s nothing. I’m 4’11″, 115 lbs, and I can barely lift a 40 lb bag of dog food. I have a feeling this guy’s breakfast is bigger than me.

By: andygates

andygates — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:53:00 +0000

Knee injuries are a lot less common than in dynamic sports like football (all types). It’s really pretty safe at the regular-Joe level.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:36:00 +0000

Questionable debunking IMO.

In practicle terms I would describe exercise like using a rowing machine etc. as being in the ‘more reps, less weight’ category, whereas deadlifts are more in the ‘fewer reps, more weight’. The first will result in more muscle toning – and a big part of that is the aerobic exercise and the fact it’s burning fat as well as toning muscle.

Worth noting though, that I am by no means an expert in this area.

By: ookami

ookami — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:27:00 +0000

http://exercise.about.com/cs/weightloss/a/toning.htm

By: Jorpho

Jorpho — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 19:06:00 +0000

According to some accounts (I found Confessions of an Unlikely Bodybuilder to be entertaining) said cutting process is in itself so physically draining as to leave bizarre feats of strength out of the question.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:17:00 +0000

I won’t pretend I didn’t notice that, that’d be a workout for me.

By: Joshua Bardwell

Joshua Bardwell — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:13:00 +0000

Probably depends a lot on whether he also does cardio training. I’d wager so.

By: Joshua Bardwell

Joshua Bardwell — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:12:00 +0000

And did you see him one-hand-lift the 100 lb weight? Just picked it up like it was a frisbee.

By: Joshua Bardwell

Joshua Bardwell — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:11:00 +0000

Bodybuilders are generally trying to sculpt their body. Their goal is not to lift huge weight. Lifting huge weight is a side effect of sculpting their body. I don’t associate body builders with superhuman strength. I associate gorillas like this guy with super-human strength.

Also, the “cut and bulging” look you’re talking about is only when the bodybuilders are in competition trim. When they’re not getting cut for a competition or a photo shoot, they look much less well-defined.

By: David Hall

David Hall — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:09:00 +0000

Exactly. Batman Begins era Bruce Wane vs Patrick Bateman.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:08:00 +0000

I’m not a big guy (in the slightest), but even I was amused/disappointed to see he had far more weight in the trunk than I lift on its own.

By: Nathan Hornby

Nathan Hornby — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:05:00 +0000

You get different muscle tone depending on the way you lift. As a rough guide, fewer reps with more weight add bulk, more reps with lighter weights tone.

Also to some extent you’re right. You can actually get quite ripped without being that strong.

By: LaylaSV

LaylaSV — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:04:00 +0000

Indeed, it was an awesome feat.

By: SomeGuyNamedMark

SomeGuyNamedMark — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:02:00 +0000

I wonder if he has or will have heart problems from being that big. The heart doesn’t keep up that well and becomes enlarged and the walls thicken.

By: SomeGuyNamedMark

SomeGuyNamedMark — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 18:01:00 +0000

I cringe watching people weight lift. I just keep looking at their knees wondering if they’ll blow out.

By: falnfenix

falnfenix — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:54:00 +0000

he decided to test the rear suspension in a more creative way?

By: brerrabbit23

brerrabbit23 — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:51:00 +0000

Probably, yes. But I think the answer I’d conceived is the answer to the old joke… and one of the larger reasons we landed people on the moon, and to the bottom of the Mariana trench, and so on…

“Because he can.”

I’m not saying such behaviors are entirely logical, but it is a thing we do. Sometimes, we just do things to find our limits.

And sometimes, our limits are way, WAY far gone.

By: LaylaSV

LaylaSV — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:42:00 +0000

As someone without either, I’mma go out on a limb here and say that licking your balls seems way more pleasurable than lifting a Ford Focus. Although it probably gets you less applause.

By: andygates

andygates — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:40:00 +0000

Only so far. Once things get heavy, you have to do a valsalva maneuver to get things started: Hold your breath, tense your abs and push your belly out, against the belt. This transforms the squishy lower half of your trunk into an incredibly strong cell, and thus set, you can get on with grinding out the lift.

Deadlifts are fun to do – huge fun – but with a max of only just over 200kg, Shaw and the other big lads just make me gawp.