feats of strength?

boathead · 04-13-2009, 03:01 PM

today i helped spot a guy doing seated overhead press...405 lbs. for 3.

it was a workout just lifting my 1/2 of the bar to unrack/rack it.

never seen anything like it. have you folks witnessed any cool feats of strength?

sc30317 · 04-13-2009, 03:09 PM

Saw a guy do a 1x3 weighted dips with 225 strapped on...

HowLeTT · 04-13-2009, 03:12 PM

680x1 raw DL, pretty impressive.

gjames13 · 04-13-2009, 03:25 PM

Saw a guy do one-arm 110lb dumbbell curls for 25 reps each arm with great form. Scariest part, he's 5'7" 165lbs. WTF?

**Arlecchino** · 04-13-2009, 03:30 PM

I am a national ref for several powerlifting orgs.

Hmm.

James Henderson's raw 705 bench, clear pause, flat back, no belly-toss, etc. Pure power.

I was spotting when someone who will remain nameless because they are a lot bigger than me dumped 904 when squatting, and the collar cut my arm open when I supported my end of the bar. He did come back and get it on his next attempt.

Was at the USPF nats when Coan squatted 1000lbs. @ 242lbs.

Saw Gordon Skinner pull 275@ 165. That may not sound impressive, but he was 81 years old when he did it. I just hope I have not been lynched by the time I turn 81.

Saw Gene Bell right before the IPF worlds. Have no idea what he lifted that day, other that squatting more than 700 etc. He was 5 time IPF world champ at 198, best ever total at that weight was, I believe, about 2110.

Multiple seminars where really big guys moved stupid amounts of weight.

I never got to see Doug Furnas compete, and always wanted to. He retired from PL'ing and went into pro wrestling. He was a good friend of Ed Coan. He was also the first man under SHW to total over 2400. And you could see his abs at 275. Unreal.

SP1966 · 04-13-2009, 03:43 PM

Does watching the little Hmong guy dead lift about 170lbs using a curl bar count, or does that belong in the strange things I saw in the gym thread?

Iceman1800 · 04-13-2009, 03:46 PM

I was at the meet when Andy Bolton broke the 1000# dl barrier, around 30 feet from the platform. I've also seen a few 900# benches, many 800# benches and more 1000# squats then I can count. I've trained with a guy who did 400# farmers walks for 100', which is 800# total weight and he weighs around 210#

**Arlecchino** · 04-13-2009, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iceman1800

I was at the meet when Andy Bolton broke the 1000# dl barrier, around 30 feet from the platform. I've also seen a few 900# benches, many 800# benches and more 1000# squats then I can count. I've trained with a guy who did 400# farmers walks for 100', which is 800# total weight and he weighs around 210#

****, I would have loved to see Bolton lift.

Nice to know that he just increased his own world record.

BuckSpin · 04-13-2009, 06:40 PM

This was cool:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showpo...&postcount=106

I'm fortunate to be able to glean pearls of wisdom from him.

jellodirt · 04-13-2009, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SP1966

Does watching the little Hmong guy dead lift about 170lbs using a curl bar count, or does that belong in the strange things I saw in the gym thread?

Raw?

SP1966 · 04-13-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jellodirt

Raw?

???

GnomusMaximus · 04-14-2009, 07:27 AM

A guy named Mike Berby (Competes in 100% Raw a lot) picking up a stone that was over twice his body weight and carrying it Hussaffell style. No platform right from the ground. Derek Hurley doing a Flintstone DL. When he picked it up the pipe failed and flexed like a Twizzler. The force it must have taken to bend that pipe was sick. I saw a guy bend a Milo red nail, that was cool.

chodan9 · 04-14-2009, 07:33 AM

a you guy in the gym the other day weight 165-170 at around 6 foot tall, pushed 405 for a couple reps on bench press! That seems very strong to me!
I doubt I could unrack that LOL

jdtemple · 04-14-2009, 09:45 AM

I saw this on some reality show.

There were some guys in HI doing some lineman work, and using a helicopter to bring cables up a mountain. The foreman on the ground was this giant Samoan named "Tiny". The helicopter went down in a ditch, submerging partially in a shallow stream. The pilot was under water, and trapped. When they couldn't get his harness unbuckled, Tiny lifted the front end of the helo high enough out of the ditch to get the pilot out of the water, and held it there, while they got him out of his harness. He basically deadlifted the front end of a helicopter, while standing in mud and held it there for a couple of minutes.

Now that was cool!

namtrag · 04-14-2009, 09:46 AM

I would pay money to see someone do 405 in a seated shoulder press. I had not thought it possible.

jellodirt · 04-14-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SP1966

???

No aids like a belt, wrist straps, suit...

B Campbell · 04-14-2009, 11:43 AM

A freakishly strong buddy of mine, who happens to be about 345, loves to do OH presses (pro strongman). I once "spotted" him doing seated OH presses with a steel log. The last set he did 600 lbs for a single!!! Too bad he couldn't clean that much, or the log press record would be his alone forever!!!

boathead · 04-14-2009, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by namtrag

I would pay money to see someone do 405 in a seated shoulder press. I had not thought it possible.

that's what i told him! that i felt really glad to be in the gym to see it. insane. and i was only half kidding when i said it was a workout to lift my half of the bar to unrack/rack it.

before the attempt, he asked me and this other guy...about my size, if we thought we could handle the spot. i said i'm not sure, wanting to be honest. he said "i've been watching you work out; i think you can handle it...ef it, let's do it." hahaha

Baldiewonkanobi · 04-14-2009, 02:15 PM

Brian Knapp, Mr. Muscle Beach, RIP, could do lunges with 315 on the Olympic bar.

Old-Time-Lifter · 04-14-2009, 02:22 PM

I remember lifting in a couple of meets with and watching Mike McDonald bench press. (I've long ago forgotten the weight he lifted) Mike was a nice guy at least in my encounters with him.

Wonder what ever happened to him?

CarolAnn1 · 04-14-2009, 02:48 PM

I saw my husband (in training) deadlift 665 for 6 reps at 43 yoa. weighing in the upper 220's

CarolAnn1 · 04-14-2009, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old-Time-Lifter

I remember lifting in a couple of meets with and watching Mike McDonald bench press. (I've long ago forgotten the weight he lifted) Mike was a nice guy at least in my encounters with him.

Wonder what ever happened to him?

Mike still competes....Might be lifting in the APF Masters Nationals next month.

Old-Time-Lifter · 04-14-2009, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolAnn1

Mike still competes....Might be lifting in the APF Masters Nationals next month.

Thanks, I lost track of the old guys back when I retired. Will have to google him and see what's up with him.

Beachmaster · 04-14-2009, 07:06 PM

Pound for pound, and without the use of ergogenic substances (ie, steroids, growth hormone, testosterone, etc) Marvin Eder's feats of strength remain unsurpassed. In the 1950s he would sit on a wooden bench, with no padding, with a pair of hundred and twenty pound dumbells, clean them to his shoulders unassisted and then perform three sets of ten reps of bench presses. Immediately after, with the same weights, he performed three sets of ten reps of seated dumbell presses (mind you without the benefit of support from a bench at a 90 degree angle) and then finish off with three sets of seated curls with the same weight.

In addition, he was capable of cleaning and military pressing approximately three hundred and thirty pounds with absolutely no back arching; perform the crucifix lift with a pair of hundred pound dumbells; bench press 540 pounds at a bodyweight of approximately 190 pounds (keep in mind that these lifts were performed in the nineteen fifties); perform dips with approximately 450 pounds; and was capable of many other lifts that the vast majority of current day "champions" would not be able to equal even with the use of drugs.

Holmstrom · 04-15-2009, 09:25 AM

A kid from my howntown pulled off a 610 lb squat last month at the Texas High School Powerlifting State Championship.

The kid is a 165 lb 17 years old.

steelhorse1971 · 04-15-2009, 01:33 PM

Years ago I saw my stepfather 6'0 200lbs never worked out except hard work lift the front of a ford tempo off the ground so someone wouldnt driver away with my little brother in the car.

bodyhard · 04-15-2009, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boathead

today i helped spot a guy doing seated overhead press...405 lbs. for 3.

it was a workout just lifting my 1/2 of the bar to unrack/rack it.

never seen anything like it. have you folks witnessed any cool feats of strength?

Yup back in Mid-City gym, my friend and I were benching first time I hit 315lbs on the bench for 5 reps I was stoked.

Two older gentlemen came in tank tops colorful pants both big not huge but big. They asked us if we were done we said yes we started unracking the weights and they said leave it young man.

So my friend and I watched these guys they warmed up with 315lbs, then they slapped on another plate and repped it again. Slapped on another plate and repped it. They were up top 5 plates aside. I thought **** WTF these guys are monsters. They went up to 6 plates per side for 6 reps. I never seen anything like that before. Plus these guys were like in their 50's back then.

Byakuya · 04-15-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gjames13

Saw a guy do one-arm 110lb dumbbell curls for 25 reps each arm with great form. Scariest part, he's 5'7" 165lbs. WTF?

holy cow! I just can't imagine being able to do that! I mean I couldn't curl 110 once much less do reps with it! much less 25 reps!

Hikemike · 04-17-2009, 10:31 AM

I like these kinds of "feats of strength".........

spamman · 04-17-2009, 07:36 PM

Back in 96 to 98 i used to live in Hickory, NC and worked out for 2 years at Chester's Pitbull Gym. I had the pleasure of working out a few times with Grant Pitts. Now that was one scary son of a b1tch. He would shoulder press 500 lbs and squat ridiculous amounts. My favorite was his tricep push-downs where he would link 2 racks of cable weights together to move both at the same time! Ed