Gene Rychlak Jr. Heard of him? I've been watching him and he's come a long way to actually bench press over (barely) 1000 lbs. Here's a video (allow about 30 seconds to load if you have a fast line) of him benching, officially, for the books 1005 lbs. at the 2004 IPA Nationals. He became the 1st man to bench over 1000 lbs. That's 1/2 a ton, folks! Considering that he weighed 380lbs at 6 ft 1 inch which makes him a rather large and rotund man. And extremely strong, too. He makes my bench press (without a bench shirt that I never use or have) of 340 lbs seem puny. But hey, that guy weighs nearly twice as me and a few inches taller. Just to note the difference a bit more, Gene was able to bench press 2.64 times his body weight but that was with a bench shirt which can can give him an additional 10% extra lift. In my opinion, using a bench shirt is pretty much like cheating since it acts like a spring. Regardless, this would mean I would have to bench press 475 lbs. I know what 475lbs feels like since I do partial bench presses (about once every 3 weeks) upward to 550 lbs by pressing up and down (at least one time for the heaviest ones) of about 3 or 4 inches from the top position rather than from the top down to the chest and back upward which would be the stand bench press. BTW, partial bench presses is scheduled for tomorrow. I'd be lucky if I can even budge an inch or two upward for 600 lbs. I can't imagine the pressure of 1000 lbs on a human body. It's something you have to get use to after awhile. After 21 years of working out with the weights, plus a 3 year hiatus, it is certainly fun to get back in again and make gains once again, bigger gains this time.
If there is one sport that I find interesting it's the Strongman games. Try and pick up a round, heavy concrete/stone ball. If you thought a medicine ball was heavy, you haven't picked up a stone ball before. Tire flips and farmer's walk are usually standard fares in a strongman games. There are numerous other events, and the one who completes all of the events with the most points wins the competition. Each games are not the same and most events are usually standard with some additional ones added.
In the past these games were reserved only for the heaviest and strongest persons but now there are more of these strongman games in the lighter weight category with the lightest category being under 200 lbs for men. At least the under 200lbs is much more palatable to work up to than to getting up to 231 lbs just to take advantage of the extra weight and strength gains. Usually these strongman events have only just two weight categories such as 232 lbs and over, and under 231 lbs.
Whatever the weight category, I think it's a fun sport to watch or even more so to participate in one. And over the years these strongman events have become more popular (thanks to ESPN) just like poker tournaments have gotten popular over the years. In fact, there is one deaf person that I'm aware of that have participated in a strongman event. And that would be Andy Medak.
Are you a deaf or hh strongman, powerlifter, or an olympic lifter?
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