W B You may think that characters like the Incredible Hulk belong entirely to the fictional world. But what would you think if I told you there are real people with massive strength?
#10 MAGNÚS VER MAGNÚSSON
This powerlifter won the title of World’s Strongest Man four times, Europe’s Strongest Man two times, and eight times the title of Strongest Man in his native Iceland, a country that will appear more than once in this video. His highest mark is an 826-pound deadlift, which is the weight of two adult male lions. Surprised? There’s more, his top mark in squat is 881 pounds, and 612 pounds in bench press. To give you a better idea of these weights, let me tell you that an anvil can weigh between 110 to 440 pounds. It’s simply amazing, and this video has just begun!
#9 BRIAN SIDERS
Many people dream of becoming as strong as a superhuman, but do you know how much this strongman from the United States had to train? No less than 6 to 7 times a week and four hours per workout. Exhausting, right? But that’s what Brian Siders, considered by many to be one of the strongest men to ever walk this planet, trains. His efforts crowned him USA Powerlifting champion five times in a row. He’s achieved marks such as a 1,019-pound squat, 799-pound bench press, and 865-pound deadlift, which is like lifting two and a half refrigerators with your bare hands. But wait a bit, because the next positions are going to surpass this mark.
#8 ZYDRUNAS SAVICKAS
Lithuanian Zydrunas Savickas is considered by many to be the greatest strength athlete of all time. He became interested in strength sports after watching TV when he was just a teenager and soon began competing with good results. However, in 2001, he had an accident during a championship in the Faroe Islands in which he tore his patellar tendons, that is, his knee. Many thought his career was over, but Zydrunas Savickas proved them wrong. Once he recovered from his injury, the awards kept coming. He’s won the World’s Strongest Man award 4 times, the Arnold Strongman Classic 8 times, the Strongman Champions League 36 times, and he’s been the 5-time World Log Lift Championship winner. I can go on and on with his accomplishments until my tongue gets abs. His marks are an 840-pound squat, 640-pound bench press, and 915-pound deadlift, which is the weight of almost 7 grown men.
#7 MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWSKI
Mariusz Pudzianowski is also known by the suggestive nickname of “Dominator”. He started participating in professional championships at the age of 16. He was inspired to enter the world of strength sports because his father was a professional weightlifter. He also practiced karate and rugby, but heavy lifting caught his attention the most. He’s won Poland’s Strongest Man seven times, Europe’s Strongest Man six times, Strongman Super Series 16 times, and the World’s Strongest Man no less than five times. The first time he entered this world competition, he placed fourth and couldn’t return the next year due to being in prison. Still, the following years saw him become one of the dominant weightlifting figures on the planet. However, in 2004, he was disqualified for the use of banned substances, and although he could have appealed by having his stool verified in a laboratory, he didn’t do so. His marks are a 915-pound deadlift, 640-pound bench press, and 840-pound squat.
#6 TOM STOLTMAN
This strongman from Scotland is none other than the 2021 World’s Strongest Man winner. He’s also a five-time champion of the Scotland’s Strongest Man contest. At age five, Tom Stoltman was diagnosed with autism, which made him an inspiration to people with the same diagnosis. At first, he kept it a secret, and in several interviews, he said it was impossible for him to be in crowded places. Despite this, he began training in the gym when he was 17 and entered his first competitions the following year. In the Britain’s Strongest Man contest, he managed to place five 396-pound stones in 16.01 seconds, setting an impressive new record in said tournament. His marks include deadlifting 930 pounds, squatting 761 pounds, and bench-pressing 490 pounds.
#5 OLEKSII NOVIKOV
Let’s go all the way to Ukraine to meet Oleksii Novikov, a strongman who, between 2016 and 2019, won Ukraine’s Strongest Man 4 times in a row and got the greatest title of all: the World’s Strongest Man the following year. His deadlift makes him a phenomenon: he managed to lift 1,000 pounds, which is equivalent to carrying 3 tigers. Plus, at an event in November 2020, he managed to claim the 18-inch deadlift record, which is a partial deadlift, lifting no less than 1,185 pounds. Given that his career has only just started, it’s likely that he’ll surprise everyone again with another mark in the near future, so stay tuned!
#4 ANDY BOLTON
Andy Bolton is one of the strongest Brits in the world! He entered his first competition at age 21 and has won the World Powerlifting Championship three times. Plus, he holds a record in this competition for totaling 2,806 pounds. He also boasts the squat record of 1,213 pounds. In 2007, he became the first human to deadlift over 1,000 pounds, lifting 1,008 pounds, which is equivalent to the weight of a bear. Just like other strongmen, Andy Bolton also has a YouTube channel, where he gives training advice. Although, to be honest, Bolton doesn’t upload as much as the other strongman coming up next.
#3 BRIAN SHAW
Interestingly enough, one of the world’s most remarkable strongmen has a nickname as peaceful as gentle giant. Believe it or not, this is how Brian Shaw is called, the first man to win the World’s Strongest Man and the Arnold Strongman Classic in the same year, 2011. A feat he repeated again in 2015, in case anyone still had any doubts about his strength. He became interested in weightlifting at a young age, and in 2005, he got his first victory by winning the Denver Strongest Man. In the 2009 Fortissimus contest, held in Canada, he was the only one capable of lifting six Atlas Stones, each weighing from 300 to 425 pounds. In total, he’s won the World’s Strongest Man four times. His training is pretty tough. Shaw needs to take in at least 10,000 calories a day and much of his lifestyle can be seen on his YouTube channel Shawn Strength, which has 1.6 million subscribers and is focused on workouts, dieting, and fitness. It seems that YouTube is a good place to welcome strongmen when they want to devote themselves to something else. In addition, he coaches other athletes, both professionals and amateurs. And let’s not forget his marks: 1,091-pound deadlift, 1,003-pound squat, and 530-pound bench press.
#2 EDDIE HALL
Known as The Beast, Eddie Hall won Britain’s Strongest Man five times in a row, UK’s Strongest Man six times, and World’s Strongest Man in 2017. His first approach to sports was through swimming, but shortly after being expelled from school, he began to approach the world of bodybuilding. His apotheosis was in 2016 when he lifted 1,102 pounds of dead weight, breaking the deadlift record up to that date, which made him enter the Guinness World Records. Despite his meteoric rise and the awards that seemed to keep coming, after winning World’s Strongest Man, he decided to retire to lighter sports due to health complications. His good fans will always remember his legacy and marks. He’s managed to achieve an 893-pound squat and 661-pound bench press. That’s incredible! considering there are young elephants that weigh that much.
The next strongman has lifted more in dead weight than all the previous ones…
#1 HAFÞÓR JÚLÍUS BJÖRNSSON
You may not know many members of this top, but you’ve certainly seen this one. Julius Bjornsson is an Icelandic strongman best known for bringing Sir Gregor to life on Game of Thrones. He began his career in basketball, but his future was cut short by a recurring ankle injury. This led him to start in strength sports. He won Iceland’s Strongest Man ten years in a row and the Strongest Man in Iceland five times. In addition, he won Europe’s Strongest Man four times and World’s Strongest Man in 2018. In deadlift, he was able to lift 1,105 pounds, or over half a ton. Plus, he could squat 981 pounds and bench-press 551 pounds. In January 2015, he broke a record at the World’s Strongest Viking held in Norway. There, he carried a 33-foot-long, 1,430-pound log on his back for five steps. Hence, managing to break a thousand-year-old record held by Orm Storolfsson, who carried the same weight and took three steps before breaking his back. Luckily, the same thing didn’t happen to him. Bjornsson thus became a legendary character.
You’ve met the most powerful powerlifters in the world, which one is your favorite? Don’t forget to coment and share this post for more content. See you in the next time!
