A new world record deadlift: 1015lb!

Iceland’s Benedikt Magnusson smashed the world deadlift record on Saturday at MHP’s Kings of the Bench V & Clash of the Titans IV.  He made an incredibly easy looking pull of 460kg (1015lbs), performed raw, (well he used a belt but no suit).

I bet that activated his glutes.

He is the second man in history to break through the 1000lb barrier after Andy Bolton pulled 1008.9lb in 2009

What did you do this weekend?

....some guys in Scotland were lifting cars!



I like the penultimate guy who stiff legs them all!

Stunning Deadlifts

Hat tip to Davie at the @hobogym for this one

5x340kg followed immediately by  31x200kg ......in 68 sec

Inspiration for tall skinny guys (like me!)

There is some amazing lifting here from Tom Martin. (via Sugden Barbell)

20th November 2010
Tom Martin today pulled 350kg to better Ed Coan's long standing IPF junior world record (347.5kg at 82.5kg bodyweight in Dallas, 1984). The lift took place at the GBPF/BUCS British University Championship.

Deadlifts at the World Championships

Now I don't expect you to watch this whole thing.....but if you are interested in deadlifts then you might want to look at this video from the recent world championships in South Africa



Lots more videos here (it is worth subscribing to the IPF channel on YouTube)

Squats and deadlifts.....

Further to the deadlift video that I posted the other day, I spotted an interesting post from Don of Primal Wisdom.

He talks about the squat vs the deadlift in terms of primal / evolutionary movements and refers to   those who think squats are not "evolutionary," but think deadlifts are.

He points to Evolution and Training: An Interview with Dr. William Meller 

S: I know when we talked before you said that a heavy deadlift isn’t the most natural thing – picking up something heavy from the ground – but you said that squatting was very natural for us.


M: Well, look at the size of the various muscles in our bodies, and what’s the biggest muscle? Your quads, your anterior thigh, right? There is a reason for that. It has to do with standing up and jumping, lifting and climbing up rather than bending over from the waist. Before we were upright, two-legged walking primates, we were four-limbed primates and we did a lot of climbing. We probably didn’t stand up at first to walk on the ground; we really stood up so we could reach a higher branch and keep climbing and pull ourselves up to the next branch using our biceps and upper-body strength. In climbing trees, there’s a lot of squatting and pushing up just using your legs, using your arms for balance and gripping and pulling. By doing that, we developed a more upright posture, so that when we did get down on the ground, we were able to walk and then even run, which turned out to be a huge advantage.

Read the rest - it is interesting.

About 2 years ago I mentioned the "Third Wolrd Squat"

You'll notice that in third-world countries, there will be a lot of situations where people are hanging out or working, and rather than sitting or kneeling down, they squat. They can sit like this comfortably for hours. It seems like a simple thing and can be easily overlooked, but try it some time. The average North American adult can't even get into this position, let alone stay there for any length of time.

I've also pointed to material on deadlift form and Gray Cook's instruction to maintain the squat but train the deadlift.

Anyway, an interesting debate.

Gray Cook on the Deadlift

This is a great video (more ideas here)

More from Konstantinov

Deadlift training,IPF bar ,350kg(771lb) on the box 11sm(4,5inch)
personal record,132kg BW

Strict Judging....

Very Strict judges here on the 420kg deadlift from the amazing Konstantinovs. I'd have given it to him.

Konstantinov Deadlifts Raw

He makes this look easy....413kg(910lb) raw,no belt

953 lb Raw Deadlift

Andy Bolton pulling 432.5 kg

Deadlift form and hamstring flexibility

I've been thinking about deadlift form and wanted to note down a few things.

There are some good points here, especially Mistake No 10 - Starting with the Hips Too LOW:

This is the king of all mistakes I see. Too many times lifters try to squat the weight up rather than pull the weight. Think back to the number of times you've seen a big deadlift and thought to yourself how much more the lifter could've pulled if he didn't damn near stiff-leg it. I see it all the time. Someone will say, "Did you see his deadlift?" Then the other guy will comment, "Yeah, and he stiff-legged the thing." Am I telling you to stiff leg all your deadlifts? No, not at all.

All I want you to do is look at your hip position at the start of the lift when you pull and watch how much your hips move up before the weight begins to break the floor. This is wasted movement and does nothing except wear you out before the pull. The closer you can keep your hips to the bar when you pull, the better the leverages are going to be.

Once again, next time you see a great deadlifter, stand off to the side and watch how close his or her hips stay to the bar throughout the pull. If you're putting your ass to the floor before you pull, your hips are about a mile from the bar. You're setting yourself up for disaster when the lever arm is this long. This is also the second reason why lifters can't get the bar off the floor. (The first reason is very simple: The bar is too heavy!)

That got me thinking about Pavel's advice on deadlifting:

Look up towards the ceiling, and *not* at the mirror. This will keep your back from "rounding".

Reach back with your butt, like you're trying to sit in a chair that's too far behind you.

In addition to this, try to imagine your spine stretching out. This will further straighten your back.

Tighten your abs as if bracing for a punch, and *then* inhale. This will protect your back.

Somewhere in Power to the People Pavel also talks about keeping your shins near vertical. So you hinge at the hips, pushing your butt way back.

It struck me that this is like the hamstring stretch position described in Relax into Stretch and which appears at about 1:35 in the video below:



Talking of high hips, Bob Peoples (best deadlifter ever!) lifted that style:

Consider then, Bob's following statement, made over 20 years ago. "On October 4 I finally made a new world record deadlift record of 700 pounds. At this time I was lifting on normally filled lungs. However, I then started lifting on empty lungs and with a round back - that is I would breathe out to normal, round my back, raise the hips, look down and begin the lift. I feel this is much safer than following the customary advice of the experts. By breathing out you lessen the internal pressure and by lifting with a round back you lessen the leverage - all of which adds many pounds to your lift. I have used the reverse grip and also the overhand hook grip but I have now changed to the palms up or curl grip (with hook) and will experiment with it for a while to see if it helps."

While I'm on deadlifts.....here is a video of Lamar Gant. If you have realy long arms it makes this easier!

Deadlift Form

Here is Gray Cook on deadlift form.



He writes about it here too.

Maintain the Squat - Train the Deadlift

Most of his focus is on the single leg version.

I'm interested that his basic motion is really a still legged / Romanian deadlift - the hips are doing the work, not the knees. It is also the same hip hinge movement that Esther Gokhale teaches as a basic safe way of bending over - thrust the hips back. It is also the key to the swing

Squatting is hardcore

These type of videos crack me up. (apologies for some strong language in here)



Anyway the point - from Mark Young - is that heavy squatting can cause problems to the back. It reminded me of the point Matt made a while ago:

I see this differential in my toddler as well. Toddlers squat constantly, but it is all "mobility" work. The squats are done for the purposes of movement, not for the purposes of lifting a weight. If a toddler wants to lift a weight, they shift into a deadlift position.

It's probably been about a year since I've done weighted squats. At this point, I have no desire to go back to them. I am content training the deadlift as the main lift. I know squats have been utilized in weight programs for decades, but that doesn't mean that they are necessarily 100% healthy.

Mike Boyle raised some controversial points about squats last year:

Straight leg deadlifts

From Sporto a natural bodybuilder:

The way I perform my straight leg deadlifts is like this. Yes, I am completely aware that my legs aren't locked entirely straight - that is on purpose. I have a slight bend in the knees similar to what a RDL is only I don't sit back as far and I don't stop just below the knees...I go straight down and all the way to the floor. That's why I label this as a hybrid. Either way, this completely fries my glutes and high hamstrings, so however it may look, it certainly works for me! I admit the quality is a little bad, but that's because it was taken with my phone at the time. Enjoy!

New World Record Deadlift

1008.6lb or 457.5kg History as Nick says.

Andy Bolton's new world deadlift record of 457.5kg (which is 1008.6 lbs). 3rd lift at the South East Powerlifting Championships, promoted by the Gallery Gym, Windsor and held at the Thames Valley Athletics Club in Eton.

Superb Deadlifts- one Romanian, one stiff legged

This is from Gym Jones:

Hamstring flexibility determines the depth of the RDL. Shoulder blades could stand to be pinched together ...

And again:

How much additional (hamstring) stretching need be done?

I wonder what Esther would make of those photos?

How to lower the bar from a deadlift

I don't deadlift much any more, but this is a superb article:

How to Lower The Bar Correctly on Deadlifts

How to Lower The Bar Correctly on Deadlifts. Move your hips first on the way down, not your knees. Push your hips back as far as you can. Flex your knees once the bar reaches knee level to bring the bar back to the floor.

• Keep Your Chest Up. If your upper-back is straight, rounding your lower back gets harder. Chest up, shoulder-blades back & down.
• Head up. Looking at the ceiling will hurt your neck. Looking down rounds your back. Keep your neck inline with your spine. Don’t look at your feet.
• Bend Your Hips First. Lower the weight by bending your hips first, not your knees. Use the same technique as when you Squat down.
• Push Your Hips Back. Think of sitting on a toilet. Push your hips back as far as you can. Flex your knees once the bar reaches knee level.
• Check the video below. Hips go back first on the way down. Knees flex once the bar reaches knee level. The bar doesn’t hit the knees. The pull starts with the bar against shins and shoulder- blades above the bar.

Core Strength - Deadlift.....or use a Swiss Ball?

According to this study you are better off squatting and deadlifting than playing on a swiss ball......

(I think I've said something similar before)


Trunk muscle activity during stability ball and free weight exercises.


The purpose of this investigation was to compare trunk muscle activity during stability ball and free weight exercises. Nine resistance-trained men participated in one testing session in which squats (SQ) and deadlifts (DL) were completed with loads of approximately 50, 70, 90, and 100% of one-repetition maximum (1RM). Isometric contractions during 3 stability ball exercises (quadruped (QP), pelvic thrust (PT), ball back extension (BE)) were also completed. During all exercises, average integrated electromyography (IEMG) from the rectus abdominus (RA), external oblique (EO), longissimus (L1) and multifidus (L5) was collected and analyzed. Results demonstrate that when expressed relative to 100% DL 1RM, muscle activity was 19.5 +/- 14.8% for L1 and 30.2 +/- 19.3% for L5 during QP, 31.4 +/- 13.4% for L1 and 37.6 +/- 12.4% for L5 during PT, and 44.2 +/- 22.8% for L1 and 45.5 +/- 21.6% for L5 during BE. IEMG of L1 during SQ and DL at 90 and 100% 1RM, and relative muscle activity of L5 during SQ and DL at 100% 1RM was significantly greater (P < or = 0.05) than in the stability ball exercises. Furthermore, relative muscle activity of L1 during DL at 50 and 70% 1RM was significantly greater than in QP and PT. No significant differences were observed in RA and EO during any of the exercises. In conclusion, activity of the trunk muscles during SQs and DLs is greater or equal to that which is produced during the stability ball exercises. It appears that stability ball exercises may not provide a sufficient stimulus for increasing muscular strength or hypertrophy; consequently, the role of stability ball exercises in strength and conditioning programs is questioned. SQs and DLs are recommended for increasing strength and hypertrophy of the back extensors.

So it is this:





Or this:

Deadlift - Ross Enamait

OK, so this is not the usual type of post on this blog, where I highlight a recently published article and note its implications for your training or diet....but hey, this is what it is all about in the end!


This comes via Lean and Hungry Fitness I think I have referred previously to Ross Enamait. he is a very good strength and conditioning coach working primarily with conditioning fighters (he is a former boxer himself). He has written a couple of excellent books on training too which are probably the most complete and but accessible things I've read on strength and conditioning.

Anyway, in a recent discussion on his forum someone doubted Ross' claim that he could deadlift 400lb and challenged him to do so.....

So he did....and more....



They are some impressive lifts for someone who doesn't train the deadlift!