Lifting one’s burdens is always impressive, but the greatest burden of all is that of a myth. One myth loomed over us all, a staggering hill of things that are probably lies. You may even call them a mountain.
Today we saw Hafþór Julius Bjornsson, also known as The Mountain from Game Of Thrones, tromp around with a Volkswagen hanging around his shoulders. Seeing that sort of thing is pretty neat, but to put the Icelandic man’s muscle into perspective, reader AspenRS throws down some knowledge:
Some stats from his wikipedia.
- Squat – 350 kg (770 lbs) raw[15]
- Bench press – 230 kg (510 lbs) raw
- Tire deadlift – 450 kg (994 lbs) raw with wrist straps[15]
- Deadlift – 450 kg (990 lbs) 4.625 cronans raw with straps[16]
- Loglift – 192.5 kg (424 lbs)
- Log carry- [5 steps] 650kg (1433lbs)[17]
Training lifts
- Deadlift 450 kg (990 lbs) raw with wrist straps
- Loglift 190 kg (418.8 lbs)
- Squat 300 kg (660 lbs) for 10 reps, raw without knee wraps
That is absolutely insane.
Also of note:
On 31 January 2015, Björnsson beat a 1000-year-old record set by Orm Storolfsson at the World’s Strongest Viking competition in Norway, where he carried a 32 feet (9.8 m) long 1,433 pounds (650 kg) log for five steps.[9]
And to put that last little factoid into perspective, reader BonfideSupraman calls out the original 1000-year-old claim for what it really was:
I like that last bit, because what it essentially means is that he beat the lies that people used to tell about a guy that was pretty strong.
People back in the day used to use hyperbole all the time. Thank the Lawd no one ever uses it today.
But sometimes when hyperbole is used, someone needs to step up and actually top it. We usually go with music to celebrate, but today, let’s celebrate with the music of Bjornsson screaming in triumph, as he beats those myths and lies:
Contact the author at ballaban@jalopnik.com.
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