At 6’9”, Hafthor Bjornsson is a towering peak of a man—he’s literally Ser Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane from HBO’s Game of Thrones, after all. The Icelandic giant is a five-time winner of Europe’s Strongest Man, and the 2018 World’s Strongest Man.
WATCH: The Mountain Casually Presses His Wife While A Tattoo Artists Gives Him Some New Ink
He trains in a workout wonderland called Thor’s Power Gym and regularly posts his routines and personal records online. Suffice it to say, he’s a singular figure, one of the rare professional strongmen who’s widely recognised outside the sport.
In a new YouTube video, Bjornsson adds to his reputation by hitting a personal best in the deadlift: a whopping 480 kilograms (1,058 pounds). That’s more than a half-ton, and bests his earlier records, including a 473 kilogram (1042 pounds) lift from just last year, and a 472 kilograms (1,041 pounds) deadlift at the 2018 Arnold Strongman Classic.
With Bjornsson atop the Iron Throne of competitive deadlifting as the current record holder, that makes his latest lift likely a new world record—even if it’s unofficial for now. (He’s also lifting with straps but no deadlift suit, which affects the competition categories for record-keeping.)
The video follows Bjornsson as he ramps up to the magic number, loading more and more plates on his Elephant Bar, a barbell designed specifically for the kind of record-breaking weight put up by The Mountain and his peers. After each lift he takes a breather and shares his thoughts with the camera, talking through how each lift felt and what he plans to do next. (There’s also a fittingly metal soundtrack running through much of it.)
With his final warm-up completed, Bjornsson takes a ten-minute breather before attempting what he coyly calls “the heaviest deadlift in the history of the world.” As the metal music amps up and his posse screams encouragement, he steps up to the barbell to take his triumphant lift. The Mountain has done it again—watch the video below.
This article originally appeared on Men's Health
