If you’re looking for some deadlift inspiration, you’ve found it in the form of Hapthor Björnsson – otherwise known as “The Mountain” or the World’s Strongest Man. If the latter sounds like a term freely anointed to those of superior stature and strength, know that it’s one Björnsson earned through hard work, grit and determination alone. He’s been crowned World’s Strongest Man on numerous occasions, including one competition which saw him carry a 650kg log for five steps. Need we remind you: don’t try that one at home. In May of last year, Björnsson deadlifted a staggering 501kg, beating the previous world record held by Eddie Hall. It was a momentous feat of strength, one that firmly cemented Björnsson’s place in the strongman history books, with the heaviest lift ever performed.
Having since retired though, you’d be forgiven for thinking Björnsson’s slacked off, or at least allowed himself the ability to switch to the light weights for the foreseeable future. After all, the once competitive strongman is now looking to try his luck in the boxing ring, having secured an exhibition match against Eddie Hall which has earned the moniker, ‘the heaviest boxing match in history’ as the two look to end their on-going beef.
Though he’s shed 49kg in preparation for the match, Björnsson proved he’s still lifting heavy when it comes to the gym. Recently, The Mountain shared a post to Instagram which showed him linking up with powerlifter and bodybuilder Larry Wheels and strongman Mark Boyd for a workout in Dubai. And all that strength concentrated to the one gym seems to have made quite an impression on Björnsson, who worked up to a double-weighted deadlift of around 320kg.
In the video posted to his social media page, Björnsson goes through a few sets of snatch-grip high pulls and a warm-up consisting of 265kg deadlifts. Following that, Björnsson and Wheels then went head-to-head, each pulling off a jaw-dropping deadlift of 320kg while wearing weightlifting belts and straps. Despite the deadlift being 181kg lighter than Björnsson’s personal best, it still ends up being twice his body weight of 155kg and if that isn’t an impressive feat for a casual gym session, we don’t know what is.
One thing seems certain: Björnsson will be giving that boxing match all he has. The exhibition bout is slated to take place in September 2021 in Las Vegas.
