Franco Columbu's lifts...

[Fortress]

Seeing these videos makes me realize how strength has evolved.  I'm apart of the young generation and I'm routinely seeing young men lift similar lbs. while younger and natural.

Actually, the records for absolute strength, minus the support gear, are not much greater than they were even 40 years ago.

[dj181]

On the strength front, here are the raw records -

Rick Weil at #181 benched #556.

Larry Danaher at #198 benched #565.      

Mike MacDonald at #220 did #582.

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Deadlift is owned by Ed Coan in the above classes with lifts of #791, #859, #901.


Remember those are records, realistically, a 2x BW Bench and 2 3/4 - 3x deadlift are big numbers for strong regular folks.

i thought that coach had out benched Weil

[a_ahmed]

Impressive strength for sure...

My buddy does 600+ at 220 (i forget what his current pr is but its in the lower-mid 600s). He's trying to drop to 200 and maintain that strength.

[Jadeveon Clowney]

On the strength front, here are the raw records -

Rick Weil at #181 benched #556.

Larry Danaher at #198 benched #565.      

Mike MacDonald at #220 did #582.

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Joe-sus "Christ" Marino pwns all those mfers

[rocket]

Right off the bat I'll say that some people have been foxed by my relative superlatives so let me clarify, "Good" is top level.  I didn't go any further than 8 plates because it doesn't go that much further. 

Lets put you on what Franco was on then and see if you feel the same way.

I'm on nothing, have never been on anything and can do a shade under 6 plates (and am not over 220) AND I do not consider myself strong.  I would be destroyed at a powerlifting meet.  Many of you have the wrong attitude about what you can do.  I am in no way blessed (infact I have a stuffed up lower back that hurts if I even bend over to pick something up) and I'm sure I can pull 6.5 to 7 plates sometime next year.

So it goes without saying that I not agree that 5 plates is a good achievement for a person over 100kg and if you think that, that's because you're either genetically cursed or mentally weak. 

[rocket]

Quite a lot of people in this thread have their knickers in a twist over what I'm saying (I discount those who react to my "good" comment, that's my own fault for understatement) - I'm not going to laugh at anybody for having a 5 plate deadlift and being over 220.  All I'm saying is, if you go to a powerlifting meet and see the nerdy looking guy who you thought was there to serve drinks, who weighs all of 70-80kg do that weight (and then some) without a problem and then you come back to the internet, thinking you're still great - fine with me, but don't complain when someone sets you straight on what you could be doing if you had the right attitude and the balls that that guy had to get to his max.  I'm not saying this because I think I'm better than you, I'm saying this because I think you can do better.  I can do better than I currently do.  I'll pat myself on the back when I done trying to get stronger.

galeniko:

No grip aids.  I can barely grip 405 for 1 rep DL with overhand but I don't have any problems with reverse grip - particularly for singles.  I would maybe use straps if I were doing a lot of reps but that only be if the reverse craps out. 

And no, I don't like using a belt.  It used to help but I generally only deadlift that which my lower back can do on its own, these days.

[phreak]

but a bodybuilder wants to feel the muscle working.i feel the back working best at 3 plates per side, ie i can squeeze the muscle.

with 4 plates i can feel the muscle working somewhat, with 5 plates , its just a maximum struggle to even get the weight up, but the muscles arent worked as good as with 3 plates.its all joints and tendons.

You are saying movement can be generated by using non-contractile tissue and joints? Interesting*...



*Alternate spelling of "retarded".

[Dr Dutch]

Franco should have received an Oscar for "Baretta Island"....





























 

[doriancutlerman]

Actually, the records for absolute strength, minus the support gear, are not much greater than they were even 40 years ago.

Yeah.  How much has the top paused, shirtless bench moved since the 70s or 80s? 

I don't follow powerlifting near as closely as you might, but would it be accurate to say the top deadlifts have improved somewhat?  Top squats ... too much support junk and monolifts make those very dubious "records" to me generally speaking.

[BB]

Yeah.  How much has the top paused, shirtless bench moved since the 70s or 80s? 

I don't follow powerlifting near as closely as you might, but would it be accurate to say the top deadlifts have improved somewhat?  Top squats ... too much support junk and monolifts make those very dubious "records" to me generally speaking.

Top benches have moved #30 - 50lbs over the last 30 years or so, but a good raw bench in the 70's - 80's would still be good, maybe contest winning lift today.

Deadlifts maybe #50 - 100 at the very top of competition, but again a good deadlift from 20 - 30 years ago would still be a good lift today.

Squat is too hard to judge, due to all the different standards used.

[POTA]

Top benches have moved #30 - 50lbs over the last 30 years or so, but a good raw bench in the 70's - 80's would still be good, maybe contest winning lift today.

Deadlifts maybe #50 - 100 at the very top of competition, but again a good deadlift from 20 - 30 years ago would still be a good lift today.

Squat is too hard to judge, due to all the different standards used.

What's a "good" deadlift to you? Becuase, hell, Arnold was deadlifting around 700 over FORTY years ago. Franco probably a bit more. And there were probably plenty of people better than them.

[BB]

What's a "good" deadlift to you? Becuase, hell, Arnold was deadlifting around 700 over FORTY years ago. Franco probably a bit more. And there were probably plenty of people better than them.

Regular person good? 2.5 x bodyweight is what I'd consider a great number for a natural over a lifetime in the hobby.

Big #250+ off season modern bodybuilder good? 700's - 800. Many higher middle level Powerlifters fall into that range too.

The best bigger powerlifters 20 - 30 years ago were middle 800's, with a few breaking into the 900's. Now the bigger raw guys are high 800's - low middle 900's, with the record being #1015.

[#1 Klaus fan]

Powerlifting and strongman was just starting 40 years ago. If you want to find out true human potential around that time period, find out who were the strongest people around then. It's not hard to guess, they were weightlifters of course.