Lou Ferrigno - Bench Claims

[Scimowser]

reading about him on IMDB it says he benched 560lbs in his early 20's and at age 50 he could do 400. What do you think, Lou was as big as shit but i dont know much about his strength. He was supposed to have 23" arms, a 59" chest and weigh 275+ which by current standards is less than average.

i know Arnold was able to bench 500 unassisted but i dont know how many reps he could do with it. I doubt he would have attempt a 1rm so im guessing 2-3

[The True Adonis]

reading about him on IMDB it says he benched 560lbs in his early 20's and at age 50 he could do 400. What do you think, Lou was as big as shit but i dont know much about his strength. He was supposed to have 23" arms, a 59" chest and weigh 275+ which by current standards is less than average.

i know Arnold was able to bench 500 unassisted but i dont know how many reps he could do with it. I doubt he would have attempt a 1rm so im guessing 2-3

How do you KNOW that Arnold even benched 500?

[FREAKgeek]

I tell yas, I was training with Lou Ferrigno the other day
I start loading the bar, I said "Lou, how much ?"
He said, "This one's on me"

[Scimowser]

OK, ive read many claims by his associates that he could bench 500 unassisted. Is that any better smart arse?

[Dnizneer]

How do you KNOW that Arnold even benched 500?

He reads magazines.

[sculpture]

Arnold couldnt bench 500lb assisted. He was asked at some point earky in his career and his answer was 380lbs. Theres no way he added 120 lbs to that total while keeping his bw the same (it even dipped after 1971). Factor in that 500lbs is clearly chosen to sound impressive (its not like he maxed out at EXACTLY 500lbs) and that columbos max was 520lb (who was notoriously strong) and with much shorter limbs and greater leverage advantages, theres no way arnold benched 500lbs, just like he never calf raised with a 1000lbs. LOL.

As for ferrigno, who knows. I heard he claimed an 800lb deadlift which i find a tad optimistic considering his stature.

[sculpture]

He reads magazines.

Flex in particular, paying special attention to articles penned by Shawn Perine of ironage fame

[alexxx]

Arnold couldnt bench 500lb assisted. He was asked at some point earky in his career and his answer was 380lbs. Theres no way he added 120 lbs to that total while keeping his bw the same (it even dipped after 1971). Factor in that 500lbs is clearly chosen to sound impressive (its not like he maxed out at EXACTLY 500lbs) and that columbos max was 520lb (who was notoriously strong) and with much shorter limbs and greater leverage advantages, theres no way arnold benched 500lbs, just like he never calf raised with a 1000lbs. LOL.

As for ferrigno, who knows. I heard he claimed an 800lb deadlift which i find a tad optimistic considering his stature.

I read about Arnold's chest/back superset in flex and he whent up to 405 x 6 supersetted with chins.. so it is quite possible that he did bench that much.

Also about calves.. I can do 700 pounds for a couple reps and I am a natural..

[Scimowser]

I read about Arnold's chest/back superset in flex and he whent up to 405 x 6 supersetted with chins.. so it is quite possible that he did bench that much.

Also about calves.. I can do 700 pounds for a couple reps and I am a natural..

dont worry about that mate, you have only just begun to tap into your super human potential. Remember, when all else is aid and done youre still ALEXXX!!!

[Tre]

Those numbers are probably inflated around 20%.

[MisterGX]

Arnold at his peak ('73-'74) was repping a 455lb. bench for 4-7 reps.  You have to remember that prior to his coming to America, he did compete in some powerlifting meets in Europe.  His max bench was over 500 lbs. 

[Dan-O]

Lou wrote in M&F in the early 80's that he could bench somewhere in the mid-400's.  He said that with specialized training in the bench he thought he could break 500.

[body88]

O man the haters are out in full force


Arnold could bench 380 at his strongest


lol

I have moderate strength (nothing out of the ordinary) and can toss 325 up for a few. I weigh 211. How is it so hard to believe a guy with pecs that literally rose like bread loafs off his body could not bench 500lbs. The dude was strong and big. Stop the hate. Go to any powerlifting meet and you will see dudes alot smaller than Arnold doing around that weight

[knny187]

O man the haters are out in full force


Arnold could bench 380 at his strongest


lol

I have moderate strength (nothing out of the ordinary) and can toss 325 up for a few. I weigh 211. How is it so hard to believe a guy with pecs that literally rose like bread loafs off his body could not bench 500lbs. The dude was strong and big. Stop the hate. Go to any powerlifting meet and you will see dudes alot smaller than Arnold doing around that weight

I can relate & have to agree.  It's not hard to imagine that Lou or Arnold could press some heavy weight but two factors.....

(1) they are body builders not powerlifters

(2) they have long limbs.

So maybe they could....maybe they couldn't....but honestly....I could care a less either way.

[anvil]

Arnold was probably talking about 1000 lb  calf raises on the donkey calf machine,  Not a standing calf raise.

1000 on donkeys is not extraordinary so that's very believable.

[Tre]

Lou wrote in M&F in the early 80's that he could bench somewhere in the mid-400's.  He said that with specialized training in the bench he thought he could break 500.

Great, so the Incredible Hulk *might* have been as strong as Heather Darling and Becca Swanson. 

[Hayabusa]

Well when I started out I was a powerlifter and my body is well suited to using a large amount of weight. At my heaviest weight of 212 I worked out with 365 for sets of 6. At that point I never went less than 5 reps. But I benched over 300 pounds at a body weight of under 150 when I was younger. If you go to a powerlifting meet you will see very small looking guys press 500+pounds. So I do not doubt that Arnold could have pressed 500 pounds for a rep or two. I once saw a bodybuilder working out with 415 on an incline bench, and he wasnt near Arnolds size, and as a matter of fact he wasnt even a very competitive bodybuilder.

Hayabusa

[gracie bjj]

arnold benched 525 max,this was from a guy who trained with arnold in the 70,s.arnold used to cheat curl 300lbs for reps also from what the same guy said

[sculpture]

O man the haters are out in full force


Arnold could bench 380 at his strongest


lol

I have moderate strength (nothing out of the ordinary) and can toss 325 up for a few. I weigh 211. How is it so hard to believe a guy with pecs that literally rose like bread loafs off his body could not bench 500lbs. The dude was strong and big. Stop the hate. Go to any powerlifting meet and you will see dudes alot smaller than Arnold doing around that weight

Why dont you learn how to read your twit. I never said at his strongest he could bench 380lbs, i said at one point in his career when asked he replied that he maxed out at 380lbs. Franco when asked the same question minutes later replied wolfishly "381 lbs".

The point that escaped your child like perception was that to go from 380lbs to 500lbs is quite a leap in strength especially when it wasnt accompanied by a concomitant increase in size.  

[body88]

Drop dead 

[sculpture]

arnold benched 525 max,this was from a guy who trained with arnold in the 70,s.arnold used to cheat curl 300lbs for reps also from what the same guy said

Who was this guy that trained with arnold then?

Cheat curl  300lbs for reps. No.

At an exhibition for reg park in south africa, he did 275 lbs for 5 reps.

As for his form, a pictures worth a thousand words.

[img]

[sculpture]

I stand corrected. 300lbs is definetly not true. Closer to 400lbs if you believe every thing you see. Hah

[img]

[davidpaul]

lol is that last pic froma  magazine?
i THINK hes using the same weights as dolph lungren in rocky 4.

[gracie bjj]

Who was this guy that trained with arnold then?

Cheat curl  300lbs for reps. No.

At an exhibition for reg park in south africa, he did 275 lbs for 5 reps.

As for his form, a pictures worth a thousand words.

[img]
[/quote

bill grant

[bmacsys]

reading about him on IMDB it says he benched 560lbs in his early 20's and at age 50 he could do 400. What do you think, Lou was as big as shit but i dont know much about his strength. He was supposed to have 23" arms, a 59" chest and weigh 275+ which by current standards is less than average.

i know Arnold was able to bench 500 unassisted but i dont know how many reps he could do with it. I doubt he would have attempt a 1rm so im guessing 2-3

Arnold never benched 500. Never came close. He said it in many of his books.