The largest weight lifted with one hand. The largest weight lifted by a person

Weightlifters lift impressive weights, but there are other animals in nature that can plug weightlifters into their belts. Paul Anderson may have been one of the strongest men to have lived on Earth. He could carry eight people on his hump or drive a nail through two boards with one blow. In 1957, Anderson is said to have lifted 2.8 tons on his back. This temporarily earned him a world record, but the recording was subsequently deleted due to lack of supporting evidence.

No one ever, though getting close, could not surpass the feat of Anderson. At least a person. But there are creatures in nature capable of amazing feats of strength.


For a long time, people used beasts of burden to transport goods. In the west, pack horses have been used since the Stone Age to carry heavy loads over rough terrain.

While a 2008 study suggested that light horses should carry no more than 20% of their body weight, their heavier counterparts were specifically bred for strength.

By selectively breeding large animals, humans have created such giants as Shire horses and Clydesdale. These heavy horses are known as "heavy horses" because of their pulling power. They helped people push through the Industrial Revolution, first pushing carts and carts, and then barges and wagons of railroad material.

In fact, when the first steam engines appeared, they were comparable in power to draft horses.


Scottish engineer James Watt developed the concept horsepower based on an experiment involving horses working on a millstone in a brewery. He calculated that one horse could lift 15 tons to a height of one foot (about 30 cm) in one minute. This is sometimes seen as an overestimation of the strength of the average draft horse, but a 1993 study concluded that Watt was practically right. In any case, his measurement was accepted, and it is still used to account for the power of the engine.

Draft horses are still used in some places, in traditional breweries, for example, and to attract tourists. They were also used for forestry, as they bring less anxiety to environment than heavy equipment.

“Shirre horses have the same musculoskeletal system as other horses,” says Angela Whiteway of the Shire Horse Society in Market Harborough, UK. “Nevertheless, it is believed that closely spaced hind legs allow them to use power more efficiently than wide-legged horses.”

Whiteway says it's generally accepted that working Shires can comfortably pull twice their weight. That is, a horse weighing one ton can pull two tons of weight. This is impressive, but there are other animals capable of even more.


In the east, Asian elephants have been used to transport people and goods for thousands of years. Historically, they were the main feature of logging ability as they could haul heavy logs through difficult jungle terrain. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Administration, an elephant in Sri Lanka typically carries 3-4 tons per day.

John Hutchinson of the Royal Veterinary College London, UK, has studied the locomotion of Asian elephants. He attributes their strength to several features.

While many mammals' skeletons make up about 10% of their body mass, elephants have this figure closer to 20%, giving them a stronger frame. Hutchinson also says that their straight limbs allow them to resist downward gravity better and hold their own mass plus any load.

And there is a wonderful trunk. It contains no bones or cartilage, only 150,000 bundles muscle fibers. This multi-functional appendage allows elephants to communicate over vast distances, lift individual twigs, strengthen social bonds - and lift significant weights.

As with our own records, the maximum lifting weight for an elephant is unknown. An elephant can lift up to 300 kilograms with its trunk alone. African elephants can weigh a ton more than their Asian counterparts, so they may well be even stronger.

In terms of sheer tonnage, elephants may well be the strongest living animal. But of course they are quite large on their own. This means that the strongest animals must also be the smallest.


Ants are known for their powerlifting abilities in the animal kingdom. Their strength varies from species to species, but some ants are capable of lifting 10 to 50 times their own weight.

In 2010, an Asian tailor ant (Oecophylla smaragdina) was filmed lifting 100 times the ant's own weight by researchers at the University of Cambridge.

When lifting weights, humans rely on their back muscles, while elephants use their trunks. Ants, on the other hand, lift weights with their powerful jaws. Ondontomachus ants have such powerful muscles in their jaws that if they rest their mandibles on the ground and cling to it, they can throw themselves into the air.

There is another group of insects with a talent for lifting weights: beetles.


From an insect named after the ancient demigod Hercules, you can expect serious strength. But the old tale that the Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) can lift 850 times its body weight is as unfounded as Paul Anderson's record.

Hercules beetles belong to the group of rhinoceros beetles. Insect movement expert Roger Crum of the University of Colorado at Boulder, determined to find out the truth, put rhinoceros beetles to the test. And found that they can only carry 100 times their weight.

In 2010, the new strongest beetle in the world was crowned. As is customary in stories about the humble origins of human champions, he lives in uncomplicated conditions. The horned dung beetle (Onthophagus taurus) can lift up to 1141 of its own weight.

Rob Nell of Queen Mary University in London discovered the power of dung beetles while researching their mating tactics. Males use their horns to fight off rivals, pushing them out of tunnels and away from females.

Proportionately, only the armored mite (Archegozetes longisetosus) can compete with the strength of the horned dung beetle. It is microscopic, weighing only 100 micrograms, and lives in the forest soil. In 2007, scientists discovered that he could lift 1,180 of his weights.

The unusual power of these creatures is explained by the quirks of physics.


Galileo Galilei was right when he wrote in his 1638 book The Two New Sciences that small animals are proportionately stronger and more durable than large ones. It's all about the ratio of strength to weight.

Large animals may have more strong muscles, but since most of the force is used to support the animal's own weight, there is not much left for additional weight. In contrast, tiny creatures need to carry less mass, so they can excrete more power for lifting weights.

There are several additional biological factors that favor small animals. For example, the larger an animal, the more energy it needs to support important functions like respiration and circulation. By having a simpler and more compact internal system, smaller animals like beetles can invest more energy they get from food into building strong exoskeletons that lift weight better than soft tissues.

This means that although insects can show amazing proportionate strength, it cannot be scaled to human size and expected to be preserved.


The mass of the ant will increase according to its volume, so the dimensions will be cubed. But the strength depends on the surface area of ​​the muscles, which means it will be a square.

"An ant the size of a human would be incredibly weak because the cross-sectional area of ​​its legs would expand much less than its body volume," says biologist Claire Asher. “He can’t even stand. And breathe. Ants use tiny holes - spiracles - to distribute oxygen in the body, but in human size, these tubes will be too small to provide oxygen to the entire body.

These principles apply to all animals, and each body type can only work within a limited range of sizes. Neither giant killer ants nor King Kong could exist.

And so, the strongest animals now living on Earth may represent the strongest animals that have ever lived in principle. The earth was also home to - but these animals could hardly be stronger than elephants. Strength has its limits.

The strongest men are engaged. They are able to lift incredible weights that no one else can even budge.

Every year more and more new records are set, but there are also those that are very difficult and no one can beat them for decades. Consider the most incredible world records.

The strongest

"The strongest man on the planet" - that's what he was called at one time. US athlete Paul Anderson, who was involved in weightlifting and competed more than 50 years ago, still has unbroken records in strength exercises.

In Las Vegas, he managed to squat with a weight of 526 kg three times in a row. He did this every day for several weeks and said that such a weight for him was the usual worker, and not the maximum. He did this without any athletic equipment, and barefoot. For example, the modern record was set by Doni Thompson, who squatted with a weight of 590 kg. And in 1975, without equipment, a record was set in the squat with a weight of 423.5 kg by Don Reinhodt - this record has not yet been broken by anyone.

Another amazing achievement of Anderson is lifting the weight of one right hand. He lifted 136 kg 11 times. He did such exercises with special dumbbells.

It is possible to tear off almost three tons of weight!

He set one of the most incredible world records in lifting weights from racks. Anderson was able to tear off 2844 kg of weight, which exceeded the records set before him by almost a ton.

Also incredible world records in weightlifting Andy Bolton, an English weightlifter, also put it on. He set three world records: squat with a weight of 550.5 kg, deadlift- 457.5 kg, total triathlon - 1273 kg. Andy became the first man on the planet to deadlift over 453.6 kg (1000 pounds).

In the deadlift, successes should be noted In the spring of 2011 in equipment, he set a world record in weightlifting and lifted a weight of 460 kg at the classic tournament.

As for that, it is impossible not to mention the achievement of the American athlete Ryan Kennelly. Without equipment, he squeezes 297 kg. Lot? In equipment in 2008, Ryan squeezed 478.6 kg! So far, no one can beat this world record in weightlifting.

Iran ahead

In such an exercise as a snatch, in absolute weight class world records in weightlifting belong only to athletes from Iran. And it is noteworthy that the two most recent belong to the teacher with his student. So, in 2003, Hossein Reza Zadeh set a world record by making a snatch with a barbell weight of 213 kg. And in 2011, his student Bedhad Salimi surpassed his teacher and managed to make a breakthrough at the National Tournament, which was held in Iran, with a weight of 214 kg. At the same time, in the clean and jerk, the world record in Hossein's weightlifting remained unbeaten - no one managed to take a weight of more than 263 kg.

Despite the development of training systems, as well as sports supplements, which weightlifters use, so far no one has been able to surpass the result of a Soviet athlete who in 1988 submitted a weight in the clean and jerk of 266 kg. Then in the sum of the biathlon he gained 475 kg.

Also unsurpassed is the result of the Turkish athlete N. Suleymanoglu, who in the same 1988 was able to push a barbell weighing 190 kilograms, thereby setting a new world record in weightlifting. Does it seem a little? Your opinion will change when you find out in what category the athlete competed then - up to 60 kg. That is, the Turk was able to lift a weight that was more than three times his own!

Kettlebells are lighter than fluff for them

Let's touch a little and the World Champion in this sport Pavel Lesnykh, who lives in the Altai Territory, does not get tired of setting more and more new records. In 2007, Pavel set a world record by pushing a weight of 36 kilograms 1030 times. He did it in exactly an hour and a half.

And this is really a grandiose achievement, since the previous record, which was set by Vyacheslav Khoronenko, the “Belarusian king of kettlebells”, was 1020 jerks with a 32 kilogram kettlebell.

In addition, Pavel managed to push a 41 kg kettlebell 209 times, as well as hold a 52 kg kettlebell for 30 minutes on weight, thus setting new weightlifting world records.

No less world records were set by another Russian athlete - Ivan Denisov, multiple champion Russia and the world kettlebell lifting. He set a world record in long cycle. Pushing a 32-kilogram weight in 2007, he managed to achieve a result of 109 points. And in 2005, Ivan was able to score in the biathlon, which consists of a push and a jerk, a result of 387 points. At the same time, he scored 175 points in the clean and jerk, and 220 points in the snatch.

What's next?

Many experts say that the new weightlifting world records being set by athletes are becoming less and less different from those already set. And this is despite new methods, nutrition and funding for athletes. More and more people attribute this to the fact that they are already close to the possibilities. physical strength the human body, and therefore there can no longer be big gaps in the records. Like it or not, only time will tell. As they say, "wait and see."

If you are seriously interested in bodybuilding, then most likely you know what was the biggest weight lifted by a person, and who did it. It's about about the famous strongman Paul Anderson, who in the middle of the last century was considered the most strong man world and was called in the press "crane".

Paul Anderson was born in 1932, and started training with a barbell when he was 20 years old. The largest ever lifted by a man was recorded in 1957. It was a bar with "pancakes" total weight which was 2,844 kg. And Anderson's record has not yet been beaten by any weightlifter.

In the early 50s. of the last century, the athlete began to perform in the professional arena. Moreover, a case is known when in one of the nightclubs in Las Vegas he squatted three times with a barbell, the weight of which was 526 kg. And for Anderson, this was not unusual - after all, weighted squats were his favorite exercise.

But the athlete did not like the bench press too much. However, this did not prevent him from achieving excellent results here as well. In particular, Paul could press 136 kg with his right hand 11 times, and do the same with his left hand 7 times.

How to lift big weights

Of course, not every athlete is able to lift heavy weights. After all, the success of Paul Anderson lies not only in regular training, but also in a special predisposition to this sport.

However, if you make some effort, you can work with big weights. The main thing is to approach the solution of this problem responsibly so as not to harm the body.

Whether a person is trying to learn how to lift heavy weights in the bench press, or simply working with a barbell, it is necessary to proceed in stages. Start by training your legs, as they play a very important role in this process.

It is in the lower body that the energy is concentrated, which you then use to perform the exercise. And it is important that the legs are ready for high loads. If you want to raise the most big weight in history, you need to develop your whole body.

You should also take care of the back muscles, because they also take part in lifting weights. In addition, these muscles protect your spine from injury and damage. So make sure to strengthen them before you start lifting heavy weights.

When working with a bar, do not forget about stability. You must develop your own rhythm that you will adhere to. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s a bench press or a barbell lift from a standing position.

To lift a lot of weight, you must have enough strong shoulders and triceps. They tend to get involved in the work somewhere in the middle of the bench. And it is thanks to the muscles of this group that you can bring the exercise to the end.

And the last thing you need to remember to be successful is wrist training. In order not to injure the ligaments and tendons when working with high loads, be sure to strengthen them.

To do this, you can use dumbbells, expanders, various exercises, where your own body weight acts as a burden. And to carry out similar workouts it is necessary regularly - only in this case they will be sufficiently effective.

There is such a photo circulating on the net, under which they usually write that it is the Kazakh wrestler Baluan Sholak holding a bull weighing 816 kg.

Of course, all this information has come down to us from legends, but maybe before people were really much stronger. Is it really possible from a scientific point of view for a person to lift such a weight? I quickly "googled" and found out that there was one person who lifted a generally fantastic 2800 kg.

Don't believe? Let's go under the cat...

To begin with, let's decide that the photo is still not Baluan Sholak, but some kind of Mongol.

The photo is quite modern, and the bull in the photo weighs about 100-120 kg. But Baluan Sholak lived in the 19th century. Here is the information about him.

In 1864, a son was born in the Baimurza family from the Sambet clan. The baby was named Nurmagambet. It so happened that in childhood the child injured his hand, disfiguring his fingers. Since then, they called him Sholak - fingerless. Sholak spent his childhood and youth in Kokchetav, where his father made a living by making wooden handicrafts. The father worked tirelessly, and the family did not need anything. Young Sholak already then had a daring disposition, was in no way inferior to the older boys, selflessly fought and fought, was a ringleader in everything. Possessing extraordinary strength and agility, he had no equal in any competition.

Already in his youth, Sholak became famous as an invincible wrestler and was awarded the honorary title of Baluan. Baluan Sholak was not inferior to anyone in dzhigitovka, demonstrating real circus tricks: he stood on a horse at full gallop, circled in the saddle, could sit down on a horse’s belly without reins ... But the main hobby of the dzhigit was singing, playing the dombra. He sings the songs of Birzhan and Akhan-Sere, so much so that they told about it all over the steppe. Baluan Sholak easily held a log with twenty horsemen on his shoulders, at the age of 35 he lifted weights of 51 pounds (816 kg) at fairs and, of course, fought well, justifying his nickname Baluan - a wrestler.

Already at the age of 14, the future strongman overcame 20-year-old boys. At competitions in Omsk, on the occasion of the arrival of the heir to Tsar Baluan, Sholak put the famous wrestler Sevres on his shoulder blades. At the age of 49, our hero at the Koyandinskaya fair accepted the challenge of the famous strongman Karon and during the duel broke his rib. They say that Haji Mukan himself wanted to measure his strength with Baluan Sholak, but, having got to know him better, he abandoned this idea. Even greater glory was brought to the hero by his songs. Having lived only 55 years, he left behind dozens of songs: "Galia", "September", "Taldy-Kul", "Saryn" and others. And this despite the fact that the work of akyn has not yet been sufficiently studied. Baluan Sholak traveled around the villages, gathered gifted youth around him, even organized an "ensemble". For the first time, the steppes hear familiar songs in choral performance, they are surprised at the well-coordinated playing of several dombras.

At twenty-six, Sholak already had a real troupe, which included dombra players, singers, storytellers, riders and wrestlers. Sholak himself sang songs and demonstrated his colossal strength - he broke horseshoes, fought with several horsemen at once, lifted incredible weights. Baluan Sholak had a special relationship with women: he was always fond of beauties and, as befits a poet, was amorous. Bright appearance, prowess, incredible power, strong voice made the akyn the most desirable man in the steppe. But only one woman left an indelible mark on his life. Her name was Galia. And she was the daughter of a wealthy Argyn merchant Tleu. The tall, fair-faced beauty, as a child, was betrothed to the wealthy but unloved Birzhan. She married him. And then Baluan Sholak met her. The lovers met in secret. Until the deceived husband found out about it. Severely beaten, wearing only a shirt, Galia returns to her parents' house. Baluan Sholak was ready to marry his beloved. But the offended husband, through the court of biys, demanded the return of the kalym.


Monument to Baluan Sholak in the village of Tole Bi, Shui district, Zhambyl region.

Not believing the judges, the batyr went to Kokchetav to collect the required amount of cattle. In Kokchetav, he was accused of stealing cattle, and he ended up in prison, while Galiya won the court case. Now she was free, but nothing is known about her beloved. Steppe rumors convey different things to her: Baluan Sholak fled, he is a polygamist, and now a convict, driven to Siberia forever ... Galiya is in despair, at the behest of her father, she marries again. Now she is the second wife of a famous person in the city. And Baluan's friends agreed to transfer him to the prison of the city where Galiya lived. Akyn himself is not himself, waiting for a meeting with his beloved. It was then that the most famous song of Baluan Sholak was born - "Galia". But Sholak and Galiya never found family happiness. Baluan Sholak remained a favorite of fellow countrymen until the end of his life. He fought against injustice, and each of his noble deeds aroused admiration among the people. On the eve of the October Revolution, the batyr helped the Bolsheviks hide in the villages, supplied them with horses, helped them in every possible way.

Until the end of his life, Baluan Sholak was not afraid of anyone and always helped the weak and disadvantaged. His songs are often heard in concerts and on the radio today. About Baluan Sholak, singer, composer, famous wrestler, Sabit Mukanov wrote a story, and now the Sports Palace built in 1967 in Almaty is named after him.

Is it really possible to lift that much weight?

People who are seriously interested in bodybuilding most likely know what was the biggest weight lifted by a person, and who did it. We are talking about the famous strongman Paul Anderson, who in the middle of the last century was considered the strongest man in the world and was called the "crane" in the press.

Paul Anderson was born in 1932, and started training with a barbell when he was 20 years old. The largest ever lifted by a man was recorded in 1957. It was a bar with "pancakes", the total mass of which was 2,844 kg. (during one of the speeches, he tore off his shoulders from the racks). And Anderson's record has not yet been beaten by any weightlifter.

In the early 50s. of the last century, the athlete began to perform in the professional arena. Moreover, a case is known when in one of the nightclubs in Las Vegas he squatted three times with a barbell, the weight of which was 526 kg. And for Anderson, this was not unusual - after all, squats with weights were his favorite exercise.

But the athlete did not like the bench press too much. However, this did not prevent him from achieving excellent results here as well. In particular, Paul could press 136 kg with his right hand 11 times, and do the same with his left hand 7 times.

At professional demonstrations of strength, Anderson managed to tear off the platform and lift 1600 kg to his knees. In addition, he performs an incomplete squat - “short squat” with a weight of 952.5 kg, walks with 700 kg on his chest and squats by all the rules with 590 kg.


After the Olympics, Anderson announced that he was leaving amateur sports, believing that tournaments were too exhausting physically and mentally. He began to give performances with numbers with a demonstration of strength in various US cities. AT power triathlon he showed the following results: squats with a weight of 544.5 kg, bench press - 284 kg and deadlift - 371 kg (with straps-453.5 kg), (without equipment and doping). Anderson also performed an incomplete squat with a weight of 952.5 kg, and during one of the performances he tore off a weight of 2,844 kg with his shoulders from the racks. He could hold weights of 127 kg each with his little fingers outstretched. Squeezed out with one hand standing dumbbell weighing 172.5 kg.

There was also this famous person:

Let's then remember another famous strongman:

So how much can a person lift? Answer: 266 kilograms. Such is the record Olympic champion Leonid Taranenko in the clean and jerk (one of the two main lifting techniques), listed in the Guinness Book of Records. It was installed almost 30 years ago, but still has not been beaten by anyone.

And here is such an unusual topic, what do you think

As time goes by, Guinness records get weirder and weirder. It gets to the point that you start to doubt the sanity of record holders

As time goes by, Guinness records get weirder and weirder. It gets to the point that you begin to doubt the sanity of the champions:

1 Wheelchair Marathon Winners

These record holders do not want parenting to slow down the pace of their lives. Women's record is being held by Nancy Schubring of the United States. She completed the half marathon in 1 hour, 30 minutes and 51 seconds.

The men's record set by Neil Davison of Great Britain was 1 hour, 15 minutes and 8 seconds.

Those who did not have time to become parents, but still want to get into the book of records, can prepare for the marathon in a tailcoat, diver's suit and other outrageous paraphernalia.

2. The largest number of toilet seats broken in a minute on your own head

A head and a toilet seat don't go well together, except when stereotyped high school bullies get down to business. Kevin Shaley from the USA apparently thinks otherwise - in any case, he holds the record for breaking wooden toilet seats on his head. In one minute, he finished off 46 toilet seats.

3. The greatest number of rotations of a person hanging on a drill in a minute

This record requires developed upper body musculature and is an order of magnitude more extreme than simple powerlifting. Hai Jiang of Germany made 148 revolutions on the drill in one minute, setting a world record. However, it would be wise of you not to try this at home.

4. The largest weight lifted with ....

Apparently upper body strength is not enough for some. Below are records for lifting weights with delicate parts of the face:

Briton Thomas Blackthorn lifted 12.5kg with his tongue, setting a Guinness record.

The largest weight lifted by one eye socket was 14 kg. The record was set by Majit Singh from the UK.

And the largest weight lifted by two eye sockets is 23.5 kg. It was raised by the Chinese Yang Guang Hee.

And finally, Rakesh Kumar from India set the record by lifting 80.78 kg with one ear (using a clamp).

5. The longest stay of a person in a container with ice

No offense to the record holder and contenders will be said, but a long stay on the ice is a stupid idea, to put it mildly. Even if you forget about frostbite and hypothermia, it's still pure madness.

Wim Hof ​​from the Netherlands lasted 1 hour, 52 minutes and 42 seconds in an ice bucket.

6. Popping balloons with your back for a while

You will need amazing flexibility to break this record. In the meantime, this record is held by Julia Guntel from Germany, also known as Zlata. She burst three balloons with her back in just 12 seconds.

7. The most watermelons cut on the stomach in a minute

In case you're wondering, the weapon used to cut the watermelons was a machete, which made this record all the more intimidating. Australian Jim Hunter, along with his assistant Celia Curtis, whose stomach was used as a cutting board, chopped 25 watermelons in one minute.

8. The largest number of shirts taken off while chasing the ball with his head

This is how you can apply your football skills if you can't do it in professional sports. Brazilian Marcelo Ribeiro da Silva first put on, and then contrived to take off 21 T-shirts, chasing the ball with his head.

But if you don't have the skills to break this record, you can take a look at the record for the most T-shirts worn at once. Although the current record of 257 T-shirts (set by Sri Lankan Sanat Bandara) will be hard to beat.

9. Most steps taken by a dog with a glass of water balanced on its head

Your pets can also become world record holders. Especially if they help you set the table.

An Australian Shepherd named Sweet Pea (Sweet Pea) set two records in this category. She took 10 steps back and forth, balancing a glass of water.

10. The loudest purr of a domestic cat

Cat lovers won't be left out, either, as long as their pets can express their love at record volume.

The loudest purr with a noise level of 67.7 dB was issued by a cat named Smokey. The record was set at Smokey's home, where she feels most comfortable. The record attempt used ham slices, a comb, and strokes.

11. Most long distance overcome by a burning man dragged by a horse.

The strangeness of this record surpassed all the aforementioned ones. It’s scary to think what else people are willing to go to get into the Guinness Book of Records…

This record was set by Xalapi Roland from Hungary: the horse dragged the burning Roland 472.8 meters.

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