Impressive clip

[BjsAust]

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/73514/...strongest_man/

Wish there was an english translation. Check out his flexibility, never realised he had that. Do you find that important in strongman Danny?

[CC dad]

Although these guys aren't world class atheletes I would be willing to bet that most of them are alot more flexable and athletic than strongman competitions allow them to show.

[Ogedei]

define: "these guys aren't world class athletes"

Would seem to me that they are world class. Strongman competitions have competitors from all over the world.

[Chris Correia]

Mariusz Pudzianowski is the man! He is absolutely incredible to watch perform. Truly a world class athlete!

[BjsAust]

I assume C&C dad meant in the athletic sense that most of us think of when we hear the term.

Sure breaks down any argument that stretching ruins strength though [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img].

[RacerBill]

So much for the argument that weight lifters are musclebound and inflexible...

Anyone around here speak Polish and can give us an idea what the dialogue says?

[Keith S.]

I agree that he is impressive and REALLY fun to watch (3x champion), but correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he had to give back his first world's strongest man title due to a failed drug test, which he didn't try to challenge. It may have been another substance than anabolic steriods though, because if it was AS why would they let him compete this year?

[Keith S.]

Nevermind, it wasn't one of his championships:

[ QUOTE ]
Pudzianowski was later disqualified from the 2004 World's Strongest Man contest "for a breach of the new IFSA Strongman Health Policy." He was forced to return his prize money, stripped of the IFSA points from the event, and received a one year ban from competition. Pudzianowski did not dispute his banned substance violation and waived his right to have his B sample verified.

[/ QUOTE ]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariusz_Pudzianowski

[CC dad]

What I meant was that most of them arent gonna wow us with their 40 time or pull off a 40 inch verticle jump. Lugging a rock around or pulling a firetruck is a great show of strength but not necessarily athletisim. Having said that I think if you played pickup basketball aginst one of these guys or had one on the company softball team you would be pretty impressed with their athletic ability especially for their size.

[Ogedei]

Sure I mean we won't see him skate down the ice and score goals in the NHL, or shoot baskets in the NBA. On the other hand we won't see Gretzky or Rodman picking stones up and dragging fire trucks.

I would suggest and maybe Danny can tell us for sure, that being a strongman is alot more than just BEING strong. I believe they are as much arthletes as any other.

Og.

[Keith S.]

C&C:

I don't know if you've seen Mariusz Pudzianowski compete at one of these strongman competitions, but he is incredibally fast. (Pretty much always wins the farmer's walk by like 10 seconds) He probably move a lot faster than you think as well. When you think about it, even offensive linemen run the 40 under 5.0 seconds most of the time. You'd be supprised how quick these guys are on their feet. But that's another subject. When you think about the conrest as a whole, not just being able to move huge amounts of weight you'd be supprised...the giant fingers, atlas stones, farmer's walk, and even the firetruck pull for all of these you need to be fast/quick on your feet since they're all timed events, not just how many times you "lock out"...but like Og said, Danny would know better than us

[Chris Correia]

The event where they lift and toss over those long poles is very challenging in its own way, requiring some technique. In fact, lots of the lifts/events seem to have technique involved, which a lot of the guys who are really strong don't seem to quite have down as well as some of the other guys; hence, they don't finish as high.

Edit: Just read this in the wikipedia:

Background
Aside from being a world-class strength athlete, Mariusz maintains his agility, conditioning, and general physical preparedness through other athletic endeavors. He is an exponent of Kyokushin karate (fourth kyu), which he has been practicing since the age of 11. He was also a competitive boxer for seven years, three of which were spent in the Kosedowski League. Mariusz is a favorite in every Strongman competition he enters, having been defeated only twice in Poland through 2002, and his worst placing being a respectable second.

[GqArtguy]

[ QUOTE ]
What I meant was that most of them arent gonna wow us with their 40 time or pull off a 40 inch verticle jump.Probably because theyre not training for those sports. Lugging a rock around or pulling a firetruck is a great show of strength but not necessarily athletisim.

Having said that I think if you played pickup basketball aginst one of these guys or had one on the company softball team you would be pretty impressed with their athletic ability especially for their size.

[/ QUOTE ]

These guys arent training to be football players or basketball players. But if you insist on athelticism Shane Hammon weighs at least 300lbs and is 5'9. He can also dunk a basketball. This is because OLers are the 2nd most flexible athletes (behind gymnasts), and have the highest power output than any other athletes. The reason the top guys arent basketball players or sprinters is because they are not built for those sports despite having the athletic ability to do well.

I dont know of any 40 times, but Id like to see a football player (or you) hold 385lbs in each hand and cover 25 meters in 21.39 seconds (which Mariuz has done).

[CC dad]

Look I didnt mean to say he is not a good athelete. Look back at my original post I said these guys are probably better atheletes than a strongman competition allows them to show. I guess I just didnt word it right.