Grip Feats and Records

I felt it would be interesting to create a list of grip feats. The items on this list are probably world records, or at least were at one time. Some of the records have been broken (e.g. Cyr's one finger lift) but they are still considered tremendous feats of strength and so they are presented here for modern trainees to ponder and surpass. Considering what level someone could be considered a "Grip Master," I would say that duplication of any of these feats would qualify you, but consider the following.

Currently, anyone who closes the Captains of Crush gripper #3 is considered a Grip Master, as they should be. The #3 gripper takes approximately 75% percent of the crushing force of the #4 to close, which is the world record for spring grippers. Therefore, holding the same criteria to the other feats, 75% of any of the feats on the list would qualify you as a Grip Master in my opinion. Some of these feats are hard to measure in this way (such as crushing sealed aluminum cans and potatoes) and have not been included on the 75% list. The steel bending length and width is from my own experiences as to what constitutes a Grip Master. Also, some of the 75% numbers are still exceedingly high because of the sheer immensity of the original feats, I would venture to say that even somewhat less of a feat than these would qualify you as a Grip Master. The list is in alphabetical order.

Along the same lines as the #4 and #3 comparison I analyzed the results of a recent World Championship weightlifting competition and found that the average results of all the weight classes showed that the last placed competitor lifted 75% of the winner. I hope this bears my point out that a "World Class" lift is 75% of the best in the world.

I also have added other feats in which the grip is a critical element. If you have ever have lifted a big rock, you will know that the hands play a critical role, especially if the rock is smooth. Steve Jeck, author of the classic "Of Stones and Strength," stresses the importance of a strong grip in stone lifting.

The second list also includes the bent press, and no doubt someone will question its entry. After reading Steve Justa's article entitled "Barbell Pull in to Shoulder" in the March 2000 issue of Milo I proceeded to try the lift myself. My body was ready, lifting 155 pounds to my shoulder, but my forearms were not. The incredible torque of a big barbell lifted to the shoulder and then merely supported by one hand (the beginning part of the bent press) is immense. The torque was too much for my forearm and it took over a month for it to entirely heal. Justa also learned the hard way on this lift, doing only 135 pounds his first workout because he severely overestimated his ability, starting with 400 pounds and wearing himself out before finally doing 135 pounds.

The List of Grip Feats

Bending a Horseshoe-
      Although they vary in difficulty to bend, bending any horseshoe would be a significant feat of strength. The Mighty Atom was one of the best at this. John Grunn Marx could bend and break horseshoes.

Bending Steel-
      John Brookfield- 6"x5/16" cold rolled steel into a U-shape. Also, the only man known to bend the same steel cut 7"x5/16" into a U shape (the Ironmind "Red" Nail).

Captain of Crush Grippers-
      Joe Kinney- Number 4 Gripper (March 1998 Milo).

Anvil Lifting-
      Clean and Press- George Jowett- 168 pounds (circa 1925, see "The Key to Might and Muscle" by Jowett).
      Deadlift- Richard Sorin- 201 pounds by the horn.
      Snatch-Richard Sorin- 100 pounds by the horn.

Crushing a potato-
      Most notably John Brookfield (1996).

Crushing a sealed Aluminum Can-
      Joe Kinney (March 1998 Milo).

Farmers Walk-
      Phil Pfister and Brian Schoonveld both carried 330 pounds in each hand for 60 meters in 33.40 and 38.12 seconds, respectively (July 2, 2000, American Hercules Strongman Championship). 280 pounds for 25 meters by Jouko Ahola (Strength & Speed by Dale Harder). Robert "Herk" Sparkman has done 388 pounds for 17 feet.

Hub Lift-
      Karl Norberg- 75 pounds, a 45 plus 30 extra. Karl was 78 at the time. (2000-2001 Ironmind Catalog)

Leverage Lifting-
      John Grimek- Weaver Stick- 10 pounds left hand (1941). Steve Gardener- 7.55 kg to rear (2001 British Grip Championships). See Picture Here on the GripPage.

Leverage Lifting a Sledgehammer-
      Larry Farman (Slim The Hammer Man Farman)- 62.5 total pounds, two sledgehammers at 31 inches (circa 1990, April 1993 Milo).

One Finger Lift-
      Louis Cyr- 551 Pounds, right middle finger (1890's).

One Hand Snatch-
      Louis Uni (Apollon) nearly snatched a 226 pound barbell, 60mm thick bar (1897).

One Hand Deadlift-
      Herman Gorner- 727.5 pounds on a revolving Olympic Bar (1920, See "Goerner The Mighty," 1951).

Pinch Lift-
      David Horne- 65kg left hand (143.298 pounds on 2-inch thick plates, 2001 British Grip Championships). See picture of Horne's 60kg "warm-up" lift here on the GripPage.

Plate Curls-
      Tony Massimo- 50 pound plate for 10 reps (circa 1920's).

Rolling Thunder-
      Jan Bart'l at the 2000 Beauty and Beast contest 265.4 pounds. (September 2000 Milo).

Thomas Inch Dumbbell-
      173 pounds, 2.38 inch handle-Thomas Inch (over the head, using the bent press). Bill Kazmaier (over the head using an inch replica and a clean and press, 1990). A small group of others have cleared it from the floor, very few to full deadlift position.

Vertical bar Lift-
      David Horne- 203 kg. On a 1 inch bar (April 1995 Milo).

Wrist Curls-
David Horne- 300 kg., table top wrist curls (1998 British Grip Championships).

Grip Critical Lifts

Bent Press-
Arthur Saxon- 371 pounds (1906).

Rock Lifting-
Louis Cyr- 480 pounds using a natural stone(1881). Mieltxo Saralegi has lifted 327 Kg. to the shoulder with a granite stone cut to shape.

A World Class Grip

      As I noted above, performing 75% of any of these world class feats would qualify you as a Grip Master, rounding the numbers off I have created the following list to set clear goals for potential Grip Masters. I would consider any of these feats to be "World Class," analogous to crushing the #3 gripper for the reasons noted above. Some of the numbers are lower than 75%, considering the difficulty of the original feat above:

-Farmers Walk- 290 pounds for 20 feet.
-Hub lift- 55 pounds.
-Inch Dumbbell equivalent handle- 130 pounds.
-One finger lift- 410 pounds.
-One hand deadlift- 545 pounds with a rotating bar. This is one lift that much less would be significant because Herman Gorner's lift was so huge. I would be impressed with a 400 pound deadlift with any type of bar or ring.
-Plate Curls- 35 pounds.
-Pinch grip- 90 pounds (2 inch wide implement).
-Sledgehammers- 23 pounds.
-Rock lift- 360 pounds.
-Rolling Thunder- 200 pounds.
-Steel Bending-Ironmind's 6x1/4 cold steel rod (or equivalent) into a U-shape.
-Vertical Bar lift- 334 pounds.
-Weaver Stick- 7.5 pounds.

      This list is by no means complete. If you have any other feats or lifts that you think should be added please let me know (See my contact page). If you have a compelling reason that the weights noted in the "World Class Grip" section should be adjusted up or down please let me know, I consider this a "breathing" document capable of changing over time.

      Note: The older feats of strength where a source is not listed came from "The Super Athletes" by David P. Willoughby (1970).