If you're like me, you go to the gym, and head directly to the treadmill or the elliptical machine for an hour of cardio. (Or maybe ten minutes. Still counts!) You pass the weightlifting section, full of jacked guys and swole gals, and hear the occasional CLANG, followed by an "Ahhhhhhhhh!" But you don't really pay much attention.
Well, maybe it's worth casting a glance at those yoked beef cakes, because they can do some pretty amazing things. Born to a working class family in the Bronx, Larry Wheels escaped poverty to become one of the strongest weightlifters in the world. This week he shared an astonishing feat on Instagram: bench pressing 110 kilograms (243 pounds) in each hand.
Watch Larry Wheels bench press 110 kilo barbells in each handWheels doesn't just lift the massive amount of weight once. He somehow manages three reps, before his spotters take the barbells off his hands. Afterwards, Wheels approaches the camera, with a triumphant "YESSSS!" (I say the same thing after running for ten minutes on the treadmill.)
Recently Wheels began training with Hafthor Björnsson, who plays The Mountain on Game of Thrones. This year, Björnsson made headlines for deadlifting 1,042lbs, then went on to smash his own world record a week later. At the 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic, he deadlifted 1,044.9 lbs pounds, which earned him the title of World's Strongest Man. (And Wheels was present a Thor's Power Gym in Iceland to witness this accomplishment.)
This is the moment Björnsson set a "pretty casual" world record:Then, the following month, Björnsson was crowned Europe's Strongest Man. (Yeah, if he's already the "world's strongest man," then obviously he's also "Europe's strongest man," but you better act impressed because you don't want The Mountain mad at you. Do you remember what he did to Oberyn Martell?!)
Sometimes it's hard to get motivated to go to the gym; when you drive there, you secretly hope the parking lot is full, so you have an excuse to home, and pick up some delicious trash at McDonald's. But whether you're lifting as astonishing 110 kilo barbells in each hand, or running an astonishing ten minutes on a treadmill, pushing your body to the limit is, in itself, an accomplishment. ("Ahhhhhhh!")
