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Hafthór
Júlíus
Björnsson
in numbers
SQUAT:
420kg
BENCH PRESS:
360kg
DEADLIFT:
520kg
GIANT LOGS:
600kg
DAILY CALORIE INTAKE:
8-10,000
MEALS PER DAY:
7
HEIGHT:
6’9”
WEIGHT:
200kg
Since the epic battle with Martell, Björnsson has faced of f against a real-
life opponent: and again has triumphed. This time, it was a tree.
Or to be more precise, Björnsson recently broke a 1,000-year-old Viking
record for picking up a log.
His own words tell the story best.
“The legend of the Icelander Orm Storulfsson says that he walked three
steps with this monster wooden log which weighs over 600kg’s/1320lbs!
It took 50 mere mortals to help him place it on his back! Af ter he took
his third step his back broke under the enormous pressure and he was
never the same af ter that!
Well today my friends I made history!! As well as winning the title of
The World’s Strongest Viking for the second time in a row I carried this
MONSTER LOG 5 steps! My back held up f ine!! As I ’m on my way to my
ultimate goal to win The World’s Strongest Man! NOTHING CAN STOP
ME!! NOTHING CAN BREAK ME!! ”
The dimensions of this feat are every bit as awesome as the dimensions
of his frame. But he is not f inished crushing his goals. The man standing
in his way is three-time world champion Zydrunas Savickas. Björnsson
is 14 years younger than Savickas, so it should be a matter of when,
rather than if.
He claims nothing will get in his way, not even his burgeoning acting
career.
Björnsson was a talented basketball player until a knee injury dashed
those hopes. But it was not long before his physique had him picked out
as a potential strong man. He developed his body to such an extent that
NFL franchise The Indianapolis Colts made an of fer to take him on. When
asked by Sports Illustrated whether this was a serious of fer, he said, “I
was personally never that serious about it. Like I have said many times
before, I am focusing solely on Strongman and want to reach my goals
there. I am also open to do more acting. Although it is very tempting
and would surely be a worthy challenge, playing in the NFL is not for
me, not now.”
Staying strong is obviously a commitment that he relishes. His workout
routine is not complicated. It could be summarized as: lif t huge weight.
Repeat. You won’ t see “Thor” staring in a mirror doing bicep curls.
He focuses on compound exercises like the deadlif t, bench press and
squats. When you are benching 360kg, your arm muscles tend to feel
some of that burn as well. To put it in context, imagine Elvis and Brando
at their fattest. Put each on the end of a barbell. That is what Björnsson
is lif ting.
The Mountain in Game of Thrones f inished the season on his back, but
Thor Björnsson is very much on his feet and ready to take all comers. It
is hard to imagine him not succeeding.
TOUCHLINE
ISSUE 20 | MARCH 2015 |
15