New Deadlift Record: Making the Impossible Possible

Benedickt Magnusson just set a new world record in the deadlift - 1015 pounds! Check it out below. http://youtu.be/q4jO21-a2W0

This amazing demonstration illustrates many of the principles I write about on this blog. Here are just a few. First, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotes from Moshe Feldenkrais, who said that the purpose of his method was to make the impossible possible, the hard easy and the easy elegant. Here we have an excellent example of a man making the impossible possible, and also taking it to the next level and actually making the formerly impossible look easy, dare I say even elegant! Proof that even the most brutally intense of physical efforts are built on a foundation of grace and efficiency.

The video also reminds me of the SAID principle - Magnusson's movement appears almost comically oafish until he gets near the bar, but his lifting has all the grace of a ballet dancer (maybe a slight exaggeration there.) The Z-Health concept of threat modulation is also relevant - even though Magnusson was handling a weight that could have ripped his body to shreds if something went wrong, his nervous system had obviously been sufficiently convinced by years of practice that he was safe, and therefore it gave him the green light to go full throttle.

Magnusson also displays a quality of reversibility rarely seen in heavy deadlifts. In lowering the weight, he doesn't just drop it down awkwardly as most do, he lowers it the same way he came up. Another point of interest is the excellent alignment of his skeleton to do the job of bearing weight.

What an amazing vid! This has inspired me to go on a quest to one day deadlift 101.5 pounds.