Tag Archives: All-Round Weightlifting

The Strongest All Round Weightlifters in History

  By Dan Wagman, PhD, CSCS

The Strongest All Round Weightlifters in History

Ranking the most weight ever lifted and naming names 

All-round weightlifting contests strength in lifts originating from the days of the old-time strongman and often referred to as odd lifts. For each of way over 200 tests of strength records are kept for women and men in age categories of Junior, Senior, Open, and Masters and weight classes starting at 30 kg (66 lbs.) for Juniors and increasing in 5 kg (11 lbs.) increments. However, the sport also values the overall greatest amount of weight lifted for an exercise in each weight class for men and women regardless of age called the “All” category. I decided to take it one step farther by looking at which athletes lifted the most weight ever in a given lift regardless of weight class and in how many lifts they had done so. The analysis is based on the USAWA Records List dated March, 2021. I thought it best to go from general/overall to specifics in highlighting the strongest strength athletes America has ever seen.

The Overall Strongest All-Rounders

My first step was to ascertain which lifters, regardless of gender, lifted the most weight ever and in how many different lifts they had accomplished that feat. Of note, rarely several athletes lifted the same amount of weight in a given exercise for an overall all-time record. When that occurred the exercise was counted multiple times and each athlete was added to the count. In the women’s ranks lifters set all-time records in 194 exercises while the men did so in 244.

I decided to take it one step farther by looking at which athletes lifted the most weight ever in a given lift regardless of weight class and in how many lifts they had done so.

Overall, in lifting the greatest amount of weight in 30 different lifts, the strongest all-rounder comes from the women’s ranks and is RJ Jackson. Eric Todd, having lifted the all-time greatest amount of weight in 27 different lifts, comes in second. He is followed by Mary McConnaughey and Dr. Al Myers who each established the greatest amount of weight ever lifted in 26 different lifts.

It is my belief that it would be difficult to argue against these lifters having established themselves as the four overall strongest people in the history of American strength sport. There have been claims made that other athletes in the heyday of strongman and strongwoman performers have exceeded these four’s number of record lifts. As an example, Hermann Görner is said to have set all-time records in hundreds of different lifts;2 one source even records “approximately 1,400 different feats of strength of all varieties.”1 It is important to note, however, that odd lifts in those days could not boast of standardized competition and equipment with established and uniform rules. Also, there were no concerted record keeping efforts supported by a well-established strength sport governing body such as USAWA. Therefore Jackson, Todd, McConnaughey, and Myers must be considered the greatest all-round strength athletes in the history of America…and perhaps beyond.

Jackson, Todd, McConnaughey and Myers must be considered the greatest all-round strength athletes in the history of America and perhaps beyond.

“All” Women

Let’s remain within the historical context for a moment. When thinking about old-time strongwoman performers names such as Katie Sandwina, Vulcana, and Minerva come to mind. Although these women were credited with some incredible lifts, each one excelled only at a few compared to today’s all-round weightlifters. This is illustrated no better than considering Jackson’s and McConnaughey’s overall ranking. And rounding out the top three women is Amorkor Ollennuking who is credited with an amazing 23 all-time and overall record shattering lifts.

Generally, observers tend to view strength sport form the perspective of lightweight and heavyweight competitors. I followed that lead and split the women’s weight classes roughly in half to highlight the lighter lifters’ accomplishments; the cutoff I selected was 80 kg (176 lbs). Because she’s a 50 kg (110 lbs) lifter, Jackson leads that category, too; Ollennuking comes in second as her all-time highest lift records were accomplished in the 75 kg (165 lbs) and 80 kg class. Beth Skwarecki’s strength propelled her in to third place with 11 all-time greatest records achieved at a body weight ranging from 60 kg (132 lbs) to 70 kg (154 lbs).

At 85 kg (187 lbs) to super heavyweight McConnaughey rules with Jera Kressly’s 9 all-time record-breaking lifts placing her second. Felecia Simms ranks third with 5 all-time records. In splitting the athletes into lighter and heavier groups, it seems worthwhile to ascertain which weight classes contain the strongest lifters. The super heavyweight class at greater than 125 kg (275 lbs) ranks number one with 37 all-time record lifts. That weight class is followed by the 50 kg class with 32 lifts and rounding out the top three is the 70 kg class with 29 different lifts.

Since all-round weightlifting as governed by USAWA has been around for over 25 years, the oldest still standing records date back to 1988. On February 6, Cindy Garcia set still-standing records in the bench press, roman chair and pinch grip deadlift, right hand of 45 and 90 lbs; respectively. That same day, but in a different weight class, Jo Schuster equaled Garcia’s pinch grip deadlift, right hand and that record remains as well. The second oldest and remaining all-time heaviest weight record was performed on August 27. Doris De La Rosa performed a 72 lbs clean and press, dumbbells, heels together. The next day garnered her another overall record that still stands—a 99 lbs jerk from rack, behind the neck.

“All” Men

Todd and Myers established themselves without doubt as the strongest all-round strength athletes in America. These two lifters, separated by only one lift, are closely followed by Kansas’ Chad Ullom who leads the count in setting all-time heaviest weights lifted in 20 different lifts. In breaking down the weight classes, it is worth noting that the super heavyweight class leads the men’s category with total all-time records in 51 different lifts. The 115 kg (253 lbs) weight class lifters rank second with the heaviest recorded lifts in 36 different exercises followed by the 110 kg (242 lbs) class with records in 34 different lifts.

It seems worthwhile to investigate which lifters weighing less than 200 lbs. were still able to hoist the most weight ever in a given lift.

Of note, throughout strength sport history many observers felt that male lifters up to and over 200 lbs should be separated. Considering that the top three men would be considered heavyweights, it seems worthwhile to investigate which lifters weighing less than 200 lbs were still able to hoist the most weight ever in a given lift. To do so, those lifters weighing up to 90 kg, i.e., 198 lbs, were analyzed. I have to admit that I was surprised to learn that I lead the under-200-pack with lifting the all-time greatest amount of weight in 6 different lifts. Bob Hirsh comes in second with having achieved the same feat in 4 different lifts. Stephen Santangelo and Abe Smith each set all-time heaviest weight lifted records in 3 different lifts and so share third place honors.

Who is the lightest lifter to have lifted more weight in an exercise than any other man?

In remaining within the theme of lighter men lifting the greatest amount of weight in certain exercises, an interesting question to ponder is: who is the lightest lifter to have lifted more weight in an exercise than any other man? His name is Mark Baldassarre and he did so at a body weight of 65 kg (143 lbs); he performed a 350-lbs bench dip.

Finally, which lifters hold the oldest all-time records? In the 100 kg (220 lbs) weight class Steve Schmidt does so with a 270 lbs pullover and press with a bridge set September 20, 1987. In the super heavyweight class Ken McClain’s record clean and press with dumbbells and heels together of 240 lbs is dated November 7, 1987. The next day Brent Pearce performed a continental to chest in the 65 kg (143 lbs) class with a remarkable 309 lbs.

A Different Sorta Animal

Like many aspects in life, strength sport has evolved over time. While the first modern Olympic Games included weightlifting, it only vaguely resembles today’s version of the sport. Back then lifters performed feats of strength in various different exercises. Today the sport of weightlifting only contests two lifts that both require the athlete to do but one thing—hoist a loaded barbell overhead. The sport of powerlifting is much newer to the strength-sport scene and requires athletes to lift maximal weight in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. With three instead of just two lifts, to include very different exercises, powerlifting offers a greater scope of testing overall strength than weightlifting. But considering the “parent” strength sport of strongman and strongwoman, both pale in comparison when seeking to establish a person’s overall maximal strength. With that purpose in mind, all-round weightlifting ranks supreme and the athletes highlighted here must therefore be considered the overall strongest people our country has produced.

All-round weightlifting should not, however, only be judged in that regard—producing the overall strongest athletes. Every other strength sport requires athletes to perform a very limited number of exercises that can therefore be trained to perfection. All-round weightlifting on the other hand tests strength in such a variety of different exercises that few, if any of them, can be trained to the same level of perfection as those contested in weightlifting and powerlifting. In addition, where weightlifting and powerlifting can self-select top performers who naturally excel in the few contested lifts, that is not the case in all-round weightlifting. Even the strongest all-rounder will find him- or herself humbled by how weak they are in some exercises. But to the credit of most all-rounders, they train and perform those exercises on a platform anyway. They put themselves out there. And so beyond deserving an immense level of respect and recognition for their strength, the athletes highlighted in this article also deserve reverence for their willingness to challenge themselves in areas other strength sports and athletes dare not to. Let’s hope the sport’s leadership keeps this—the greatest strength sport in history—alive by actively promoting it to the younger generation. It would be a tragedy if this sport would end up going the route of the circus strongman.

References

  1. Mueller, E. Goerner the Mighty. Vulcan Publishing, 1951.
  2. Willoughby, D. The Super Athletes. A.S. Barnes & Co., 1970.

ALL-ROUND WEIGHTLIFTING’S GREATEST LIFTERS

By Dan Wagman and Ruth Jackson

From our perspective there are many aspects of all-round weightlifting that make it the greatest strength sport. But at the top of our list is the fact that your strength is challenged in 182 different lifts (USAWA Rulebook, 9th Ed.; but actually 218 lifts if you count right and left arm for one-armed lifts, 10 different fingers for finger lifts, and front and rear weaver). In addition, human physiology is such that it is nearly impossible to excel at all feats of strength equally. Fact is, we have been humbled by how challenging it is to perform well in certain lifts that present personal challenges. This humbling experience is something that many, if not most, strength athletes are unwilling to expose themselves to as they would rather stick to the lifts they can impress in.

With that said, we thought it would be interesting to see who the top men and women lifters are in USAWA—if not all of American strength sport. We determined this by only looking at how many different lifts a lifter holds a record in. We referred to the September, 2016 USAWA Record List for this.

TOP 5 GREATEST ALL-ROUNDERS

Regardless of age or gender, or even time-in-sport, all-round weightlifting’s overall top performer is Al Myers with records in 152 different lifts. Denny Habecker comes in second with 141 lifts and Dean Ross rounds out the top three with 132 lifts. Only two lifts behind Dean is Ruth Jackson with 130 different lift records for the overall fourth place ranking while Art Montini’s 128 different lift records completes the overall top five greatest all-round weightlifters.

TOP 10 BY GENDER

Women

Rank               Name                                                 Lifts                           

1                    Jackson, Ruth                                      130

2                    McConnaughey, Mary                           66

3                    Phumchaona, Noi                                 57

4                    Fritz, Misty                                          41

5                    Myers, Molly                                        37

6                    Ollennuking, Amorkor                          36

7                    Gordon, Emily                                     34

8                    Hall, Rita and Sees, Susan                   33

9                    Monk, Elizabeth                                  31

10                  Jobe, Gabby and Schmidt, Kathy          27

Men

Rank               Name                                                    Lifts

1                    Myers, Al                                               152

2                    Habecker, Denny                                    141

3                    Ross, Dean                                            132

4                    Montini, Art                                           128

5                    Ullom, Chad                                          122

6                    McKean, John                                        105

7                    Garcia, Joe                                            104

8                    Mitchell, Dennis                                     94

9                    Emslie, David                                        80

10                  Glasgow, Dave and Myers, LaVerne         77

Please note that determining these rankings took a huge amount of counting, deletion of multiple records for the same lift, sorting, etc. To give you a sense of this, just for the top 10 men there were over 3,300 initial line items of records. After removal of multiple records for the same lift the line items were reduced to a bit over 1,000. If there are any errors we apologize and would appreciate notification so that corrections can be made.

Clearly, no strength sport is as challenging as all-round weightlifting. If you are in need of motivation, have another look at the incredible depth of strength feats these lifters have accomplished, chalk up, pile on the plates, and challenge yourself in ways most dare not.

Round Up Training

By John McKean

John Grimek performing a one arm overhead lift at the old York Barbell Club.

John Grimek performing an one arm overhead lift at the old York Barbell Club.

Surprisingly, the fabled super human did not squash me like a bug, spit in my direction, or merely ignore an insignificant little nobody like me! At the time I was a wide eyed college student witnessing the parade of Iron Game icons who were milling about at one of the famous York Barbell Club picnics at Hoffman’s wooded Brookside Park. Brushing my right shoulder, John Grimek and his wife casually strolled by, causing an instant,massive lump to clog my throat! Best I could think to do was croak out a meek “Hi, John!” The mighty Grimek, huge arms in full display in a cut sleeve t-shirt, merely extended his hand in warm greeting and genuinely replied ” Hey, great to see you! How’s your training coming along?” Then he started gabbing  as if we’d been long time buddies and avid training partners! Naturally a crowd quickly built around our discussion, amid other queries from the group, when it occurred to me to ask about a point made in a recent issue of John’s MD magazine.

Questioning him about a very interesting, unique arm building article (written by Mr Universe, Tom Sansone), where the major premise was always to keep training time short by constantly CHANGING bi/tri exercises every workout, I was wondering if John himself shared that author’s conviction.” Oh,yes, ABSOLUTELY” emphasized John, “especially if you desire to greatly increase STRENGTH as well!” That statement shocked and puzzled me, as I’d assumed that one had to labor through a movement for quite a while in order to reach decent poundage. Only much later in life did I come to realize that this all-knowing lifting guru had provided the quintessential KEY to much of his  own fabled super strength, and gave a glimpse  to the brilliance he acquired from instinctual power work during his youth.

Of course, VARIETY is also the essence of ALL-ROUND competition ,which I’ve been involved with exclusively for the past 3 decades.( In fact, John Grimek was our first inductee to the USAWA Hall of Fame!) However, for most of that time it’s been a struggle to include a fairly good range of official lifts (we have nearly 200 events!)into workouts without spending entire days in the gym. So, to chase Grimek’s lead , I read “between the lines” in accounts of his earliest training ; seems he followed a basic,constant pattern in standard ,heavy exercises, but usually ended with a single massive effort on some odd strength feat. Never much in favor of “sets/reps”, he’d just extend one big all-out push,pull,partial, or hold. And,of course, ALWAYS experimenting with something new, unusual, or differant.

Now, it occurred to me, some 50 years since I first marveled over Grimek’s sage advice , that I can save time in the gym, yet train a bigger variety of lifts more effectively if I only tweek John’s essential power building KEY a bit. Simply, I needed  to start with a  moderately loaded barbell, build up weight in increments (such as 20 pounds each set), and perform a semi-challenging LIFT that will “FIT” each differant poundage. For example, the other day I began with a fairly heavy curl, added 2 ten pound plates, did a single bent arm pullover off the floor, then an increment up for a row. Twenty more pounds for an easy one arm deadlift. And on up (lots of ten pound plates laying there!) through subsequent singles for a hack lift, Ciavattone pull, heels together deadlift, Jefferson (or straddle), 12″ base deadlift, 2 bars deadlift, and finish with our heavy Kennedy lift .Yep, an eleven “event” total, great variety,decent strength output (mostly along similar “off the floor” lines),and ,most importantly, no multiple set drudgery or boredom at all! Heck, I thought I was competing in one of the USAWA’s exciting “record day” events (in itself, a form of this training system)! At the rather fast  termination to the workout, in fact, my mind& mood were as “pumped” as my legs and back were!

Next workout, if I don’t decide to change the list completely, I’ll merely add 5 pounds to the initial lift in that sequence,which,of course, puts an additional nickel on EVERY lift. Advancement will continue until some weak link in the chain becomes a “partial”; there’s never such a thing as a “miss” -max effort is always a BUILDER ! Besides, no lift stays stuck for long, as each in the series tends to boost and strengthen all others!

My training partner, 88 year old (!!) USAWA patriarch Art Montini, has been following his own version (Art’s  well thought out plans feature 28 lifts, not done all at once, but 7  lifts per session, alternating each workout) of this “Round-Up”  for years with considerable success. Art recently won (again!) the IAWA World Championships in Scotland, and is second all time on our national record list with over 400 current marks in various age and weight divisions. His brief, variety enhanced workouts begin at 4 AM, EVERY morning, finish quickly before 5, then has him bounding through the day with unbelievable vigor !

Want the strength of Grimek and the longevity of Montini? Forget all useless, time robbing set/rep systems and “Round-Up” for an instant power surge, vastly increased energy, and all-round versatility!

 

Accepting the Aging Process

by Thom Van Vleck

None of these guys are showing any sign of aging any time soon! This "unretouched" photo shows that lifting keeps you youthful! Joe Garcia, Chad Ullom, Al Myers, LaVerne Myers, and Thom Van Vleck getting ready to down Cheese Steak Sandwichs in Philadelphia before the Heavy Event Nationals!

I have said it before, the USAWA sometimes seems like a retirement sport for lifters.   The organization has it’s fair share of older lifters and I think it’s great.  I don’t think it has anything to do with it being an organization for older lifters but everything to do with the wide variety of lifts available to the lifters.  This allows those who have injuries that keep them from Powerlifting, Olympic lifting, or strongman meets to stay active and still make gains.

I have known Joe for at least 25 years, Al and Chad for 17 years, and have really gotten to know LaVerne that last 5 years.  We have all had long lifting careers and our fair share of injuries.  And yet, in the photo above we don’t seem to have a SINGLE grey hair…at least in our beards….that PROVES lifting keeps you young!

In particular, I have known Al through having his bicep reattached not once, but TWICE on his right arm a ONCE on his left.  Yet he continues to plug away breaking record after record.  Had he stuck to just powerlifting or just Highland games, that would have been difficult to do.   So that’s a second reason the USAWA is popular among older lifters, they can keep setting records and that keeps them motivated to lift hard.

Many of you know, but maybe a few don’t, that Al was a high ranked Professional Highland Games Athlete.  He even held a Pro world record!  That’s no easy feat!  It’s actually how I met him and not through my affiliation with Bill Clark and Bob Burtzloff (Al’s brother in law).  That was just one of those “small world” deals that we found out later.   There was a time when Al “retired” from throwing.  I was personally pretty sad about this because I had enjoyed our many road trips to Highland Games.  Al told me one time it was hard to stay motivated about throwing when he knew he’d peaked in that sport and would likely never be as good a thrower as he was when he was at his prime.  However, in the USAWA he could still find lifts that he could work on and set not only USAWA records in, but personal bests, too.  And that keeps a guy motivated about his training when he feels he can keep setting “personal bests”!

Now, the photo above, to be honest, was “retouched” just a little.  Al recently dyed….errrrr…I mean “highlighted” his beard because when he grew it back after a long absence (Al used to sport a beard for most of the early years I knew him) it had gotten a little grey…..OK, let’s be honest, it was as snow white as Santa’s beard!   So Al “highlighted” it a little and we gave him a hard time about it.  But seriously, Al is an ageless wonder and I have no doubt that someday he will challenge Art Montini, Dennis Habecker, and the other top record holders for most records ever.

USAWA is a sport that keeps you young at heart!

John O’Brien: Part 2

John O'Brien "blowing up" a pop can using his incredible grip in one of our JWC evangelism shows!

by Thom Van Vleck

I will continue my story on my friend and strength athlete John O’Brien.

In part one I ended with John coming to one of our strongman evangelism shows.  John approached us about joining our team.  We are always happy when guys want to join us, but we also want to make sure they are in it for the right reasons.  Now, I’ve NEVER turned down anyone that wants to join us, but I also want to make sure guys know that it’s not “all about physical strength” but a real Christian ministry effort.  We don’t “show off” we “share” our God given talents for strength for God’s glory.

I invited John out the the JWC gym to meet with him about his desire to join the evangelism team.  John had this amazing and wonderful story about his son, Xavier (who recently became an Eagle scout!).  He talked about how he had drifted away from God and Church and that science had, in essence, become his religion.  He came to believe that science could answer any question about life.  Then along came Xavier.  He was born at 23 weeks (normal is 40 weeks!) and weighed 1lb and 4oz at birth.  His weight actually dropped to 15oz….LESS THAN A POUND!

The doctors told John that Xavier had a 25% chance to live and a 5% chance of being normal.  It was touch and go and things were tough emotionally for John and his wife Andrea.  But it was a moment when John realized that science did not hold all the answers and surrendered himself to a higher power.  Xavier began to improve to the amazement of all.  John credits God for Xavier’s progress and recovery and what a recovery it was and continues to be!  He is a top scholar in school, he looks like a normal teen in every way,  and he’s a mature, tough, likable young man that we are all proud of.

It was at that meeting that I knew John was a special man, not just in strength, but in all the ways that make a man a real man in my book.  John became a core member of the JWC Strongman evangelism team and we have had many great shows together which now number in the hundreds and I hope we have many more to come!  We have even traveled to the Arnold Expo in Columbus, Ohio where we met Arnold himself (a story unto itself!) and got to perform for hundreds.  If there’s any question to John’s “go time” attitude regarding his strength, it was at this show John drove a nail deeply into his hand during a tough bend and he not only finished the bend, he taped up and performed the rest of the weekend.

John is a world class bender.  Another core member of our group is Brett Kerby.  Brett was already a world class bender and John took a keen interest in it.  With Brett’s tutelage, John soon became the master!  It was funny that later he commented that Brett was not a very big guy and surely if he could do it, then John thought he could, too.  That’s John’s attitude about a lot of things….if you can do it….he can, too!   Brett and John have pushed each other to greater heights than they probably would have ever done alone.

John approached bending like he does most everything he does….obsessively….my kind of guy!   He began to bend all the time.  He told me a story that his division head at Truman State, where he teaches, came to him and said he had to stop bending in labs….because the students were afraid to come up to him as he bent 60 penny nail after nail and threw them in a pile.  He bent his first red nail in one of our shows.  I got the crowd all worked up and he had 60 seconds….he bent it in about 15 seconds…making it almost anti-climatic!  His best bends to date are the 4.5″ Red Nail (5/16th cold rolled steel), 7″ X 5/16th grade 5 bolt, and a 4.5″ X 1/4″ grade 8 bolt.  He also bends horseshoes and wrenches in our shows.

John is a good friend.  His recent accomplishment merited an update on an earlier article and I’m sure that there’s plenty more to come from him.  If the USAWA version of Old time Strongman catches on, I think John will be a top contender!

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