The BEST Exercises To Test Your Strength

[@mitchellhooperstrongman]

Get a program written by me! moosecoaching.com Pick up your Lift Heavy, Be Kind merch! www.lhbk.shop/

[@intoxicatedchocobo8370]

Best test of strength : walking past the donut case at the grocery without stopping even for a looksie

[@christoferkoch786]

I must be the weakest person on earth.

[@jooka2010]

Grocery store donuts aren't worth the calories. If I'm getting donuts I'm going to a donut shop

[@OfcItsMeFMRadio]

Fr 😂

[@tcgtpl]

Mateusz Kieliszkowski would like to have a talk with you.

[@Garrettismyname]

Not even a looksie??? Good god man, I’m not a superhero

[@gym-kneecrickets6294]

I think the ultimate measure of strength is the ability to do bicep curls in the squat rack and nobody yells at you.

[@haellm9192]

"don't curl in the squat rack" mfs when they see denis cyplenkov come up to them and start curling their squat:

[@maciejguzek3442]

My jaw dropped hearing the level and logic of Mitch's arguments. Fingers crossed that in the future he will have major influence on how the biggest strongman tournaments look.

[@SuperTommox]

This was very well thought out

[@JZ-xu3vg]

i guess he did ok considering his gigantic head and tiny tiny ears.

[@rdbm-uo5zt]

You mentioned tendon insertions for the biceps curl. Years ago, in the gym, I was surprised to see many women use dumbbells that I found difficult to use, yet I was benching 225 lbs for a dozen reps in succession and was able to do 15 pullups in succession at a bodyweight of 190 lbs. Now for the best lifts, here's my picks: the power clean without any re-bending of the knees for bronze; the Squat for silver; and the Atlas Stone regulated for one's anthropometry for gold.

[@manmoth4]

Currently I can bench 220 for 8 reps, but I can db curl 70lbs for 5 reps. For me it's just genetics, shoulders and arms have always been ahead of chest for a fraction of the effort. I can OHP 220 for 1, so it's not even far behind bench.

[@rdbm-uo5zt]

@@manmoth4 I actually had been training with weights for several years before hitting the gym. It was there that I discovered that I was not as strong in the arms as I thought. When I did curls, I was unwittingly cheating. I did stand like a soldier (no heaving at all), but I was shrugging my shoulders up and back a couple of inches while simultaneously snapping my elbows back a few inches to initiate the curl; unless you took the time to really notice, it didn't look like cheating. But, man, did it make a difference. And interestingly, most people in the gym were just doing it right: strict soldier stance and no movement at all except the forearm going up and down on perfectly still upper arm bones pointed directly to the floor. Needless to say, my 50s became 30s; humbling indeed. My OHP was 190 lbs., so my shoulders were strong, too. It was just my arms that were weak.

[@manmoth4]

@@rdbm-uo5zt Yeah I'm pretty particular on form. One time I broke a deadlift PR but it was a bit of a grinder, and I didn't mentally count it until the next week when I did it smooth lol. It doesn't feel like I properly did it otherwise

[@samarthur1847]

Love it when Ed Coan gets a mention 😊

[@yorkshireaquatics9537]

Hi Mitch, I feel like the only thing I could do well at on here is the sandbag carry or carrying anything. I work as a groundsman for a tree surgeon and we live in a hilly area. All I do all day is carry slabs of wood up and down steep tiered gardens with the wood being slippy and working in snow last week. I would love to see a video of you doing tree work. Think you would kill it!

[@bhavneetbhangu1248]

I think the yoke walk also takes the gold spot. I think it virtually tests all major muscle groups (apart from maybe those activated during a press) especially when the yoke is heavy and not for distance... Yes different yoke implements could vary but if we had a standard implement for this, I think it would be on the gold category 😃 Love the content Mitch!

[@markoz.4985]

Very good ranking. Everything said makes perfect sense. Congratulations to this gentleman. It is obvious that he really understands the key factors contributing to the total strength output.

[@autoimmune-barbell]

You said the lengths of your arms can’t change how much you are able to lift in order for it to be a true test of strength. Arm length makes a massive difference in the deadlift. Huge ! There’s a massive difference in force output for a guy who locks out on his knees compared to past his junk. Same with overhead press. If you have short arms the lift is going to be far easier and require you to produce less force

[@adamlea6339]

The force needed to lift the weight is the same no matter what your arm length. Shorter arms reduce the work done due to the shorter pushing distance (work done = Force x Distance), same with bench where arching the back reduces the pushing distance and work done.

[@todretex]

@@autoimmune-barbell shorter back imo is more important. The average human has 33 vertebrae apparently. I am pretty sure I have 133 as my size 13 feet look like size 6 from up here. Moment-arm is probably the most defining thing in a genetic deadlifter. I also have 198cm arms and 198cm height, so even though they are proportioned I also lock out at ‘junk’ height. Very frustrating when so many champions lock out at just above knees.

[@natethayn7900]

Yeah but in that case the lean goth is just making you stronger not changing the amount of force required.

[@anon8633]

​@@adamlea6339??? Shorter arms have to move a further distance for a full rep. Hence why standing on a lifted platform makes deadlifts more difficult for the same person.

[@Dario__]

I guess i really pay attention to all of your lessons because i was very confident even in how the top 3 is going to look like, log press i though it would fall into spot 4 but close enough. This was a very good video, thanks for the great content!

[@cenkorg7128]

As someone who's naturally quite weak it would be very interesting to see a breakdown of what specific anatomical genetics make you "weak". Is it bone size, joint size, a a bad combination of insertions? I feel like there's a lot of videos/info (and common sense) on what makes you strong so it would be interesting to see the opposite.

[@DavidVirtanen]

Great Point Mate 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@thermoplastischesaethylend1046]

It's leverages basicially.

[@IbrahimAl-Khwarizmi]

all of that could be a factor but i believe percentages of fast twitch muscles is the highest reason

[@Sin-uz1bp]

@@cenkorg7128 bone and joint size is a contributing factor to your genetic limit of muscle and tendon size. The origin and insertion points of muscle and tendon play a role in leverage. Also not limb and torso lengths, but more importantly it’s limb and torso proportions. Thor is 6 foot 9 inches tall but quite proportionate. A high percentage of people that people over 6 foot tall have proportionally longer limbs. His being proportionate maintains his limb length leverage, but his height and skeletal frame allow him to have larger tendons and muscles than anyone could that was much shorter than him which allows him to have an increased tolerance to heavy weight without ripping tendon off the bone.

[@hooktraining3966]

All of those that you listed and more. The body is extremely complex.

[@jorgeegrojful]

not mentioning Jesus Olivares at the end hurt me a bit. mega gojira is goated as is rayray

[@tielvandenheuvel5168]

Stone to shoulder should have had a segment.

[@Micheldied]

Agreed. IMO there is no single movement that can test overall strength completely, but the stone to shoulder is the closest to it. Mitch has never had to do it (he didn't actually do it at the Arnold when it was there), so that's why he probably didn't think about it.

[@brandonparris7577]

Log and deadlift are the best tests of strength! Squat is king 👑

[@docspiffy4507]

Kudos to you for calling out the sumo deadlift.

[@JZ-xu3vg]

sumo is fine. hes on a witch hunt. A+

[@stigberntsen9301]

@@JZ-xu3vg Nope, he share his opinions.

[@davorzdralo8000]

@@JZ-xu3vg Sumo is fine, but it's a different exercise and shouldn't be compared to conventional deadlift. It's like pulldowns vs pullups.

[@joosewv]

I think the atlas stone to shoulder is the single best test of full body strength, especially if you remove the hold at the end of the motion that requires more balance than strength. That may be because I think stones are cool and to me anyone who can lift heavy stones is instantly strong, but I think it's also objectively a great measure of strength. A combination of deadlift and log press is also fantastic because they test different strengths and favor different leverages. Anyone who's great at both is objectively strong imo.

[@fortnitetrashcan8308]

for me strength tests would be, deadlift and ohp

[@importantstuff1130]

Must say this is a very logical and well measured breakdown, also very self-critical to the point that he admits, that by pure strenght he would maybe not rank as high as he does. However i se two point to improve: 1. The full body argument, which is a point a lot of his pics do not really even come close too! But on the other side i dont think it should be mandatory anyways, because you cannot test the full body with one movement. Now of course a good strenght test should include a lot of muscles, no one care about the heaviest wrist curl, but at least a distinction between upper and lower body should be done! He does this himself when picking the squat as Nr. 1! Secon problem: The correlation between bodyweight and result. If that is too low the lift is not to good, because we know that muscle mass is a key factor of stenght. And as to the fact, a lot of his lower ranked exercies do nor correlate very well, like the C&J. However the deadlift is also notoriosly bad at this, even by his rules, which is why you can say that leverages do ply to big of a role here.

[@seanwhitehall4652]

1) Conventional raw deadlift for me. 2) Clean & Jerk or similar floor to overhead, but technique is a much bigger factor here. 3) A pull of some kind. Ideally on a horizontal ladder.

[@cameronhutchison4610]

A Tier List to me: Squat, Max Yoke (10-20ft), Axle Clean and Strict Press, Conventional Deadlift w/ Straps, Max Atlas Stone to Lower Chest Height, and Close Grip Bench Press (or just slightly outside shoulders grip).

[@titkos8]

If squat is the Best excesise as your opinion then what is about upper body strength?

[@Anonymityfan]

One other important criteria imo is sizes and proportions shouldn't be a big factor so plate lifts or thick bar lifts are usually biased towards big hands or benching which is better for people with relatively short arms. Also things where you can leverage your own weight.

[@brentcecchini5843]

Great vid Mitch. How's the bicep tendon doing?

[@michaelprice8207]

With this I would only say that the log diameter could be a factor, but could easily be made into a standard. Spot on under the parameters you established.

[@MathiasDS01]

Mitch, how much do you think you are capable of lifting in a raw deadlift?

[@DanielSt444]

I think a squat where you hold the weight in front of you would be a better test than a back squat. Sandbag, goblet, front squat (slightly less so), something like that. You still have the leverage components but you have to combine more of them to get the "optimal" body.

[@MultiRostam]

Dr Mike: Axle clean and press is the ultimate test of strength

[@ericguzman4043]

Zercher variations.... period. Not going to lie when I do zercher deadlifts and lock out I feel like a badass lol.

[@zackarytheriault2584]

Hey mitch, what's your ape index ? The keg toss comparison with Thor made me think of that

[@constablekohler]

When it comes to squat what variation do you think is the best for measuring strength? Lo bar, front squat, etc? I do low bar squats because i got into all of this thought the SS cult

[@jakemaattanen]

Why the grin in the last one… One might think that the Squat in Brians competion was a good example ☺️

[@Jmack7861]

Atlas stone load, squat, axle overhead starting in the rack position (off boxes or what have you) yoke, sumo deadlift.

[@andrewzach1921]

Thanks for the video

[@wernerbro3208]

Complete Fullbody STRENGTH TEST 1.Standing strict militarypress w/belt (Test the entire bodys core stability and pure pressing power) 2.Pull ups w/max weight (Test your pure pulling strength in arms, grip) 3.Front squat (test your mainly your legs, and deep core stability) 4.Deadlift or trapbar deadlift (test hamstring, back, core, grip etc)

[@LukasKonrad-pt4uv]

Stone to shoulder is the ultimate test of strength in my opinion

[@lordmegatron6145]

full raw safety bar squat,full raw conventional deadlift(with straps or not), and full raw only press from the rack(with legs or without). basically simplified weightlifting moves without mobility or too much technique..

[@mutlucankartal9524]

Strongly Agree!

[@mutlucankartal9524]

One might add some sort of row though..

[@ghosthero0806]

@@mutlucankartal9524 i think a standard overhand grip bent over row is probably the best version for expressing raw strength, something like a pendlay row allows momentum to play a bigger role

[@hannesl1266]

​@@mutlucankartal9524 I would say a military press would be better to ad

[@lordmegatron6145]

@@mutlucankartal9524 vay kardesim benim eyvAllah..

[@Jeff-cs5vq]

Dr. Mike says the winner is the continental clean & press. Mitch knows this. That's why he chose to break the axle record & not the squat record.

[@groggdog15]

Gold has to include deadlift for sure, but I’m biased as that is by far my best lift

[@mickey3269]

You clearly are more knowledgeable on the subject of strength than I am. I have questions. Please don’t take my questions as insinuating a specific point, I’m just curious what the thinking is. Why didn’t a pull come into this list? Like a semi truck pull etc. Doesn’t this demonstrate a huge variety of muscle groups working in concert? I realize that body weight comes into effect, unless it’s a row style pull. Yes, grip is a factor in this type of event, but grip is a significant factor in every day strength. I saw Brian Shaw setting up a pull event where the athletes would pull a rope in a rowing type position with their feet braced and sitting on a moveable seat. I think it was for this years’ Shaw classic. The weight is the same for everyone, so it’s a timed event. Second question; For endurance events, where you ability to hold something up, or carry something in a disadvantaged way, doesn’t strength play a huge factor? The stronger you are, the lower percentage of your overall strength has to be used to accomplish the hold, typically the longer you can do it without the pain level building. I understand that it isn’t necessarily the single best demonstration of strength, but when it becomes an event in a competition, it tells a story that it wouldn’t on its own. Lastly, just because someone’s tendons attach further out from their joints doesn’t make them weaker does it? Yes, their muscles can be less powerful and achieve the same working strength overall. Really it just makes them more efficient. It’s not a test of muscle size at the end of the day, it’s a test of how heavy a weight they can move right? I suppose if I were to be eluding to a point, it might be that overall strength is a multi faceted thing with many factors at play. Doesn’t it take a whole strongman competition to really determine who is strongest? Does any one exercise really demonstrate someone’s overall strength? Also… I miss Fingal’s fingers, that event was awesome!

[@mickey3269]

I guess fingal’s fingers hasn’t been missing after all, I just didn’t get to see WSM 2023.

[@mickey3269]

I guess fingal’s fingers hasn’t been missing after all, I just didn’t get to see WSM 2023.

[@aidanhughes3458]

I agree (mostly) with 1 rep max being better than 5-15 rep events, - but what about Viking press? I think it deserves a place if things like farmers/frame carry makes the cut. And I would have it in my silver/gold

[@miskee11]

Front hold is okay. Just use the same distance for everyone and attach the weight to their arms surgically. This way they won't have to grip it.

[@fullerspubcollector]

I particularly liked your analysis of Atlas Stones and how it benefited taller athletes with longer arms. I've always wondered why this was never accommodated by the organisers as it so unfair to the shorter athletes.

[@larsenconditioning6742]

In that same breath then it should be changed with press events to make everyone press the same distance, you have the cards you are dealt

[@lordmegatron6145]

@@larsenconditioning6742 true ashell

[@ediot6969]

I agree the squat is king! Only difference is I would say on sleeves not wraps. Sleeves that you one can get on and off alone and without external equipment. Also a belt is allowed but must be able to put it on and take it off alone and without external equipment.

[@legoukko5372]

tbh depth is an issue imo (i am coping tbh, my squat is very weak) because if its just the number one 1rm to ask for to gauge strength then i think the squat is horrible just because you cant standardize depth, and in a format where you do the exercises in person imo itd make sense to do more than just one lift

[@lordmegatron6145]

@@legoukko5372 amazing+++

[@lloydgiles4816]

That’s why I love log it’s more impressive than any other lift

[@johnjackman7622]

I believe a Max sand bag to shoulder is a brilliant test of strength. Anyone can try it

[@velinivanov607]

Before watching the video my picks Squat Bench Deadlift Overhead press

[@jonl2938]

Natural child birth is pretty damn impressive… kind of limiting for half of us though. In high school my best friend and I created weekly strength challenges. The most fun/possibly dumbest was max overhead snatch grip squat (we competed in the Olympic lifts on a team back in the day). Downside - probably risk of shoulder injury. But the balance factor was awesome.

[@renedupont6116]

Mitch also deserves the title of most prolific blogger on earth. This permanent posting is overkill

[@tuomastukiainen9925]

In my opinion deadlift with fatbar/axle (50mm) without suit will be much more better test of strength than normal bar (not to mention elastic deadlift bars) the sport is going in a totally bad direction if more flexible bars are developed in order to obtain new world records (the strongest man is the one who lifts the most with a fatbar from the standard deadlift height) Log press, fatbar deadlift normal height, front squat those will be gold tier.

[@AlphaLionTrillionaire]

Real strength is maintaining a healthy relationship

[@Kindacutehuh]

Hahah! Well, I suspect thats right.

[@ZBause]

What about strict weighted pull-ups?

[@Theseus.Schulze]

you mentioned having an exercise standard. Given that logs change in size and build from comp to comp would you really say they're standardized?

[@robertobuenafe]

For me it's Squat, Deadlift, strict Overhead Press, strict Bench Press So yeah basically what powerlifters do but no momentum

[@Kragatar]

I think Brian Shaw should hire you to help design events for SMOE, since his goal with that show is to find the true strongest man on earth.

[@Kragatar]

Gold prediction... deadlift has to be #1. So simple and straightforward there's no way to cheat it, body proportions negate each other... taller guy has a bigger frame to pile muscles on, but also has a longer distance to move the weight so it's about even with a shorter guy who has less muscle but a shorter distance.

[@ThreeSelfProtesant]

I wonder what your opinion on things like a plane pull would be.

[@codyboyer8373]

I paused the video and guessed all the gold ones and said them in the same order you did lol

[@DavidVirtanen]

Absolutely Perfect Video Mitchell I Fucking Love It Thank You Sooo Much 🤗💛💛💛💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

[@bloodysath]

That smirke at 2:01 😁 if you know you know

[@io-rj6sk]

i dont know :(

[@bloodysath]

@io-rj6sk at strongest Man on Earth he exploited the Squat Maschine within the Rules

[@brokencigarette3017]

how many comps will you likely do next year?

[@arachnidkalven]

Mitch spitting truths 3:58 😂

[@WesleySissons]

Sled push or pull and a Pennsylvanian press would be two I think of.

[@Anonymityfan]

I think that allowing sumo actually makes deadlifting a better test of strength because it allows people with different proportions to lift however is best for them.

[@15super1ford]

I like log press just wish it was offered at more gyms Squat Bench deadlift Shoulder press top tier lifts

[@daltonmason62]

I'm pretty partial to the behind the back hold, myself 😉

[@SneeMacher]

Before even watching till the end, I imagined top-3 such exercises: Deadlift, Log lift, Yoke Walk... 2/3 in the end, not bad I guess xD

[@lk-ip1xs]

9:15 how about stone to shoulder? That would automatically regulate the height the stone has to be lifted to relative to the lifters height

[@gamespotlive3673]

Log press, deadlift, leg press, and farmer's walk.

[@elisabeth4342]

If squats are king, then you can break it down further with WEIGHTED PISTOL SQUATS; you'd need ATG (full range of motion) and with nearly perfect form (no wobbling; control throughout entire ROM; NO bouncing at the bottom of movement)!!! Heavy pistols, ATG, with the form of an elite gymnast, would be a legit test/example of top-level strength!!

[@michaelscott_aka_db_saf]

Agree 💯 great list

[@divicospower9112]

First I want to say that I really love your honesty when talking about strength. Pure strength is something, technic is another, turning around rules even another. That's what you explain when you talk about your axle record. It doesn't mean that it is not impressive. Of course it is but as you mentionned it before, when you look at Hall's record, it was insane. I really regret that in weightlifting, they left the clean and push. I don't agree on the squat. For the gold I would pick the bench press, the dips, the deadlift (with straps), strict military press, and the pull ups. All with proper form and a decent RoM of course. I choose the pull ups because as it becomes easier to lift more weight on the squat when you become fatter it becomes harder to do so on the pull ups. I am not impressed by the huge belly of Ray Williams touching his quads and bouncing on them allowing him to lift such weight. Conversly, I highly respect Sarychev who could do pull ups at 170 kilos while being able to lift 400 on the deadlift and more than 300 on the bench press. Pull ups put your arms in such a weak position that if you can do them with extra weight, your pulling strength is huge. That's why I don't put something like the Pendlay row in gold tier even if I really like it and I find it great to measure strength.

[@TheSLK66]

For me, Bronze - Stone to shoulder, Silver - Conventional Deadlift, Gold - Log Lift & Press

[@vegardarntzen1556]

Absolutely, i think many people underestimate, or have no experience with the log, it is insanely difficult.

[@JZ-xu3vg]

all of those take a lot of training. what about something any man or women can do with little to no training without getting hurt.

[@waylander73uk18]

What about neutral grip deadlift eg on hexbar?

[@mrtarique1]

If u have a big squat, will that mean that u can get to a big deadlift?

[@aaronbarlow4376]

Surely deadlift tests more muscles? The posterior chain in deadlift for example. There is a problem for guys like me who're not built anatomically to squat deep. Long femurs and deep hip sockets mean I have to pause in the hole and sink into a position barely below parallel and it means getting out of the hole is much harder. If I go straight down to a position that feels natural and stand up immediately I can squat much more weight, but seeing as I intend to compete in powerlifting I must bow before the squat depth Nazis.

[@ConnoisseurOfExistence]

The best test of full body strength would be clean and press, but of course only for people that do't know to c&j. It's the most complete full body strength in one movement - you pick up the weight from the floor and you lift it to overhead. As I said, will only test real strength, if you know nothing about technique of such movement.

[@GoofballLOL]

Atlas stone, 100% The gold tier you have is what I answer people with, but I put stones at the top I don't think you can make a reasonable argument for leverages being advantageous for stones but not squat or deadlift or OHP

[@adamlea6339]

I found it interesting you put both squat and deadlift in gold. I am dreadfully weak and when I trained could only squat at most 75 kg for a few reps but could deadlift over 110 kg for the same number of reps. Bench press, forget it, I've never managed to push 50 kgs and on overhead press I can barely do 30 kg. Why would there be such a big difference between my squat and deadlift numbers?

[@doctorgorgomel]

That's pretty normal. Depending on your squat technique, you are likely doing a more quad dominant squat with a lesser emphasis on the hinge. Usually, your back (erectors, etc) would be stronger therefore while there is a squat element in deadlifting, your hinge does most of the heavy work. Powerlifters however adopt a wider foot stance, bend over more and bring in a lot of hinge into their squatting (almost like a good morning), therefore they can often equal or surpass their deadlift numbers. Again, those numbers are perfectly proportional for an average female, including the bench. Females have much less upper body muscle mass.

[@adamlea6339]

@@doctorgorgomel Thanks for the info. When I squat I go almost straight down. If I sit back and down I fall backwards and have to lean forward to maintain balance. This puts me in the bad postion of my shoulders way forward, my hips too high and I good-morning the squat, which above a certain weight causes lower back pain (the type of pain that tells you you are doing harm). These days I squat in a functional manner as though I was doing gardening and have never had issues with pain or twinges, and it means I can get down at least to parallel if not a little lower. I'm not female but I don't have much upper body muscle mass. My wrist cicumference is a little over six inches and have thin arms.

[@dwv5009]

I enjoy these types of videos, but they’d really be more engaging if you had some video clips to illustrate your point

[@nikhilpandey8152]

Mitch absolutely loathes wrecking ball😂

[@ninja8flash742]

steinborn squat? kinda annoyed its not even mentioned i suppose its a little technical but still i think its best

[@panagiothsstaurou7569]

My opinion the best test of strength is natural stone from the ground to overhead

[@jorvarpowell6039]

Cannot agree with the deadlift being so high on the list. I’m a strength and conditioning coach but you have much more credentials than myself. So, I’m sure the debate wouldn’t go well for me. But, if you have short arms it absolutely makes a difference. More than that, if you have a long torso it makes a difference. If you have short arms and a long torso, you will just never be a great deadlifter. Think of your spine like a fishing pole. The longer the fishing pole, the more it will bend under the same load as a shorter pole. So the muscle of your back need to be a great deal stronger to compensate. Combine that with the extra inches the weight needs to travel to lock out from short arms and it just doesn’t test over all strength. If you have a guy with half the muscle and 30-50 pounds in weight difference but he’s got monkey arms and a short torso, that guy will have the potential to deadlift more absolute load.

[@manmoth4]

To be honest the general logic in this video seems pretty porous to me. "The front hold isn't about strength because it just determines how much force you can generate at the ends of your arms". Like yeah, that's what strength is. The ability to generate torque, letting you move things. The same muscle on a shorter lever, all else equal, results in a stronger individual. Bigger people are still stronger on average because a longer limb has more room for muscle, compensating for the longer lever arms. If your limbs are particularly long or short for a given frame size, then that makes you stronger or weaker on certain lifts. Long arms makes you stronger at deadlifting, weaker at curling. I don't get the leap in logic that better leverages invalidate the concept of strength unless Mitch defines strength purely as a function of the force your muscles can produce completely independent of having to act on the skeletal structure, which probably tracks more to power ironically, since a longer limb with the same muscular strength will be weaker but generally able to attain a higher throw velocity for example.

[@jorvarpowell6039]

@ the idea being to find a lift that lowers the advantages a person will have on a specific lift so we can actually find the strongest person and not the person with ideal leverages to succeed on that specific lift. Assuming you only have one lift to test someone on If you’re a deadlift specialist who wins the deadlift but is weaker on every single other lift, are you stronger than someone cause you deadlift more? In the deadlift, I guess. But over all? Can’t know. It’s a movement that favors specific leverages far too much. So, trying to find a lift where leverages matter less and raw force production matters more is what I believe to be the point of the video And to that point, I agree with the log, I agree with squatting. But deadlifting and stones will literally always favor the guy with longer arms. Always. If person A is capable of generating the same amount of force as person B at the start, middle and end of a deadlift, but they have 4 extra inches to go than person B causing person A to fail that lift when person B succeeds, this does NOT make person B stronger. It makes them advantaged in the deadlift. They moved the same weight less distance which by definition is less work. And limb length to strength is not linear. Yes, you’ll have the ability to put on more muscle. But if muscle size was linear to strength, a 250lb lean person would be able to do the same number of pull ups as a 150lb lean person. That’s not how muscles work. Let’s say for argument’s sake a 1lb muscle moves 10lbs. That does not mean a 2lb muscle moves 20lbs Just being able to put on more muscle does not cancel out limb length. And for similar reasons, scaling through DOTs or WILKs doesn’t work. A 150lb man being able to deadlift 4x their body weight is an amazing feat of strength, sure. A 300 point man that can only deadlift 1000 lbs will lose out to that little guy using those metrics. Theoretically and by your statement, being so much larger, that guy should also be able to lift 4x his body weight. Well, as of now, it’s considered impossible for a 300lb man to lift 4x their body weight. The best lifters on the planet cannot do it. That would exceed Thors deadlift by nearly 100lbs. Because weight, muscle size and leverages are not linear. Leverages are exponential in how much they help or hurt your lift. So, all that being said, the deadlift and front hold don’t favor the person who is strongest over all, the person with the most muscle or anything else. To truly find who can produce the most force we either need to regulate the distance a weight travels and its exact arch relative to the body or we need a mathematician to figure out the exact amount of work being done by each specific person If you only see strength as moving a thing from A to B, then there will always be arguments about who is strongest over all. The trex guy with a 450lb overhead and 800lb deadlift or the spider limb guy with the 350 lb overhead and the 1000lb deadlift. It just leaves a ton of room for argument Wow I’m sorry I wrote a book back lol.

[@manmoth4]

@@jorvarpowell6039 OK, I agree if we're limited to one lift, somehow I forgot about that lol. But my criticism was about the idea that a lift doesn't measure strength in that particular lift, which is what the phrasing implied. But I disagree about longer limbs (assuming overall bigger and therefore also thicker bones) not compensating via more potential for muscle growth. You seem to be talking about strength to bodyweight ratio, while this is about absolute strength, which still increases with greater size.

[@jorvarpowell6039]

@ strength is increased with size, just not linearly. Being bigger doesn’t compensate for the weight being further away from your body. Having much more muscle in your traps and front delts during a front hold will not counter the fact that every inch out from your body the weight is, the weight is increased. It’s exponential. Muscle size to strength is logarithmic. The opposite. Larger muscles produce more force, just not at the same rate that a longer limb will increase the weight.

[@jorvarpowell6039]

A smaller, weaker muscle can hold the same weight as a larger, stronger muscle if the moment arm is shorter. Often much more.

[@xaviermitchell578]

I don't understand how your pressing backbend is not a test of strength?

[@neon2090]

My overhead press is terrible, it must be a good test of strength 😅

[@aussiebodie]

Agreed...

[@hannesl1266]

The difference in leverage for isolation moments and compound is pretty much the same so don't know what's his talking about their

[@timbeech2056]

I agree with Mike Israetel on this, it's the continental clean and press. Too much fuckery with squats and deadlifts and neither of them test the full body.

[@jacobbalzer7599]

Backlift

[@lordmegatron6145]

the real answer amazing+++

[@Sin-uz1bp]

I’d like to see the strongest strongman be measured with a strongman total. Perhaps log lift and deadlift? Or perhaps other appropriate lifts. It’s clear with other sports who the strongest are. Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting are clearly outlined. Who totals the most? But who’s the strongest strongman? I think there should be a standard.

[@lordmegatron6145]

great idea

[@tcgtpl]

The Bench Press is the only test of strength. - Dom The Brofessor

[@smsaiantt]

Moose dropping.

[@ArtSiverling]

Figure 8 straps or not?

[@poorfatman5317]

Ty I'm a really strong squatter

[@Silverwood085]

Test your MIGHT!!! 🐲🐉

[@imccrae1]

"Despite what happened this year"...😆

[@OldManStrength2112]

IMO... #1) Deadlift #2) Overhead Press

[@Bonneville_Brute]

I do think that Thor is possibly the best squatter in the world right now