The 2018 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Hafthor Björnsson appears to be doing good on his goal of cracking the all-time powerlifting total world record. On April 4th, the former strongman turned boxer turned powerlifter and soon-to-return strongman published a video of himself on his Instagram page wherein he took a barbell loaded with 420 kilograms (925.9 pounds) on his shoulders into the hole and locked it out.
The immensely heavy squat in the video isn’t in range of challenging any world record on its own, but the implication of the lift is as massive as the weight. Check out the squat below:
The top three all-time heaviest squats in the superheavyweight category that Björnsson will compete in later in 2023 are all at least 500 kilograms (1,102.3 pounds) — well beyond where it seems Björnsson’s squat currently is. However, if 420 kilograms felt breezy for “The Mountain,” then the potential to close in on that 500-kilogram milestone after bulking for most of the year could be in the cards.
Check out Björnsson’s 420-kilogram squat again below from a different angle, courtesy of Julien Howard’s Instagram page:
Björnsson’s stated goal is to break the all-time powerlifting total world record in the fall of 2023 before returning to competitive strongman in 2024. Given that Björnsson is training with wraps, the current raw (with wraps) all-time total record is Dan Bell’s 1,182.5-kilogram (2,607 pounds) performance from the 2021 WRPF Hybrid Showdown III.
If Björnsson competes raw without the knee wraps, he would need to chase Jesus Olivares’ recent move to the top of the throne with his 1,152.5-kilogram (2,540.8-pound) performance at the 2023 IPF Sheffield Championships.
