He reportedly became interested in the sport after seeing it on TV. However, Uni preferred to train using free weights—or whatever weighted objects he could get his hands on. His recorded feats, including lifting 500 lbs with three fingers and carrying 4,337 lbs on his back, show Cyr to be, according to former International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness chairman Ben Weider, the strongest man ever to have lived.

- By Randy Roach. Though he was just 17, he immediately began setting records. I mean, if you’re up to no good, the last thing you need is a dude who can lift a horse over his head coming to arrest you, right? So, Louis Cyr…

This is a very short-range lift or support. ( Log Out /  READ MORE: Four Strongmen on What It Takes to Become a Modern-Day Hercules, A 1898 poster for a circus performance featuring Louis Cyr, being called the “Strongest Man on Earth,” and his assistand. Louis Uni. Both the Parc Louis-Cyr and the Place des Hommes-Forts (“Strongmen’s Square”) are named after him. A platform was placed across his back and 18 men got on top of it. Secrets of Strength - (Circa 1925) - Chapter 6 - Q... Atomic Athletic Great Black Swamp Olde Time Strong... Is Bodybuilding a Dirty Word?

in this manner. Louis Cyr was a large man. All cringe-inducing birth stories aside, I find it pretty cool that the world’s strongest man used to patrol our South West streets. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

Watch a preview of The Strongest Man in History. As with many ancient tales, it’s impossible to know how many of Milo’s feats were real and how many were legend. Premieres Wednesday, July 10 at 10/9c. Louis Cyr patrolled as a police officer between 1883-1885 in Sainte-Cunégonde, known now as Petite-Bourgogne (Little Burgundy) in Montreal. In fact, an upcoming French movie is being made of his exploits. He “reportedly ate twenty pounds of meat, as much bread, and drank eighteen pints of wine each day,” writes historian Michael B. Poliakoff, “and once carried a four-year-old bull around the stadium at Olympia before eating it in the course of one day.” He also reportedly saved people in a collapsing building by holding up a pillar until they could escape. Plus the rest of my body. He spent the rest of his life traveling, wrestling and doing competitive weightlifting. (yes, that was a Duran Duran reference. NaturalStrength.com is an online think-tank, (combining the best of the old with the best of the new), dedicated to truthful drug-free strength training information. Cyr was magnetic. Louis Cyr (born Cyprien-Noé Cyr, 1863-1912) was a famous French Canadian strongman with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Credit: HJ Lutcher Stark Center Collection). I’ll let you figure out why on your own…]. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Again, his strength brought him fame. Wrestling was a dominant strength-building sport at the time. It is said (not sure it has been documented) that Louis Cyr weighed 18 lbs at birth! Good articles about weight training, strength research, the harmful effects of steroids, the mental aspects of training, and irongame/physical culture history are always wanted. From the age of twelve Cyr worked in a lumber camp during the winters and on the family’s farm the rest of the year. Louis Cyr added showmanship to strength. We assume no liability for the information provided in NaturalStrength articles. For 25 years, he’s competed in strongman competitions and earned a reputation for his power and unbridled strength. From 1883 to 1885, Cyr served as a police officer in Montreal. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Eventually, they became part of his act: train wheels, iron bars and other pieces of metal. I now also see Louis Cyr when I’m dropping by for my morning coffee at Campanelli (4634 Notre Dame Ouest), since a previous mural featuring the Campanelli name was recently replaced with one of the famous strongman. Email articles to the editor: [email protected]. Cyr was probably the strongest of the frauds, so they couldnt beat him in a head to head competition, but no one would admit to the world that the weights werent as large as advertised because that would mean that whoever challenged Cyr, not only couldnt lift what Cyr lifted, but probably couldnt lift half the advertised weight, which would have been the actual weight. Please consult your physician before beginning any exercise or nutrition program. During the 19th century, the world was swept by reports of the feats of a strongman known only as “Apollon the Mighty.” In reality, he was Louis Uni, a French weightlifter who took his show on the road. Following this he went on tour with a troupe with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circuses. Even now, his feats of strength may just qualify him as the strongest man who ever lived.

He later changed his name to Louis after moving to Massachusetts, as this was easier for his American neighbors to remember and pronounce. And that was using all TEN of my fingers. At seventeen he weighed 230 lbs.

(Credit: Universal History Archive/UIG/Getty Images). These days, strongmen can show off their power in weightlifting competitions and WWE wrestling matches, but in earlier times, men hoisted bulls, iron wheels and seemingly immovable carts to prove their might. [I’m a little concerned for his wife at this point. Some of you might have seen the recently-released Quebec-made movie, but most of you probably haven’t, and I’m guessing probably never will, so let me fill you in. Came to Montreal and joined the Police. Maximinus Thrax was the first non-Roman Emperor, and is widely considered to be one of Rome’s most ineffective leaders. Using his legs and arms he supported a total of 4337 lbs. This statue of Louis Cyr was created by artist Robert Pelletier in 1970 and was erected in 1973 at the corners of St. Jacques, St. Antoine and de Courcelle at parc des Hommes Forts. Discovering his exceptional strength at a very young age, he impressed his fellow workers with his feats of strength. Louis Cyr (born Cyprien-Noé Cyr, 1863-1912) was a famous French Canadian strongman with a career spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Louis was the oldest of seventeen children and was noted from an early age to have preternatural strength. The plaque that can be found below the sculpture. His death certainly sounds like it: According to lore, he was devoured by wolves after he got stuck in a tree. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. And a spotter standing by…]. During the sixth century B.C., Milo won 10 Olympic wrestling titles and multiple other titles during an athletic career that spanned decades.

To date, he has eight Arnold Strongman Classic titles. This can be equally applied to all the strong men of any other country. While several of Cyr’s feats of strength may have been exaggerated over the years, some were documented and remain impressive. Zydrunas Savickas of Lithuania competing at an event in the World’s Strongest Man competition in China, 2013. His name is not well known today, but during the late 19th century Louis Cyr was considered the world’s strongest man. Email articles to the editor: bobwhelan@, "If you ain't got the progression buddy, Saint Christopher ain't got the time.

( Log Out /  One of his most famous feats was the back lift. ( Log Out /  Widely considered to be the world’s most challenging strongman competition, the event requires participants to do things like lift timbers weighing over 800 pounds, carry a 1,116-pound yoke on their shoulders for 35 feet, and lift a dumbbell used by classic strongmen—feats that would make Milo, Maximinus, Uni and Cyr proud. Uni’s strength, writes historian Edmond Desbonnet, “can be traced to his massive bone structures and unusually large muscles.” During his heyday, people made casts of his arms. That strength didn’t translate to the strongman’s political career, however. ( Log Out /  READ MORE: These Historic Strongmen Could Bend Frying Pans and Lift and Elephant, Maximinus Thrax. I’m sorry…). NaturalStrength.Com has maintained a reputation as one of the most well informed, truthful and introspective sites on the 'net since 1999. Here are some of the most legendary strongmen in history. His rule of Rome only lasted from 235 to 238, and came to an end when he was assassinated by his own soldiers after a disastrous, war-mongering rule. These Historic Strongmen Could Bend Frying Pans and Lift and Elephant, Four Strongmen on What It Takes to Become a Modern-Day Hercules. [Possibly because the horse had no desire to be gripped.]. I sometimes think he’d get a real kick out of the fact that he’s across from the Home Depot – the place where you’re most likely to find strong, silent types these days, looking for lumber, electric saws, faucets, or whatever most men with a love of manual labour go looking for on the weekends. This site does not provide medical advice. I figured we’d give St. Henri what it wanted or needed,” owner Tony Campanelli explained. Articles about nutrition are not especially wanted and will most likely be rejected. Cyr lifted a 218-lb barbell with one hand (to Michaud’s 158 lbs) and a weight of 2,371 lbs on his back, to his opponent’s 2,071 lbs to win the title of strongest man in the country.

The fully grown male horse was placed on a platform with 2 iron bars attached enabling Cyr to obtain a better grip. His name is not well known today, but during the late 19th century Louis Cyr was considered the world’s strongest man. Louis Cyr was born Noe-Cyprien Cyr on October 10, 1863, in the town of St. Cyprien de Napierville, near Montreal. In 1878 the Cyr family immigrated to Lowell, Massachusetts in the U.S. At the age of eighteen he entered his first strongman contest in Boston, lifting a horse off the ground. Here are some fun facts, compliments of the world wide web, with a few of my own thoughts thrown in there for good measure. A tour of The Maritimes was organized, and while it may have benefited the organizer, Cyr gained no profit financially. Let’s all let that sink in again for a minute, shall we? Historian Josh Buck thinks Cyr was the epitome of a “vaudevillian strongman”—a strongman whose flair for entertainment was just as muscular as his physique. Not only is this scene incredibly emotional because it’s too much for the aging Cyr to handle, but director, Daniel Roby created an unbelievably beautiful work of art in that shot.

Personal Training more than a Century Ago. Good articles about weight training, strength research, the harmful effects of steroids, the mental aspects of training, and iron game - physical culture history are always wanted. Savickascan bench press 285 kilograms—the equivalent of 628 pounds, and deadlift the equivalent of nearly 900. Change ).

I live nearby, so I see that sculpture all the time. Delamarre was deemed too small but his feats of … Part of the reason for his strength was undoubtedly his physical size. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. The Olympic wrestler and strongman’s feats of strength and daring inspired art and literature millennia after his death. Compared with those of other strongmen, they are massive, with biceps measuring over 20 inches.