Every so often, a casual training lift far exceeds your max effort. It’s even more impressive when the athlete pulls off a triple with such a huge weight. Enter James Spurgin. On May 15, 2024, the adaptive strongman athlete posted a video to his Instagram featuring himself pulling a raw 570-pound (260-kilogram) deadlift for three reps.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, Spurgin also squatted the same weight for at least three reps (the video cut off after he stabilized at the top of his third rep). Coached by 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man and two-time Britain’s Strongest man Laurence Shahlaei, Spurgin said in his post’s caption that these lifts came out of the end of his third training block with “Big Loz.”
Check out the video for yourself below:
[Read More: 10 Adaptive Strength Sports Athletes You Should Know]
James Spurgin’s Strongman History
This wasn’t a one-off excellent training day for the multi-sport athlete from Reynoldsburg, OH. In 2020, Spurgin set the one-armed partial deadlift world record by pulling 675 pounds (306 kilograms). And in the beginning of 2024, Spurgin used a transformer bar made by Kabuki Strength to box squat (to a weight bench) 628 pounds (285 kilograms) for a triple.
Spurgin, who has a competitive history in powerlifting, CrossFit, and weightlifting, has largely been devoted to the sport of strongman.
[Read More: With One Working Arm, James Spurgin Crushes His First Weightlifting Meet]
Here are four years’ worth of how he’s done in strongman competitions:
- 2016 America’s Strongest Adaptive Athlete — Second Place
- 2017 Arnold’s Strongest Disabled Man — Fifth Place, Standing Division
- 2017 America’s Strongest Disabled Man — Fifth Place, Standing Division
- 2019 Static Monsters — First Place, Standing Division
- 2020 Static Monsters — First Place, Standing Division
- 2020 World’s Strongest Disabled Man — First Place, Standing C2 Division
[Read More: Disabled Strongman Tobias Anthofer Hits 555.55-Kilogram Seated Deadlift World Record]
More on Adaptive Strongman
Spurgin entered the world of adaptive strongman after a 2006 motorcycle accident that left him with the use of one arm. Though adaptive strongman competitions aren’t nearly as popularized as their mainstream equivalents, these competitions are a powerful presence in the strongman space.
England’s Strongest Disabled Man and Woman 2024 will take place on May 18 and 19, and the Magnús Ver Magnússon 2024 Adaptive Strength World Championship is set for later in the year, from Nov. 1-3.
Stay tuned to BarBend for coverage of these and more adaptive strongman events.
Featured Image: @iarmpower / Instagram
