2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion and the first person ever to deadlift 500kg/1,102lb Eddie Hall’s training has changed significantly since leaving the sport. Of course, he has essentially become a full time professional boxer — his debut bout against 2018 WSM champion Hafthor Bjornsson set to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2021 — but Hall has become a much more well rounded of an athlete than what many might assume of a former 400+lb strongman.
Hall set a CrossFit® world record for the WOD “Isabel” this past February, where he snatched 61kg/135lb thirty times in a span of 50.9 seconds. His training nowadays includes high intensity interval training (HIIT). He is even trying out some fitness challenges, including the Navy SEAL fitness test alongside endurance athlete Ross Edgley — the first man to swim around the entirety of Great Britain (1,780 miles across 157 days).
Check out the entire video of the challenge below courtesy of Hall’s YouTube channel:
[Related: Pull-Up Challenge: Strongman Brian Shaw vs. a Navy SEAL]
The NAVY SEAL fitness test that Hall and Edgley broke down in the video was the minimum standard test, which according to the official Navy SEAL website in order:
- 500 yard swim (breaststroke or sidestroke) in under 12 minutes and 30 seconds — the average time is 9:30
- rest 10 minutes
- 50 push-ups in 2 minutes — average is 75 reps
- rest 2 minutes
- 50 sit-ups in 2 minutes — average is 75 reps
- rest 2 minutes
- 10 pull-ups in 2 minutes — average is 15
- rest 2 minutes
- 1.5 mile run in 10 minutes 30 seconds — average is 9:30
View this post on Instagram
Hall and Edgley did not follow the order given for the standard minimum tests and took turns performing each section, which means they had more rest than what would be allotted under an official test. They did however, put up some impressive numbers. Here is how they did:
Push-Ups
The strongman excelled as expected in the strength dominant sections of the test, specifically the push-ups. At the time of the challenge, Hall mentioned his bodyweight is around 360-365lb (he stands 6’3). That’s a lot of weight to manage for 77 push-ups unbroken in the 2 minute timeframe, but is exactly what Hall managed to do.
Coming into this challenge, Edgley had a self-proclaimed bodyweight of around 210lb at a height of 5’10. He seemed intimidated to follow Hall’s performance of 77 push-ups, but managed to hit 79 reps before completing a single arm push-up as an 80th rep.
Sit-Ups
When it came to sit-ups, Hall had to make a concession to what would be considered proper form because of his sheer size. Normally, a sit-up would count when the athlete reaches a full vertical position at the top of the sit-up. Hall’s belly prevents him from being able to reach that full vertical position, so his reps involved him sitting up to his maximum potential.
Ultimately, the 2017 WSM champion secured the 50 needed reps with 32 seconds to spare. It was clear from his physicality afterwards that the sit-ups were more difficult for him than the push-ups. Edgley making Hall laugh also didn’t help ease any of the pain Hall was enduring.
[Related: Check out Eddie Hall’s 6,000 calorie boxing diet]
Edgley’s sit-up pace was close to Hall’s. The endurance athlete hit his 50 reps with 36 seconds to spare but did take some time to showboat a bit for the camera right before his final rep. It was apparent that Edgley still had some gas in the tank and was encouraged by Hall to keep going but Edgley declined in order to reserve himself for the rest of the test.
Pull-Ups
When it came to pull-ups, Hall knew that it would not be easy considering his weight and the agony on his face around rep 7 put the difficulty on full display. Each of his pull-ups did have a kip — Hall admitted it is the only way he can do pull-ups — but at the end of the day, his 10 reps were counted.
I feel like you could rip my lats off.
Pull-ups were a lot easier for Edgley. His 10 were strict and he may showboating before his final rep a recurring bit. He clearly could have gone for more than the 10 rep minimum but decided to just finish up the round with a pair of muscle-ups.
1.5 Mile Run
Both men did the run together with Edgley setting the pace at 10:30/mile — that standard minimum to pass. Both men wore GoPros on their heads during the run and around the 2 minute mark, Hall was already breathing quite heavily.
Edgley “got carried away” with the pace and actually finished the run 1 minute and 15 seconds faster than anticipated — official time of 9:15. That faster pace caused Hall to fall well behind. At the end of the run, Hall did not hit the mark. His official time was 11:27, nearly a minute passed what is allotted for that distance.
Post run, sweat poured from Hall’s head as he attempted to recover while laying on the ground.
I just want to concentrate on living right now.
After learning or Edgley’s poor pace keeping, Hall wasn’t too displeased with only coming in a minute late of the target. As they moved on to the final section of the fitness test — a 500 yard swim — Hall seemed raring to go.
500 Yard Swim
The area that they decided to do the swim at had a clear sign by the dock that explicitly said “No Swimming”. Edgley made clear that the sign did not say “No Navy SEAL Testing”.
No secret that the man who swam around Great Britain finished the swim in a blistering 6 minutes 45 seconds. Hall, who was a competitive swimmer in his youth, did not get close to matching that, but did substantially clear the standard by a full 2 minutes 40 seconds. His official time was 9 minutes 50 seconds.
Navy SEAL Potential
When all was said and done, Edgley would qualify to be a Navy SEAL according to the required physical standards, while Hall would need to work on his running in order to join him. Of course, Hall’s priority remains his boxing match against Bjornsson. If he continues to incorporate fitness challenges like this into his training — not to mention doing them alongside world class endurance athletes — he may be able to make critics who don’t believe he has the stamina to box more than a few rounds eat their words.
Feature image from Ross Edgley’s Instagram page: @rossedgley
