Strongmen competing at the highest levels in the sport can do some pretty incredible things. Whether it be pressing immensely heavy logs over their heads, deadlifting over 1,000 pounds, or eating 12,000 calories in one sitting, strongmen can do things that non-strongmen (or more normal-sized people) cannot.
So let’s talk about what Luke “The Future” Richardson of the United Kingdom did. The six-foot-three-inch tall, 340-plus pound 23-year-old took to his Instagram on Feb. 10, 2021, to show off a set of five 340-kilogram (750-pound) deadlifts with wrist straps. Pulling that kind of weight may seem pretty tame for a strongman, considering they routinely pull over 363 kilograms (800 pounds) in major competitions like the World’s Strongest Man (WSM) contest. We’ve even seen Richardson himself pull 380-kilogram (838-pound) on an axle bar before.
But the way Richardson deadlifted this 340-kilogram (750-pound) set — he absolutely rag-dolled the barbell from rep one to rep five. It almost tricked the eye — if one didn’t know that much weight was on the barbell, they might not realize how insane these lifts actually are. Check them out for yourself below from Richardson’s Instagram page:
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Luke “The Future” Richardson
Richardson qualified for his first WSM competition in 2020 by way of winning the 2020 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) contest. Although he did make it to the WSM finals — the top 10 competitors who advance out of the group stage — by defeating Robert Oberst in the Atlas Stones, Richardson finished towards the bottom of the pack overall in ninth position.
Based on the caption he paired with this lift on his Instagram post, it is likely safe to assume that he felt he could have done more in 2020 even though winning ESM is quite the accomplishment at such a young age. He said he is, “Going to push these 5’s to something very big over the coming weeks. Giving absolutely everything I can. No more regrets this year.”
Judging by how he’s moving the barbell in the gym currently — “feeling like an empty bar” as he described it — we should expect some big moves from Richardson in competition in 2021.
Feature image from Luke Richardson’s Instagram page: @lukeerichardson