Norm Devio’s arms are impressive for a man of any age, never mind for a 79-year-old. But his biceps aren’t just for show—Devio has used his guns to win hundreds of arm wrestling contests over the past 45 years, and he’s still regularly whipping men a quarter of his age.
The 5’7, 155-pound senior regularly curls a 110-pound barbell for three sets of 10, and does chin-ups, pull-ups, and press-ups every day in his Massachusetts home to keep every part of his arms chiseled as hell.
You can see one of his unlucky opponents struggle to even budge Devio’s arm before the veteran arm wrestler makes quick work of him in this video:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=w8DThR02ZoI
Devio, a former high school gym teacher, has been competing since 1975 and has won more than 500 trophies, including 25 national titles in various leagues. He’s won with both his left and right arms, sitting down, and standing up. He also placed second at the 1996 World Arm Wrestling Championships. In other words, he’s just about done it all as far as arm wrestling is concerned.
Devio’s arm-wrestling prowess is so iconic, he was recruited to teach Sylvester Stallone some arm-wrestling techniques for Over the Top, a 1987 movie in which Sly portrays a professional arm wrestler. According to The New York Times, though, Stallone never really picked up on it.
“I could tell he wasn’t very good,” Devio, who claimed he won a practice match against the actor, told the paper.
Devio—who sometimes goes by “Mr. Rope Veins“—still competes in tournaments today, and every Thursday night meets with fellow arm wrestlers to work on their technique.
You can see some photos of him training and in action here.
