Strongman Eddie Hall’s most famous accomplishment is an absolutely monstrous 500kg (1,102-pound) deadlift, a feat so spectacular it has not been surpassed or even repeated since the Briton did it in 2016. So it only makes sense that Hall celebrated reaching the 500K YouTube subscribers by detailing how the hell he was able to accomplish the legendary lift.
In a near-23-minute video, the strongman shows never before seen footage of the feat of strength and takes the viewers through the preparation, execution, and aftermath of it all.
There are a few takeaways from the video. Perhaps one of the top ones is that Hall revealed he had to put himself into a dark place to get 500kg off the ground.
There are circumstances, he explained, wherein people can recruit 100 percent of their muscle fibers. This is usually accomplished in life-or-death situations: children tasked with lifting a car off their parent, for example.
“It’s something that can’t be faked,” Hall says in the video. “If you got a gun to your head and someone saying ‘Pick up that 200 kilo deadlift or I’m going to blow your head off,’ more than likely you’re going to do it.” Hall sat down with psychotherapists and other mental health professionals to recreate such a situation in his mind. What was it? He won’t say.
“We were able to talk about a situation, and this situation was very dark and gloomy that I can’t say it out loud because you would think I’m an absolute sicko for thinking this in my own head,” he says. “Basically put me in a situation in my head where I’m not lifting a weight off the floor, but pulling a person off my kids.” In another mental exercise, Hall envisioned the judge for the deadlift contest as “the devil.”
But even more shocking than the prep and the lift is the trauma Hall’s body went through after. Hall recalls blacking out shortly before going for the lift, and coming to at the top of it. Then, he passed out again. Once he got backstage, his body went into extreme shock. His heart rate was over 200 beats per minute, and his blood pressure was “through the roof.”
“I lost the vision in the center of my eye,” he recalls. “I remember staring at the ceiling in the middle of this hallway … and I thought this is where I’m going to die.”
We’ve all felt dizzy after a big deadlift or squat, so just imagine doing one of those at with half a ton of weight. It’s no surprise Hall’s body went into shock.
Fortunately, the legend is still around today. Though he’s no longer competing in Strongman, he remains one of its biggest icons.
He recently got into business with Arnold Schwarzenegger to bring the Arnold Sports Festival to the UK in 2021.
Hall’s consistently said that someone will beat his world record, and that he’ll be the first to congratulate him. Add us to the list of people eager to see that happen
