Jump to content

David Horne in Irongame History


Guest Jesse Snadden

Recommended Posts

I'm not trying to pee on anybody's parade here but as I see it, Goerner's record was not broken since it was not the same lift.  Goerners 727 lb one hand deadlift was done on a barbell from the floor.

David Horne who I consider a friend, certainly already has a place in history with his great feats of strength and no doubt always will be remembered as one of the best.

I'm just trying to set the record straight here as I'm sure David will also.  He is one of the more knowledgable and precise strength historians around and I'm sure he will clarify this himself.

Let me end by saying that David's one hand llift of 737 lbs is truly amazing no matter how it was done.    IT could be a lift that may possibly never be equalled again in this manner unless by David himself.    Also many other outstanding grip performances at the Brithish Iron Grip Competition.   My hat is off to all of you.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest woody36

Dave,

        To put Goerners lift into perspective,have you ever

done one arm deadlifts on an olympic bar,if so how

much did you lift and have you ever thought of breaking

Goerners record or do you consider it unreachable.

Thanks Woody.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quoting Had's post on the Anvil

"The one hand deadlift was a partial, using similar apparatus as a hand and thigh, with a 1 inch handle. The bar was straddled and lifted about 4-6 inches off the ground on average. No wrist straps were allowed, the handle was not allowed to touch the thigh, and no hook grip was allowed."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Goerner actually had two great Deadlifts.  They are as follows, from “Goerner the Mighty”:

 “His best performances being 727.5 lb. (330 kilos), which was lifted unofficially on 8th October, 1920, in Leipzig.  The bar was correctly lifted from the floor to the fully erect position of the body.  Officially Hermann has performed a right-hand dead lift with a barbell of 663.5 lb. (301 kilos), which was lifted on 29th October, 1920”

734.5 lb. Right-hand Dead Lift—Blockweight

   This lift was made by lifting a square block of sandstone with a handle attached.  The weight was lifted between the legs using the ‘hook’ grip, the whole block being lifted until body was erect and both legs straightened.”

   David Horne still had a great lift, but it has always been my understanding that the 727.5-pound lift above was with a rotating bar.  I don’t remember seeing the exact type of lift in Saturday’s competition, but if it was a partial range lift with non-rotating bar then it would not have been as difficult as the 727.5 –pound lift.  The 737.5-pound lift might be more comparable, which is perhaps why David decided on a slightly higher weight.  For those that competed, how was the one hand lift performed?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

David's lift was done without a hook grip which makes the lift all the more meritorious in my estimation. I also think we shouldn't really compare Goerner's lifts too much with todays lifts as we don't know the exact implements he used despite the enormity of his feats.

The bar used in the Grip Champs would have been a 1" diameter non revolving bar and with no knurling. David's performance on this lift is unbelievable and certainly today it has not been bested.

I don't want to speak for David too much here but the one hand deadlift of Goerner is in no threat unless you can deadlift at least 800lbs and have mastered the hook grip that is required. The Gillinghams might be capable of such a lift particularly the one (sorry guys I get you all mixed up!) who uses a double overhand hook grip for deadlifting in excess of 800lbs.

Nick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Zack! It would be an amazing feat to One Arm Deadlift in excess of 330kg and I for one would love to see this. A lift like that would make the cover of MILO magazine.

The main problem I see is the pain element of hanging on to such a big weight with the hook grip. I've done over 500lbs(227.5kg) in training and  221kg(486lbs) officially and the pain on the thumb is immense. Mind you it's not as painful as the hook grip used for big One Arm Vertical bar lifts - that one is real nasty!

I hope in the future Brad sees fit to have a go at this  as it would be an astonishing feat of grip and overall strength.

Nick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Goerner had his distractors- among the doubters were strength historian Leo Gaudreau, and Kurt Saxon who, after watching Goerner fail to duplicate any of his own claimed lifts (1926), and after not matching Kurt in

other lifts, concluded that  Goerner would not compare

well with Arthur Saxon (the strongest of the three brothers).

I have not studied this matter much, so have reached

no conclusions. But.

Here is what Willoughby wrote in Strength & Health

Feb 1963 regarding Goerner's one handed deadlift of

727.50 lbs:

"This lift was made on a standard Berg barbell, the

largest plates being 17-3/4 inches in diameter and the

bar 1-1/10 inches thick."

Goerner was still an amateur lifter at the time- turning

pro the next year, 1921. Was age 29-1/2 years.

One other thing which may expedite terms: When the

deadlift is performed with all knuckles forward (palms

toward knees) it was known in those days as the

French style of deadlift, which is a more concise term.

Regarding David Horne's one handed lift at the recent

British championships: It was witnessed, and though,

apparently not a full-range deadlift, demonstrated a level of strength

which, pardon the pun, perhaps only a handful of men in history could equal.  David may have the ability to

continue training and actually fully deadlift this weight,

so we should encourage him to do that, and not dwell

on Goerner, who in pinch-gripping strength would perhaps not beat David.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest scotte

Blimy David

You've become quite a celebrity :)

If my pics of David 335kg 1HL come out, would you guys like me to post them on the gripboard?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If David agrees for the pics, I think it would be great.

A little question for Iron Grip subscription:

The subscription fee is 30 $ for other coutries than U.K and USA. I'm in Canada so do I send 30 canadian dollars or make the transfer to american or britain currencies ? My subscription is going to be in the mail as soon as I get an answer.

Thanks !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would love to see some pics.  It is absolutely monstrous that David did that well on all of those lifts all in the same day!!!  I can't help but assert that he's the greatest gripmaster today and, quite arguably, ever.

BC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the history lesson Roark.  That was interesting info regarding Goerner and the Saxon brothers.   Recorded history is not always accurate.  Too bad some of those things were not better documented.  I was getting my info from Goerner the Mighty as did Tom Black.  

Again my point was that a record cannot be broken unless a lift is done using the same (similiar) equipment and under the same terms.   As I stated before, that does not make David's lift any less impressive and from a grip standpoint, the lift he did may well be more difficult than what Goerner did.   I look forward to seeing some pictures of this lift and others in the next issue of Iron Grip.

I did see Brad Gillingham deadlift the 848 a few weeks ago in Omaha for an American record.  I agree with Nick that he might be able to make a run at Goerners record if he set his mind to it.  Also had the pleasure of meeting Wade and John Campion and talking grip strength with them.  Hope those guys can make it to our grip contest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lets make this clear, as indeed David would and will. Unless Goerner was a midget, like 18 inches tall then his lift was a full range deadlift.

The rules for the One hand lift are very similar to those for the hip and thigh with the exception that the handle must not come into contact with the body. In the Hip and thigh we see huge weights being lifted 1500+.

Dave managed, with one hand, 335 kilos not using a hook grip. I have a picture, arrived today, of the lift. It shows one end clear of the ground but not both. Of course both did clear the ground as was judged and only need to be 2 inches max in fact only need to come off the floor. No matter what height!

Using the orginal point - yes David is a great researcher, a excellent and accurate historian, a good all round strongman and someone who, if he continues without opposition, will indeed rank amongst the very best of all time grip men.

He has, as he has admitted, been beaten - Nick McKinless at one comp and others. He also stated - in the Albridge Hotel bar last sat over several celebratory pints of beer (and boy did we need them!), that he looks forward to the day his numbers are beaten.

I have bragged - and forgive me my foible for doing so of my own world record last sat - but dave also did the 335 kg one hand, a 25 kg plate curl - both near too or actual WR and an almost WR rolling thunder. Not bad for a 41 year old! And not too bad all in one afternoon and as hungry and tired and in pain as the rest of us!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just wanted to clear up the fact that since David started winning the Grip Championships back in 1994 he has not been beaten. Previous to that Steve Sherwood was the champion but has subsequently retired from grip competition.

I have never beaten him in competition. I came close in '98 winning two of the four events comfortably but losing by a mere 13 points. Mine and David's build up for that competititon was very interrupted but we still pulled out some big lifts.

Just wanted to make this clear.

Nick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy policies.