Mark henry - new appreciation

["D"]

"Mark Henry is just a waste of potential."

This is kind of rude, don't you think?  I don't see any self made millionaires as being a waste of potential.  If anything, he utilized his gift of size & strength.  Very few careers offer strength athletes that kind of money for that long.  How long is the average career for the NFL?  8 years or so?  Olympic lifters might have a longer run, but they don't make the big bucks.  Hulk Hogan has been raking in the $ for as long as I can remember.  In the end, it's Marks decision and I think he made a wise choice.

I do hear where you're coming from though.  There's a kid (19) around my way with the most unbelievable [untrained] physique I've ever seen.  I've witnessed this guy bench 250 with no warm-up and no regular training, throw a football 50+ yards in the air acurately and hit the heavy bag with incredible power and some of the fastest hands I've ever seen.  He works at a grocery store and smokes weed in his spare time.  This is a waste of potential because he does NOTHING with his gifts, far from the things Mark Henry has done/acheived.

[Tom of Iowa2]

Chris,

Again I want to be vague as possible and NOT mention any names....but IF any of those on your list were perfroming/lifting in the mid thirty's,forty's,fifty's,sixty's there is not a guarantee that they had not experimented...again they DIDn't even realize it was dangerous...there were no laws or rules..there wasn't any testing...it was prescribed(in some cases)and you could then pick it up at the corner drug store(i'm sure the black market existed also but in those days..and I was told by an old timer who lived in the mecca of muscle(venice,ca)..that it was purchased illegally just to avoid a doctors visit/fee or to get the drugs cheaper-wholesale)Again this is NOT an accusation but it could be a very realistic possibility that many from that era were at least experimenting..

Testosterone-perhaps the most primitive of drugs IS still-a very potent fuel additive-ESPECIALLY for power(you'll see more power lifters useing high dosage than bodybuilders).It's been around for a long time(the mid thirty's).Dianabol-a very potent fuel additive and- again- especially for power and size has been around since 1956.

Was Louis Cyr shooting up?well of course not..(but what DID he lift a 900lb railrod 'rail' or an 1800lb railrod 'rail').

There are no guarantees that anyone from the era(1937 to1967-and beyond)- -was not useing...just as we have found out that some of the lifts or claims were not as heavy as reported.

[Guest Euclid]

Tom, to suggest that Cyr or Apollon used any kind of performance enhancing drugs is a joke.  Maybe some high protein organ meats from time to time, some wild game, or some goat's milk, but no testosterone.  Is it hard for you to believe that men of the past performed feats worthy of today with nothing but hard work and good food?  Their feats should serve as an inspiration to those of us today, and are a better measuring stick for the average lifter than lifts done with ergogenic aids or suits, provided that the history of the lift was well documented.

[Tom of Iowa2]

I don't know how to make it any more clear to you Euclid but I'll try.I admit that I am trying to be vague because I do not really want to bring up names....... also I'm just suggesting the possibility....not passing judgement...

I essentially said that when discussing anybody lifting or performing- from 1937 and on- that there is NOT a guarantee that they did NOT use any chemicals.

Cyr and Appollon were performing MORE than 100 years ago.

Cyr was born in 1863.They do not fall into the years that i am referring to.

Also many feats of strength-of the past-again not necessarily Cyr or Appollon-raise more questions than there are answers(or documentation)

[Roark]

To make the playing field as even as possible, of course not knowing who in 1937 was or was not 'using' though I suspect

a far, far greater percentage was then clean than now is, we must keep every other aspect of the same lifts the same as then: Rules for performance, and clothing worn, and honorable

judges.

I may not know what the lifter put in his body, but I can see

what he puts on it.

[Tom of Iowa2]

Then,perhaps,Mark Henry,has got to be considered at least to be in the ball park with ALL the old time guys.

His squats? are deep and in a wrestling singlet.Bench? -no special shirt..His O-lifts?not much question there.His clean of the INCH..well documented/witnessed/videotaped/photographed.His performance at the ARNOLD?ditto.

He's passed drug tests IOC and ADFPA?

Although he was not wearing the thong favored by some of the old timers I've seen in photos...I think Marks attire was appropriate.

[Sybersnott]

It is sad when you think about how some of these "strongmen" have to pay the bills. But remember this, ya gotta eat... and eating costs money. So does shelter, transportation, and a million other things. So what if Mark Henry wrestles in the WWE? Is that a crime? He is making a living, and if it weren't for that, he'd probably be playing pro football somewhere. Paul Anderson also wrestled briefly, and did Las Vegas strength stunts to put the bread on the table. Bottom line: ya gotta earn a living somewhere.

[Tom Black]

And at around 400 pounds Marks gotta eat more than most After hearing Mark's speech after he lifted the Inch replica I believe that he is clean, the sincereity of his words came out. He's got the biggest natural bone structure I've ever seen (I met Shane Hammond once and he was similar, but not quite as big.