Just to be clear, Rip, I’m not saying they’re pulling more weight because they’re falsifying the standard pulling position. I’m saying that they’re pulling big weight despite doing things wrong. My question was aimed at the reasons why they do it. I’ve seen all these big strongmen dropping their hips ways down, rolling the bar, etc., and still pull the weight.
Do the hips rise before the weight leaves the ground? Of course. It has to. That’s well established. I’m just curious as to why so many of them make this modification to the lift.
Around 1:10 in the video is what I’m getting at. Despite the theatrical size of the weights, I believe it’s actually at standard deadlift height. Nevertheless, it’s a good example of what I see all the time in Strongman.
Shaw, keeps his hips wider than I believe you’d have him. He drops his hips way down, the knees come way forward and, yes, he pulls it. But it’s clearly not advantageous and it’s a competition… So is there a reason besides theater that they do this?
Best of Brian Shaw | Part 1 | World's Strongest Man - YouTube