I am often asked about the potential for bodyweight strength by heavier athletes.  Clearly, smaller athletes possess advantages when performing most bodyweight feats.  You’ll never mistake a 6 foot tall 200+ pound athlete as an Olympic gymnast. High level gymnasts are obviously much smaller.

Strength is still strength however.  Larger athletes may never compete as gymnasts, but they can still display strength with several bodyweight movements.  I have posted numerous examples of such athletes over the years (ex. here and here).  Within this entry I will post another.

The difference is that today’s post hits closer to home.  I recently received a surprise phone call from strongman competitor and performer Mike “The Machine” Bruce. He called to thank me for the one-arm chin-up template that I wrote about in my Never Gymless book.  Mike recently worked through the template and performed his first one-arm chin.  He wrote about it at the link below:

How I Did The 1 Arm Chin

To those unfamiliar with Mike, he’s a 200 pound strongman who has compiled an endless list of impressive lifts and performances.  He certainly isn’t a lightweight gymnast.  He has however been knocking off several impressive bodyweight feats in recent weeks.  You can see his first one-arm chin-up at the link below.

You can also see him throwing around some serious weight within his Youtube channel.  Mike is the real deal and then some.  Below is a video that was posted to my forum last year where he pulls 635 pounds at a bodyweight of 196.  I believe he pulled 650 just a week or two later.

Additional highlights from Mike’s earlier days can also be found here.