Short answer:
- Raw, full-range barbell deadlift? No one on Earth has come within shouting distance of 10 × body-weight; the best verified ratio is Lamar Gant’s legendary 5 × pull in 1985 .
- Raw partials (rack-pulls, mid-thighs)? Eric Kim just blew past 6 × with his 503 kg / 6.7 × rack-pull —still far from 10 × but proof the ceiling keeps moving.
- Support-style feats (back-lift, hip-lift, car-lift frames)? Yes—Paul Anderson once supported ~17 × his body-weight in a back-lift . These “platform” lifts change the leverages and are the historical loophole that lets humans flirt with and exceed 10 ×.
Below is the deep dive—why 10 × is so hard, where the numbers sit today, and what it would actually take to smash that barrier.
1. State of the Iron Game — Who’s closest right now?
| Lift type | Athlete & load | Body-weight | Ratio |
| Full-range deadlift (raw + straps/suit) | Hafþór Björnsson – 501 kg | 205 kg | 2.4 × |
| Full-range deadlift (raw, no suit) | Lamar Gant – 299 kg | 59.5 kg | 5.0 × |
| Mid-thigh rack-pull (raw) | Eric Kim – 503 kg | 75 kg | 6.7 × |
| Back-lift (support on hips/back) | Paul Anderson – 2 844 kg | 163 kg | 17 × |
Take-away: Once you leave the classic deadlift and allow lever-friendly partial or support positions, the ratio skyrockets. But in the conventional barbell world, 5–7 × BW is still the bleeding edge.
2. The Physics Wall
- Square-cube reality – Muscle force scales with cross-sectional area (~mass^⅔), while the weight you’re lifting scales linearly with mass. As you chase bigger absolute numbers, the ratio advantage actually goes to smaller lifters—but they still have to move a brutally heavy bar (a 50 kg phenom would still need 500 kg on the bar).
- Hardware limits – A stiff 29 mm power-bar begins to yield permanently around 650 kg. Even if a tiny lifter had the juice, the bar itself might fold first.
- Spine & tendon thresholds – Heavy deadlifts already create lumbar compression forces up to 18 kN, brushing the 10 kN injury threshold for healthy discs . Tendon rupture strength hovers in the same ballpark. At 10 × BW, those numbers could jump 30-50 %, perilously close to the “snap line.”
3. Is 10 ×
Physiologically
Impossible?
Not absolute, but the room gets very, very small.
- Support-lifts prove raw tissue can tolerate it. Anderson’s back-lift (platform resting on hips/legs) shows human bones and fascia can briefly sustain 17 × BW when the lever arms are short .
- Dynamic range kills you. Transitioning a free bar through space means fighting inertia plus bar whip. Every extra inch multiplies shear on the spine and traction on tendons.
- Grip is a silent governor. Even Kim’s 6.7 × pull needed Houdini-level hand strength without straps. At 10 ×, a 60 kg athlete would need to secure ~600 kg—far beyond what any recorded double-overhand hook has held. Straps or figure-8s help, but then you leave the “raw” category.
- Engine vs. chassis. Elite muscle can probably generate enough force (isometric lab tests show >6 × BW already). The bottleneck becomes the chassis—vertebrae, discs, ligaments, barbell metallurgy.
4. What Would It Take to Hit 10 ×?
| Lever | Practical moves to break the wall |
| Go tiny & mighty | A 55 kg lifter “only” needs 550 kg. Smaller mass = higher ratio. |
| Use a ultra-high rack or block pull | The higher the start point, the shorter the lever arm → bigger loads possible. |
| Gear up | A combo of deadlift suit + figure-8 straps + cerakote power-bar rated 1 000 kg. |
| Train CNS & tendons with supra-max partials | Kim-style heavy rack holds/IMTP work to bullet-proof soft tissue. |
| Exploit support variants | Hip-lift or back-lift frames (strongman “car-lift”) with verified weighing to count as an official record. |
| Add tech | Exoskeleton assist or lever-arm devices (borderline but may become a modern “support” category). |
Even with all advantages, most biomechanists still peg ~8 × BW as the safe practical ceiling for a dynamic pull in an unassisted human. Ten-times is therefore possible only under support-style or lever-shortened conditions—or with future tech changing the definition of “raw.”
5. The Big Picture
- Conventional barbell lifts: 10 × remains a mythic target—no human has approached it, and engineering + biology both start to scream.
- Partial/support lifts: Already beaten (Anderson), proving raw tissue can momentarily hold the load.
- Future outlook: With lighter lifters, specialized bars, and Kim-style supra-max tendon conditioning, someone might one day film a legit 10 × mid-thigh pull. But a floor-to-lockout deadlift at 10 × would demand a singular genetic outlier, titanium-grade connective tissue, and equipment that doesn’t yet exist.
Bottom line:
Ten-times body-weight is not a law of physics—it’s a dragon that simply hasn’t been slain in the barbell arena… yet. If you’re crazy enough to chase it, remember: you’re negotiating with gravity at the razor’s edge where bone, steel, and soul meet. Train smart, armor your tendons, and keep the dream in your cross-hairs.
Stay hardcore, stay epic—and maybe one day the 10 × flag will fly.