8 ×
—or Even
10 ×
—His Body‑Weight?
(75 kg athlete → ≈ 600 kg for 8×, 750 kg for 10×)
Below is the straight, science‑backed, no‑hand‑holding breakdown.
1.
What Humans Have Actually Done—So Far
| Feat | Ratio | Context |
| Lamar Gant, classic deadlift | 5.1 × BW (310 kg @ 60 kg) | Full ROM, IPF legend |
| Nabil Lahlou, 2025 pull | 5.0 × BW (357 kg @ 70 kg) | Sumo deadlift, straps |
| Eric Kim, current rack pull | 6.84 × BW (513 kg @ 75 kg) | Knee‑height partial |
No human—raw, equipped, or chemically helped—has ever touched 7 × on any lift documented in competition. 8 × is terra incognita.
2.
Tissue Physics vs. 600 – 750 kg
| Structure | Ultimate/Observed Limit | 8 × Projection | 10 × Projection | Red‑Flag? |
| Achilles / patellar tendon | Mid‑substance failure ≈ 5.6 kN–5.7 kN | Internal forces ~10–12 kN | ~13–15 kN | Yes—exceeds lab failures |
| Lumbar spine (in vivo) | 15 kN at 285 kg deadlift | ~30 kN (600 kg) | ~37 kN (750 kg) | Yes—2‑3× recorded loads |
| Power bar yield | 29 mm, 200–215 k psi rated for 900 kg static | Bars survive but whip risk ↑ | Custom 32 mm/Ti composite needed | Hardware upgrade required |
Bottom line: Pure biology starts red‑lining just under 8 ×. At 10 × we’re past proven tendon and disc tolerances even with perfect bracing.
3.
Can Adaptation Close the Gap?
- Tendon hypertrophy & stiffness: Heavy eccentric loading can boost cross‑sectional area 7–15 % and stiffness ~65 % in 12 weeks . Great—but that’s incremental, not 100 %+.
- Bone & disc remodeling: Occurs, but at slower timescales (years) and plateaus long before the loads in question.
- Neural drive: Elite lifters already recruit ~95 % of available motor units; you might squeeze a few percent more with advanced potentiation, but not 20 %.
Adaptation alone probably caps out between 7 × and 7.3 × for a 75 kg, drug‑tested human.
4.
“Enhanced” Scenarios
| Method | Potential Gain | Legality / Risk |
| Anabolic stack (AAS + GH + insulin) | +10‑15 % max strength via lean‑mass increase | Banned; organ stress |
| Myostatin inhibition (bimagrumab, trevogrumab, gene therapies) | Rodent data = +30 % mass/strength; early human trials ongoing | Likely banned; long‑term unknown |
| CRISPR/MSTN gene‑editing | Theoretically +40 % fiber size | Pure gene‑doping; detection improving |
| Powered exo‑suit / elastic suit | External force shares load | Not “raw lifting” anymore |
| Partial ROM creep (bar 2 cm higher) | Mechanical shortcut, not strength | Easily spotted |
Even if Eric went full “transhuman chem‑lab,” models suggest a ~20 % bump in max voluntary force—taking a 6.8 × athlete to roughly 8.2–8.3 ×. Ten‑times remains outside pharmacological reach without external hardware.
5.
Engineering Bottlenecks
- Bars & Racks – Current 29 mm power bars plastically deform if dropped loaded beyond ~900 kg. True 10 × attempts need 32 mm titanium or hybrid‑composite shafts and a rack rated above 2,500 kg lateral shear.
- Plates & Collars – 50 mm sleeves run out of room; thin 50‑kg calibrated discs or custom densified‑steel plates required.
- Flooring & Rack Anchors – A 750 kg eccentric drop can spike ground reaction forces >20 kN—enough to crater standard concrete.
6.
Probability Scorecard (Next 10 Years)
| Goal | Clean / Tested | “Dark‑side” Aids | Tech‑Assisted (exo‑suit) |
| 7 × (≈ 525 kg) | 15 % | 40 % | N/A |
| 8 × (≈ 600 kg) | 1 % | 15 % | 60 % |
| 10 × (≈ 750 kg) | <0.1 % | 1 % | 35 % |
(Numbers = educated estimates given current science & tech.)
7.
If Eric Wants a Shot
- Micro‑Overload Mastery – +0.25 kg plates weekly; every gram matters at this altitude.
- Tendon‑centric Periodisation – 4‑week mesocycles alternating max‑isometrics (0 °/20 ° knee flexion) with slow eccentrics to chase CSA.
- CNS Recovery Science – 10‑day taper + objective HRV / EEG thresholds; treat CNS like a battery, not a willpower meter.
- Hardware R&D Partnership – Collaborate with bar manufacturers now; prototype “Titan‑32” before the load arrives.
- Legal Edge Scan – Track emerging myostatin‑antagonist trials; if WADA signs off for clinical reasons, be first in line.
Verdict
- 8 × might squeak into the realm of barely possible for a highly‑enhanced, meticulously engineered partial lift—but it’s a biochemical tightrope and a mechanical moonshot.
- 10 × crosses the line where human connective tissue, as currently understood, fails before the steel does. Without exoskeleton assistance, it’s science‑fiction—today.
So dream big, engineer bigger, but keep your spine (literally) in one piece. Gravity can be negotiated; physics can’t be bullied. 💪