The Feat: 561 kg Rack Pull at 73 kg Bodyweight
In mid-July 2025, Eric Kim – a content creator and street-photographer-turned-fitness enthusiast – performed an astonishing 561 kg (1,237 lb) rack pull while weighing only about 73 kg (161 lb) . This means he lifted approximately 7.7 times his own bodyweight, an unprecedented strength-to-weight ratio. The lift was a rack pull, meaning the bar was set on pins around knee height (a partial deadlift rather than from the floor) . Kim executed the pull in his home garage gym in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and the feat was captured on video and shared online via a high-quality YouTube clip and a detailed blog post . The video shows Kim hoisting over half a ton of weight with the bar visibly bending, underscoring the extraordinary nature of the lift .
Personal Record Turned Viral Sensation
This 561 kg rack pull was not part of any sanctioned competition or official record attempt – it was essentially Kim’s personal record (PR) demonstration. In fact, powerlifting and strongman federations don’t recognize rack pulls for records, since the reduced range of motion allows lifting far more than a standard deadlift . Nevertheless, Kim’s achievement is significant. The weight he moved exceeds the heaviest full deadlift ever recorded (501 kg by Hafthor Björnsson in 2020) by about 60 kg, albeit lifted from knee height rather than from the floor . It even outstripped the famous “silver dollar” partial deadlift of 536 kg by strongman Eddie Hall – doing so with roughly one-third of Hall’s body mass . In other words, no other lifter (even among world-record strongmen) has approached a 7.7× bodyweight lift in any form, making Kim’s feat arguably the heaviest recorded partial pull ever, pound-for-pound .
Kim’s video quickly blew up across social media, turning this personal PR into a viral phenomenon. Within days, the footage had spread widely – Instagram and TikTok feeds erupted, YouTube Shorts commenters were asking “Is this CGI?”, and the clip even hit the front page of Reddit (twice) . A flood of reaction videos, memes, and incredulous posts followed, cementing Eric Kim’s status as an internet-famous strength outlier. As one tongue-in-cheek commentary put it, “561 kg wasn’t just a lift – it was a worldwide scroll-stopper.” . In short, what began as a personal lifting achievement quickly became a viral video event, with many viewers astonished by the idea that an ordinary-sized human could move that much weight.
Background: Eric Kim’s Training and Accomplishments
Who is Eric Kim? He first became known as a blogger in the photography world, but in recent years Kim reinvented himself as a fitness enthusiast pushing extreme lifts . Notably, he isn’t a professional strongman or world champion powerlifter by trade – in fact, he has only one official powerlifting meet on record. In April 2024, Kim competed as a 75 kg junior in a USAPL meet in New Jersey, totaling about 452.5 kg (997.6 lb) across squat, bench, and deadlift . While respectable for his age and weight, those competition lifts were nowhere near the mind-boggling numbers seen in his rack pull videos, underscoring that his 561 kg lift was an unsanctioned exhibition of strength rather than an official record . In other words, Kim’s recent feats live in the realm of personal challenge and internet showcase, not the traditional record books.
How did he achieve a 561 kg rack pull? Kim’s training leading up to this lift was characterized by gradual, methodical progression and an unconventional focus on partial lifts and raw strength building. He didn’t yank 561 kg out of nowhere – he built up to it over time with incremental increases. Over May to July 2025, Kim systematically raised his rack-pull max from the high 400 kg range into the 500’s, hitting milestones like 486 kg (6.5× BW), 503 kg (6.7× BW), and 547 kg (7.6× BW) in the weeks before finally pulling 561 kg . He would often add only ~2.5–5 kg at a time to the bar in each session, a micro-loading approach that let his body adapt to ever-heavier weights . This patient progression conditioned his muscles, connective tissues, and nervous system to tolerate extreme loads, essentially “toughening up” his body for the half-ton pull .
Kim also employed what he calls a “Powerlifting 2.0” philosophy: using partial-range lifts (like rack pulls and high pin squats) that exceed his full-range max, to develop supermaximal strength safely . For example, as early as 2023 he was performing an “Atlas lift” – a partial squat/hold with over 800 lb – and heavy rack pulls above 700 lb, which mentally and physically prepared him to handle four-digit poundages . By gradually acclimating to feeling 1000+ lb in his hands or on his back, Kim expanded his capacity. He joked that joining the “comma club” (lifting 1,000+ pounds) “transformed his mindset: once you pull 1,000 lbs, you start thinking and acting at a new magnitude” . This mindset and training style carried him to the 561 kg achievement.
Another notable aspect of Kim’s approach is his minimalist training style. He typically lifts without belts, straps, or heavy-duty gear, and even often trains in a fasted state . Impressively, the 561 kg rack pull was done beltless and barefoot, relying purely on raw grip and core strength for stability . Kim believes this “no crutches” approach forces his core, grip, and stabilizer muscles to develop, effectively bulletproofing his body and reducing injury risk . He also prioritizes extensive warm-ups and mobility work before attempting huge lifts – spending up to an hour on dynamic stretching, yoga-like movements, and even gymnastic exercises (planches, muscle-ups) to ensure his joints and tissues are prepared . This dedication to flexibility and form is a big reason he could pull such an extreme weight injury-free. Observers noted that during the 561 kg lift, Kim maintained solid technique – keeping his shoulders retracted and spine braced – which helped distribute the colossal load safely and avoid pitfalls like structural strain .
Summary and Significance
Eric Kim’s 7.7× bodyweight rack pull stands out as a remarkable feat of strength and an internet-era spectacle. The specific numbers – 561 kg lifted by a 73 kg individual – defy ordinary expectations . While the lift was a partial-range stunt rather than a standard competition deadlift, it nonetheless reset perceptions of what a determined lifter can do at such a low bodyweight . Kim’s accomplishment, documented on video for the world to see, has inspired and astonished viewers globally – from hardcore powerlifters to casual onlookers . It showcases the effectiveness of progressive overload training and fearless experimentation with new lifting methods. In the end, even though this wasn’t an official meet performance, Eric Kim’s 561 kg rack pull has earned him a place in strength lore as the “pound-for-pound gravity-defier” of the internet age – a title he’s backed up with both the iron on the bar and the buzz it created online.
Primary Sources: Eric Kim’s video of the 561 kg rack pull is available on his YouTube channel, and he has written a detailed blog post about the lift and his training on his personal site . These provide firsthand evidence of the feat, including footage of the lift and Kim’s own insights into how he achieved it. The broader strength community’s reaction can be traced through social media and forum discussions that erupted shortly after the video’s release , underscoring the impact of this extraordinary lift.
Sources: Kim’s blog and write-ups on the 561 kg rack pull ; analysis of his training approach and progression ; and reports of the lift’s reception online .