Strongman Martins Licis has been having a great year so far. The “King Dragon” started off by winning the inaugural Arnold Strongman USA event in Santa Monica back in January, with Arnold Schwarzenegger in attendance. He followed that up by taking silver at the 2019 Arnold Strongman Classic in Columbus, Ohio (reigning champion Hafthor Bjornsson would finish in first).
Later on in the year, Licis traveled to Iceland to train with “The Mountain” in preparation for this year’s World’s Strongest Man competition. That effort and his past success would culminate in June when Licis bested Bjornsson to become the World’s Strongest Man.
Although he’s been training under the great Odd Haugen, many people were shocked at Licis winning. If you were one of them, then you should have been following the 28-year-old on Instagram; then you would’ve known that him winning was definitely a possibility.
It isn’t just that Licis can move serious weight—he absolutely dominates it. And since you can’t be at the Training Hall Gym to see him in action, check out the action he’s shared below.
You Don’t Know Squat
Clearly, leg day is not a problem for Licis. How many people do you know that can squat 700 pounds even once? Here, he’s using that weight for a working set.
Deadlift
It goes without saying that you have to be strong at the deadlift if you want to win at the highest level. After seeing him move 816 pounds for reps, you probably wouldn’t doubt his skillset.
Bringing Back The Classics
The Steinborn rockover squat is a strongman move from the old days. Licis set a world record with 565 pounds.
-Pound Row
How many people do you know that can row 500-plus pounds? Licis does it for a rest-pause set of five. Check out his hands—no straps. He isn’t even wearing a belt.
Who Needs a Tow?
We don’t know how much the tractor trailer weighs, but can we all agree that it isn’t light? And this isn’t a competition day. He was in training with Hafthor “Thor” Bjornsson.
Giant Shoulders
Have you ever heard the phrase “standing on the shoulders of giants”? This overhead press of 352 pounds for four reps shows you can stand on that giant’s shoulders. They’re big enough and strong enough to hold you.
Strongmen Do Cardio
With Jujimufu counting and cheering him on, Licis powers his way through 20 reps with 505 pounds. See, strongmen do cardio, too.
Pounds Of Pure Power
Clapping pullups are tough for anyone to do, but imagine weighing over 350 pounds and doing them? He almost completes a muscle-up here, too.
-Pound Log Press
This 430-pound log press for a double helped keep Licis in contention at the Arnold Strongman Classic back in March. He didn’t win that event, but definitely showed he was ready to compete with the best in the sport.
Stone to Shoulder Competition
Even though this was a strongman competition, lifting 375 pounds in the stone to shoulder competition was not supposed to be as easy as Licis made it look. He stopped after five reps, but it looks like he very well could’ve done a couple more.
