This is one of the most impressive videos I’ve ever seen:
http://media.putfile.com/Alexander-Karelin-Lifting-Wrestler
That sure is some heavy lifting
indeed, karelin was a monster! he just reigned over amateur wrestling, even at pro wrestling he was able to lift andre the giant, that guy was enourmous, you can find his vids against andre the giant in youtube…
Karelin = greatest athlete ever. IMHO.
How the fuck did he get so strong?
I’ve read an article where he said he just ran through waist deep snow and wrestled to get in shape. No real weight training. I just don’t get it.
Also, anyone want to propose a theory why the Russians have two of the most dominating athletes in combat sports ever (Fedor, Karelin)?
Wrestling makes you strong. Who could argue with that?
Anybody who rolled with a wrestler knows they have a frackin strong vice-like grip, lots of dynamic strength and are at the same time quite mobile.
I believe it’s the huge amounts of constant, shifting patterns of mostly isometric strength they train, along with fullbody dynamic throws. Since wrestling is physically so demanding, I think you don’t really need to push around weights at the same time.
Seriously, most guys here seem to think a big bench is the only way to great strength.
On the other hand, Fedor said that while in the military, he didn’t train except for endurance and heavy weights. Didn’t seem to hurt his power!
[quote]carter12 wrote:
How the fuck did he get so strong?
I’ve read an article where he said he just ran through waist deep snow and wrestled to get in shape. No real weight training. I just don’t get it.
[/quote]
I’ve read interviews with him in which he said he did in fact do lots of weight training. Three days and four days a week, full body, similar to Soviet oly lifting. I’ve read that he could clean and jerk over 400 pounds. He also did tons and tons of GPP work.
[quote]carter12 wrote:
Also, anyone want to propose a theory why the Russians have two of the most dominating athletes in combat sports ever (Fedor, Karelin)?
[/quote]
I really don’t know how much these particular two are related. I’m no expert on wrestling, but I believe Karelin was a product of the old Soviet sports program, though his fame really came about post-fall of the wall.
Fedor was able to develop practically on his own. Karelin was a genetic freak, a one in 10 billion athlete who happened to be born in the country with the most comprehensive and advanced sports program in the world.
Fedor works his ass off, has a good bit of genetic prowess himself, and seems to understand how all the facets off MMA fit together better than anyone else.
Looking at combat sports right now, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Russian and ex-Soviet athletes are leading the way, namely in the heavyweight ranks.
Fedor is the best MMA fighter ever, and not too long ago a Bellarussian was dominating the UFC. You also have Kharitonov, Aleksander, Igor Vovchachnyan from back in the day, and Ruslan Karaev is K-1’s brightest young star (he’s 162-9 in kickboxing and Muay Thai at at age 22!!!).
If you look at boxing, the present and future of the heavyweight division looks like the Moscow phone book. The Klitchko brothers are clearly the best post-Lewis fighters. While the current crop of heavyweight boxers might not be all that stunning, there are guys coming up, all from ex-Soviet republics, that will probably go down as all-time greats.
Alexander Povetin looks like he could be the real deal. Gold in Athens, good backing, and I don’t think you’d find a HW anywhere with as good as competition in their first 9 fights as he’s faced and crushed.
I just think Russia has the right conditions to grow good fighters. They have lots of former sports trainers out of work since the collapse of the Soviet empire, and they have lots of poverty and hardship.
Fighting is an everyday part of life on the streets there, why not get paid for it? You have a conscript military service, so almost every male of adult age is trained in sambo and boxing (this is where Fedor, Arlovski, and Kharitonov decided to fight professionally). Poverty and hardship always seems to lead to heart filled fighters looking for a way out.
[quote]carter12 wrote:
Also, anyone want to propose a theory why the Russians have two of the most dominating athletes in combat sports ever (Fedor, Karelin)? [/quote]
Because they don’t grow up like pussies. Seriously. I have a lot of friends from the old Soviet Union. The stories they would tell me about growing up… They’re just more rugged. Life was Ihard*.
It’s also no coincidence that some of the best American fighters (boxers, MMA fighters) have come from inner cities/bad parts of town. I’m sure someone can name a child from rich parents who is a champion, but I’m also sure we could correlate fighting champions with economic status.
I grew up dirt poor and in a bad neighborhood (not Compton bad as it was a small town, but it was bad enough that getting jumped was a regular problem), and it made me very tough. I didn’t worry about new clothes or whether I’d get a new video game. I worried whether if I ate something from the cabinent we wouldn’t have enough food for the week. I worried that when I walked me dog 5 guys might jump me. When you worry about shit like that, your perspective changes and you develop mental toughness.
When you grow up worried about new clothes and video games, you become a pussy. There’s no strugle. It takes a lot of training to overcome these pussy tendencies. Most guys are unsuccessful.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
I worried that when I walked me dog 5 guys might jump me. [/quote]
Shiver me timbers! It’s a bloodbath out there! Arrrrr!
[quote]ChuckyT wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
I worried that when I walked me dog 5 guys might jump me.
Shiver me timbers! It’s a bloodbath out there! Arrrrr![/quote]
Wow – You found some typos! You. Are. The. Man.
[quote]Donut62 wrote:
carter12 wrote:
Also, anyone want to propose a theory why the Russians have two of the most dominating athletes in combat sports ever (Fedor, Karelin)?
I really don’t know how much these particular two are related. I’m no expert on wrestling, but I believe Karelin was a product of the old Soviet sports program, though his fame really came about post-fall of the wall.
Fedor was able to develop practically on his own. Karelin was a genetic freak, a one in 10 billion athlete who happened to be born in the country with the most comprehensive and advanced sports program in the world.
Fedor works his ass off, has a good bit of genetic prowess himself, and seems to understand how all the facets off MMA fit together better than anyone else.
Looking at combat sports right now, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Russian and ex-Soviet athletes are leading the way, namely in the heavyweight ranks.
Fedor is the best MMA fighter ever, and not too long ago a Bellarussian was dominating the UFC. You also have Kharitonov, Aleksander, Igor Vovchachnyan from back in the day, and Ruslan Karaev is K-1’s brightest young star (he’s 162-9 in kickboxing and Muay Thai at at age 22!!!).
If you look at boxing, the present and future of the heavyweight division looks like the Moscow phone book. The Klitchko brothers are clearly the best post-Lewis fighters. While the current crop of heavyweight boxers might not be all that stunning, there are guys coming up, all from ex-Soviet republics, that will probably go down as all-time greats.
Alexander Povetin looks like he could be the real deal. Gold in Athens, good backing, and I don’t think you’d find a HW anywhere with as good as competition in their first 9 fights as he’s faced and crushed.
I just think Russia has the right conditions to grow good fighters. They have lots of former sports trainers out of work since the collapse of the Soviet empire, and they have lots of poverty and hardship.
Fighting is an everyday part of life on the streets there, why not get paid for it? You have a conscript military service, so almost every male of adult age is trained in sambo and boxing (this is where Fedor, Arlovski, and Kharitonov decided to fight professionally). Poverty and hardship always seems to lead to heart filled fighters looking for a way out.
[/quote]
Oh…and here I thought it was Skynet. 
Nice info. 
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
carter12 wrote:
Also, anyone want to propose a theory why the Russians have two of the most dominating athletes in combat sports ever (Fedor, Karelin)?
Because they don’t grow up like pussies. Seriously. I have a lot of friends from the old Soviet Union. The stories they would tell me about growing up… They’re just more rugged. Life was Ihard*.
It’s also no coincidence that some of the best American fighters (boxers, MMA fighters) have come from inner cities/bad parts of town. I’m sure someone can name a child from rich parents who is a champion, but I’m also sure we could correlate fighting champions with economic status.
I grew up dirt poor and in a bad neighborhood (not Compton bad as it was a small town, but it was bad enough that getting jumped was a regular problem), and it made me very tough. I didn’t worry about new clothes or whether I’d get a new video game. I worried whether if I ate something from the cabinent we wouldn’t have enough food for the week. I worried that when I walked me dog 5 guys might jump me. When you worry about shit like that, your perspective changes and you develop mental toughness.
When you grow up worried about new clothes and video games, you become a pussy. There’s no strugle. It takes a lot of training to overcome these pussy tendencies. Most guys are unsuccessful.[/quote]
What if it’s Grand theft Auto?
[quote]ArcaneCocaine wrote:
Oh…and here I thought it was Skynet.
[/quote]
Sssshhhhhhhh…they’ll come for you in your sleep.
[quote]carter12 wrote:
Also, anyone want to propose a theory why the Russians have two of the most dominating athletes in combat sports ever (Fedor, Karelin)?
[/quote]
Not disagreeing with the other reasons posted, but one not mentioned is opportunity.
In North America, “genetic freaks” have a selection of high paying pro-sports which pay well. Aside from boxing, the others either are only establishing themselves (MMA) or not very lucrative (wrestling).
[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
carter12 wrote:
Also, anyone want to propose a theory why the Russians have two of the most dominating athletes in combat sports ever (Fedor, Karelin)?
Not disagreeing with the other reasons posted, but one not mentioned is opportunity.
In North America, “genetic freaks” have a selection of high paying pro-sports which pay well. Aside from boxing, the others either are only establishing themselves (MMA) or not very lucrative (wrestling).[/quote]
Your absolutely right on that point. Someone asked Teddy Atlas a couple weeks ago where are America’s great heavyweights to compete with the Russians, and he said “You can catch them on TV every Sunday and Monday night in the fall.”
Karelin is great, but still gets way too much hype. Youtube Karem Gabar.