3 All-Time Badasses You Need To Know About

jtsstrength.com/3-time-strength-badasses-need-know

November 5, 2014

In the age of YouTube, Instagram and the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world of

internet fitness, it is easy to forget about many of the trailblazing athletes who helped push
the envelope and inspire the lifters of today. As a fan of all things strength, I think it is
important to celebrate the history of these sports and be aware of the greats who came
before. Here are a few of my favorites…

Joe Dube
Joe Dube is an athlete I only recently became aware of from a conversation with John Broz
at this year’s US Weightlifting Nationals. Broz basically ruined my day and the idea that I’m
good at squats when he told me about Dube squatting 770×17. It has since been confirmed
that it was actually 710×17, but either way a monstrous feat of squatting, particularly when
you consider that this was done in the late 60s or early 70s, and, at most the supportive
gear was a weightlifting belt (thinner and less supportive than a powerlifting belt) and ace
bandage knee wraps.

Dube is the last American to win a World Weightlifting Championship, having brought home
Gold in the Superheavyweight class in 1969. Dube was also a Bronze Medalist in the 1968
Mexico City Olympics. He also crossed over and was 7th place in the 1979 World’s
Strongest Man Contest.

During Dube’s competitive days, weightlifting consisted of the Snatch, Clean & Jerk and
Clean & Press. He was the first American to hit a 1300 pound 3 lift total, setting 12
American and 4 World Records during his career. In February, 1964 he also became the
World’s 1st teenager to clean & press 400 pounds.

Dube’s best official lifts of 210kg (463lbs.) in the Clean & Press, 166kg (369lbs.) Snatch
and 215kg (474lbs.) in the Clean & Jerk, coupled with his 710×17 squat and lengthy list of
titles and records make Dube a true pioneer of strength.

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Joe Dube’s physique matched his record-breaking strength, as you can see him standing
atop the World Championship podium and dwarfing another legend, the Belgian champion
Serge Redding.

Doug Young
Doug Young is a name you may be a bit more familiar with, as he is widely regarded one of
the original “powerbuilders” and one of the greatest all-time bench pressers. Doug Young
possessed a physique (as well as exquisite beard and chest hair) that were as inspiring as
his 612lbs raw bench in the 275 class. Young won 3 consecutive IPF World Championships
and had best lifts of 722lbs squat, 612lbs bench press and 738lbs deadlift.

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One of the defining moments of Young’s legend came during his 1977 IPF World
Championship victory when he suffered 3 broken ribs in the squat, and then went on to
total 1956 by way of 699/545/710. Yes, he benched 545 and deadlifted 710 with 3 broken
ribs. Doug Young is tougher than you and me.

Get to know Doug Young better here and oh by the way, powerlifting used to be on TV…

Doug Young’s early system of auto-regulation in his training was also a big influence on the
creation of The Juggernaut Method.

Werner Gunthor
My background in track & field has allowed me to be exposed to many of the strongest,
fastest and most explosive athletes in the world. I could go on for hours talking about
amazing feats of athleticism I have witnessed and been told about, but I’ll save that for
another installment of this series. For now, I’ll just show you this…

Go to 45 seconds and prepare to have your mind blown…

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What you just witnessed was what I consider to be the most impressive display of
reactive/elastic power ever, particularly when you consider that the man performing it,
Werner Gunthor, was about 6’7” 315 pounds.

Gunthor was a Swiss shot putter with a PR of 22.75m (74’7.75”), a 4x World Champion (3x
Outdoors and 1x Indoors), and the 1988 Olympic Bronze Medalist (The 1988 Olympics is
widely considered the greatest shot put competition of all-time).

Gunthor’s power and athleticism may only be matched by the glory of his mullet and
mustache. From juggling shot puts, to a 75’+ overhead backwards throw (a truly amazing
feat for those familiar with the test), Gunthor was an all-around phenom. His training is also

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very well documented in a video series (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4e5cuyqjqw)
and even though it is in French, you can still glean a lot of great understanding of the ideas
of special strength training.

Chad Wesley Smith is the founder and head physical preparation coach at Juggernaut
Training Systems. Chad has a diverse athletic background, winning two national
championships in the shot put, setting the American Records in powerlifting, including a 900+
raw w/ wraps squat and a 2200+ total, and winning the 2012 North American Strongman
championship, where he earned his pro card. In addition to his athletic exploits, Chad has
helped over 50 athletes earn Division 1 athletic scholarships since 2009 and worked with
many NFL Players and Olympians. Chad is the author of The Juggernaut Method and The
Juggernaut Method 2.0 and

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