In the present pantheon of strongman, Martins Licis is certainly one of the inarguable pillars of the game. The 32-year-old athlete can boast a World’s Strongest Man (WSM) title to his name (2019) and seemingly finds a strategy to finish near the highest of many contests he features in. With one other tentpole competition on the horizon, Licis is training to make his usual waves over again.
On Oct. 17, 2022, Licis shared a video of himself capturing a 455-kilogram (1,003-pound) block-pull deadlift for 4 reps. Per the caption of his post, Licis apparently had “plenty more in reserve” even after ending the set. Notably, Licis didn’t disclose the precise heights of the blocks. Nevertheless, judging by the video, they look like roughly half the peak of the 6-foot-3 strongman’s calves when standing straight up. The athlete wore a lifting belt and lifting straps, and accomplished the set while donning just his socks.
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Licis’ unique deadlift training is a component of his preparation for the upcoming 2022 Rogue Invitational. The American strongman is the defending champion of the competition that may happen on Oct. 28-30, 2022, in Austin, TX. In accordance with Strongman Archives, it’s going to even be Licis’ first appearance in a proper competitive strongman setting since he finished in second place to Tom Stoltman on the 2022 WSM.
Licis is certainly one of the more decorated and achieved energetic strongmen. His 2019 WSM title aside, the athlete has also never did not qualify for the WSM finals in five appearances. His overall precedent shows that he normally fares well amongst his peers in other competitions, too.
Here’s an summary of the more significant results from Licis’ illustrious profession up to now:
Martins Licis | Notable Profession Results
- 2015 America’s Strongest Man — Second place
- 2017-2018 Ultimate Strongman Summermania — First place
- 2018 Giants Live World Tour Finals — Second place
- 2018 Arnold Europe Arnold Pro Strongman World Series — First place
- 2019-2020 Arnold USA Arnold Pro Strongman World Series — First place
- 2019 WSM — First place
- 2019 Giants Live Wembley — First place
- 2021 Rogue Invitational — First place
- 2022 Arnold Strongman Classic — First place
- 2022 WSM — Second place
On the time of this text’s publication, here is the present roster for the most recent edition of the strongman Rogue Invitational:
2022 Rogue Invitational Roster
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This latest deadlift pull is perhaps an example of Licis ramping up his training as he gets set to compete again. Should the strongman successfully repeat as Rogue Invitational champion, it’ll undoubtedly be one other impressive notch within the belt for certainly one of the largest names in strongman.
Featured image: @martinslicis on Instagram