Thor is getting his hammer back.
After making a foray into boxing, Hafthor Björnsson is completed wading his toes into other sports’ waters. The powerlifter/strongman is steadily rebuilding the strength that after made him the 2018 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion. The athlete appears to be full steam ahead along with his ambitions by some video accounts from his training.
On Apr. 3, 2023, Björnsson shared a video of himself capturing a 420-kilogram (925.9-pound) raw back squat during a training session. The athlete wore a lifting belt and knee wraps to assist show how much of his incredible leg power had already returned with diligent efforts.
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Prior to this squat, Björnsson placed a tough cap on what he would attempt with a loaded barbell on his shoulders. By Apr. 15, 2023, the athlete plans to squat 440 kilograms (970 kilos), matching his all-time best squat performance from the 2018 WRPF-Iceland Thor’s Powerlifting Challenge which he attained just months after his WSM victory. As clips on his Instagram profile show, the athlete has been steadily constructing toward this one-rep max.
His ascent back to form has taken a high quality, gradual trajectory.
For instance, roughly three months ago, Björnsson was powering through a 225-kilogram (496-pound) raw squat for five reps. Then, two months ago, Björnsson filmed himself capturing a 260-kilogram (573.2-pound) raw squat for 3 reps. About five weeks ago, Björnsson notched a 350-kilogram (771.6-pound) raw squat. Finally, per week before this latest achievement, Björnsson squatted 380 kilograms (837.7 kilos) raw.
Which means that, over the course of roughly three months, Björnsson added 195 kilograms (429.9 kilos) to his squat training weight. To be fair, he likely retained much of his strength despite stepping away from a lifting gym focus for somewhat while and has benefitted from “muscle memory,” shaking the rust from his squat mechanics.
It’s still impressive to almost double what he began with from the start of a recent training program. Notable, too, is the athlete’s recently reported body weight of 177 kilograms (390 kilos), which is 20.4 kilograms (45 kilos) lighter than his 2018 squat performance.
Should Björnsson reach his 440-kilogram (970-pound) goal by mid-April 2023, there’ll likely be little doubt “The Mountain” could have made his formal return to the strength sports’ fray.
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Beyond his massive squat, Björnsson has made his coming intentions quite clear. Within the +140-kilogram weight class, the versatile athlete plans to interrupt Daniel Bell’s raw (with wraps) World Record total of 1,182.5 kilograms (2,606.9 kilos) from the 2021 WRPF Hybrid Showdown III. Björnsson recently deadlifted 395 kilograms (870.8 kilos) raw alongside Bell on the 2023 Arnold Sports Festival (ASF).
After that, in 2024, Björnsson will finally return to competitive strongman for the primary time since 2020. Based on the living legend’s precedent, even that comeback will likely feature some measure of fireworks.
Featured image: @thorbjornsson on Instagram