@@FreshMootz That’s very Cool that you didn’t let your setback damage your inspiration. It takes guts to get past things that feel like impassable obstacles. Me: “Move aside obstacle, or I’ll barge right through ya! I say, “Barge through life’s obstacles!”
@bigd7696 Didn't followed much about body building, still some, at the times there, were able to keep their physique for a very long amount of time. Lou was known to me since he made the hulk series, especially because of that. I will be searching info about that Robby man then.
As an old guy, I remember watching the contests. What is amazing. Is that Franco at 185 pounds was lifting the same as guys almost twice his weight! I still remember like it was yesterday during the refrigerator race when he actually started running with that refrigerator on his back and the weight shifted and he blew out his knee badly. No other competitor actually ran with it. I believe if the refrigerator wouldn’t have shifted he would’ve won that event. Absolutely incredible strength!
Lou had his calling in 83-84 after The Incredible Hulk series had wrapped up. He looked fantastic for the Hercules movie in 83 (much better than Arnold in Conan). Had he hustled and trained for the Olympia he could've taken it in 84 before the era of Lee Haney started in earnest.
He did, he’d added a lot of mass during the 80s and got some calf implants along the way. Lou looked awesome and even well into his 60s he carried far more muscle than Arnold which shows the love Lou had for lifting
back then synthetic Gh was not yet available, and hGh was very expensive and Rhesus Gh was very dirty and deformation was very quick and permanent; therefore, these guys were using 'roids almost exclusively- I think by the late 80s Genetec had released the 1st synthetic Gh and it was much more affordable and the freaks started coming out of the woodwork and that's what we have now. the side effects are different but the end result is the same-severe emotional trauma and often early death
The car deadlift behind the legs was harder than a conventional lift. He failed to even qualify in 3 events and still came fourth without even turning green.. come on. Lou is the man. Love the Hulk. Born in '74 I absolutely channeled his rage, tearing my shirt buttons off every time i was challenged by bullies. It was a major problem with my mom. I didn't care. The Hulk spirit kept me safe and invincible. Lou did that. Nobody beats the Hulk ❤ love from England Lou. You are the best.. and the beast! ❤
Lou Ferrigno is a legend and well known around the world. He was a great bodybuilder and inspired many others. Becuse of his movie & TV career, he will always be remembered for those roles.
@user-kz4ke8mg4r yes I have heard that too, he charges as do most celebrities at autograph signing usually about $20. Arnold was charging $600 at the UK Arnold’s
There was a scandal regarding him charging fans for his autograph. it blew up in his face in the 90's as i recall when a disabled kids father went berserk for his son being charged money
@@StrengthUniverse 600 quid? is that so,, i've stuck up for arnold over the years when people been slagging him off but sounds like Mike Menzler was right about him being a wanker
Lou we love you and know you are the nicest guy in body building with a heart the size of The HULK !!! God bless you and your family brother !!! ❤✝🕊🌹😇🙏🤗👍🫀🤩🥳💪
I actually got to meet the man in Lexington, Kentucky. A kinder man you could never Meet. I am 6' 3" 195lbs at the time. I was about four Months older than him at the time. I felt like such a puny human. Always have been and will be a big fan. One of the few people I met on my life that lived up to his rep.. Thanks for the memory. Also, what the man could eat was unbelievable. I worked through Jerry's restaurant at the time When I met him.
Lou and Arnold inspired me to lose weight, and start hitting the weights when I was 13-20+. I still workout off & On. Thank you Lou & Arnold for the Inspiration for Pumping Iron!
when i was a little kid my dad took me to see my first bodybuilding contest. the guest poser was Lou Ferrigno, at the height of his Hulk fame. when he walked on stage and started hitting poses, it was absolute pandemonium. people were standing on top of their chairs and screaming. while in town Lou stopped by a high school and signed the wall of their gym. i later ended up going to that high school. one year we returned to school from summer break and the school had painted over Lou's signature. i never forgave them. years later i visited Gold's in Venice, CA and stood by the front desk watching the bodybuilders. Lou happened to be there and jogged over to me and my friends and hit the most massive side chest pose i'd ever seen!
Lou is personal friends with Wes Brown from my hometown of Mount Airy, NC. Wes, is the "little guy" that Arnold was showing how to pose in 'Pumping Iron', there's a great interview on Tom Purvis' channel of Wes talking about how he ended up at Gold's Gym and got to be in the film.
I never even heard of the Mr. Olympia thing as a kid (or the existence of a guy named Arnold Schwarzenegger). I was only aware of the title of Mr. Universe (and Lou Ferrigno) and assumed that was the end all be all.
I met him once in the 90s. I was at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach doing triceps and he asked if he could work in. Like I was going to say no? We didn't talk much, but he really seemed like a nice guy. Genuine.
I have seen an interview with Ferrigno in which he describes an incident during the filming of the pilot movie for THE INCREDIBLE HULK series. One scene showed the Hulk flipping a car over with his bare hands. The actual flipping was to be done by a cable being pulled by a crane... but the cable broke during the first attempt. They had already been filming for over 12 hours and Ferrigno just wanted to go home. When told that it would take several more hours to get another cable & to set it up, Ferrigno exploded in frustration. He told the crew to move away from the car and the cameraman to start filming. And he flipped the car over. With just his hands. THAT'S how strong he was!!!
Regardless of Lou Ferrigno’s claims on the 3 powerlifting lifts, he did a excellent job for someone that didn’t train for the WSM contest. He got disqualified on 3 -4 events because he was totally unfamiliar with the techniques and lost valuable points. He was the strongest bodybuilder that competed in the WSM and even beat Franco Columbu and Mike Dayton. Ferrigno also beat Mike Mentzer in the WSM contest not shown in this video. Those 3 bodybuilders that Ferrigno beat were known for their strength! Two of the most impressive feats of strength by Ferrigno were the bar bending and car lifts because he beat everyone! Ferrigno also should have won the Master’s Mr. Olympia, but got in a argument with the promoter.
Your points are the most important in my book. It's difficult to know exactly how strong these guys are, and I know even as a smaller guy, when I say what I benched people who knew me kinda question it.... but they didn't bench press with me (or watch other lifts) throughout my life, when I had ups and downs. For example, without ever getting a torn biceps tendon (small tear, but torn nonetheless)... I was able to do two sets of over 30 pull-ups the same workout as doing 305 pounds on bench when I weighed only 160 pounds. So I never made the 200% club, but I was close, and injured without truly knowing, and a lean wrestler. Some friends and even relatives made a face when I said "305" for bench when talking many years after those good days, but I had witnesses, one of which DID meet my mom and brother when traveling to the West coast. So... they knew I had done 295, but until they heard from my old buddy, didn't believe me. I was doing dumbbell inclines with 90 in each hand, so they should have known I was close to 300 flat with a bar. Anyway, the point of all this is who knows what Lou did throughout all those years? Plenty of other greats have done more, but for back then, the training, diet, drugs and supplements available, and as basic as Louie kept things, he was very impressive. You could see the frame when he was quite young, before any enhancements with professional level development. He's the real thing.
Cheers Ben, one on Billy Graham will be coming soon. the early WSM had a magic about them; seeing all these celebrates from different sports going head to head added an element of surprise that cannot be recreated in the modern era of strongman
Well things would have been different had Lou trained to be a boxer. I remember seeing Hulk Hogan very humble when he met Iron Mike Tyson. Mike looked quite small next to him.
I used to see Serge Nubret at Gold's gym in southern California in 1991. At this point, he was probably in his early 50s. He was still big and ripped. He did have the most distinctive body odor, though. No joke, I could walk into the gym and smell him before seeing him. The stringy tank tops he wore did little to keep everything in. That said, it was great working out in the same gym as that legend.
Lou was a legitimate work of art and all the folks that did that are both men and women I can respect that their bodies are art each still have their individual personalities and Lou has a great personality thanks Lou and great video Sir.
I was a big fan of the Hulk TV show when I was in elementary school. I once dressed as the Hulk for Halloween. But because I was in the 5th grade and had no muscle, the kids in my class thought I was the Jolly Green Giant.
Apparently the bar he bent is still there above a desk at HQ , nobody since has beaten it ! That's how strong he was in his prime ... there's a reason he was chosen as The Incredible Hulk
I believe the 600lbs figure for a max bench because the second time he was asked he was asked what he trained with and he said 560lbs and now he does less that he's older, 560lbs was probably a heavy set for him, like a set of 3 or something, making 600lbs believable for a max. Dead lift of 900 lbs is kind of dubious and hard to believe, as SU said he was basing that off of assumptions on his car dead lift, something that doesn't extrapolate out well, non the less perhaps some conclusions could be drawn from it such as it's probably unlikely his dead lift was anything less than 750lbs given what he accomplished with the car, giving a rough approximate range of perhaps 750 to 800lbs, which is still really really good for any lifter in that time period.
Lou did phenomenal to jump into a WSM contest and be competitive like that. It is doubtful anyone could just do that today with the notable exception of the Australian monster Tom Haviland. Back in Lou's prime, there was no Internet and video cameras were large and bulky and people rarely filmed themselves in the gym. As a result, widespread "lift Inflation" occurred. As the Internet arrived and expanded and video cameras became universal everywhere, the "lift Inflation" shrunk significantly. Lou was probably just inflating his lifts as it was quite common back then.
Most bodybuilders today don’t train heavy. They juice and pump and eat. That’s one of the reasons I find it boring now. Franco was a great example of crossing over. Guys now know they can’t be as strong as powerlifters or strongmen so I think they focus less on it today
@@chrisrose5157 Yeah...... but most if not all the old-schoolers came from lifting backgrounds........ Vern Weaver, Marvin Eder, even Franco Columbu, Arnold, and Sergio Oliva.........
He was never that tall, it's just marketing. Lou was never above 6'2 which can be seen when compared to others barefoot on stage. You have to be aware that 'Everybody' in any form of show business routinely lies to make themselves appear bigger, it's the name of the game.
Lou was the FIRST Hulk. Got sabotaged by Arnold in Pumping Iron(1977) before joining Bill Bixby(R.I.P) in being the reason David got angry. He tried to win several Mr. Olympia crowns in the 90s,where Dorian Yates & Ronnie Coleman had the 90s to themselves...
I recall him telling a story of a 600 pound air compressor was falling out of a truck at his home during renovations. Thinking his daughter was under it he grabbed it and pushed it back into the truck. Said he tore all the muscles in his back but he did it. 600lbs…
I’m not certain how many Mr. O titles Yates had by then. The judges seem to like rewarding previous winners. Arnold shouldn’t have won in 1980, for example. But to my eye, Ferrigno looked big, but tall. Yates had about the same width but on a shorter frame, making it appear as if he was wider than Ferrigno. There was only two seconds to see it here, and I’m not a professional judge, but that’s my analysis.
Unfortunately, Lou always lived in the shadow of Arnold. Had Arnold never existed, Lou would have had a much bigger bodybuilding career. He did have speech impediments so probably wouldnt have had the movie career Arnold has had. He never spoke as the Hulk.
In 1951 Marvin eder benched 515 @198 lbs and was a natural and could lift toe to toe with Doug Hepburn who was a powerlifter/strongman and was almost 100 lbs heavier
@@megabazus1775It’s possible. I’m 17, weigh a few pounds less than Marvin and on a good day would hit about 375 on raw bench (pr is 365, but not max). He used a wide grip, trained bench for probably 10 years at the point and was much leaner than I am. No guarantee that he was natural, but I believe you wouldn’t need genetics much better than mine to achieve that
Regardless of lift numbers. Just the fact that in both the bodybuilding world , and world at large he is still instantly recognized by name and looks alone , ( where as so many others who stood higher on a podium have been left in obscurity) , is an undeniable testament to his status of icon. Long may he live and inspire. ❤
I met Lou at a car show at cal expo autorama in 1982. I'm 6-4 and I would say we were about the same height. But of course he was way more muscular. He was very friendly. I remember he looked like he was reading lips and he had a funny voice. Good guy.
He I had no idea he was the hulk He was the first paid bodybuilders / actor he opened the doors for Arnold as a actor no training or experience and he still did that incredible
But while others may have stronger , still bending that bar on the strongest man competition still stands out that was pure strength and if he had trained for pure strength who knows he trained body building .
His one of the most gracefully aging BodyBuilders in History and still looks Awsome for his age, Definatley a Good Overall SportsPerson Not just confined to Bodybuilding alone, he has reached the Outer Limits then any other person I have known.
can we just conclude by saying he was EFFING STRONG? He kind of got robbed out of some Olympia wins. Imagine your competition is Arnold, Robbie Robinson and Dorian Yates. All that steroid and peds abuse going on.... I kind of miss the pre-steroid days of bodybuilding when the people looked amazing and not inflated like a Macy's balloon.
With this strength, I'm sure there must have been instances in the Hulk episodes where they did not require extra force, wires or rigs to move or pick up heavy objects. He just probably performed those feats using his own physical strength. There were instances where he lifted people over his head, pushed cars etc, would be great to know whether he did those himself unaided.
He was better and more bigger than arnold (friends politics) in the Hulk series he was more smal but in shape . Later future he get more bigger than before . The Real Hulk 💚 Lou
No way on those lifts. Probably low 500s bench, low 600 squat, low 700s DL, which would still be extremely impressive for his time, he was a bodybuilder not a strength athlete. He would have dominated the Olympia for years if he'd kept on it.
he was strong for sure- and most BBers would avouid competitions like that- respect for lou and franco- btw this was the event franco hurt his knee ;- ()
Not only is Lou big and strong. He helped train me 40 years ago. Have pictures of us in the gym. Giving and nice. Big hearted man.
That's awesome! Nice to hear a positive experience
I don’t know about big hearted as he still to this very day charges even kids for his autograph and he’s clearly making good money.
@@1manforequality I’m not sure what you me comment is in relation to
@@howardbrown2913 congratulations bud you were trained by a legend!!.
@@howardbrown2913 R & J Gym , Ave U , Brooklyn , NY....
All in all, Lou Ferigno is a very impressive man. He should be celebrated for his accomplishments.
His placing at the worlds strongest man is very impressive all things considered.
Because of hearing loss and my ability to grow fast, Lou was my inspiration to not let your setbacks damage your aspirations.
We all need to have someone who inspires us!
I’m glad you got inspiration from Lou Ferrigno!
😎👍
@@FreshMootz
That’s very Cool that you didn’t let your setback damage your inspiration. It takes guts to get past things that feel like impassable obstacles. Me: “Move aside obstacle, or I’ll barge right through ya!
I say, “Barge through life’s obstacles!”
Lou and Franco were quite something. What I find impressive is that Lou kept his physique the longest of them all.
@bigd7696 Didn't followed much about body building, still some, at the times there, were able to keep their physique for a very long amount of time.
Lou was known to me since he made the hulk series, especially because of that.
I will be searching info about that Robby man then.
@@zoichikanoe6242 Take a look at Jay Cutler at 50.
@bigd7696 Who is Robby?
@@nyobunknown6983 Robby Robertson , still looks great in his 70's!!!!!!!!
His name is robbie robinson@@mtvjackass74
As an old guy, I remember watching the contests. What is amazing. Is that Franco at 185 pounds was lifting the same as guys almost twice his weight! I still remember like it was yesterday during the refrigerator race when he actually started running with that refrigerator on his back and the weight shifted and he blew out his knee badly. No other competitor actually ran with it. I believe if the refrigerator wouldn’t have shifted he would’ve won that event. Absolutely incredible strength!
Franco was in the first Terminator movie, his buddy Arnold got him the part. look for him.
@@rchydrozz751he was also in Conan the Barbarian.
Franco had best diet, growing up in Sardinia, Italy! 👍
@@joep6706He was the Pict.
I watched that too. He and Arnold. I remember him telling the camera guy how he knew he blew out his knee because he was a chiropractor.
Big Louie has always been an inspiration
Lou had his calling in 83-84 after The Incredible Hulk series had wrapped up. He looked fantastic for the Hercules movie in 83 (much better than Arnold in Conan). Had he hustled and trained for the Olympia he could've taken it in 84 before the era of Lee Haney started in earnest.
He did, he’d added a lot of mass during the 80s and got some calf implants along the way. Lou looked awesome and even well into his 60s he carried far more muscle than Arnold which shows the love Lou had for lifting
@martinlaser7819 Ok, I'll see what I can do
@@StrengthUniversehe was even significantly bigger in his return in 93/94
what I love is that you always find a way to tell the story of the person in question before jumping to the lifting section, great storytelling
Yeah, that's interesting information.
Thanks mate, pleased that you find the athletes origins interesting 👍
You gotta love big Lou
loved big Lou on King of Queens!
he acted great and was funny- wish he did more like this ;-)
Maybe it's just me, but I prefer the physiques of that era. They were much more athletic
Me too
It's probably because they look more natural even though they weren't.
@@A-JayFrazierAt least they looked natural. Modern bodybuilders are an abomination.
@user-vf3pe9ce5x yeah, I feel you, man and that's why I would prefer a old school bodybuilders physique.
back then synthetic Gh was not yet available, and hGh was very expensive and Rhesus Gh was very dirty and deformation was very quick and permanent; therefore, these guys were using 'roids almost exclusively- I think by the late 80s Genetec had released the 1st synthetic Gh and it was much more affordable and the freaks started coming out of the woodwork and that's what we have now. the side effects are different but the end result is the same-severe emotional trauma and often early death
The car deadlift behind the legs was harder than a conventional lift. He failed to even qualify in 3 events and still came fourth without even turning green.. come on. Lou is the man. Love the Hulk. Born in '74 I absolutely channeled his rage, tearing my shirt buttons off every time i was challenged by bullies. It was a major problem with my mom. I didn't care. The Hulk spirit kept me safe and invincible. Lou did that. Nobody beats the Hulk ❤ love from England Lou. You are the best.. and the beast! ❤
Love and respect Lou was and will always be my #1 Bodybuilder
Lou Ferrigno is a legend and well known around the world. He was a great bodybuilder and inspired many others. Becuse of his movie & TV career, he will always be remembered for those roles.
I saw him at the worlds strongest man contest in 1977 and he was pretty strong then so was Franco Colombo who was also there
It would be amazing to meet Lou Ferrigno!!
Yes he's a nice guy, meet him around 2003
@@StrengthUniverse WOW what an awesome experience. 🖒🖒
@user-kz4ke8mg4r yes I have heard that too, he charges as do most celebrities at autograph signing usually about $20. Arnold was charging $600 at the UK Arnold’s
There was a scandal regarding him charging fans for his autograph. it blew up in his face in the 90's as i recall when a disabled kids father went berserk for his son being charged money
@@StrengthUniverse 600 quid? is that so,, i've stuck up for arnold over the years when people been slagging him off but sounds like Mike Menzler was right about him being a wanker
I met Mr.Ferrigno, in my home city of Nashua, New Hampshire in 1985. He was as nice as anyone could be. He treated me and everyone so kindly.
No matter where No matter when Lou forrigno is and will always be the Incredible Hulk to everyone who knows who he is forever..Michael Cox
Lou we love you and know you are the nicest guy in body building with a heart the size of The HULK !!! God bless you and your family brother !!! ❤✝🕊🌹😇🙏🤗👍🫀🤩🥳💪
All those steroids...it literally is that big
I actually got to meet the man in Lexington, Kentucky. A kinder man you could never Meet. I am 6' 3" 195lbs at the time. I was about four Months older than him at the time. I felt like such a puny human. Always have been and will be a big fan. One of the few people I met on my life that lived up to his rep.. Thanks for the memory. Also, what the man could eat was unbelievable. I worked through Jerry's restaurant at the time When I met him.
Lou and Arnold inspired me to lose weight, and start hitting the weights when I was 13-20+. I still workout off & On.
Thank you Lou & Arnold for the Inspiration for Pumping Iron!
when i was a little kid my dad took me to see my first bodybuilding contest. the guest poser was Lou Ferrigno, at the height of his Hulk fame. when he walked on stage and started hitting poses, it was absolute pandemonium. people were standing on top of their chairs and screaming. while in town Lou stopped by a high school and signed the wall of their gym. i later ended up going to that high school. one year we returned to school from summer break and the school had painted over Lou's signature. i never forgave them. years later i visited Gold's in Venice, CA and stood by the front desk watching the bodybuilders. Lou happened to be there and jogged over to me and my friends and hit the most massive side chest pose i'd ever seen!
As a kid ..... the incredible hulk was my favorite show !!!!!
Lou is the greatest guy. I met him and we discussed king of queens. He was so proud of that role.
Lou is personal friends with Wes Brown from my hometown of Mount Airy, NC. Wes, is the "little guy" that Arnold was showing how to pose in 'Pumping Iron', there's a great interview on Tom Purvis' channel of Wes talking about how he ended up at Gold's Gym and got to be in the film.
Still can’t believe that this man didn’t win a mr Olympian title
I never even heard of the Mr. Olympia thing as a kid (or the existence of a guy named Arnold Schwarzenegger). I was only aware of the title of Mr. Universe (and Lou Ferrigno) and assumed that was the end all be all.
It was incredible seeing him back in the day as the hulk next to ordinary folk with just his shorts on, he looked like he could eat them
I met him once in the 90s. I was at Gold's Gym in Venice Beach doing triceps and he asked if he could work in. Like I was going to say no? We didn't talk much, but he really seemed like a nice guy. Genuine.
I have seen an interview with Ferrigno in which he describes an incident during the filming of the pilot movie for THE INCREDIBLE HULK series. One scene showed the Hulk flipping a car over with his bare hands. The actual flipping was to be done by a cable being pulled by a crane... but the cable broke during the first attempt. They had already been filming for over 12 hours and Ferrigno just wanted to go home. When told that it would take several more hours to get another cable & to set it up, Ferrigno exploded in frustration. He told the crew to move away from the car and the cameraman to start filming. And he flipped the car over. With just his hands. THAT'S how strong he was!!!
God bless him. His humility was unmatched.
Regardless of Lou Ferrigno’s claims on the 3 powerlifting lifts, he did a excellent job for someone that didn’t train for the WSM contest. He got disqualified on 3 -4 events because he was totally unfamiliar with the techniques and lost valuable points.
He was the strongest bodybuilder that competed in the WSM and even beat Franco Columbu and Mike Dayton.
Ferrigno also beat Mike Mentzer in the WSM contest not shown in this video. Those 3 bodybuilders that Ferrigno beat were known for their strength!
Two of the most impressive feats of strength by Ferrigno were the bar bending and car lifts because he beat everyone!
Ferrigno also should have won the Master’s Mr. Olympia, but got in a argument with the promoter.
Your points are the most important in my book. It's difficult to know exactly how strong these guys are, and I know even as a smaller guy, when I say what I benched people who knew me kinda question it.... but they didn't bench press with me (or watch other lifts) throughout my life, when I had ups and downs. For example, without ever getting a torn biceps tendon (small tear, but torn nonetheless)... I was able to do two sets of over 30 pull-ups the same workout as doing 305 pounds on bench when I weighed only 160 pounds. So I never made the 200% club, but I was close, and injured without truly knowing, and a lean wrestler.
Some friends and even relatives made a face when I said "305" for bench when talking many years after those good days, but I had witnesses, one of which DID meet my mom and brother when traveling to the West coast. So... they knew I had done 295, but until they heard from my old buddy, didn't believe me. I was doing dumbbell inclines with 90 in each hand, so they should have known I was close to 300 flat with a bar.
Anyway, the point of all this is who knows what Lou did throughout all those years? Plenty of other greats have done more, but for back then, the training, diet, drugs and supplements available, and as basic as Louie kept things, he was very impressive. You could see the frame when he was quite young, before any enhancements with professional level development. He's the real thing.
Thanks for another great video .
Such all-around great work, per usual !
Thank you 🙏
Great video. Been checking out old WSM videos recently. Seeing the amazing amount of pro wrestlers in the early days
Cheers Ben, one on Billy Graham will be coming soon. the early WSM had a magic about them; seeing all these celebrates from different sports going head to head added an element of surprise that cannot be recreated in the modern era of strongman
He was my inspiration to start training, and i was a huge fan of the Hulk
A great video! What a man, a huge man. He's a strongest in my books. 💪🏼
Thanks Geoff
Great guy! I also always loved to see him on The King of Queens..
I met him one time and I beat him in an arm-wrestling match ... when the crowd went nuts and cheered it was so loud it woke me up. 😏
😂
He carried boxer Ken Norton in his arms with little effort!💪🇺🇲🇮🇹
Be that as it may, and as much as I admire Lou, he wouldn't have lasted a round with Norton in the ring.
@@yankee2666 I wouldn't argue that @yankee2666! Norton has the advantage there!🥊
Well things would have been different had Lou trained to be a boxer. I remember seeing Hulk Hogan very humble when he met Iron Mike Tyson. Mike looked quite small next to him.
Best Thing Is His Humility
built his body like his hero and then played his hero
A true legend. Hulk was one of my favorites as a kid.
I used to see Serge Nubret at Gold's gym in southern California in 1991. At this point, he was probably in his early 50s. He was still big and ripped. He did have the most distinctive body odor, though. No joke, I could walk into the gym and smell him before seeing him. The stringy tank tops he wore did little to keep everything in. That said, it was great working out in the same gym as that legend.
Oh man that sucks. Couple of guys where I train have the same lack of hygiene and it can really distract from working out.
Big Lou was strong as hell
Lou was a legitimate work of art and all the folks that did that are both men and women I can respect that their bodies are art each still have their individual personalities and Lou has a great personality thanks Lou and great video Sir.
I grown with a mith of Lou, seen in The Incredible Hulk, but like Italian I’m very proud to discover later the Franco’s results
How about a new video on Andrey Smaev. Recently the first video of him benching 300 kg clean was published
It’s on the list
Very underrated guy, who had very much success in movies and life in general...
Very much success in movies???!!! You're kidding, right???!!!
I was a big fan of the Hulk TV show when I was in elementary school. I once dressed as the Hulk for Halloween. But because I was in the 5th grade and had no muscle, the kids in my class thought I was the Jolly Green Giant.
Apparently the bar he bent is still there above a desk at HQ , nobody since has beaten it !
That's how strong he was in his prime ... there's a reason he was chosen as The Incredible Hulk
This dude and his son both amazing people ❤
I believe the 600lbs figure for a max bench because the second time he was asked he was asked what he trained with and he said 560lbs and now he does less that he's older, 560lbs was probably a heavy set for him, like a set of 3 or something, making 600lbs believable for a max.
Dead lift of 900 lbs is kind of dubious and hard to believe, as SU said he was basing that off of assumptions on his car dead lift, something that doesn't extrapolate out well, non the less perhaps some conclusions could be drawn from it such as it's probably unlikely his dead lift was anything less than 750lbs given what he accomplished with the car, giving a rough approximate range of perhaps 750 to 800lbs, which is still really really good for any lifter in that time period.
Great video .!!!
Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed it
Lou and Arnold will always be 2 of my idols. Dorian, Haney, Oliva fill out the roster. Loved the HULK!!
Lou did phenomenal to jump into a WSM contest and be competitive like that. It is doubtful anyone could just do that today with the notable exception of the Australian monster Tom Haviland.
Back in Lou's prime, there was no Internet and video cameras were large and bulky and people rarely filmed themselves in the gym. As a result, widespread "lift Inflation" occurred. As the Internet arrived and expanded and video cameras became universal everywhere, the "lift Inflation" shrunk significantly.
Lou was probably just inflating his lifts as it was quite common back then.
Most bodybuilders today don’t train heavy. They juice and pump and eat. That’s one of the reasons I find it boring now. Franco was a great example of crossing over. Guys now know they can’t be as strong as powerlifters or strongmen so I think they focus less on it today
@@chrisrose5157 Yeah...... but most if not all the old-schoolers came from lifting backgrounds........ Vern Weaver, Marvin Eder, even Franco Columbu, Arnold, and Sergio Oliva.........
this channel always deserves a watch
i;m a big fan of lou and think he did a decent showing in the worlds strongest man event, but i wished he had time to train more properly for it!
you are loved Louie....And you are a legend.....
Can you make a video about Olivier Ritchers, biggest and tallest bodybuilder?
Introducing standing 6'5 and weight 330 pound louis ferrigno
He was never that tall, it's just marketing. Lou was never above 6'2 which can be seen when compared to others barefoot on stage. You have to be aware that 'Everybody' in any form of show business routinely lies to make themselves appear bigger, it's the name of the game.
@@Andy-yo3hdnot 6'2 maybe 6'3 or 4
Lou wasn't any 6'2" 😂😂😂 I'd say roughly 6'4" in his prime.
@@ThouSwell-zx3fd And what do you base that on? Have you met him? Those who have agree with my estimate.
@@Andy-yo3hdYou've met Lou in his prime have you? You must be the same guy who has Arnold at 5'10" and Andre the Giant at 6'7" 😄
Lou was the FIRST Hulk. Got sabotaged by Arnold in Pumping Iron(1977) before joining Bill Bixby(R.I.P) in being the reason David got angry. He tried to win several Mr. Olympia crowns in the 90s,where Dorian Yates & Ronnie Coleman had the 90s to themselves...
I met Lou years ago absolute legend
I recall him telling a story of a 600 pound air compressor was falling out of a truck at his home during renovations. Thinking his daughter was under it he grabbed it and pushed it back into the truck. Said he tore all the muscles in his back but he did it. 600lbs…
I don't know what those judges saw during the Olympia, but it looked to me like Lou had Dorians number. I think Lou got robbed many times.
I’m not certain how many Mr. O titles Yates had by then. The judges seem to like rewarding previous winners. Arnold shouldn’t have won in 1980, for example. But to my eye, Ferrigno looked big, but tall. Yates had about the same width but on a shorter frame, making it appear as if he was wider than Ferrigno. There was only two seconds to see it here, and I’m not a professional judge, but that’s my analysis.
nah he was much behind others and dorian. not just about size
Very small calves.
Later he had inserts put in so ribbie won the master's O.
Unfortunately, Lou always lived in the shadow of Arnold. Had Arnold never existed, Lou would have had a much bigger bodybuilding career. He did have speech impediments so probably wouldnt have had the movie career Arnold has had. He never spoke as the Hulk.
In 1951 Marvin eder benched 515 @198 lbs and was a natural and could lift toe to toe with Doug Hepburn who was a powerlifter/strongman and was almost 100 lbs heavier
"natural" ... 🤣🤣
@@megabazus1775It’s possible. I’m 17, weigh a few pounds less than Marvin and on a good day would hit about 375 on raw bench (pr is 365, but not max). He used a wide grip, trained bench for probably 10 years at the point and was much leaner than I am. No guarantee that he was natural, but I believe you wouldn’t need genetics much better than mine to achieve that
@@megabazus1775 gear WAS out and commercially available then, the old school dinosaur steroids
Big Louie. God love ❤️ him.
Regardless of lift numbers. Just the fact that in both the bodybuilding world , and world at large he is still instantly recognized by name and looks
alone , ( where as so many others who stood higher on a podium have been left in obscurity) , is an undeniable testament to his status of icon. Long may he live and inspire. ❤
Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk looks like a angry piece of broccoli
👌🤪🤪🤣🥦🥦🇮🇹
If he had today's trainer back then??? He was a huge beast for his day. My favorite!
I met Lou at a car show at cal expo autorama in 1982. I'm 6-4 and I would say we were about the same height. But of course he was way more muscular. He was very friendly. I remember he looked like he was reading lips and he had a funny voice. Good guy.
He I had no idea he was the hulk
He was the first paid bodybuilders / actor he opened the doors for Arnold as a actor no training or experience and he still did that incredible
Lou ferrigno is so strong 💪🏿💪🏿 and I loved it when he played the incredible hulk 🤩🤩
But while others may have stronger , still bending that bar on the strongest man competition still stands out that was pure strength and if he had trained for pure strength who knows he trained body building .
He could curl 100 lb dumbells at 275 seated. Low body fat. Always liked him when I got into lifting.
His one of the most gracefully aging BodyBuilders in History and still looks Awsome for his age, Definatley a Good Overall SportsPerson Not just confined to Bodybuilding alone, he has reached the Outer Limits then any other person I have known.
Lou was the man! Loved Lou!
can we just conclude by saying he was EFFING STRONG? He kind of got robbed out of some Olympia wins. Imagine your competition is Arnold, Robbie Robinson and Dorian Yates. All that steroid and peds abuse going on.... I kind of miss the pre-steroid days of bodybuilding when the people looked amazing and not inflated like a Macy's balloon.
Can you get any info lenny mclean or any other British hard men?
With this strength, I'm sure there must have been instances in the Hulk episodes where they did not require extra force, wires or rigs to move or pick up heavy objects. He just probably performed those feats using his own physical strength. There were instances where he lifted people over his head, pushed cars etc, would be great to know whether he did those himself unaided.
He reportedly flipped the car in the pilot episode himself although I have doubts
Let's not forget Sergio Olivia he actually started out as a weightlifter.
And Coleman ?
I’ve been a fan of Lou since the 70’s when I was a young critter.
Louie Seemed liked a Great Ambassador for the Sport
Big Lou is the only bodybuilder on the planet that came back 20 years later went on stage and won again
I've always been a huge fan, love ya Lou
Jeez, Lou next to Dorian, you can clearly see the size difference. Lou was huge
Never mind trying to "put him down" he is an awesome man.!!!
I did nothing of the sort!
Lou's a legend
He was better and more bigger than arnold (friends politics) in the Hulk series he was more smal but in shape . Later future he get more bigger than before . The Real Hulk 💚 Lou
7:21, 8:09 Apparently Paul Anderson was there. Too bad he was past his prime.
No way on those lifts. Probably low 500s bench, low 600 squat, low 700s DL, which would still be extremely impressive for his time, he was a bodybuilder not a strength athlete. He would have dominated the Olympia for years if he'd kept on it.
I expect your numbers are more accurate
He is bodybuilder & strongest man
he was strong for sure- and most BBers would avouid competitions like that- respect for lou and franco- btw this was the event franco hurt his knee ;- ()
Lou didn't have to lie to kick it!
Lou was my hero!
I’m still a Lou ferritin fan!! Great guy
3:05. Take a look at how much smaller Lou is without taking the "gear" at the superstars comp. Pretty obvious size differential.
Lou is still may favorite over all these years
Mr. Ferrigno is now and always was cheated by the judges and the critics. Go Lou, you're a gentle giant in the world..!
I met him in 1979. Super nice guy.