Pat Robertson claims to have leg-pressed 900 kilos

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. Associated Press

Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson said he has leg-pressed more than 900 kilograms but some said he'd be in a pretty tough spot if he tried.

The 700 Club host's feat of strength is recounted on the website of his Christian Broadcasting Network, in a posting headlined: “How Pat Robertson Leg Pressed 2,000 Pounds.”

The CBN website said Mr. Robertson worked his way up to lifting a almost a tonne with the help of his physician, who is not named. The posting does not say when the lift occurred but a CBN spokeswoman released photos she said showed Mr. Robertson lifting 907 kilograms in 2003, when Mr. Robertson was 73. He is now 76.

The Web posting said two men loaded the leg-press machine with 907 kilograms “and then let it down on Mr. Robertson, who pushed it up one rep and let it go back down again.”

The website said several people witnessed the event and shows video of Mr. Robertson leg-pressing what appears to be 454 kilograms.

Clay Travis of CBS SportsLine.com called the 907-kilo assertion impossible in a column this week, writing the leg-press record for football players at Florida State University is 302 kilos less.

“Where in the world did Robertson even find a machine that could hold 2,000 pounds at one time?” Mr. Travis asked.

Andy Zucker, a strength-training coach at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., said leg-presses of more than 450 kilos represent “a Herculean effort and 2,000 pounds is a whole other story.”

“If he was able to lift that much weight, I take my hat off to him but the numbers suggest that people who lift that much weight are few and far between,” Mr. Zucker said.

“One would have to see what type of leg-press it was on and under what parameters it was done.”

CBN spokeswoman Angell Vasko said Friday that Robertson was not available for comment because he was “out of pocket” for the weekend.

Ms. Vasko said she has not seen Mr. Robertson leg-press 907 kilos but it's not “a huge shocker” that he could.

“Pat is so healthy,” she said.

“This is something he trained for over an extended period of time. He lives a very healthy, regimented life.”

One of the photos Ms. Vasko released had a digital date stamp of 1994, although she said Robertson performed the leg-press in 2003. Ms. Vasko said perhaps the date was not set properly on the camera.

The CBN website attributes Mr. Robertson's energy in part to “his age-defying protein shake.” The site offers a recipe for the shake, which contains ingredients such as soy protein isolate, whey protein isolate, flaxseed oil and apple cider vinegar.

Join the Discussion:

Sorted by: Oldest first
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Most thumbs-up

Latest Comments

Sponsored Links

Most Popular in The Globe and Mail