Reykjavík Grapevine - 21.06.2013, Qupperneq 24

Magnús Ver Magnússon ends a phone call and walks over to
watch Thor’s last set. Perhaps not surprisingly, the four-time
champion of the World’s Strongest Man contest doesn’t
seem impressed. Between him and fellow strongman icon,
the late Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Iceland has taken home more
world titles than has any one country. Being one of (if not)
the smallest countries competing, the fact that Iceland has
managed to win more world titles than any other nation is
even more astonishing. If you add that to the impressive 13
finishes in the top three at the World’s Strongest Man and
Jón Páll’s induction into the strongman Hall of Fame (as one
of only three members), this tiny nation in the North Atlantic
has become something of a Mecca for strength athletics.
A strong work ethic
It’s hard to pinpoint just what makes a nation of only
300,000 so successful, but Hafþór, or “Thor” as he is known
internationally, seems to ascribe to Norwegian strong-
man Icon and Hall-of-Famer Svend Karlsen’s catchphrase,
“Viking power!,” attributing his incredible abilities at least
partly to his infamous ancestors. Magnús Ver has a differ-
ent hypothesis that seems at least somewhat conclusive.
“It comes from our background, which is that we’re used
to working,” Magnús explains. “Even as a young kid, I was
working on farms during the summers when I wasn’t in
school. I don’t know how it is now, maybe not so much, but
young kids still do go out and work.” In addition to develop-
ing strength, this working background also plays into the
development of Icelanders’ work ethic, which is exactly
what is required in this sport.
Hafþór’s workouts aren’t your average 24 Hour Fit-
ness, after-work aerobics classes or weight trainings. After
roughly an hour of pushing himself to dig deep in some of
the common powerlifting exercises like the dead lift and the
squat, the now covered-in-sweat and out of breath Icelan-
dic giant begins the second half of his workout. Ducking
his head to fit through the doorway, Thor makes his way
upstairs to an area of the gym dedicated to training for the
various strongman events. These events test aspects of an
athlete’s strength beyond your standard gym exercises,
including things like the Atlas Stones or the Truck Pull, which
add enormously to the entertainment value of these strong-
man shows. It is far easier for a layperson to understand
what it means to be able to squat a car, for example, than to
be able to squat a 400kg bar.
Unlike many of his competitors who train for these
events once a week, Thor trains for at least two of the dif-
ferent events at each one of his workouts. As a routine that
Hafþór maintains for five or six days a week, it is easy to see
how the working background Magnús Ver described would
come in handy.
Hafþór isn’t alone in all of this, however. Arriving to the
gym shortly after Thor is his long time friend and training
partner, Stefán Sölvi Pétursson. Upon his arrival, Stefán
drops his bag in the corner and walks over to the stereo to
turn on some Icelandic metal to get the juices flowing. After
some warm-up exercises and stretching, he pulls on his
knee braces and loads the bar with enough 25kg plates to
make his own 160kg bodyweight seem light. The rack needs
almost no adjustment from when Thor was using it, how-
ever, as Stefán is almost equal in height to Thor at 1.95m.
And with the daily routines these two Icelandic behemoths
maintain, a good training partner is a must.
“It’s not a life many people would choose,” Hafþór
explains as he runs through his schedule. As both a working
and a family man, Hafþór has to juggle his strength training
with his daily 9–4 shift at Arion Bank where he works as a
security guard and spending time with his four-year-old
daughter. In the background of all of this, Thor also some-
how keeps up with his 8,000–10,000 calorie per day diet,
which consists largely of a variety of meats, potatoes and
other vegetables.
In case all of this isn’t enough, his schedule is about to
become even busier. Starting this June, Hafþór will be com-
peting in strongman shows and events two to three times
a month all over Europe. Despite his enormous size, Thor
finds it more economical to squeeze himself into a single
airline seat instead of purchasing a second one, which is a
problem that not many people have. In some ways, though,
competing and traveling this often is a welcomed change
of pace. “I like to travel and meet new people, as well as
hang out with the other guys in the competition. Seeing new
places is something I really enjoy,” Thor says. And while
winning these contests remains his top priority, Thor main-
tains friendships with many of his fellow competitors.
Passing the torch
Although the friendly strongman culture and tightly knit
community hasn’t changed much over the years, the sport,
Magnús admits, has. “Today, you have better trained ath-
letes because they are better prepared,” Magnús explains.
“Everybody has their own equipment to train with, so
weights have gone up in a lot of the events like Super Yoke
or Farmers’ Walks because everybody trains for them.” This
access and ability to train for the events, Magnús says, is
what is making the difference in the sport today. “I didn’t
used to do that; Jón Páll didn’t used to do that. We just
trained in the gym and were told to do contests. I never
trained for the Atlas Stones, for example—I just showed up
and did them.”
In response to the evolution of the sport, Magnús Ver
opened his own gym in 2008, which gives Icelanders like
Hafþór and Stefán a place to train for the various strongman
events. The name of the gym, Jakaból, which translates
roughly to “giants’ nest,” confirms it—while Iceland may not
Hanging
With Giants
Iceland’s Hafþór gears up to win
the World’s Strongest Man title
by John Wilkins
Adjusting the squat rack to cater to his 2.06m height, Iceland’s Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson
begins his Friday afternoon workout. The 240kg he adds to the 20kg bar seems to put
more stress on the weight rack than it does on his 175kg frame. As he adds 25kg plates
to each side of the stressed, bending steel bar, he nearly tips over the now 310kg squat
platform. Despite being crowned Iceland’s Strongest Man for the last three year years in
addition to placing third at the 2012 World’s Strongest Man contest at just 24-years-old,
Hafþór isn’t even the most decorated strength athlete in the room.
“It’s not a life
many people
would choose.”
24The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 8 — 2013