How Strong Was Franco Columbu? Looking Back at the Two-Time Mr. Olympia’s Unbelievable Power

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Standing at 5’5″ and weighing wherever from 185 to 200 kilos, the late Franco Columbu can lay declare to being one of many — if not the — pound-for-pound strongest Mr. Olympia winners ever.

The “Sardinian Strongman” was famend throughout his profession for unimaginable feats of energy that went effectively past what bodybuilders usually show. He was proficient in powerlifting, tried his hand on the inaugural World’s Strongest Man (WSM) competitors, and beloved to point out off with odd feats starting from lifting automobiles to blowing up sizzling water bottles to tout his lung energy.

Alongside together with his greatest pal and coaching companion Arnold Schwarzenegger, Columbu dominated the late Nineteen Seventies and early Nineteen Eighties bodybuilding scene and helped propel the game into the mainstream. However we wish to look past the plaudits and as an alternative give attention to the brass tacks: Simply how sturdy was Franco Columbu? Let’s have a look.

Bodybuilder Franco Columbu — Credit score: @francocolumbu / Instagram

How Did Franco Columbu Prepare?

One factor to notice about Columbu was his various life in sports activities. He started as an amateur boxer in his native Sardinia, Italy, earlier than switching to Olympic weightlifting, then to powerlifting, and eventually, bodybuilding. With that got here a wide range of training methods throughout his time, a lot of which he skilled alongside Schwarzenegger.

As a coaching duo, Columbu and Schwarzenegger pushed one another on a continuous foundation and weren’t afraid to department out to discover a aggressive edge. Followers of the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron will probably keep in mind a gap shot displaying the 2 participating in a ballet class to enhance their posing. It’s a small second, nevertheless it encapsulates Columbu’s well-rounded views on his efficiency: If there have been a technique to get higher at his craft, he would take benefit.

Within the health club, Columbu’s work ethic was onerous to high. Again and again, he claimed that the easiest technique to practice was twice a day, six days every week. After Columbu’s dying in 2019, well-known health author Marty Gallagher described Columbu’s coaching days as marathons, with 90-minute classes within the morning and three-hour stints at night time.

As detailed in Columbu’s e-book, Successful Bodybuilding, back, abdominal, and leg work was completed Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, whereas chest, arms, abdominals, and shoulders have been completed Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

A Have a look at Franco Columbu’s Exercises

To know how sprawling one in every of Franco’s exercises might be, check out his pattern chest and again session from his e-book Franco Columbu’s Complete Book of Bodybuilding:

Chest

Again

Calves/Abs

Donkey Calf Raise: 5 x 15
Calf Raise: 4 x 15
Bent-Leg Elevate: 4 x 25
Mendacity Aspect Bend: 4 x 25
Leg Stretch: 4 x 25
Bent-Leg Sit-Up: 4 x 25

How Robust was Franco Columbu?

Columbu educated with intensity, and, because of his sporting background, was well-versed in a wide range of coaching methods.

In his e-book Winning Weightlifting and Powerlifting. Columbu claimed these have been his greatest lifts in Olympic weightlifting:

*Be aware: The navy press was a staple of weightlifting meets on the time.

It’s value noting that health author Greg Merritt disputes these claims, noting rightly that no photographic proof exists and that, if truthful, this might have positioned Columbu as an Olympic gold medalist within the Sixties.

One tantalizing little bit of proof we do have comes once more from Gallagher’s obituary on Columbu, which says the Sardinian may energy clear 315 kilos “utilizing the shallowest of splits.” If he received to 400 kilos, we don’t know.

Columbu also competed as a powerlifter at numerous factors throughout his friendship with Schwarzenegger within the Sixties. Stepping on stage as a middleweight in 1968, Merritt says Columbu’s greatest verified lifts from the time have been:

Squat: 507 kilos
Bench Press: 408 kilos
Deadlift: 595 kilos

The very first thing to notice right here is that quite a lot of confusion surrounds Columbu’s max bench press within the years afterward.

Considered one of Columbu’s books reveals an image of him setting a so-called “world report” bench press with 525 kilos. Merritt once more disputes this, writing that the scene was merely posed for a photoshoot. On the 1977 World’s Strongest Man competitors, Columbu claimed on air that his career-best bench was 475 kilos.

Subsequent comes the deadlift, which was undoubtedly Columbu’s most spectacular elevate. In an interview with Muscular Growth, Columbu claimed a career-best deadlift of 750 kilos, however, as Merritt factors out, he additionally claimed it was 735 kilos on the 1977 WSM present. There’s a video on YouTube that reveals Columbu allegedly deadlifting 700 kilos for reps in 1972, however there’s no onerous proof of the burden or yr aside from the video title.

It is usually troublesome to search out agency proof of Columbu’s max squat, though he as soon as claimed he topped out at 655 pounds. Extra concretely, Schwarzenegger famous in his memoir that Columbu was the stronger squatter of the 2, writing that Columbu may do 500 kilos for 10 reps whereas he may solely hit six.

Lastly, we transfer on to the 1977 WSM. Although a freakish leg break throughout the fridge carry reduce Columbu’s contest brief, he nonetheless managed to place his superior energy on full show. In the course of the present, he finished joint second in a barrel press with a 200-pound elevate. He likewise completed second or third within the bar-bending contest, wrist-rolling competitors, a automobile deadlift, and tire toss.

Horrific harm apart, the actual story of the competition is {that a} bodybuilder, who was a lot lighter than the opposite contestants, was holding his personal towards among the strongest males on the planet. The one different bodybuilder on the present, Lou Ferrigno, bested Columbu in each top and weight by a considerable quantity.

Evaluating Columbu to Different Legends

As at all times, it’s necessary to emphasize that Columbu’s weight was usually reported to be between 185 to 195 kilos, and all of those feats talked about, official or unofficial, should be contextualized on the subject of his weight.

Take, for instance, Columbu’s deadlift prowess. Even when one chooses to disregard his claimed 750-pound max and as an alternative goes together with his 735-pound max, it’s nonetheless an unimaginable elevate, particularly when in comparison with different heavier bodybuilders.

There are few bodybuilder deadlifts extra well-known than Ronnie Coleman’s unimaginable two reps with 800 kilos completed simply 5 and a half weeks out from a Mr. Olympia. Columbu’s deadlift was not far off regardless of weighing 100 kilos lower than Coleman. One other 2000s powerhouse, Jay Cutler, deadlifted 585 kilos for three reps, which stresses how spectacular Columbu was.

Sticking with Coleman, he squatted 800 kilos for 2 reps with a squat swimsuit and knee pads on. Clearly, Columbu paled compared to this, however he executed some somewhat spectacular marks with out the identical equipment that “The King” had. Current Mr. Olympia champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay is on report squatting 495 kilos for between 12 to fifteen reps at a a lot larger body weight than Franco, so he locations effectively on the Ramy-to-Ronnie spectrum.

Onto the bench, Coleman hit 495 kilos for 5 reps, once more whereas coaching for the Mr. Olympia. Cutler’s greatest bench report was 550 kilos for 2 reps, whereas Schwarzenegger claimed a 525-pound bench. All of those males weighed extra — considerably, in some instances — than Columbu.

For powerlifting followers, Columbu would have competed within the 90kg (198-pound) class at his heaviest. His claimed profession bests (525 kilos on the bench, 750 on the deadlift, and 655 on the squat) whole 1,930 kilos, which, taking a body weight of 185-189 kilos, scores him extremely extremely, northwards of 580 on each the Dynamic Goal Staff Scoring System (DOTS) and Wilks system.

For these unaware, these methods examine energy throughout powerlifting weight courses and genders. It permits us to match a 162-pound lifter with their 200-pound counterpart. Among the greatest male powerlifters in the mean time hit over 600 in DOTS, which stresses Columbu’s superior energy.

Conclusion

In a sport crammed with bodily phenoms, Franco Columbu stood in a league of his personal. Shorter and smaller than a lot of his rivals, he boasted a degree of energy that continues to be spectacular at present.

Bodybuilding has but to see one other particular person who possesses the identical energy and, extra importantly, the identical versatility. Columbu was a boxing, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, and bodybuilding strongman. It doesn’t get extra spectacular than that.