Pat Robertson, world-class leg press champion

May 23, 2006

This isn’t particularly political, but I thought it was hilarious. According to TV preacher [tag]Pat Robertson[/tag]’s website, Robertson “can [tag]leg-press[/tag] [tag]2000 pounds[/tag]” thanks to an “age-defying [tag]protein shake[/tag]” that [tag]Robertson[/tag] personally developed.

I’ve heard Robertson make the claim many times on [tag]The 700 Club[/tag], but not knowing much about exercise, I never thought much of it. Sure, 2,000 pounds sounds like a lot, but what do I know.

An alert reader, however, emailed me a new column from [tag]Clay Travis[/tag], a writer for CNS Sportsline, who apparently is on a personal quest to be able to leg press 400 pounds. Someone alerted him to Robertson’s miraculous claims. Apparently, Travis is a little skeptical.

There is no way on earth Robertson leg presses 2,000 pounds. That would mean a 76-year-old man broke the all-time Florida State University leg press record by 665 pounds over Dan Kendra. 665 pounds. Further, when he set the record, they had to modify the leg press machine to fit 1,335 pounds of weight. Plus, Kendra’s [tag]capillaries[/tag] in his eyes burst. Burst. Where in the world did Robertson even find a machine that could hold 2,000 pounds at one time? And how does he still have vision?

Those sound like reasonable questions. In fact, Travis has contacted Christian Broadcast Network directly with a request.

“I would like to interview Pat Robertson about his leg-press workout and protein shake. If possible, I would like to accompany Pat on his workout where I could help him stack on the 44 different 45-pound plates he would need to attach to leg press 2,000 pounds. By my calculations, his leg press of 2,000 pounds requires 22 forty-fives and one ten-pounder on each side.”

Will Robertson respond? Stay tuned.

20 lbs. x 100 reps. Over a long weekend.

  • Hey, if Oral Roberts can claim with a straight face to talk to an 800-foot Jesus, Robertson can have his leg presses.

    Then move on to Methuselah’s age.

  • Other things that weigh one ton:

    Gustave, the largest, most fabled crocodile in all of Africa

    The main engine of backyard inventor Simon Whitlock’s 48-cylinder, 4200cc motorcycle

    One of the Kennedy Center’s Orrefors crystal chandeliers

    The average weight of the junk mail each American receives annually

    The statue hanging above the altar at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco.

    E. Cerato’s “Micromosaic with view of the Basilica of San Marco,” the largest Venetian micromosaic in existence

    Melky Cabrera, Johnny Damon, Terrence Long, Kevin Reese, and Bernie Williams, i.e., the healthy Yankee outfielders, plus 5 dozen baseballs, which is what most of these guys are worth

  • God apparently worked in mysterious ways to help Pat promote his product– which I assume he’s willing to share, for a price, with the faithful.

  • Other things that weigh one ton:all of the cash that Robertson will steal from his followers with this snake oil.

  • I’m sure the 700 Club will have some “correction”, like it’s the “weight of America’s soul” that he’s really lifting, or some goofy shit like that.

    I personally can bench press two ’82 Buick Skylarks at once

  • This is just too funny. But at least he’s not trying to kill somebody this time.

    Wait, what exactly is in that mysterious mixture of his? Better have it analyzed first, I might be wrong.

  • Pat Robertson can leg press 2000 pounds. Chuck Norris can leg press the rest.

  • And Christians wonder why atheists think they’re idiots.

    The man makes a blatantly false claim, leaves it out on the internet for what… Years? And no one calls him on it.

    And all those stories about Jesus couldn’t be cooked up crap to fleece dupes. Uh huh.

    If God existed, he would make Pat Robertson grow horns on live TV.

  • Why does he need a protein shake? I’m sure that God is doing most of the heavy lifting for him.

    That makes me wonder what the record for a prayer lift is.

  • Someone should contact the FTC and file a complaint for misleading advertising.

  • Frankly, anyone who would believe Pat Robertson, buy his product and attempt a leg press that would break his legs and make him blind…

    … deserves everything he gets.

  • Pat will use his mighty gams to kick Cesar Chavez to death, saving the CIA assassins (and, presumably, Chuck Norris) the trouble.

    FYI, Steve, seems like your reference to “CNS Sportsline” is a typo. Not sure if this is the forum for offering such information. Just trying to help.

  • Chuck Norris no longer has to kick. Just thinking of kicking is enough for him to kill you now.

  • Saw this at deadspin.com earlier today. Their take:

    We’re guessing that one of those “energy-producing nutrients” is black-tar heroin, because that’s the only way ole Pat could leg press 2,000 pounds without noticing that every bone in the lower half of his body had shattered.

  • I burnt a lot of stress and time in the university weight room working out. Occassionally, a football player with legs the size of a beer keg would come in and impress us dweebs by pushing 900 pounds (20 45lb plates) on the leg press machine (the one we had at school that had a max weight load of 1200 lbs). The max I’ve done was 400, but then I nearly wrecked my knees doing three reps so I avoided stupid stunts like that.

    Pat’s gloating is similar to a kid (or emotionally stunted adult) who claims they can run a zillion miles an hour. I’m betting that he just threw out that number because it sounded good and never spent any time in a gym.

  • GREAT LEADERS OF FUTURE WON’T BE FROM AMERICA — Weak, Mediocre Men Lead the USA”
    And our mediocre dissolute leaders will act like all bankrupt aristocrats. They’ll start selling state assets for private gain.

    “A friend of mine once told a college class that nobody ever woke up in 476 A.D. (the date historians define as the fall of the Roman Empire) and said, “Gosh, I’m in the Dark Ages.” His point is plain enough. Transitions happen gradually, and the people who live through them never realize what is happening.
    So it is with Americans. We are living in the ruins of a once-great republic. Now an empire utterly devoid of moral authority, the United States has nothing left but its military power and its capacity to consume on credit.”
    Nor do I agree the people living “through them never realize what is happening.” Oswald Spengler realized what was happening. Adolf Hitler could see “what is happening” in 1919. Plenty of others in all western countries have recognized what is happening all through the 20th Century. It’s the people who don’t realize what is happening who both mock the foresighted and resist changes necessary to stop or alter “what is happening”. They serve as a ready pool of useful idiots for evil minded folks who not only realize what is happening but profit from it, assist it, and speed it along.

  • Pat Robertson is a strong man. For 76 years he has held upright on his shoulders, an object so weighty and dense it could qualify as a black hole.

    Leg pressing 2,000 lbs. would be nothing for him. Or maybe it’s symbolic. As in, “I’ve been girding my loins to push away a ton of sin.”

    I’d say that what ol’ Pat pushes with ease is a ton of B.S. 500 reps a minute. Just pumping it out like a champ. Doesn’t break a sweat.

  • Not to worry. God is his spotter, and the invisible hand of god can assist effortlessly with but a touch of his finger. Oh ye of little faith…in God and PR’s blessed protein shakes.

  • I saw the video and by my calculations, there was roughly 490 pounds total. Not sure where they got 1000, but who knows what the weights really weighed anyway.

  • Al Gore claims he invented the internet, so whats so crazy about wacky Pat?

  • Pat Roberson makes the rest of us look bad. I am a Christian, but not a 700 Club kinda one…as soon as I read the 2000 pounds thing, I almost laughed myself outta my chair…anyway, it’s about time someone called him out on this one!

  • Many “intelligent” people simple don’t understand the big picture. Their capacity for accumulating vast mental detail, often corrupts the ability to see a larger world view. Those elements described as “logic and reason” are merely man’s attempt to quantify in a “rational” way, what he can not explain or justify from his narcissistic point of view. All true reason stems from order, all order flows from design, all design has its’ genesis in a Designer. Careful consideration of the basis for one’s logic in a world of misinformation, is the hallmark of all progressive analysis. Robertson’s claim is interesting because he has clearly put himself in a position to have his credibility placed on trial…… Order in the court please.

  • Study the 1000-lbs lift video carefully, especially the machine’s arrangement. I’m amazed nobody out there looked at the physics involved. I can’t vouch for the machine itself, but it appears Pat is pressing the weight at about a 30 degree angle from level (i.e., shallow and FAR from vertical). An engineer or physics student can tell you that the actual lift is then HALF of the load (since sin30 = 0.5) or 500 lbs with the rest of the 500 lbs supported by the machine. Add to this the fact that his ‘reps’ are only 4″ to 5″ long (which is VERY short) and at the END of the press cycle and this “1000 lbs” press movement becomes possible. The claim is certainly broad exaggeration, but still this is VERY impressive for a 74 year old man!

  • You know why Pat Robertson makes such great headlines as a Christian? Because he is a moron, and it makes for an easy thing to beat us up on. Sorry, I’m a Christian… Most Christians realize what a complete wacko he is.

  • “And Christians wonder why atheists think they’re idiots.”

    Racer X…. I wonder why you think Pat Robertson is my spokesman.

  • Buddy A., all leg press machines are at 45 degrees–that’s kind of the definition of the lift (I didn’t measure Pat’s “specially built one” but I’ll grant that it’s probably at 45 deg). Nevertheless, there are two ways Pat totally BS’es his way through the lifts on the video. 1) As Buddy A. pointed out, Pat has very little movement in the legs. A true leg press requires the lifter to lower the weights until there’s a 90 deg bend between the upper and lower legs. Pat has a 20 deg bend, tops–this makes the lift MUCH easier. 2) He uses his hands to push on his legs. Buddy A. can show that this is a HUGE mechanical advantage over lifting with the legs alone (I don’t mean to pick on Buddy A., but he’s the only other person commenting on the physics of the lifts).

  • This man acts all high and mighty, like he has done no wrong, but does anyone else out there know that the guy is in the gold business with some leader of either a central or south american country who lines the streets with the skulls of his own people who have spoken out against him? Nice guy, doing such great work for “God”. Seriously, I agree with the dude above who asked how Christers could wonder why us athiests think they’re morons. A person in a mental institution who thinks they see aliens is probably less nuts than this guy. Evil Uncle Chuckles should be taken off the air. Lock Pat Robertson up along with all the other religious crazies out there.

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