What do you know, the national AP wire now has a story on TV preacher [tag]Pat Robertson[/tag]’s alleged ability to pull off super-human [tag]leg presses[/tag].
Religious broadcaster Pat [tag]Robertson[/tag] says he has [tag]leg-press[/tag]ed [tag]2,000 pounds[/tag], but some say he’d be in a pretty tough spot if he tried. The “700 Club” host’s feat of strength is recounted on the Web site of his [tag]Christian Broadcasting Network[/tag], in a posting headlined “How Pat Robertson Leg Pressed 2,000 Pounds.”
According to the [tag]CBN[/tag] Web site, Robertson worked his way up to lifting a ton 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 to The Associated Press that she said showed Robertson lifting 2,000 pounds in 2003, when Robertson was 73. He is now 76.
The Web posting said two men loaded the leg-press machine with 2,000 pounds “and then let it down on Mr. Robertson, who pushed it up one rep and let it go back down again.” The Web site said several people witnessed the event, and shows video of Robertson leg-pressing what appears to be 1,000 pounds.
The AP also quoted Andy Zucker, a strength-training coach at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, who said leg presses of more than 1,000 pounds represent “a Herculean effort, and 2,000 pounds is a whole other story.”
There’s just something about this story that makes it entertaining. If it were any ol’ televangelist, it probably wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. But considering Robertson’s years of blatant dishonesty and record of bizarre claims about his personal abilities, I guess it stands to reason that his boast would get a little extra scrutiny.
It started last week when Clay Travis of CBS SportsLine.com wrote a column on Robertson’s claim, concluding, “There is no way on earth Robertson leg presses 2,000 pounds.”
Late last week, Robertson’s spokesman, Christopher A. Roslan, sent an email reply to CBS SportsLine.com, insisting that the claim is true, and that the Christian Broadcasting Network has “multiple witnesses.”
So, what’s the story here? And what’s with the video? Mike DeBonis set the record straight over the weekend with a piece for Slate. Apparently, leg lifts are hard, but leg presses are easy.
Dropping your leg-press numbers in casual conversation is like bragging about how fast you can do the TV Guide crossword puzzle. Simply put, the leg press is an ego boost for the beginner lifter. There’s no easier way to move a large amount of weight. […]
Let’s get Pat Robertson’s bonkers claims out of the way right now. As CBS Sportsline’s Clay Travis reported earlier this week, there’s no way the 76-year-old Robertson broke the leg press record — by more than 600 pounds — of a former Florida State quarterback. Check out this video, in which Robertson claims he’s legpressing 1,000 pounds. It appears as if 16 plates are loaded on the machine. Four of them look like 100-pound plates, and the rest are 45s. That adds up to 940 pounds. What else are you fibbing about, Pat?
Even when doing (what he claims to be) 1,000 pounds, Robertson’s form is wack. First, he helps his legs by pushing on his knees with his arms. That’s a no-no. He also achieves nowhere near the recommended full range of motion, which is to bring the knees to at least a 90-degree angle. And if he’s going to double the weight, where’s it going to fit? Neither Andrew Sullivan nor I have seen a machine capable of holding 20 plates of 100 pounds each.
Most telling is that Robertson has two staffers loading the machine for him. A big knock against the leg press is that it’s inefficient. Most leg press machines are constructed as either a sled angled at 45 degrees or a lever. (There are some that use cables, too.) In all cases, some of the weight gets borne by the machine. You may be loading 400 pounds, but your muscles are feeling only 200. In other words, eight plates on the machine are only four plates worth of effective weight. And by the time you’re finished loading and unloading, you could have done an extra set or two of squats.
Since I’m about as familiar with exercise as Robertson is with the truth, I’m at a bit of a loss to understand all of this, but now that the story’s gone national, I expect Robertson to do an on-air demonstration of his not-quite-remarkable power.