# Naturally strong feckers



## Bull Terrier (May 14, 2012)

I live in a place where there are quite a few exceptionally strong guys. Typically the males from around here are short and very stocky, not especially lean but many are naturally really powerful..

Over the years I've got to see several but the very best of all is probably this guy..

His name is Giuseppe Magno and he started training in his late 30s. I highly suspect that he didn't know loads about training, but one thing for sure is that he set about it like a madman and was always in gym pumping weights around. He didn't even fully realise how strong he actually was until he changed gym and saw in the new gym (where I train and thus met him) newspaper clippings detailing how the gym owner won trophies in bench press competitions with lifts far lower than his own..

He started doing competitions and pretty much won everything locally. He went to Belgium for world championship (please don't ask me about divisions or federations because I don't have a clue about this stuff) and apparently won it! I've linked a youtube video showing him lift 160kg, but he told me that he lifted 175kg in this competition (when he was about 40 years old BTW). I've also linked an italian newspaper in which they say that he lifted 180kg! I'm not really sure what to believe, but considering his bodyweight even the lightest of the three lifts is still very impressive.

I should add - very significantly - that he was absolutely natural. I met him about a week ago at the barber shop and asked him what diet he used to follow. He paused a second before replying and said that he used to eat pasta and beans! This was really just his way of saying that he didn't really follow a hardcore diet by any means. Actually apart from the intense training he didn't really live the "lifestyle". He's a smoker, drinks plenty of red wine and used to have the odd month off training.

He no longer trains, but he's still a big guy with far bigger muscles than most who do train. He had to stop due to ligament problems. His younger brother trains at my gym, having started a few months ago. He isn't nearly as genetically gifted as his older brother but his lifts are still impressive considering that he hasn't been training for very long and he has an exceptionally chiselled physique.

Some people really are just born plain lucky..

Anyway, here are the links:






http://www.lecceprima.it/sport/successo-per-il-primo-campionato-di-bench-press.html


----------



## murphy2010 (Dec 17, 2010)

wish I lived in Italy


----------



## Bull Terrier (May 14, 2012)

I think that certain zones just have naturally stronger or weaker people. I was in Turkey for work for a prolonged period and I saw some incredibly strong people over there also.


----------



## TwoCanVanDamn (Jun 22, 2012)

I live in England and I'm surrounded by scrawny, tight jean wearing, pencil necked narrow backs for the most part. I like it as it makes me look bigger


----------



## Ginger Ben (Oct 5, 2010)

In before gymgym and his uncle who would destroy all of us in a gym and he doesn't even lift


----------



## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

Am I missing something here... I'm no expert on PL but that only looks about 90kg lol


----------



## Marshan (Aug 27, 2010)

2004mark said:


> Am I missing something here... I'm no expert on PL but that only looks about 90kg lol


Nope...theyre the skinny plates...still official plates though.


----------



## 2004mark (Oct 26, 2013)

mixerD1 said:


> Nope...theyre the skinny plates...still official plates though.


Oh is see, fair enough.


----------



## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Ginger Ben said:


> In before gymgym and his uncle who would destroy all of us in a gym and he doesn't even lift


That really done my head in lol


----------



## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

this rely on us trusting italians to tell the truth


----------



## BLUE(UK) (Jan 9, 2008)

simonthepieman said:


> this rely on us trusting italians to tell the truth


This. 

To be fair though, being 40 makes no difference IMO, I was stronger on bench 6months ago(before my wrist issue) than I have been in all my years. I am 36.


----------



## Bull Terrier (May 14, 2012)

This guy though would have been top of the list on the uk-m lifting league for natties and not too far down for the assisted guys. Hey @Huntingground, @Mingster, @MattGriff, @ewen - what do you think of this dude??

I wonder what he would have been able to do if he had sorted his diet out and taken some gear. The mind boggles..

Of course though - keeping things realistic - he only ever did one lift in competitions and not squat and deads. But he was awful strong in gym on all the lifts I saw him do.


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

Bull Terrier said:


> This guy though would have been top of the list on the uk-m lifting league for natties and not too far down for the assisted guys. Hey @Huntingground, @Mingster, @MattGriff, @ewen - what do you think of this dude??
> 
> I wonder what he would have been able to do if he had sorted his diet out and taken some gear. The mind boggles..
> 
> Of course though - keeping things realistic - he only ever did one lift in competitions and not squat and deads. But he was awful strong in gym on all the lifts I saw him do.


he`s a bench boy much like a bicep boy


----------



## Huntingground (Jan 10, 2010)

I'll check it out later mate.


----------



## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

There's a few strong guys I've known who smoke, drink and don't follow fanatical diets. I remember one bloke in particular who used to have kebab meat and chips for his dinner every day - I think it was on a £1 special at the chip shop at the time. Strength is a different animal to that of a ripped bodybuilder type. Strength comes naturally to some whereas a ripped physique is achieved through methods that don't really come naturally to people.

An 180 bench isn't impossible as a natty. Very few will manage it with correct form so he's a gifted lifter no doubt about it.


----------



## BLUE(UK) (Jan 9, 2008)

Bull Terrier said:


> This guy though would have been top of the list on the uk-m lifting league for natties and not too far down for the assisted guys. Hey @Huntingground, @Mingster, @MattGriff, @ewen - what do you think of this dude??
> 
> I wonder what he would have been able to do if he had sorted his diet out and taken some gear. The mind boggles..
> 
> Of course though - keeping things realistic - he only ever did one lift in competitions and not squat and deads. But he was awful strong in gym on all the lifts I saw him do.


I am 4th(I think) on the natty scum lifting league and I wouldn't even say I am THAT strong, I used to do Muay Thai as well as weights when I did my lifts(except bench press which was recent), I also did a lot of cardio.

I never dieted, I have only ever done one cut and the lard literally fell off me as well as my lifts so I wouldn't say that clean eating would automatically increase his lifts so long as he is eating more than he needs and doesn't exceed his weight class.


----------



## Robsta (Oct 2, 2005)

He got them there muscles from all the white flag waving in ww2


----------



## MattGriff (Aug 21, 2012)

I can believe it, I benched circa 180kg at 19 years old with no gear.

Gear doesn't turn you into a lifting monster, you have to have the ability first, gear can make an average man good but it won't make him great.


----------



## Huntingground (Jan 10, 2010)

MattGriff said:


> I can believe it, I benched circa 180kg at 19 years old with no gear.
> 
> Gear doesn't turn you into a lifting monster, you have to have the ability first, gear can make an average man good but it won't make him great.


FFS, I give up, I need another hobby


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

MattGriff said:


> I can believe it, I benched circa 180kg at 19 years old with no gear.
> 
> Gear doesn't turn you into a lifting monster, you have to have the ability first, gear can make an average man good but it won't make him great.


what do you bench now 12 years later with loads of gear been done ?


----------



## MattGriff (Aug 21, 2012)

ewen said:


> what do you bench now 12 years later with loads of gear been done ?


My best has been 200kg for 5 raw, didn't bench for about 8 years after breaking my shoulder playing rugby after training as a youth and when Pl it was just a sideline for kit so never really pushed it, then tore my tit off - bench doesn't like me! And I am a crap bencher, some of the monsters I have seen scare me.

Ha ha speak for yourself, I don't do a lot of gear, never been over a gramme in total :thumb:


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

MattGriff said:


> My best has been 200kg for 5 raw, didn't bench for about 8 years after breaking my shoulder playing rugby after training as a youth and when Pl it was just a sideline for kit so never really pushed it, then tore my tit off - bench doesn't like me! And I am a crap bencher, some of the monsters I have seen scare me.
> 
> Ha ha speak for yourself, I don't do a lot of gear, never been over a gramme in total :thumb:


Dem dere giinger genes


----------



## Jim78 (Aug 20, 2010)

Places like Russia (not in OP's post) take strength sport very seriously, almost regimental and lots train, just as here in UK we all played football, rugby etc when younger...in eastern europe they lift weights...heavy weights! there is a lot of doping going on but a lot of strong natural guys too, this years IPF classic the entire ajerbaijan(spel) team got disqualified for steroids lol and a few Russians and Ukrainians too.

Then there's technique which plays a part....there's a lad whos 82kg in BPC fed who can bench 180kg....my mate I train with has squatted 260kg to proper depth...not bodybuilder squats.....deep squats...and deadlifted 272.5 (600lbs) at 82.5kg....totally natural never touched gear....so its not really that shocking, there are guys in 82kg-90kg classes deadlifting over 320kg.......there are some unbelievably strong people knocking about lol...wish to **** I was one!


----------



## MattGriff (Aug 21, 2012)

ewen said:


> Dem dere giinger genes


It is, the ginger beard is of celtic origin and my (formely) blonde locks were brought across from Scandinavia for dem Viking genes - off to rape, loot and pillage (mostly rape) now!


----------



## Bull Terrier (May 14, 2012)

MattGriff said:


> *My best has been 200kg for 5 raw*, didn't bench for about 8 years after breaking my shoulder playing rugby after training as a youth and when Pl it was just a sideline for kit so never really pushed it, then tore my tit off - bench doesn't like me! *And I am a crap bencher*, some of the monsters I have seen scare me.
> 
> Ha ha speak for yourself, I don't do a lot of gear, never been over a gramme in total :thumb:


 :confused1:


----------



## MattGriff (Aug 21, 2012)

Bull Terrier said:


> :confused1:


That is nothing special in the world of strength sports at my weight.


----------



## hometrainer (Apr 9, 2003)

when i was a kid growing up around farm workers they were all rearly strong bags of corn came in 12 stone sacks most other stuff was in 8 stone bags and all lifted by hand no wonder most of them ended upwith bad backs.


----------

