- Who
- Sam Murphy
- What
- 520,072 kilogram(s)
- Where
- Isle of Man (Douglas)
- When
The heaviest deadlift in 24 hours is 520,072 kg (1,146,562 lb), achieved by Sam Murphy (UK), in Douglas, Isle of Man, UK, on 27-28 November 2020.
Sam’s gym was closed for three months in early-2020 as a result of the first of a number of lockdowns to prevent the spread of Covid-19. During this period, Sam began training at home and would complete longer workouts using lighter weights. He wanted to have something to work towards and so began researching into records he could challenge for. When he discovered the 24-hour deadlift category he realised he could beat the record with enough practice and set himself the goal of beating the (then) record of 500,457.53 kg (1,103,320 lb).
He has owned a gym for 3 years and has been training in strength-sports for 10+ years, which gave him the foundations to prepare for such a record challenge. He broke his training down into 2-month sections of 2-6 hours daily training, first focusing on general preparations, then specific conditioning and deadlift practice, and finally “on the day” preparation where he practiced the required pace for a long-duration attempt.
He says the psychological component was the most challenging aspect; while the biggest challenge on the day was nutrition. Having completed the event on Saturday he returned to work on Monday, with some muscle soreness but otherwise ok. Within a week of the attempt he was training regularly and after a month was able to lift just 5 kg less than his personal best for deadlifting.
He has plans to attempt more records in future but says he probably won’t take on another 24-hour challenge for a while! When asked what becoming a GWR title holder means to him, Sam stated: “having the certificate is the icing on the cake, as a reminder of what barriers I broke within my own mind to get there, and how much more people can achieve when they truly put their mind to something.”