How do other powerlifters view Mariusz Pudzianowski

MC Paul Barman

MC Paul Barman

Gold Belt
Platinum Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2002
Messages
22,965
Reaction score
1,526
ive been watching some videos on powerlifting. And listening to powerifters talk about other powerlifters.

Top guys. And they seem pretty positive towards other competitors.

One thing struck me though. I always assumed Maruisz P to be one of the best. But when these guys are giving their top 5 picks of who the best powerlifters are his name never comes up.
These guys give their views on many other competitions but not a peep about Maruisz.

Bill Kazmaier had one comment about how powerlifting should focus more on static lifting (not certain what that means) and then he made what seemed like a dig at Maruisz.


Was Maruisz just not viewed as anything too special when it comes to the best?
 
MC Paul Barman said:
ive been watching some videos on powerlifting. And listening to powerifters talk about other powerlifters.

Top guys. And they seem pretty positive towards other competitors.

One thing struck me though. I always assumed Maruisz P to be one of the best. But when these guys are giving their top 5 picks of who the best powerlifters are his name never comes up.
These guys give their views on many other competitions but not a peep about Maruisz.

Bill Kazmaier had one comment about how powerlifting should focus more on static lifting (not certain what that means) and then he made what seemed like a dig at Maruisz.


Was Maruisz just not viewed as anything too special when it comes to the best?
Click to expand...

I think you are confusing powerlifting with strongman...I know they may sound/look similar, but they are different.

Pudz was a smaller strongman, mostly known for his speed/agility compared to his competition. He had great grip if he could lock his hands around the object, and had good endurance because of his size.

His static strength wasn't his strong suit, many other men could lift heavier than he...Especially in squats/OHP/Bench/Deadlifts.

So if you are looking strictly at powerlifters' top 5 picks, ofcourse you won't be getting Mariusz...What you will get is guys like Ed Coen/Paul Anderson/Stan Efferding/etc...

Even in strongman, Mariusz is being surpassed pretty roughly by the new breed. The old guard had Big Z, Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall...And the new guys coming up can do what Mariusz did, but better and stronger. See his own countryman Mateusz Kieliszkowski for instance.
 
WARinsertname said:
I think you are confusing powerlifting with strongman...I know they may sound/look similar, but they are different.

Pudz was a smaller strongman, mostly known for his speed/agility compared to his competition. He had great grip if he could lock his hands around the object, and had good endurance because of his size.

His static strength wasn't his strong suit, many other men could lift heavier than he...Especially in squats/OHP/Bench/Deadlifts.

So if you are looking strictly at powerlifters' top 5 picks, ofcourse you won't be getting Mariusz...What you will get is guys like Ed Coen/Paul Anderson/Stan Efferding/etc...

Even in strongman, Mariusz is being surpassed pretty roughly by the new breed. The old guard had Big Z, Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall...And the new guys coming up can do what Mariusz did, but better and stronger. See his own countryman Mateusz Kieliszkowski for instance.
Click to expand...


You're right... I mean Strongman competitions.
 
WARinsertname said:
I think you are confusing powerlifting with strongman...I know they may sound/look similar, but they are different.

Pudz was a smaller strongman, mostly known for his speed/agility compared to his competition. He had great grip if he could lock his hands around the object, and had good endurance because of his size.

His static strength wasn't his strong suit, many other men could lift heavier than he...Especially in squats/OHP/Bench/Deadlifts.

So if you are looking strictly at powerlifters' top 5 picks, ofcourse you won't be getting Mariusz...What you will get is guys like Ed Coen/Paul Anderson/Stan Efferding/etc...

Even in strongman, Mariusz is being surpassed pretty roughly by the new breed. The old guard had Big Z, Brian Shaw, Eddie Hall...And the new guys coming up can do what Mariusz did, but better and stronger. See his own countryman Mateusz Kieliszkowski for instance.
Click to expand...

just look at the wsm pre 2000. the weights they were moving back then are laughable for todays standards.
 
corpse said:
just look at the wsm pre 2000. the weights they were moving back then are laughable for todays standards.
Click to expand...

I find the Arnolds a much better event, the production and everything about it feels much better than WSM...Who are constant fuck ups.(Even the strongmen are sick of their lack of event planning and just the sloppiness of everything.)
 
WARinsertname said:
I find the Arnolds a much better event, the production and everything about it feels much better than WSM...Who are constant fuck ups.(Even the strongmen are sick of their lack of event planning and just the sloppiness of everything.)
Click to expand...
Yeah, WSM is laughably bad. Sadly, they still carry all the name value which means fans and many competitors still consider winning WSM the apex of the sport. I mean, Eddie made it his goal to win WSM. Not the ASC. I really hope they get their shit together. I'd love it if the athletes would boycott WSM though, to make a point.
 
MC Paul Barman said:
You're right... I mean Strongman competitions.
Click to expand...
Most strongman competitors and fans rate him highly but he's not the best ever. Not in terms of ability and not in terms of accomplishments either.

He won WSM 5 times, but several wins came in an era when the competition was rather weak. That's because there was a split between WSM and IFSA. Many top athletes such as Zavickas and Vyrastyuk went to IFSA, so his competition wasn't always the strongest. Another consideration is the weights that were used. WSM would focus a lot on light weights for reps, or light carry events for speed or distance. Meanwhile, the Arnold Strongman Classic was much heavier. Heavier weights for less reps or less distance. Pudzianowski was good at the lighter weights, but he never won the ASC. His best placement there is 5th. Meanwhile you have guys like Zavickas, Shaw and Bjornsson who were able to win both contests several times.

So when it comes to achievements many people consider Zavickas the best because he has 4 WSM titles and 8 ASC titles. Shaw is considered the 2nd best by a lot with 4 WSM and 3 ASC titles. Pudzianowski is up there somewhere, definitely top 5 IMO.

As for his abilities, he was really strong and really athletic. But the sport has evolved and the level of strength has gone up tremendously. He wouldn't win any titles today. The top 3 guys today are Hafthor Bjornsson (IMO he has the potential to become the GOAT), Martins Licis and Mateusz Kieliszkowski.
 
Tyrannosaurus rex said:
Yeah, WSM is laughably bad. Sadly, they still carry all the name value which means fans and many competitors still consider winning WSM the apex of the sport. I mean, Eddie made it his goal to win WSM. Not the ASC. I really hope they get their shit together. I'd love it if the athletes would boycott WSM though, to make a point.
Click to expand...

If they keep it up, they won't have the name value. I do think a boycott is coming for them soon.

Tyrannosaurus rex said:
Most strongman competitors and fans rate him highly but he's not the best ever. Not in terms of ability and not in terms of accomplishments either.

He won WSM 5 times, but several wins came in an era when the competition was rather weak. That's because there was a split between WSM and IFSA. Many top athletes such as Zavickas and Vyrastyuk went to IFSA, so his competition wasn't always the strongest. Another consideration is the weights that were used. WSM would focus a lot on light weights for reps, or light carry events for speed or distance. Meanwhile, the Arnold Strongman Classic was much heavier. Heavier weights for less reps or less distance. Pudzianowski was good at the lighter weights, but he never won the ASC. His best placement there is 5th. Meanwhile you have guys like Zavickas, Shaw and Bjornsson who were able to win both contests several times.

So when it comes to achievements many people consider Zavickas the best because he has 4 WSM titles and 8 ASC titles. Shaw is considered the 2nd best by a lot with 4 WSM and 3 ASC titles. Pudzianowski is up there somewhere, definitely top 5 IMO.

As for his abilities, he was really strong and really athletic. But the sport has evolved and the level of strength has gone up tremendously. He wouldn't win any titles today. The top 3 guys today are Hafthor Bjornsson (IMO he has the potential to become the GOAT), Martins Licis and Mateusz Kieliszkowski.
Click to expand...

Thor is something else. He has all the tools to be the greatest. Shaw and Big Z could never move with the speed and agility Thor brings to the table for a man his size. Watching him and Martins train together just made him look inhuman. The loaded carry race they had in Thor's gym alone, it was amazing to watch how Thor, who outweighed Licis by at least 80 lbs was matching him in speed.

Around 16-17 minutes for the carry race.


Won the WSM bronze with a busted up foot no less...The guy is something else.
 
WARinsertname said:
If they keep it up, they won't have the name value. I do think a boycott is coming for them soon.



Thor is something else. He has all the tools to be the greatest. Shaw and Big Z could never move with the speed and agility Thor brings to the table for a man his size. Watching him and Martins train together just made him look inhuman. The loaded carry race they had in Thor's gym alone, it was amazing to watch how Thor, who outweighed Licis by at least 80 lbs was matching him in speed.

Around 16-17 minutes for the carry race.


Won the WSM bronze with a busted up foot no less...The guy is something else.
Click to expand...

Yeah, Thor has a crazy combination of static strength and speed. He's among the best at pretty much every strongman event, while almost everyone else has a few weaker events. On top of that, I think Thor is also the one with the biggest chance to break Eddie's 500KG deadlift record.
 
Tyrannosaurus rex said:
Yeah, Thor has a crazy combination of static strength and speed. He's among the best at pretty much every strongman event, while almost everyone else has a few weaker events. On top of that, I think Thor is also the one with the biggest chance to break Eddie's 500KG deadlift record.
Click to expand...

I agree, if he had gone straight to it at Arnolds, I believe he would have locked it out. He performed the 1045, and then went for the big one and couldn't quite lock it out because of fatigue. That just shows how close he is to it, and it's amazing given his leverages aren't as great as Eddie who is more or less built like an ape.(Which is what I would want to be built like to deadlift like a machine.lol)

Martins is also getting up there with his deadlift. He has some amazing grip strength, near Mark Felix level. He performed a 405lbs each hand farmer's walk for 45 feet and when he got to the end he held it for almost 10 seconds.
 
WARinsertname said:
I agree, if he had gone straight to it at Arnolds, I believe he would have locked it out. He performed the 1045, and then went for the big one and couldn't quite lock it out because of fatigue. That just shows how close he is to it, and it's amazing given his leverages aren't as great as Eddie who is more or less built like an ape.(Which is what I would want to be built like to deadlift like a machine.lol)

Martins is also getting up there with his deadlift. He has some amazing grip strength, near Mark Felix level. He performed a 405lbs each hand farmer's walk for 45 feet and when he got to the end he held it for almost 10 seconds.
Click to expand...
Martins is crazy too. The level in strongman is very high overall right now, and there's some great prospects coming up too.

Honestly, there's just so many crazy deadlifters right now. There's like 10 dudes or so who could pull close to 1000 lbs or more. Things are just nuts.
 
Tyrannosaurus rex said:
Martins is crazy too. The level in strongman is very high overall right now, and there's some great prospects coming up too.

Honestly, there's just so many crazy deadlifters right now. There's like 10 dudes or so who could pull close to 1000 lbs or more. Things are just nuts.
Click to expand...

It's a great time to be a fan, feels like a golden age is happening for the sport right now.

Novikov is also an interesting up and comer to watch out for, pure speed and power on that one.

One man who was weak on the deadlift but has clearly put in some serious work on it is Mateusz, it was his one glaring weakness and he has been progressing like a rocket these last couple years.
 
WARinsertname said:
It's a great time to be a fan, feels like a golden age is happening for the sport right now.

Novikov is also an interesting up and comer to watch out for, pure speed and power on that one.

One man who was weak on the deadlift but has clearly put in some serious work on it is Mateusz, it was his one glaring weakness and he has been progressing like a rocket these last couple years.
Click to expand...
Novikov is great prospect. Tom Stoltman too. I feel like Tom has the most potential out of any of the up and comers (those who haven't won WSM yet)
 
Tyrannosaurus rex said:
Novikov is great prospect. Tom Stoltman too. I feel like Tom has the most potential out of any of the up and comers (those who haven't won WSM yet)
Click to expand...

Tom is also a quick big boy. The way he handled Shaw in the stones race was brutal.
 
Anyone got any thoughts as to who is the strongman who's done the most considering their frame/biological potential?
 
Phlog said:
Anyone got any thoughts as to who is the strongman who's done the most considering their frame/biological potential?
Click to expand...
Darren Sadler is only 5'8.



next to Kazmaier
hqdefault.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,236,692
Messages
55,435,155
Members
174,775
Latest member
kilgorevontrouty

Share this page

Back
Top