When lifting by itself just isn’t enough.

When you consider the infinite challenges of powerlifting, it’s a bit hard to believe that someone could ever get bored. The whole endeavor of being a strength athlete means breaking your personal bests, trying your best to out duel any other man who even thinks about hefting some serious weight over their heads. Powerlifting, unlike bodybuilding, can be a never ending journey. You’ll be hard pressed to find a strength athlete who isn’t trying their best to set records, whether that mean world records or just personals.

So when you hear that a powerlifter wants challenge themselves it can sound a bit strange. Powerlifting competitions are all about proving who the best man is at a given event. You’d think that the competitions alone would be enough to occupy a lifters mind, but no one person is the same. Some people not only want to set records in one endeavor. They want to be remembered for more than just one accomplishment. Sure, being an accomplished strength athlete has it’s own benefits and merits, but it’s pretty much par for the course. Some athletes want to be remembered for something that’s fresh, unexpected, completely crazy.

I’ve got to think that was what was on this Russian powerlifter’s mind.

Out of the powerlifting and fitness circles, I’m sure most people have never heard of Andrey Rodichev – an ambitious Russian powerlifter who is sure to go down in the record books. For what you might ask? Well, he didn’t set a new lifting record nor did he win some big competition. Nope. But what he did do was take a love of lifting and mountain climbing to interesting new heights. Rodichev climbed the highest mountain peak in Europe, Elbrus. That’s a pretty cool personal accomplishment, but the powerlifter did it with style points. He climbed Elbrus with a barbell on his back the whole time weighing 75 kg.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve got to say that’s pretty damn impressive. Climbing is pretty intense enough, to do it with a stacked barbell on your back is definitely something to write home about. What’s the craziest strength related endeavor you’ve experienced? Let us know in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.

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