1000 lb. Neck Bridge

I did it! I’ve had this goal in mind for several years now, ever since I really got started with weighted bridging. Over 1000 pounds!

As you’ll see pointed out in the video the total is 1003 lbs. (about 456 kg)

• 275 lb. barbell lifted overhead
• 495 lb. barbell placed over the legs
• 5 lb. platform to hold the second barbell
• 175 lb. person (my brother Zane) to sit on the platform
• 53 lb. kettlebell held by the person

First of all let me say that I don’t recommend you go this far. I think bridging works great for almost everyone, and with time most people could even do weighted bridging. However, this much is not necessary. I chose to pursue this goal as a professional strongman.

For anyone interested though I’m going to share more information on how I did it.

It was less than a month previous to this that I did an 800 lb. bridge for the first time. In doing that I knew I had room to spare so I scheduled two assistants to come help me out.

There is a video of famous Russian strongman Valentin Dikul that pushed me further, and also was helpful in figuring out how to set this up. According to the Youtube comments and what is said in this video by the announcer he supports 900 kg, almost twice what I did. I have no way of knowing the veracity of that number. What you can tell with your own eyes is that lots of weight and people are used. (You’ll see the bridge at the 3 min 20 sec mark)

Some people have asked me if I’m going to go further with this. The answer is no, at least not for the time being. The reason is I have plenty of other goals to focus on. Not to mention there is some danger in doing this, plus it requires assistance to be able to do. Unlike Dikul I don’t have a circus troupe to help me out.

(The main danger was not in breaking my neck. The worst that could have happened with this setup is for the weight on my legs to shift to one side or another thus taking me down with it. That’s why my other brother, Cloud, is spotting the weight, in case that happened.)

One thing I found useful in bridging is the use of a head balancing grommet. This is under the towel you see I place my head on. This helps secure the head slightly better than flat ground and has much less of a chance of slipping. This was an idea I had after watching Dikul and his setup.

I built the platform after thinking about how additional weight could best be loaded. It is simply a plank of wood with two halves of ABS pipe screwed into it. This is where my legs go. On the reverse side are a couple of brackets which secure the barbell.

Where the weight lies in the bridge changes the difficulty of it dramatically. While some amount of the weight is spread throughout the body for the most part it goes straight down because of gravity. This means the 275 lb. barbell comes straight down on the neck. This is the reason the majority of the weight is over the legs. I have to admit thought that with that much weight I was still feeling it in the legs.

In order to pull this off I warmed up with several lighter weights. Then it was time to go for the 1000 lb. total. Unfortunately, Zane couldn’t properly balance the first time (it‘s tougher than it looks). The second time the platform was uneven just slightly and I called if off after the barbell was placed.

By this point I was getting tired, and was unsure if I could complete it. My neck was already sore, but my legs were feeling the pressure of the loads.

This was going to be the final chance. I took a short break and entered Berzerker State to get it done. And you know the rest…