VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson says he has leg-pressed 2,000 pounds, but some say he'd be in a pretty tough spot if he tried.
The "700 Club" host's feat of strength is recounted on the Web site of his Christian Broadcasting Network, in a posting headlined "How Pat Robertson Leg Pressed 2,000 Pounds."
According to the CBN Web site, Robertson worked his way up to lifting a ton with the help of his physician, who is not named. The posting does not say when the lift occurred, but a CBN spokeswoman released photos to The Associated Press that she said showed Robertson lifting 2,000 pounds in 2003, when Robertson was 73. He is now 76.
The Web posting said two men loaded the leg-press machine with 2,000 pounds "and then let it down on Mr. Robertson, who pushed it up one rep and let it go back down again." The Web site said several people witnessed the event, and shows video of Robertson leg-pressing what appears to be 1,000 pounds.
Clay Travis of CBS SportsLine.com called the 2,000-pound assertion impossible in a column this week, writing that the leg-press record for football players at Florida State University is 665 pounds less.
"Where in the world did Robertson even find a machine that could hold 2,000 pounds at one time?" Travis asked.
Andy Zucker, a strength-training coach at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, said leg presses of more than 1,000 pounds represent "a Herculean effort, and 2,000 pounds is a whole other story."
"If he was able to lift that much weight, I take my hat off to him, but the numbers suggest that people who lift that much weight are few and far between," Zucker said. "One would have to see what type of leg press it was on and under what parameters it was done."
CBN spokeswoman Angell Vasko said Friday that Robertson was not available for comment because he was "out of pocket" for the long holiday weekend.
Vasko said she has not seen Robertson leg-press 2,000 pounds but that it's not "a huge shocker" that he could.
"Pat is so healthy," she said. "This is something he trained for over an extended period of time. He lives a very healthy, regimented life."
One of the photos Vasko released had a digital date stamp of 1994, although she said Robertson performed the leg press in 2003. Vasko said that perhaps the date was not set properly on the camera.
The CBN Web site attributes Robertson's energy in part to "his age-defying protein shake." The site offers a recipe for the shake, which contains ingredients such as soy protein isolate, whey protein isolate, flaxseed oil and apple cider vinegar. (Taken from APNews)
I saw this story last night on Anderson Cooper's 360 Slamma Jamma Dunk Show on CNN. At first I though "Oh great Pat's at it again; what did he say now". But from the looks of things Pat is a muscle head as well as a televangelist. Who knew? A man of God who can leg press 2,000 pounds??!!! Move over King David, Samson step aside because Pat "I can leg press 2,000 pounds" is in the house!!!
On Anderson's show he had some guy on who was introduced as "Mr. Natural Something Something Something". He was going to leg press 1,000 pounds 10 times. Okay, so he did it. Ten times. 1,000 pounds. On cable TV. It was impressive, though I don't think he brought the weight low enough on the machine. I think he could've gone lower. But whatever.
So Pat has some pictures of his alledged feat. I don't buy it for many reasons. He's over 70 years old trying to leg press over a thousand pounds?! Plus, in the picture above he's got his hands on his knees/lower quads, which means he's cheating. If anyone has ever done leg presses before the cardinal sin is to cheat by using your arms to help your legs push the weight. C'mon Pat!! You'd be disqualified on that alone!
Now don't get me wrong I'm not trying to rain on Pat's parade for trying to be healthy with his protein shakes and leg presses. But if you're going to make some amazing claims you better be ready to back it up. I hardly think Pat has done that. I want an independent organization to weigh the weights. I want someone to check the machine he's using (I don't know of too many leg press machines that can hold that much weight). I want his hands tied behind his back. And he has to take the weight down to a predetermined mark before bringing back up. I want ESPN to be there. Pat, don't just give us pictures and obscure, vague press releases from your people. I want cold hard facts.
Finally, I think Pat does this because he doesn't want the public to forget about him. He wants people to watch the 700 Club. He needs the exposure. I mean hmmmm it is May. It is sweeps month for TV right (at least I think it is; but does that apply for just broadcast TV)? I don't know. I just think it's a huge scam.
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