*Reprinted with the kind courtesy of FLEX Magazine (January 2009)
By Joe Roark

Pioneers of Strength

LOUIS CYR

Amazing Canadian’s Origins

Although other Canadian cities of origin have been suggested, it is generally agreed that career strongman Louis Cyr (real name Noe-Cyprien) was born on October 11, 1863, in St. Cyprien de Napierville, near Montreal.

Honey, I Blew Up The Kid

Cyr’s mother stood 6′1 ½" and weighed 267, which might help explain unsubstantiated reports that Cyr weighed close to 18 pounds at birth.  His father was of average size, and Cyr would eventually stand 5′8 ½" tall, but he was a towering figure among old-time strongmen.

Roadside Assistance

Strength historian David P. Willoughby reported that as early as age seven, Cyr was known for precocious lifting abilities.  One of the early tales relates how he managed to shove a wagon out of the mud in which it was stuck, enabling the driver and the horse to continue on their way.

Teen Powerhouse

At age 18, Cyr matched strength in a stone-lifting contest with David Michaud, who, at the time, claimed to be the strongest man in Canada.  Cyr won when he managed to clear the ground with a 480-pound field stone that Michaud could not elevate.  Also that year, Cyr married Melina Courtois, and made ends meet by working in a lumber camp; his fellow workers urged him to display his strength to a larger audience.

The Law Won

Briefly employed as a policeman near Montreal, Cyr reportedly fought two (possibly three) criminals, and after knocking them unconscious, he carried them to the nearest police station.  The story captured the attention of publisher Richard K. Fox in New York City, who offered $5,000 to anyone able to match any of Cyr’s strength feats.

Louis’ Reign

Cyr was at his peak from 1892 to 1896.  During the years before that period, with Fox as his promoter, he toured as a strongman and met and defeated some very strong men: Cyclops, Sebastian Miller, August Johnson and others.  Eugen Sandow, however, wisely ignored the several challenges Cyr threw his way.

In The Thick Of It

Cyr fancied thick-handled dumbbells.  His most famous shot-loaded bell weighed 202 pounds empty and could be filled to 273 pounds, and at that weight Cyr would use two hands to bring it to the shoulder, then use one hand to put it overhead.

Cyr’s Backlifts

The backlift was performed by placing weights or live people on a table or a flat platform resting upon supports.  The lifter usually knelt, centered, under the platform in such a position that his legs were not quite straight, and, with his hands on a support, would straighten his arms and legs at the same time, thereby lifting the load clear of all supports by half an inch or maybe more.  Cyr is credited with lifting 18 men (weight, with platform: 4,330 pounds) in 1895; his reported personal best was a backlift of 4,400 pounds.

Art Of The Jerk

Tom Pevier, often one of the men backlifted by Cyr, describes Cyr’s one-arm jerk-lift: "His method of pulling in was to raise the dumbbell up and lodge the bell onto his middle; …he would turn it to his shoulder, and from there, jerk it up, finishing off with the press."  His best in this was 254 pounds with his right hand, and that was with a thick-handled bell that other men had difficulty simply getting off the floor.

A Barrel Of Fun

Cyr could shoulder with one hand a barrel weighing 300 pounds, easily; he once managed a barrel filled with sand and water weighing 445.

Swing Time

Because of excess weight around his middle, Cyr was not as strong in the fast lifts, although his one-arm snatch of 188.5 pounds with a barbell handle 1 5/8" thick, with little dip and minimal leg bend, is remarkable (despite it being more of a swing than a snatch).

Cyr’s Best Lifts

- Two hands continental and jerk with 347 pounds
- Hand and thigh lift just over 1,897 pounds (with one hand, 988 pounds)
- One finger lift of 552 ½ pounds on plain iron ring
- Carried the 445-pound Dinnie Stone three times as far as Scottish strongman Donald Dinnie could
- Resisted the pull of four horses (two on each side)

Death Of A Champion Strongman

Cyr went undefeated for 25 years as a strongman, but an inflammation of the kidneys (Bright’s disease) brought him down on November 10, 1912, at age 49.

 *EDITOR’S NOTE: In one of my favorite photographs of Ben Weider, he is seated in the lobby of the Weider offices on Bates Road (Montreal), in front of a painting of Louis Cyr and, above this, a statuette of the Quebec strongman.

Louis Cyr held a special place in Ben Weider’s heart, as can be attested to by
his book "Louis Cyr: Amazing Canadian, Strongest Man In History"

This entry was posted on Monday, February 9th, 2009 at 3:46 pm and is filed under Features.