Now That's a Squat: Benoit Cote Shows How It's Done

Benoit Cote
Benoit Cote the great Canadian strongman and the man who beat Doug Hepburn in a head-to-head contest shows what a real squat looks like.

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Paul Baillargeon

Paul Baillargeon
I have said many times that Arthur Saxon's records would never be broken... and they won't be... but the man who has come the closest was Paul Baillargeon of the famed Baillargeon Brothers of Quebec.

These six brothers (who I will feature in another post), were all incredible wrestlers and strength athletes who toured their native Canada and the US taking on all comers.

Paul, who was quite possibly the strongest of the brothers, often lifted a horse as the finale of their strength performances.

Anyhow, this picture shows him oficially bent-pressing a barbell loaded to 321pounds, a feat which he achieved on May 11, 1951, in front of Harry B. Paschall and other reliable witnesses at the Apollo Health Studio in Columbus, Ohio.

Paul Baillargeon actually did succeed in bent-pressing 375 pounds in practice a few times.

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The Kennedy Lift in Action

The Kennedy Lift in Action
A look at the Kennedy Lift in action - performed by Quebec Strongman Claude "Sampson" Champagne. The Kennedy lift can be a useful alternative to the traditional deadlift and many oldtimers swore by it. Nice lift - that's over 600 pounds!

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Hector Decarie

Hector Decarie

Hector Decarie was another great Canadian strongman. He met Louis Cyr in a challenge match on February, 26th, 1906 at Sohmer Park, in Montreal. Cyr was 44 years old and in poor health, but at the end of the contest the results saw both men tied a 4 wins apeice (out of the 8 events.) Despite his showing, Cyr conceeded the title of "Strongest Man in the World" to Decarie right then and there.

Decarie was a worthy successor, he could nearly equal many of Cyr's feats and, as reported by George Jowett, could backlift 3640 lbs.

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Benoit Cote

Benoit Cote
Benoit Cote was another great Canadian strongman from Quebec and the rival of fellow countryman Doug Hepburn.

The two met head to head at a four-lift (Press, Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift) contest in 1961. While Hepburn bested Cote in the bench press and overhead press, Cote beat Hepburn in the squat and deadlifted 752-1/2 pounds (shown above) to win.

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