Stone lifting is the official sport of the Basque People, an ethnic minority who live in the Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France.

In their stone lifting contests, they lift four different kinds of stones: spheres, cubes, cylinders and irregular shapes. Depending on the type of contest they may lift for a single heavy maximum or for reps in a given period of time.

Basque Stone Lifting records are mind-boggling. The lifter above is mid-way through what is called a “Basque Necktie” where a stone sphere is shouldered, then rolled around the neck as many times as possible ~ talk about core strength.