Power lifter richard doug young biography

Ukrainian-born American former bodybuilder

Richard Sandrak (born April 15, 1992, also known as Little Hercules) is an American former bodybuilder, martial artist and actor, known for his muscular physique at an extremely young age, and for his appearance in the documentary The World's Strongest Boy.

Early life

Richard Sandrak was born 15 April 1992, in a small village in Ukraine, to Pavel Sandrak, a martial arts world champion, and Lena Sandrak, an aerobics competitor. In 1994, aged two, he moved with his family to Pennsylvania, where his parents believed he would have a better life. He began his training soon after they arrived. His father, who had trained in taekwondo, introduced him to various stretches and light weight training.

As young as 5 years old Richard would work out with his father seven hours a day doing 600 push-ups and 300 squats. He also had a very strict diet that did not allow junk food or sweets. Instead his diet consisted heavily of protein shakes and vegetables allowing him to have a "claimed" % body fat percentage, which many doctors urged is extremely dangerous. Doctors have said body fat this low can cause serious muscle and nerve damage among other health issues including heart failure.

The family subsequently moved to California, with the intention to break into show business. The family met trainer Frank Giardina, while touring one of Giardina's gyms, and hired him to help gain publicity for their son.

During an interview Richard's trainer admitted that there were no toys in the boys home, he had never visited a playground before and was rarely allowed outside. The fact he was homeschooled meant his parents were able to implement such strict exercise routines.

Career

Sandrak's

An unusually large number of notable bodybuilders and weight lifters have hailed from Georgia. They include two Mr. Americas, a Mr. Olympia, two “World’s Strongest Man” claimants, one of the world’s greatest female power lifters, and a world champion arm wrestler. Georgia is also the home of two of the most successful weight-lifting programs in the nation.

Early Developments

The first of these preeminent Georgia athletes was Bob Hoffman, so-called Father of American Weight Lifting, who was born in Tifton in 1898. Though he later won fame and fortune in York, Pennsylvania, Hoffman forever maintained close associations with his native state.

A stronger influence on the development of the sport in the state was Lurten Cunningham of Atlanta, who in 1925 won Strength magazine’s posing contest, defeating seventy-five other contestants nationwide. The magazine described his pose as “an illustration of the body beautiful in its highest conception.” As physical director of the Atlanta and Athens YMCA facilities and numerous others in north central Georgia, Cunningham introduced thousands of young athletes to weight training over the next several decades.

Foremost among Cunningham’s trainees was Bill Curry, a University of Georgia student who became a weight lifter of national caliber during the years preceding and immediately after World War II (1941-45). Curry was dubbed “the Strongest Man in the South.” (His weight-trained son, Bill Jr., was later a football all-American at the Georgia Institute of Technology, all-pro for the Green Bay Packers, and head coach at Georgia Tech, Alabama, and Kentucky.) Most important, the elder Curry, as physical director at Georgia Military Academy (later Woodward Academy) in College Park and later as sporting goods manager at Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta, brought the sport of weight lifting to the attention of thousands of Geo

Abstract

Premature deaths in bodybuilders regularly make headlines and are cited as evidence that bodybuilding is a dangerous activity. A wealth of research has revealed elite athletes typically enjoy lower mortality rates than non-athletes, but research on bodybuilder lifespan is surprisingly limited. Anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use is commonly cited as a key contributor to morbidity and premature mortality in bodybuilders, but this area of research is highly nuanced and influenced by numerous confounders unique to bodybuilding. It is quite possible that bodybuilders are at elevated risk and that AAS use is the primary reason for this, but there remains much unknown in this realm. As global participation in bodybuilding increases, and healthcare providers play a more active role in monitoring bodybuilder health, there is a need to identify how numerous factors associated with bodybuilding ultimately influence short- and long-term health and mortality rate. In this Current Opinion, we discuss what is currently known about the bodybuilder lifespan, identify the nuances of the literature regarding bodybuilder health and AAS use, and provide recommendations for future research on this topic.

Key Points

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Introduction

“The doctors were against me—they said that working out with weights would give people heart attacks…”—Jack LaLanne, commenting on the response to his opening a fitness center in 1936 [1].

In 2021, over two dozen professional competit

American powerlifter (1944–2005)

Doug Young (August 21, 1944 – October 7, 2005) was an American national and world powerlifting champion multiple times throughout his career while competing in the 242 lb. and 275 lb. weight classes.

Doug won his third straight world championship title at the 1977 IPF world championships. He posted a 1,956 pound total (699 lb. squat, 545 lb. bench press, and 710 lb. deadlift) while sustaining three broken ribs. Doug is credited with benching 612 pounds in 1978 while wearing just a T-shirt.

American footballoffensive guardBob Young was his older brother.

Death

On October 7, 2005, in Abilene, Texas, Doug suffered a massive heart attack and died instantly.

Personal records

• Squat - 722 pounds (327 kg)
• Bench press - 612 pounds (278 kg)
• Deadlift - 805 pounds (365 kg)
• Total - 2,072 pounds (940 kg)

References

External links