Sri Chinmoy’s first call for custom-made ‘toys’ went out in August 1983 when he requested his students to make machines to help him increase his sprinting speed. In 1985, Sri Chinmoy sent out the call once more, this time for machines that were: “cute, small, strong and yet look professional, but not too complicated.” For the next 22 years exercise machines flowed in from all quarters, with Sri Chinmoy usually stating which body part or muscle he wanted to concentrate on. These machines were bought or copied from existing machines, or were the products of his students using their imagination to make mediaeval-looking instruments out of wood, hinges and springs.  As the years progressed, some of his students with engineering and welding skills began to make stronger and more sophisticated machines out of steel.
As strange as some of these ‘toys’ may seem, they helped Sri Chinmoy to develop strength in every part of his physical body and this enabled him to do lifts that required tremendous, localized strength.

“May my heart’s newness-joy
And my heart’s fulness-satisfaction
Remain inseparable friends.”
– Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)

“My weightlifting is my prayer-life to inspire my sisters and brothers of the entire world.” – Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)

The standard standing calf raise was the second major lift that Sri Chinmoy introduced into his weightlifting repertoire. On June 1st, 1986 he did repetitions with 400 pounds using a modified Dan Lurie model. At each practice session, Sri Chinmoy would work up to his peak weight and then have the selector fork adjusted down so that another 100 pounds were added to the total. By the end of June, he was comfortably doing repetitions with 1,300 pounds; at the end of September he was at 1,700 pounds; on November 30th Sri Chinmoy lifted and supported 2,000 pounds using his calves.

Sri Chinmoy performed this lift many times in public and 5-time Mr. Universe Mahasamrat Bill Pearl recently said: “The most remarkable lift that I am impressed with and I say to this day, believe it or not, was the standing calf raise. I saw the man do standing calf raises with 1800 pounds. For a man his size and his age that in itself is phenomenal. It is something people cannot even comprehend.”
At York College on November 13th, 2004 – at the age of 73 – he set a new personal record of 2,400 pounds in the standing calf raise.

“Self-transcendence is the song of constant inner and outer progress.”
– Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)

Just two months later at his weightlifting exhibition on November 13th, he chose to lift 1,500 pounds in public. By this time, the weight stack was so huge that Sri Chinmoy’s face was hidden behind it. He grasped the sides of the lower plates and, with a tremendous heave, lifted the stack so that the full weight rested on his thighs. In his next item of the evening, he did 20 repetitions with 1,200 pounds. This lift was a great favourite and later became the source of many imaginative lifts.

“I do weightlifting to inspire people to shine and to fulfil their dreams in their own fields.” – Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)

“A man of belief
Compels the impossibility-tiger
To sit at his feet.”
– Sri Chinmoy

<em>(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our <a title=”Galleries” href=”http://www.inspiration-lifts.org/galleries/”>galleries page</a>)</em>

When Sri Chinmoy lifted his Smart Car at York College on November 13th, 2004 it was the culmination of the entire programme that evening. Sri Chinmoy ascended to the top of the platform, eight feet above the stage. The car had been driven onto a ground platform that was attached by four steel tension rods to the lifting apparatus. Sri Chinmoy positioned himself underneath the shoulder pads, meditated briefly and then, with a mighty heave, brought his body into an upright position. The car swung back and forth freely for several seconds. Seated in the front row of the audience, Frank Zane later said: “Guru lifted the car nearly an inch and a half off the floor. I could see it dangling!” Needless to say, this lift brought the house down.

The 2004 Smart Car lift shares pieces of equipment with one of Sri Chinmoy’s oldest and most signature lifts: the standing calf raise with ground ramp. The ramp could accommodate large objects, animals, and groups of people – cars, planes, grand pianos, pumpkins, elephants, and trees, as well as myriads of people from all nations.

“God’s choice warriors
Shake hands with impossibility
With a roaring laughter.”
– Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)

This unusual lift was initially done on the standing calf raise machine. A narrow plank was simply placed across the top and Sri Chinmoy would ask various men to stand on it. There was no handrail to prevent them toppling over when the plank tilted backwards under the upward force of the lift. But Sri Chinmoy was determined to persevere with this lift and so a proper truss with a handrail was constructed that could be attached to the standing calf raise machine. By October 31st, 1986 he was lifting 10 men on his shoulders for a total of 1,547 pounds. In 2004, he lifted 11 men for a total of 2,256 pounds, establishing his all-time personal record. This became one of Sri Chinmoy’s most famous lifts – in New Zealand he lifted 100 Jersey cows (one at a time) and in Chiang Mai, Thailand a baby elephant weighing 980 pounds.

“My lifting is all done on the strength of my heart’s oneness with the world.”
–Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)

Early in 2001, Sri Chinmoy called for ideas from his weightlifting crew about how he could continue with his lifting, putting all of the weight on his exceptionally strong arms and shoulders. One of his students came up with a seated machine from which Sri Chinmoy could execute lifts using either one or two arms.  This lift proved to be challenging – according to strength and fitness experts, lifting from a seated position is three times more difficult than from a standing position.

Over time, different variations of the platform assembly fastened to the top of the machine emerged. In 2004, using one variation, Sri Chinmoy lifted Larry McConneghy with both arms. At 775 pounds, Larry was the heaviest person he would ever lift.

Between March 2001 and September 2007, Sri Chinmoy lifted 6,263 people on this machine.  He also lifted a variety of unusual objects and animals – a small aeroplane, a car, a catamaran, a hot air balloon, a tree, a panda, a baby grand piano and 1,000 lambs.

“From my concentration, prayer and meditation I am able to bring forward inner strength, inner power, and use that power to increase my outer strength.”
– Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)

Throughout his weightlifting career, Sri Chinmoy had always tried to improve the strength of his wrists and forearms by doing wrist curls and wrist flexes. He liked to do these at home, seated in a chair with the dumbbell resting on his knee. It was a staple of his regular morning workout, and he would work his right and left wrists equally. Many experts had commented over the years that Sri Chinmoy’s wrists and forearms must have been extraordinarily strong to handle so much weight day after day. In 2005, Sri Chinmoy became inspired to push his wrists to the limit. During his birthday celebration that year, he did a seated dumbbell wrist curl of 100 pounds 10 times with each hand. Just five months later, on January 30th, 2006 while visiting Malaysia, he set his personal record when he curled 270 pounds 30 times with each wrist. The dumbbell was so massive that two men had to use a specially constructed rolling lift to move and lower it onto Sri Chinmoy’s knees. He dedicated the lift to all the men and women of his age – 74 years young!

“I wish to show that age is no barrier. The word
impossible is only in the mind and not in the heart.”
–Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)

This was one of Sri Chinmoy’s favourite lifts. Unlike the overhead lifts, where he was somewhat removed from the person or object, here he could see them at all times – they were literally sitting or standing in his lap! Lifter and lifted were just inches from each other. Sri Chinmoy introduced this lift in 1986 and it became a core part of every weightlifting programme after that. Over the years, he lifted sheep, miniature horses, refrigerators, pumpkins, trees, motorcycles, a stone lion and groups of people in various configurations. One of these lifts that held a special significance for Sri Chinmoy was his complete collection of his own published books. In 1986 he lifted 700 books. On July 7, 2007 he lifted 1566 books weighing 806 pounds.

“When we live in the heart, there is no such thing
as impossibility.” –Sri Chinmoy

(This post is taken from a series of displays made to commemorate Sri Chinmoy’s 25th lifting anniversary in June 2010. You can find a slideshow of the displays on our galleries page)