Challenging Impossibility

Watch the full recording of Challenging Impossibility, a film about the weightlifting of Sri Chinmoy. In this video, some famous names in the world of weightlifting and body building put Sri Chinmoy’s weightlifting exploits into the unique context of its...
Elephant lift 1986

Elephant lift 1986

In 1986, just 13 months after beginning his weightlifting journey, Sri Chinmoy lifted an elephant in Conneticut. Interviewed by a TV presenter, Sri Chinmoy was asked what he hoped to show from this kind of lift. Sri Chinmoy replied that he hoped to show that we can...

Sri Chinmoy interview on weightlifting

In this video, Sri Chinmoy is interviewed with TV presenter Joel Martin. Sri Chinmoy talks about the inner motivation for his weightlifting activities. Also, in this video there is footage of Sri Chinmoy lifting up an elephant weighing 3,000lb. and a small plane....
Dumbbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Bench Press

This lift made its first appearance in 2000 as part of Sri Chinmoy’s lead-up to his 69th birthday celebrations. He began practising on June 4th with two 120-pound dumbbells suspended in metal slings above his padded weightlifting bench. Because the dumbbells are not...
Standing Calf Raise (plates weights)

Standing Calf Raise (plates weights)

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...
Seated Calf Raise

Seated Calf Raise

The third major lift that Sri Chinmoy introduced was the seated calf raise. In May 1986, he began his journey with 300 pounds. By October the same year, he had progressed to 700 pounds. As the years passed, he added more and more weight to his overworked knees. On...

Right Arm Dumbbell Lift

Sri Chinmoy began his weightlifting career on June 26th, 1985, at the age of 53, by lifting a 40-pound dumbbell overhead from the ground with his right arm. By September that year, Sri Chinmoy was able to clean and press 85 pounds, but his bad back and injured knee...
Wrist Dumbbell Curl

Wrist Dumbbell Curl

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...

‘Will I be able to lift it?’

In the later part of Sri Chinmoy’s weightlifting career, Bishwas Polissar served as one of his main assistants, constructing and setting up the weightlifting apparatus that Sri Chinmoy would use to life. On 26 June 2008, the 23rd anniversary of Sri...

Sri Chinmoy’s 300lb one-arm lift

May-August 1986 This particular mark stands out as a milestone in Sri Chinmoy’s early weightlifting career in a different sense. In so many ways Sri Chinmoy’s lifts were also powerful lessons about life to those who saw and heard about them, and in this...