Strength tests from around the world
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A boy demonstrating his strength on a traditional wooden pole during mallakhamb training in Mumbai, India, on Aug 22.
PHOTO: ATUL LOKE/NYTIMES
Alyssa Ages
- The article shows how strength tests still matter worldwide, from gym bench presses to older traditions that measure power, skill and status.
- Mallakhamb in India, Scotland’s Highland Games and African arm wrestling all test balance, stamina and technique, not just raw strength.
- Stone lifting in Japan is being revived through annual competitions, as athletes and organisers try to keep a fading cultural practice alive.
AI generated
NEW YORK – “How much can you bench?”
The bench press has been a default measure of strength in many parts of the world for nearly half a century, said Conor Heffernan, a lecturer on the history of sports and physical culture at Ulster University in Northern Ireland and author of When Fitness Went Global.