Gregg Ernst (born September 30, 1961), is a former

strongman Strongman is a competitive strength sport which tests athletes' physical strength and endurance through a variety of heavy lifts and events. Strongman competitions are known for their intensity, pushing athletes to their physical and mental limit ...

competitor and

powerlifter Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight singl ...

from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Strongman career

Ernst is best known for competing in the

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

and

1992 World's Strongest Man The 1992 World's Strongest Man was the 15th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Ted van der Parre from the Netherlands after finishing fourth the previous year. It was his first title. 1991 winner Magnus Ver Magnusson from Iceland fi ...

competitions, finishing 6th and 7th respectively. Gregg began lifting at age 12 when his father bought him a set of weights for Christmas.David Webster, ''Sons of Samson – Volume 2'', page 78, (Ironmind Enterprises Inc: Nevada City), By age 21, Ernst was a powerlifting world champion, winning the Atlantic Powerlifting Championships in 1982 and 1983. Gregg also won

Canada's Strongest Man Strength athletics in Canada refers to the various Strongman events throughout Canada and its provinces in the sport of Strength athletics in association with the World's Strongest Man. The roots of strongman in Canada go back long before the birth ...

in 1990 & 1991, and the Nova Scotia Farmer's Walk in 1988 and 1989. Gregg once backlifted of two cars on a platform to set a world record for live weight backlifting in July 1993. This record still stands today. At the

contest in Iceland, Ernst set a world record in the Husafell Stone carry, carrying the stone , narrowly edging

Andrés Guðmundsson Andrés Guðmundsson (born 17 April 1965) is an Icelandic Strongman and Highland Games competitor. He held the titles of the World Strongman Challenge and the European Hercules. He was also renowned for his prowess with the legendary Húsafel ...

's near two full revolutions around the original pen. The record stood for 25 years until the emergence of

Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (; transliterated as Hafthor in English; born 26 November 1988) is an Icelandic professional strongman who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. He is the first and only person t ...

. Ernst is also a blacksmith and a beef

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

, plays several instruments, and sang professionally with his four oldest sons.oneblood.ca

Personal records

*Back lift – (1993 Nova Scotia exhibition) (World Record) *

Deadlift The deadlift is a strength training exercise in which a weight-loaded barbell is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, with the torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting ...

– * Squat – *

Bench Press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

– *

Húsafell Stone The Húsafell Stone is a legendary lifting stone weighing 186 kg (410 lb) located in a west country farming estate in Húsafell, Iceland about northeast of Reykjavík. The slightly triangular, slab shaped stone is kept at a Pen (enclos ...

carry – for (1992 World's Strongest Man) (former world record)

References

*http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/IGH/IGH0301/IGH0301a.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Ernst, Gregg Canadian strength athletes Canadian powerlifters 1961 births Living people People from Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia Strength sportspeople from Nova Scotia