Fifteen years ago, the world went crazy for “Little Hercules,” eight-year-old Richard Sandrak, who looked less like a child and more like a professional bodybuilder. In the 2000s, the boy was called the strongest child in the world.
Richard was born in a small village in Ukraine into the family of Pavel Sandrak, a world martial arts champion, and Lena Sandrak, a professional aerobics practitioner. When the boy was two years old, the family moved to the United States, and soon Richard began to be trained. When he was eight, he chest pressed his double weight. When he turned 11, he could already bench press triples. But now Richard is 26 years old, and he refused to fulfill the dream of his parents, who essentially deprived him of his childhood.
For hard training and strict diet The boy's father, a former martial arts champion, was watching. Society both admired Richard's incredible results and condemned his too harsh attitude towards the child. A family from Pennsylvania moved to California to try to break into the coveted world of show business and hired a manager to promote Richard.
The parents dreamed of turning their son into Arnold Schwarzenegger and wanted him to star in a Hollywood film.
When Richard was 11 years old, his father was sent to prison for three years for domestic violence: he beat his wife. The boy called the police himself. After this, Richard stopped communicating with his father, but continued to train. And after adolescence and completely abandoned training.
Richard Sandrak is now 26 years old and looks like ordinary guy, no prominent muscles and six pack. “I don’t swing anymore, I’m tired.” He stays physically fit by running and skateboarding.
He works as a stuntman in the Waterworld show at Universal Studios Los Angeles, where he is shot and set on fire five times a day. “They tried to make me out to be a mistake of nature. But there are a lot of kids who achieved similar results.”
Although Richard gave up training, he does not regret fame and what his childhood was like. “I'm proud of my past. And I don't want to hide it. I just don’t want to live like this anymore.” Sandrak dreams of one day becoming an engineer and working for NASA.
Are children fragile, weak, helpless creatures? No matter how it is! These kids will be able to compete on equal terms with any adult, and they will even give him a head start! Look at them - and no longer look for excuses for your reluctance to go to the gym!
Do push-ups seem like a tough exercise to you? But seven-year-old Andrei Kostash is able to do several thousand push-ups in a row! His recorded record is 4,000 push-ups, which he did in 2 hours and 29 minutes, setting a Ukrainian national record. Is the result impressive? But Andrei himself was dissatisfied. According to him, his personal achievement is 6,000 push-ups. He had been training for the record since he was 5 years old, dreaming of testing himself. Andrey dreams of becoming an actor and, in addition to strength exercises, practices martial arts and gymnastics. The father acts as his personal manager, dreaming of making his son a star.
Yang Jinlong lives in the Anhu province of China. At seven years old, he weighs 50 kilograms. But his kilograms are not fat, but muscles! The parents say they knew about their son's extraordinary abilities from the very beginning: at the age of nine months, the boy could easily lift a five-kilogram canister of oil. Today, Young easily carries his own father weighing about a hundredweight on his back and carries one-hundred-pound bags of cement. But his most impressive stunt is dragging a two-ton truck from place to place with a rope tied around his waist.
Russian Maryana Naumova is perhaps the strongest girl in the world. At the age of 15, she took part in the Arnold Classic strongman tournament, pressing a barbell weighing 150 kilograms from her chest. At the same time, Maryana became the first girl under 18 to win the right to participate in the tournament. Today she is the holder of 15 world records and the holder of the title “Master of Sports of International Class”. Today Maryana is 17. Alas, we will not hear about her next achievements soon: in 2016, she was suspended from sports competitions for two years due to a positive doping test.
American Clarence Cummings is considered one of the most promising weightlifters in the world today. But he is only 15 years old! His sports career began with a victory at the National Weightlifting Championships in Dallas, where he won gold medal with a total result of 305 kilograms. At the same time, his result in the clean and jerk - 175 kilograms - was recorded as a US record among men. Moreover, the weight of the athlete himself is only 68.5 kilos!
“There has never been an athlete in the United States who competes in this weight and demonstrates such power at such a young age! If we were talking about basketball, Cummings would be Michael Jordan,” said former American Weightlifting Federation President Dennis Snethen. Clarence himself shows enviable modesty. In a recent interview, he said: “People come up to me for autographs, and I say to them: “What is it for me?” This is all weird to me. I'm an ordinary 15-year-old guy."
When Naomi Kutin was 9 years old, she broke the world record in strength lifting. Today she holds records in the bench press, seated press and deadlift. By the age of 10, she was lifting a barbell weighing 97.5 kilograms from a sitting position—more than twice her own weight. With this, she broke the record of an athlete who was four times her age. She's already earned the nickname "Supergirl" and she loves it. She speaks with pleasure about sports: “It’s fun, and it also keeps you in shape. At school I always beat the boys in all competitions.” Unfortunately, in 2016, Naomi was injured, which is why she stopped performing for some time.
Liam was left without parents as an infant. When he was adopted, the adoptive parents were warned: the boy was born premature, which could lead to medical problems in the future. Indeed, the boy grew up in an unusual way: by the age of five months he could already support his own weight, and at nine months he could independently climb up and down the stairs! At the same time, he ate unusually much, but did not gain weight. As it turns out, Liam’s body lacks myostatin, which is why his muscles grow much faster than those of ordinary people. This problem is very rare; doctors first recorded it in 2000. As a result of this developmental anomaly, Liam's muscles are more than twice as large as those of his peers - and he puts them to good use. At the age of three, he was already doing speed push-ups and competed in the Strongest Baby tournament. Now the boy is 9 years old, and he is the hope and support of his school wrestling team. Perhaps a big career in wrestling is just around the corner for him
Arat Hosseini is the youngest of the little strongmen, but no less admirable! He is only two years old, but his abilities are incredible. He lives in the city of Barbol, in the Iranian province of Mazandaran. Every day he devotes 10-20 minutes to training. Judging by the video recordings, the boy easily makes a 360-degree turn on the trapeze. Moreover, it makes complete cross twine in the air, supporting your body weight on your arms. He is capable of doing push-ups with a weight of 6.5 kilograms on his back, and although this weight is twice the weight of a typical two-year-old, Arat does it effortlessly.
Carlos Senter does not do weightlifting; he knows that lifting weights can be dangerous for a child's body. At the age of 10, he gained fame as a bodybuilder. Carlos built his body gradually and confidently, exercising regularly and adhering to the principles healthy eating. “He doesn’t eat sweets at all,” his father, Carlos Sr., was surprised. “I have no idea why.” At the age of ten, his physical fitness was already a source of amazement, and it was then that he began posting his lessons on Youtube and selling them on DVD, earning the nickname “workout boy.” Carlos's classes were intended for children of his age - however, it is unlikely that many of his peers could cope with Carlos' workload. Today he is 15, and he continues to train, dreaming of soon leaving bodybuilding for American football.
Jake Schellenschlager is following in the footsteps of his father, a former bodybuilder. Already at the age of 11 he began to lift in the gym. At 14, he took part in his first competition in Pennsylvania, bench pressing a barbell weighing 102.5 kilograms with a body weight of only 54 kilograms. His achievement in deadlift was then 79 kilos, and now it’s about 200.
Speaking of motivation, Jake states, “I want to go forward and be able to lift four times my own weight.” Well, most likely he will be able to.
Another young bodybuilder, this time from Britain. For Cosmo, bodybuilding is also a family affair: not only he, but also his father and even his 4-year-old sister participate in competitions. True, while Cosmo only has the right to demonstrate his muscles, competitions in weight lifting are inaccessible to him due to his age. But now he has become a star on Instagram, where he shows off his sculpted muscles to thousands of fans and boasts that his body fat content is only 6.5%.
Kyle was only 12 when he received the title of his strongest boy age group in the world, lifting a barbell weighing 140 kilos—more than twice his weight—and earned the nickname “little Arnold.” He exceeded the previous world record by a quarter. He took up kickboxing at the age of 4, and by the age of nine he had already received a black belt. But from the very beginning, he considered his goal to be “to become a professional bodybuilder, like his father.” “A lot of people think I’m being forced into bodybuilding,” says Kyle. - But that's not true. It’s just that other guys like to roam the streets, and I like to train.” Really, try it, force this one - you will regret it!
From birth, parents, Yuri and Larisa Akulova, prepared a great future for their daughter Varya. Both of them were professional strongmen and met in a circus tent. Yuri began training Varya when she was only 4 days old. “I tied heavy bolts to her arms and legs so that while she tossed and turned in her crib, she would exercise her muscles,” says the girl’s father. At one and a half years old she was already going out to the playpen with her parents, by four she was lifting 25 kilograms, and by five she was already lifting 90! By the age of 14, Varya was lifting weights of 300 kilos! Experts believe that the girl has unique genetics, giving her the opportunity to achieve incredible heights in lifting weights. Varya herself dreams of this: her main desire is to become an Olympic champion in weightlifting.
This Ukrainian boy has been training since the age of two under the guidance of his father. Richard's regimen is strict: daily - 300 squats and 600 push-ups. At 6 years old, he was pushing a barbell weighing almost a hundredweight, and his body fat content was below 1%. Richard later admitted that throughout his childhood he felt unhappy: due to constant training, he never made friends and did not know a normal childhood. However, his father achieved his goal - he provided the boy with better life. After Richard starred in the film “The Strongest Boy in the World,” the creators of which gave him the nickname “little Hercules,” he became famous in the world and got the opportunity to leave Ukraine. Today Richard Sandrak works as a stuntman in the show " water world", organized by Universal Studio.
Dylan, Jessica, their father Nick and mother Callie are characters from the TV show "World's Strongest Family", and that means something! In the film, they said that they train 240 hours a week, or 8 hours a day. Schoolboy Dylan trains with a 60-kilogram barbell and claims that “I just don’t feel good without training.” Jessica is 5 years old - doctors recommend starting training at this age with a load of half a kilo, and Jessica lifts almost half a centner! When asked why she needs training, the girl replies: “I want to be like my mother, she is beautiful and strong!” Indeed, you can’t deny Callie’s strength: she, like Nick, is a regular participant in the Strongman competition, where they actually met. Feeding such a family is a whole problem: four bodybuilders need about one and a half hundred eggs per week alone!
Giuliano is on the left in this photo, Claudia (also a boy) is on the right. That's all you need to know about two children from Romania: these photos are enough to marvel at their abilities. Well, perhaps a few more facts: in 2009, then 5-year-old Giuliano was included in the Guinness Book of Records for “the fastest walk of 10 meters on his hands with a heavy ball sandwiched between his legs.” His brother Claudia was born in 2006 and began training at 18 months. A few years ago, the boys' father, Lulian Straw, moved with the boys to Florence, hoping to get caught in some show there - but nothing came of it. The family had to return to Romania - and again train until exhaustion: now Lulian hopes that he and his sons will be able to find a place for themselves in some show in Britain. And then, perhaps, the guys will repeat the success of Richard Sandrak, finding a job thanks to their talents in some prosperous Western country.
Since time immemorial, strength and courage have been valued in men. Once upon a time, boys pumped up their muscles from an early age, went hunting just like adult men, and this was completely normal. Nowadays, there are also child heroes, and they become a real sensation. Who are they, the strongest boys in the world? Today we will talk about real little strongmen.
Little Hercules
Richard Sandrak, or, as he was nicknamed throughout the world, Little Hercules, is no longer a child at all. This pumped-up man is 25 years old, he has become a bodybuilding and fitness star, and acts in films.
The muscular guy was born in Ukraine in 1992, but already at the age of two his parents took the child to the USA, where his training began. The father always wanted to see his son strong, handsome and, after consulting with his wife, he took the seven-year-old child to Frank Gardin, who remains his coach and family friend to this day.
From the very first days of training with Richard, Frank was amazed at his strength and endurance; the boy quickly developed muscles, and by the age of eight, the whole world was already discussing his not at all childish physique.
Subsequently, filming began in television programs, the first was called “The Rippley Show: Believe It or Not,” and then “Little Hercules Training Video for Children.” These programs were aimed at the physical development of children and attracting parents to a difficult but necessary activity with their children.
Soon Richard Sandrak began performing in bodybuilding - such famous shows as Mr. Olympia, Mr. USA, Night of Champions, Arnold Classic, Emerald Cup and others.
Richard controversy
Little Hercules aroused not only admiration, but also controversy, which sometimes grew into real scandals. Richard's parents were accused of greed, they said that they stuffed the child with hormones for muscle growth just to make money.
Sandrak's father insisted otherwise. He tried to convince everyone that there were no hormonal drugs and my son never took dietary supplements; he received the necessary substances only from food. Richard himself says that his childhood dream was to become an action actor, and his parents did not force him to train.
Today, Richard Sandrak continues to train with a trainer, participates in bodybuilding shows, and acts in films. His muscles no longer surprise anyone. But other guys replaced him, and now they are the strongest boys in the world.
Bruce Khlebnikov
In 2001, everyone became aware of the name of a boy from Russia - seven-year-old Bruce. The child shocked everyone for the first time by moving a Volga car. But that was just the beginning. After a couple of years, the boy with long hair began to move the twelve-ton fighter to the side, and he succeeded!
In total, the guy has about thirty records, which were included in the treasured Guinness Book. Bruce Khlebnikov personally knows Van Damme himself, who appreciated not only his superhuman strength, but also his excellent stretching.
Bruce's mother says that even during pregnancy she was attracted to films with Bruce Lee, after whom she named her son. The boy began training from an early age and had a different worldview from his peers.
By the way, Bruce never cut his hair. Many believe that his strength and power lie in them, like the legendary Samson!
Build Giuliano
In 2009, the Guinness Book of Records was replenished with a new name - Zhduliano Stroe, and he became the strongest boy in the world. The child's father is an athlete himself, and makes a lot of efforts to ensure that his sons follow his example.
Dad personally develops unique training methods and diet. Giuliano has been training in form since the age of two, and today he can do push-ups on the floor without touching it with his feet. It is worth noting that many adult athletes cannot do this exercise.
The boy-hero is endowed with incredible muscles, his physique is far from childish, which amazes the imagination. The little Italian loves to train with his father and younger brother Mario, who is in three years old I did a hundred push-ups on the floor for the first time!
"This is unthinkable!" - many will say so. Of course, it’s hard to believe that children who want to run and jump are voluntarily training. But the children's father claims that they themselves began to join him during his training. He assures that there is nothing dangerous to the health of children. They study as much as they want, and the rest of the time they play and watch cartoons.
In order to convince the public of the safety of training and diet, the father annually brings his children for a general examination, and posts the results on the Internet.
Yang Jinlong
The strongest boys in the world are included in the Guinness Book of Records, and a child from China was no exception. At the age of seven, Young joined the ranks of little strongmen by carrying a grown man on his back, and at the same time moving a passenger car!
Young's parents say the boy was born quite large and immediately had a voracious appetite. He ate as much as his father could not handle, and soon the child began to differ dramatically in size from his peers. At seven years old, the hero boy weighed 50 kilograms!
Yang Jinlong began to train on his own. As a strength exercise, the boy dragged bags of cereal, each weighing 60 kilograms, from place to place. These days it's the little things for a guy!
The boy became famous in his homeland and is admired, because in Eastern cultures strength and power have always been welcomed. People don't blame parents for child abuse. On the contrary, they are praised for raising a real man!
Andrey Kostash
The youngest strongman today is Andrey. His father, like Giuliano's father, is an athlete. Alexander Kostash himself works with his son, developing methods that are suitable for him.
Little Andrei himself showed a desire to train, and his father decided that it was not worth taking him to trainers, and would do it himself. After just two weeks of training, Alexander was shocked: his son was able to do a hundred push-ups on the floor! His muscles grew exponentially, and the child became a real “Terminator”.
In 2012, a seven-year-old boy, in the presence of journalists, sports experts and a commission, set his own record: two-hour push-ups without breaks. During this time, Andrei was able to do push-ups from the floor four thousand times!
Here they are, the strongest boys in the world, the pride of their parents! Who are the strongest girls? This is a completely different story!
One of the most attractive features The stronger sex is physical strength, thanks to which a man becomes a real defender and hero in the eyes of others. IN modern world exist unusual boys, whose strength significantly exceeds not only the physical development of their peers, but also adult representatives of humanity. In this article we will tell you about the strongest male children on the entire planet, whose amazing power is confirmed by established world records.
Bruce Khlebnikov- a boy from Russia who, due to his amazing physical abilities, was noted by the Guinness Book of Records in 2001. Unusual name the boy was given it by his mother, who is a big fan of the action hero Bruce Lee, perhaps this was the reason for his remarkable strength? The fate of the Russian Bruce is very interesting, from an early age he was engaged in physical activity, which allowed him to become a prize-winner of the Wushu championship at the age of 7, and after which he set a huge number of records, including moving cars, buses, boats and even an airplane from place to place !
Giuliano Stroe 
This boy was born in Romania in 2004. The child’s physical development was supervised by his father, a former gymnast, who spent time with him from early childhood. strength training. Giuliano gained world fame at the age of 5, when he took an honorable place in the Guinness Book of Records. Not surprisingly, the child walked more than 11 meters in his arms, with a ball sandwiched between his legs, weighing 15 kg. Such a spectacle created a sensation not only among ordinary people, but also among the most notorious strongmen. And today, the 11-year-old child never ceases to amaze his fans, for example, just recently he did push-ups on his hands without using his legs for 20 times, using only wooden pegs as support.
Richard Sandrak 
This boy, distinguished by his amazing power and strength, was born in the USA in 1992. He achieved high physical development thanks to bodybuilding and martial arts, which he began to enjoy from the age of 3. Noticing the child’s extraordinary strength capabilities, the parents introduced the child to the famous trainer Frank Gardin, whose classes also contributed to his further development. Today Richard Sandrak is not only the strongest boy, but also a real TV star, in his track record There is a role in the film “Little Hercules in 3D”, as well as the role of a presenter in the program “Video training of Little Hercules for children”.
Yang Jinlong 
This boy, a native of China, is rightfully included in the list of the strongest boys in the world. Since childhood, the child has shown amazing strength, easily moving cars, as well as carrying on the back of an adult. Yang achieved real fame in 2012 when, at the age of 7, in front of journalists, he moved a car weighing up to 1.9 tons 10 meters. Today, Yang Jinlong is the real pride of China, and his cherished dream is to have his name mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records.
Elbrus Nigmatullin 
Despite the fact that Elbrus Nigmatullin is already a man today, he began setting strength records back in childhood, so it would be wrong not to mention his name in the list of the strongest boys. Elbrus is a Russian athlete born in 1974. From childhood, the child paid great attention to physical development, using the smallest opportunity for this, which led to his well-deserved four-time title “the most strong man Russia."
What do you usually wish a child on his birthday? Most often - to grow strong and healthy. Are these concepts really identical? And how do they actually measure the strength of babies? Our article has answers to all these questions. In addition, we will talk about strong kids who are included in the “10 Strongest Children on the Planet” rating.
Does a strong child mean a healthy child?
Some parents are so inspired by their child’s success in performance that the dream of a stellar sports future for the child comes first, and concern for health (both physical and sometimes psychological) is relegated to the background. Frequent heavy training leads to exhaustion of a fragile body.
The question then arises: does a strong child really mean healthy? Unfortunately, overexertion can lead to health problems. Even though the baby may enjoy doing the exercises and achieve high results, it is important for adults to remember that their body is not yet formed. Physical training designed for adults, disrupt the normal development of the child’s musculoskeletal system, his muscle mass, possible deviations in operation internal organs, retardation in intellectual and mental development.
At the same time, feasible, systematic exercise or any kind of sport improves health, increases strength and endurance, builds character and strengthens the body. In this case, the statement should be formulated differently: healthy children are the strongest.
How to determine strength?
You can determine whether a child is strong or not using standard methods. First of all, anthropometric measurements are taken. can be calculated using a method such as dynamometry using special instruments.
Endurance and the ability to perform complex sports elements are determined directly during the training process.
The strongest boy in the world
Today, the strongest child in the world is Stroe Giuliano. At the age of 5, he was already included in the Guinness Book of Records for walking 10 meters on his hands while holding a 15-kilogram ball with his feet. Since 2004, the boy has not ceased to amaze the world with his records, demonstrating extraordinary strength and muscle development. In the photo below is the strongest child in the world, Giuliano Stroe, at the age of 5 years.
Record holder's younger brother
The younger brother, whose name is Claudio, also shows the world incredible physical abilities. What is it - innate talent or the result of hard work? If we take into account the fact that both brothers have extraordinary strength, it is easy to assume that such results were achieved through regular exercise.
By the way, the coach of both boys is their father. The public even accused him of mistreating children. But the father of the record holders claims that the children study solely at will and also undergo regular medical examinations.
Richard Sandrak - Ukrainian self-taught athlete
Another little strongman is Richard Sandrak. He was born in 1992 in Ukraine, but soon emigrated with his parents to America. Unlike Stroe, the boy's father was not an athlete. However, at the age of three, the child began to be interested not in cars, but in barbells and weights. From this age, he began to lift light weights every day, and at the age of 7, his parents hired a professional trainer. Then Richard became a real celebrity. He began to be invited to film various popular shows with the participation of famous athletes. In particular, Sandrak became a participant in such iconic American television shows as Mr. Olympia, Arnold Classic, and Mr. USA. And in 2005, the boy became the host of the author’s program “Training of Little Hercules.”
Currently, the teenager continues to act in show programs, films, and participate in events that popularize sports and a healthy lifestyle among children and youth.
Strong child- what is he like? A photo of Richard Sandrak at age 7 is presented to your attention in this section.
Child - bodybuilding instructor
In addition to his ability to perform athletically, CJ Senter, an American strongman, has the talent of a businessman. At 10 years old, he not only has the body of a professional athlete, but also works as a fitness trainer. The boy records and sells CDs on which he teaches his peers the basics of athletics and bodybuilding, using his own methodology. The video is very popular, and for many boys CJ has become a real idol and role model.
But doctors say that physical activity, promoted by Senter, has no connection in a healthy way life has nothing in common. On the contrary, such exercises are harmful to the growing body: they disrupt metabolic processes and the development of the musculoskeletal system, increase the level of childhood injuries, and also contribute to the formation of psychological childhood and adolescent problems associated with a distorted perception of one’s own body and capabilities.
Yang Jinlong - a hero from China
The strength of Yang Jinlong (the strongest boy from China) is truly a gift of nature. The baby is not distinguished by toned muscles; moreover, he has overweight. Sports training the child was never involved. Nevertheless, at the age of 9, the boy demonstrated remarkable strength, carrying his 90-kilogram father on his back. To date, Young has not won any awards, but his street shows, in which he carries bags of cement and drags a two-ton car behind him, are very popular.
As Yang Jinlong proved, strong children do not necessarily have to be athletic. The photo of the Chinese hero is a clear confirmation of this.
Teen powerlifter
Jake Schellenschlager is a boy who became a professional powerlifter at the age of 14. A strong child can lift twice his own weight, a world record. Jake competes in professional level weight lifting competitions.
Most muscular kid
American boy Liam Hoestr suffers from a rare disease - accelerated muscle growth and rapid fat burning. That is why the baby has an athletic physique with prominent muscles. The child regularly takes part in various sports competitions and becomes a winner.
Strong girls
It turned out that the strongest children are not only boys. Small female representatives can also compete.
Ukrainian Varvara Akulova takes first place among girls. The girl inherited her strength from her ancestors. Varya’s mother and father, circus athletes, developed their daughter’s abilities from the age of one. At 5 years old, the baby could lift several times her own weight. At the age of 8, the girl was included in the Book of Records for lifting 100 kg. And at the age of 14 she was able to lift 300 kg, which also became a world record. Despite such achievements, Varya does not at all look like a strongwoman - she does not have prominent muscles, but is distinguished by her femininity and proportional shape. Photos of Varvara Akulova can be seen below.
Fifteen-year-old She achieved no less success - the first representative of the fair sex to take part in the American Mr. Olympia powerlifting competition, lifting a weight of 145 kg. Maryana is the owner of 20 world records and the winner of many international competitions.
Ten-year-old Naomi Katin amazed the world with her record. She lifted 97.5 kg with a body weight of 42 kg. Doctors cannot explain the girl’s unusual strength. And the strongwoman continues to amaze with new records and victories in international competitions.
Despite incredible achievements in sports, doctors cannot recommend such loads for children. Experts are inclined to believe that in adulthood, strong children will face various health complications. Moderate sports exercises- this is the recipe for real strength and strong immunity.
