Enter Beast Mode.
You would not want to get into an arm wrestle with Joe Marler.
Actually, you probably wouldn’t want to get into an arm wrestle with any one of the Lions squad who are in New Zealand preparing for the three-Test series against the all-conquering All Blacks.
But especially not English prop Marler, who is the Lion with the heartiest roar in the gym. Don’t believe us? Just look at this pictures…
From the photos we’ve seen of the weights the players are stacking, we reckon Marler is bench-pressing 220 kilos in the snap above. That’s a good 80 kilos more than some of the Lions most lethal backs can manage.
But Ireland’s blindside flanker CJ Stander gave it a really good crack of the whip in his efforts to be the manliest man in the gym.
Nobody can explosive squat quite like CJ Stander and if there is any doubt about whether he should be starting, well, look at how little weight Wales captain Sam Warburton is lifting compared to Stander.
Okay, we know they’re doing different exercises and it is a completely unfair way to gauge whether Warburton deserves a starting spot.
Also here’s a photo of Marler spotting the slightly less weights-crazy Dan Cole. there’s only one king of the gym.
All told, there’s only one king of the gym.