FYI: Can a Woman Really Lift a Car Off Her Pinned Child?
Pumped Up World's Strongest man runner-up Brian Shaw can deadlift a car (and then some) thanks to a burst of adrenaline. but first he needs to get "in fight mode," he says. Courtesy Maximum Human Performance It's happened before. In 1982, Angela Cavallo lifted a 1964 Chevy Impala off her teenage son, Tony, who was working on the car's suspension when the jacks failed and the car fell on him. When we are under duress, the hormone adrenaline binds to adrenergic receptors on our muscle tissue, and actin and myosin-the proteins responsible for muscle contraction-bond faster. Adrenaline also increases respiratory rate, which raises blood pressure and makes our heart pump harder and faster. Exercise physiologist William J. Kraemer, a professor in the University of Connecticut's kinesiology department, says that our muscles can be 5 to 15 percent stronger in these conditions. We are limited, though, by our genetic capability and our...