Student and professor lift one million pounds

It is not uncommon for professors to play “Two Truths and a Lie” with their students on the first day of class; however, for one SJU senior the game quickly turned into a test of strength, endurance and an initial desire to prove his professor wrong.

When Mark Rosen heard philosophy professor Tony Cunningham say he has lifted a total of one million pounds in a single workout, he was highly skeptical.

“I calculated [the feasibility] in my head because I’m an avid gym goer,” Rosen said. “I was thinking, ‘OK, how would this even be possible? Lifting a million pounds is pretty impossible. In fact, it is actually impossible.’”

Despite Rosen’s initial doubts, the pair decided to team up to complete the seemingly impossible feat together.

“Towards the end of the semester, Tony approached me and said, ‘You know what, Mark? Enough of this doubt. Let’s do this together.’ And kind of on a whim, I was like, sure, you know, I’ll entertain this idea,” Rosen said.

Cunningham had completed the task three times before and has made a hobby of dreaming up seemingly impossible tasks and determining whether they are possible to execute. When considering whether it is possible to lift a million pounds in one workout, he found that it is all about choosing the right machine and lift. While some may find it exhausting to focus on one muscle group, Cunningham believes that using the lower body muscles would maximize speed and lifting potential, as it is possible to lift more weight using the lower body versus the upper body.

The pair chose to execute the challenge on the leg press, which meant they had to define parameters regarding what each rep looked like. While Cunningham considered a right angle between the calves and thighs a defining feature of the rep, Rosen initially tried to bend his legs as much as possible, making the task even more difficult.

“When I went to the gym, I was going all the way down, and I was dying after 10 reps of no weight. I couldn’t even push the bar up fast enough,” Rosen said.

After ensuring they were on the same page, Cunningham and Rosen quickly began training for the challenge. The pair spent two days a week in the gym, working to determine what weight-to-rep ratio would best ensure their success.

“If you have too light of weight, it would take too long to accumulate [a million pounds],” Cunningham said. “If you start with too much weight, sure, you’re accumulating more weight with each rep, but your legs give out. So, finding the sweet spot is a test of strength, but it’s also a test of endurance.”

Beyond the physical component, however, Cunningham and Rosen noted the mental strength necessary to complete a challenge of such magnitude.

“Just like anything, it’s all mental,” Rosen said. “You have to have the right attitude. Tony has always said that you develop a mental edge when you start getting close, and I felt that, too.”

While Cunningham dreamed of completing the challenge in under 60 minutes, he expected the pair to clock in around 75. Rosen predicted they would take around 80 minutes to lift that amount of weight.

On the day of the challenge, however, they surprised themselves. Donning shirts that said Fortitudine Vincimus (“by endurance we conquer”), the pair lifted a total of 1,000,220 pounds in 56 minutes and 25 seconds. Both Cunningham and Rosen did 28 sets in all, with 1,121 reps each. They began lifting at 470 pounds before decreasing to 450 and finishing at 410.

“It’s been fun. When we started it, I described it to Mark as an adventure. It’s been enjoyable to do this adventure with him,” Cunningham said.

Rosen echoed Cunningham’s remarks and enjoyed the opportunity to get to know his professor outside of the classroom.

“I will say this: I wouldn’t do this with just any professor,” Rosen said. “Tony is a unique professor I enjoy talking to and learning from and hope to maintain a relationship [with] in the future.”