Ruimsig strongmen complete the first ever Super Barbarian Challenge in South Africa

Being the first to break the mould is all the motivation needed to test the limits of body and mind.

Inspired by primal lifestyle sensation The Liver King, two Ruimsig men took up the challenge of a brutish workout. Braam Lategan and Andrew Borvick strapped on several times their body weight in iron and steel, marching like warriors through Poortview. Beginning near Doreen Road, the pair pulled their mammoth load 1600 meters along Totius Road to the finish line in Lawrence Road.

The paired pulled their body weight in a sled strapped to a harness around their waist while also carrying half their bodyweight in their backpacks which they could not take off. In each hand, they would lift half their bodyweight and just for good measure, they strapped 4.5kgs around each ankle. Weighting 90kg’s, 58-year-old Braam moved 234kgs while the 110kg, 45-year-old Andrew moved a colossal 284kgs.

“Andy and I first joked about the challenge and then eventually took it seriously. We trained hard with a dedicated focus for three months and agreed on Saturday, December 3 as a date. It seemed that a realistic time to finish would be about seven hours and that’s how we managed our program,” recalls Braam. In the blistering heat, the pair sweated it out at a good pace, finishing in six hours, 24 minutes.

This ‘Super Barbarian’ challenge is the first to be completed in South Africa making the Ruimsig men the benchmark of the extraordinary feat. Standing tall on the remarkable accomplishment, Braam said “This is definitely the toughest challenge that either of us have attempted and to know that we competed it, as the first in South Africa, speaks for itself. We were obviously very tired and fatigued as we finished, but a day later found ourselves proud and fully recovered”.