Image: James Hamilton on Instagram.
Vegan strongman James Hamilton has set a world record, lifting a 117.5kg (259lb) log overhead to take the Natural Strongman log record in the under-72kg (159lb) class.
The British lifter made the lift at a sanctioned Natural Strongman meet earlier this month, as he announced on Instagram, and it is more than 1.6 times the 72kg class limit. For anyone who hasn't tried it, the log press means cleaning a thick, awkward cylinder to your chest and then driving it to arms' length overhead. It is one of the signature tests of upper-body strength in the sport.
Natural Strongman is a drug-tested federation, and James competes there because he is steroid-free. He already has an impressive record: 4th at the Natural Strongman World's Strongest Man and runner-up at both England's Strongest Man and UK & Ireland's Strongest Man, plus a 110kg (243lb) axle clean and press at 72kg bodyweight.
In his post, he wrote:
After a year of hit and miss overhead performances, to come away with a world record after this weekend feels incredible. ... For once I'm genuinely proud of my performance, no caveats (even if I did miss the 112.5kg before this lol). Having said that, the work doesn't stop here. Next on the agenda is unifying the u70 and u72 log records and eventually pushing the u72 record even further. I know I'm capable of 120 or more in competition in the near future, and you better believe I'll be proving it.
We love the confidence. 120kg would be 265lb over the head of a man who weighs under 159lb.
James has been vegan since 2019, after three years as a vegetarian. He told Great Vegan Athletes he made the change "first and foremost for animal welfare reasons, with the environmental impact a close second," adding that "it was hypocritical of me to claim I loved animals whilst eating them."
His diet is refreshingly simple: granola, soy-based meats, peanut butter sandwiches, beans and edamame, plus curries and chilis when he cooks. For this record he focused on fuel and recovery:
I took my recovery and my diet more seriously for this prep. I've been sleeping more and eating a lot more carbs for energy and veg for micronutrients, and just generally making sure my nutrition is better.
The science backs him up. In a 12-week trial published in Sports Medicine, researchers at the University of Sao Paulo had 19 habitual vegans (averaging 72.7kg, almost exactly James's weight class) and 19 omnivores follow the same resistance training program with protein matched at 1.6g per kilo of bodyweight a day. The vegans, using soy protein, gained muscle mass and strength just as well as the omnivores using whey, with no difference between the groups. It was a small study in young men who were new to lifting, but it lines up with what athletes like James keep proving on the platform.
James joins a growing list of plant-powered strength athletes. Vegan Tom Butts won his third straight World Natural Strongman title last year, Angeline Berva beat a two-time World's Strongest Woman last month, and Ryan Stills won his sixth powerlifting world title in October. Meanwhile a randomized trial found that plant protein builds muscle and strength as well as animal protein.
This article is for general interest and isn't medical or nutritional advice.
No meat, no problem. Congratulations James!