Hysterical strength

The most common anecdotal examples based on hearsay are of parents lifting vehicles to rescue their children, and when people are in life-and-death situations. Periods of increased strength are short-lived, usually no longer than a few minutes, and might lead to muscle injuries and exhaustion later. It is not known if there are any reliable examples of this phenomenon.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

• On 18 March 1915, Corporal Seyit Çabuk lifted bombshells that weighed {{convert|276|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in the Gallipoli campaign.
• Tibetan oracles, such as the Nechung Kuten or Sungma Balung,{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=Christine |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pV48EAAAQBAJ&dq=%22oracles+perform+%E2%80%9Csuperhuman%E2%80%9D+feats+of+strength+and+agility%22&pg=PT38 |title=Expressions of Gender in the Altaic World |date=2021-08-23 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-074887-1 |editor-last=Tekcan |editor-first=Münevver |editor-last2=Corff |editor-first2=Oliver |language=en |chapter=Ceremonial Attire of the Oracle Priest Sungma Balung chö je}} are reported to display superhuman strength during possession. Eyewitnesses described the Nechung Oracle wearing an {{convert|80 or 90|lb|kg|adj=on|order=flip}} headdress, that normally outside the trance could break his neck.{{Cite book |last=Tung |first=Rosemary Jones |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bHnJSq8yH4AC&dq=%22nechung%22+superhuman+strength+headdress&pg=PA200 |title=A Portrait of Lost Tibet |date=1996-01-01 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-20461-4 |language=en}} The 14th Dalai Lama also stated that the oracle could barely walk with the total weight of his {{convert|70|lb|kg|adj=on|order=flip}} outfit when not in trance.{{Cite book |last=Pearlman |first=Ellen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=61ooDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22seventy+pounds%22&pg=PT124 |title=Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey into the Religious and Folk Traditions |date=2002-12-01 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-59477-522-2 |language=en}}
• Comic book artist Jack Kirby claims he was inspired to create the Hulk after seeing a woman lift a car to save her baby in 1962.{{cite web |url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,999977,00.html |last=Hill |first=Dave |title=Green with anger |date=17 July 2003 |location=London, United Kingdom |work=The Guardian |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505014926/http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,999977,00.html |archive-date=5 May 2013 |url-status=dead |quote=one of the Hulk comic books' artists, Jack Kirby, has said he was inspired by seeing a woman rescue her child from beneath a trapped car.}}{{cite web |url=http://www.tcj.com/jack-kirby-interview/6/ |title=Jack Kirby Interview - Part 6 |work=The Comics Journal |first=Gary |last=Groth |date=23 May 2011 |quote=KIRBY: The Hulk I created when I saw a woman lift a car. Her baby was caught under the running board of this car. The little child was playing in the gutter and he was crawling from the gutter onto the sidewalk under the running board of this car — he was playing in the gutter. His mother was horrified. She looked from the rear window of the car, and this woman in desperation lifted the rear end of the car.}} From The Comics Journal #134 (February 1990){{cite web |url=https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-incredible-hulk-was-inspired-by-a-woman-saving-her-1727562968 |work=Gizmodo |first=Andrew |last=Lipstak |title=The Incredible Hulk Was Inspired By A Woman Saving Her Baby |date=30 August 2015 |quote=Jack Kirby witnessed a woman lift a car to get her child out from under it. The moment helped inspire one of his most famous creations: the Incredible Hulk.}}
• In 1982, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Tony Cavallo was repairing a 1964 Chevrolet Impala automobile from underneath when the vehicle fell off the jacks on which it was propped, trapping him underneath. Cavallo's mother, Mrs. Angela Cavallo, lifted the car high enough and long enough for two neighbors to replace the jacks and pull Tony from beneath the car.{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Josh |url=http://health.howstuffworks.com/adrenaline-strength.htm |title=How can adrenaline help you lift a 3,500-pound car? |date=11 December 2007 |work=HowStuffWorks.com |access-date=13 November 2008 }}
• In 1988, in Waialua, Hawaii, while working a construction contract two weeks after filming the finale for the television show Magnum, P.I., pilot and Vietnam Veteran Steve Kux lost control of his Hughes 500D helicopter and crashed into a drainage ditch. His coworker, Warren Everal (also known as "Tiny") lifted the {{convert|1,400|lb|kg|adj=on|order=flip}}{{Cite web |title=Magnum Mania! - T.C.'s Chopper |url=http://magnum-mania.com/Articles/The_Chopper.html |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=magnum-mania.com}} helicopter enough to allow another person to remove Kux from the cockpit.{{Cite web |last=vlogger |date=2011-07-07 |title=Man Lifts Crashed Helo to Save Vet |url=https://www.military.com/video/aircraft/helicopters/man-lifts-crashed-helo-to-save-vet/1042307532001 |access-date=2022-12-12 |website=Military.com |language=en}}
• In 2006, Ivujivik, Quebec, resident Lydia Angiyou saved several children by fighting a polar bear until a local hunter shot the bear.{{cite web |url=http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/60217/news/nunavut/60217_03.html |title=Polar bear no match for fearsome mother in Ivujivik |author=Jane George |publisher=Nunatsiaq News / Nortext Publishing Corporation (Iqaluit) |date=17 February 2006 |access-date=1 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927011557/http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/60217/news/nunavut/60217_03.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 |url-status=dead }}
• In 2006, in Tucson, Arizona, Tom Boyle watched as a Chevrolet Camaro hit 18-year-old Kyle Holtrust. The car pinned Holtrust, still alive, underneath. Boyle lifted the Camaro off the teenager, while the driver of the car pulled the teen to safety.{{cite news |last=Huicochea |first=Alexis |url=http://azstarnet.com/news/local/crime/article_e7f04bbd-309b-5c7e-808d-1907d91517ac.html |title=Man lifts car off pinned cyclist |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=28 July 2006 |access-date=21 November 2010 }}
• In 2009, in Ottawa, Kansas, {{convert|5|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}, {{convert|185|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} Nick Harris lifted a Mercury sedan to help a 6-year-old girl pinned beneath.{{cite web |agency=Associated Press |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091219/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_superman_dad |title=Kansas dad somehow lifts car off 6-year-old girl |date=18 December 2009 |work=news.yahoo.com |access-date=19 December 2009 }}
• In 2009, in Newport, Wales, Donna McNamee, Abigail Sicolo, and Anthony McNamee lifted a 1.1 ton Renault Clio off an 8-year-old boy.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/8082954.stm|title=Neighbours help lift car off boy |date=4 June 2009|access-date=20 October 2018|language=en-GB}}
• In 2011, in Tampa, Florida, {{convert|6|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}, {{convert|295|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} University of South Florida college football player Danous Estenor lifted a {{convert|3500|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} car off a man who had been caught underneath. The man was a tow truck driver who had been pinned under the rear tire of a 1990 Cadillac Seville, which had lurched forward as he worked underneath it. The man suffered only minor injuries.{{cite news |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2011/06/23/miracle-usf-s-estenor-lifts-car-to-free-trapped-man/ |title='Miracle': USF's Estenor Lifts Car to Free Trapped Man

|first=Greg |last=Auman |work=Tampa Bay Times |location=Tampa Bay, FL |date=23 June 2011}}

• In 2012, in Glen Allen, Virginia, 22-year-old Lauren Kornacki rescued her father, Alec Kornacki, after the jack used to prop up his BMW slipped, pinning him under it. Lauren lifted the car, then performed CPR on her father and saved his life.{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/superhero-woman-lifts-car-off-dad/story?id=16907591#.UMay9Hfeba4|title=Superhero Woman Lifts Car Off Dad - ABC News|first=Alyssa|last=Newcomb|work=ABC News|access-date=12 January 2016|date=August 2012}}
• In 2012, in Michigan, Austin Smith (age 15) lifted a car to save his grandfather pinned underneath.{{cite web| url = https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/michigan-teen-lifts-car-off-trapped-grandfather-15774359 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120224102535/https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/michigan-teen-lifts-car-off-trapped-grandfather-15774359 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2012-02-24 |date=23 February 2012 |title=Video Michigan Teen Lifts Car Off Trapped Grandfather |website = ABC News}}{{cite news|url=https://www.deseret.com/2012/3/4/20397528/boy-s-strength-muscles-car-off-grandpa-saves-life |title=Boy's strength muscles car off grandpa, saves life |work=Deseret News |date=4 March 2012}}
• In 2013, in Oregon, teenage sisters Hannah (age 16) and Haylee (age 14) lifted a tractor to save their father pinned underneath.{{cite web|url=http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/11/oregon-man-pinned-under-3000-pound-tractor-saved-by-two-teen-daughters/|title=Oregon man pinned under 3,000-pound tractor saved by teen daughters|work=Fox News|date=11 April 2013|access-date=12 January 2016}}
• In 2013, in Salvage, Newfoundland and Labrador, Cecil Stuckless, a 72-year-old man, lifted a Jeep to save his son-in-law pinned underneath.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/72-year-old-n-l-superman-lifts-suv-off-son-in-law-1.1320549 |date=19 July 2013 |title=72-year-old N.L. 'superman' lifts SUV off son-in-law |work=CBC News}}{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/07/22/204444515/septuagenarian-superhero-man-lifts-car-off-son-in-law |title=Septuagenarian Superhero? Man Lifts Car Off Son-In-Law |work=NPR |date=22 July 2013}}
• In 2014, in Minnesota, Bob Renning, a 52 year old man, gripped the door frame of an on fire 2006 Chevy Trailblazer, pulling and bending the door frame in half, shattering the glass of the window. Renning helped the driver out of the burning vehicle, saving their life.{{Cite web |title=Good Samaritan Bends SUV Door to Pull Man From Burning Vehicle |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/good-samaritan-bends-suv-door-pull-man-burning/story?id=24385934 |date=July 2, 2014 |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=ABC News |language=en}}
• In 2015, in St. John's, Newfoundland, Nick Williams lifted a four-wheel-drive vehicle to save a young boy pinned beneath its tire.{{cite news|title=Shea Heights hero finds strength to lift vehicle off injured boy|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/shea-heights-hero-finds-strength-to-lift-vehicle-off-injured-boy-1.3246481|work=CBC News|date=28 September 2015|access-date = 28 September 2015}}
• In 2016, in Virginia, Charlotte Heffelmire lifted a burning truck off of her father before driving the truck on three wheels out of the garage, went back inside the house, and saved her family from the ensuing house fire.{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Peggy |title=Teen girl uses 'crazy strength' to lift burning car off dad |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/humankind/2016/01/12/teen-girl-uses-crazy-strength-lift-burning-car-off-dad/78675898/ |date=2016-01-12 |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}
• In 2017, in Temple Terrace, Florida, Kenny Franklin lifted an SUV from a state trooper after an accident.{{cite web| url = https://www.policemag.com/patrol/video/15322882/fl-man-lifts-car-off-of-pinned-state-trooper |date=July 3, 2017 |title=FL Man Lifts Car Off of Pinned State Trooper |work=POLICE Magazine |access-date=20 February 2024 }}{{cite web |title=Passenger lifts SUV, rescues Florida trooper after Uber driver has medical emergency |url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/passenger-lifts-suv-rescues-florida-trooper-after-uber-driver-has-medical/2328974/ |website=Tampa Bay Times |access-date=20 October 2020 |language=en}}
• In 2019, in Ohio, Zac Clark, a 16-year-old football player, lifted a {{convert|3,000|lb|kg|adj=on|order=flip}} car when he heard his neighbor call for help.{{cite web |title=Ohio high school football player lifts car to save neighbor's life |date=27 September 2019|url=https://abcstlouis.com/news/nation-world/ohio-high-school-football-player-lifts-car-to-save-neighbors-life-09-27-2019 |work=ABC St. Louis }}{{cite web |title=This 16-year-old football player lifted a car to save his trapped neighbor|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/09/26/us/teen-saves-neighbor-car-trnd |work=CNN |date=2019-09-26 }}

{{see also|Fight-or-flight response}}

Early experiments showed that adrenaline increases twitch, but not tetanic force and rate of force development in muscles.{{Cite journal |doi=10.1161/01.RES.62.3.452 |title=Adrenaline increases the rate of cycling of crossbridges in rat cardiac muscle as measured by pseudo-random binary noise-modulated perturbation analysis |journal=Circulation Research |year=1988 |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=452–461 |first1=JF |last1=Hoh |first2=GH |last2=Rossmanith |first3=LJ |last3=Kwan |first4=AM |last4=Hamilton|pmid=3342474 |doi-access=free }}

One proposed explanation is Tim Noakes' "central governor" theory, which states that higher instances in the central nervous system dynamically and subconsciously control the number of active motor units in the muscle. Normally, in order to guarantee homeostasis, the entire motor neural capacity is not activated and, therefore, the total capacity of the muscle during performances outside of an emergency situation remains inaccessible: this would lead to exhaustion of energy resources and even physical injuries. However, in life-threatening situations, it is adaptive for the central governor limits to be removed or modified. People in high load weightlifting training are able to activate more motor units, which ensures more strength and efficiency in muscle contraction, even though they had the same amount of muscle mass compared to people in low load training.{{Cite web |last=Schrage |first=Scott |title=Does strength depend on more than muscle? Husker study suggests so |url=https://news.unl.edu/newsrooms/today/article/does-strength-depend-on-more-than-muscle-husker-study-suggests-so/ |access-date=2023-02-12 |date=July 10, 2017 |website=Nebraska Today |language=en}}

Exercise physiologist Robert Girandola has pointed out that most cars have a 60/40 weight distribution, as the engine block puts the center of mass slightly towards the front of the car. In most instances, the individual is lifting one or two wheels of the car from the back. Therefore, they are only actually lifting a small fraction of the vehicle's weight. While the fight or flight response allows for increased lifting capacity, it would be hundreds of pounds rather than thousands.{{Cite web |last=Romm |first=Cari |date=2016-05-04 |title=You Could Probably Lift a Car, If You Really Needed To |url=https://www.thecut.com/2016/05/you-could-probably-lift-a-car-if-you-really-needed-to.html |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=The Cut |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |last=Hadhazy |first=Adam |title=How it's possible for an ordinary person to lift a car |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160501-how-its-possible-for-an-ordinary-person-to-lift-a-car |access-date=2023-01-15 |website=www.bbc.com |date=2 May 2016 |language=en}}

• Berserker
• Double-muscle mutation in humans
• Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy, a rare genetic condition resulting in increased musculature and decreased body fat
• Muscle hypertrophy
• Superhuman strength, similar concept in comic books and other fictional characters
• Physical strength

{{Authority control}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hysterical strength}}

Category:Muscular system

Category:Exercise physiology

Category:Demonic possession

Category:Hysteria