Ryan Kennelly's 1074 Bench Press, New World Record

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
21

[quote]apwsearch wrote:

A shirt blow-out in any situation is ugly. In this situation it could be catastrophic. Definitely fearless.

Thoughts?[/quote]

Abso-fucking-lutely. A while back, a training partner was trying out a brand new stock Inzer double denim. It was a tight shirt and he was trying to get some weight to touch. I think 655 had come close, but not quite touching. He went to 695 or 715 and the collar blew out out on the way down. It happened instantaneously- no popping, no tearing- it just plain exploded. We caught the weight in time- so he was just out $200 on a shirt vs. a serious injury. Lesson learned- if you are benching 700+, spend the extra $25-50 and get a reinforced neck on your shirt.

22

Thanks for all the replies, and Pinto I’m glad your boy is alright. Another question [without trying to turn this into a raw vs. gear debate] at what point is the risk outweighing the reward? I mean, 1074 is a shit ton of weight and all it would take is one of the handlers to not pay attention for a split second and something potentially fatal could happen.

23

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Thanks for all the replies, and Pinto I’m glad your boy is alright. Another question [without trying to turn this into a raw vs. gear debate] at what point is the risk outweighing the reward? I mean, 1074 is a shit ton of weight and all it would take is one of the handlers to not pay attention for a split second and something potentially fatal could happen.[/quote]

Not paying attention is not an option when a guy is holding a grand over his face. You have to focus 110% of your attention on the bar.

24

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Thanks for all the replies, and Pinto I’m glad your boy is alright. Another question [without trying to turn this into a raw vs. gear debate] at what point is the risk outweighing the reward? I mean, 1074 is a shit ton of weight and all it would take is one of the handlers to not pay attention for a split second and something potentially fatal could happen.[/quote]

That point was passed a long time ago. The reality of things is even back before bench shirts guys risked ripping parts of their body off. Somewhere out there is some old meet footage of a lifter’s pec blowing under what I think is mid 500’s. Granted the weight is less but the net effect is the same. You are putting your life in the spotters hands because beyond a certain point the weight is gonna kill or seriously injure you if it lands on your neck or head.

What that number is could probably be the topic of debate but it is waaay south of 1000#'s.

25

All the gear no idea…oh wait 1074lbs woah!

26

[quote]apwsearch wrote:
What that number is could probably be the topic of debate but it is waaay south of 1000#'s.[/quote]

ditto. we passed that critical point of danger years ago. People obsess over this stuff too much. When you’re talking about elite powerlifters, whether it be Kennelly, Siders, Hooper, Byrd, or even the mythical raw lifters of yesteryear, you’re talking about guys who are pushing their bodies to the absolute limit, and an injury or mishap is always a possibility. That’s just the nature of the sport and it’s what makes these guys so impressive to watch. It’s not just physical strength, but its technique. focus, mental toughness and little bit of cockiness all rolled into one

27

As far as safety goes you’d have to think it would be easier to spot 600-700 lbs than 1100 lbs. The gear which was meant for safety reasons has gotten to the point where its counterproductive.

I remember listening to a brilliant road designer or something for safety and he was talking about all the features of this new road with the banking, phosphoresecent lightning, high-tech road material etc make the road sooo safe it allows people to act like idiots and not pay attention to the road… making accidents just as likely as if it were not safe.

He said that the safest car in the world would be a car with a giant metal spike pointed directly at the driver’s heart to relate the dangers to our primitive mind of driving a 2 ton piece of steel at 70 mph.

I’m not dissing gear or the lift, im just questioning the ‘safety’ rationale behind it… nothing else.

28

[quote]beeph wrote:
As far as safety goes you’d have to think it would be easier to spot 600-700 lbs than 1100 lbs. The gear which was meant for safety reasons has gotten to the point where its counterproductive.

I remember listening to a brilliant road designer or something for safety and he was talking about all the features of this new road with the banking, phosphoresecent lightning, high-tech road material etc make the road sooo safe it allows people to act like idiots and not pay attention to the road… making accidents just as likely as if it were not safe.

He said that the safest car in the world would be a car with a giant metal spike pointed directly at the driver’s heart to relate the dangers to our primitive mind of driving a 2 ton piece of steel at 70 mph.

I’m not dissing gear or the lift, im just questioning the ‘safety’ rationale behind it… nothing else.

[/quote]

I understand your point but we are talking about catastrophic failure. Not just missing a lift.

Let me provide this for perspective. When the Fury first came out people were freaking out b/c lifters were trying to use them like the old blast shirts (put them on once or twice before the meet) had no clue what they were doing and were popping out of the groove about 4" off their chest and throwing the weight over their head and neck. All the sudden, spotting became a much more frightening proposition.

In my mind this was kind of the jump-off point and it has lead to a lot of changes in how benches are spotted. Including mandating the use of spotting bars on IPF platforms, which honestly I think all feds should do.

The point I am trying to make is in a catastrophic incident, independent of weight being handled, your lift is literally in the hands of the spotters. If they miss, you’re done. Wether it’s 300 or 1100.

29

Basically, its gear = good or gear = bad. who cares just sfw. spotters = good. Kennelly = beast.

30

[quote]bignate wrote:
his legs do not look big at all so i would also be unsurprised if his total was weak
good bench though[/quote]

are you kidding, he might only do benching since thats what he cares about most but he does squat to help with leg drive and well look at his back its monstrous. He could easily total over 2k I would not call that weak.

I kind of want kenelly to get the raw record also just to solidify him as the greatest bencher once and for all.

31

[quote]shizen wrote:
bignate wrote:
his legs do not look big at all so i would also be unsurprised if his total was weak
good bench though

are you kidding, he might only do benching since thats what he cares about most but he does squat to help with leg drive and well look at his back its monstrous. He could easily total over 2k I would not call that weak.

I kind of want kenelly to get the raw record also just to solidify him as the greatest bencher once and for all. [/quote]

2K would mean a 500 pound dead and squat…

not exactly a challenge when you have 1000 pound bench :slight_smile:

32

[quote]Valor wrote:
shizen wrote:
bignate wrote:
his legs do not look big at all so i would also be unsurprised if his total was weak
good bench though

are you kidding, he might only do benching since thats what he cares about most but he does squat to help with leg drive and well look at his back its monstrous. He could easily total over 2k I would not call that weak.

I kind of want kenelly to get the raw record also just to solidify him as the greatest bencher once and for all.

2K would mean a 500 pound dead and squat…

not exactly a challenge when you have 1000 pound bench :slight_smile:
[/quote]

His bench would be lower in full meet prob high 900ish, I’m sure he could squat 800+ and dead 700+ So he would probably be more like 2500+ or so. Its not 2800+ like some of those elite shw, but again he doesn’t focus on a total he wants to be the biggest bencher in the world.

33

[quote]apwsearch wrote:
beeph wrote:
As far as safety goes you’d have to think it would be easier to spot 600-700 lbs than 1100 lbs. The gear which was meant for safety reasons has gotten to the point where its counterproductive.

I remember listening to a brilliant road designer or something for safety and he was talking about all the features of this new road with the banking, phosphoresecent lightning, high-tech road material etc make the road sooo safe it allows people to act like idiots and not pay attention to the road… making accidents just as likely as if it were not safe.

He said that the safest car in the world would be a car with a giant metal spike pointed directly at the driver’s heart to relate the dangers to our primitive mind of driving a 2 ton piece of steel at 70 mph.

I’m not dissing gear or the lift, im just questioning the ‘safety’ rationale behind it… nothing else.

I understand your point but we are talking about catastrophic failure. Not just missing a lift.

Let me provide this for perspective. When the Fury first came out people were freaking out b/c lifters were trying to use them like the old blast shirts (put them on once or twice before the meet) had no clue what they were doing and were popping out of the groove about 4" off their chest and throwing the weight over their head and neck. All the sudden, spotting became a much more frightening proposition.

In my mind this was kind of the jump-off point and it has lead to a lot of changes in how benches are spotted. Including mandating the use of spotting bars on IPF platforms, which honestly I think all feds should do.

The point I am trying to make is in a catastrophic incident, independent of weight being handled, your lift is literally in the hands of the spotters. If they miss, you’re done. Wether it’s 300 or 1100.

[/quote]

AP, I’m sure you bench over 300, as do I. I have missed 315 before and I’m still here. I haven’t put on a shirt and benched 300 over what I’m naturally capable of [I obviously know that no shirt in the world is gonna double my current max or that I can throw one on and automatically bench more, I’m just saying this for arguements sake.] and had the bar cave in my ribs/sternum/head. I’m aware of strains and tears and all of the inherent dangers that come with heavy ass weight.

But, the difference between 300 and 500 is huge, and the difference is even bigger from 500 to 800, and 800 to a grand,etc… These are numbers these people are not capable of without the equipment they’re using, and at some point there’s gonna be a limit to what the most heavy duty shirt can realisticlly take. I was wondering what those more knowledgeable than myself think that number might be, or are we gonna have to witness a horrible situation before the answer is known?

34

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
apwsearch wrote:
beeph wrote:
As far as safety goes you’d have to think it would be easier to spot 600-700 lbs than 1100 lbs. The gear which was meant for safety reasons has gotten to the point where its counterproductive.

I remember listening to a brilliant road designer or something for safety and he was talking about all the features of this new road with the banking, phosphoresecent lightning, high-tech road material etc make the road sooo safe it allows people to act like idiots and not pay attention to the road… making accidents just as likely as if it were not safe.

He said that the safest car in the world would be a car with a giant metal spike pointed directly at the driver’s heart to relate the dangers to our primitive mind of driving a 2 ton piece of steel at 70 mph.

I’m not dissing gear or the lift, im just questioning the ‘safety’ rationale behind it… nothing else.

I understand your point but we are talking about catastrophic failure. Not just missing a lift.

Let me provide this for perspective. When the Fury first came out people were freaking out b/c lifters were trying to use them like the old blast shirts (put them on once or twice before the meet) had no clue what they were doing and were popping out of the groove about 4" off their chest and throwing the weight over their head and neck. All the sudden, spotting became a much more frightening proposition.

In my mind this was kind of the jump-off point and it has lead to a lot of changes in how benches are spotted. Including mandating the use of spotting bars on IPF platforms, which honestly I think all feds should do.

The point I am trying to make is in a catastrophic incident, independent of weight being handled, your lift is literally in the hands of the spotters. If they miss, you’re done. Wether it’s 300 or 1100.

AP, I’m sure you bench over 300, as do I. I have missed 315 before and I’m still here. I haven’t put on a shirt and benched 300 over what I’m naturally capable of [I obviously know that no shirt in the world is gonna double my current max or that I can throw one on and automatically bench more, I’m just saying this for arguements sake.] and had the bar cave in my ribs/sternum/head. I’m aware of strains and tears and all of the inherent dangers that come with heavy ass weight.

But, the difference between 300 and 500 is huge, and the difference is even bigger from 500 to 800, and 800 to a grand,etc… These are numbers these people are not capable of without the equipment they’re using, and at some point there’s gonna be a limit to what the most heavy duty shirt can realisticlly take. I was wondering what those more knowledgeable than myself think that number might be, or are we gonna have to witness a horrible situation before the answer is known?[/quote]

Well Gene Rychlak dumped over a grand on his stomach (1,008?) a few years ago (2005 I think). Obviously he was injured, but he survived and came back.

You’re looking for a magic number, but there are too many variables. Weight is one, but also where does the bar land, how quickly do the spotters get it, the size of the lifter…

35

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:

Well Gene Rychlak dumped over a grand on his stomach (1,008?) a few years ago (2005 I think). Obviously he was injured, but he survived and came back.

You’re looking for a magic number, but there are too many variables. Weight is one, but also where does the bar land, how quickly do the spotters get it, the size of the lifter…[/quote]

I think Kennelly also dumped a half-ton onto his gut for his second attempt(?), and still came back to do his last attempt.

Benching heavy in a shirt is an exercise in confidence building, confidence in yourself and confidence in the spotters. I’ve misfired a couple times in the past and the scariest one has to be when the bar flies back toward the rack. Nothing worse than being eye-to-eye with a nearly 500 pound bar.

36

[quote]novaeer wrote:

Benching heavy in a shirt is an exercise in confidence building, confidence in yourself and confidence in the spotters. [/quote]

This is so true. Without absolute confidence in both yourself and your spotters you won’t make a lift. In fact it’s probably MORE dangerous trying to half ass a bench attempt cos you will probably miss it.

I know I had huge confidence problems with my squat for almost a year. Once I got my head around the suit and the kick from it, and not being afraid to miss lifts, it took off again.

37

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:

AP, I’m sure you bench over 300, as do I. I have missed 315 before and I’m still here. I haven’t put on a shirt and benched 300 over what I’m naturally capable of [I obviously know that no shirt in the world is gonna double my current max or that I can throw one on and automatically bench more, I’m just saying this for arguements sake.] and had the bar cave in my ribs/sternum/head. I’m aware of strains and tears and all of the inherent dangers that come with heavy ass weight.

But, the difference between 300 and 500 is huge, and the difference is even bigger from 500 to 800, and 800 to a grand,etc… These are numbers these people are not capable of without the equipment they’re using, and at some point there’s gonna be a limit to what the most heavy duty shirt can realisticlly take. I was wondering what those more knowledgeable than myself think that number might be, or are we gonna have to witness a horrible situation before the answer is known?[/quote]

I don’t consider dumping on your chest or stomach catostrophic. I view it as damn lucky.

I was at a meet 2 years ago where a new female lifter with 155 on the bar touched too low in her shirt got up about 3-4 inches and proceeded to lose the bar over her head and neck. Arguably b/c of the weight the spotters were more relaxed and they missed. The only thing that saved her was she slid off the bench as it was happening and the bar landed crooked hitting the right side of the bench first, catching her chin as she fell. She had a nasty scrape on her chin from the center knurling but that was it. What do you think would have happened if she would not have somehow acrobatted herself out of it?

Try dumping 300 on your neck, then if you are still with us and game, dump it on your face and report back. Hell, do it with 225. The point I am making is irregardless of weight if it lands unchecked in a vulnerable area you’re screwed. Does more weight make you more screwed? I would argue not really. Dead, disfigured or disabled is dead disfigured or disabled.

That’s why having attentive spotters that know what they are doing is so important. Even then, shit happens. You take a risk every time you push the limits of your body’s capabilities.

There have been two situations I am aware of in IPF where lifters have dumped on their face. One was pretty bad. You don’t hear much about them, though but it was what prompted the safety bar requirement.

It’s almost impossible to alter risk tolerance in a performance based sport. People will continue to push the envelope. It’s the nature of the beast.

38

[quote]Ruggerlife wrote:
WhiteFlash wrote:
apwsearch wrote:
beeph wrote:
As far as safety goes you’d have to think it would be easier to spot 600-700 lbs than 1100 lbs. The gear which was meant for safety reasons has gotten to the point where its counterproductive.

I remember listening to a brilliant road designer or something for safety and he was talking about all the features of this new road with the banking, phosphoresecent lightning, high-tech road material etc make the road sooo safe it allows people to act like idiots and not pay attention to the road… making accidents just as likely as if it were not safe.

He said that the safest car in the world would be a car with a giant metal spike pointed directly at the driver’s heart to relate the dangers to our primitive mind of driving a 2 ton piece of steel at 70 mph.

I’m not dissing gear or the lift, im just questioning the ‘safety’ rationale behind it… nothing else.

I understand your point but we are talking about catastrophic failure. Not just missing a lift.

Let me provide this for perspective. When the Fury first came out people were freaking out b/c lifters were trying to use them like the old blast shirts (put them on once or twice before the meet) had no clue what they were doing and were popping out of the groove about 4" off their chest and throwing the weight over their head and neck. All the sudden, spotting became a much more frightening proposition.

In my mind this was kind of the jump-off point and it has lead to a lot of changes in how benches are spotted. Including mandating the use of spotting bars on IPF platforms, which honestly I think all feds should do.

The point I am trying to make is in a catastrophic incident, independent of weight being handled, your lift is literally in the hands of the spotters. If they miss, you’re done. Wether it’s 300 or 1100.

AP, I’m sure you bench over 300, as do I. I have missed 315 before and I’m still here. I haven’t put on a shirt and benched 300 over what I’m naturally capable of [I obviously know that no shirt in the world is gonna double my current max or that I can throw one on and automatically bench more, I’m just saying this for arguements sake.] and had the bar cave in my ribs/sternum/head. I’m aware of strains and tears and all of the inherent dangers that come with heavy ass weight.

But, the difference between 300 and 500 is huge, and the difference is even bigger from 500 to 800, and 800 to a grand,etc… These are numbers these people are not capable of without the equipment they’re using, and at some point there’s gonna be a limit to what the most heavy duty shirt can realisticlly take.

I was wondering what those more knowledgeable than myself think that number might be, or are we gonna have to witness a horrible situation before the answer is known?

Well Gene Rychlak dumped over a grand on his stomach (1,008?) a few years ago (2005 I think). Obviously he was injured, but he survived and came back.

You’re looking for a magic number, but there are too many variables. Weight is one, but also where does the bar land, how quickly do the spotters get it, the size of the lifter…[/quote]

That dump broke his back.

39

[quote]shizen wrote:
bignate wrote:
his legs do not look big at all so i would also be unsurprised if his total was weak
good bench though

are you kidding, he might only do benching since thats what he cares about most but he does squat to help with leg drive and well look at his back its monstrous. He could easily total over 2k I would not call that weak.

I kind of want kenelly to get the raw record also just to solidify him as the greatest bencher once and for all.[/quote]

I doubt he’ll be interested in that, although I’ve seen him do a RAW double w/ 600+ lbs, and by raw, I mean jeans and t-shirt raw.

40

[quote]apwsearch wrote:
WhiteFlash wrote:

AP, I’m sure you bench over 300, as do I. I have missed 315 before and I’m still here. I haven’t put on a shirt and benched 300 over what I’m naturally capable of [I obviously know that no shirt in the world is gonna double my current max or that I can throw one on and automatically bench more, I’m just saying this for arguements sake.] and had the bar cave in my ribs/sternum/head.

I’m aware of strains and tears and all of the inherent dangers that come with heavy ass weight.

But, the difference between 300 and 500 is huge, and the difference is even bigger from 500 to 800, and 800 to a grand,etc… These are numbers these people are not capable of without the equipment they’re using, and at some point there’s gonna be a limit to what the most heavy duty shirt can realisticlly take.

I was wondering what those more knowledgeable than myself think that number might be, or are we gonna have to witness a horrible situation before the answer is known?

I don’t consider dumping on your chest or stomach catostrophic. I view it as damn lucky.

I was at a meet 2 years ago where a new female lifter with 155 on the bar touched too low in her shirt got up about 3-4 inches and proceeded to lose the bar over her head and neck. Arguably b/c of the weight the spotters were more relaxed and they missed.

The only thing that saved her was she slid off the bench as it was happening and the bar landed crooked hitting the right side of the bench first, catching her chin as she fell. She had a nasty scrape on her chin from the center knurling but that was it. What do you think would have happened if she would not have somehow acrobatted herself out of it?

Try dumping 300 on your neck, then if you are still with us and game, dump it on your face and report back. Hell, do it with 225. The point I am making is irregardless of weight if it lands unchecked in a vulnerable area you’re screwed.

Does more weight make you more screwed? I would argue not really. Dead, disfigured or disabled is dead disfigured or disabled.

That’s why having attentive spotters that know what they are doing is so important. Even then, shit happens. You take a risk every time you push the limits of your body’s capabilities.

There have been two situations I am aware of in IPF where lifters have dumped on their face. One was pretty bad. You don’t hear much about them, though but it was what prompted the safety bar requirement.

It’s almost impossible to alter risk tolerance in a performance based sport. People will continue to push the envelope. It’s the nature of the beast.
[/quote]

I remember a story from a couple years ago where a kid (15 or 16) here locally died from 135 across the throat. He was working out alone and the father found him dead, I think in the end they found out that he dropped the bar and crushed his throat causing him to suffocate.

No different really from NFL players breaking their necks etc from hitting so hard. Sports are dangerous, so is getting in your car every morning. How many people die everyday in cars?