Larry Wheels is back in action. The powerlifter took to his Instagram page on Oct. 27, 2021, to share a video of himself incline pressing a pair of 63.5-kilogram (140-pound) dumbbells for a shoulder-shaking 17-rep personal record. Spotting him for the high volume set was two-time Olympia Open competitor Regan Grimes — he ranked 15th at the 2020 and 2021 Mr. Olympia contests and second at the 2021 Legion Sports Fest Pro.
Wheels sported a thick pair of wrist wraps for the set and utilized a couple of Fat Gripz on the dumbbell handles. Early in the video, Grimes can be heard saying the rep count — “Four! Five” — but his count appears to be off by one as Wheels called this a 17-rep PR. If Grimes counted the correct reps, Wheels actually seems to hit 18 reps. Wheels likely did not count his initial setup rep, which did not move through his full range of motion. Check out the video below:
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Wheels is no stranger to a heavy incline dumbbell bench press. The man holds the world record for the movement when he successfully locked out two 124.7-kilogram (225-pound) dumbbells for a 249.5-kilogram (550-pound) lift.
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Although it isn’t clear if Grimes was correct on Wheel’s rep count or not, Grimes was clear on what he thought of the set itself. He shared his thoughts in a comment on Wheel’s Instagram post:
Strength is INSANE.
Wheels latest PR comes not long after sustaining a quad injury during a hefty squat session. On Sept. 16, 2021, Wheels shared that he “ripped [his] quad in half” during the concentric portion of a training squat in the range of 408.2 kilograms (900 pounds). He was ultimately diagnosed with an intramuscular tear, tendon attached. Wheels told BarBend that he expected to recover from that quad injury in 10 to 14 days after his diagnosis.
Wheels has not shared any videos of any leg training since then, aside from the video below where he performs a shallow squat to hit a 226.8-kilogram (500-pound) behind the neck overhead press:
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One thing is clear: Wheels’ strength is on point, and per the caption of his Instagram post, his “shoulders felt super strong.” Wheels was initially scheduled to compete at the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate (RPS) Long Island Insurextion in Farmingdale, NY, on Sept. 11, 2021. However, his quad injury was prevented him from doing so.
According to Open Powerlifting, the most recent powerlifting meet Wheels competed in was the 2020 Xtreme Coalition Powerlifting (XPC) Arnold, ranking first overall in the 140-kilogram class. When he ultimately returns to the competitive lifting platform, it will likely be a coming out of a near two-year hiatus from the competitive spotlight. We’ll see if his strength in the gym translates to successful attempts on the scorecards.
Featured image: @larrywheels on Instagram
