In Larry “Wheels” Williams’ latest YouTube video, he announces that he’ll be switching from powerlifting to bodybuilding for the next few months. He’s not permanently switching, but he wants take a few months off powerlifting to shift his focus towards adding more mass.
Throughout the short video he briefly discusses his future programming, goals, and when he’ll be competing next.
Williams’ main goal for switching is to add mass, so he can improve his strength and move up a weight class to 275. In the video, he discusses how he’s currently sitting at 275 lbs, but hopes to hit 290 lbs before cutting back down for his next competition.
Last week, we wrote an article on Williams’ 585 lb bench for a close three reps, and discussed that we weren’t entirely sure when his next meet was. Towards the end of his video, Williams says he’s aiming to compete in the SPF Record Breakers meet on November 11-12th in Dublin, California.
Williams also says he’s aiming to take down Stan Efferding’s 275 lb SPF Open total record, which stands at a ridiculous 2,308 lbs. In Efferding’s 2010 record claiming meet, he put a 865 lb squat, 606 lb bench, and a 837 lb deadlift. Now the question is, can Williams compete with those numbers?
In March, Williams hit 775 lbs for a squat double, and attempted 793 lbs at the CETC Open, but had a fluke mishap, which left him with a torn quad. Yes it was a temporary set back, but now Williams is building back up and improving his imbalances, while adding weight, so it’s hard to say where he’ll land when November rolls around.
Then in May, Williams hit a 620 lb bench PR, which would top Efferding’s 606 lb SPF lift.
If Williams is hitting that now, then it’s more than likely he’ll be doing so at a heavier weight in November.
In terms of deadlift, Williams is also very close to Efferding’s record. In early March, Williams pulled 826 lbs for a triple with a reverse mini bands.
This is only 11 lbs shy of Efferding’s record, and it was a triple.
Even though Williams is taking a brief leave from powerlifting style training, we can be sure his Instagram will still have a ton of content centered around his new bodybuilding focus.
It’s going to be exciting watching him progress to a heavier weight with additional size, and seeing how that influences his overall strength. Can Williams take down Efferding’s record come November? Time will tell.
Feature image from @larrywheel Instagram page.
