What a month September has been so far for powerlifter Larry Wheels. In the first week, he took to his Instagram to share a video of his incredible 375.1-kilogram (827-pound) raw squat triple and a 344.7-kilogram (760-pound) raw deadlift for six reps with a mixed grip. After multiple reps near his competition bests of two of the three big lifts, one might assume that a significant amount of recovery would be needed. That’s apparently not the case for Wheels, who needed less than a week.
On Sept. 7, 2021, Wheels hopped back onto his social media to share a video of his 430.9-kilogram (950-pound) raw squat for an all-time personal record. The barbell was loaded with weight plates and chains, while Wheels wore knee sleeves and a lifting belt. Check it the lift below:
Note: the full video shows the same squat from two different angles.
View this post on Instagram
Although Wheels did not share his bodyweight at the time of his new PR, it is three times his competition bodyweight (he competed in the 140-kilogram class in three of his last four contests, including the two most recent). The caption to his post leaves no doubts as to how he felt about the lift:
Heaviest squat of my life.
According to Open Powerlifting, this squat is 36.3 kilograms (80 pounds) heavier than his competition-best squat of 394.6 kilograms (869.9 pounds) scored at the 2020 Xtreme Powerlifting Coalition (XPC) Arnold. Wheels must have taken an extra dose of pre-workout, or his mindset is on an entirely different level because after successfully hitting the first rep, he made it halfway through an attempted second rep before having to dump to weight.
Upcoming Competition
Wheels is scheduled to step back onto the competition platform at the Revolution Powerlifting Syndicate’s (RPS) Long Island Insurrextion on Sept. 11, 2021, in Farmingdale, NY. Wheels is currently the bench press world record holder at 140-kilograms — he lifted 292.5 kilograms (644.9 pounds) at the 2020 XPC Arnold.
The best total of his career was scored at that same event — 1,075 kilograms (2,370 pounds) — a raw world record at 140-kilograms. Considering the apparent strides in his squat and deadlift, his raw total world record is certainly in jeopardy.
Feature image: @larrywheels on Instagram
