If you read this title and thought, “Hey didn’t I just see an article similar to this?” Our answer would be yes, yes you did.
Less than a week ago, we wrote on 56/57kg powerlifting athlete Melissa Barber and her insane deadlift strength. In that article, we highlighted her huge 201kg (445 lb) deadlift at a bodyweight of 57kg, which was a big PR.
Well, it didn’t take long for Barber to push her deadlift PR even further, in fact, it only took five days. In her latest video, Barber pulls a huge 206kg (455 lb) PR at a bodyweight of 57kg (127 lb), aka a pull of 3.5 times her bodyweight.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhIH9QMj8_k/
In our last article, we weren’t sure when Barber would be taking the platform again, so we reached out and asked when she’s competing next. “Currently, not until USAPL Raw Nationals in October. I might do one during the summer though,” Barber said.
Last year, Barber took third in the women’s 57kg weight class at 2017 USAPL Nationals behind Jennifer Millican and Jessica Shay Edwards. At this meet, she finished with a 192.5kg (424 lb) deadlift, and closely missed a 200kg (440 lb) third attempt.
Although, we know Barber has hit that weight (200kg) before in competition and were curious what her next goal was, “My current meet PR is 440, so anything over that!”
In addition to competing next, this was Barber’s third huge deadlift in the span of two weeks, so we wanted to know how often she’s currently deadlifting weekly, along with how she recovers after heavy sessions. Barber told us, “Currently, 2-3x/week. I do a lot of stretching and foam rolling. I also like to take Epsom salt baths.”
“In addition, I try to stay really tight when I dead. I find the tighter I am during a pull, the less sore I am afterwards, and then my exaggerated setup (the arms going out) is my tightening my lats.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg7NLz7jVRw/
Whether it’s in the fall at nationals or this summer, we’re pumped to see Barber push the limits of her deadlift strength!
Feature image from @thats.so.swolissa Instagram page.
