We’ll be honest, we’re having trouble coming to terms with Toshiki Yamamoto’s week. The Japanese athlete does hold all of his country’s Olympic weightlifting records in the -85kg weight class, but still, how much volume can one man take?
Here’s what we really wanted to highlight today: this four-rep set of 290-kilogram (639.3-pound) back squats. The depth here, especially on the first rep, is really phenomenal and while we get that he was clearly hoping for five reps (he bails on the last) everyone in the room seems really disappointed after having viewed a set as impressive as this. Behold the four reps:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bk6-y-6hN0u/
What makes this extra impressive, though, is the fact that this came after a hell of a leg week. About twelve days ago he made this set of 250kg for 10 reps, three days later he made this jaw dropping set of 200kg squats for twenty reps:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bkol01bB-kg/
[Read more: Why 20-rep squats are the best (and worst) workout ever.]
And three days after that he went ahead with 260kg for 10 reps.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkxH5Tjh8BV/
We’d have taken some time off after such a punishing six days but hey, Yamomoto’s got squats to do. In a ten day period that’s 250kgx10, 200kgx20, 260kgx10, and 290kgx4.
Last year, the guy actually took a quick visit to the -94kg class and took the national clean & jerk record there with 197 kilograms (434.3 pounds), but he’s known as Japan’s best -85kg athlete. Partly that’s because when he breaks records in the -85kg class, he’s exceeding the records in the weight class above him.
Like we said, the -94kg clean & jerk record is 197 kilos — here’s his most recent record in the -85kg class of 206 kilograms (454.2 pounds).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjSBSLIhreD/
That was at the Japanese National Championships in Kanazawa, where he also took the -85kg total record of 361 kilograms (795.9 pounds). The -94kg record total is 353 kilograms (778.2 pounds). Toshiki Yamamoto is very strong.
Featured image via @toshikis165j205 on Instagram.
