Yangsu “Yu-yu” Ren, known as the “Deadlift Panda” on Instagram, has noticeably progressed his deadlift over the last three years. Back in 2017, we saw him compete at the USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Raw Nationals, in the -83kg weight class, where he lifted 340 kilograms (749.6 pounds) — 15 kilograms (33 pounds) over the world record at the time. In July of 2019, we caught him pulling nearly that same weight for a beltless triple in the gym.
In August of 2019, he displayed his breakthrough into the 800-plus pound club with a 369.7 kilogram (815 pound) training deadlift. Earlier this year, he furthered his deadlift to 388 kilograms (835 pounds). His lifts were so prolific that we reached out to Ren to ask about how he trained to pull that kind of weight when he competes at a bodyweight of approximately 183 pounds. One thing is for sure: Ren is a man with a plan. In that interview, he said:
Current training goal is to hit 855 pounds sumo and 725 pounds conventional.
That goal is quite the milestone for someone who has set a deadlift world record and pulled over 800 pounds, because it is the extremely rare feat of deadlifting exactly four and a half times his current bodyweight of 190 pounds. Well, sumo deadlift goal achieved.
Check out the lift below courtesy of Ren’s Instagram page. It was his top single of 387.8 kilograms (855 pounds) before doing a handful of backoff sets of 306.2 kilograms (675 pounds):
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[Related: Should You Sumo Or Conventional Deadlift? (Feat 3x World Record Holder Kevin Oak)]
Most recently, he shared a conventional deadlift triple in training of 317.5 kilograms (700 pounds) that included slow eccentrics. As for his conventional deadlift goal of 328.9 kilograms (725 pounds), Ren confirmed he hit that lift “a few weeks back”.
Although we won’t be surprised when Ren hits his conventional deadlift goal, it will still be quite impressive. Once he does, the question becomes: What is next?
Featured image from Alexander Kang’s YouTube channel.