This weekend Ryan "BenchMonster" Kennelly super shirt benched 1,075 pounds in competition! Not only is this the biggest super shirt bench in history, but he made the list as a 308 pound weight class bencher! (Not as a superheavyweight.)
Here's a video of the lift on YouTube
Thanks to Ryan's sponsors:
MHP
www.GetMHP.comHouse of Pain IronWear
www.HouseOfPain.comBOSS
www.BOSSOnline.netAPT Pro Powerlifting Gear
Here's a copy of the interview Kennelly conducted for House of Pain's BLOG just prior to his competing (to check out the House of Pain weight lifting BLOG log on to
http://www.houseofpain3.com/wlsnews/ )
Ryan "BenchMonster" Kennelly
Interviewed by Sean Katterle
Sean Katterle - You recently dieted down from 345 to 308 (at weigh-ins) to walking around at 300 pounds 24/7. What did you do in regards to your diet? Were there certain foods or types of food you eliminated from your daily intake? Did you maintain a specific macronutrient ratio?
Ryan Kennelly - The first change I made was adding cardio back into my routine. Every day I spend 30-60 minutes on the treadmill, at a fast walking pace of 3.5 miles per hour and with the track at a 6% uphill grade. As for my food, I cut out fast food, candy, ice cream, frozen ready-to-eat meals and pretty much all snack foods. I increased my consumption of skinless chicken breasts, buffalo, fish and egg whites so my daily protein content went up but my main sources of protein were low fat and low carb. For
supplements, I maintained what I was taking before but I added MHP's DREN (1 capsule per day) and BOSS's low carb The Shake RTD Cans were my drink of choice every time I was away from my kitchen blender where I mix up my usual MHP's Probolic based shakes. A lot of my daily carbs have been coming from oatmeal, brown rice, yams and whole wheat bagels. I try and take in a quality source of protein every two hours throughout the whole day (which is basically eating/drinking 7 protein rich meals per day.)
Sean Katterle - You're trying to rebreak the 308 class all-time shirted bench record again? You've got the record right now but a few weeks ago you said something in regards to "getting the 308 record past 1,000 pounds would put it out of reach for awhile." Your reasoning for that being the mark?
Ryan Kennelly - Psychologically, I think my bench shirt competition has a mental block about the 1,000 pound barrier. Once they venture into 1,000 + pound territory, they either fold or they start looking for corners to cut; soft handoffs, partial lockouts, shirt sleeves over their elbows, lightening quick press commands, ect. I don't think they truely believe that they can legitimately bench 1,000 pounds at 308 so they don't have the proper frame
of mind for taking the record if I put it up that high and it's my intent to do so. They'll be another generation of shirts that will allow them to catch up with me numbers wise but that's a ways off I'm guessing. That's partly why the current crop of top gear lifters are turning to rep contests instead of a max contest. They can stay within their numbers comfort range.
Sean Katterle - On that note, do you think the powerlifting world is too addicted to "numbers records"? In almost every other sport, people and teams compete for wins and they compete for league championships. In geared powerlifting, people seem way too focused, in my opinion, to these all-time records, to having some kind of record certificate hanging on their wall and to constantly be pushing up the numbers via any route; getting stronger yes, but also increased gear layers and technology, looser judging, longer time
frames between weigh ins and lifting, ect. Do you agree that the sport's competitors and promoters should turn their attentions to building events where it matters to win with integrity (strict judging, same day weigh-ins, ect.) rather than simply trying to push the numbers higher and higher? I don't have a problem with equipment if the judging is like what you see in the USPF , IPF , ect., but so often it's not. Your thoughts?
Ryan Kennelly - I do think powerlifters are addicted to numbers more than they're addicted to actually becoming stronger. I haven't thought of powerlifting, in it's current state, as a sport and I won't think of it that way until it focuses more on quality of lifts and not just on numbers. Right now it's just a fun hobby. I also like the IPF and the USPF and I like the federations that follow their examples in regards to officiating and to sticking to the rulebook. In those organizations, judging is very strict and that adds to their legitimacy. You never have to doubt a world record lift from one of those organizations. If I read about someone breaking an IPF or USPF record then I know that they broke it fair and square.
The responsibility of turning the sport around is up to the magazines, the websites and the promoters. As long as people get the glory by any means neccesary, then they'll continue to use any means neccesary to get the glory. When the magazines and big websites only cover the deep squats, the locked out benches and the unhitched deadlifts, then the sport will start to change because people will discipline themselves to get the reward of positive recognition.
Sean Katterle - I was talking on the phone recently with Jason Fiori of The Falls Fitness Factory in New York. Jason's a wicked strong bencher and full powerlifter. He commented that he thinks building a big deadlift builds a bigger bench. I've always thought that building a big squat builds a bigger bench but that a bencher should stick more to heavy rows (t-bar, cables, dumbbells, ect.) for their back specific work. What do you think?
Ryan Kennelly - I think everything works if you train hard and smart, but deads really depress your central nervous system. That's for sure. But, if you know how to specifically dial in your workouts to your body's limitations and growth response and if you give yourself the proper time to rest and recover, then you can work magic. Just look at guys like Brian Siders , Jim Williams and Bill Kazmaier . Those guys can/could post use totals and bench big at the same time. Me personally, I don't train the deadlift but I do squat and when I squat I go heavy, convincingly below parallel and for medium reps like a power bodybuilder would (think Tom Platz or Ronnie Coleman .) But again, I get a lot of sleep and I eat a lot of healthy food so I'm able to recover from the combination of heavy bench days and heavy squat days.
Sean Katterle - There's three raw bench records that are within your bodyweight realm; Ted Arcidi's 650 @ 275 (which has stood for 25 years!) and Mendelson's 701 @ 308 and 715 @ SHW (both of which have been set over the last 6 years.) Are you starting to seriously eye any of those three records? Which? Right now you're # 1 in the world in the shirted bench game in both the SHW and 308 pound classes. But, in the raw bench record books, you're ranked 38th with your 600 @ 295 that you benched five years ago at MMA fighter Roger Neff's push/pull promotion. No one questions that you're good for a lot more than a six hundred (though being in the 600 pound bench club is nothing to sneeze at!) You've demonstrated more than once that you can punch up a 675 pound bench after a good old school bench training cycle. What's the future hold for Ryan Kennelly in regards to classic power benching?
Ryan Kennelly - The only paused bench to break the 700 pound barrier that I've heard of was James Henderson and I say that because he got his lift in the USPF/IPF. As for Mendelson's .................they looked like touch n' gos to me. I'm OK with that but it's Henderson who should currently be getting
the credit for being the biggest raw bencher of all time. With that being said, when I get some spare time I'd like to put some training cycles in working old school power benching and I'd like to see if I can post a 675+ raw bench in competition that's recorded on quality video and with strict judging standards.
MHP , BOSS and House of Pain are also official sponsors of The Clash of the Titans II and The Kings of the Bench III . Both of these events will be taking place at the 2009 Ronnie Coleman Classic Expo , April 18th, at The Mesquite Convention Center (just east of downtown Dallas, Texas.) Between both events, there will be $10,000 in cash prize money paid out and the competition will be aired a week later in streaming video on Bodybuilding.com ! For more information, please visit
http://www.HardcorePowerlifting.comTo hear Kennelly's recent internet radio interview on MD's No Bull Radio go to:
http://www.musculardevelopment.com/podcasts/palumbo063008.mp3To hear Kennelly's recent interviews on Big Nation Radio go to:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/ultimate/2008/07/22/BIG-NATION-
