Collin Rhodes, Joe Luther & Ryan Kennelly Featured in Ironman Magazine

Katterle, no pictures of you pushing up massive weights? No, didn't think so. hahhhaaaaa
www.Ryanopower.com
www.AndersonPowerlifting.com

only the strong survive

Why are you guys always ragging on Sean? All I see is a guy trying to promote powerlifting what are you doing!

Jeff Hackett

ULTIMATE SIZE, STRENGTH, AND STAMINA: BUILDING POWER BEYOND HUMAN LIMITS:by Jeff Hackett

www.extremeselfprotection.com

This was a fun article to put together. It's the seventh piece of mine that Iron Man's published and it's a great honor to get some print space in a publication that I've been reading for 22 years and that's been one of the top 3 publications for over 70.

I'm very happy that Iron Man allowed us to photo feature Collin Rhodes and Joe Luther (again). Both of those guys are powerful raw technicians and they've reached a level that's very difficult to attain. Anyone who's seen Luther or Rhodes go through their bench set up process will have an appreciation for their physical power, flexibility and muscular coordination.

It's nice to get to put another article interview together with Ryan Kennelly too.Kennelly's got a lot to teach both the shirted and raw benching communities. He's spent his entire adult life perfecting the art of the bench and he's got technical pointers to share on every aspect of the lift. Kennelly also really appeals to the power building world (which is far more populated that the traditional powerlifting one) with his feats of strength like 315 x 40 and 405 x 20 they can really relate to the force/repetitive force he's generating.

I hope that everyone enjoys the read,
Sean
HardcorePowerlifting.com

Congrats to PoohBear Rhodes, good guy and long time bencher of good technique. Without his influence on my bench, I would still be lost in a sea of conflicting and inaccurate instructions...

Learning to arch by way of his teaching long distance helped me get to a respectable bench, nearly impossible with my leverages.

Someday I hope to be at a meet again with him and a few more I owe direct thanks for some measured success in our sport. Until then, all I can say is THANK YOU for taking the time. And may you enjoy healthy and long competition time in our sport!

is this a magazine article? If so, where can I get it? also Sean, do you know if Kennelly is competing again. A buddy of mine disbelieves that Ryan can push 675+ @ 275 and I hear he's weighing in the low-mid 250's these days? Will he be back on the platform?

Yes, this is an article in Iron Man Magazine. Iron Man's available at quite a few different newsstands and bookstores nationwide and you can also order copies online.

http://www.ironmanmagazine.com/site/?p=4616

Ryan touch n' go gym benched the 675 at 280. It was not a contest bench. I've heard from his training partners that, when he weighs 308+ that he can pause/stop and bench that amount of weight raw.

Kennelly's currently weighing 275-280. He's working a lot of cardio and conditioning (even rolling some at a grappling school or with some competitive grapplers) and he's still coaching a group of benchers from the Tri-Cities area in Washington. He's still lifting heavy (super heavy compared to most people) but right now I think his main workout focuses are conditioning, general health (blood pressure, cholesterol, body composition, ect.) and power building as opposed to really focusing in on max benching and on learning the next bench shirt. Ryan's more athletic than a lot of people know. When he was benching at 308, I saw him casually jog over and slam dunk a basketball.

Stay Strong,
Sean
HardcorePowerlifting.com

Is Luther the #1 ranked raw bencher at 165? If he is doing reps with 395 I bet he should dominate that weight class. Hope to see what Kennelly, Luther and Rhodes could do at Kings of the Bench. Who could beat these guys raw?

Collin Rhodes won the light heavyweight (275) division at Kings of the Bench 3 with a 540 @ 265 raw bench.

Our federation (Hardcore Powerlifting, Inc) has Joe Luther ranked as the #3 bencher in the 175 pound division.

He tied for 1st place against Joe Mazza at the 1st Kings of the Bench, hitting 420 @ 165. He placed 3rd at Kings of the Bench 2, getting 425 @ 165-170 (can't recall his exact bwt but he came in under the 175lb limit.)

At Kings of the Bench pro shows, Ray Hickman's gone 435 @ 175 and Joe Mazza's our current record holder with 445 @ 175.

Jamie McDougal's posted the 4th biggest bench in the federation with a 420 @ 175 (and that was performed after max raw squats!)

MHP's Kings of the Bench is NO JOKE. A person can't buy a tighter fitting, stronger rebounding, reinforced seams shirt that allows them to be competitive on paper. They can't catch up by increasing their artificial advantage. The only way to become a King of the Bench is to get stronger and more technically advanced (physically) and to be able to handle the pressure of legit, top shelf competition, big venues and a home viewing audience of tens of thousands of fans. (Not to mention trying to stay focused while the super hot card girls wiggle by.)

Much respect to anyone who steps on to the Kings of the Bench platform,

Sean
HardcorePowerlifting.com

Who do you believe will win the next Kings of the Bench in 2010? When will this be and were, I would like to watch the competition! Do you get 3 or 4 attempts if trying to break past records?

We're planning on releasing all of that information around the end of November/beginning of December.

Thanks for your interest,
Sean
HardcorePowerlifting.com