Video Of Mike Miller's 1,220 Pound Squat

while it was a good "gym" squat, it was waaaaaaaaaaaaaay high ! tops of thighs not even parallel. what federation was this allowed to be legal in ?

that was awfully high. It is clear that Mike is strong, very strong, but these federations are inventing a different sprt. Please stop calling it Powerlifting as it is a dis to all that paved the road before.

Didnt even hit parallel, every video i see of the those guys who use the monolift, it doesn't look like any of them get deep at all

That's why everyone needs to keep things in perspective. He's supposed to be doing NERB, so at least he's lifting under different rules. Jeff Lewis has done 1200+, yet not 1000 in USAPL. Even the WPO, which is well respected as a multi-ply fed, has lifters doing far more than they can in single ply. Chuck V hit a huge squat at the WPO meet, but it would drop dramatically in single ply feds. So yes, this is a different sport than the more traditional powerlifting.

That was high, but Mike is still one of the best squaters in his fed.

It's a little bit to high, but that's good for the show, hey Mike don't be furious, a can't move that weight, maybe next time you will make it deeper!
Powerlifting bad ass attitude is the key to lift big !!!

He moved a lot of weight and only needed to go a little lower. There was a great lifter who told me to always take it deep. Mike is certainly capable of hitting that and more.
Lift..., what else?

OK I'm not a squatter what needs to be parallel? Is it the lower part of his leg or the upper part of his leg? The lower part looked parallel to me.

Wolfy!!!

That Feds idea of parallel must be bottom of the thigh. I can't say I've seen worse calls. Don't blame the lifter.

good half squat now take about 100 pounds off and try it

That was more than a half squat, you have to give the guy some credit. It did look a little high, but we don't have any video from the side, which is the only true way to tell the real depth. Mike is a big powerful man, and with as easilly as he went up with the weight I imagine he could go to depth with it no problem (if it was in fact high), and the judge did give him the lift, so its good in my book. We have to stop tearing apart every lift we see on video, it does little to help out the sport.

the lift was no good

With that much weight on his back and on the line, he should've known to leave no doubt as to the legality of the lift. I give him mad props for doing the squat, no doubt but, in my opinion, it wasn't legal. Still a damn good squat though.

Depth cannot be called from the front, apparently the side judges thought it was good. Why does everyone have to bash?

C'MON! His lower thigh didn't even break parallel. COMPLETE B*LLSH*T. I got damn excited that I read that he hit that heavy a squat. Then...I watched the video and pissed me off. That is F'n high in every federation. What a waste of training. If I raw squatted like that, I'd have an easy 850 raw at 242! That ROM is the squat equivalent of a bench press lockout.

[Anonymous Quote]
"We have to stop tearing apart every lift we see on video, it does little to help out the sport."
[End Quote]

WRONG

THAT LIFT IS WHAT IS DESTROYING THIS SPORT

If Jeff Lewis squatted like that, he'd squat 1400.

FROM THAT VIEWPOINT... it looked rediculously high. i cant believe noone took a side video of that lift. with a lift of that magnitude, there should have been plenty of camera set up for a good angle. but from the way that looked, it wasnt even close. he was closer to // at the wpo and bombed. i am curious to see if he gets down for NERB?

"WRONG

THAT LIFT IS WHAT IS DESTROYING THIS SPORT"

lol - perfectly said.

I could go further and ask, between the monolift and the cheat suit and the wraps and the spotters and the super-wide stance, what part of the "sport" is still left. but I won't.

Mr. Miller is doing himself AND the sport of powerlifting a disservice. In his heart he must know it wasn't even close to legal. Or does he have a bunch of yes-men in his gym, who are afraid to call him on not hitting depth?

BUT... apparently three judges said it was okay too. That is even more worrisome!

Props to everyone in this topic so far, as I still haven't heard the old "you would get crushed, so don't you dare criticise!"-argument. :)

That was absolutely disgraceful... It has always been my belief that a legal squat was the point of the hip breaking parallel to the top of the knee... I competed for over ten years and that was the guide lines I always trained by... I know that Mike is plenty strong I just wish that he would get in a meet that makes him squat legal depth so we can see just how strong he is... Not bashing just expressing my point of view...

Man-thats an awesome amount of weight-but I'd have to say-I watched the video and felt it was a little too high-I watched it again-just in case-and I really do feel that it was too high.

I'm afraid that too many people are wanting now to see the huge numbers instead of a good solid 3 white lighter-

As soon as I seen this video, I knew there would be a lot of "armchair referees" who would immediately feel that he was high. It seems most people don't understand how the camera angle is once again giving an illusion of depth. Please look at the angle of the base of the monolift on the floor. The base of the monolift we all know is flat and parallel with the floor, but consider that from this front camera angle which is looking down instead of straight at his knees gives the appearance that the monolift base angles up toward the rear. Now also try to compare (we really can't accurately here but try anyways) the angle of his hip/knee in relation to the upward angle of the base of the monolift. Hopefully it should become more clear why this camera angle is giving once again a false impression. Since the camera was not exactly knee-high and it itself was not looking on a plane parallel to the floor, and it was not the side view, it does not give a true impression of depth. Let's not be too quick to judge because we don't have the proper tools to do so. It is entirely possible that he actually made depth.

Was anybody here actually at the meet to see it with your own eyes? From where you were, how did it actually look to you?

I don't give a ^&%$ what angle you look at. The only thing close to parallel is his hamstring, plain and simple. The squat is high. Props to Mike for handling that kind of weight, but it has got to get deeper.

Camera angles do need to be taken into consideration. Not just camera angles, but even in person if you are not looking with your eyes physically at knee-height and a viewing plane parallel to the floor FROM THE SIDE VIEW, you are not getting a true impression of depth of the lift. Even side judges ideally need to get down and watch with their eyes at knee-level to get the best view of depth. The depth might be high and maybe not, but we can't rightfully say from just this angle. For all we know he may have really gotten down there. At least 2 of the three judges present passed the lift, and they all had a better view than any of us whether we care about viewing angles or not. The science of these angles is something that a lot of us might not understand, but it is for real. From the front even I admit it looks borderline, but I also have confidence in the meet officials who were there and called the lift.

He had more strength left in him. Meaning that if it takes another 50# or so to get him down in that suit, he should be able to get the job done and leave no question about it.

That looked high even from the front. Like someone else said, his hamstrings didn't even look to be "parallel". Sad, because it was a tiny wobble at the top that cost him the 1212 at the Arnold. I saw his squat at the Arnold live and from multiple angles later on, and it looked to be below. I have no doubt he is capable of 1200+, but he needs to put it all together.

And enough with grouping all monolift, multi-ply geared squats together...generalizations like that are a bigger problem in powerlifting than just about anything.

shame that the camera was in the wrong place. damned cameraman.

it really is impossible to gauge depth from a front view, especially if the camera isn't precisely aligned at the exact knee level of the lifter.

example 1
example 2

I'm not looking for the wacko (usapl) extreme depth , parallel is the requirment - that's all I expect.

The first (top) photo was Captain Kirk Karwoski lifting in a USPF National Meet. Kirk left no doubt concerning depth when he performed the squat. The pic was taken, I believe, in Louisiana. And if my memory is correct, the attempt you are looking at was around 930 lbs? And I think it was the year he competed in the 242's. He was strong and looked huge! I think it was the following year he hit the 1008. the meet was held sometime in the mid '90's. That is why I am having a hard time remembering exact details. Old age I guess :?

Also, note the location of the hands of the spotters. And their attentivness to the location of the bar. Great job guys!

Lift..., what else?

how can anyone even debate depth here, it's not even close.

Check out all of the USPF, IPF, USAPL squats on Iron Game and then come back and post that you can't judge depth by camera. There's such a difference between those and almost all of the "mono-squats" it's ridiculous. Quit saying you can't judge depth by camera. This isn't even close enough to warrant an argument.

I keep watching this video over and over just to make sure my eyes aren't playing tricks...

First...the camera angle is great...

Second...that squat should get turned down by every federation...TWICE

Third...is that GENE RYCHLAK back spotting? HE has got to be the worst back spotter ever. It appears that he is going to grab the bar off his back if it gets dumped. If I were Miller, I'd get out of that death trap and go to a more credible organization.

Yes Rychlak is back spotting.

Too close to call, it's right on the cusp... That suit is dictating alot of the groove though. Probably as clean as I've seen that much weight. At 360 bodyweight for Miller as comparison, Gene certainly has lost alot of weight...?

Kirk is a bad bad man! i cant wait to meet him!

Great squat mike the best squatter ever. Jeff lewis sucks he weighs like 550 for god sakes mike is a hell of alot stronger than lewis. Cant wait to see 1300 mike you go big man!!!!!!!!!

was he doing lockouts not even close to parallel

Nice quarter-squat.

O give me a break, he barley moved the weight. Don't get me wrong, moving twelve hundred pounds in any direction for any distance is massive in every meaning of the word. But if a world record is on the line I would not call that a legit squat.

look, im gonna say, as a powerlifting leagal squat, the (TOP) of the lifters thighs and Hips must be atleast parellel to the knee if not lower.

Mike actually performed a half squat, but not bad:

because of this I giv the all time WR to Andy Bolton (UK) with 550.5 Kg.

NO WAY WAS THAT A LEGAL LIFT. HALF SQUAT. JUST LIKE ANDY BOLTONS SQUAT (A GUY I RESPECT A LOT) WAS HIGH AS WELL. BUT IT WAS FUN TO WATCH.

That squat way too high. You don't have to see it from the side to call it high.

andy boltons squat was good enough just, but i think anyone who moves over 500 kg even a half squat is amazing, i know what it feels like to off rack 300 kg, ok im weak, but still i got a rough idea, miller DESERVES CREDIT, OK maybe not as much to hold 2nd best ever squat (now) though.....

i dont think Vlad Alkozov squat is legal anyways, high and went down at 1 point, deer oh deer, least millers squat was definate....!!

and btw, has anyone got a video of donnie thompson getting his wr total 2900 or sumit???

thanksx

There's talking... and then there's powerlifting.

This is bullshit. haha!

There's talking... and then there's powerlifting.

HIGH AS A FUCKIN' KITE!

You guy's could not carry this mans jock-strap! None of you chicken-legs could even come close to this feat of strength. I would personally like to bitch-slap all you posers. Hit me up and I'll give you what you deserve. This lift was amazing!!

Considering that his thighs weren't parallel, i call this a failure.