I reckon they're for office staff who cry like a girl* and run away if they're asked to lift anything heavier than a pen. This includes my boss.
*No offence to girls. One of the best ground crew at the companies I deliver to is a fifty five year old women who can handle awkward loads up the 45kg mark with perfect form for the type of lift. She keeps a dead straight back, and asks for help if it's too much - unlike the male heroes who stagger about on their own with horribly bent spines even after I've told them it's too heavy and offered to help.
Last edited by Skel; 01-11-2015 at 06:14 AM.
Yes, but keep in mind it's not like squatting 725 with a normal barbell. I've only made it through the first two prelim heats so far, but I'm assuming it's some kind of fixed rig, like normal. This takes the balance aspect out of it, and they can usually bounce off the floor a bit. Most of them also wear at least squat briefs, and they're all enormously strong anyway, so it's not beyond belief.
Oh, and if it was the squat where they've got the two round ends and have to hit the platforms, those are usually a bit higher than parallel, and the athletes with good timing can get a significant rebound off them as well. I'll have to see what you're talking about to be sure, but I don't doubt the weight.
Last edited by Sean Herbison; 01-12-2015 at 10:25 AM.
Well the squats were actually with a free barbell and they had to walk them out, which was cool. But they squatted to safeties that were set to slightly higher than parallel (announcer says this is for joint health!) and they can bounce off the safeties, so I get that's not a pure 725 squat. Still damn impressive though.
Do they do these all over a weekend, a day? Over several weeks? How does it work? To nail 12 reps @ 725lb even with the slightly high squat after days of competition is damn impressive.