Recorded on August 29, 2010 at the USAPL Bench Press National Championships in Charlottesville, VA.
Charlottesville, Virginia hosted the 2010 USAPL Bench Press National Championship. Thanks to John Shifflett and his dedicated volunteer crew for organizing a great national championship.
I traveled to Virginia intent upon winning my fourth consecutive bench press title, setting a new national meet record with 215 kgs./ 474 lbs., and securing a roster place on the United States National Team which competes in the International Powerlifting Federation's Masters World Bench Press Championships in Denmark this coming April, 2011.
My performance at the national championships satisfied me but fell short of everything for which I hoped. I bench pressed 205 kgs./ 452 lbs. This was my lifetime best and a Wisconsin record, a result of training 48 years and rarely missing a workout. However, I missed my attempt with 215 kgs./ 474 lbs. when I pressed the bar only halfway before failing.
I never had a shot at the national meet record of 212.5 kgs./ 468 lbs., which stood for five years after Ron Beuch rocked the lifting platform in 2005. Kevin Johnson, a great lifter from New York State, smashed both Ron Beuch's national meet record and World Champion Steve Green's American bench press record, with a bench press of 257.5 kgs./ 568 lbs. Kevin Johnson turned 55 this year and moved into my age group (55-59). Johnson ranks among the top ten bench pressers in the world, regardless of age. (In 2009, I finished the year ranked 89th in the world.) So I wouldn't be accurate if I reported that Kevin Johnson edged me for the national title. Johnson crushed me. His new national meet record and American record may stand for decades. As a benchmark for comparison, no one in the NFL matches Johnson's bench press. Indeed, only a few NFL players bench press 215 kgs./ 474 lbs.
Kevin Johnson won the national title in the 55-59 group. I finished second to Johnson in the 55-59 group. Kevin Johnson broke my string of bench press national titles at three.
I also finished fourth in the open men's class (all ages). Perennial world champion, and world record holder, and world team coach Dan Gaudreau lifted in open and masters classes, and he always delights.
I finished second in the lifetime drug-free class. Alvin Belfield, from Virginia, bested me in the lifetime drug-free group. Bill Gillespie lifted lifetime drug-free, but Gillespie bombed after failing in three attempts to finish a lift. Gillespie is 50-years-old, and he ranks among the top five bench pressers in the world. Bill opened with 688 lbs., failed twice with 688, and jumped to 722 lbs. for his final attempt -- another miss. Gillespie worked for years as the strength coach for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. Gillespie now serves on staff at Oral Roberts University. Gillespie is a classy guy and it's a privilege to compete against him.
None of the sixteen heavyweight lifters were in their 20's. Only three were in their 30's. Six were in their 40's. It takes a long time to develop serious strength. Some talented kids are strong, but most lifters need years of training.
I qualified for the United States National Masters World Team in the -- hold onto your hat -- 60 to 69 age group. (How did I get to 60-69?)..When I travel to Denmark this April, I aim to set a masters men's world record, for men 60 to 69, by improving yesterday's performance by twenty-three pounds -- from 452 lbs. to 475 lbs. The current world record, for men 60-69 in the 125+ kg. class, is 215 kgs./ 474 lbs.
I'm uncertain whether I will compete before the masters world bench press championships in Denmark. Two well-run, long-standing USAPL powerlifting meets are slated in Wisconsin for late October and late January. At these meets in Hudson and Milwaukee, my friends and life-long competitors gather, chalk up, and squat, bench press, and deadlift. I'll have to consider whether I want to break my training cycle for either competition. Typically I need two weeks to taper down for a meet and 10 days after a meet for my central nervous system to recover. I don't miss workouts during these transition periods. Instead I lift lighter weights. Nonetheless, a competition breaks my training cycle.
My trip to Denmark will be my first trip to Europe. Basically I'm a cheesehead homebody who enjoys routine.
USAPL Powerlifting is drug free, using IOC standards and IOC testing protocols and labs.
I'm focused on setting a world record in April, 2011 by bench pressing 215.5 kgs./ 475 lbs. or more. During training sessions at Crawford's Upstairs Gym in Whitefish Bay, my cat seemingly nods with approval, my Parson's Russell Terrier licks my ear while I lie on the bench and press a seven-foot bar, and my Golden Retriever sleeps through everything. I'll set a world record in April over in Denmark, God willing and the tides don't rise.
Loading...
1:14
Kennelly 1080 pnd bench pressby cwfarmeranacondamt1,435,450 views
wow, good stuff man. im gonna go into my first usapl meet and my first powerlifting meet in general this next weekend. strong work man, handlin alot of weight
PowerSprinter 7 months ago