All photo's and images courtesy of Curtis Dennis and/or Bodybuilding.com

The one question that my training partner always asks me is "what's the most ever done on the bench press?" I always answer "800 of course!!" And then I tell him that Anthony Clark has been the only lifter to bench that. But I was glad to tell Jon that another has benched 800 and his name is Ryan Kennelly.

I must say, Ryan pretty much came out of nowhere hitting 768 at one competition, and then at an another doing 780. People were speculating that Ryan was going to hit 800 first and no sooner Ryan hits 800 out of nowhere. In that time, I mentioned that either Mendelson, Brandenburg, or Crawford would hit 800 first. But Ryan showed us that we shouldn't count out the underdog. For those of you don't know who Ryan is...read on.

Ryan started working out around 15 years old which was amazing to me since I'm not the only one who wanted to get an early start on the competition. I started at 12, so there's hope for me yet!! Now, Ryan is about 28 years old and weighs around an hulking 290 and carries it well. He has a stocky build and look like a bodybuilder in the off-season and he pretty much represents the build of all powerlifters rather than the infamous sumo look most powerlifters have. Also, would you believe that Ryan was only able to play soccer and not football. I bet the football coaches are wishing that they had this powerhouse on their team!!

Ryan is a personal trainer at "Sleek Physique" and trains five days a week and benches about two of those days (now that's dedication!!). He lives in Moses Lake, Washington and is happily married to Melissa, who pushes Ryan to do his best. The one thing I like about Ryan is that he would pass up beautiful ladies to gain knowledge about training, which is something I've been known to do myself from time to time. Ryan didn't know how strong he was until he stopped drinking. Soon afterwards, a sober Ryan became determined and now has made progress. The rest they say is history!!

Ryan's Training Schedule Looks Like This:

Monday: Heavy back - 45-minute workout - lat pull downs - seated rows, etc.
Tuesday: Speed Bench - light tricep (Ryan varies this day between chains and bands and bar weight)
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: Heavy legs(a.m.) - light back and triceps(p.m.)
Friday: OFF
Saturday: Maximum effort- bench - heavy triceps - chest
Sunday: OFF

From the chat Ryan had with House of Pain Ironwears' Rick Brewer, Ryan trains heavy everyday his trains and does 3 sets of 8-10 of everything except on Maximum Effort bench where he does triples to singles depending on how close the competition is. A lot of times, Ryan plays around with 600-700 on the bench...Ryan is truly a monster bencher!!!

Ryan's Stats

Arm flexed: 23"
Arm relaxed: 21"
Forearms: 18"(a lifter can bench 500 off those forearms)
Shoulders: 62"
Chest: 52"
Waist: 40"
Upper Thigh: 32"
Height: 6'2

Let me just say that I'm glad a "tall" lifter hit 800. For years, I've been saying that shorter guys would be stronger because the advantages they have, but Ryan has helped me to toss that theory out the window. Now, I know that its possible to be a great bench without the advantages of a shorter lifter.

Ryan consumes about 5-8 meals daily whereas most lifters could only meet the maximum of 5 meals daily. He supplements consists of pure protein, Z-Mass PM, and Yellow Jackets (fat burners). Ryan also idolized the same lifters that I do in the sport (Mendelson, Ken Lain, Crawford, Chabot, and Halbert). It's good to see that great minds think alike. Ryan like any other powerlifter, likes all foods and recently got into eating sushi. I'll have to try that!!

Ryan is also a real and genuine guy who doesn't BS and it shows and he likes people of the same attributes. Ryan is also willing to help other lifters to achieve the same results as he did which is what I'm doing as well. He has a book coming out soon called "the Kennelly Method". I plan on getting that book to learn more about how he training and the like. What makes this guy even more cooler, is that he likes Ultimate Fighting. Ironically, I started getting into UFC two years ago thanks to my training partner/best friend. Ryan also believes that it takes time to achieve awesome lifts and it's worth it in the end.

Unlike any other bencher I've mentioned, Ryan still trains the squat and dead lift, which is obvious from his bench strength. I've always mentioned that squats and dead lifts help to add bodyweight and bench strength. He trains around 750 on the squat making 900 possible. This guy isn't just a phenomenon...but a monster in his own right!!

My take on this guy.... he's awesome and not only that he's only 28 which means he will be doing some damage not before long. Not to be cocky or nothing, but its a possibility I could be where he is at his age. Remember I'm only 22 now and only 31 pounds lighter than Ryan. But nonetheless, this guy quickly became one of my favorites as I learned more about him. My favorites are still Halbert, Lain, Mendelson, Blakley, Crawford, and Chabot, but Ryan would be my all-time favorite.

Ryan doing his 800 lbs bench!

by: Curtis Dennis Jr

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