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
Weight: 290


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.


Also, check out his website for his forum, information on his book, and if you want to indorse or have Ryan sponsor a product. His website is www.benchmonster.com. Soon, I will have an interview with this bench monster so stay tuned!! Well, until next time, stay big and if you're reading this Ryan...your can awesome lifter!


CD: Thanks for a chance to interview you, Ryan. Please give the readers a description of yourself?
RK: I'm 6'2, 295 pounds, 28 years old and work as a Part time personal trainer. I live in Moses Lake Washington population 15000. Hobbies include lifting, fishing, ultimate-fighting, and personal training. I have been married to my wife Melissa for two years, and have no kids...yet?

CD: How long have you been into powerlifting?
RK: I have been powerlifting now for 6 years, lifting weights for 11.

CD: Have you always been strong?
RK: No! When I was a senior in high school my max bench was 211 at 175.

CD: Tell us about your childhood and how you got into powerlifting?
RK: Growing up in the 80's my Dad was a powerlifter, and I was a soccer player but went to some of my dads powerlifting meets. He also had a home gym in our house, and in the summer during summer vacation my friends and I would see who could lift the most weights. So that's how it began. But it was a local gym record board that set me into orbit. My local gym had a record board and the biggest bench was 380, and I wanted to beat that real bad, because of the guy who had it I didn't like very much. He was the gym strong guy and bragged about himself and no one could beat him. So a year later I beat him by 25 pounds and I was hooked..

CD: How did it feel benching 800 so easy?
RK: Well it was kind of easy because right before I benched 800, I had just done 783 and it flew up, and I remember before going out for the 800, I thought to myself "its only 17 more pounds" and I knew it was going up!

CD: Is the bench your favorite lift out of the three?
RK: yes
CD: I recently got into NHB and I heard your into UFC, how did you get into that?
RK: Started back in 93' saw my first UFC. and later in 99' I went to the Lions Den in Dallas Texas and got some hands on experience full contact action.

CD: How do you think you stack up against other benchers?
RK: Don't care, this is just a hobby for me and all around fun to just compete against other benchers.

CD: They say tall lifters have long arms. How do you compensate for having? long arms?
RK: Speed, I have a long travel, so I want to get to the end quickly. Working on my arch helps also.

CD: Do you believe with the arrival of professional powerlifting, that powerlifting is moving in the right direction?
RK: Yes, just as long as its run professionally.

CD: I've always preach about having training partners. Do you have any training partners?
RK: I have two training partners I train with.

CD: Who did you look up to when you were coming up as a powerlifter?
RK: Ken Lain

CD: Are you personal training anyone right now?
RK: Yes, I have five clients who are getting ready for competitions in Feb, and May at this time.

CD: What was one of the challenges of coming up as a powerlifter?
RK: Finding training partners who were as serious as me.

CD: What would you say to a novice lifter or to a lifter whose just starting out in powerlifting?
RK: This doesn't happen over night. What you put in is what you get out, you train, eat, sleep, supplement, and stay away from life's bad influences, you will prevail in the end, and become a world champion.

CD: Please tell us about your new book and where to get it.
RK: It will be out as soon as Monster Muscle finishes publishing it, they said Dec. 2002' but now more like Feb. You can get it through my web-site www.benchmonster.com or through Monster Muscle.

CD: Do you believe in training in the methods of Westside Barbell?
RK: Yes, but the golden rule is "everything works but nothing will work forever". I believe in everything, as long as i'm making gains.

CD: What are your workouts like? How are they setup?
RK: Speed bench on Tuesday, and heavy benching on Sat. If you want great detail buy the book "The Kennelly Method ".

CD: Do you train equally as hard on the bench and deadlift as you do on the squat?
RK: I don't deadlift at all heavy, just rep work with five hundred. I train hard and serious on the squat and bench though. Till I do a three lift meet, then I will hit them all with 110%.

CD: I talk to people all the time about how to get a big bench. What would you suggest to someone on how to get a big bench?
RK: Buy my book .

CD: As the ALL TIME MONSTER BENCHER...what's next for you?
RK: Pro wrestling?? I'll just keep going till my body says no more, but I don't see that happening soon, I'm only 28.

CD: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview. You are one of the many powerlifters I look up to with the upmost respect. It was a pleasure to this interview with you and I wish there were more like you in the sport. You truly are the one and only monster bencher!!!
RK: Thanx.

Until next time, stay big!!