Competition in the 85s

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Kendrick Farris is America’s star lifter. He’s won four Senior National Championships, placed 8th in the 2008 Olympic games, placed 12th in the Senior World Championships, and won a gold medal at the Senior Pan American Championships. He holds the American record in the clean and jerk (203kg) and the American record in the total (362kg) — all in the 85kg weight class. But…is that enough to take on the world?

There are two lifters in particular with existing international track records that currently stand in Kendrick’s way; Andrei Rybakou and Lu Yong (surnames come first in most Asian cultures…according to Brent). Rybakou has been called a “specialist” in the snatch as he has snatched an amazing world record 187kg (remember, he is an 85kg lifter). He also is tied in the world record with Lu Yong in the total with 394kg. Rybakou has won the 2006 European Championships, the 2006-07 World Championships, and won a silver medal at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Here is the video of Rybakou breaking his own World Record in the snatch with a 187kg lift (go to 4:10 in the vid):



Lu Yong has a similarly impressive list of accomplishments. He won a silver medal at the Asian Games, a silver medal at the 2005 World Championships, a gold medal at the 2009 World Championships, and most important of all…a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. He won it in a battle against Rybakou, who was a pubic hair away from winning gold. Lu Yong had to hit a lift to tie his total (he was at a lighter bodyweight and would win the tie), and he did so on his second clean and jerk. However, the jury reversed the decision because of a pressout, and he came back on the third attempt to hit the lift for the gold — quite impressive. Here’s the video — the whole thing is very good, but if you just want to see the final lift, go to 4:10 for Lu Yong’s second attempt, and then 7:50 for the third:



Lu Yong matched Rybakou’s total, but since Rybakou made the total first, he maintains the world record until someone else beats it.

As you see, these 85kg lifters are very good. I don’t know if they have room to improve on their current total — Rybakou needs to improve his jerk to become an Olympic champion, and Lu Yong needs to stay one step ahead. Kendrick Farris has snatched 160kg (at the 2008 Olympics) and clean and jerked 203kg (at this year’s Pan-Ams). Kendrick is a very good with the clean and jerk as he has hit 211 in training, and has cleaned and just misses the jerk forward at 218.



There have been whispers of Kendrick setting a World Record in the clean and jerk (which is 218kg in the 85kg class), but even if he were to do so, he’ll need to improve his snatch significantly before the Olympic games in London. Going 170/220 would still only yield a 390 total. I hope he does, and I’m rooting for him more than ever. He’s got quite the task ahead of him, so let’s stay behind him (well, at least us Americans) as he prepares for 2012.

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24 thoughts on “Competition in the 85s”

  1. Ahh dude, I love these weightlifting posts Justin–gets my day started right.

    I have a question about building an oly platform, but first some background: I’m on a tiny desert island in the Arabian Gulf called Bahrain. Only celeb fit and bodybuilding gyms here so I’ve converted my apartment gym–bought a power rack, rings for dips, bands, some extra plates, etc. Now I’m accumulating plywood and hopefully grabbing horse stall mats in the next few weeks. Problem is my gym is on the 4th floor.

    Is it possible to build a simple platform which can protect the floor well enough when I’m dropping weight from overhead? I’m assuming the building is structurally sound and that a heavy barbell drop from overhead won’t send me crashing to the floors below. Also, I’m not worried about the sound as I can train when the building is mostly empty. Plates are rubberized but not bumpers.

    Max C&J is 90 kg right now so the weight I’m handling isn’t so heavy, but I’ve been training without ever being able to drop weights.

    Anybody have experience with oly lifting above ground level?

    —–
    Michael McKenna (Vision Fitness) answered a very similar question.

    It depends on the building and the weights being used. We trained in a warehouse in Baltimore for two years and then cracks were found in the basement columns and we had to stop. We trained on platforms made of 2x4s, 2x6s, plywood, and rubber.

    Of course, if your clients aren’t going to use more than 50-70 kilos, I think it would be alright.

    In New York, we dropped off a platform at a fitness place and when the weights were dropped on the seventh floor, you could feel vibrations down on the second. Honestly, it depends on the building and the weights being used.

    However, sound dampening can work. use carpet under the platform, some indoor outdoor stuff. And use composite rubber bumpers on composite rubber, like what Werksan has (they sell ti separately) or at http://www.rubbercal.com. Rubbercal has these 2.5 inch thick playground tiles. I use them for stone lifting; I drop my 330 pound stones on them and they bounce with no bad effects.

    -Gant

    If you don’t have bumpers, you’re in a pickle.

    –Justin

  2. The battle between lu yong and rybakou was an awesome drama.

    I think, Justin, you have left out another character in this battle for gold.

    And that is ‘Random Chinese Guy’, he’ll probably sprout from nowhere, perhaps have appeared in the chinese nationals once. Then promptly disappear.

    ‘RandomChineseGuy’ will probably also come very close or will break all records too.

    The current 85kg C&J record is held by the last ‘Random Chinese Guy’ – Zhang Yong

    In the 77kg division, RandomChineseGuy recently made an appearance:

    and came close to breaking one of my fav lifters records – Oleg perepetchenov (check him out).

    If there was a “post of the week” award, this would win. I think we’ll start it this week. Can anybody beat it?

    –Justin

  3. off topic, but Justin, I think the 70sBig RSS feed is not working. It doesnt update on my blackbery and it doesn’t work on my computer. Anyone else having this issue?

    I’ll look into it, thanks.

    –Justin

  8. If Kendrick or some other American could win a medal – ANY medal – it would be a major victory for the US weightlifting program. It so happens that Kendrick has by far the best shot of making it happen. Maybe Patrick Judge could be somewhere close someday, too, but he’s far behind the Europeans at this point.

  15. Is that THE Kendrick Farris posting here on 70’sbig!?!? You are a beast man, watching your videos gets me pumped before training!

    Keep up the hard work, we are all pulling for ya!

  17. thx Gant and Justin for the input–can’t inexpensively acquire bumpers here–it looks like i need to just be patient about training for weightlifting and get as strong as possible in the meantime.

  18. this may be completely wrong and a little gay on my part but mr. farris seems to have relatively decent chest development for his build, weight and height. does he bench or is it a biproduct of some assistance he does?

    that was just a weird observation lol anyways you are a freaking machine kendrick keep it up.

  19. @theonidas

    Mark Cannella, Meet Director for the Arnold Classic, did a 6-month tour in Iraq, and he built a platform in Baghdad that’s still there today (2 years later). I’ve heard the guys have recently added a second platform because it’s been so popular. E-mail me at editor@strengthplusmagazine.com, and I can give you more info about how he found the materials “over there.”

    Also, Bahrain has a military gym, right? They should be more than willing to put in an Olympic lifting platform. In fact, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Juan Garcia, is a fan of Strength+ and Olympic Lifting in general (esp. since my own mom is a Commander in the Navy and might be sent to Bahrain for a year.). It would only take a phone call to have the right equipment installed.

    Let me know,
    Rachel

  20. @maddog6

    Here’s a sample week workout for Kendrick. It’s his high endurance phase, so he would do this workout to build strength before he goes into a competitiion prep phase (16 weeks out from a competition.)

    The workout can also be found in the May/June Issue of Strength+

    A Week in the Gym with
    Kendrick Farris

    USA WEIGHTLIFTING DEVELOPMENT CENTER
    at Louisiana State University in Shreveport
    Head Coach: Kyle Pierce
    HIGH INTENSITY ENDURANCE PHASE

    MONDAY
    1. Push Press – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    2. Back Squat – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    3. Snatch Grip Push Press – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    4. Dumbbell Military Press – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    5. Bench Press – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    6. Triceps – 3X10 AHAP
    7. Weighted Abs

    TUESDAY
    1. Muscle Snatch – 5RM, -5%, -10%
    2. Snatch Dead Lift – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    3. Cajun Dead Lift – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    4. Snatch Grip Shrug – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    5. Bent Over Rows – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    6. Pull Ups – 3X10 AHAP
    7. Weighted Abs

    WEDNESDAY
    1. Push Press – 3-5×10 @10% less than Monday
    2. Back Squat – 3-5×10 @10% less than Monday
    3. Snatch Grip Push Press – 3-5×10 @10% less than Monday
    4. Dumbbell Military Press – 3-5×10 @10% less than Monday
    5. Bench Press – 3-5×10 @10% less than Monday
    6. Triceps – 3X10 AHAP
    7. Weighted Abs

    THURSDAY
    1. Muscle Snatch or Clean High Pull from Thigh – 5RM, -5%, -10%
    2. Clean Dead Lift – 10RM, -5%, -10%
    3. Cajun Dead Lift – 5×10 @ 10% Less than Tuesday
    4. Clean Grip Shrug – 5RM, -5%, -10%
    5. Bent Over Rows – 5×10 @ 10% Less than Tuesday
    6. Pull Ups – 3X10 AHAP
    7. Weighted Abs

    FRIDAY & SUNDAY
    REST DAYS

    SATURDAY
    1. Snatch – 12-18 reps @ 75-85%
    2. Clean & Jerk – 12 reps @75-85%

    http://www.strengthplusmagazine.com

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