Wheels started 2023 with a bang.
Larry “Wheels” Williams has never been one to shy away from sharing his ambitious goals. Of late, the powerlifter/strongman/influencer extraordinaire has been on a fresh training journey while using Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). As he neared a “mock” powerlifting meet of one-rep maxes for competitive lifts like the bench press and squat, Wheels shared the latest update on his ongoing strength progress.
On Jan 2. 2023, Wheels posted a video to his Instagram of himself completing a 360-kilogram (793.6-pound) raw deadlift while barefoot and wearing a lifting belt. Per the caption of Wheels’ post, it’s his heaviest pull while using TRT and is also one of his final steps before the mock meet, of which the precise date is undisclosed. Wheels noted that he had a bodyweight of 255 pounds for the pull. (Note: Wheels writes that the deadlift is 795 pounds, but that may have been an errant typo).
Wheels’ fitness and strength journey since late summer 2022 has been primarily marked by noticeable progress with his lifts while on TRT.
Before notching his heaviest-ever pull while using TRT, Wheels previously squatted 224.5 kilograms (495 pounds) raw for 15 reps in a September 2022 AMRAP attempt. Then, in late November 2022, Wheels was able to squat 305 kilograms (672.4 pounds) raw for six reps. As for his bench progress, Wheels posted late December 2022 videos where the athlete completed a raw 230-kilogram (507-pound) bench press and a (252.6-kilogram) 557-pound bench press with wraps.
Another additional effect of Wheels’ status on TRT is that he has lost a significant amount of weight. The athlete has yet to make clear how much he’s cut his body weight down. For some context, according to Open Powerlifting, Wheels competed in the 140-kilogram weight class during his last powerlifting contest in the 2020 Extreme Powerlifting Coalition (XPC) Arnold and weighed in for that contest at 283.6 pounds. He has since lost roughly 10% of his previous body weight.
After the holiday season and in the new year, many athletes might only be starting to figure out their long-term goals for a complete, clean-slate calendar of events. That doesn’t appear to be the case for Wheels, who has hit the year 2023 on the ground running. Whenever he does finish his mock powerlifting meet, it seems clear Wheels will continue to charge full steam ahead with whatever’s next on his to-lift list.
Featured image: @larrywheels on Instagram
