With his freakish strength and muscular physique, Larry Wheels has captivated the fitness world in recent years. Known for deadlifting over 1,000 pounds and bench pressing 700+ at a bodyweight of around 300 pounds, Larry has accomplished feats of powerlifting strength that few can match.
Yet Larry didn't start out a hulking mass monster. He began as a skinny high school kid who became obsessed with getting bigger and stronger. Through meticulous dieting and smart, intensive training, Larry built one of the most impressive natural physiques in bodybuilding before later turning to the dark side of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone to take his stats to superhuman levels.
In this article, I'll break down Larry's training philosophy and methods. You'll learn how this world record holding powerlifter and bodybuilder structures his workouts, diet, and steroid cycles to maximize muscle growth and strength to levels required to compete at the top of both iron sports. While you may not have Larry's genetics, you can adapt his wisdom to make faster gains.
Larry Wheels Training Split
Most bodybuilders favor training splits that involve working each muscle group once per week. Powerlifters need more frequent and intense practice with the competition lifts - squat, bench press, and deadlift. As both a record holding powerlifter and a 300 pound bodybuilder, Larry uses a hybrid split to get the best of both worlds.
Larry trains 4 days per week on the following split:
- Day 1: Chest and Triceps
- Day 2: Back and Biceps
- Day 3: Legs
- Day 4: Shoulders
The quad-dominant leg workout gets its own day since Larry needs to constantly improve his colossal squat to keep setting powerlifting records. Letting his battered legs recover before the next session allows Larry to keep training with all-out intensity.
Larry Wheels Chest Workout
Larry starts every workout with his weakest body part - chest. He hits chest when he's most fresh to move the most weight and maximize growth.
Here's a typical heavy chest day for Larry:
- Flat Barbell Bench Press - 5 sets of 3-5 reps at 405-455 lbs
- Incline Dumbbell Bench Press - 4 sets of 6-10 reps
- Weighted Dips - 4 sets to failure with 45-90 lbs added
- Pec Deck Flys - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Dumbbell Pullovers - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Larry uses a progressive overload technique called linear periodization to continually lift heavier weight week after week. He'll work up to a daily max set of 3-5 reps on barbell bench, then back down the weight each subsequent set while increasing reps.
Once Larry reaches a weight where he can only get 3 quality reps, he'll try for a new 3-5 rep max the next chest workout. This gradual loading allows Larry to precisely stress his muscles to optimally adapt and grow.
Larry Wheels Back Workout
Larry's back workout focuses on deadlift-specific training with lots of heavy rowing variations. Here's his typical back shredder session:
- Bent Over Barbell Rows - 5 sets of 3-6 reps
- Weighted Wide Grip Pull Ups - 4 sets to failure
- Rack Pulls - 5 sets of 2-4 reps (just below the knee)
- Seated Cable Row - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Straight Arm Pushdown - 3 sets 12-15 reps
As a world record deadlifter, Larry's back can handle some truly massive weights. He goes heavy on bent rows and rack pulls to build brute strength off the floor when deadlifting. Higher rep cable rows bring the conditioning to keep his back thick and shredded.
Larry Wheels Shoulder Workout
While they don't get as much attention as the “big 3” lifts, Larry trains his delts with the same intensity:
- Seated Barbell Military Press - 5 sets of 5-8 reps
- Behind the Neck Barbell Press - 4 sets of 8-10 reps
- Machine Lateral Raises - 4 sets of 10-12 reps
- Reverse Pec Deck - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Dumbbell Shrugs - 3 sets to failure
Larry specifically targets the side and rear delts for complete shoulder development capable of pressing big weight overhead. Laterals and reverse flys strengthen his shoulders from multiple angles for joint health.
Larry Wheels Arm Workout
To complement his heavy pressing and rowing, Larry blitzes his arms with high volume at the end of his push and pull workouts:
Biceps:
- Barbell Curls - 4 sets of 6-10 reps
- Preacher Curls - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Cable Hammer Curls - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Triceps:
- Close Grip Bench Press - 4 sets of 6-10 reps
- Skullcrushers - 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Single Arm Cable Pulldowns - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
Larry uses abbreviated arm sessions to pump blood into his biceps and triceps without draining energy for the bigger lifts. By keeping the weight heavy and rest periods short, he can torch his arms in 20 minutes twice per week.
Legs like Larry Wheels
Larry's leg sessions are as intense as you'll find. With a competition best squat over 1,100 pounds, Larry's quads and glutes demand brutality to reach their genetic potential.
Larry's leg day destroyers include:
- Barbell Back Squat - work up to 2-4 rep daily max, then back down in weight
- Leg Press - 5 sets of 8-12 reps
- Romanian Deadlift - 5 sets of 3-5 reps
- Leg Extensions - 3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Seated Calf Raise - 5 sets to failure
Larry alternates between high bar and low bar back squats to train his legs through a full range of motion. He'll work up to a daily max set of 2-4 reps on squats, then reduce the weight each set for more reps.
On the leg press Larry goes for higher reps to bring the burn and swell his quads and glutes with blood flow. Romanian deadlifts target his hamstrings and glutes as prime movers to balance his quad development from heavy squatting. Calf raises finish his legs with high reps to bring out eye-popping vascularity.
Larry Wheels Cardio and Conditioning
With his lifting focus, Larry keeps his cardio minimal but strategic. He mainly relies on cardio to:
- Improve conditioning for higher training volumes
- Enhance fat burning to stay lean
- Allow for bigger eating in the offseason
Larry mainly sticks to low intensity cardio like walking on an incline treadmill at a moderate pace. He'll do 30-60 minutes of incline walking 5-6 days per week in the offseason to get lean and improve work capacity.
As contests approach, Larry adds in short, intense stair stepper intervals - 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off for 10-15 minutes. These HIIT bursts help rip him shred him up to reveal dense muscularity before stepping on stage.
Larry Wheels Diet
To fuel his elite status lifting and maintain 300 pounds of mass, Larry consumes a huge amount of clean food:
- Protein: 2 grams per pound of body weight or 600 grams daily
- Carbs: 800-1,000 grams per day
- Fats: Around 200 grams daily, mainly from fish oils, nuts, avocado
Larry splits his nutrition into 6-8 meals for steady nutrients and digestion. A typical day of eating for Larry includes:
- Breakfast - 8 egg whites, 2 whole eggs, oatmeal
- Post workout shake - 2 scoops whey protein, banana, granola
- Meal 2 - 8 oz chicken, 1 cup rice, veggies
- Meal 3 - 8 oz beef, 1 cup rice, veggies
- Meal 4 - 8 oz salmon, 1 cup rice, veggies
- Meal 5 - 8 oz steak, 1 cup rice, veggies
- Meal 6 - Casein protein shake, peanut butter
As a bodybuilder prepping for competition or photo shoots, Larry will carb cycle. He'll go as low as 400 grams of carbs on rest days while keeping protein sky high at 2 grams per pound of body weight.
Larry's Nutrient Timing Strategies
To maximize muscle growth, Larry uses a few key nutrient timing strategies:
- Pre-Workout: 30-50 grams of whey protein, 30 grams carbs, 5 grams creatine
- Intra-Workout: 60 grams of highly branched cyclic dextrin (during workouts over 60 minutes)
- Post Workout: 60 gram whey, 80 gram dextrose (high GI carb)
By getting quick digesting protein and carbs during and after training, Larry nourishes his muscles to speed up recovery. He'll also occasionally use essential amino acids (EAA's) pre and intra workout formaximum anabolic signaling.
When building strength in the off-season, Larry goes into an anabolic state by eating every 2-3 hours. During fat loss phases, he lengthens the fasting window to 4-5 hours between meals.
Larry Wheels Supplement Stack
Larry keeps his core supplement stack simple yet highly effective:
- Whey Protein Isolate
- Casein Protein
- Creatine Monohydrate - 5 grams per day
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin C
- Glutamine - 10 grams per day
- Branched Chain Amino Acids
- Fish Oil - 2-5 grams combined EPA/DHA daily
To enhance recovery, Larry mega-doses 5 grams of creatine daily to keep his muscles fully saturated. He also takes 10 grams of glutamine and 10-20 grams of BCAA's during workouts for increased strength and hypertrophy.
Conclusion
There you have it - a complete guide to training like Larry Wheels. By adopting his smart exercise selection, technique mastery, progressive overload, and measured supplementation you can build muscle and strength well beyond genetic limits.
Just don't forget that Larry's routine also includes plenty of anabolic steroids like testosterone, trenbolone, dianabol, and human growth hormone. While Larry's training is world class, his pharmacology stacks the deck even higher.
Focus on nailing the principles of hard, consistent training and sound nutrition. Add in advanced techniques over time as your body adapts to build a physique strong enough to get attention anywhere.
