We Trained With the World's Strongest 165 LB Man

Name: We Trained With the World's Strongest 165 LB Man
Uploaded: 2026-06-01T16:00:19.000Z
Duration: 23 min 21 s
Channel: Renaissance Periodization

Renaissance PeriodizationJune 1, 202623m

Topics18

Austin Perkins' Powerlifting Stats0:00 Background and Early Sports0:33 Height and Football Dreams1:32 High School Experience and Motivation2:00 Pull-up Technique and Performance3:00 Early Lifting Experience4:30 Training Approach in High School5:00 Machine Stack Test - Chest Press6:00 Drug-Free Status and College Years7:33 Meeting His Wife and Structured Training8:30 Lateral Raise Test9:00 Skepticism About Drug-Free Status11:01 Nutrition and Recovery12:30 Preacher Curl Machine Test14:01 Cable Tricep Pushdown Test15:31 Philosophy on Being the Best18:31 Sheffield Competition Experience19:30 Future Goals and Legacy21:01

In a Nutshell

At 163 pounds, Austin Perkins has elite powerlifting totals of 750/450/755 pounds and demonstrates exceptional strength-to-weight ratios across machine tests like 25 pull-ups, 21 strict lateral raises, and full-stack cable pushdowns. Despite early setbacks including being told he'd never succeed due to his 5'4" frame and abandoning NFL dreams, he transformed from unstructured high school training and poor college habits into a world champion after meeting his wife at age 22. His core message emphasizes that consistent structured training, recovery focus, and determination enable smaller athletes to achieve world-class results and inspire others.

AI-Generated Notes

These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.

At 163 pounds, Austin Perkins has a 750-pound squat, 450-pound bench press, and 755-pound deadlift. The discussion focuses on how these powerlifting numbers translate to performance on standard gym machines.

Perkins participated in multiple sports growing up including soccer, flag football, baseball, tackle football, and basketball. His father enrolled him in these activities as soon as he was eligible. He entered powerlifting primarily to improve his football performance, with aspirations of playing in the NFL.

Perkins is 5'4" tall. He stopped growing height-wise in ninth grade around age 14-15. This ended his NFL aspirations, as professional sports favor larger athletes. He was frequently told he was too small to succeed in sports.

During high school at age 16, Perkins witnessed another student (now in the NFL) being interviewed after practice. A teammate told him directly that he would never achieve similar success, stating "I don't know why you're looking. That's never going to be you one day." This moment remains a driving force for Perkins, motivating him to demonstrate that smaller athletes can excel in powerlifting.

Pull-up technique requires chin to reach hand position at the bar, with a dead hang at full extension at the bottom of each rep. Perkins predicted he would complete a minimum of 20 pull-ups. He performed 25 full range-of-motion pull-ups, tying with another competitor who had done 25 earlier.

Perkins' first conventional deadlift was 225 pounds at 100 pounds bodyweight - double bodyweight. His initial squat was approximately 135-140 pounds. He does not remember his first bench press weight but estimates it was under 135 pounds.

From ages 12-18, Perkins was not on a structured powerlifting program. He attempted to deadlift and squat 600 pounds daily without following any program. He never benched during this period, only benching on meet days, because he believed it was better to maximize his stronger lifts rather than prioritize his weaker bench press.

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We Trained With the World's Strongest 165 LB Man

Austin Perkins' Powerlifting Stats00:00

Background and Early Sports00:33

Height and Football Dreams01:32

High School Experience and Motivation02:00

Pull-up Technique and Performance03:00

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