Interview with Adam Nelson

I recall hearing his squat was about 800 pounds, although again the number was not specific and it was not at all clear how deep the squat was performed, which is significant. 

I do know that Dylan's previous coach also said he was already one of the strongest people on the planet when he began training with Bondarchuk, and Bondarchuk himself described Dylan as having "plenty of natural strength."   I understand that since joining Bondarchuk's group, Dylan's focus has been on "special strength" and, obviously, technique.  However, as stated, he already had excellent "general strength" at that point.

Further to this point, I was speaking with someone who is familiar with the general outline of Dylan's training, which I thought might interest some people.  As many of you will know, Dlayan has trained under Bondarchuk for some time know and Bondarchuk's lifting programs are quite different than most, with an empahsis on frequency, volume and very moderate weights lifted very quickly.  Despite reading a couple of his books and numerous articles, it is not a system that I really understand, frankly.  

In any case, as one would guess from someone training under Dr. B., Dylan never does full squats or paused benches etc., focussing on half-squats, bounce benches, Olympic lift variations, and who knows what else.  With the understanding that Dylan was already extremely strong when he began training with Dr B., he very rarely lifts heavy now and rarely if ever maxes out, even on his key lifts.  I believe that when Dylan was just 19 or 20 years old, he could already Power Clean 185kg, Power Snatch 140kg, and bench about 500 lbs. However, I was told that in the year or so prior to the last Olympics, Dylan never benched with over 300 pounds.   Even if this was really 315, or 330, or 335, this is very interesting for a shot putter of his strength and calibre.  I have previously read a first-hand account of Dylan performing bounce benches with a pad for reps using 200kg some time after joining Dr. B., so I cannot say exactly what he does or when.  

One key difference between Dylan and most other rotational shot putters is that like Dr. B's hammer throwers, he incorporates a lot of light and heavy shots in his training, all the way from 5 or 6kg to 10 or 11kg.  In addition, he takes A LOT of throws each week.