Legend of Physical Culture: Don Reinhoudt

Don Reinhoudt

What can I say about this man? Pretty much his records speak for themselves. He currently holds the highest raw (without the use of squat suits or bench shirts) powerlifting total (combination of your bench press, deadlift, and squat) in history. He made this historic total in 1975 with a bench press of 610 lbs, squat of 931 lbs, and a deadlift of 850 lbs. He is the only man to win the International Powerlifting Federation's World Superheavyweight Championship 4 years in a row. He set and broke over 40 powerlifting records during his lifting career and still holds the record for the highest raw squat without knee wraps of 934 lbs. 

To really add to his legendary status he also was the 1979 Worlds Strongest Man champion, as well as a runner up in the 1978 championship. In 1979 he beat out a young Bill Kazmaier, a man who would go on to win the competition 3 years in a row. He competed in the 1980 event but suffered a career ending bicep and hamstring tear during one of the early events. 

Big Don Getting Ready For A Big Bench Press

Born in Brocton, New York in 1945 Don was a standout basketball player, football player, and shot putter at Fredonia High School. He started lifting weights at age 18 while attending college. Initially he competed in weightlifting before switching over to powerlifting in 1969. Despite his imposing stature (being 6'3" and competing at 375 lbs.) Big Don was one of the kindest people you would ever meet. 

I believe this photo was taken during a car lift competition at the WSM

One of the things I find most interesting about Big Don is that his coach and training partner were the same person, his wife. This is taken from an article written by Terry Todd in 1978-

"And while I'm on the subject of the various things which helped big Don set 20 world records and dominate the superheavies for the last four years, I want to be sure to give the proper credit where credit is due, because he didn't do it alone. He couldn't have done it without his coach. He couldn't have done it without his longtime training partner, and he couldn't have done it without his masseuse. Fortunately for Don and fortunately for lifting, his wife not only isn't jealous of these close relationships, she couldn't be jealous of them because they were with her. You see, Don's wife coaches him, lifts with him, and when she has a couple of hours to kill, rubs him down. (Rubbing him down would be rather like painting the Titanic, I'd imagine.)

For years, Don and Cindy have trained together, coaching one another in their basement gym as well as on the platforms of the world in international competition. In my time I've seen many close personal relationships in lifting, but I've never seen one as close as theirs."

My wife, Missy, and I have been training together since November of 2011. She has been by far the best training partner and now coach that I have ever had. I rely on her feedback constantly to let me know if I am heading in the right direction. I know that I can trust her judgment and I also know that I can rely on her to be consistent in training. 

Here is what I could glean about Big Don's training style. He trained four main sessions a week, 2 for his lower body (squat and deadlift) and 2 for his upper body (bench press). This is quite common among powerlifters allowing for one heavy and one light training session a week for each of the main lifts. Unusual for a powerlifter, he almost always wore straps when deadlifting and never trained his grip separately. Like most powerlifters in his day he would run through 12 week cycles, starting with lower weights and working up to higher weights. He is an example of how he cycled his squats and deadlifts in the five weeks leading up to one meet. 

First Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
805 x 3
865 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
805 x 3


Second Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
810 x 3
875 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
810 x 3


Third Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
815 x 3
885 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
820 x 1


Fourth Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
820 x 3
900 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
860 x 1


Fifth Week:
Squat -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x2
760 x 2
825 x 3
920 x 1

Deadlift -
245 x 5
445 x 2
645 x 2
760 x 2
880 x 1

I really admire this man a lot. It says something when you hold a record for almost 40 years. Raw powerlifting in gaining in popularity so I am sure at some point his record might fall but there will never be another Big Don. A true legend and all around great guy. Still very active in helping out the strength community.