Ryan Kennelly: The Road to the Arnold DVD review by Steve Buccilli Issued in 2005 by Critical Bench Ever since the spoken word passed down legendary events of the human race, men of strength have been envied and admired. From Samson and his ability to destroy armies, to the mythical lore of Hercules and his twelve impressive feats, or more recently the history of Ethan Allen and his fellow Green Mountain Boys, men such as these have inspired countless admirers and imitators over the years. In the history of iron sports we have had greats like Sandow and Grimek, Reeves and Viator, Anderson and Hatfield, Arcidi and Mendelson. Now we have Kennelly. Yes, that’s right: Ryan Kennelly can add his name to those prestigious athletes. Need proof? Get Ryan Kennelly’s Road to the Arnold, a DVD profiling benchpresser Ryan Kennelly’s personal journey to his powerlifting triumphs. The video has outstanding production qualities, due to the team at Ohio’s world-famous House of Pain Gym. The DVD starts with a time bomb counting down to detonation -- Kennelly’s analogy for his countdown to the Arnold. The first few minutes have a music video of Ryan and his team working out. The lighting and camera angles make for spectacular drama and effect. In the first real chapter of the video, we witness Kennelly working out in the gym. Let me note some of the rest of the DVDs highlights. Kennelly benches raw (with no bench press shirt) until he gets to about 600 lbs. in his workout -- this footage will get your heart pumping! Some interesting feats of strength you will witness include his 400-lb. benches for 20 reps, and 585 lbs. for three explosive reps, then 805-lb. board presses (with a shirt) for three to five reps. The man is impressive, and his physique is impressive too. He’s no fat, portly superheavy -- just big, round, hard muscle! Kennelly takes us to various meets where we see him open with 835 lbs., then bench an incredible 903! Not to mention his various warm-ups, which could easily be world records for anyone else. The Mendelson Classic meet is great to watch as well. Some entertaining bits in the DVD include a few scenes where we see Kenelly making a large post-workout shake, and hear him relate a conversation he had with a doctor who questions why he does what he does. Not to mention a strange scene in which he paints his fingernails black, and gets his eyes done up with mascara and liner. (I won’t challenge that one; the guy can do whatever it takes to lift half a ton!) This awesome powerlifting video offers wonderful insight into one of its leading champions. Kennelly will certainly go down in history as another legend, but we all know he ain’t done yet! November 2007
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