Jeff Nippard is never afraid to face the prospect of failure in order to complete a worthwhile experiment, so when the Canadian powerlifter, bodybuilder, and evidence-based coach battled “The World’s Strongest IFBB Pro,” Larry Wheels, M&F were here for it. And the result? Despite their serious size difference, the outcome was closer than you might think.
As a self-professed lifetime natural bodybuilder, Jeff Nippard faced off against the newly crowned IFBB Pro, Larry Wheels =—a powerlifter in his own right who still holds a bench press record of 645-pounds in the 308-pound weight class. “Let’s see who’s stronger,” challenged Nippard in a viral video shared by the Canadian coach.
Jeff Nippard vs. Larry Wheels: The Rules
For this challenge, the guys agreed to make three lifts in total. Larry chose bench press as the first lift, opting to find out who could make the most reps of their bodyweight on a barbell. Nippard then decided on a bodyweight pullup, plus 45 pounds, for the second round. “Ooh that’s rough, but I’m in,” said Wheels, accepting the challenge. For the third and final round, Wheels went for strict curls to beast the biceps.
The Exercise Challenges and Results
Bench Press
Weighing-in at 265 pounds, Wheels had a humongous 100 pounds on Nippard, who clocked in at 165 pounds. “If I don’t get this one,” I don’t stand a chance, said Nippard prior to this lift, noting that this was the one he felt most comfortable with potentially winning. He completed 34 solid reps before reaching failure. Wheels then hit the bench, and it looked like he would call it a day at 34 reps too, but with Nippard’s enthusiastic encouragement, he eked out one more rep, winning the bench press round by just one.
Bodyweight Pullups + 45 Pounds (No straps)
“For the second challenge, I tried to use my lighter bodyweight to my advantage,” explained Nippard, who completed 10 reps. “I got my work cut out for me,” responded Wheels. Once again, Wheels appeared to be throwing in the towel as he reached the same number of reps as Nippard, but with some positive encouragement, pulled through with the pullups, squeezing out one more rep. This meant that he was now two rounds ahead, by just one rep in each round.
Strict Curl (90 Pounds)
Nippard found himself in uncomfortable territory with the 90 pounds of plates added to the barbell and was unable to lockout a single rep. This was more Larry’s Wheelhouse, however, and he completed two comfortable reps. “Larry’s just built different,” conceded Nippard.
The Winner: Larry Wheels, 3-0
This battle made for a great concept, and it would be awesome to see how more of the biggest stars in the strength and bodybuilding world’s fair when they compete against each other. While Nippard was on the losing end of this challenge, he weighed one hundred pounds less and was required to perform the same strict curl weight as Wheels. Perhaps
the scientist missed a trick here, because maybe they should have been curling a percentage of their own bodyweight. Wheels has also been open about his on/off relationship with PED’s, while Nippard is a lifetime natural athlete. On top of these factors, with Wheels going last in each round, he was able to get some motivation in terms of knowing how many reps to beat, and he was also getting some valuable encouragement from Nippard that was clearly helping him to move those last reps. Still, Wheels was the worthy winner here, and the two muscle men have no doubt started a trend of gym bros battling it out using this same concept at their local gyms.
To follow Jeff Nippard on Instagram, click here.
To follow Larry Wheels on Instagram, click here.
