Cooper went above and beyond with these laterals.
A general perusal of Ken Cooper’s competitive resume and social media platforms will make his Instagram display name “Gingercules” quite appropriate — a play on words concerning Cooper’s hair color and the famed Roman mythological hero Hercules, known for otherworldly strength. He lived as much as this public moniker again with a recent upper-body training accomplishment.
On Nov. 28, 2022, Cooper shared an Instagram clip of himself completing lateral raises with 100-pound dumbbells. Per the caption of his post, Cooper’s initial aim was to do 10 reps for a private record (PR), but an urging from his coach had the athlete complete a 13-rep PR as a substitute. Cooper’s lateral raise set may be much more impressive, considering he detailed that it got here near the top of an intensive overall shoulder workout.
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Cooper’s training updates today could hold more significance given what he’s endured health-wise. The athlete suffered a freak injury to each knees through the United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) West Coast Classic in October 2021, while going for a 337.5-kilogram (744-pound) back squat. He tore two tendons and 6 ligaments while needing a complete of 70 staples and was confined to a wheelchair for a part of his recovery.
Somewhat over a 12 months later, in October 2022, Cooper shared a video where he deadlifted 412.5 kilograms (909 kilos) raw. Its purpose was to seemingly commemorate all of the adversity he overcame on the anniversary of his unlucky injury. Now, because the 2022 calendar 12 months involves an end, Cooper appears to be back in the total swing of things, displaying various other powerful sample sizes of his leg strength — like a 310-kilogram (683-pound) raw deficit deadlift for six reps in mid-November 2022.
Knowing that, his recent dumbbell lateral raise PR might just be one other noteworthy footnote within the growing profession of a potentially dynamic lifter.
Regarding competitions, Cooper doesn’t have an intensive history, featuring in only a handful of profession contests on the time of this writing. He does, nonetheless, have enough of a top quality picture that illustrates how he could fare in the long run on sanctioned lifting platforms. Based on Open Powerlifting, Cooper won the 2022 USPA West Coast Classic event while competing raw and within the 140-kilogram weight class.
Here’s an outline of his top stats from the competition:
Ken Cooper | 2022 USPA West Coast Classic Top Stats
- Bench Press — 257.5 kilograms (567.7 kilos)
- Deadlift — 410 kilograms (903.9 kilos)
- Total — 667.5 kilograms (1,469.8 kilos)
*Note: Cooper didn’t squat on the competition.
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Along with his power and strength apparently returning back to a high level, a brilliant competitive outlook might be on the horizon for Cooper. No matter what happens next, what seems clear is that he won’t let an unexpected traumatic event stop him from aiming high along with his ambitions within the gym.
Featured image: @gingercules on Instagram