The First 1000 Pound Squat

Prior to 1984, nobody had ever squatted 1000 pounds, but Lee Moran changed all of that on his third attempt at the USPF Senior Nationals.

That's what the record books remember, however those same record books won't show you what happened on his first 2 attempts. On his first attempt, he let his chest fall a tad bit and rolled the bar over his neck and head... knocking himself out cold. On his second attempt, it became apparent that nobody had ever squatted 1000 pounds before, so barbells weren't really made to accommodate 1000 pounds. The plates and the clips could barely fit on the sleeves, one of the clips slipped off and off went all the plates on that side, sending the barbell and other half of the plates flying off in the other direction... almost knocking everybody else out cold.

We are all guilty of looking at the Pandoras, Dropboxes and 1000-pound squatters of this world, and seeing the end result, while completely missing the sleepless nights, lawsuits, and knockouts. If you want to change the world or squat 1000(well now 1400) pounds, be aware that you may encounter short barbells or be seeing stars along the way.