There are usually two options when you run out of weight plates in the gym.
Call it a day, or find another exercise.
Egor Klimonov apparently decided there was a third: start attaching entire barbells to the bar instead.
The Russian weightlifter has produced one of the more unusual squat set-ups you’re likely to see, somehow turning a collection of gym equipment into a 260kg challenge.
In a video posted by Klimonov’s Instagram account, the weightlifter can be seen preparing for the squat with a set-up that looks more like something assembled during an engineering experiment than a conventional training session.
On one end of the main barbell, Klimonov has attached six separate 20kg barbells.
That’s 120kg hanging from one side without a weight plate in sight.
To counterbalance them, another 120kg in conventional weight plates has been loaded onto the opposite end of the main bar.
Add the 20kg main bar itself and the total comes to 260kg.
As if squatting that amount wasn’t difficult enough already.
Klimonov gets underneath the bizarre creation, takes the weight onto his back and proceeds to squat it, with the six additional bars extending out to one side.
It might look like somebody has emptied half the gym onto a single rack, but Klimonov is certainly no stranger to shifting serious weight.
The Russian has competed internationally in weightlifting, with results including victory in the men’s 94kg category at the 2017 Summer Universiade. He recorded a 383kg total at the competition, finishing one kilogram ahead of Kazakhstan’s Rustem Sybay.
His competition numbers give some context to why attempting a squat with six barbells hanging off one side perhaps doesn’t seem quite as outrageous to him as it does to everyone watching.
Klimonov’s weightlifting career has included some enormous lifts, with a 215kg clean and jerk recorded at the 2017 Universiade. He also won the 94kg category at the Russian Federation President’s Cup in 2014.
And unusual barbell challenges appear to be something of a recurring theme.
Previous footage attributed to Klimonov has circulated online showing similarly unconventional lifts, while an older article documented him finding another solution when conventional weights weren’t available for an overhead squat.
Most people faced with an empty weight rack would probably take it as a sign that the session was over.
Klimonov looked at six spare barbells and apparently saw another 120kg.
Featured image credit: egor_klimteam / Instagram
