Kaden Kelly
Scottish Eastern Districts 2023
8/9 , 487.5kg @ U93kg Sub Junior
S: 155, 165, 175 (+5kg PB)
B: 110, 120, 127.5 ❌
D: 170,182.5,192.5 (+7.5kg PB)
Excellent performance from Kaden in his first competition and it’s been an amazing journey in just 13 weeks together.
When we first started working together Kaden definitely had great strength but was rough around the edges technique wise with some bad habits. He followed simple idea of ‘go in and keep trying to add more reps and weight’. Rightly so considering his age and he’d only been training since September 2021!
In 13 weeks we took him from:
- A very high 160kg Squat
- An awful 130 Touch and Go Bench
- A strapped and hitchy 180kg Deadlift
From that to where we are now is a testament to his ability to break old habits, leave his ego at the door and take on every bit of feedback, leading him to not only get much stronger but be a technically sound lifter.
Which is showed in the fact that every lift he did get had 3 white lights and no technical issues, bench 3rd was just strength on the day.
Huge credit to him as well because he had to get his weight down from 97 ish kg to weighing 91.8 on the day in a few weeks. This easily could’ve been used as an excuse for a bed prep, but he rolled with it and never used it as a crutch. It did seem to affect bench but it’s a lesson not to go that high again BW wise.
The future is huge for a kid totalling this much at only 17 years old in a proper competition. Next for us is bringing a whole different animal to Scottish Juniors later this year in September and looking at what we did in 3 months, I have no doubt this total is going to be smoked.
Scottish Junior Championships 2023
In Kadens second competition coming 6 months later after a more prolonged time working together, we expected a big PB total and that's exactly what we got.
S: 187.5 (+12.5kg)
B: 135kg (+15kg)
D: 195kg (+2.5kg)
7/9, 517.5kg (+30kg) @ U93 Sub Junior, 6th place in a stacked class.
This was a much smoother prep than Easterns earlier in the year, all whilst managing a back issue that had meant we had to play it safe with Deadlifts throughout the prep and on the day.
Even with that he just missed 200kg on the third down to grip which we had hit for a double in a month or so prior. Energy for Deeds was bit zapped from a big fight on bench where he missed 135kg on his second and then had the grind of his life to get it on his third (absolutely crazy scenes).
Regardless a 30kg PB total and clearing the 500kg milestone as a Sub Junior is exactly what we wanted.
In 10 months we got him from a 460kg gym total (not to competition standard) to 517.5kg (+57.5kg) on the platform. Amazing progress and a fantastic effort which he should be really proud of.
