As the first man ever to break the 2100-pound barrier (2160) in the 220-pound class, Joe Ladnier rocketed to the top of powerlifting world more than 30 years ago. A teenage marvel and later a renowned open powerlifter, Ladnier was immense—literally and figuratively. He also is one of the few elite level powerlifters who successfully competed in bodybuilding at a relatively high level. His best numbers include a 953 squat, 600 raw bench at 231 pounds (771 in multi-ply) and a 788 deadlift, as well as a 2000-pound raw total.
Amazingly, Ladnier has been squatting 800-plus pounds, benching over 500 pounds and deadlifting at least 700 pounds for almost 35 years consecutively.
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Ladnier got started in powerlifting largely by accident. He was an athlete during his school years, participating in baseball, football, track and even skateboarding. He added, “I started running track and playing baseball, did a little gymnastics and played football in high school. And by the end of my senior year of high school, I had already won two teenage nationals. Louisiana Tech even offered me a partial football scholarship so that I could lift on their team. I ended up turning it down and decided to attend junior college and train for the men's senior nationals in Dayton, Ohio 1982, I was only eighteen years old.”
Ladnier used to use some basic exercise equipment in the school gym on occasion but didn’t get into powerlifting until a neighboring high school held a meet. Encouraged to participate by his coach, Ladnier wasn’t even sure what each of the movements were until he was actually at the meet.
He said, “I got to the powerlifting meet and coach says, ‘I’ve got you squatting at 350. Can you do it?’ I was about 162 pounds at the time and I had never been around free weights at all. So I said, ‘I don’t know, coach, what’s a squat?’”
He went on to complete the squat, though he said it wasn’t pretty (actually, it was the most horrendous good morning you’ve ever seen, Ladnier joked). He also successfully benched and deadlifted at that meet, though he admitted he only really enjoyed the bench press.
Shortly after, Ladnier was walking by a local health spa where some of the local powerlifters he had met at the meet trained. When he walked in and heard the weights clanging, he immediately felt like he was home. And it was then he decided to get serious about powerlifting.
“Back then, we squatted twice a week, benched three times a week and deadlifted once a week,” Ladnier explained. “The first three years we basically just did different variations of the three power lifts and trained in the back of a health spa until we got kicked out and ended up training in a friend’s garage. We always did a progressive overload pyramid, and, even though I’ve tried other methods over the years, none ever produced as good of results as my original program.”
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Still a teenager at the time, Ladnier trained and competed in his home state of Mississippi while attending junior college and working at a local shipyard. But he wanted a way out. And so when he met Larry Pacifico at a meet in 1982 and he invited Ladnier to work at his gym and train with him, he jumped at the chance.
For a few years, Ladnier worked and trained near Dayton, Ohio. It was during that time that he came in second at the 1983 IPF Worlds—one of his most trying moments in powerlifting. He had two deadlifts left and on the advice of his trainers, he went for a 744 pull. He missed both of his attempts and ended up tying the legendary Fred Hatfield for the highest total in his weight class. But since Hatfield was a quarter pound lighter than Ladnier, he ended up getting second place.
But he also had many wins during that time period. He won the 1983 Senior Nationals and broke men’s world records and teenage world records. Some of his teenage world records are even still intact today. And while his powerlifting career has been full of ups and downs, his proudest moment wouldn’t come until years after that frustrating loss.
“Some of my best training, as well as most memorable time, was back when I lived in Ohio,” he recalled. “Once I was about to do a big PR triple with something like 850 and after wrapping my own knees, Pacifico helped me up and as I was walking towards the bar, he turned and slapped me in the face. I forgot all about the weights and chased him around the gym, fully wrapped, squat suit and belted!”
He added, “My trip to Hawaii in 1984, however, was one of the most unforgettable, when I shared a room with the great Ted Arcidi. One day I came into our room on the 10th floor of the Dynasty Hotel and Ted was at the window with several cartons of eggs, throwing them at people standing at the bus stop below. Another time, Lee Moran, Ted, Dave Waddington and myself were hanging out around the pool at the Waikiki Sheraton and noticed a very attractive blonde down by the pool. As we approached her, she started bad mouthing powerlifters, claiming her husband was a world champion wrestler and how much stronger and better he was than any of us. At that moment, Ted picked her up (while she was still sitting in her chair) and threw her in the pool. A few minutes later, Ric Flair walked up and just laughing about the entire incident.”
Ladnier also shared another interesting moment from the Hawaii meet: “I was handing off to Ted when he was attempting to break Bill Kazmaier’s raw bench record (661) with a 666 attempt. He missed his first two when someone was giving him a snort of some unknown (probably highly questionable) substance. On his third attempt, I jammed a bottle of nose torque up his nose and he smashed 666 breaking Bill’s record! Right after, he got up off the bench, threw a chair off the balcony of the 4th floor of the meet (landing in the middle of the highway below), then ran and put his head through the wall.”
He added, “A few other things that stand out: Bill Kazmaier carrying me on his shoulder, walking around the city like I was a little puppet at the ’83 Worlds in Sweden. And, the 1984 USPF Seniors. I was standing right in front of Lee Moran when he was squatting and dumped 953 over his head, biting clear through his tongue and knocking himself unconscious. Incredibly, he then took it again and absolutely smoked it.
“For his third, he went to 1003 (the bars were much shorter back then and that’s all they could fit). One of the collars popped off and plates started flying. But because it was a loading error, they gave him a 4th attempt and he smashed it, making history!”
After his stay in Ohio and traveling the world competing, Ladnier spent time working and training in Georgia and Florida. He started working in law enforcement, got married and started a family. At that time, powerlifting started to take more of a backseat. He also experienced a major injury, tearing his right patella tendon during a training session, which halted his powerlifting career for quite some time.
During this period (in his early 20s), he took the opportunity to try out bodybuilding as well. But, it wasn’t until he was in his 40s that he gave bodybuilding 100 percent. At age 45, and after a dehydration related health scare and an unfair judging process, Ladnier was already not thrilled with the process. Then at an event, one of the other participants had a heart attack and died in his sleep at the hotel. And that made him reevaluate if he really wanted to try so hard for a trophy anymore.
“I was done. I said I would never step on a stage again. And that’s when I started powerlifting again,” said Ladnier.
At this point, Ladnier was in his 40s and working in construction. But that didn’t stop him from reaching one of his proudest moment in powerlifting. In 2004, Ladnier and his 14-year-old daughter won the WPC Worlds together. His daughter won in the morning, setting six world records in the process. And Ladnier won in the afternoon.
After that meet, Ladnier’s daughter told him that she didn’t really care for powerlifting, and just did the meet for him. But it was still a memory that he won’t ever forget. And it might be one that he could still have one day with his son as well, since he recently decided to get back into powerlifting, training with his dad and choosing to train and compete without gear.
Ladnier and his son still train and compete raw to this day. And he also runs a gym in Mississippi with his wife, where he enjoys helping others through training. In addition, he and his wife have a number of children and grandchildren between them.
For Joe Ladnier, the world of powerlifting has been comprised of many highs and many lows. There have been victories, defeats, world records, injuries, and countless memories that have helped to shape the person he is today.
Though he doesn’t compete at the same level he once did, he’s still breaking records and remaining competitive in his age group. And with his family by his side, he’s not planning on stopping anytime soon.
#onerepforfred.