In each new year, with roughly 12 months as their proverbial ball of training clay, some athletes prefer to take their time and ease into potential lofty goals. Such a sentiment would not apply to the young Jacob Green, who hit the ground running in 2023 with a recent staggering strength feat.
On Jan. 8, 2023, Green posted a video to his Instagram profile where he captured a 254.9-kilogram (562-pound) back squat with knee wraps. Per the caption of his post, the successful lift is an all-time personal record (PR). In addition to his knee wraps, Green utilized a lifting belt to help him attain the PR. Green also performed the squat with a slow and deliberate three-second eccentric, or descending phase. It is not clear what Green’s body weight was at the time of the lift, though he most recently competed in the 100-kilogram (220-pound) weight class in May 2022.
A USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Juniors powerlifter of late, Green crushing it in the squat rack and throughout the gym is nothing new for this youthful dynamo. In fact, it’s in line with stellar precedence for a growing phenom.
Only two days after logging this one-rep max squat PR, Green shared a clip of himself finishing a 234.9-kilogram (518-pound) squat for a five-rep PR. When it comes to leg endurance, Green doesn’t appear to be a slouch, either. He captured a 200-kilogram (441-pound) squat AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) for 12 reps in November 2022. He had notably entered that session with a goal of finishing nine reps, but the weight on his stacked barbell “felt too easy,” so he proceeded to push himself further.
Approximately two weeks before showing off the newfound torque in his piston legs on the one-rep max, Green capped a 176.4-kilogram (385-pound) bench press for a three-rep PR in late December 2022. That specific lift apparently came as a moment of small redemption. He wrote that previously failing on a similar third rep in August 2022 was “out of character.” Naturally, coming back to the same weight and same setup and successfully pushing through on this occasion was a quality way for the athlete to “redeem” himself.
Green’s competitive history is a little all over the place as an athlete who has shifted weight classes and divisions while he’s matured in recent years. Per Open Powerlifting, he doesn’t appear to be a competitor loading his calendar with a cadre of events on a yearly basis. That said, his most recent appearance was a win in the 2022 USAPL Virginia Open State Championships in the Teenage division and 100-kilogram (220-pound) weight class.
With almost an entire year’s worth of time ahead of him, Green is free to make 2023 a tentpole moment in his strength career at a comfortable pace. Based on his start to the new year, he should have plenty to celebrate by New Year’s Eve this coming December.
Featured image: @j.g._kg on Instagram
