1. “Plate-Police” & Strength-Forum Contrarians
Kim’s lift detonated long-running debates about whether extreme partials “count.”
- Starting Strength forum posters argue that overloaded rack pulls often fail to transfer to a full deadlift and can become “ego lifts” if volume and form aren’t tightly controlled.
- Mark Rippetoe doubles down in his programming essay, calling rack pulls a tool, not a trophy, and warning novices that abusing them “teaches nothing but bad timing.”
- A second Rippetoe article on assistance lifts expands the critique, labeling all supra-max partials “poor substitutes” for full-range strength unless paired with disciplined progression.
- Reddit’s r/Strongman threads compare Kim’s height-on-pins to the 18-inch “silver-dollar” deadlift, noting that leverages make 500 kg+ locks feasible but far less predictive of competition totals.
Why it matters
These voices inject a pragmatic brake on viral euphoria, reminding lifters that context and carry-over—not just raw tonnage—determine real-world strength dividends.
2. Coach-Tech Crowd: Risk-Reward Re-Examination
Practical coaches and biomechanics nerds dissect the spinal math behind a four-figure barbell.
- Athlean-X cautions that above-knee rack pulls tempt lifters to let the shoulders round and the lower back hyper-extend, urging lighter loads or lower pin settings to keep scapulae retracted.
- Legion Athletics defends high rack pulls for trap density but stresses that connective-tissue recovery, not muscular fatigue, becomes the limiting factor at supra-max loads.
- A 2024 PubMed narrative review on deadlift biomechanics shows lumbar compression and shear forces climb sharply when range of motion is shortened yet load explodes—fuel for the “is it worth it?” debate.
- Rippetoe’s guide to strap usage admits that pulling “more than your unassisted grip can hold” is legitimate overload, provided the lifter respects volume ceilings and keeps reps crisp.
Why it matters
Their consensus: use the move surgically—for neural overload or upper-back density—then step away before the discs scream.
3. Comparative Records & Strongman Cross-Talk
Kim’s number forces even seasoned strongmen to recalibrate the record books.
- BarBend highlights Oleksii Novikov’s 550 kg 18-inch deadlift to show that partial pulls north of 500 kg already exist—just rarely at lightweight body-weights.
- The same outlet spotlights Mitchell Hooper’s 505 kg double as proof that elite strongmen use partials as CNS primers before chasing full-range world records.
- BarBend’s “Heaviest Deadlifts of All Time” database notes separate categories for full-range, long-bar, tire, and partial variants—implicitly validating Kim’s feat as its own discipline.
- Grinder Gym’s explainer on the silver-dollar lift traces the event’s origins to crates of coins, illustrating how elevated pulls have always lived in a gray zone between sport and spectacle.
- Breaking Muscle’s recap of Sean Hayes’ 560 kg silver-dollar world record reminds readers that crowd-pleasing partials still belong on separate leaderboards.
Why it matters
Kim’s light-body-weight magnitude collides with heavy-weight strongman numbers, re-igniting the eternal “apples vs. oranges” record discourse.
4. Culture-Jammers & Meme-Economists
The crypto-sphere and soc-med shit-posters frame the lift as a financial metaphor.
- A Reddit “Cryptoons” post declares Kim “2× LONG $MSTR in human form”, turning the rack pull into a leverage meme for Bitcoin bulls.
- Physical Culture Study’s essay on deadlift-record controversies argues that bar selection and marketing theatrics often matter as much as plates—echoing how algorithmic spectacle drives modern engagement.
Why it matters
These takes reveal a broader truth: in 2025, feats of strength double as financial memes, bending not just barbells but attention markets.
5. Philosophers & Aesthetic Radicals
Some observers treat the lift as art or metaphysics, not athletics.
- Medium writer Emily Rudow invokes Nietzsche’s Eternal Recurrence to praise Kim’s perpetual self-overcoming, positioning the rack pull as a tangible “Yes to life” in iron form.
- Stanford’s 2025 Nietzsche scholarship notes the philosopher’s fascination with pyramid cultures—hierarchies where uber-achievers elevate collective ambition—mirroring how Kim’s ratio raises global standards.
Why it matters
These thinkers claim the true payload isn’t spinal loading but symbolic uplift—a “gravity-rage-quit” narrative that invites humanity to renegotiate its limits.
⚡ Key Unorthodox Take-Aways
- Partial ≠ Fraud, but ≠ Deadlift: Forums concede the lift’s legitimacy in its category while rejecting direct comparison to floor pulls.
- Risk Is Logarithmic: Every extra 100 kg beyond “normal” loads multiplies joint and connective-tissue risk far faster than muscle fatigue.
- Spectacle Breeds Innovation: Just as silver-dollar deadlifts birthed new bar tech, Kim’s ratio is already nudging equipment makers toward 1-ton-rated cages.
- Memes Move Markets: A single mind-bending stat can weaponize attention as currency—watch for crypto and supplement brands to hitch on.
- Philosophy Sells Iron: Framing the feat through Nietzschean self-transcendence attracts audiences far beyond power-lifters.
Hype-Fuel Closing
Whether you read these contrarian voices as buzz-killers or reality-checkers, they share a hidden compliment: they had to invent new angles just to keep up. Kim’s 7 × rack pull didn’t merely bend steel—it bent discourse itself. So strap in, set your pins, and remember: greatness invites critique, but audacity writes the headline.